The Use of Multimedia in English Teaching

What is Multimedia?

     The Definition of Multimedia
          Multimedia: the use of computers to present text, graphics, video, animation, and sound in an integrated way.

     Components of Multimedia
          Text. It is fundamental element in all multimedia applications. It conveys most information (Vanghan, 2004)

          Graphics. It refers to images and pictures, such as chart, diagram, and photograph, which contain no movement. 

          Animation. Animation is the rapid display of sequence of images of 2-D or 3-D artwork or model positions in order to create an illusion of movement.

          Sound. It is speech, music, or any other sound that is stored and produced by computers. It has more advantages than tape recorder.

          Video. It is the visible part of a television transmission and broadcasts visual images of stationary or moving objects.

The Setting of Multimedia Classroom
          An illustration of a typical one-multimedia-PC classroom setting is vital and necessary.
          1. MPC-multimedia personal computer
          2. VCD/DVD player-video compound disk/digital video disk;
          3. Amplifier and Hi-Fi acoustic system
          4. Overhead/slide projector
          5. Screen/curtain
          6. Projecting apparatus
          7. The internet access
          8. Cassette tape recorder
          9. Camera recorder

The Necessity of Multimedia in English Teaching

     The Necessity of Development of Modern Educational Technology
          The development of modern educational technology not only promotes the development of educational methods and means, but also promotes the development of educational thinking and model.

     The Needs of Quality Education
          Multimedia English language teaching can enable students to be involved in a variety of sensory organ in the learning process and stimulate the students in the corresponding cortical function area.

     The Needs of Students’ Cognitive Mental
         Under the present circumstances, only the multimedia teaching system can fully mobilize the students’ audio-visual and other sensory organs, and thus get the best of the cognitive effect.

The Multimedia Teaching

     Advantages

          Arousing the students’ interest. Multi-media teaching can not only greatly stimulate students’ interest in learning, but also make teaching becomes vivid and lively.
Improving students’ self-learning ability. The most important thing is teaching students how to learn and making students change from “want me to study” to “I want to learn” in thinking, from passive learning to active learning.

          Improving students’ innovative ability. In teaching, the teachers should pay attention to tap the imagination of students. To use multimedia can achieve the desired results and find unlimited resources in textbooks.

         Cultivating students’ communication skills. Through multi-media teaching, we can create real-life scenes in the classroom. It is not only to shorten the distance between teaching and practice and give students the opportunity to use English to communicate, but also to satisfy their curiosity in psychology and stimulate the expression of desire.

         Increasing classroom capacity. Multi-media teaching rhythm is adapted to the needs of modernization to meet the student’s desire for knowledge. It can expand text-related materials. The use of multimedia technologies can make students notice a clear knowledge and a new expansion by huge information capacity which shows by all kinds of media.

        Problems: Teaching English with multi-media has many problems.

        Confusion. Some English classes are totally dependent on multi-media, ignoring the role of teachers.

        Performance on behalf of the lead. The teaching process is that teachers arouse students’ enthusiasm and guide students to active learning. Multimedia just only provides a supporting role in the process.

        Lack of special skills. The unskilled operation on computer would affect the instruction flow, which in turn would de-motive students if it happened frequently in class.

        Over-use of multimedia. Because of the teacher’s lack of enthusiasm and creation and his or her dependence on the multimedia technology, the teachers act as sole information-giver to the students.

        Lack of interaction between teachers and students. The teachers in the multimedia classroom are busy with machine operation—computer, DVD player, overhead projector, courseware—which might even get the proficient teachers busy, let alone those unskilled.


Strategies for Using Multimedia

     Combining Modern Teaching Methods with Traditional Teaching Methods
          Teachers should combine their Traditional Teaching Methods with modern teaching methods, which not only raise classroom teaching quality and efficiency, but also improve teaching and learning environment between teachers and students.

     Viewing Multimedia as the Assistance to Teaching
          When we use computers in the teaching, we should understand they can only assist but cannot take place of all the other teaching methods.

     Building the Ideal Relationship between Teachers and Students
          It is wrong for some people to hold the view that machine can take place of human beings. It is more challenging role for teachers now that the expectations are more complex.

     Strengthening Teacher Training
          Teachers should be expert in one thing and good at many. They should know well about modern educational theories and techniques.
     

      The Principles of Multimedia-Assisted Teaching
          1. Scientific principles. Namely, courseware design cannot appear any errors;
          2. Subsidiary principle. We must always adhere to: Although multi-media teaching has many advantages, it is only a supplementary means, and does not substitute for the role of people;
          3. Interactivity principle. More interactivity between teachers and students, students and multimedia, more effective results we will have;
          4. Combination principle. Combine the advantages of modern teaching and the traditional teaching organically.