周鑫
摘要：多媒体教学已成为英语教学的一种趋势。多媒体教学相对于传统的英语教学有很多优越性，但是如果运用不当，也会对教师和学生产生负面影响。因此，关键是要处理好多媒体教学和传统英语教学的关系。
关键词：英语教学；多媒体技术；传统教学
作者简介：周鑫，任教于四川省内江市隆昌一中。
I.Introduction
Traditionalteachingmethodsfocusonteachers’instruction,thereforealotofteachersunconsciouslyorevenconsciouslydominatethewholeclass.Thiskindoflessonnotonlysubmergesthescientificandentertainingnatureoftextbooksbutalsoobliteratestheenthusiasmandinitiativeofstudents.Meanwhile,studentshavebeentrappedinastateof“malnutrition”foralongtimebecauseoftheirlackinvocabularyandaudioorvisualmaterials.
Multimedia-aidedteachinghasbroughthopetothefactabove.Multimediaisexactlyacombinationofgraphics,imageprocessing,visualarts,music,pedagogy,psychology,artificialintelligence,informaticsandelectronictechnologywhichcanfullymobilizestudents’visualandauditoryprocessingfunctionsandstimulatestudents’interestsoastoimprovememorialefficiency.MultimediatechnologyappliedinEnglishteachingwillprovidealivelysceneandaconcreteimageforlearnerswithlistening,speaking,reading,andwritingarrangedsimultaneouslyasaresulttofulfillthegoalofoptimizingthetrainingprocessofthefourskills.Withresourceshared,efficiencyofEnglishteachingisensuredandhighlyqualified.SothereisnodenyingthatmultimediatechnologyhasoccupiedanimportantpositioninEnglishteaching.
Nevertheless,multimedia-aidedteachingisnotanomnipotentGoldenStick.Actually,itbearsalotofunfavorabledeficienciessuchas:lackofemotionalexchangebetweenteachersandstudents,toomuchinformationonthescreen,weakeningoftheleadingroleofteachersasprojectionistsaswellasneglectofstudents,andsoon.
Accordingtomystudy,theproblemsexistinginapplicationofMMTinEnglishteaching,inthefinalanalysis,arearousedbymistreatmentoftworelationships,namely,teacher-mediarelationshipandteacher-studentrelationship.Throughthisessay,howtodealwiththesetworelationshipswellwillbestatedparticularly,whichwilldogreatfavortoourEnglishteaching.
Atthebeginningofthisessay,theimportanceofMMTinEnglishteachingandsignificanceofthestudyareconsequentlystated.Lateron,itgoestoliteraturereviewpartwhichconcludesthedefinitionandrolesofmultimediaintheaspectofEnglishteachingandconstructivelearningtheory.Withmysurveyonmultimedia-aidedEnglishteaching,theadvantagesandnegativeeffectsreflectedbytheteachersandstudentsandthesolutionswillbegiveninthefollowingparagraphs.Theconclusionofmystudyisarrangedintheend.
II.LiteratureReview
1.Definitionandrolesofmulti-mediaintheaspectofEnglishteaching
“Multimediaisdefinedaspresentinginformationthroughmultipleprocessesincludingbutnotlimitedtotext,audio,graphics,animation,andvideo.”(WendyBucleyandAlexandraSmith,2008)IntheaspectofEnglishteaching,multimediaincludescomputers,videos,recorders,projectors,VCDteachingsoftwareandothermediaasawholeadoptedbyteachersinaccordancewiththerequirementsofdifferentclassestoflexiblycarryoutrelevantteaching.
Someteachershaveawrongperspectiveinmind,regardingmultimediaascomputers.Inthewholeclassnomatterwhetheritdealswithsubject,questions,text,words,andsentencesornot,allarecompletedbyacomputertotallywithchalkandblackboardleftout.InEnglishteaching,thoughithassomespecialadvantages,multimediaisonlyakindofmediainteachingprocesstoaidandoptimizeteachingwithnopossibilitytobeall-powerful.
