Successful teaching and, therefore, successful learning is possible only in an environment in which students want to learn.  If there is no real desire to learn on the part of the students or if the students are not motivated, even the best teacher will not succeed.  Teaching cannot be a unidirectional process in which the students passively absorb and reiterate what is presented in class.  It must be a process characterized by interaction, a process that instills a sense of autonomy and self-assurance in the students, in order for them to make insightful contributions. 
Consequently, the first goal of a teacher must be to make sure that the classroom environment is stimulating, active, and one which instills, not only the desire, but also the responsibility to learn.  In some cases, grades are enough motivation, but, for the greater majority of students, it takes much more.  This is especially true of language teaching.  Language teachers are put in the position, at least at the first levels of language acquisition, of having to teach essentially basic elements to adults.  This can be an impossible task if not handled correctly.  One needs to teach simple material in a way that is intellectually satisfying for adults. 
In the classroom, the teacher should always communicate in the foreign language.  If he or she must express subjects or matters that are too complicated for the language level of the students, the teacher must avoid them until the students are ready and able to grasp these concepts in the foreign language.  The students have plenty of time to use their own capabilities to study and learn from the texts that, at least during the first chapters, will contain explanations in their native language.  The classroom time must be an oasis where only the target language exists.  Initial confusion and the inability to understand can be useful tools that create a classroom atmosphere in which the students must be attentive to almost every word that the teacher and fellow students use.  This builds within them a responsibility and an intense eagerness to understand at the same level as their peers.  It is an exhausting but important and rewarding process. 
The use of technology as an ancillary tool inside and outside the classroom is another way of inspiring the students.  This is especially true for the present-day students, who have spent a great deal of their lives in front of televisions and computers.  The students, who are by now so familiarized with computers and the Internet, feel very comfortable with PowerPoint presentations of the target structure being discussed in class. 
Course management systems, such as ANGEL, also offer several advantages.  First, they provide students with the opportunity to learn at their own pace in an environment of their preference.  Second, they supply the students with immediate feedback for the exercises they complete, as well as various attempts to improve their performance.  Third, since the students must prepare for class ahead of time with the ANGEL program, the in-class experience can avoid dense presentations of the target structure and focus on a brief review and spontaneous communication.  This system shows the students that it is not just a matter of learning the grammar; the point is that they learn the grammar in order to be able to express themselves and exchange meaningful ideas with others in their second language. 
The use of the Internet also provides the students with some of the cultural exposure that should accompany the acquisition of a new language.  It serves as a way to bring the foreign country to the students.  Through different websites, the students can listen to songs, read newspapers and magazines, watch TV shows and movies, and chat, all in their second language.  Finally, technology uses an environment familiar to the students in order to teach them subjects with which they are not familiar.  Computer-assisted learning as a complement to active and stimulating classroom teaching will unquestionably capture the students’ sensibilities and interests. 
Despite all the advantages and benefits which technology provides to the students in their learning process, it must be remembered that language is a particularly human activity, one whose most important purpose is communication with others.  Technology can extend and enrich the learning process, but the human element must be at the core of any successful language acquisition.  Without it, language has no purpose and teaching has no soul.