a-study-of-application-of-multimedia-english-teaching-and-learning-in-junior-middle-school--英语专业.doc

A Study of Application of Multimedia English Teaching and Learning in junior Middle School
Acknowledgement

This paper was completed in May, 2009. For its being, I owe a great deal of thanks to many people.
First, I would like to dedicate my most sincere gratitude to Wang Yiyun. My supervisor whose careful and insightful guidance in the formwork shaping and paper writing, and whose words of encouragement in time of difficult have been of great worth. Without her insightful advice, generous guidance and persistent encouragement in time of difficult have been completed. Her strict attitude towards study deeply impressed me. Therefore, I own a merit in this thesis to her and of course, for the mistakes, I bear the whole responsibility.
Second, I would express my heartfelt thanks to my form master, Chen Liyun, Professor Wang Jing, Deng Shumei, Gong Shan, Li Lifang, Li Jiyun, Duan Lifang, Liu Aihua, Li Na, and Yang Li, whose courses have enlightened my mind, enriched my knowledge and enhanced my competence. Without their instruction, I could not have achieved today’s progress. I must offer specific thanks to Chen Liyun who has given me patient guidance whenever I turn to her.
Third, I thank Professor Zhang Jingbo, Dean of English Department of my college, for recommending this paper and offering her advice on my dissertation.
Fourth, additional thanks the teachers and students of my practice school-Luoxiong Junior Middle School. They give me some understanding and support.
Lastly, I thank my family members who have given me their constant encouragement and support in my academic terms.
Without all these people, I could not have completed thesis.

Abstract

As multimedia technology becomes more accessible to teachers and learners across the nation and in the world, its potential as a tool to enhance English skills becomes a practical option. Multimedia allows integration of text, graphics, audio, and video in a range of combinations. The vivid scenarios created by those technologies help the learners to understand better and thus develop more English skills.
The thesis summary the theory of multimedia assisted junior English teaching. And then find the disadvantages of traditional middle school English teaching. Analyze and discuss the researching results of the questionnaires among the junior middle school students. Through the analysis and discussion, conclude the functions of multimedia assisted in middle school English teaching: it can arouse students’ interests and initiative and develop students’ abilities of listening, speaking, reading, and writing by means of using sounds, pictures, films and flashes and so on.

Key words: Multimedia; Assisted; English Teaching

摘要

随着多媒体技术在世界范围的普及,它作为提高英语技能的工具,有效而且可行。多媒体为学习者提供图文音像的组合,这种组合所创造出的生动情景有助于学习者对语言的理解和语言技能的提高。
本文从对多媒体辅助初中英语教学理论基础的概述入手，揭示了传统初中英语教学的弊端，对初中学生问卷调查的结果进行分析与讨论，从而得出多媒体辅助初中英语教学效果的结论：它能利用声音、图片、影像和动画等全面调动学生学习兴趣、积极性以及提高他们听、说、读、写的能力等。

关键词：多媒体；辅助；英语教学

CONTENTS
Acknowledgement………………………………………………………………….ⅰ
Abstract in Chinese………………………………………………………………….ⅱ
Abstract in English………………………………………………………………….ⅲ
1. Introduction……………………………………………………………………….1
1.1 The significance of this study……………………………………………........1
1.2 The aim of this study…………………………………………………………..1
2. Literature review………………………………………………………………......1
3. Research Design …………………………………………………………………..3
3.1 The participants of the survey……………………………………………........3
3.2 The instrument of research…………………………………………………….3
3.3Research methods…………………………………………………………........3
3.4 Research question……………………………………………………………...4
3.5 Research process………………………………………………………….........4
4. Research Result and Discussion……………………………………………………6
4.1 Research the result……………………………………………………………...6
4.2 The necessities of multimedia assisted English teaching………………….........6
4.21 The problems existing in the traditional middle school English teaching....7
4.22 Effective ways of solving the problems……………………………………8
4.3 The functions of multimedia assisted English teaching………………………....8
4.31 Changing the backward teaching mediums and means…………………….8
4.32 Stimulating the learners’ senses……………………………………………9
4.33 Creating the contexts of language learning……………...............................10
4.34 Developing students’ abilities and improving their creativity ……………..10
5. Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………...12
6. Limitation……………………………………………………………………………13
References………………………………………………………………………............14
Appendix………………………………………………………………………………..15

