An Analysis of Advantages and Disadvantages of Teaching English by Multimedia.doc

an analysis of advantages and disadvantages of teaching english by multimedia摘 要：电脑诞生之日起就与英语有着密不可分的联系。使用这一现代化的智能手段，对于二十一世纪的中国教育有着很重要的意义。将多媒体引入课堂，是英语教学发展的必然趋势。在本论文中，将对多媒体英语教学的优势与不足进行探讨。并为希望能够优化课堂教学的教师们带来一定的启发。关键词：多媒体 英语教学 优势 不足abstract: since the day when the computer was produced, it has gotten the inseparable contact with english. it is important to use this modernistic intelligence tool in chinese education of 21st century. leading the multimedia into english teaching is the inexorable trend of development of english teaching. in this paper, we focus on the advantages and the disadvantages of multimedia english teaching. it can also provide some assistance to teachers attempting to optimally combine their own goals, their students needs, and the power of the technologyenhanced classroom.key words: multimedia english teaching advantage disadvantage an analysis of advantages and disadvantages of teaching english by multimedia1. introduction“computer and english” are known as the two keys to the gate of 21st century. nowadays the development of information technology is so fast. in the last three decades, the pc and multimedia technologies have progressed by leaps and bounds. with this rapid progress, it has now become feasible and affordable to integrate multimedia technology into the teaching and learning process. this infusion of multimedia into teaching and learning process has altered considerably the instructional strategy in our educational institutions and changed the way of teachers teaching and students learning. nowadays multimedia is being used increasingly in school to enhance the quality of teaching and learning. this brand-new teaching method (multimedia teaching) makes the english teaching have vitality. it is also a complementary way to conventional system of delivery.1.1 definition of multimediamultimedia is the latest form of technology, which allows information to be relayed by two or more media in a multi-textural environment using texts, graphics, sound, animation and video, capable of producing an output that appeals to the different senses. the output provides a rich and fascinating learning environment much needed in low-motivating language classes to make learning more attractive and effective. this is because multimedia is able to create and manipulate creatively the otherwise separate multiple media of video, audio, texts, and graphics into a single, unified and computer-controlled entity. multimedia additionally provides a further and more powerful dimension to communication when the control and manipulation of this meaningful information is passed into the hands of the learner. the ability to interact with these communication elements via interactive multimedia allows language learners to explore, discover, ponder, search, question, answer and receive feedback.1.2 the necessity of using multimedia in english teachingthe multimedia technology is high-tech method to administer the teaching. it is necessary to utilize this new method in english teaching. the multimedia teaching improves the teaching environment, promotes the teaching efficiency, expands the content of courses, and stimulates the interests of students. if it is combined with the content of courses, students learning manners, teachers teaching method and the interaction between teacher and students, it will receive an unexpected effect in teachers teaching and students learning.1.3 the development of multimedia -assisted english teachingthe computer-assisted english teaching (in most of the literature it is called computer-assisted language learning-call) and its development is based on the change of the teaching method. as we all know the main carrier of multimedia is computer. the computer-assisted language learning has developed gradually over the past 30 years. the development can be categorized in terms of three somewhat distinct phases that it will refer to as behavioristic call, communication call, and integrative call.1.3.1 behavioristic callthe first periods of call include in the 1950s and implemented in the 1960s and 1970s.it was based on the then dominant behaviorist theories of learning. programs of this period entailed repetitive language drills and can be referred to as “drill and practice”. in the late 1970s and early 1980s behavioristic call was undermined by two important factors. first, behavioristic approaches to language learning had been rejected at both the critical and pedagogical level. second, the introduction of the microcomputer allowed a whole new range of possibilities.1.3.2 communicative callthe second phase of call was based on the communicative approach to teaching which became prominent in the 1970s and 80s. proponents of this approach felt that the drill and practice programs of the previous decade did not allow enough authentic communication to be of much value. one of the main advocates of this new approach was john underwood, who in 1984 proposed a series of premises for communicative call (underwood, 1984, p. 52). according to underwood, communicative call: l focuses more on using forms rather than on the forms themselves; l teaches grammar implicitly rather than explicitly; l allows and encourages students to generate original utterances rather than just manipulate prefabricated language; l does not judge and evaluate everything the students do nor reward them with congratulatory messages, lights, or bells; l avoids telling students they are wrong and is flexible to a variety of student responses; l uses the target language exclusively and creates an environment in which using the target language feels natural, both on and off the screen; and will never try to do anything that a book can do just as well.1.3.3 integrative call-multimediaintegrative approaches to call are based on two important technological developments of the last