Benefits of Distance Learning
Today the development of technology gives more and more opportunities to choose ways to educate students in and outside the classroom effectively. There is a growing number of teachers and schools looking into a great potential of distance learning. My school has been practicing it for some years at www.classroom.google.com and it has proved to be truly beneficial.
First of all, in terms of language learning, it provides variety and develops creativity of both a teacher and a student. The teacher may decide on a wide range of topics relevant for students of different age groups that would be interesting to them, which can be defined after getting feedback from students.
Secondly, it allows differentiation and a more individual approach. Students can make their choices of the suggested materials in order to be able to complete the tasks. Each student can move at their own pace and express themselves best in the areas or tasks they choose.
Also, including the elements of CLIL (Content and Language Integrated learning) helps identify our students’ interests that lie in educational areas of other school subjects, like Science, Art, Economics, Literature, History, Geography and others. This in particular moves the focus from a foreign language as a subject towards using it as a tool or means through which they learn about the world. It adds more practical value to a foreign language. Thanks to this, students expand their vocabulary and deepen their knowledge without realizing they are studying.
Moreover, it provides excellent chances to expose students to target cultures encouraging them to participate in short-term as well as long-term projects on different levels – school, city, federal and international ones.
This boosts students’ inner motivation for learning in general and for learning a foreign language in particular. It makes learning more efficient and improves students’ academic results.
To top it up, it provides students’ autonomy and prepares them for successful self-education in the future. Thus, the importance of distance learning is impossible to overestimate.