Video and multimedia can significantly enhance the experience of learning a language
Video and Multimedia content provide entertaining practice materialand multiple levels of engagement for students of foreign languages.
Video and multimedia can be great teaching aids for language instruction, particularly to help develop listening acuity and also to allow students to practice what they have learned in class.
Video technology supplements classroom listening experiences for students, providing them the opportunity to listen to more voices and accents than they would in an average classroom setting.
Multimedia is also a stress free way in which students can access rich and advanced content which they can read and replay if necessary. This can be more advantageousto students who are not yet conversing with native speakers because they have more control over the content and experience.
Greater Benefits for Students:
Multimedia and the portable classroom:
A few years ago video language instruction might have been confined to a classroom or a television set, now students have an added benefit, that of portability. Laptops, ipods, portable dvd players, and other technological novelties help make video and multimedia available in almost any setting.
Repetitive practice coupled with entertainment:
Because of current technology it is much easier for students to access video and multimedia individually and review movies or videos at their leisure. The memorization techniques often used to learn a language can be supplemented with multiple viewings of a video. Video and other multimedia environments can add variety to learning and ease the workload on students while enhancing varieties of comprehension and understanding.
Culture and video:
Video provides a cultural bridge to help students observe mannerisms, listen to new accents, and look for other cultural nuances, in the end it can serve as a good precursor to visiting another country. Manypeople prefer watching videos over text and static images, especially when it comes to learning about different cultures and far away places.
It is possible to teach words and customs in a classroom, but it is helpful for students to see them in action in different contexts as well. Video and multimedia can provide such an experience and playback greatly enhances comprehension of cultural nuances which might be missed on a first viewing.
Often cultural education is part of a language curriculum and is used to frame some of the lesson plans. Video and audio can help highlight the importance cultural education through real life examples.
General Criteria for Multimedia Content:
Multimedia content can be obtained from various sources and requires different preparation depending on the source. The following criteria are essential for selecting useful instructional materials.
Subtitles:
Subtitles help students to relate complex pronunciation and accents to the written language which they have learned in the classroom setting. Often native speakers speak too quickly for most students, making subtitles extremely useful.
Appropriate vocabulary and language:
Content should be appropriately chosen based on conversational complexity, thematic vocabulary, and thematic complexity. For sources that are not accompanied by workbooks teachers should present a list of any new vocabulary words and phrases to students.
Subject matter that interests students:
It is very important that the subject matter be current and that it involve students on some level that relates to their lives or experience.
The topic should relate to themes and vocabulary being covered in class.
Video and multimedia should be presented in a way that compliments the classroom instruction and adds new dimensions to already studied material.
Genres of Instructor Resources:
There is a wide variety of multimedia content and formats that students and teachers can access online. Videos run the gamut from pre-school level to movies, and there are also books which are read in video or audio formats.
Research:
Considerable research demonstrates the benefits of using multimedia to aid in language instruction.Online instructor oriented databases that provide studies about multimedia usage will note that movies and audio have been a part of language instruction for some time now. Changes are happening in terms of ease of implementation due to increased availability of materials in online environments and the greater ease of recording digital information.
Also, a more globally connected world is creating a demand for greater language acquisition among many populations and thus also for the production of more materials for learning new languages.
The following links can provide more information on these topics:
Enhancing Language Instruction
Through Video and Multimedia