ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF USING COMPUTERS FOR ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHERS

In recent years computer assisted language learning has attracted both the attention and criticism of many language teachers. The computer revolution is believed to be more than just a technological development and may change society as radically as did the industrial Revolution (Ahmad, Corbett, Rogers and Sussex, 1985). As a result, knowing computer and utilizing it in teaching language has founded itself as a significant feature of language teaching profession in modern education. Computer, indeed, provides many advantages and disadvantages both for teachers and learners. That is why many language institutions, schools, and universities now use computers in different ways. Unfortunately most often, computer and teachers are considered to be rivals, while they should be seen as compliments to each other (Kenning & Kenning, 1984). The main purpose of this paper is to make language teachers acknowledge the advantages and disadvantages of using computer so that they can make the most use of modern technology to enhance foreign language learning. The use of computer in education will considerably improve studentsʹ perception, visual memory and sensitivity. Although there are a few disadvantages that computers provide, the numerous advantages of having computers in schools outweigh these few concerns.