The Application of Multimedia Technology in College English Education

Abstract: Network and multimedia technologies combine the graph, writing, sound, animation, phantom and so on with the course content organically, enabling the learners to use multiple sense organs. Learners of visual, auditor and kinesthetic style who prefer different sensation channels can all obtain effective information stimulation, so teaching may be adapted to learners of different cognitive styles. As our country has just started research and utilization of personalized teaching, this paper, through the research of an important individual difference-- cognitive style in foreign language study, attempts to study how to aim at cognitive style for implementation of personalized foreign language teaching strategy with the aid of network and multimedia technology.

Key words: english education, multimedia technology, network

1. Introduction

Since the 1970s, overseas scholars have started exploration and research of the individual differences. US higher institutes have always had glorious tradition of personalized teaching. Gander, an American psychologist proposed theory of multi-dimensional intelligence, namely, humanities have at least more than seven advantages, and that different people' s intelligence types, learning advantages, learning needs and cognitive styles are different. When teaching respects individual differences and is conducted in an individualized way to the greatest degree, the most desired effect can be obtained (L.Y. Huo, 2003) [1].

Personalized foreign language teaching, namely, one which respects the learners’ individual differences, such as differences in gender, age, individuality, motive, language proficiency, ability aptitude, cognitive style, learning strategy and so on, and adopts teaching strategies that conform to individuality, and promote the learners’ harmonious development of their personalities. In other words , teaching emphasizes learning process and rules, in view of different learners’ individual differences, adopts matching teaching strategies as much as possible, and conducts individualized instruction of learning method. It is a denial of stylized teaching form and abolishing of malpractice of class teaching system which takes community, neglecting individual differences.

2. Differences Cognitive Style

Cognitive style is a term in cognitive psychology. Domestic scholars X.T.Cheng, and M. Zheng (2002) define it as :the learner' s way of distinguishing, processing, storing, extracting information in the cognitive process, and the learner' s orientation of solving problems as well. Sometimes it is also called the study style [2]. As an important constituent of difference in individuality, cognitive style is an important factor that affects foreign language learning strategy and learning result. The cognitive style has various dimensions with different division standards and types, but the common classification includes field independence and field interdependence type , cautious and impulse type, visual, auditory type and kinesthesia type.

2.1. Field Dependent Style and Field Independent Style

H.Witkin, an American psychologist has drawn a conclusion based on research of consciousness that field dependent persons are very difficult to differentiate the key part from its background, they tend to use external objects as reference to form a whole impression, unlikely to initiatively process external information. Field dependent persons are sensitive to social environment. Field independent people can easily separate the key part from the ambiguous environment, and they are insensitive to social environment, with a sound sense of space and ability of logical thinking and analysis, are less influenced by objective environment. In foreign language study, more male student are field independent, while more females are field dependent. Female students are more perceptive, emphasizing the whole, therefore they are good at discovering main ideas as well as extrapolation of overall content according to the context. Unlike the females, the males ca be more precise regarding logic analysis of the specific part[3].

2.2. Impulse and Cautious Style.

I the teaching process, some students reply questions without hesitation, respond rapidly, but their answers are frequently inaccurate, while others favor giving surer answers after careful thought. The former are impulse learners, while the latter cautious learners. In foreign language class, the male students mostly belong to the impulse, who emphasize prompt response, enthusiastic speech and fluent language, not paying too much attention to the accuracy of the expressions. The female students mostly belong to cautious learners, who first find out each possible answer in the mind, give the surest answer after careful consideration. Their answers are more accurate linguistically.

2.3. Visual, Auditor and Kinesthetic Style

According to the preference to the feeling channel to produce the best results when memorizing a material, cognitive style may be categorized into visual type, auditor type and kinesthetic type. The visual type is good at the study through reading, the auditor type is good at communication of listening and speaking through conversation, discussion as well as group task and the kinesthetic holds that speaking and acting contribute to higher efficiency of study. Eisenstein draws a conclusion through observation of experiments that when learning a foreign language, the female enjoy a better sense of hearing than the males, the reason of which is that the female can understand the other part through inquiry. The male prefer learn through action, which is revealed in their enjoying playing games and role play in foreign language study, .Therefore they are partial to kinesthetic style.

