SUMARRY
OF
THE USE
OF MEDIA IN LANGUAGE TEACHING
(Written
by: Donna M. Brinton)
By:
Teguh Raharjo
NIM : 100221509261
Abstract – In “The Use of Media in
Language Teaching.” Brinton presents a rationale for and an overview of media
materials and equipment traditionally used in second/foreign language
classroom. To better guie teachers in their use of media, she provides a five-part
framework for structuring media-based language lessons, accompanied by a
variety of sample lessons that illustrate this framework.
A.
INTRODUCTION
As a tool for language
learning/teaching, media have undoubtedly always facilitated the task of language
learning for both instructed and non-instructed learners. In the second
language classroom, the extent to which media are used has varied widely,
depending on the methodology selected.
In other methods, media are relegated
more to the design or procedure level. In communicative language teaching, much
emphasis is placed on the need for real-life objects or texts (maps, railroad
time tables, application forms) to lend authenticity to the communicative
situation. In the Natural Approach, magazine pictures are used as an
elicitation device in the listening comprehension and early production stages,
and charts, maps, and props are used to motivate and enhance communicative
interchange in later stages of acquisition. The last in experiential approaches
to language learning, language teaching media are often taken out of the hands
of the teacher and placed in the hands of
the students. Whatever the approach, language teachers seem to agree
that media can and do enhance language teaching.
B.
MEDIA:
A DEFINITION
The definition of media is media
means many different things to different people. The most immediate connotation
of the term “media” at least must be related to language teaching. All aids,
mechanical and non-mechanical, glossy and non-glossy, commercially available
and teacher-made, should be part of our definition of language teaching media.
C.
A
RATIONALE FOR THE USE OF MEDIA IN LANGUAGE TEACHING
The reasons why we should use media when
teaching second or foreign language are self-evident to experienced classroom
teachers. In short, media help us to motivate students by bringing a slice of
real life into the classroom and by presenting language in its more complete
communicative context. The following statements summarize the rationale for
using media in the language classroom:
§ Given
the role media play in the world outside the classroom, students expect to find
media inside the classroom as well.
§ Audiovisual
materials provide students with content, meaning, and guidance.
§ Media
materials can lend authenticity to the classroom situation, reinforcing for
students the direct relation between the language classroom and the outside
world.
§ Since
the learning styles of students differ, media provide us with a way of
addressing the needs of both visual and auditory learners.
§ The
role that input plays in language learning is virtually uncontested. By
bringing media into the classroom, teachers can expose their students to
multiple input sources.
§ Media
can help students call up existing schemata and therefore maximize their use of
prior background knowledge in the language learning process.
§ Media
provide teachers with a means of presenting material in a time-efficient and
compact manner and of stimulating students’ senses.
D.
CLASSROOM
MEDIA: AN OVERVIEW
1. Nontechnical
Media
The advantages of this
category are in setting where electricity is unreliable, technical resources
are scare, funding is limited, low cost, availability, accessibility, and
user-friendliness. Items that belong in this category typically include:
blackboard, whiteboard, pegboard, flashcard, poster, photo, cartoon, object,
newspaper, magazine, etc.
2. Technical
Media
These forms are
costlier and less user-friendly than nontechnical media, however they carry
with them a larger degree of “psychological reality” in that they can bring the
outside world in all its complexities into the classroom. Items that belong in
this category typically include: record player, CD player, television,
telephone, OHP, film projector, computer language lab, multimedia lab, etc.
E.
GUIDELINES
FOR USING MEDIA IN THE CLASSROOM
In fact, guidelines for selection,
adaptation, development, and implementation of media-based materials do not
differ radically from the kinds of guidelines we find mentioned more
universally regarding lesson planning and textbook evaluation.
F.
A
FRAMEWORK FOR STRUCTURING MEDIA LESSONS
The framework is intended to put the
application of media to language teaching into a unified perspective and to
assist teachers in better structuring media lessons. In constructing this
framework, Brinton had divided up the typical “lesson” into five stages:
1. The
information and motivation stage
The topic and relevant
background information are presented.
2. The
input stage
The teacher ensures
comprehension of the item or items presented.
3. The
focus stage
The students practice
the tasks and are provided with guided opportunities to manipulate items until
they feel comfortable and confident.
4. The
more communicatively oriented transfer stage
The students are given
opportunities to offer personal comments or share experiences relating to the
given context.
5. An
optional feedback stage
Audio or video
recordings of students are used to guide the assessments of the students,
performance.
G.
CONCLUSION
Instructional
media come in an almost infinite variety of forms and can play equally varied
roles. The following are factors that should be considered when incorporating
instructional media into our language teaching goals:
§ Type
of skill/concept to be presented
§ Student
preference: the age, interests, experiences, and learning styles of the
students concerned.
§ Teacher
preference: facility with equipment, familiarity/adroitness with the given
medium, teaching style.
§ Availability
of software and hardware
§ Physical
circumstances of the classroom/lab
We should keep in mind that language
teaching is a collective title for a variety of activities undertaken by
different people in very different circumstances.
Use
media materials:
§ when
variety is called for
§ when
they help you to reinforce the points you wish to make or serve as
contextualization
§ when
they expedite your teaching task and serve as source of input
§ when
they help you to individualize instruction and appeal to the variety of
cognitive styles in your classroom.
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