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We are living in the digital age. In the midst of this technology bubble, people have scrambled to specialize in information technology fields such software development, computer programming, graphic design, and digital marketing. Henceforth, people’s lives have begun to revolve around computer-chip generated devices. Accordingly, due to widespread globalization in recent years, language skills, in particular English, have been in high demand. If financial markets, manufacturing, customer relationship management, and content management can be automated, why not English teaching? The answer is simple. Communicative language teaching in a face-to-face authentic contextual environment is still the most effective method for facilitating language acquisition. Meanwhile, computer aided learning can still be used to create interactive supplementary resources to help students drill and visualize aspects of language which can’t be demonstrated by a teacher in a classroom. Computer aided learning is used more as a marketing tool than as an actual teaching tool. Since the ESL industry has grown tremendously in recent years, the competition has become so fierce that companies are looking for an edge. Schools incorporate computer aided learning into their curriculum as a way to differentiate themselves from the competition that’s not using technology. This is all a result of the recent technology craze in popular culture. Teachers can bolster their lessons by incorporating expensive, elaborate, state-of-the-art language applications, games, and videos through tablets or computers. In fact, more and more language schools are beginning to use tablets to aid their teaching. When students aren’t focused, the multimedia approach can help them reengage. If students want to learn English with a tablet, then why do they choose to pay money for English lessons at a language school instead of simply learning English at home? That fact is, CLT teachers are still the primary option for companies because they match consumer preferences, are cost efficient, and have significant proof of success. Furthermore, while computers are capable of using elicitation techniques, humans are innately social creatures who learn best when interacting in authentic social environments. For example, an English learner who studies abroad for a year in Great Britain will acquire the English language much better than an English learner who studies through a computer-based virtual reality which merely mimics a study abroad experience in a Great Britain-like context. Language schools with large amounts of capital can invest in all of the technology they want, but the truth is, most humans would prefer to be taught English by a human being, not a robot. In the future, we will see a harmonious combination of native English teachers, CLT, and technology. In fact, Chinese companies like VIPKID, SayABC, Magic Ears already provide their services through virtual classrooms with a native English teacher. Learning environments like these will continue to expand and evolve in the future. While human labor in numerous industries will be replaced by computers, machines, robots, and artificial intelligence, the ESL industry will be safe. Native English teachers will always be the backbone of the ESL industry regardless of how sophisticated the technological innovation becomes.
