Advantages and Disadvantages of Teaching English by Multimedia.doc

Advantages and Disadvantages of Teaching English by MultimediaAbstract: Since the day when the computer was produced, it has gotten the inseparable contact with English. It is important to adopt this modernistic intelligence tool in Chinese education of 21st century. Introducing the multimedia into English teaching is the inexorable trend of the development of English teaching. This paper is focused on the advantages and the disadvantages of multimedia English teaching, which is sure to provide some assistance to teachers attempting to optimally combine their teaching with the power of the technology.Key words: multimedia; English teaching; advantage; disadvantage 1. Introduction“Computer and English” are known as the two keys to the gate of 21st century. 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. One reason for this trend may be the assumption that multimedia information helps students learn English. However, in practice, it is believed that it has its own advantages and disadvantages.2. Advantages of multimedia English teachingActually in China, the English teaching is not supposition, but imitation. 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? The problem we need to solve is not the grammar, not the discrimination of words, not the sentence structures or sentence patterns, but the authentic environment for English learners. And the multimedia teaching method can create an authentic environment for English learners to solve the problem.2.1 The multimedia provides us with a new teaching method to overcome the shortcomings of the traditional teaching. As we know, 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 provide a real language-learning environment for students, which will make the students understand some abstract texts easily. For this reason, 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 a traditional way, but the time for one lesson is limited. So the teacher can only tell little extracurricular knowledge about Olympics, and then will teach the grammar or structure in 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 information about Olympics, because the teacher neednt spend a lot of time on word or 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 do more important things in class: to carry out some activities, to explain difficult parts, to practice spoken English by giving them some topics to discuss or by doing other things such as role-playing to improve students communicative competence. In this way, students can really have chances to use the language to step forward the final goal of language learning.2.3 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. 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 education and the help 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 on their own. 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. 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, 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 are taught the basic multimedia design process and the use of an authoring tool, 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. 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). 2.5 Nowadays the multimedia computer combined with the Internet supplies a convincingly support to the English teaching. It will create a more real environment for learners and the skills (listening, speaking, reading, and writing) are easier to integrate. The learners will have much more freedom to choose the suitable content for themselves.There are several possible reasons for using the Internet in language teaching. One rationale is found in the belief that the linguistic nature of online communication is desirable for promoting language learning. It has been found, for example, that electronic discourse tends to be more lexically and syntactically more complex than oral discourse and features a broad range of linguistic functions beneficial for language learning. Another possible reason for using the Internet is that it creates optimal conditions for learning to write, since it provides an authentic audience for written communication. A third possible reason is that it can increase students motivation. A fourth possible reason is the belief that learning computer skills is essential to students future success; this reason suggests that it is not only a matter of using the Internet to learn English but also of learning English to be able to function well on the Internet. None of these reasons are more or less legitimate than any of the others. However, when the teacher combines the multimedia computer with the Internet, he or she ought to take the following into consideration.(1)Consider carefully the teaching goals. Since there are so many ways to integrate the Internet into classroom instruction, it is important for the teacher to clarify his or her goals. Little is usually gained by just adding random online activities into a classroom. Clarifying course goals is, thus, an important first step toward successful use of the Internet. (2)Think integration. Over time, greater involvement on the teachers part in creating learning activities that create sufficient linguistic and cognitive demands on the student is needed to get maximum benefit from Internet exchanges. And, as a number of people have noted, this teacher intervention is most successful when it brings about activities and projects that are well integrated into the course curriculum as a whole. (3) Dont underestimate the complexity. At least in some cases, we may lack in these basic prerequisites:-Students seldom used a computer or lacked basic knowledge such as how to operate a mouse or open a folder; - Students lacked the vocabulary, reading, and listening skills to follow instructions for using the computer; -Activities in a single class may be dependent on scheduling the computer lab, and on students finding computers outside the class time to continue their activities. -Hardware and software can malfunction and computer systems can be down. -Students schedules might not permit them to return to the computer lab at a time when computers are available to complete their assignments. -The students might have differences in background, language, and experience