In the future, the use of the internet in teaching will undoubtedly increase even further. Many teachers view online material as a very welcome addition to teaching. BUT it is not a teaching method that replaces contact teaching—on the contrary! At its best, online material and distance learning enrich teaching and make it more meaningful for both the teacher and the student.
We listed thoughts from a couple of Promentor trainers regarding the benefits of online materials and web-based teaching.
Online material vs. textbook:
– Always a clean page when doing exercises, can be repeated ad infinitum, making reviewing at one's own pace easy
– Doing exercises is fast, as using a keyboard comes naturally, especially for young people
– Students can immediately check correct answers
– Interactivity of exercises: students get hints and guiding feedback, not an immediate ready answer
– Versatile exercises, including listening and pronunciation practice
– In the practice section, help from a virtual teacher and spelling assistance from Winkkaaja, so there is no need to retype the whole word if a mistake occurs
– In the test section, students can test their skills
– Interactivity of texts: hypertexts, roleplay performance, recording one's voice and comparing it with native pronunciation
– Ability to listen to chapters and vocabularies (individual words are recorded as well)
– The course can be completed anywhere: at work, school, home, traveling, etc.
Distance teaching vs. contact teaching:
– Distance teaching can be joined from anywhere by both students and the trainer
– Challenges trainers to think about new teaching methods when face-to-face contact happens only via webcam
– Web conferences and online training will certainly not decrease in the future, so practicing them is worthwhile
– Web-based training is good practice for students for phone conversations, where body language cannot be used to reinforce communication
– Using online learning materials to support teaching feels natural when lessons themselves are held online
– Distance teaching challenges trainers to develop their presentation skills and student communication, as these skills require even more attention online than in contact teaching
Wishing you rewarding online training,
Marja-Liisa Ingall, English Trainer &
Tiina Tanskanen-Kudjoi, Swedish & German Trainer
