Week#3 The Use of Multimedia in English Teaching

        Hello, my friends!!! Welcome to my third blog. Today, I will write about multimedia. In the class, I have learned about the use of multimedia in English teaching. We learned this issue through the paper of Zhang Zhen, the researcher from Leshan Normal University, Leshan, China. From his paper, he gave the definition of the word ''Multimedia'' as the use of computers to present text, graphics, video, animation, and sound in an integrated way. 

        The setting of Multimedia Classroom consist of multimedia personal computer (MPC) , VCD/DVD player, Amplifier and Hi-Fi acoustic system, Overhead/Slide projector, Screen/Curtain, Projecting apparatus, The Internet access, Cassette tape recorder.   

        There are three necessity of Multimedia in English Teaching;  The Necessity of Development of Modern Educational Technology,The Needs of Quality Education, and The Needs of Students' Cognitive Mental.   

    

        There are five advantages of the multimedia teaching including; arousing the students' interest, improving student' self-learning ability, improving students' innovative ability,  cultivating student' communicative skills, and increasing classroom capacity. 

      

        However, there are a couple problems of using Multimedia Teaching that is some English Classes are totally depend upon multimedia and ignoring the role of teachers. The teaching-centered thinking completely change into a multimedia- centered thinking.  Students only pay attention to appreciating the picture, and do not pay attention to what they should really master in the classroom. Many teacher are not good at computers and therefore they wast time in operation the computer.     

  

     4 Strategies for using multimedia consist of; combining modern teaching methods with traditional teaching methods. Viewing multimedia as the assistance to teaching. Building the ideal relationship between teachers and students and strengthening teacher training

         4 Principle 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.

        All of this is what I  have learned today. Thank you for visit my blog. See you in next episode. Good bye!!!

Reference : Zhang Zhen. The Use of Multimedia in English Teaching.