Reflection on the article by Roed

On the reading of Roed (2003), I want to share some of my opinions on this article.

First of all, I totally agree with the author that a virtual learning environment can constitute a more relaxed and stress free atmosphere than a classroom. According to my own experience, I think mostly the teachers and the fellow students always have a fixed impression on someone, which can in turn affect his or her performance in class. For example, if a student is very shy in class and his or her teachers and classmates all agree on it. It will be very difficult for him or her to behave actively in class. However, when in a virtual learning environment, the students will feel free to speak, which can promote his or her language learning. From this perspective, it is a good idea to guide the language learners to study on line and use the technology to enhance their learning.

Secondly, it is still a problem that it is not benefit to the entire student, take student Anna in the study as an example; she is a very extrovert and active student in classroom. Yet, she behaves very badly on line, even very rude and bully. So in my opinion, the teachers should bear in mind that the virtual learning can be very boring and negative for some students, as they seem to lose the attention of the other students. But how to achieve it successfully is still open to question.

The last point is the effectiveness of the task in the study. Actually, I think that the task is very boring and not so attractive. Besides, what kind of skills was required in this task? Did it reach the goal by conducting this task? What is more, there are too many students evolved in conversation, which made the conversation mixed up. So I think maybe three or four student in a talking-group is acceptable.

In conclusion, I think with the development of IT, more and more activities will be carried out on line. As a student I think I should make a good use of IT and try to learn more about how to apply it to practice in the future.