Are Indian Language Teachers Prepared for the Web World? A Case Study

This study presents the data collected from 20 teachers of 'Communication Skills' from ten engineering colleges of Punjab, India. A well structured questionnaire was used to solicit information for the following research questions: (a) What are the teachers' attitudes towards teaching English using the internet? (b) What are the challenges faced by teachers in using the internet to teach English? (c) What are the teachers' suggestions to overcome these challenges? The results reveal that although the teachers use the internet frequently for entertainment and communication purposes, they rarely use web resources and tools for English language teaching (ELT). The findings indicate the lack of training as a major reason for not using the internet for the teaching-learning purposes. This study also offers some suggestions like adequate teacher training and full time technical support to facilitate language learning through the internet. Teacher Training, ELT, Internet and language learning and Teaching through technology 18 The turn of the century has witnessed a profound impact of technology on education and English Language Teaching (ELT) is not an exception. With the advent of the internet era and its new means of communication facilitating collaboration between groups and individuals all over the world, English teachers need to take part in that Information revolution of today. Instant access to all kinds of information has created new favorable conditions for teaching and learning languages. Though they are well aware of the revolutionary technological tools yet they are not confident enough to use them for the teaching purposes. Through this paper the researcher has attempted to find out the reasons and the challenges for the same. In this study, the focus is the use of the internet to teach English to the students of the engineering colleges of Punjab, India. The following research questions direct the investigation of this research: 1. What are the teachers' attitudes towards teaching English using the internet? 2. What are the challenges faced by teachers in using the internet to teach English? 3. What are the teachers' suggestions in order to overcome these challenges? The aim of this paper is to show the current status of the competence of English teachers to use the internet in their classrooms. In the last few years the number of teachers using ComputerAssisted Language Learning (CALL) has increased tremendously and numerous articles have been written about the role of technology in education in the 21st century. Although the potential of the the internet for educational use has not been fully explored yet and the colleges on average still make limited use of computers and the internet, it is obvious that we have entered a new information age in which the links between technology and language teaching have already been established. The development of the internet has brought about a revolution in the teachers' perspective, as the teaching tools offered through it are gradually becoming more reliable. Today, the internet has gained immense popularity in second language teaching and more and more educators and learners are embracing it. Research and practice suggest that, appropriately implemented, network-based technology can contribute significantly to the following: Computers are most popular among students either because they are associated with fun and games or because they are considered to be fashionable. Student motivation is therefore increased, especially whenever a variety of activities are offered, which make them feel more independent. Technology-based instructions can help students strengthen their linguistic skills by positively affecting their learning attitude and by helping them build self-instruction strategies and promote their self-confidence. Authenticity ensures both face-validity and content-validity. Authentic materials like company brochures, product samples, latest news items and the like is motivating for many learners. All Motivatio