Critical Thinking

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Presented to Dr.

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Introduction

Every day the world witnesses significant development in many different fields.

One of the important sectors that are affected directly by such development is education.

Printed books played a significant role in providing the students with the required

information and materials. Although the era of printed books still continues, electronic

books become a common tool in the educational sector. Some people think that

electronic books have contributed to the improvement of the students’ skills especially in

English language. This is because they are available to the students everywhere and just

what they need is to get an internet connection. They can access them easily to get more

information and read more books in English (Weber, 2014). Other people think that

electronic books have also some negative impacts including lack of enjoyment that can

be felt while reading the printed versions. This essay focuses on the pros and cons of

electronic books specifically in improving the students’ English Language.

Method

To complete this research, a secondary research was conducted to get the more

information and support each party position in this debate. Different sources such as

books and electronic sources were acceded to collect more data about the role of

electronic books in improving English Language. Other resources were accessed to

identify why other people think they have such negative impact on students’ English

Language skills. To do that, different key words were used to get the latest literature

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review that handled the same research topic. Upon the collected data, each opinion will

be supported clearly.

Results

From one hand, some people think that e-books have helped in improving the

students’ English Language skills at college because of many reasons. Firstly, e-books

have helped UAE college students to gain more vocabularies while they are reading. The

big advantage here is that e-books are available at any time and allow the students to read

more at home, park, and even travelling. In addition, they think that it helps in developing

the students’ English skills because of its readability. Moreover, the availability of

laptops and computers give the students the chance to get their preferred books or stories

online easily. This represents a big advantage since e-books encourage them to read more

and practice English language. English practices and puzzles are also available for the

students in case of they felt not interested in reading for a while Secondly, those people

who think that e-books enhance the students’ English skills believe that the adjustable

size of e-book while reading is another advantage that let them read effectively and feel

comfortable. Moreover, e-books provide those students with translation option for new

vocabularies, so that they can get the meaning as well as their synonyms. This helps in

increasing their vocabularies and expressions that they can learn through e-books. Also,

e-book can enhance the students’ English Language through allowing them to provide

their reviews about what they have read online such as through social networking. For

example, they can share what they read with other students and recommend a book to a

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friend. In that way, students have the opportunity to discuss what they read in English, so

that they can improve their listening and speaking skills (Media, 2013).

On the other hand, other people think that e-book is not effective in improving the

students’ English skills. They also have their own reasons that support their opinion.

Firstly, they think that e-books hurt the students’ eyes since they might spend long hours

reading through laptops or other devices. In fact, they support depending on the printed

books rather than e-books to avoid such harm. Secondly, they think that e-books keep the

students’ away from practicing English skills such as speaking and listening since they

seem to be isolated while reading. Instead, they encourage going to the library and get

the opportunity to meet other students in which they can discuss their ideas about what

they read in English. This makes learning English skills more effective. Moreover, lack

of feed back while reading e-books is another reason that the opponents of this idea

claim. They believe that printed versions of books allow the students to mark something

unclear, new vocabularies, or even some ideas to be discussed with their teachers.

Furthermore, e-books do not allow the reader to access to different books at the same

time; instead it displays only one book. This restricts their readings especially if they

would like to compare what they read with another book. Printed books have a different

case in which students can easily read or compare different books at the same time.

Finally, e-books require having an internet connection to be able to display books that a

student want to read, while printed books are available all the time (STEFANIE, 2012).

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In my opinion, I suggest that e-books play a significant role in developing the

students’ skills. I think that e-book contribute to improving college students’ English

Language in many different ways. I think that e-books allow the students to access to

their preferred books in an easy way. Such kind of books can be easily preserved and

protected from damage. Also, I think that translation options that are available in e-books

are also a big advantage for the students to gain more vocabularies. Another reason that

makes me encourage e-book role in developing the students’ skills is the adaptability of

its size. In that way it can be fitted to the student’s sight condition and their preferred

mode. In addition, recommending e-books online and sharing the students’ reviews are

significant advantages of e-books. Learning from e-books is not restricted to time or

place; it is just having your laptop to access to your favorite book to read.

Conclusion

In conclusion, e-books are a normal result of the technological development that

the world has witnessed recently. Some people think it has an important role in

improving the students’ language skills, but others argue against it. The first group claims

that they are accessible at any time and place, supported with translation options, and

students can share their reviews easily. The other opinion suggests that printed books are

better as they allow the students to interact, discuss what they read, and get effective

feedback. Students are required to benefit from e-book and consider the role of printed

versions at the same time.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

Media, B. (2013). The Pros and Cons of ebooks. Retrieved February 28, 2014, from ghostwriter: http://www.ghostwriter-needed.com/ebooks.html

STEFANIE. (2012, November 29). Retrieved February 28, 2014, from lexiophiles.com: http://www.lexiophiles.com/english/the-pros-and-cons-of-ebooks

Weber, R. (2014). The Pros and Cons of eBook Downloads. Retrieved February 28, 2014, from ebook-store-review.toptenreviews: http://ebook-store-review.toptenreviews.com/the-pros-and-cons-of-ebooks.html

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