Language Learning and Technology; Past,present and future

     Language education, like everything else, has changed with the invention of the computer. There are several approaches to usage of computer in education and some of the earliest of them are CAI(computer-aided instruction) which put emphasis om both the machine and the learners and PLATO(Programmed Logic for Automated Teaching Operations) created in 1960s which allows learners to have multiple choice test and activities that gets harder step by step. 

    Teachers started to use computers more commonly with the invention of microcomputers in 1980s. A lot of programs were real-life simulations and authentic. Learners are given options to choose what to say in situatons like buying groceries and they cannot get them unless they answer correctly.

    ARPANET( advanced research projects agency network) cooperated with some research universities. At first they started with the text-based MUDs(multi-user dungeons, based on Adventure and Dungeons and Dragons) because of the lack of content after they shifted into MOOs(multi-user, Object-Oriented) and IRC(Internet Relay Rooms). These opened a new era for learners because they allowed communication. Like in todays world's games.

    Computers evolved during the process as much as the techniques, methods, and approaches to language teaching but all thanks to precessors. They allowed both learners and the teachers to improve.