Thanks to new technology, there are many more methods of available to
second
language
learners today than in the past.
However
, I would agree that using the internet to
self-
study
is the best for three reasons.
Firstly
, self-education enables people to
study
at a time and place
that is
convenient for them, which means they are more likely to
study
on a regular basis.
Although
I acknowledge that for many people making commitment to a group class is the only way that they can motivate themselves to
study
, many students find that after the initial few weeks they start skipping class because the promise of regular attendance is too much. Online
self-
study
,
however
, offers students full flexibility in their learning timetable and, as the key to learning a foreign
language
is regular
study
, they are,
thus
, more likely to succeed.
Another factor is the low cost of online
study
.
Although
it could be argued that students can
also
watch foreign TV programs or listen to music in
otherany of various alternatives; some other
language
for free, these materials are designed more for entertainment than
language
instruction. Many websites,
however
, offer high-level
language
learning content for free. I believe that
this
is particularly important for students at beginner level, who may just want to have a free taste of the
language
before they commit to a full paid course.
Moreover
, even courses that require a payment work out to be more cost-effective over time than other types of lessons.
Finally
,
self-
study
gives you full control over your learning because you are able to choose your own curriculum and decide how quickly to move through it.
In contrast
, in a classroom environment, you have to move at the pace of the whole group, which may be too fast or too slow for your needs.
Moreover
,
although
many argue that the biggest missing element in an online course is a teacher to guide your learning, I would say that most educators give only the same narrow range of content to all their students, rarely creating courses that are totally tailored to an individual student’s need.
As a result
, you benefit very little from having a real-life teacher rather than a virtual one in terms of guidance, but lose a lot in terms of control.
In short, I agree that computer-based
self-
study
is the best way to acquire a
second
language
as it allows students to
study
what they want, where they want, when they want and,
as a result
, they are much more likely to keep up a sustained learning effort.