Distance Language Teaching

Have you ever thought? What kind of life would we have without technology and the internet? Many things certainly would have been different in our lives. Because technology is very decisive in many areas. If there had not been internet and technology in areas such as health, transportation, communication, commerce, economy, and education, life would have stopped.

Well, can we use the opportunities provided by the internet and technology in foreign language education enough? Yes, there are smartboards in some classes now; teachers can get their students to watch some videos on the internet and reflect the materials on the screen they prepared. However, in an education system where teachers and students must be face to face, technology cannot add much to traditional education.

Traditional teaching, where the teacher and the learner are in the same place, that is, face-to-face communication, cannot reach the speed of the Z generation in the modern age. Children and youngsters think that the time they spend at school is inefficient and they are right about it. Methods and tools of centuries ago are often used in language education at school. Crowded classes, educational environments limited by rules, often boring and repeating content that is organized according to the slowest learner, time spent on the way to school and back home…

On the other hand, not everyone gets educated at school. For a person who wants to improve his or her foreign language after completing school life, the possibilities that traditional education can offer are extremely limited. Especially if the person wants to learn a language while working at a job, time becomes a serious problem. Even if you find a course which it's period suitable for you, will other people attending the course be at the same level as you? If you would not satisfy with the performance of the teachers of the course you attend, the time and money you spend will be wasted.

Advantages Of Distance Education in Foreign Language Teaching

Distance education of foreign languages via the Internet has many advantages over traditional teaching. Firstly, distance language education is flexible in terms of time and space. You can participate in training anytime and anywhere. You can set the learning time and speed for your level. You can take a break  at any time, and you can watch the video recordings of the training at any time.

There is no age limit to participate in distance language education. Whether you are a child of primary school age, a university student, a business person who wants to add value to his or her professional career, or a retired person. People of all ages can study language freely without getting bored between the walls.

Another important difference that distinguishes distance language teaching from traditional language teaching is that it can be personalized for student's needs. In traditional teaching, the teacher tries to organize the content of the lesson according to the level of the class. However, students are not at the same level in any class. Lessons that are easy for some students can be difficult for other students. In this case, it takes quite a long progress for a class, as foreign language teaching is usually carried out in line with the student who understands very little in the class. However, the content and speed of language education should be formed entirely on personal skills.

Distance language teaching is generally more economical than traditional teaching. In addition to the low amount of money spent on education, not spending time and money on transportation is a perk that reduces costs.

Synchronous and Asynchronous Foreign Language Teaching

Distance language teaching can take place in two ways:

• Synchronous Language Teaching
• Asynchronous Language Teaching

Synchronous language teaching is carried out in the form of live broadcasting so that the student and teacher can communicate at the same time. For example, the teacher and the student can communicate with each other via voice, video, and written; they can share documents and files instantly.

Asynchronous language teaching takes place as the student watches the lessons prepared before from the records.

In synchronous teaching, a live communication environment can be provided, as in the classroom. This is an extremely important factor in language teaching. Because the teacher can instantly check whether his issues are understood; the student may ask what he or she does not understand and wonder instantly. Accordingly, synchronous language teaching has many advantages over asynchronous language teaching.

The most important advantage of asynchronous language teaching is that it provides convenience in terms of time and repetition. There is also a convenience in terms of time in synchronous teaching. Students can take courses in their preferred time frame. However, if there is a change in the student's program, he or she may have to cancel his course. In asynchronous learning, the students don't need to stick to a program. They can take any lesson they want, and repeat the lessons they want as much as they wish.

From this point of view, you may think that asynchronous language education has superior aspects to synchronous language education. For example, a student who makes an appointment for 2 pm on Saturday may not participate in his or her course because he or she may have another job at that time. On the other hand, even if the student attended the lesson at the time of his or her appointment, the efficiency may decrease if he/she cannot repeat what he/she learned when the lesson was over.

However, institutions that provide synchronous education can easily overcome these problems thanks to technology nowadays. The course can be recorded as a video while synchronous teaching is carried out; teaching materials can be shared on web pages or e-mail. Shortly, the student can watch the recording of the live lesson at any time and use the teaching materials. So, the person participating in synchronous language teaching also benefits from the opportunities of asynchronous language teaching.

Take advantage of all the chances of distance language teaching at Turacoon.

The interest in learning Turkish as a foreign language is increasing day by day. The Turacoon system, which was established to respond to this interest, serves with its experienced staff on the turacoon.com site. Students learning Turkish from Turacoon can benefit from all possibilities of synchronous distance education.

At Turacoon, live communication courses between students and teachers are very effective in improving students' language skills, especially speaking. You can record live lessons as videos, then watch the lesson and your performance as many times as you want. So you can take advantage of both synchronous teaching and asynchronous teaching.

With Turacoon, you can adjust the time, duration, and frequency of the lessons and choose the teachers you want to work with.