awej 5 no.4 full issue 2014

AWEJ Volume.5 Number.4, 2014The Integration of the New TechnologyBELMEKKI & IBRAHIMIDridIntroductionRecent years have shown a boom of interest in using computers for foreign languageteaching and learning. A decade ago, it was clear that the use of computers in the languageclassrooms was of concern only to a small number of specialists in western countries (Nazlı,2005). However, with the advent of multimedia computing and the Internet, the role ofcomputers in language instruction has now become an important issue confronting large numbersof language teachers throughout the world. This interest in education technologies has pushedapplied linguists to look for applications of the computer in second and foreign languageclassrooms to improve the learning/teaching process and, particularly, to create an intimateauthentic relationship between the learner and the target language.PreliminariesIn the second half of the 20 th century, education technologies were one of the mostdeveloped areas in the world. Computers, which have entered the school life in the late 1950s indeveloped countries, are still developing day by day throughout the world. Today, they havebecome more powerful, faster, easier to use, more convenient and cheaper, and they can processand store much more data, as well. Equipment such as hard disks, CD ROMs, laser disks andprinters used with computers has also developed rapidly. Using these, a computer program canhandle sound, pictures and video along with characters.All around the world, people are learning with the aid of new technologies: children areplaying complex video games, workers are interacting with simulations that put them inchallenging situations, and students are taking courses at online high schools and colleges. Newtechnologies create learning opportunities that challenge traditional schools and colleges. Thesenew learning niches enable people of all ages to pursue learning on their own terms. Peoplearound the world are taking their education out of school into homes, libraries, Internet cafes,and workplaces, where they can decide what they want to learn, when they want to learn, andhow they want to learn.In attempting to adopt a new technology, be it a tape recorder, a VCR, a CD-ROMmultimedia, or another network-based technology, Jones and Sato (1998) suggest that weconsider the following questions: quoted in Richard and Renondya, (2002.p.361),• Does the new technology facilitate the attainment of the course goal?• Is it cost-effective? Do the benefits outweigh its cost?• Are the teachers ready to work with the new technology? Is there any trainingrequired?• Does it serve the needs of the teachers and students?• Does it help teachers make more efficient of class time?There are of course other questions one may wish to think about, but these are some ofthe most important questions that need to be addressed before we decide to integrate newtechnologies into the Moroccan Universities curriculums.Defining CALLCALL is a term used by teachers and students to describe the use of computers as part ofa language course, (Nazlı, 2005). It is traditionally described as a means of 'presenting,reinforcing and testing' particular language items. The learner is first presented with a rule andsome examples, and then answers a series of questions which test his/her knowledge of the ruleand the computer gives appropriate feedback and awards a mark, which may be stored for laterArab World English JournalISSN: 2229-9327www.awej.org428