The following essay was written by an English teacher from Brazil. He asked the contributor to read it and let him know if it sounded like “intelligent English.” The contributor, being a liar, said yes:

Summary (Tools of the Trade)

From this reading I could see that, because languages can be both written and spoken, all the tools listed in this article, such as books, tapes and computer programs, must contain at least, one of this forms of presentation for each language that intents to teach.

A pen, a typewriter, and a computer are the same in essence and in terms of concept for tools, and like a picture, a photograph or a movie, where the only difference is definition, also, words written in the sand of a beach, a book and a CD are about the same, for all these tools have the same function in the Teaching process, furthermore, they differ only in the dynamics and definition of image.

As teachers or learners we should have some idea about how functional these tools are, how well they work as helpers in the process of acquiring a new language. Just so, it becomes an important instrument of self criticism.

The more we know about Teaching methods and principles, the more we notice that; not every content corresponds its label, and the best criteria to avoid mistakes is to search for sources and to check the effectiveness of each tool that is used in a particular time.

Opinion
The use of a number of materials like textbooks, computer programs and videos enlarge the possibilities of extending its range far and wide. All these tools are based in the same principles to help a student to acquire a new language. The sophistication of these tools, do not free them from the limits imposed by these very principles, in the same way, that a robot can imitates and speed up human voices and actions but can never overcome it by interacting episode and meaning.