decade-multimedia computer and the internet. multimedia technology exemplified today by the cdrom allow a variety of media to be accessed on a single machine. what makes multimedia even more powerful is that it also entails hypermedia. that means that the multimedia resources are all linked together and that learners can navigate their own path simply by pointing and clinking a mouse.the history of call suggests that the computer can serve a series of uses for language teaching with the occurrence of the multimedia that can also be a medium of global communication and a source of limitless authentic materials.we need to view this new technology, which is transforming our lives, and which is being used increasingly. one reason for this trend may be the assumption that multimedia information helps students learn. however, it is sure that it has its advantages and disadvantages.2. advantages of multimedia english teachingactually in china, the english teaching is not supposition, but imitation. we can think about the current situation of chinese education: which one is real? the teacher is not a real foreigner, the text is adapted, the roleplay in the class also imitate the text and theres no information gap in it. what are our drawbacks and the most difficult thing in english teaching? what kind of problems does the teacher want to solve if they use multimedia? i think the problem we need to solve is not the grammar, not the discrimination of word, not the sentence structure and sentence pattern, but the authentic environment for english learners. language teaching is concerned with the development of communication skills and has traditionally and creatively exploited all these communications elements. each element has its own particular advantages in conveying particular kinds of messages and evoking particular kinds of learner responses. and the multimedia teaching method can create an authentic environment for english learners to solve the problem.2.1 the multimedia provides us a new teaching method to overcome the shortcomings of the traditional teaching. as we know that the teaching tools in the traditional classroom are only chalk, blackboard, audiotapes and some better ones have tv sets. but the multimedia teaching synthesizes the sounds, pictures, texts, and cartoon into a whole. it will depend on the needs to transform some abstract boring texts into the visibleaudible interesting content. it cannot only stimulate the interests in students english teaching, but also can provide a real language-learning environment to students. it will make the students understand some abstract texts easily. it changes the situation of having to learn into one of willing to learn.2.2 using multimedia is to convey information quickly and effectively to all students and keep them interested in learning. the multimedia teaching can make the content of courses more substantial. and the students will take a more active role in learning. for example: the teacher teaches a lesson olympic games in traditional way, the time for one lesson is limited, so the teacher can only tell a few extracurricular knowledge about olympics, then will teach the grammar or structure about this text. but compared with this way, if the teacher uses the multimedia tools, the lesson will become more attractive. the teacher can add more extracurricular knowledge about olympics, because teacher neednt spend a lot of time on word & phrase teaching, background information introduction and there is also no need to write so much on the blackboard. it will save much time to make the teacher to do more important things in class: to design some activities, to see whether students have really grasped the knowledge they should learn, to explain difficult parts, to practice spoken english by giving them some topics to discuss or by doing other things such as role-playing .in this way, students can really grasp and use the language, because the final goal of language is to use it freely.2.3 the multimedia teaching, which causes the teaching to the students in different level, becomes possible and can also repeat the content that has been taught and it is easy for the students to surmount the difficulty in english learning. they can rapidly view the module at home, which reinforces the information presented in class. multimedia will improve learning by allowing the teacher to use the most effective medium to present specific information or instructions and communicate with the entire class easily since the equipment is fully installed there. students can also be motivated under this kind of atmosphere. they can give feedback, reactions or even their answers to the teachers questions immediately through computers. this becomes an important link and motivation from the teacher to the students. in addition, teachers can create graphically enhanced information and instructions for the learning centers. they can always create tutorials, reviews, or quizzes for individual students and display student work and curriculum materials or accompany teacher presentations at parents day, open school day or technology fairs.2.4 in recent years, the educational system has a great change. the teachercentered method of teaching has been changed into the studentcentered learning mode. this is because of the development of society and the using of this modern teaching aid -multimedia. the way of multimedia teaching trends to influence the traditional teaching way. it has modified the role between the teacher and the students in the teaching process. it can provide students with a chance to learn by themselves. with the help of multimedia students can control their study and can adjust their study speed, focus and pace. in this point, we will discuss the influence of multimedia on the “studentcentered learning” specially. this discussion will be based on the present situation of chinese education.the traditional way which has