2.ConstructivisminEnglishteachingandlearning
Constructivismisaphilosophyoflearningfoundedonthepremisethat,byreflectingonourexperiences,weconstructourownunderstandingoftheworldwelivein.Eachofusgeneratesourown“rules”and“mentalmodels,”whichweusetomakesenseofourexperiences.Learning,therefore,issimplytheprocessofadjustingourmentalmodelstoaccommodatenewexperiences.
Constructivism,afurtherdevelopmentofbehaviorismandcognitivetheory,providesgreattheoreticalsupportsforapplicationofMMTinEnglishteaching.Constructivismisaviewoflearningbasedonthebeliefthatknowledgeisnotathingthatcanbesimplygivenbytheteacheratthefrontoftheclassroomtostudentsintheirdesks.Rather,knowledgeisconstructedbylearnersthroughanactive,mentalprocessofdevelopment;learnersarethebuildersandcreatorsofmeaningandknowledge.(TwomeyFosnot,1989)Inconstructivistteachingandlearning,thestudentsareinteractiveandstudent-centered;andtheteacherfacilitatesaprocessoflearninginwhichstudentsareallowedtohypothesize,predict,manipulateobjects,posequestions,research,investigate,imagine,andinvent.Inrecentdecades,constructivisttheoristshaveextendedthetraditionalfocusoninpiduallearningtoaddresscollaborativeandsocialdimensionsoflearning,whichdemandsawarenessofcooperativelearningofstudents.
III.Findings
1.AdvantagesofMMTinEnglishTeaching
ListeninginEnglishteachinghasalwaysbeenimportantanddifficult.Thetraditional“trilogy”ofEnglishteaching,namely,listening-correcting-listening,whichhasbeenbehindthepaceofmodernteachingtomobilizeenthusiasmofstudentsonlytoachievearigidresponse.ListeningcanbeoptimizedbyMMT.First,pre-listeningactivitiescanbeoptimizedbymultimedia.Forexample,explanationofkeywordsanddisplayofbackgroundinformationcanbecompletedbymultimedia.Multimedia-assistedteachingmakesclassroomactivitiesmoreinterestingbecauseteacherscanarrangegames,discussions,performancesetc.toarousestudents’interestinlisteningmaterials.Second,multimedia-assistedteachingcanoptimizethecontentofwhile-listening.Teacherscaninputmoresimilarlisteningmaterials,ontheonehand,toexpandtheamountofinformation,ontheotherhand,tocreatemoreopportunitiestostimulatetheirinterestinusingEnglish.
Englishteachinginourcountryalreadyhasahistoryofyears,butOralEnglishteachinghasalwaysbeenaproblem.Thereasonsaremainlythefollowingfourpoints:First,thecontentisbroadandfragmentedwithtopicsvaryinginlargedegreeofdifficulty.Second,students’oralfoundationissoweak.Third,studentsarelackinginknowledgeofEnglishcommunication.Fourth,thereisnoguaranteethateachstudenthasenoughtimetospeak.ExperimentalpsychologistTreicherhadawellknownexperimentshowingthatpeoplecanremember70%ofwhattheysaid.(CorderPit,1986)Thatistosay,knowledgeacquisitionwillbemuchbetterthanthatoftraditionalteachingiflearnerscandiscussorcommunicateintheirownwordsaftertheygetsomeknowledge.TheemergenceofMMTprovidesaneffectivemeanstosolveproblemsofspokenEnglishteaching.Optimizedcombinationofmultimediateachingcanstimulateallsensesrepeatedly,sothatthelefthemisphereofbrainwhichcontrolsabstractslinguisticanalysisandtherighthemispherewhichcontrolsimagethinkingworktogether.
ThestatusquoofreadinginEnglishteachinginourcountryisnotsatisfactory.Thetraditionalmodelofreadingisthatateachergoestotheclassroomandthenstudentsreadanarticle;theteacheranalyzesthetextstructure,paragraphs,keywords,phrasesandgrammarafterabriefintroductionofbackgroundknowledge.Aidsarelimitedtoapieceofchalkandablackboard.Themajorityofstudentsinreadingclassactasaudiences,forminga“teacherinplaceofstudents”phenomenon.Multimedia-aidedteachingofreadingisbasedonSchemaTheory.Duringtheprocessofbackgroundknowledgeleadingin,withthehelpofmultimedia,teacherscanplayavideo,moviesorasonginEnglishasameansofbackgroundimportsothatstudentscanobtainvariousformsofculturalimportwiththeirschemasimulated.Thedevelopmentofnetworktechnologyprovidesstudentswithgreatresourceswhichfullyreflectthemainideaofextensivenessinreading.Undertheteacher’sguidance,students,accordingtotheirownpreferences,readfreelyandgraduallyformaculturalawarenessofEnglish,therebytolearnEnglishandforeignculturewell,whichalsoembodiestheideaofstudents-centered.