that can cause further complications. None of these potential problems mean that Internet based activities shouldnt be used. But in attempting to integrate online teaching, it is best not to be overly ambitious in the beginning. A situation that overwhelms both students and teacher in technical difficulties is not likely to bring about the desired results. It is better to start small and to create the kinds of activities that have a direct purpose and are well integrated into classroom goals. (4)Provide necessary support. Mindful of the complexities that can arise in Internet usage, teachers need to provide support sufficient to prevent students from being overwhelmed by difficulties. (5) Involve Students in Decisions. The teacher must learn to become a guide on the side rather than a sage on the stage. A situation which is based on communication between students but in which the students have little say over the topics or outcomes of that communication is not likely to lead to the kind of atmosphere optimal for language learning. However, involving students in determining the class direction does not imply a passive role for teachers. Teachers contributions in a learner-centered, network-enhanced classroom include coordinating group planning, focusing students attention on linguistic aspects of computer mediated texts, helping students gain meta-linguistic awareness of genres and discourses, and assisting students in developing appropriate learning strategies.3. Disadvantages of Multimedia English teachingAlthough the use of this new teaching method brings us a lot, we also need to be careful of giving learner too much freedom and too little guidance. They might get lost in hyperspace or form inaccurate mental models by making the wrong connection.Multimedia technology can be an educational tool, but it is not a panacea for the problems of tertiary education today. It also has its own shortcomings:3.1 Financial reasonThe financial reason caused the use of multimedia in English teaching to generalize which become difficult. Use this advanced technology in teaching, it will need lots of money to support it. But it is impossible to make it universal from city to the rural area, because of the current situation of the economics in China.3.2 Artificial reasonSome teachers have only a superficial knowledge about computer. Once touch a wrong key then the teacher will ask the technical personnel to debug the equipment. If there is no one can give a hand, then the class will suffer a crushing defeat and disrupt the teachers plan. This brand-new teaching way is a challenge to the teacher. So there are two demands for the teacher. Firstly, the teacher should master the basic knowledge and the method of operation of computer; secondly, the teacher should give guidance to students in operation of computer.3.3 Avoid ruining the effect by adding multimedia superfluousSome times when the teacher shows some simple lessons, it is no need to use multimedia. If the teacher only uses the real things, pictures, abbreviated drawing and some other methods, it can also receive a good teaching effect. For example: the teacher teaches the sentence pattern “whats your favorite fruit?” The answer can be apple ,banana, pear and so on. The teacher or students can bring the real fruit to class and use them to make dialogues. If some students behave themselves well and they can eat the fruit that they bring to class. Although the multimedia teaching can provide us with the visibleaudible content, but it cant be touched and eaten. So whether to use the multimedia teaching or not must depend on the needs.3.4 If use the multimedia in an incorrect way, the English teacher will become a projector. Some teachers are dependent on the new teaching method. For example, when they teach the writing of letters and new words, they dont use their own handwriting on the blackboard, but use the multimedia to show the process of writing; when they teach the students how to read the new text, they dont read by themselves to set an example for the students, but require the students to follow the multimedia tools. If things go on like this, the teaching effect will be weakened. During this teaching process, we should deal with the following relations:(1)The relation between teachers and studentsBecause of the multimedia teaching, the teachers have to sit in front of the control power to operate the facilities. This situation reduces the chance of communication between the teacher and students, but it cannot reduce the communication of heart between them. So the teacher should predict the problems that the students will meet in the learning process, link the content of course with the teaching procedure, to lead the students to achieve the teaching aim.(2)The relation between the user and the equipmentIn this new teaching method, the students are in an active position. But in fact, the teacher also plays a main role in the teaching-design. So the teacher should base on the aim of teaching and content, of course, to choose different kinds of media, which will avoid a facilities show.3.5 Long hours of watching computer is harmful to eyes, and it is easy for students to become tired after long periods of watching and sitting. In face of so much information, some students will feel lost and not know what to choose and many may waste time at first. 3.6 Some students cant control themselves very well. They may indulge in playing computer games or chatting with others on line or do some other things while they aresupposed to be studying. And the multimedia teaching lacks the warm atmosphere of classroom teaching. Students have to look at the computer and they have no chances to communicate with teachers and other students face to face. So when they have some special questions they cant get a satisfactory answer at once.3.7 Sometimes the teacher uses PowerPoint, flash or Authorware and other soft wares to design some teaching materials. But if the material bears a longtime and vast amount content, the teacher will spend much time and vitality in making it. It will influence the teachers initiative of using CAI. And also during a long-time watching, the students will arouse visual fatigue and psychological fatigue. So here are some tips for the teachers