The Application of Multimedia in English Teaching1

多媒体在英语教学中的应用The Application of Multimedia in English TeachingContentsAbstract.1Key words.1IIntroduction .1IIThe Development of Multimedia .3IIIThe Features of English Teaching.4IVThe Features of Multimedia Teaching.54.1 Advantages of Application of Multimedia in English Teaching.64.1.1 Comparisons with Traditional Presentation Aids64.1.2 Advantages.84.2 Disadvantages.10VThe Prospect of Application of Multimedia in English Teaching125.1 A Combination of Multimedia Technology and Internet .125.2 A Combination of Multimedia and Virtual Reality Technology.13VIConclusion.14References.14The Application of Multimedia in English Teaching摘 要：多媒体，这一广泛流传于计算机领域的术语，为教育尤其是为英语教学提供一个现代化的教学手段，对传统的教学观念产生了巨大的冲击，为英语教学改革做出贡献。多媒体技术手段的应用是现代教育的一个重要发展方向，也是当今外语教学的发展趋势。应用多媒体技术为英语教学服务，全面提高学生的英语语言能力,是值得探讨和研究的问题。本文概述了多媒体的发展，多媒体技术在英语教学中的应用进行分析，指出它在实际教学中的优势与不足，并对其发展趋势进行了探讨。关键词：多媒体；计算机；英语教学；应用; 多媒体技术Abstract: Multimedia, a term widely used in the field of computer, provides a new method for education, especially for English teaching. It has great impact on the notion of traditional teaching and apparently contributes to English teaching reform. The application of multimedia technique is an important and inevitable development trend in the present educational development as well as in modern foreign language teaching. Improving the students abilities in English learning is to deserve the study and research. In the light of the different effects produced by the application of multimedia in English teaching, the paper has stated the development of multimedia, pointed out the advantages and disadvantages of multimedia in English teaching, and improving the students abilities in English learning is to deserve the study and research.Key words: multimedia; computer; English teaching; application; multimedia techniqueIIntroductionTechnology of multimedia especially the application in English teaching is a new subject to all people. With the development of information technique and the reform of English teaching, people have paid more and more attention to the application of multimedia in English teaching. Recent years, English educators query the traditional English teaching continuously and put forward that the reform of English teaching is of great urgency, while the application of multimedia provides new and advanced teaching means. In order to reclaim the ideas of English reform, we must know something about the multimedia first. Multimedia is a complicated technology but widespread in the society. Initially, the English teaching methods are text-oriented and teacher-centered, the teacher teach knowledge by one mouth, a blackboard, pieces of chalks. The production of tape-recorder made a great progress in English teaching. It can not only help students listen to native language, but also let students imitate and make dialogue with each other, at the same time, it can improve the efficiency and arouse students interests in English learning. Then TV and video was produced and applied in teaching. It not only possesses the function of tape-recorder but also can show the words and pictures. Students can practice listening just like staying in the vivid situation. But the tape-recorder, TV, video and so on are unidirectional media, which own the simple function, students only receive knowledge passively in that way. For example, to train students for practicing listening, to do exercises, to watch video to appreciate cultural backgrounds, but the tape-recorder cant examine how much students understand. This kind of multimedium just offers information but cant receive information, so the interaction between teacher and students cant be formed. The application of multimedia supplements the blank of this area.Last ten years, with the great improvement of technology, it brings a series of reform to society. New century brings new challenge to middle school English teaching, many important schools install multimedia language lab, renovate the precious visual system, improve the condition of teaching and promote the process of English teaching. In the past, we use the traditional equipments such as tape-recorder, projector, video, but to a certain degree they arent modern media. Now more and more schools apply multimedia in teaching.Whats the multimedia? “Multimedia is any combination of text, graphic art, sound, animation and video that is delivered by computer. When you allow the user the viewer of the project to control that and when these elements are delivered, it is interactive multimedia. When you provide a structure of linked elements through which the user can navigate, interactive multimedia becomes hypermedia” (Vaughan 1993).One must be careful of any definition of multimedia as there are many, often conflicting ideas as to what it should entail for the author and the user (note I do not use the word “reader” here). The definition above is one of the most straightforward found in the copious literature today. Still, one must have a tolerance for ambiguity when talking about multimedia. As Georgia McCabe, a director at Eastman Kodak says, “Talking about multimedia is a lot like talking about love. Everybody agrees that its a good thing, everybody wants it, wants to participate in it, but everybody has a different idea about what “it” really is.” Modern multimedia technology is analyzed and applied in teaching, the main purpose is based it on traditional education and improve the situation, we must promote the advanced technique in English teaching. The key is to let students learn more than ever before, gaining efficiently learning strategies. The key to learn English well is to practice. Listening, speaking, reading and writing are basic skills of learning English; they are also important parts constructing the communications capability. Among them listening and reading are skills of understanding, which called input; Speaking and writing are skills of expressing, which called output. The latter is the supplement of the former and promotes each other in language learning and communication. Multimedia bring us a great chance, it will be the effective route in improving the English level. The application of multimedia in English teaching is meaningful for students.IIThe Development of MultimediaUnderstanding the definition of multimedia contribute to applying it in English teaching. Different people have different opinions on it. Multimedia can be understood that combine the words with all kinds of