Student Corner Online English Learning
By Choi Sun-mi
Learning English as well as other subjects by using online programs is prevailing in modern society. It is called online education, as opposed to offline education, and refers to Web-based education through the Internet, Intranet and Extranet or e-learning.
It is considered an effective way of learning English. There are some benefits we can have when we learn English through online education.
First, online education offers students individual learning and opportunities of discovery learning. This is because teachers can give learners instant, individualized feedback, according to their diverse styles and ability while students can select lectures they need and read materials at their own pace.
By learning themselves, students can become more independent because they learn English without an excessive amount of help from teachers.
Second, online education helps students to manage their time efficiently and save money. Offline education makes learners attend their class although they don’t need to attend their classes and they don’t always have enough time because of the distance from home to school.
However, through online education, they can attend the class by accessing the Internet whenever they want to learn, regardless of time, money and distance. This is useful for both disabled people and those who can’t go to school for various reasons. In terms of English education, students can meet native English teachers on the Internet without going to private English institutes, which can be very expensive. Through this, they can improve their English speaking skills because they have a lot of opportunities to speak in English unlike offline classes where there are usually too many students. In addition, by exposing themselves to American culture, they have more chances of learning cultural differences.
Third, students can find an embracing atmosphere through online education. In an offline class, students get nervous because they worry about what other students may think when they make errors or mistakes. However, in an online class, they are free to speak in English because they don’t study in public.
Online education can encourage them to learn without the feelings of anxiety, which can be important in learning a language.
There can be lots of benefits to learning and teaching English online. However, online education has several limitations when applying it to English education in Korea. I think mixing online and offline education programs would be more appropriate.
It reflects on the educational environment of Korea in which offline education is required and it brings effectiveness of education by utilizing online and offline education properly. We can get good results on the aspects of students, teachers and parents.
In the end, Korean education will develop in an innovative way. If we mix online and offline learning as an alternative to just pure online learning in the Korean educational system, we could get better results.
To complete this, every aspect of Korean learning should be innovative and geared to helping the students and teachers. As a result, we all want a better way to educate the whole of Korean society. In the end, creating not just a better system, but a well-rounded educational system will be the driving force in Korean education.
Choi Sun-mi is a university graduate and majored in English education. She is now preparing to become an English teacher.