There are many different views, both positive and negative, about the role multimedia has to play in language teaching. A good starting point to cut through the contradictions is to clarify some of the issues with three simple tenets. My personal beliefs follow. Pete Sharma 1. Language teaching is different from many other forms of training, due to the nature of language.
Language is about communicating with other people.
While technology can support our efforts as language teachers, we should not expect it to replace us. We deal with the unpredictable and infinitely varied exchanges learners need to be involved in. Technology is here to stay The rise of the Internet and the widespread use of the personal computer have ensured that the influence of technology will continue to grow. Future generations will have different experiences of the digital world and different expectations from today s. If we as teachers can enrich language courses by incorporating audio cassettes or video, it is surely possible to create more effective courses using the capabilities of multimedia.