Use of Technology in English Language Teaching and Learning

Necessity of Application of Multimedia Technology to English Teaching

💥 To cultivate students' interest in study

Multimedia technology featuring audio, visual animation effects naturally and humanely offer a sense of reality and functions, which greatly cultivate students' interest and motivation in study.

💥 To promote students' communication capacity

Multimedia technology seeks integration of teaching and learning and provides the students greater incentives. Moreover, multimedia technology teaching has uniquely inspired students' positive thinking and communication skills in social practice.

💥 To widen students' knowledge to gain an insightful understanding to western culture

The multimedia courseware can offer the students abundant information and help them to get of displays vivid cultural background, rich content and true-to-life language materials, which are much natural and closer to life.

💥 To improve teaching effect

Multimedia technology makes the best of class time, breaks the “teacher-centered” teaching pattern and improves class efficiency. 

💥 To improve interaction between teacher and student

Multimedia teachings stress the role of students and enhance the importance of "interaction" between teacher and students. A major feature of multimedia teaching is to train and improve students’ ability to listen and speak, and to develop their communicative competence.

💥 Creats a context for language teaching

Multimedia teaching makes the class lively and interesting. Students in the class can use multimedia to understand the class in a clear way when teacher use pictures and images to enrich the content of classes.

💥 To provide flexibility to course content

Multimedia teaching is also flexible. The context can be created not only in the classroom, but also after class.

Problems Arising from Application for Multimedia Technology to English Teaching

💭 Major means replaced by assisting one

Multimedia technology substitutes for effective teaching and learning. But using too much multimedia devices during teaching, the teachers may be turned into slaves to the multimedia and cannot play the leading role in teaching.

💭 Loss of speaking communication

Multimedia technology enhances students’ interest, but it also results in lack of communication between teachers and students, replacement of teacher's voice by computer sound and student have few chances for communicate.
💭 The restriction of Students' thinking potential 

It lacks of real-time questions, effect and cannot give feedback. Moreover, it doesn’t guide the students to think, cultivate their capacity to discover and solve problems.

💭 Abstract thinking replaced by imaginable thinking

Multimedia technology makes content easier. While if the image and imagination in students’ mind were merely showed on the screen, their abstract thinking would be restricted and logical thinking would waste away.

Suggestions and Strategies to The Exist Problems

🔎 The beauty of courseware is not sole pursuit

Adequate application of multimedia technology to teaching can make breakthroughs in class teaching, but the teachers still play the leading role that their position could never be replaced by the computer.  

🔎 The computer screen can't substitute the blackboard

A perfect courseware is an idea project in mind, and they need to enrich the content on the blackboard with emerging of new question raised by the students.

🔎 Power point cannot take the place of student's thinking and practice

PPT helps the student deeply understand the texts but it cannot take the place of students’ thinking or English communication in simulated circumstance. Students need to use their own mind and speak more, actively join in class practice.

🔎 Traditional teaching instruments and devices should not be overlooked

Mulitimedia has its unique advantages in teaching, the characteristics functions of other forms of teaching are still incomparable.

🔎 Multimedia technology should not be overused

Teacher should help the student gain the basic knowledge and language training at classes, improve their expression ability in English and basis communication.

Reference:

Solanki, D., & Shyamlee, M. P. (2012). Use of technology in English language teaching and learning: An analysis. 2012International Conference on Language, Medias and Culture IPEDR vol. 33(2012)©(2012)IACSIT Press, Singapore. 150-156.