Tema 24

TOPIC 24.TECHNOLOGICAL AND PEDAGOGICAL ASPECTS IN USING AUDIOVISUAL MATERIALS (NEWPAPERS, TV, TAPE RECORDERS, VIDEO, ETC.). COMPUTERS AS AN AUXILIARY AUXILIARY RESOURCE FOR LEARNING AND AND IMPROVING FOREIGN LANGUAGES 0. INTRODUCTION o What is audiovisual? o  Advantages and disadvantages disadvantages of using using audio-visual material 1. AUDIOVISUAL MATERIALS o Visual materials: the newspaper  recorder and the CD player. player. o  Aural materials: the cassette recorder o  Audiovisual materials: The Televisio Television n The Video and DVD player  The camcorder or video camera 2. COMPUTERS AS AN AUXI UXILIAR IARY RESOURCE FOR LEAR EARNING ING AND IMPROVING FOREIGN LANGUAGES LANGUAGES Types Types of software suitale for the !nglish classroom. o The "nternet o 0. INTRODUCTION  A numer of new techni#ues for teaching !nglish have een developed during the last ten years than$s to the fast development of new technologies and the decrease in price of appliances such as TV sets% video machines% camcorders or computers. &esides% the educat education ional al author authoritie ities s have have tried tried to develo develop p their their use% use% lately lately the use use of comput computers ers in particular with programmes such as  Aldea Global, Info XXI, Educared % etc. Thes These e mach machin ines es have have not not only only made made our our live lives s easi easier er ut ut hav have also also grea greatl tly y contriuted to the diversification of teaching activities when teaching a foreign language. Conse# Conse#uen uently tly%% new produc products ts have have een een launch launched. ed. 'ew video video method methods% s% new comput computer  er  progra programs% ms% ma$e ma$e the learni learning ng more more en(oy en(oyal ale e and and enale enale the teache teacherr to widen widen curren currentt classroom teaching techni#ues. We could say that these audiovisual technologies started to e)pand in the late *+,s or early *+s and are getting more and more widely used. /owever there are other techni#ues ased on technological development which are still used in the classroom and which date ac$ a little farther. These techni#ues are not really 0audiovisual1% ut we will study them: newspapers% radio% cassette recorder% etc. When When tal$ tal$in ing g aou aoutt the the use use of tech techno nolo logy gy in the the clas classr sroo oom m adva advant ntag ages es and and disadvantages should e ta$en into account.  Advantages: language is taught in its conte)t high motivation it provides creative opportunities it roadens hori2ons and e)tends contacts it means a great potential for a wide variety of activities it provides fle)ile responses to learning prolems Disadvantages: ephemerality difficulties in comprehension 3language and structural4 it re#uires a lot of commitment on ehalf of the teacher% who has to thin$ that technology must serve him5her% ut will never replace him5her. 1. USING AU AUDIOVISUAL MAT MATERIALS V"67A8 9AT!"A86 The student elongs to the 0image and sound generation1. Therefore% the learning process must include visual and audiovisual materials which are so familiar to them. These images will encourage the student to communicate% as they are natural and motivating stimuli for them. They ma$e the language used in the classroom loo$ more real. 1