1. Introduction
Nowadays, more and higher demands have been put forward for English teaching in our country. At the same time, the advanced teaching medium, multimedia, has been more and more widely used in education. Its application has brought a revolutionary reform for middle school English teaching.
1.1 The significance of this study.
A great number of researches and experiments at home and abroad have been done about applying multimedia in education field. However, the reform of the middle school English teaching that has many problems is going on in a relatively slow rhythm. Multimedia, with its powerful strength, can greatly improve the English teaching in middle school. Therefore, the applying of multimedia in middle school English teaching is a great significance and a further discussion in this paper.
1.2 The aim of this study
Up to now, there are many teachers who can not realize the advantages of multimedia so that many teaching aids can not be used sufficiently. Junior English is a basic phase of learner. In this phase, the students start to form their finenesses for English. So, it’s very important to use the effective teaching tools to inspire students of English learning. In view of this, this paper will discuss the necessities of multimedia assisted English teaching which compared with the traditional methods, and then sum up some functions of multimedia assisted English teaching. In order to let the teachers find the disadvantage of traditional English teaching methods and know the usefulness of using multimedia to assist junior English teaching so that they can use it sufficiently and efficiently in junior English teaching and learning.

2. Literature Review
The multimedia came into being with the rapid development of modern science and technology. A series of experiments and researches about the application of multimedia in education field have been done in a synchronic way according to its history of development.
The earliest application of multimedia in education should be the audio-video education in America in the early 20th century. According to YuZhonggen(2004), the audio-visual education refers to not only the modern mediums such as slide, movies, recorders, radios, and the teaching aids such as pictures, diagram, and specimen and so on, but also the teaching activities like sightseeing, journey and exhibition.
The education in Department of Visual Instruction founded in America in 1923 point out, “Visual experience has much more effect on study than other experience.”(Jack, C.Richard, 2001:81)
Experts of Howard University, Bernard Spolskey and Marine Williams (1980) did an experiment of movie teaching in middle school of three cities, and the result indicated that the students’ scores increased by 20.5 %( Jane Arnold, 2002:59).
Edger Dale (1988), who wrote Audio Visual Methods in Teaching, put forward his famous Cone of Experience, in which he indicated the relationship between the education and experience (Gong Chunyan, 2001:50).
The theory played an important part in the audio-visual education, and it expounded the laws, the position and function of mediums in teaching and learning; especially it laid the theoretical foundation for the multimedia assisted English teaching nowadays.
Professor Howard.E.Gardner(1989) put forward a completely new theory about human intelligence structure-theory of Multiple Intelligence(MT in short). In this book Multiple Intelligence Go to school-Educational Implications of The theory of Multiple Intelligence, he held that, “each student has his particular potentiality which should be uncovered by teachers in teaching.”(Cao Chunyan, 2002) In addition, the multimedia-assisted teaching can do well in stimulating students’ potentiality, so that students’ multiple intelligence can be developed.
The theory of both students and teacher-centered thinks that teacher is a designer, organizer and director who regards teaching methods, education environment and factors as objects in the educational activities; students are the subjects in the educational activities who transfer teacher’s information into their own minds and mix old and new knowledge into a new knowledge system and structure.(Sun Huaizhong,2004:158) Therefore, the aims of education cannot be realized without students as subject in the educational activities. And the application of multimedia in English teaching can ensure the students’ function as the subjects in teaching activities.
Miss Cao Chunyan(2002), a middle school English teacher, did an experiment of multimedia English teaching in an ordinary middle school in Liaoyang city, Liaoning province. Seeing from the result of the experiment, English teaching assisted by multimedia can increase the students’ scores; develop their abilities of using English and their communicative competence. (Cao Chunyan, 2002)
From all the researches and experiments above, it is not difficult to know that the application of multimedia is a great significance in English teaching. However, most of these researches and experiments reveal the importance and advantages of multimedia-assisted teaching in a general aspect. As for the concrete multimedia teaching practice in middle school English teaching, fewer researches have been done. Therefore, the author tries to talk about the application of multimedia in middle school English teaching from the perspectives, the necessities of multimedia assisted English teaching.