modern media. This combination supplement the function of unidirectional teaching medium, but the information of medium cannot be handled for the whole. Multimedia, a term widely used in the fields of IT, provides a new method of education especially in English teaching. It has great impact on the notion of traditional teaching. Apparently it also contributes to English teaching reform. The journal of College of MechEngHuHai University points out. But LiJianhua (2005) believe that it contains two or more media of disseminating. The technology of multimedia is composed of hypertext, image, flash, and sound medium to process and control. Each factor of multimedia is combined organically to finish a series of interaction operation. Different people have their own opinions, but they also have something in common. In the society, the information is transmitted in different ways. Since 1980s, the multimedia computer have been applied, the meaning of multimedia change a lot. The background of change can be presented as follows: first of all, people have requirement that the multimedia should be dealt with integrally as well as the capacity of interaction. Second, each media can pick up, store, and transform information digitally. Third, with the development of storage skills and marketlization, large capacity of digital information of multimedia has a carrier which can be separated and applied. Just because of these reasons, multimedia become a synthetically skill in reality. At present, multimedia refers to the process and applies besides the multimedia information itself.Technology and foreign language education is no stranger to one another. In the sixties and seventies, language laboratories were being installed in numerous educational settings. The traditional language laboratory was comprised of a series of booths, each providing a cassette deck, and accompanying microphone and headphone. Teachers monitored their students interactions by using a central control panel. The basic premise behind this technology was that if verbal behavior was modeled, and then reinforced, students would quickly learn the language during asking question. The language lab activities were therefore grounded in a stimulus-response behavior pattern. The more drill practice the students practiced, the faster they would learn the second language. While the language laboratory was a positive step in linking technology to language education. Furthermore, the amount of student-teacher interaction was minimal, and individualized instruction was irrelevant. Besides the pedagogical deficiencies, the audio equipment was cumbersome and prone to breakdown, and had only one function to disseminate auditory input. The application of multimedia in English teaching can avoid these aspects and will widely applied in modern times. IIIThe Features of English TeachingUnited the character of English teaching, multimedia will play an important role in English teaching. We can find some views of points in foreign language teaching and research. The practices of English teaching accumulate abundant English teaching methods. Generally speaking, it contains five stages: comparison-directive, translation, structure, function. Three major factors fulfill the stages: teacher, students, and resources. We should deal with the relation among them very well. As is known to all, language is not phenomenon of intelligence. It is a behavior of humanbeing. It is formed during the process. Concerning the second language acquisition, people have tried a lot. Computer can provide the experience of studying from all the sides and it can make young people achieve the ideal level in months rather than years by traditional way, just as Estlon said. Language is a tool of communicating. Also is a carrier of thoughts and information. Learning a language means master new signs. It is a special process of recognizing. This special character of language teaching distinguished from other teaching methods. The aim of English teaching is to cultivate the ability of students to know, apply and master English.Language learning is a process, which is both easy and hard. “Easy” means everybody can speak at least one language or dialect. It will never make mistakes. “Hard” means that the speed of making progress too slow, most of people cant reach the final goal (ShuDingfang 2004). The key to learning language is to offer students a good language environment. The teacher should set up an English learning “pool” and students can acquire the knowledge of language by imitating it frequently and using it in many ways. With the implementation of curriculum reform into its second phase, English classroom teaching and learning activity not only limited to imparting the knowledge and study itself, but also focus on students growth, that is, the development of their ability of learning and practicing. Students and teachers rather than teacher accomplish the teaching tasks.Stern (1982) believes that acquiring a second language involves three basic tasks: acquisition of knowledge, negotiation of language and language production. Use of the Internet can facilitate each of these processes. According to Quesada (2000:5), there are varieties of English exercises online, which difficulty varies according to different learning levels, and these exercises can be evaluated instantly. Quesada adds that “the graphics, sound, animation, and other forms of information found on the Internet provide support for student understanding of the information, and meaningful production both oral and written”. Herrell (2000:134) notes that students receive helpful assistance from computer multimedia in the production of “oral presentations.” In this sense, the design of the internet-enhanced course can “increase qualitative variation in classroom language use and thereby expand learners access to second language discourse.”IVThe Features of Multimedia TeachingThe first feature of multimedia teaching system lies in that it has to be incorporated into its own the synchronic teaching vs. diachronic teaching in different time “zone”. The priority of such multimedia approach is that the learner can arrange and control their own time and energy and the whole teaching schedule in close accordance with their own actual situations and interests.The second feature involves the students own duty to create an individual study environment for their own different particular needs, which can be achieved both at home and in school. Whether a