Intraditionalteaching,mostteachersgivematerialsforstudentstowriteabout.Alongtimelater,moststudentswillfeelwritingboringandevencan’twriteanything.Bycontrast,ifteacherschangematerialsintoavividscenewiththehelpofMMT,accordingtowhichstudentscanwriteaboutwhattheyhaveseenorthoughtoreveninputtheirwrithingtocomputersothatstudentscanmakeacomparisonwithotherwriting.Throughsuchactivities,studentsareabletolearnformgoodcompositions,atthesametime,toenlargetheirvocabularyandknowledgeofgrammar.Finally,writingskillsgetimproved.
Ingeneral,withthehelpofMMTthemulti-levelnatureandnoveltyofteachingcontentarefullyguaranteed.Intheprocessesoftrainingstudents’fourbasicskills,teachingmethodsarepersified.Asaresult,someshortcomingsoftraditionalEnglishteachingareovercome,suchas,toopenallsenses,deepentheimpressionandstrengthenmemory,improvetheirinterestinlearning,promotestudents’inpiduallearning.
2.NegativeeffectsofMMTinEnglishteaching
BesidesthebenefitsfromapplicationofMMT,accordingtomysurvey,Ifindseveralotherproblemswhichattractourattention.
First,non-standardizedcoursewaredesignandcontentarecommon.Assometeacherspointout,thelayoutofcoursewareishighlyarbitrary;thearrangementoftitleisambiguous;thedesignofillustrationsisnotnormative;noliteratureornon-standardizedliteratureisattached.
Second,studentsareeasilydistracted.Becausethereexistalotofpictures,soundandcartoonwhichcauseoverstimulationandpartialuseofsenses,alongwiththechangeofteachingenvironmentandplaces,studentscaneasilybedistractedfromteachingcontentbuttolosetheirconcentration.
Third,note-takingisanotherproblem.Theuseofmultimediacoursewaredisengagesteachersfromtraditionalteachingmodelinwhichteacherswriteontheblackboardastheyexplain.Besides,thelanguagepointsofthetextswitchfasterthanbeforesothatthestudentcan’tkeeppacewiththeteacher.Somestudentsarebusytakingnoteswhilethewholeeffectisunfavorable.
Fourth,thefunctionsofmultimediaareweakened:(1)Themultifunctionalmultimediaisonlyusedasaprojector.(2).Forteachingactivitiesarenotdesignedintheperspectiveofteachingandlearning,multimediaisappliedinasimpleway.First,intheaspectofteachingprocess,anewlessonshouldincludereviewing,introduction,practice,exerciseandconsolidationthroughwhichstudentsunderstand,memorize,imitateandcreatesoastomasterthelanguage.However,someteachersonlyusemultimediainoneortwoprocesses,thusthereisnosuchacircularmodelfromintroductiontofeedback.Second,intheaspectofteachingcontent,Englishteachingisinseparablefrompronunciation,grammar,vocabularyandtext.Infact,lotsofEnglishteachersonlypayattentiontothedesignofvocabularyandtext.Someteachersareevenlimitedtoanalyzethecontentofatextonlywiththepurposetovisualizeitwhichviolatestheprinciplethatpronunciation,grammar,vocabularyandtextareequallyimportant.Third,intheaspectoftypesofteaching,thecommonlyusedtypesofEnglishclassesareforlecturing-exercise,consolidating,reviewing,readingandgrammar.Nowmultimediaonlygetsinvolvedinthetypeoflecturing-exerciseclass.