3. Research Design
3.1 The participants of the survey
The researcher does practice teaching in Lu Buge Junior Middle School in Luoping city of Qujing, Yunnan province. The students varies from Grade seven to Grade nine in the school, they are potential participants in the study. There are nearly 1500 students in the school which has 30 classes, and there are 50 students in each class. So the choice of the participants to answer the questionnaire is about 10 students from each class. Then, the participants from Grade seven to Grade nine in the school amount to 300.
3.2 The instrument of research
The instrument of survey in the questionnaire is about “application of multimedia in English class”. According to Lu Buge Middle School students’ situation and design this survey, the answer does not require the students write their names, ages, and sexes..
3.3 Research methods
According to the questionnaire survey and the researcher’s observation, asking students to complete the questionnaires. It is difficult to hand out so many questionnaire papers to these students, so it is necessary to ask for the teachers in the school. They are in charge of giving out the papers and gather them. Finally, the researcher statistics and analyses the students’ answers of these questionnaires
3.4 Research question
1. Which problems do exist in the traditional English teaching of middle school?
2. How to solve the problems which exist in the traditional English teaching of middle school?
3. What are the functions of applying multimedia assisted in middle school English teaching?
3.5 Research process
Step1.
The researchers select 300 students of the 30 classes in Luoxiong Middle School. In order to understand the students’ situations of using the multimedia in English class, the researcher observes and takes down how they study English. Finally, the researcher finds out that the students’ studying interests are greatly aroused, which compare with traditional teaching means.
Step2.
According to the step1, the researcher understands the students’ situations and base on the students’ practical situation, write the questionnaire which include 15 questions about “the application of multimedia”. Ask the students to fill in it. Then, the researcher counts the students’ answers.
The statistics as following:
Table1.
Amount
Question

A
B
C
D
E
1
90
147
60
3
0
2
120
99
45
36
0
3
0
108
159
33
0
4
48
240
12

5
66
144
90

6
180
9
111

7
117
180
3

8
294
0
6

9
288
0
12

10
291
3
6

11
3
3
294

12
9
0
120
135
26
13
180
0
120

14
105
150
30
15

15
213
69
18

The researcher counts the rate of the 300 students’ answers.
The results as following:
Table2
Rate
Question

A
B
C
D
E
1
30%
49%
20%
1%
0%
2
40%
33%
15%
12%
0%
3
0%
36%
53%
11%
0%
4
16%
80%
4%

5
22%
48%
30%

6
60%
3%
37%

7
39%
60%
1%

8
98%
0%
2%

9
96%
0%
4%

10
97%
1%
2%

11
1%
1%
98%

12
3%
0%
40%
45%
12%
13
60%
0%
40%

14
35%
50%
10%
5%

15
71%
23%
6%

4. Research Result and Discussion
4.1 Research the results
After analyzing the statistics, the researcher arrives at the following findings: From the first question, it presents most of the students (A+B+C=99%) like using the multimedia in English class; the second question shows a large number of the students(A+B+C=98%) agree to use multimedia can inspire their learning interests; the third question shows the teachers have extensively used the multimedia in English class; seeing from the question4, 80%sudents think the multimedia should not be used in all of the courses, but be used in part of the courses; from the question5, 48%students think the multimedia technology is more appropriate for middle school and primary school; question6 shows the majority students agree with comparing with traditional methods, the multimedia completely carry out reforms in education(60%), only 3% students think it has no changes; the 7th question shows the most students agree with the course has little effect, which reason is the teacher does not use the multimedia in teaching; from the question8, 98% students think that in English teaching process, the teacher should be the center, and the multimedia is the assisted aid. A few students have opposite idea. Seeing from the question9, 10, 11, 12, it shows that through using the multimedia assisted teaching, the students understand the basic content easier, which reason is the multimedia is an audio-visual and vivid. But the weakness of using the multimedia is that teacher and students have no communicative opportunities in class; question12 shows using the multimedia in English teaching can make the courses’ atmosphere become more active(C+