Does Rosetta Stone Declare the Death of the Teacher?
Technology ushers in fundamental structural changes that can be essential to achieve significant improvements in all sectors including education. This justifies the great attention that many universities have paid to the incorporation of technology into the classroom in the recent years. The faculty of Science and Arts in Khulais, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and in an attempt to keep up with the technological developments, adopted a computer- mediated software called Rosetta Stone. The latter is claimed to perform the same roles as the teacher and yield effective language learning outcomes from the part of learners. Indeed, this paper addressed such claims by identifying the teachers’ perceptions towards technology in general and Rosetta Stone in particular. It also aimed to explore the teachers’ attitudes towards the potential adjustments they may make to their roles after the introduction of Rosetta Stone into the educational landscape and whether such programs can replace them. Data was gathered via a semi- structured interview and a questionnaire. The results showed that despite their highly favorable opinions towards technology, teachers emphasized the importance of selecting the kind of technology to be employed in the classroom according to its suitability. Findings also mirrored the teachers’ views that Rosetta Stone is no substitute for the teacher. This implies that technology cannot set teachers aside or take them over, by contrast, it adds to their roles. This paper includes more implications of the findings which urge the need for more researches to be carried out so as a better understanding of the classroom environment is achieved which will, in turn, guarantee better learning attainments.