learner likes to choose teaching software or to pick up some audio-visual exercises just depends on his or her own interest and actual starting point. In such a case, a teachers duty is just to offer some advice or guidance so that the learner may use suitable kinds of software or tell him or her to follow any necessary instructions on how to use any software program available.The third feature of multimedia teaching is that it is favorable for the learners to explore their own potentiality. With the multimedia system as means for teaching and learning, students can be, and in many ways, actually are, taken as the center of the whole teaching practice while the teacher is only the instructor or organizer. Multimedia aided computer teaching programs have already greatly changed the traditional “duck-feeding” teaching method in hope for the learners to control the whole teaching process so as to cultivate the students self-exploring spirit. Everything to teach is “prefabricated” as the main points in the software menu. What the students need to do is to enter into specific program to learn the detailed materials to be presented on the screen.The fourth feature is that multimedia teaching helps to increase the students interest in the learning program by images, animations and sound effects. The combination of audio and visual effects can help to make the whole language knowledge and skill transfer and impartation more dynamic, immediate and more easily accessible. As Jack Longergan points, “when we use teaching material to promote communicative activities, they rest upon the idea of an network with “sound effect” and “learner-computer interface facilities” can stimulate the interest of the students and strengthen their sense of urgency.The fifth feature is that it is the computer software that can timely feedback and improve the learners study efficiency. A multimedia computer assisted teaching system can provide the students with its own feedback in sound and pictures form to react to the learner if their assignments in the computer. In addition, the system can help the students correct their own errors instantly as they need.4.1 Advantages of Application of Multimedia in English Teaching 4.1.1 A comparison with Traditional Presentation Aids We also compare the traditional way with the modern multimedia way. The traditional mode was instructed by traditional concept “give-accept” mode. The main purpose is to teach knowledge, develop intelligence. The character of this mode is teacher-centered. But we also can find the feature of modern presentation. In the first place, there is a very important motivational factor when using presentation software. Teachers can choose the background and foreground colors, texture, design, layout, font and graphics for each slide. The lengthy involvement in the integration of content and form adds value to the experiential language learning process. These observations are consistent with the results reported by Phinney (1996) on a study that she and Khouri conducted in 1992. In this study, students were given a choice of doing an electronic final paper or a traditional paper. The results showed that students who did the electronic paper enjoyed it very much, spent more time on the project than the others, and seemed to be more involved in their product. Secondly, when teachers have to write something that their students not only hear, but also see, they are much more committed to the quality of their work both content and form. The spoken word is ephemeral; the written word remains. As a result, students revise their presentations, and it seems this revision and recycling process enhances language learning. Thirdly, there is a clear difference between the preparation of presentation and the production of computer slides. The computer presentation, in which students may include graphics, sound, and even video in addition to textual material, is something tangible, a true production of their own. In the transition from the traditional classroom to the modernized classroom, the changes in the teaching means completely remodel the modes of instructing, and lead to a pedagogical revolution. The new teaching mode develops the teaching theories, and proposes to combine Constructivism with technology, making alterations of traditional roles of the instructor, students, teaching materials and media in the class. In the construction of the multimedia classroom, we mainly focus on two things: the instruction design of the multimedia and the application of the new mode in practice. Under the guidance of teaching theories, we aim at the following four objectives in the teaching process-setting up the central role of students, using the electronic courseware to increase the input in the classroom, offering students a chance of self-teaching out of the class, and the interpersonal emotion exchange between the instructor and students, thus optimizing the teaching effect. We go through the four stages of the instructional design-analysis stage, develop stage, design stage and evaluate stage to completely reform the mode of teaching and found stereoscopic multimedia-based classroom. In the instructional design of the curriculum, we attach importance to teach such as the design of electronic courseware, the development in the multimedia pedagogy, the combination of traditional teaching means and modern teaching means, the interaction between teacher and students, etc. On the sound base of multimedia, streaming media, flash, dream weaver, firework, frontpage, ASP and other techniques to set up a virtual classroom in which students can find an individuated self teaching environment, realizing the aim of teaching-instructing the students in accordance of their aptitude.4.1.2Advantages The multimedia has entered many language classrooms along with the rapid development of modern technology. In recent years, with the development of media and computer technology, educators have begun to make use of multimedia and technology to improve their teaching including language learning. This is particularly true in such Englishspeaking countries as Australia, USA. The results of vast majority of the published research on effectiveness of multimedia and technology in language instruction are encouraging. According to Jonaseen and Reeves (1996), there are two major approaches to using media and technology in schools: students learn from media and technology, and they learn with media and technology. Learn from media a