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According to Davies J. (1996) internet-based technologies can be an extremely useful resource for learners of foreign languages.
Various innovations (including Google-assisted language learning and concordancers) have revolutionized the approaches to teaching foreign languages.
New technologies and applications allow students to become increasingly autonomous in learning foreign languages, as well as gaining more intercultural literacy [45].
Kelsen B. (2009) said that the proliferation of Internet-based software over the past decade undoubtedly had transformed the way foreign languages are taught. And yet, while educators increasingly exploit these pedagogical tools, the real story seems to be the way students use them to acquire foreign language competency. The literature seems to suggest that students increasingly rely on mobile-assisted language learning independently of, or asynchronously to, more structured learning, but other factors have also received the attention of researchers. This brief literature survey highlights some of these issues [3].
Note that in the following discussion, computer-assisted language learning (CALL), mobile-assisted language learning (MALL), Internet-based language learning (IBLL), online language learning (OLL), Google-assisted language learning (GALL), and technology-enhanced language learning (TELL) are different forms of technology-based language learning (TBLL).
Warschauer (2008) wrote while computers had been popular among language teachers since the 1960s, their usefulness had amplified by the development of Internet-based technologies. In particular, the advent of Web 2.0 technologies and applications has been hugely successful in allowing students to learn independently or collaboratively through the media - from listening to language files to watching YouTube videos to using specific language-instruction software [46,7].
Over the past several decades, studies analyzing the relationship between technology and foreign language learning have tended to focus on several key issues, including motivation, reading and writing, research, and mobile-assisted language learning.
Importantly, all of this scholarship points to the advantages inherent in electronic communication, including the democratic nature of the modality that allows students to express themselves freely, comfortably, and creatively in learning a second language. A few researchers have even suggested that some students prefer to learn a new language through electronic technology than face-to-face in the classroom. Practice and confidence are cornerstones in learning a foreign language. Internet-based language learning provides learners opportunities to practice with confidence. They use Skype, chat, and instant messengers, including Google Talk, Trillian, Pidgin, and Rediff, to improve their speaking and comprehension skills by talking with native speakers of the language they are learning. Similarly, Twitter and Facebook can be helpful in learning a foreign language.
Reading and Writing
Many researchers as Read Gilgen, Conroy have noted the role technology plays in developing reading and writing skills. Early in the millennium, Adina Levine, Orna Ferenz, and Thea Reves identified that in order to develop critical literacy skills for foreign language learners, computer-based technologies were more useful than the conventional method of reading. Several years later Subhadra Ramachandran supported this finding, propounding that judicious use of technology in the classroom helped students in their literacy development. From the point of view of students' writing skill, he also determined that using this kind of technology in the classroom helped students write better and improved their collaborative writing skills. Likewise, Read Gilgen described that personal digital assistant and laptop devices were considerably more effective than traditional modalities, creating a mobile language-learning environment for students. Recent scholarship concurs with these findings, although it tends to recommend using a combination of web-based and traditional writing instruction rather than a single approach [3].
Search Engines
Many analyses of the use of technology in foreign language education have emphasized the importance of search engines such as Google, Yahoo, and Bing. Some authors have even suggested that simply browsing on these search engines - aside from using their associated translation tools - actually improves foreign language learners' writing skills. Similarly, Google-assisted language learning (GALL) has been identified as being especially beneficial for language learning. Google can translate in many languages, and maps, images, and videos can be downloaded for language teaching purposes. It is useful not only for teachers but also for students. Both can Google a lots of material related to language teaching and learning [46,9].
The use of corpus-based language learning has led to the development by scholars at the Universite de Quйbйc а Montrйal in Canada of an online concordancer, a type of search engine designed for language study. Here, the Compleat Lexical Tutor analyzes linguistic similarities and patterns among several Romance languages in a large database of texts [45].
Studies indicate that students introduced to these kinds of resources were more apt to use them independently at a later date. In the same way, there is some evidence that writing blogs helps students learn independently while also developing intercultural knowledge and linguistic skills. In this way they not only improve their writing skill but also obtain understanding of the culture of the target language.
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