3. Personalized Foreign Language Teaching Strategy In Network And Multimedia Environment

3.1. Network and Multimedia Technologies to Aid Personalized Teaching

1) Network Multimedia Technologies

Modern teaching technology is the tool and media of storing and transmitting teaching information manufactured by using modern science and technology ,mainly optic and acoustic media, text and image media, audio-visual media, synthetic media. To save teaching software of various medias in the form of data base in Internet' s server using modern teaching approach, then use computer technology, process comprehensively multiple information in forms of text, graph, image, sound, video, animation and so on, transfer fully functions such as network information service, resources sharing and exchange of information and so on, this is the so- called network multimedia technologies.

2) Network and Multimedia Technologies Applied to Personalized Teaching

To respect the students’ differences in cognitive style, the teacher needs to provide diverse study modes to match the teaching activity. Traditional foreign language class is unable to satisfy this need, but the network and multimedia technologies may be the key to break this bottleneck.

D. Frey , and M. Simonson (1993) discovered that multimedia is not only an education tool, but an effective cognitive tool, which suits learners of different cognitive style[4]. R. Abraham (1985) discovered that computer assistance deductive teaching (present language rules directly) improved field dependent learners’ study condition distinctively, the computer assisted inductive teaching (only give example sentences, request students to induce language rules) improved field independent students' induction ability greatly[5].

In the multimedia self-service language learning center, cautious and impulse learners may adjust the learning pace and advancement voluntarily according to their learning conditions and response time. On the Internet there are massive English teaching websites and study websites, on which learners may enjoy the rich top- quality teaching resources and obtain experts and famous teachers' instructions, and may chat using the email and video frequency, and improve their English proficiency by interacting with native English speakers in real, natural language communication environment.

Current events are integrated into teaching content. Course content is no longer limited to certain textbook, instead rich online resources can be taken advantage of The teacher arranges, plans and designs the course content according to the program of instruction in view of teaching requirements and needs, preferences of the different cognitive style, ha which enjoys great flexibility, and may be replaced at any moment if necessary.

Communication can be done through network, while the teachers ad students may communicate face to face, they can communicate through e-messages, online forums and so on. The teacher may also use the independent study system to group the students, he may exchange with all the students or a certain student diachronically . Simultaneously the teacher may also track each student’s learning progress and performance, and makes prompt feedback and appraisal.

3.2. Respecting Cognitive Style Differences and Conducting Foreign Language Teaching Accordingly

Cognitive style itself does not have division of ft and unfit quality, only when completing different tasks certain cognitive styles get more advantages. Students of different cognitive styles, do not necessarily have differences in academic records . In view of the students' different cognitive styles, the teacher may adopt methods which allow nature to take its course, in view of different learning tasks, the students of different cognitive styles may display their respective strong points in different learning situations. The teacher should learn about students' cognitive styles and the gender differences, and respect the differences. Only in this way can the students’ academic records be better.

