Technology Evolves, Education Adapts

       The 21st century has brought many groundbreaking technological changes that forced educators and learners to go through a rapid adaptation process. Before the 21st century, rote learning was a key pillar in education, but with the coming of the internet, fast access to huge amounts of information, and a more globalized world, different skills were needed in order to use these advancements and benefit from them. Subsequently, language education, which will be my main topic in this post, has been deeply affected by this transition.

      In today's world, we need to be able to learn and use information that is produced in other parts of the world, where people speak different languages. This is especially important for EFL countries such as Türkiye, where it is quite hard to encounter English in daily life. The internet, which may be considered the most important invention of the 21st century, has not only created totally new tools that are irreplaceable for teachers, such as learning management tools like Google Classroom, but it has also made it much easier and more affordable to access already existing tools like projectors or screens. This has helped to narrow the opportunity gap between Turkish students and students from wealthier parts of the world. As language teachers, we need to seize this opportunity and use these tools to help our students become able to compete with the rest of the world.