On The Application Of Multi-media Technology In English Language Teaching

In this thesis, the application of multi-media technology is analyzed from various points of view in the presentEnglish language teaching, referring to the effects on language skill training and influence on traditional modes ofEnglish language teaching.The thesis firstly illustrates some general knowledge of the application of multi-media technology concerninginformation technology, network technology and computers, media, courseware and so on in the field of education.With the rapid development of modern science and technology, human society has entered into information times.Modern education is quite different from the traditional way which most people have been familiar with. Computershave entered into the field of education in China and got rapid development. The inundant speed of developmentrequires teachers to reconsider completely our teaching methods. Information technology has been appliedextensively in the field of education, of which net technology and multi-media technology are regarded as coretechnology. The immense effect taken by computers has carried a revolution in education field from teachinginstruments, teaching methods, teaching concepts and formats, class teaching structures up to teaching ideology andtheories that is also remodeling our teaching world. Why multi-media technology has made such immensesignificance in education is because the multi-media technology has its own especially valuable characters andqualities for educating and teaching progress which other media lack or only possess partially. In order to make itclear, it is necessary that the definition of multi-media be discussed. Here the so-called multi-media technology is notthe former thought of combining several media instruments (e.g. slide, projection, recorder and video tape) in asimple way. The present multi-media technology is centered with computers to integrate sound process techniques,image process techniques and audiovisual techniques into one. With the development of information techniqueapplied in the field of education, educating resources that can be selected by teachers are becoming wider and moreplentiful as well as more convenient to be used. The advantages of various new-type teaching modes, in whichindividualized and cooperatized teaching mode is the typical one, will consequentially be performed and developedthrough all sorts of functions provided by the modern techniques. The teaching method of using English teachingcompact disks and CAI courseware is an attempt to innovate English teaching through modern educating technology,the essential point of which is to study individually and independently in the multi-media network environment. Theindividualized and independent study in multi-media and network environment refers to study systematically byusing multi-media courseware through computers in the appropriative multi-media classrooms. Most of thecourseware consists of knowledge explanation, illustration, quiz or test, feedback and evaluation, etc. In this way,students are learning individually.The application of multi-media technology in English language teaching cannot be done without the discussionof the application of multi-media technology in education as a whole. Based on the theory of constructivism,knowledge is individually and socially constructed by learners based on their interpretations of experiences in theworld and reality is constructed rather than discovered. So the functions of multi-media technology application inEnglish language teaching are revealed. As is argued in chapter four of this thesis, multi-media English teaching canproduce a free and loose language environment for every student. Based on foreign language teaching individuality,learners will be able to keep practicing and exerting through it. At the same time, its intuitional vision and vividexhibition of both pictures and sounds help students to comprehend the learnt English knowledge. Besides, learnerscan choose what they would like to study according to their interests or weakness in learning process. They can alsomake up deficiency by using courseware purposefully as well as practice oral English in such environment byplaying a record of text, listening to true English language or English country music. They can feel the lifelikecommunicative circumstances by taking advantage of very real English language scene supported by network.Compared with traditional teaching, its superiority is apparent in improving learners' listening and speaking skills aswell as communicative skills.As is stated in chapter three, multi-media technology applied in English language teaching will surely bringbenefits for language skills. In the Multi-media English teaching, the intercommunion between teachers and studentshas been strengthened. Teachers may get feedbacks of how students have learnt through electronic calls and learningcomputer controls. Equally, students may also get feedbacks from teachers about how well they have learntindividually or collectively, while in traditional class teaching, teachers hardly have opportunities to exchange ideaswith each student in class. In the Multi-media class, each student may get the chance to raise questions to teachersand get instructions or explanations by themselves consequently. Teachers may take one student's computer as ateaching machine to be presented to all the class by shifting screens. All this merely requires teachers to act as adirector, making full use of network transforming information, so that students will have a relaxed atmosphere tostudy with great joy.In order to get an overview of multi-media technology application in English language teaching, in chapter four,the accessibility of applying multi-media technology into English language teaching is explained by discussing thetheoretic basis: constructivism, guided by which, the functions of application present clearly in constructing ateaching mode centered with students together with creating a wide communicative environment. Then some factorsare analyzed influencing the application of multi-media in English language teaching: outside environment, software,students and teachers. In order to make the argumentation in this thesis more convincible, the author has madesurveys to support the evidence. At last, some tentative suggestions are put forward about how the application ofmulti-media technology cut in English language teaching and are utilized in a correct way.In conclusion, the thesis intends to grope for the perspectives of applying multi-media technology to Englishlanguage teaching and its strategy for development with traditional teaching modes concerning English languagebasic skills. In the history of foreign language teaching, each emergence of teaching school will not totally abolishthe formers only because of its spring-up, instead, it will adopt strong points of others to make up for its own weakpoints in order to get improvement with each other. Similarly, multi-media English teaching will not abandon theeffective methods in traditional English language teaching. We should review and reconstruct the relations betweenmulti-media technology and English language teaching from the viewpoint of modernization of English teachingmode so as to promote the integration of modern techniques and modern teaching ideology, teaching content,teaching aim and teaching subject and then to fulfill the transformation from technical modernization to multi-mediateaching process modernization, which is also the key problem for English teachers to consider in the multi-mediaEnglish language teaching.