The disadvantages of using online resources as an educational tool in language programs

Only in a small group a person can develop properly. At school, students learn how to make friends, be patient, get rid of disappointment, and especially to compete. Competition between colleagues can be very stimulating and students will only benefit from it. Online learning cannot offer human interaction.

Another disadvantage refers to the fact that online courses cannot cope with thousands of students that try to join discussions. Also, online learning can be difficult, if it is meant for disciplines that involve practice.

In conclusion, online learning should be seen as a complement and extension of classical forms of learning. Not even the best online course can fully replace the personal contact with a teacher, or the human relationships that develop in a group. So, traditional classes shouldn’t be replaced with online learning.

It must be remembered that the internet is a tool, and no tool can fix every problem. A common complaint among ESL teachers is that the Internet can provide too much information, which can lead to confusion and inaccuracies. Resources must routinely be evaluated by their intended audience and the quality of the information. Much content available may also be inappropriate depending on the age group of students, their culture, or their background, so it is important that educators keep an eye on what students are looking at. As well, chatting with native speakers can have a negative effect on reading and writing ability, as many English speakers will make typos, grammatical mistakes, or use acronyms instead of spelling out whole words while texting. There is also the fact that technological difficulty can get in the way of learning. If a student is unfamiliar with using the Internet, or is anxious about computers, these things can easily hinder the ability of a student to learn. If their Internet is slow, they won't be able to hear speech files or talk with fellow students as easily, and that can be a serious problem.

The Internet can be a valuable tool for ESL educators. However, as with any tool, it is important to know its proper uses, and when it should not be used. Evaluate its usefulness in relation to a given set of students, and be aware of its shortcomings.

 

For good reason, the Internet is buzzing with positive information about online education. The advantages are numerous, from lower costs to accessibility to flexibility. However, a quick look around the real world clearly demonstrates that most students are still choosing traditional classes. Are these people just ignorant? No. There can be multiple drawbacks to online education in comparison to traditional classroom education.

 

- Lack of accreditation and low quality

Before you enroll in any online course, check that the program is accredited and verify this information with the accrediting agency. Legitimate schools, from established universities to newer online colleges, are proud of their status with accrediting agencies, and agencies are happy to accredit good schools. Therefore, this information is readily available online for you to check.

 

- If you earn a degree from a school with no accreditation, you can find yourself with a worthless degree that will leave you in debt and no better prepared for the workforce. Verifying an online program’s accreditation is a small step that can save you time, money and heartache in the long run.

 

- Little or no face-to-face interaction

While this may seem obvious, students have a tendency to underestimate the impact of never meeting the instructor and other students in the class. According to the Mark Edmundson [49] an English professor at the University of Virginia, argued in a Time opinion piece that online education creates a “monologue and not a real dialogue” in the learning environment. Building relationships with your instructor and classmates will require more effort in an online environment.

 

- More work

Online courses typically require a greater amount of reading and assignments than traditional classes. Programs in general are improving the quality of their online courses, and this means that students will have to do more to prove that they’ve mastered the material. Expect to spend at least 10 hours per week on each online course. However, it is not uncommon for a single course to require 15 or 20 hours per week (source).

 

- Intense requirement for self-discipline

Online courses usually have deadlines for assignments, tests, commenting on lectures, etc. That’s not the problem. The problem is the time management and organization skills necessary to stay on top of your work, allot an appropriate amount of time to complete each task and balance your coursework against other priorities in your life. If you tend toward procrastination, then you might need to strengthen your skill set before choosing an online course or program.

 

- Even more intense requirement for self-direction

Traditional college programs typically offer or even require that students meet with advisors to help them plan their path in college. If you only need a course or two, this is not an issue. However, if you are pursuing an entire degree online, you will need to be proactive in finding the information you need to ensure that you are taking the right classes for your degree plan. Straying from this path could constitute failure to make academic progress, and you may have trouble securing financial aid.

 

Despite the potential pitfalls, the vast majority of people are satisfied with their online education and happy that they chose it over traditional classroom education. If you know the positives and negatives, you can make an informed decision whether online learning is right for you.

 

In many researchers S.A.Beshenkov, S.G.Grigorev, V.P.Demkin, AA Kuznetsov, M.P.Lapchik [22, pp. 58-60] as one of the possible solutions to the problem of modernization of education on the basis of information Panyukov, I.V.Robert, K.Evelin, B.Oliver, J.Higgins, S.Papert, T.Russel et al. [21, p-228] see the rational combination of traditional and modern educational technologies of information and communication technologies. One of the promising directions of use of information and communication technologies (ICT) is currently blended learning in the field of education.

