“Without image, thinking is impossible” (Aristotle)
Introduction:
As the teacher, I need to have a wide range of resources in the classroom for my students´
development in the learning process. In our society nowadays, there has been an abrupt change
in multimedia technologies which lead to advancement in the world of education in China.
Changes are starting to be spotted in most institutions of higher learning. Multimedia
technologies are slotted into China's education system bits by bits to follow up the trend of the
outside world. It can be said that the usage of computers is turning up to be more and more vital
in our daily lives and has become a part of us.
Learning a language that is rather different from your mother tongue is a hard task to achieve.
Especially in this era of technology, the old school teaching techniques alone seem to be
insufficient. Previous research shows that audio-visual materials in different forms such as;
pictures, charts, slides, videos and audios aid the language learning experience. When these
materials are properly utilized they provide a substantial contribution to the learning and
reinforcing aspect of textbooks, oral instruction and exercises (Narayan, 1980). With technology
the world is closely connected than ever before as we share cultures, ideas and beliefs. In order
to communicate with such a wide scale one has to understand and use English; the most common
language that is spoken all over the world. Therefore, this raise’s the need for millions of people
around the globe to learn English as a second language. (Crystal, 2005 as cited in Gonzales,
Houghton, Kaye & Stewart, 2012).
The Greek poet Simonides has claimed that; “words are the images of things” (Narr Verlag, 1993).
A scholar like Harmer (1991: 153) also states the importance of vocabulary by saying, "If language
structure makes up the skeleton of the language, then it is vocabulary that provides the vital
organs and the flesh." Harmer further states that an ability to manipulate grammatical structure
does not have any potential for expressing meaning unless words are used.
To enrich our vocabulary knowledge visual materials play a great role and prevent our isolation
from the world of scientific and technical knowledge that can be gained by using English as a
means of communication in real-life situations. Apart from this, Calder (1966), cited in Girma
(1983), states that psychologists have found that 84% of what we learn we get from seeing; 13%
of what we learn we get from hearing; and only 3% we learn in other ways. This implies that most
of what we learn we get through visual medium. There are different forms of advanced organizers
(also known as ‘visual aids’) available to language teachers. The different range of visual aids
available to a language teacher can be generalized into three types; audio, visual and multisensory (Asokhia, 2009).
I.
Audio: deals with the heard aspect of language. Such as; Cassette tapes; provided within the
textbook. Also, it can be language cassettes from the school library or recordings from other
resources.
Music; is generally used when teaching vocabulary. The rhythm of the music will make it
easier for the students to remember what they learned. They can also sing along where they
will be reading and visualizing at the same time.
Radio/CD; can be used to reinforce the taught topic. The language programs on the radio
and topic related CD’s can be used. Multimedia Motion CD-ROM, on the other hand, is one
of the ways for learners to be exposed to the learning materials that their teachers have
prepared for the lessons. Multimedia Motion is more to the teaching of physics whereby the
disk contains the examples of laboratory-based experiments like the teaching of momentum
and kinetic energy. The students are to watch the contents of the disk to learn more about
it. At the same time, the disc plays a role in helping students to boost their motivation up by
exposing them to real-life contexts instead of experiments that students have done in school.
Students will think this method as a fresh and interesting way to learn especially to those
who are used to CD-ROMs' role as entertainments. The disc is said to be providing students
with data for them to solve problems which they face and at the same time are related to
physics however there are time where students are lacking of enthusiasm to go aboard and
face the problems especially when they are needed to do some calculations. The use of disc
II.
can contribute to collaborative works among students whether in pair work or in group work.
Projector; is a device that can be used with almost any of the visual aids. The teacher can
play music and videos, connect her laptop for other multimedia etc. This teaching aid is
useful for the Presentation, Production and Practice (PPT) teaching methodology. For the
lower levels, it is used to develop the speaking skills of students with emphasis on vocabulary
and pronunciation. Things that we can include in PPT are texts, pictures, sounds, computer
graphics as well as information that we can obtain through media. Students are able to
practice making sentences, reorder jumbled up or to complete a series of incomplete
sentences. It can also be used to drill the simple reading skills. For example, an exercise on
imperative for young children to follow a simple set of instructions written on a cue card.
