English Through Chatting
In the modern life we are living, things are changing dramatically. Ways we communicate, methods of learning, and channels of collaborating all have changed from the traditional to what we call the online or computerized environments. There is a large debate between those who encourage such change, and others who are against it. Each side has their good reasons. Those who are against claim that it is informal and it degrades the quality of the spoken and written English. On the other hand, those who encourage the change disagree and think it opens the doors not only for learning the language, but for enhancing communication and encouraging team work.
The world is changing to better and the language is becoming easier. The Internet is helping to mix all cultures into one small world, a diversity. This could never be achieved without online chatting and messaging. It encourages and speeds the process of learning for international students. It also does enhance personal skills and make all students ready to cope with the market.
It encourages others to learn the language by simplifying things. I did learn English online. That was a long time ago. At the early beginning, when I was in high school, I wanted to know about local spoken English in the United States of America just for fun. After that, it removed all the barriers and the fears. It made me understand the news on TV channels like CNN, and newspapers like The New Your Time. Without chatting, I wouldn’t have been able to break the sentences and understand what is going on. It helped me enhance my spelling capabilities by seeing and watching the same words and sentences over and over. “These different activities will contribute to features that are evermore present and important in the learning process of the present and future: autonomy and responsibility, team work, collaboration, awareness of the real world out there and of the multicultural diversity it holds, among other things” (Almeida d’Eca, 2003, Para. 12). I agree with the following: “Most students (60.9 percent) believe it improves their learning” (Guess, 2007, Para. 2); Chatting really increased my ability to learn. It made me ready to learn through reading quickly and accurately.
Online communication makes students ready for the local and global market. It develops their communication and collaboration. “The need for effective knowledge sharing, team working and collaborative environments amongst employees has become vital, especially within more geographically dispersed teams” (Wikipedia, n.d., Para. 15).
Without awareness of the language and modern communication channels, students will not be ready for the market. Informal English all the time is not good at all, but a little of it some times is perfect. This can only be achieved by online chatting especially when you live in the other half of the world. It also increases collaboration skills and teamwork by teaching you how to participate and manage speeches in conference rooms for instance. Now, you should try it. It is free and entertaining.
References
Almeida d’Eca, T. (2003, June). The Use of Chat in EFL/ESL. TESL-EJ. Retrieved on June 17, 2008, from http://tesl-ej.org/ej25/int.html
Guess, A. (2007, September 17). Students’ ‘Evolving’ Use of Technology. Inside Higher Ed. Retrieved on June 17, 2008, from http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2007/09/17/it
Wikipedia. (n.d.). Instant messaging & messengers. Retrieved on June 17, 2008, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Instant_messaging
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