The main functions of the image in the !nglish classroom are: motivating function: the students ecomes active. it replaces reality: the image is used in sustitution of reality. it creates situations: the student gets involved with it. it suggests e)periences: the student is suggested interpretations or  e)periences that will lead him5her to real communication situations informative function: it transmits cultural aspects 3customs% landscape% art% politics% celerations; of the country4 chec$ing function: the image is used for chec$ing the students< understanding of the veral message. concentration function: it focuses attention on something. reinforcing function: the image supports understanding and memorising. We will tal$ aout the !"#$%$!&   ecause it is an essential visual material used in the !nglish classroom. !nglish-language newspapers are availale world-wide on a daily asis. 6ome originate from !nglish-spea$ing countries% others are locally produced. They are cheap and plentiful so newspapers can e useful in the classroom 3the same happens with maga2ines4. 'ewspapers contain a very wide variety of te)t types and an immense range of  information. They are therefore a natural source of many of the varieties of written !nglish that ecome increasingly important as learners progress. eading newspapers is a way to transfer latent s$ills from the mother tongue to the language learning classroom. Those pupils who normally read newspapers in 6panish will e receptive to the use of !nglish newspapers in the classroom. eading newspapers we e)ercise s$imming and scanning s$ills. These s$ills are very useful for our pupils. 'ewspapers are aout the outside world so using them in the classroom is an interesting way to ring the real world into the learning situation. 7sing newspapers is also useful to integrate s$ills. The reading material leads easily into discussions and writing activities. This integration of s$ills is also authentic as the response to what we read in newspapers is li$ely to e authentic and personal. Topicality is oth an advantage and a disadvantage. Contemporary stories are motivating% ut also date #uic$ly. =or this reason% it may e etter to collect human interest stories which do not date over a long period of time. =inally% we can say that newspapers are proaly the est source of information aout the target language culture. /owever% there are also drawac$s. 9ost learners find newspapers difficult: special grammar conventions% oscure cultural references% large amounts of un$nown vocaulary; 8etting our pupils choose the te)t they wish to wor$ with can get rid of many prolems. &efore the third cycle authentic newspapers shouldn
more e)tensively and we must not forget that most educated people read one or more newspapers daily. >ther visual materials are photographs% the overhead pro(ector% realia% flashcards or  drawings on the lac$oard% rods% wall pictures% slides% etc.  A7A8 9AT!"A86 /ere we can include the radio% the cassette recorder% the laoratory. The radio is not very common in the !nglish class. Though it is a very useful way to develop listening s$ills% our students do not have the necessary linguistic ailities to cope with radio programmes. The foreign language la is hardly used now and it can e replaced y a computer la. We will spea$ more aout the '%##!! &!'&*!& %*+& CD $%!& . Though much can e done y simply spea$ing while all the children follow what we say% it is clear that the development of listening s$ills in our classroom situation relies heavily on the universal availaility of a cassette of pre-recorded material.  All new rimary !nglish courseoo$s have a teacherne activity which promotes oral s$ills and motivates our pupils is recording their own songs in a tape. @.. A7D">V"67A8 9AT!"A86  Audiovisual materials proper include oth sound and pictures. We ne)t study how to use the television% the video and the camcorder in the classroom. Television

"n relation to television% we can say that it is inherently a medium that has a great potential for motivating learners. "t provides a wide variety of situations% accents% topics and presentation techni#ues. The real situations provide a conte)t for language e)ploitation. The language used offers the necessary authenticity. "t offers the possiility of e)ploiting students < current interests. Television provides a wide range of paralinguistic clues B facial e)pressions% ody movements% etc. B that are very useful for comprehension. Television can introduce the culture of the country B food% clothes% uildings% etc. -. A ma(or advantage is that the same programme can adapted to different levels% depending on the tas$ students are as$ed to do. The role of the teacher ecomes crucial to ta$e the decision as to how to wor$ the programmes. As one of the ma(or prolems of using television and video in the classroom is the ephemerality of the medium% our tas$ as teachers is to confront the pupils with activities that uild and reinforce the viewing e)perience. Children may not understand a real TV programme% ut that is not a prolem. Watching regularly TV programmes especially made for native children is very eneficial. &ut we cannot e)pect children to answer #uestions or reproduce what they hear% even if they spend hours watching programmes in !nglish. TV programmes% such as cartoons% do not teach the language% ut help internalise it. This $ind of material must e authentic and interesting. The prolem of using TV is that we cannot stop it. Although TV is an important aid for  study% it fulfils its real importance in the classroom on videocassette. 3