Tosumup,thissurveyhasfullyshownusthestatusofapplicationofMMTinEnglishinwhichadvantagesandnegativeeffectsopenout.TheapplicationofMMTinEnglishteachingisinevitableandaccordswiththeneedofeducationaldevelopment.WhatweteachersandeducatorsshoulddoistoimproveourprofessionalqualityandtocultivateourselveswithmoderneducationaltheoriessothatwecanmakefullandproperuseofMMTtoaidEnglishteaching.
V.Conclusion
Inthisessay,afteracertainstudyofapplicationofMMTinEnglishteaching,Ifindoutitsadvantagesaswellasdisadvantages.ThegooduseofthemultimediateachingmethodisanimportantwaytooptimizetheEnglishteachingresults.Whilehandlingclasses,wecanusetheteachingmethodofthemultimediaactivelytoimprovetheteachingqualityofEnglish.Butitcan’tbeabused.Wemustchooseandusetheaudio-visualeducationprogrammediarationallyaccordingtothecontentsofthetext,sothatwecanachievethegoalofoptimizingEnglishteaching.Therefore,thisessayadvocatestorealizetheimportanceandneedofapplicationofMMTinEnglishteaching,atthesametime,tohandletheteacher-media-studentrelationshipwellinmodernEnglishteachingandadheretotheleadingroleoftraditionalteachingmodel.Ofcourse,italsoattachesgreatimportancetosearchforsolutionstotheproblemscausedbytheuseofMMTsoastogivesomesuggestionstomodernEnglishteachingaswellastoguideourfutureEnglishteaching.
AccordingtothebasicprinciplesofEnglishteaching,amultimedia-aidedEnglishclassshould,inthelightofthesyllabus,followthestepsasfollows:(1)Tomakeclearthetitleandpurposeofthelesson.(2)Tostimulateconversation.(3)Tointroducethecontent.(4)Toexplainanddiscuss.(5)Topracticeandcorrect.(6)Tosummarizeandassigntasks.(7)Toevaluate.Insuchaprocess,mostproblemsinamultimediaclasscanbeavoided.
AlthoughthereexistlotsofnegativeeffectsintheapplicationofMMTinEnglishteaching,multimediahasbecomethetrendintheEnglishteachingbecauseofitsincomparablesuperioritytotraditionalEnglishteaching.SointheessayIarguethatapositiveattitudeshouldbeperseveredtowardsMMTinEnglishteaching,whichisalsothepointthatProfessorHe,whothinkshighlyofthefunctionsofMMT,statesinagenerallevel.
Obviously,thereexistlimitationsinthisstudy.Firstly,thestudyonlyfocusesonapplicationofMMTinEnglishteachinginacity.Thatistosay,itdoesnotincludeapplicationofMMTinothersubjectsorapplicationofMMTinEnglishteachinginacountyorevenruralareas.Furthermore,itonlypointsouttheuseofMMTinlistening,speaking,readingandwritinginageneralway.
Asthedevelopmentofscienceandtechnologygoeson,thedisparitybetweenruraleducationandthatinabigcitywillbemoreserious.Therefore,educatorsandteachersshouldpaymoreattentiontoapplicationofMMTinEnglishteachingandinothersubjects,especiallyinruralareas.Meanwhile,particularstudyofapplicationofMMTinthefourbasicskillsshouldbecarriedoutseparatelytoimprovetheeffectofthewholeEnglishteaching.
Bibliography：
[1]CorderPit.OnLanguageTeachingandAppliedLinguistics[J].ELTJournal,Vol.40,No.3.1986.
[2]Delk,L.&Weidekamp,L.2001,Sharedreadingproject:Evaluatingimplementationprocessesandfamilyoutcomes[M].Washington,DC:GallaudetUniversityRetrievedSunday,fromtheERICdatabase.Feb.11,2007.
[3]Harmer&Jeremy.ThePracticeofEnglishlanguageTeaching[M].London&NewYork:Longman,1983.
[4]TwomeyFosnot,C.Enquiringteachers,enquiringlearners:Aconstructivistapproachforteaching[M].NewYork:TeachersCollegePress,1989.
[5]WendyBuckley&AlexandraSmith.ApplicationofMultimediaTechnologiestoEnhanceDistantLearning,Multimedia:Makingitwork(6thed.)[M].Berkeley,CA:HeldrefPublications,2008.