been used for decades in our educational system. the traditional media in this old model is essentially textual and the presentation is linear. this traditional model of teaching is based on the behavioral learning perspective. basically the teacher controls the instructional process and is regarded as the source of expert knowledge, which is communicated to the students through lectures in a classroom environment. the students are the passive and obedient recipients of knowledge and information and play little part in the learning process. but now with the use of multimedia in english teaching, the scenario immediately changes. it can create a studentcentered learning environment. multimedia can now be used in presenting the instruction materials and delivered in a multimodel environment. furthermore, the educator can incorporate features such as interactivity and navigational links into content with the content of authoring tools such as director and authorware, and enable the learners to interact with the content in the way he or she likes best. the presentation is nonlinear and is able to foster a two-way communication or interaction between the user and the computer. here students were taught the basic multimedia design process (mdp) and the use of an authoring tool，macromedia director，and then to apply the knowledge they have gained to build a multimedia project of their own choice. in this learning environment，students must play an active part in their learning process and determine how to reach their own learning outcomes themselves. in the process，this student-centered approach empowers students to construct their own knowledge and enables them to think critically，learn to work in teams and solve problems collectively.this new mode is embedded in the constructivist learning philosophy, and the teacher is no longer perceived as the sole authority of learning，but，rather，as the person to facilitate learning，guiding and supporting learners own construction of knowledge. the student-centered learning environment includes having students develop critical thinking skills，experiential learning，and the ability of problem-solving，team skills，and interdisciplinary knowledge，with technology being integral to their learning. it also represents a move away from the traditional modes of education to one where the learners are active participants in the learning process. we sought to investigate the impact of such a student-centered learning environment on student learning via a multimedia project, which would marry technology and the teaching, and learning process. by effectively integrating multimedia technology into the curriculum，the teachers will have more flexibility and scope in teaching and a student-centered learning environment can be created and learning becomes “a social activity，facilitated by a new breed of educators”tapscott,1999. the educational content，being digital，and therefore，interactive，can now be delivered via a cd-rom，the web or the university intranet，and communicated to the learners these methods empower the students to interact with the content and control the flow and navigation of the information and thus，their own learning process. here we will take an experiment as an example to show the influence of multimedia teaching to the student-centered learning. this experiment held in a second- year class in university. they would take a course in interactive multimedia and the students should choose their own topic and work in groups of 4-6 people. each group had to decide on their group members，their team topic and use a multimedia authoring tool，macromedia director，as the tool to create the final project and deliver it on a cd-rom. this project was to be completed in 14 weeks (one semester). these students have had no a prior knowledge in multimedia authoring and authoring tools. therefore, the teachers were given lecturers and tutorials to provide them with basic skills in multimedia application development. they did however，have prior experience in design and other multimedia software such as adobe photoshop (for graphics)，premier (for digital video)，macromedia flash (for animations) and soundforge (for sound)，which they can utilize together with director to develop their topic.as a group,the students had to decide on the concept of the presentation，the design of the presentation interface and navigation，and the appropriate digital multimedia elements and interactive features to use to best convey their topic of interest. they also had to decide on a group leader and assigned various tasks to their members. these included tasks such as graphic designer，sound engineer，researcher and producer. this student-centered learning environment was created to enable these students to develop skills in problem-solving，and to exercise analytical，critical and creative thinking in their work. computer-based multimedia also helps students to develop technical and research skills that they cannot get from reading a text book. the project is in line with the constructivist position in that multiple perspectives to the problem can be developed and students participated actively in their own learning process. thus，by designing a multimedia application that is multi-sensory and interactive，the students are challenged to learn more about their chosen subject material and to develop their abilities to analyze and draw conclusions from it. the role of the teacher in this class was that of a facilitator and consultant to these students. during the experiment the teacher and the students met twice a week to discuss their group projects and to consult on any issues or concerns that they may have. (1) students interactive multimedia development after deciding on their topic of interest，the various teams developed storyboards to conceptualize their idea. these storyboards were presented to the lecturer for consultation. from these storyboards，the interac