Video and DVD

 As an addition to the teacherne more important aspect to thin$ of is that learning a language is not only a matter  of structures and words. Cultural factors are a very important part of language learning. Video allows the learner to see the target language at wor$.  Although the audiovisual features of video films are found in cinema films and television roadcasts too% they do not offer the same facilities for classroom e)ploitation. >n top of that we must not forget the electronic tric$s to create special effects and images.  All these previous aspects ma$e the video material interesting. At their est% video presentations will e intrinsically interesting to language learners% and they will want to watch more% even if comprehension is limited% and should as$ #uestions and follow-up ideas and suggestions. &y generating interest and motivation% the video films can create a climate for  successful learning. We have to ma$e it clear that the video recorder cannot and does not replace the teacher. "t changes his or her role so that teachers ecome more facilitators adapting the materials to the needs of individual classes or pupils. 8earners should not e e)posed to long e)cerpts whose ody of te)ts would e so demanding that could create more frustration than encouragement. As a general rule% it is much etter to choose a short e)cerpt and to wor$ thoroughly on it.  An ade#uate approach could consist of three phases: in the first phase the video is (ust eing played so that pupils ecome familiar with the materials they are going to watch efore the second phase ta$es place% some vocaulary might e taught ut it is not necessary. "n this phase the video is paused fre#uently so that attention can e focused on specific items of vocaulary and the actual teaching and learning activities can e initiated. phase three is aimed to reinforce the wor$ that has een done. Depending on how challenging the materials have een% the video can e played through or paused at different stages for pupils to process what is eing said. 4

6ome techni#ues for the use of video are: * 6ilent viewing: playing the video with the sound turned down for no more than two minutes. The learners watch it and decide what is happening and what the spea$ers are saying. @ =ree2e frame: pressing the ause utton on the video recorder to free2e the motion of the screen. This allows the learner to loo$ more closely at individual images or utterances within a se#uence. "t is useful for detailed language study% oservation% and description.  oleplay: it is% together with acting% one of the most useful ways of using new language through a video. Acting out involves practising the e)act words of a dialogue% while roleplaying means that the learners use their own words and personalities to act out the situation they have seen on the screen.  &ehaviour study: it concentrates on the non-veral ways in which people e)press themselves B facial e)pressions% gesture% posture% dress% physical contact% etc. The main aim is to sensitise learners to conventions of ehaviour in another culture. E rediction: the teacher stops the video and elicits from the class what happens or what is said ne)t. They can predict the topic after  loo$ing at the title% predict the end% guess the title% write the dialogue% the synopsis% etc. F Thin$ing and feeling: this techni#ue is designed to focus on the thoughts and emotions of the characters in a se#uence% and their  relation to what is said. The learners have to say how the spea$er is feeling% giving reasons for their choice. The teacher can also as 0What are the characters thin$ing?1 or even 0/ow would you feel in a situation li$e this?1 , 6ound only: the opposite of silent viewing. "nstead of not listening% the learner can listen ut has to imaging the picture. The techni#ue provides practice in descriing things or people% identifying things or people from their description and following an oral description of  something.  Watchers and listeners: half the class watch the screen and the other half listen. Then the watchers e)plain to the listeners what they have seen. This provides practice in spea$ing% oservation and accurate reporting. Video improves oth listening and spea$ing s$ills% ut it can also e used to improve writing ones% with e)ercises and activities% (umles% word soups% etc. !ven at higher levels learners can e as$ed to complete a script% to ta$e short notes aout what is eing said% or  produce short summaries. The video camera

 At a certain stage 3after rehearsal% ut at any level4 students can e invited to produce their own material and record it in video. "t is a high motivating tas$% ut it re#uires time and technical mastery. The teacher and5or the learners should operate the video camera and e#uipment competently. Then a wide variety of stimulating pro(ects can e underta$en. 6pea$ing ailities are developed% ut also self-confidence% wor$ in groups% organisation and order% care for the class materials% etc. =our steps can e suggested to ma$e use of the camcorder: a tal$ing head: one person tal$s to the camera dialogues: two or three people are filmed tal$ing together  group discussion: a larger group of people are filmed in discussion pro(ect wor$: a freer use of the video facilities 5