1) Strategies for Field Independent and Field Dependent Learners

Field dependent foreign language learners, as a result of their better communication aptitude, enjoy certain superiority in the initial stage of foreign language study, but with the increase of difficulty in study tasks, their foreign language learning is inferior to the field independent learners. Field dependent learners are easily influenced by the environment, so when there exists exterior incentive, they study well. They are easily influenced positively by other s, especially those they admire or worship. So more humanities' examples should be given, group cooperative study should be organized, criticism of them should be avoided in public. When they encounter setbacks, the teacher must give psychological unblocking promptly, which may possibly produce Pygmalion Effect. Field dependent learners lack independent minds and autonomous study strategy, tend to rely on the teacher' s explanation, and are likely to be influenced by appraisal of the teacher and other people of their study effect, therefore the teacher should aim at the key points, giving instruction, simultaneously, point out their shortcomings encouragingly. Certainly the more important is to make up for their weak points, train their consciousness of autonomous learning and develop their independent study strategies. For field independent learners , with their merit of being good at independent thinking and strong ability in abstract logical thinking, their defects lie in clumsiness in communication and cooperation, so the author creates the opportunity and encourages them to talk with their classmates, teachers ad native speakers and participate such activities as English Comer, speech contests and so on. In class they are encouraged to participate in listening and speaking training. In the task-oriented study group, opportunities are given for them to show themselves, and they are instructed to make up for their defects in induction through reading, story retelling, language skill training. Field independent learners use usually their own interior reference, not easily influenced by external interference, and are sometimes stubborn. They should be given the freedom to draw up their own study plan, with independent studies as the primary form, the teacher' s instruction for auxiliary form. They shouldn’t be imposed on the teacher’s thinking mode.

2) Strategies for Cautious and Impulse learners

Cautious students are diligent, orderly, with much attention to details, whose attention span is small. They do remarkably better in English than impulse students, especially in reading comprehension part, because they can adapt to present situation of emphasis on accuracy in test of English reading in our country. In solving an English examination paper including subjective exercises (translation short answer questions, writing) and objective ones, the cautious students score rate are higher in objective exercises, but generally they feel the time is insufficient. Therefore when processing information, if it is urgent, the task is arduous, they may appear bothersome and helpless. So teaching should be slowed down suitably, giving them some patience and thinking time. The language must be fluent, and explanation logical.

The impulse students solve multi-dimensional tasks more quickly than the cautious ones, and they excel in analyzing questions overall and are likely to neglect the details, having difficultly with accuracy of the language use. But school examinations focus more on detailed analysis, therefore most impulse students’ academic records are not satisfactorily. Foreign language teaching must encourage this kind of students, using brain extreme turn and time limited teaching strategies, enabling them to realize their superiority of active thinking and agile response, in view of their problems such as impatience, carelessness and so on, and let them solve the problems and let them realize the regent that carelessness may cause, so they will correct an error consciously. Simultaneously impulse students speak enthusiastically in class, positively express their viewpoints, therefore are easier to make mistakes, thus the teacher must have a correct appraisal and guidance to preserve their initiatives.

The two cognitive styles both have their respective advantages, the impulse cognitive style is advantageous for language fluency while the cautious style is advantageous for accuracy in language expression. So overemphasizing the accuracy and correcting ever mistake are not favorable for developing the students' habit of fluent expression, while overemphasizing fluency, not making any revision to language errors is disadvantageous for establishment of language structure and habit. Laying equal stress on both is an ideal choice. Multiple regression analysis research indicates that students with both accuracy and fluency win the highest academic records in language. Therefore an outstanding leaner should simultaneously have characteristics of both impulse and cautious cognitive style.

References

[I] L.Y. Huo, "Gardner's multi-dimensional intelligence theory", in. Comparitive Education Study, vol.III, 2003, pp.45-47. [2] X.T.Cheng, and M. Zheng. English Study Strategy , Beijing: Foreign Language Teaching and Research Publishing House ,2002.

[3] H.A.Witkin, Cognitive Styles in Personal and Cultural Adaptation , . N.P.: Clark University Press, 1978.

[4] D. Frey , and M. Simonson, "Assement of cognitive style to examine students' use of hypermedia within historic costume" in Home Economics Research Joural, vol . 21, 1993,pp.403-421.

[5] R. Abraham, "Field independence-dependence and the teaching of grammar" in TESOL Quarterly, vol.19, I 985,pp.689-702.

[6 ] D.Y . Li, "Study styles and English academic record" in Joural of Tianjin University (society science version), voUII, 2006,pp.36-39.