ICT in Language Learning Assignment

Global Education Network

We live in global era nowadays. All of stuffs around us are coming globally. We can enjoy music, food, and movie from another countries. Furthermore, we can also study abroad. It means everything has been connects globally. The development of technology brings everything global. As stated by Milken Foundation (1999), “New technologies and telecommunications networks have dramatically transformed all facets of life, from medicine to agriculture, entertainment to politics, and economics to service industries”. The rapid development of global technological capacity and abilities create opportunities for students worldwide. Where institutions and individuals recognize the importance of education to national economic development, available opportunities are plentiful (Veitch and Tu). So, there are many ways of getting information, including education.

Margaret A. Powers in her article define that global learning experience as any classroom activities which expose young children to new ways of thinking about the world, their own and others’ cultures, world languages, communities, and families. Global education offers different learning process. We can do online class with people around the world when we connected by internet. One of the utilization of technology in education is Peer-to Peer Technologi (Goodwin, 2015). Tom Goodwin writes that through the use of Peer-to-Peer video conferencing, students can study new languages and to learn about cultural differences while building a global support network (Goodwin, 2015). As a result, learning process can be held virtual and to study along with foreign people no longer need a real meeting. 

The Association for the Advancement of International Education maintains a listserv (AAIE, 1999) for the administrations of the 500+ American/international schools throughout the world (ISS, 1999). An administrator in a remote region of the world can post an inquiry that is immediately received by all subscribers, and receive instantaneous responses. Postings are wide and varied. Subscriptions are currently restricted to current AAIE members and former heads of schools, but the possibilities associated with the listserv concept are endless. There is nothing to prevent significant extension of the concept to developing countries, their schools, their students, their teachers and their administrators. 

Global Education Network introduce the brand new of learning. Moreover, it gives many opportunities for students to make relationship with people from other countries. Then, they can study each culture. Instead of just sending information out about a holiday, custom, or community that children in your classroom experience, you can have an exchange and receive information back in return about cultural practices, customs, and communities other children experience around the world (Powers, 2012). By using global education, students are expected have more knowledge about what they have studied and culture around the world. 

In language learning, global education is very useful. Students who study English for example, can make friends with people from country which use English as first language. So, they can improve their English through virtual communication. 

In this era, there are no reason to not join the global education. Considering it advantages, students and teacher should not ignore this facilitation. If they only focused on conventional learning and teaching process, it will be a stagnancy for education life. As a result, there is no improvement in education, especially for language learning.