The activities that can e carried out can e categorised in groups: language-training video: which presents to the learners some aspects of communication in the target language recordings of the learners: which allow them to see and hear  themselves performing in the target language video pro(ects controlled y the learners% which offer the learners the opportunity of wor$ing together in the target language With small children the e)ploitation of the video camera will e on the part of the teacher% ut it will e as stimulating and instructive as with older students. The viewing will e% in this case% the most important part of the process. =or oth small and older students the viewing is en(oyale and surprising% and means the moment of feedac$. 2. COMPUTER AS AN AUXILIARY RESOURCE FOR LEARNING AND IMPROVING FOREIGN LANGUAGES  Although they have een used for teaching since the *+Fs% computers only ecame practical and affordale for language learning in the early *+s% when relatively ine)pensive personal computers first ecame availale. The first Computer-Assisted 8anguage 8earning 3CA884 programs were mainly used for manipulating words and sentences% playing games with students% testing them% and giving them feedac$ on their performance. 7sed in this way the computer has often een descried as the 0medium of the second chance1 3ecause the activities usually let you try more than once to get the answer right4 and of ris$ta$ing 3ecause you can ma$e mista$es in your answers without other students $nowing4.  As computers ecame more powerful% and multimedia software ecame practical% the early *++s saw the emergence of CD->9s% storing complete encyclopaedias or language courses with te)t% graphics% and audio or video. Commercial products of this sort% which are professionally produced% reliale% and straightforward to use% have a place in many classrooms. >f course% the teacher must $now how to wor$ the computer and the program. The students have the mastery already. !very school has now its computer room and each learner can sit down and wor$. The use of a computer is an e)cellent way to set remedial wor$. 'ot only does the learner have access to it at any time 3with a computer at home4% ut has a reliale source if  the program has een properly developed% and% what is more% the computer never gets tired% irritale or impatient. "t is particularly good for learners who cannot cope with a more traditional teaching approach. As in video learning% computer learning ma$es use of a series of techni#ues that eases the tas$ and ma$es it more en(oyale and entertaining. And pupils find that using computers is highly motivating. The numer of interactive programs on the mar$et has increased a lot% ut not all of  them are useful for the class. 9any are for adults and are still focused on the language% not on the content% as the machine cannot grasp meaning. They wor$ on pronunciation% repetition% grammar and vocaulary e)ercises. The communication is still something that has to do with human eings. rograms that children can use are made specially for them% some are for the learning of !nglish ut do not focus on grammar% ut on concentration games% memory games% tales% coo$ery recipes% numers and letters% paintings% etc. >thers are not specially sold for learning !nglish% ut has the option of using it in this language. They are very motivating for our students and they learn the language unconsciously and in a playful way. "n many ways% however% the challenges presented to oth students and teachers y ! I!&! can provide a more interesting% rewarding e)perience. The 'et is a huge% rich resource. "ts main distinguishing feature is that it is a medium of e)ploration% which releases creativity and imagination. The "nternet is eginning to transform language learning: first of all y ma$ing availale to teachers and students an enormous range of information and resources as a means of communication 6

not only in writing% ut it is eginning to allow audio and video communication it leads to more cross-curricular wor$ for their potential to motivate. The students% once they are wor$ing on the computer% unless they need help% ta$e the attention away from the teacher% though the teacher must co-ordinate and assess. This allows more fle)iility in managing the lesson% and in particular there is often more time to wor$ with individuals and groups than in an ordinary class. 9ost of the activities with the "nternet re#uire small groups% they are not usually done individually. 9aterials from the "nternet can e used with a variety of levels y allowing students themselves to choose the $ind of material they wor$ with% and y varying the $ind of tas$ they are as$ed to perform. =or e)ample% if students have to visit newspaper sites in order to produce their own newspaper% they can e given a choice of Wesites% of the $ind of news they select% and of the tas$ they are to carry out with the news they find. There are also steps to wor$ with computers: *.re-computer wor$: in some cases% efore eginning an activity on the computer% it will e necessary to pre-teach vocaulary% or a specific function or structure. "n every case% however% you will need to ensure that the students $now e)actly what they have to do when they egin wor$ on the computers. @. Computer wor$: "f the activity has een well prepared% and the students suitaly trained% the teacher should intervene only if s5he is as$ed for help. "nstead% the teacher will monitor what the students are saying and doing. . ost-computer wor$: it is important that anything done in the computer room should e transferale to the normal classroom% and any "nternet activity should e planned from the outset with some $ind of follow-up activity in mind. Wherever possile% students should have something physical that they can ta$e away with them from the computer room% so that they have a record of what they have done for follow-up wor$ or  for end-of-course- revision. >ne drawac$ of the "nternet is that it is a huge% rich resource% much of it yet unplanned. The variety of resources is so great that deciding how to e)ploit resources once you find them can e a challenge in itself. Gou have to plan the lessons very well in order to ensure your students< "nternet time is productive in terms of language learning. -

7