An Evaluation of the Usefulness of the Internet in the EFL Reading Comprehension Classroom

The Internet is all about sharing ideas with others. It offers a myriad of authentic materials and ample opportunities to communicate in the foreign language. It fits into current theories of communicative language "learning and learner autonomy. This paper attempts to address the major issues teachers and universities will encounter when integrating the Internet into foreign language curriculum, and it is mostly concerned with the effect of Internet on teaching reading comprehension. Therefore, the main purpose of this study is to find justifiable responses to the following questions. I. Will the student improve their attitude toward reading comprehension in English as a foreign language (EFL) after being taught via the Internet? 2. Will the teaching of reading comprehension via Internet yield significantly better results than traditional, non-Internet techniques? 3. Will an evaluation of the usefulness of the Internet in EFL reading classes help EFL teachers and students in the future? This paper can be good starting point for EFL instructors and universities alike, and as such it explores a number of major issues and provides both theoretical background information and practical suggestions.