Developing auditory and visual skills through multimedia technologies

This article involves the analysis of multimedia and multimedia technologies for educational purposes; advantages and benefits of using multimedia technologies in higher education; promotion of video/audio/TV/film into learning environment; basic principles of the listening skills development; learning outcomes of students by using media VOD system, TED talks, ORORO, fmovies and etc. The article also shows the important advantage of using listening skill in the foreign language lesson, which forms intercultural-communicative and professional competence, as it affects the cultural and social aspects of a certain topic. The selection of effective video / audio materials is the main component of the learning process while teaching a foreign language; therefore the planning of the listening skill in the lesson should be conducted taking into account a certain time, the appropriate topic, tasks and situation on the topic and the selection of recommended video / audio / films from authentic sources. The article combines the European requirements to Foreign Languages with the requirements of national standards of KZ, which makes it possible to build the right system for carrying out the listening skill and has an outlet for intercultural and professional communication. The object of the research is the development of the multimedia logical structure of the listening skill and its practical application in the lesson for studying a foreign language. The results of the research show that students correctly use grammatical constructions, enrich their vocabulary, improve pronunciation, rhythm, stress and intonation, and have the ability to listen different accents. 

Now multimedia technologies called "new media," "hypermedia," "integrated media," or more commonly "multimedia" have been defined in a number of ways [1]. "Multimedia", in its broadest sense, means graphics, music, sound effects, voice, video, and animation, in any combination, in the same program or presentation [2, p.369]. It can be defined as an integration of multiple media elements (audio, video, graphics, text, animation, etc.) into one synergetic and symbiotic whole that results in more benefits for the end user than any one of the media elements can provide individually.

For educational technology purposes, multimedia refers to computer-based systems that use associative linkages to allow users to navigate and retrieve information stored in a combination of text, sounds, graphics, video, movies, music, lighting and other media as for education [3].

Multimedia's basic technologies include text, maps, graphic images, electronic presentations, animation, videoconferencing, digital audio and video, web learning environment, videoconferencing systems [4].

Since several years ago, education experts had been proposing a new style of education involving using multimedia, which differs radically from the traditional ways. Changing the education systems as a new ways towards a new paradigm for teach [5]. Today, multimedia technology mainly comprise the use of technology in the process of teaching and learning. The term “technology” include the use of latest tools and techniques like laptops, interactive whiteboards and smart phones, Internet, Wi-Fi, YouTube and Skype etc. In addition, technology encompasses efficient and enhanced learning management systems, schema of information dissemination, effective teaching and management of student masses, feedback mechanisms and performance evaluation methodologies etc.

Multimedia technologies have many advantages such as widely available, reusable multimedia and decrease pressure on lecturer, better individual student engagement and globality [6]. In fact, some students may be better able to learn from multimedia than from any other format. The possibilities of this medium for students with aural or visual learning style preferences are unprecedented. Reynolds and Anderson (1992) describe the relevance of multimedia to three objectives of learning:

• Cognitive objectives. Used to teach recognition or discrimination of applicable visual stimuli and audio
• Psychomotor objectives. An excellent tool to recreate real world
• Affective objectives. Interactive multimedia is very useful in the affective domain. The strength of detailed portrayal of situations and interactive participation of the learner increases its usefulness for effective domain objectives [7].

Academic listening (video/audio/film) in EFL education is impossible to imagine without the use of multimedia technologies. Listening in the classroom comprises interviews, talk shows, videoconferencing, lectures and films. It conveys information through two sensory channels: aural and visual. The richness of these forms of information [images, motion, sound, and, at times, text] benefits learners, by enabling them “…to learn through both verbal and visual means, to view actual objects and realistic scenes, to see sequences in motion, and to view perspectives that are difficult or impossible to observe in real life”[8]. In addition, Marshall (2002) details three theories that explain how learning may occur via well-selected video/audio “based on the ability of the entertaining media to engage the learner, activate emotional states, initiate interest in a topic, and allow for absorption and processing of information”[9].

For students learning English as a second language, video/film/TV/audio demonstrates communicative language within a language environment and cultural context. Video, especially film, provides a social context for English language learners; it can be played with the sound on, so that students hear the language being spoken, or alternatively, with the sound off, so that learners can use their own language skills to provide the dialogue or narrative.

Effectively integrating video into classroom instruction involves preparation and activities before, during and after viewing. Selecting effective video/audio is an essential component of integrating this medium into practice and realizing the promise of multimedia in the classroom.

Analyzing the researcher’s works on using educational video/film/audio in educational process, we suggest an innovative technology of Academic Listening based on requirements of the modern foreign language education, considering basic principles on using an effective listening and outcomes received from aural and audio-visual reception.