They can do this by mimicking exactly what is written on the cue card. It is also effective for
grammar drills. However, the drills and exercises must not be too lengthy to deter boredom
and monotony. At the intermediate level, it is useful in developing the students’ writing skills.
Jumbled up sentences that are found in flash cards which are obtained from newspaper or
magazine cutting scan be separated into phrases or clauses. With these, they can
have a good practice in understanding internal reference and cohesion.
Visual: is anything that can be seen or watched. Such as;
Posters; are colored, big in size and students like spending time with them. Posters can also
be used for different types of games, like the pocket poster challenge.
Cartoons/ TV/Videos- the language programs on TV and topic related cartoons and videos can
be used. It helps beginners of certain subjects a lot because the students will be able to get
the gist of the language skills and not to mention memorize the contexts and learn new
complicated patterns and words that they are not used to in the classroom. According to
Mitchell (1994:38f), learners are to take responsibility for their own progresses in their
language learning since language learning is considered as an active process. Before the lesson
starts, I am aware of three aspects like what their students are going to study, what kinds of
materials are to be used and what kinds of response will the students give after they watch
the films. While teaching using films, I encourage my students to utter their own thought
without any restriction and at the same time I try to awaken their interest in the classroom
learning. I take into account of the students' interests and needs and at the same time I make
sure the suitability of the objectives of the film towards the students and themselves. The
language of the films will have to be selected based on the proficiency level of the students
so that they will have comprehensible input as if they are unable to understand whatever that
has been mentioned in the films, they will lose interest in it and soon lost their confidences in
III.
that particular subject.
Internet; has a bundle of free resources for different levels and age groups. Teachers can use
the filtered content during their lessons.
Markers and colored markers/chalk; the board can be separated into sections and colored
chalks can be used to indicate between grammar and dialogues.
Flashcards; are cards where the picture is on one side and the writing on the other. They can
be in different forms like; answer or question cards, object, subject, picture, sign etc.
Multi-Sensory; is when students learn through their five senses; see, hear, taste, touch and
smell. Such as;
Role-Play: is the dramatization of a certain subject. Two or more students use the learned
language and apply it to a role-play. Then the class can discuss the role-play, the language
used, acting etc. Role-play can be used with one-on-one teaching or with big to small
groups. Students are greatly involved in the learning process (Madhurı, 2013).
Demonstration; is depicting a certain event through language. For example, a cooking
lesson where students will prepare a recipe and produce it.
Realia; are the real objects and materials brought to or within the classroom. The objects
can be; food items, calendars, plastic fruits and vegetables, maps, household objects,
money and any other object or material related to real life situations.
Field trips; are trips where students have a chance to apply and practice what they
learned earlier in the real environment. For example, after learning different types of
animals the students will visit the zoo. (Using Teaching Aids n.d.)
There is this technology called 'Apple Technology' which contributes in supporting special
education students' learning. In most schools nowadays, there is no doubt that there will be a
group of special education students who are having disabilities in their sensory as well as learning
process. This group of people without doubt is also considered as pillars of our country's future.
They can give contribution too like normal people. Thus, education will be given to them. Apple
Technology is a type of technology which offers help to provide scaffolding in the students' ability
to read and write and has effects during when special education students are engaging with their
learning. Apple Technology in this sense comes out with different ways of input and output that
are accessible and at the same time aid the learning process of the students. Technologies that
can be found in Apple products can benefit special education students. For instance, dyscalculic
students who face problem with mathematics can be overcome through the usage of an
application called 'Voice Memos' which can be found on an iPhone. 'Voice Memos' enable
students to record down what they teachers have mentioned so that they will be able to review
it later when they are doing their homework. In China, I also teach my students using a new
technology way, the WeChat. It is an easy way to communicate and test all the four skills of a
student: reading, speaking, listening and writing (in this case, typing)
Conclusion:
I am aware of the fact that the lesson plan itself will be something new for the students, if it has
more attractive spots for my students. I always bring in multimedia stuffs into my lessons to catch
students' attention. Knowing the importance of visual materials is not enough unless teachers use
them in the actual teaching of the meaning of words. Hence, I recommend that teachers should
use easily available materials in order to help the students in understanding the meaning of words.
Moreover, since the student's textbook does not include adequate number of visual materials, I
advise to incorporate more visual materials to facilitate students' vocabulary learning of all the
levels.
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