The future of language learning

What will be the future of language learning course materials? I wish I could look into the future and see where we’ll be ten years from now. Will laptops and iPads replace the textbooks on our students’ desks or will we be exactly where we are today – some type of hybrid mix of textbooks and technology? Who will be the ones willing to change?

Regardless of where we go and what we do, a significant change in the way we teach and learn will take time. After all it’s not the way we used to do things. It requires faith and confidence that others are changing too, that we’re following, or better yet, becoming part of a new trend. While I certainly don’t expect that all course materials will suddenly become available for free or even with a low cost alternative, I would hope that students and faculty would be the driving force behind the movement.

To those of you who have already voiced your support of our open online materials, we really appreciate it. Please keep it coming. If you would like to weigh in on the issue or voice your opinion on the future of language learning course materials, please feel free to add you comments to this post. We look forward to hearing what you think.