Blended learning - a combination of "live" training with training in using Internet resources, especially the second generation, allowing for joint activities of participants of the educational process. Mixed recognized training if from 30 to 79% of the training time is spent on-line.

Thus, the blended learning can be considered a form of distance learning or its continuation, the main difference lies in the obligation of "live" communication of students with each other and with the teacher. In mixed training in a certain proportion, and there are full-time, and distance technology that allows simultaneous use of the two forms of training, eliminating virtually all of their shortcomings. An increasing number of people seeking education with minimal loss of time, because the rapid pace of life leaves less time for learning in classroom classes.

Blended learning - a combination of "live" training with training in using Internet resources, especially the second generation, allowing for joint activities of participants of the educational process. Mixed recognized training if from 30 to 79% of the training time is spent on-line.

Thus, the blended learning can be considered a form of distance learning or its continuation, the main difference lies in the obligation of "live" communication of students with each other and with the teacher. In mixed training in a certain proportion, and there are full-time, and distance technology that allows simultaneous use of the two forms of training, eliminating virtually all of their shortcomings. An increasing number of people seeking education with minimal loss of time, because the rapid pace of life leaves less time for learning in classroom classes.

Today, blended learning is a fast and dynamic form of training. Many large companies have already experienced the positive effect it: employees receive a quality education on the job. Thus, we can assume that in the future blended learning takes a leading place among the traditional forms of education and will be one of the main competitive advantages of higher education institutions that provide educational services with the use of Internet resources in conjunction with the "live" communication. For effective implementation of the study in a blended learning system, discipline is necessary, first of all, to develop methodological support of training programs. It should be noted that currently the ability to quickly find the information highly valued and encouraged in every possible way on the Internet according to the D. Ryabov [15] considers information skills in the context of information behavior of the person [Ryabov 2009: 111] and analyzes the behavior of the following indicators:

- The choice of the source of information;

- The regularity of treatment for him;

- The amount of time spent on the consumption of information;

- Actions caused by the influence of the information received. Nowadays we have lots of problems with internet. We have many information and sites and it is time consuming to find any information. P. V. Sysoev and M. N. Evstigneev [47] believe that the level of formation of foreign language communicative competence of students depends not only on the ability to communicate in a foreign language, but also on the ability to communicate via services and Internet services.

However, experience shows that learners are often unable to find the relevant scientific information in the English-language online sources do not distinguish between scientific and popular literature, properly edited text.

Search the English-language information takes time. Moreover, the construction work methodically illiterate students on the Internet

It leads to the formation of false stereotypes about the culture of the target language country. In this regard, the urgent need at present is to provide educational online resources, by which we mean text, audio and visual materials on a variety of topics aimed at the formation of foreign language communicative competence of students and information.

According to the R. P. Milrud [52]One of the new requirements for teaching foreign languages using Internet resources, is to create interaction in the classroom, what is called in interactive methods. This principle is not new, but until now there is no single definition of this approach. According to the definition of domestic researcher RP Milrud interactivity - a "unification, coordination and complementarity of efforts communicative purpose and outcome of speech means." According to this definition, we can conclude that an interactive approach in virtual space is one of the means to achieve communicative goals in the classroom. From communicative principle it differs by the presence of true cooperation, where the emphasis is on the development of communication skills and team work, while (a monologue because one of the most common types of communicative tasks) to the communicative task is not mandatory target.

Minina A. A. [55] In today's world of business skills of foreign language communication becomes an indicator of professionalism in any sphere of work. From their level of formation depends largely on the success of business contacts with partners. An integral component of the business and professional communication skills are intercultural communication, since in today's conditions of globalization experts almost all areas have to interact with representatives of various cultural communities. In modern language education Internet resources and information and communication technology (ICT) has long been widely used for didactic purposes. The use of Internet resources or ICT itself is already considered as an innovative fact worthy of attention and immediate dissemination of learning foreign languages. However, often ignored important methodological and socio-cultural aspects of their use in the learning process.

First, in determining the personality-forming potential Internet space should not ignore the fact that this medium can have both positive and negative impacts on human socializing.

Secondly, it must be remembered that, although mastering the rules of intercultural communication in a natural (non-virtual) environment lays the foundation for the kind of effective communication in the Internet environment, however, the latter has a number of highly specific characteristics of verbal and nonverbal behavior in her man.

In addition, before implementing ICT and Internet resources in the educational process, it is necessary for a thorough review to determine the methodological quality of these resources and technologies, as well as methodological appropriateness of their use in the process of learning a foreign language Business and Professional Communication.