The Use of Digital Tools as an Ecolinguistics Environment to Increase Learners’ Autonomy

Resumen

 Due to globalization, the amount of digital resources to learn and teach languages has increased dramatically. These resources have helped students learn English and they have been also promoting their autonomy providing a propitious environment for learning; furthermore, the connectivity between different people brings numerous benefits, if used properly. However, these digital technologies are helpless if the learner does not perceive its importance and reframes their conventional usage, realizing it as a learning tool. Therefore, the main purpose of this work is to point out how these digital tools tend to give more autonomy to the learner and can facilitate the whole language learning/acquisition process. After revising the literature in both areas ”“ digital resources used to learn English and learners”Ÿ
autonomy ”“ I describe the importance of technology to learning a second language, relating the concepts of digital resources working as an ecolinguistic system used to interact in the target language, and learners”Ÿ autonomy. Finally, I reflect on the effects of using this
technology, as a natural interaction environment of informal learning that may affect learners”Ÿ autonomy.

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