Instructional planning of academic listening considers the following principles:

• Interactivity principle
• Language progression principle
• Authenticity
• Teaching listening strategies (predicting, inferring, monitoring, clarifying, responding, and evaluating).
• The use of different types of listening
• Variety of tasks

Within these principles, students should develop the skills of listening for gist: specific information; detailed understanding; implications; etc. Educational video/film/audio can be taken from one of the most exciting new paths is Video-on-Demand (VOD) systems, tools that make videos available to classroom teachers, that can be stored on a computer server, where they can be assessed at any time by teachers or students.

In fact, the ability of VOD systems to assist teachers in locating and presenting short targeted clips of no more than two to five minutes in length dovetails exactly with expert recommendations for video usage: “Most educational experts agree that video is best shown in short segments so as to maximize learners’ concentration”.

It is clear that this new technology opens many new opportunities for learning that are just beginning to be explored. As the documented strengths of film, television and video are made more and more available and accessible through Video-on-Demand systems, the potential for learning and exploration opens up before us.

At recent times, the most used linkages and software tools for downloading movies, creating videos with animations and photos are ORORO, fmovies, vialogues.com, www.voxopop.com, Powtoons, Animoto, Magisto, Popcorn Maker, GoAnimate and etc. As for teaching listening to public announcements; listening as a member of a live audience (public meetings; public lectures) and listening to overhead conversations TED talks is an effecting form of multimedia that has selected video of different talks on various topics (historical, political, economic contexts etc.) and concludes one of the most significant factors in the success of language progression.

The language user as a listener receives and process a spoken input proceeded by one or more speakers. Listening is a language skill that can be acquired with the help of training as well as any other skills. Students get vital information not only about grammar and vocabulary but also about pronunciation, rhythm, intonation, pitch and stress. Moreover, listening to spoken language lets students hear different varieties and accents of it.

According to Common European Framework of Reference for languages (CEFR) the following certain requirements for listening materials must be corresponded: it should be authentic or at least realistic for beginners; depending on the level of learners the length of the text and the topic of it should be well-selected, as long tapes on subjects which students are not interested in will be demotivating and will result in lost comprehension making listening value less[10]. J. Harmer considers, listening can be effective when it follows a number of principles: use of pre-listening tasks: listening to every text twice; making students be encouraged to respond to the content of a listening, not just to the language; applying different listening tasks for different listening stages; exploiting listening texts to the full.

The logical framework of our Academic Listening comprises various tasks designed in the combination within reading, writing and speaking skills i.e. listening tasks derived on reproduction writing or essay writing; retelling (monologue) or discussion (dialogue); FCE/PET tests or derivatives/event details. It guarantees the students’ better perception of information and formation of intercultural communicative competence. Moreover, we applied listening tasks in correspondence within listening stages and activities before, during and after viewing/watching/listening. The most important factor that should be emphasized is the significance of listening outcomes (CEFR) depending on the level of learners. Combination of four skills in one logical framework on the formation of listening skills guarantees the students’ better perception of information and formation of intercultural communicative competences in the easiest way.

This model is based on the following activities:

• watching TV, video, or a film with subtitles;
• listening to public meetings, public lectures;
• listening to overheard

It is clear that new technologies and innovative way of teaching opens many new opportunities for learning that are just beginning to be explored. As the documented strengths of film, television and video are made more and more available and accessible through Video-on-Demand systems, ORORO, fmovies and TED talks the potential for learning and exploration opens up before us.

References:

1. Ekinci, D. et al. (2009). Using Multimedia Technologies as Current Trends on Social Sciences Education. Australian Science Teachers http://eprints.ibu.edu.ba/658/1/ISSD_2009_ProceedingAdditionalVol_p93-p106.pdf
2. Blumenfeld, P.C. Soloway, S., Marx, R.W., Krajcik, J.S., Guzdial, M., and Palincsar, (1991), A. Motivating project-based learning: Sustaining the doing, supporting the learning. Educational Psychologist. 26(3,4), 369-398.aare.edu.au
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5. Rosenberg, M.J. (2001). E-Learning: Strategies for Delivering Knowledge in the Digital Age, McGraw-Hill, New York, NY
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7. Reynolds, A., Anderson, R.H. (1992). Selecting and developing media for Instruction. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold.
8. Douglas Wetzel, Paul H. Radtke, Hervey W. Stern (1994). Instructional effectiveness of video media. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, p.250
9. Marshall, J.M. (2002). Learning with technology: Evidence that technology can, and does, support learning. White paper prepared for Cable in the
10. A Common European Framework of Reference for Languages Learning, Teaching, Assessment. — Strasbourg, 1986.