Personal Learning Environments (PLE) vs. Learning Management Systems (LMS) in

EFL Teaching

With the increase and spread of information and communications technology, a great interest has developed in how computers and internet tools can improve educational processes and foster the use of technology in language classrooms. Moreover, recent developments in learning technologies have created a significant shift in the educational experience, and the massive use of technologies have become an essential and integral part of students’ daily formal and informal interactions and communications. Thus,  in order to meet the challenges of the 21st-century students,  educators should rethink their style, and integrate technologies in an EFL/ESL classroom. The Integration of Personal Learning Environments (PLE) and Learning Management Systems or Virtual Learning Environments (LMS/VLE) into the teaching and learning process will provide both the teachers and learners with multiple ways of teaching and learning context. Namely, it will give them the opportunity to integrate different dimensions in their teaching and learning process.

LMSs are one of the essential components of e-learning, upon which all e-courses are built. LMSs provide a means to communicate the intended learning experience and facilitate tutors' and learners' involvement in the experience. Namely, LMSs can be used to teach a complete online course or as a supporting feature for face-to-face courses. The main goal is to motivate, to ease and provide learning experiences that go beyond the classroom. While PLEs are controlled by individuals and at the same time, are independent of the educational institution.  Moreover, they do not comply with any standards and do not require the existence of a centrally controlled data storage space but take advantage of the knowledge which is distributed among various sources and communities.

Thus, both the MLEs and PLEs can be seen, as complementary means in the EFL/ESL classroom. Namely, PLEs and MLEs can be combined in such a way to enhance or emphasise the qualities of each other, and the decision of giving preference one over the other depends only on the goals and the objectives that teacher aims to achieve.  For instance, MLEs can be considered as an appropriate tool, for uploading homework, getting feedback and sharing opinions in forum discussions. Thus, the integration of MLEs in the EFL/ESL classroom can be seen as a way for teachers to manage the teaching and learning process of the students.

On the other hand, PLEs can be seen as a useful tool for engaging the 21st-century learners in a life-long learning process, by providing them with the opportunity to direct their learning process and depend mostly on decentralised learning. Moreover, the integration of PLEs in EFL/ESL classroom will give the students the opportunity to take advantage of the knowledge which is distributed among various sources and communities and choose the ones that they think correspond with their learning preferences.

Hence,  it is essential for the teachers to bridge somehow the knowledge between provided education: MLEs and the education that students create for themselves: PLEs. Furthermore,  teachers need to understand that education is not only something that they provide to students, but also education can be something that students create for themselves.