TOPIC 24.TECHNOLOGICAL AND PEDAGOGICAL ASPECTS IN USING AUDIOVISUAL MATERIALS (NEWPAPERS, TV, TAPE RECORDERS, VIDEO, ETC.).

COMPUTERS
AS AN AUXILIARY RESOURCE FOR LEARNING AND IMPROVING FOREIGN LANGUAGES
0.
INTRODUCTION
o What is audiovisual?
o Advantages and disadvantages of using audio-visual material
1.
AUDIOVISUAL MATERIALS
o Visual materials: the newspaper
o Aural materials: the cassette recorder and the CD player.
o Audiovisual materials:
- The Television
- The Video and DVD player
- The camcorder or video camera
2.
COMPUTERS AS AN AUXILIARY RESOURCE FOR LEARNING AND
IMPROVING FOREIGN LANGUAGES
o Types of software suitable for the English classroom.
o The Internet
0.
INTRODUCTION
A number of new techniques for teaching English have been developed during the
last ten years thanks to the fast development of new technologies and the decrease in price
of appliances such as TV sets, video machines, camcorders or computers. Besides, the
educational authorities have tried to develop their use, lately the use of computers in
particular with programmes such as Aldea Global, Info XXI, Educared, etc.
These machines have not only made our lives easier but have also greatly
contributed to the diversification of teaching activities when teaching a foreign language.
Consequently, new products have been launched. New video methods, new computer
programs, make the learning more enjoyable and enable the teacher to widen current
classroom teaching techniques. We could say that these audiovisual technologies started to
expand in the late 1970s or early 1980s and are getting more and more widely used.
However there are other techniques based on technological development which are
still used in the classroom and which date back a little farther. These techniques are not
really audiovisual, but we will study them: newspapers, radio, cassette recorder, etc.
When talking about the use of technology in the classroom advantages and
disadvantages should be taken into account.
Advantages:
language is taught in its context
high motivation
it provides creative opportunities
it broadens horizons and extends contacts
it means a great potential for a wide variety of activities
it provides flexible responses to learning problems
Disadvantages:
ephemerality
difficulties in comprehension (language and structural)
it requires a lot of commitment on behalf of the teacher, who has to
think that technology must serve him/her, but will never replace him/her.
1.
USING AUDIOVISUAL MATERIALS
VISUAL MATERIALS
The student belongs to the image and sound generation. Therefore, the learning
process must include visual and audiovisual materials which are so familiar to them. These
images will encourage the student to communicate, as they are natural and motivating
stimuli for them. They make the language used in the classroom look more real.
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The main functions of the image in the English classroom are:

motivating function: the students becomes active.
it replaces reality: the image is used in substitution of reality.
it creates situations: the student gets involved with it.
it suggests experiences: the student is suggested interpretations or
experiences that will lead him/her to real communication situations
informative function: it transmits cultural aspects (customs,
landscape, art, politics, celebrations of the country)
checking function: the image is used for checking the students
understanding of the verbal message.
concentration function: it focuses attention on something.
reinforcing function: the image supports understanding and
memorising.
We will talk about the newspaper because it is an essential visual material used in
the English classroom. English-language newspapers are available world-wide on a daily
basis. Some originate from English-speaking countries, others are locally produced. They
are cheap and plentiful so newspapers can be useful in the classroom (the same happens
with magazines).
Newspapers contain a very wide variety of text types and an immense range of
information. They are therefore a natural source of many of the varieties of written English
that become increasingly important as learners progress.
Reading newspapers is a way to transfer latent skills from the mother tongue to the
language learning classroom. Those pupils who normally read newspapers in Spanish will
be receptive to the use of English newspapers in the classroom. Reading newspapers we
exercise skimming and scanning skills. These skills are very useful for our pupils.
Newspapers are about the outside world so using them in the classroom is an interesting
way to bring the real world into the learning situation.
Using newspapers is also useful to integrate skills. The reading material leads easily
into discussions and writing activities. This integration of skills is also authentic as the
response to what we read in newspapers is likely to be authentic and personal.
Topicality is both an advantage and a disadvantage. Contemporary stories are
motivating, but also date quickly. For this reason, it may be better to collect human interest
stories which do not date over a long period of time. Finally, we can say that newspapers are
probably the best source of information about the target language culture.
However, there are also drawbacks. Most learners find newspapers difficult: special
grammar conventions, obscure cultural references, large amounts of unknown vocabulary
Letting our pupils choose the text they wish to work with can get rid of many problems.
Before the third cycle authentic newspapers shouldnt be used, as the students could
demotivate. In the third cycle we can teach them some of the conventions of the newspaper
style at a basic level.
The activities we may use will include:
writing and replying to small ads
writing and replying to letters to agony aunts
re-ordering jumbled paragraphs
re-ordering jumbled cartoon strips
completing cartoon speech bubbles
predicting horoscopes for class members
matching property ads with pupils needs
replying to job ads (role plays)
designing and elaborating a newspaper
All these activities can only be done at a very basic level with our pupils. However, it is
important to familiarise them with newspapers. They will be used by secondary teachers
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more extensively and we must not forget that most educated people read one or more
newspapers daily.
Other visual materials are photographs, the overhead projector, realia, flashcards or
drawings on the blackboard, rods, wall pictures, slides, etc.
AURAL MATERIALS
Here we can include the radio, the cassette recorder, the laboratory. The radio is not
very common in the English class. Though it is a very useful way to develop listening skills,
our students do not have the necessary linguistic abilities to cope with radio programmes.
The foreign language lab is hardly used now and it can be replaced by a computer lab.
We will speak more about the cassette recorder and/or CD player. Though much
can be done by simply speaking while all the children follow what we say, it is clear that the
development of listening skills in our classroom situation relies heavily on the universal
availability of a cassette of pre-recorded material.
All new Primary English coursebooks have a teachers cassette or CD with the
corresponding texts and songs. These cassettes provide a good model of spoken English
and real language.
We can accustom our pupils to listen to recordings of simple stories or fairy tales with
activities to follow if we set up a listening corner in our classroom where we can have two or
three cassettes or CDs and the activity books. The children will of course need to be trained
in how to use a cassette player on their own, but they probably know how to play it already. It
is a good reinforcing material for slower students, who can work autonomously.
If we use the cassette/CD player to introduce new language we can always give our
pupils the possibility of listening to the recording more than once. Listening materials
suitable for our levels are very simple and the range of activities they include are somehow
limited. We must try to widen the range of activities including pre-, while- and post- listening
activities which will improve the listening skills of our pupils.
Recording devices can also be used to improve our pupils oral skills. They can
record themselves noticing differences between their own pronunciations and the
pronunciations of the cassette. This is also motivating for our pupils. One activity which
promotes oral skills and motivates our pupils is recording their own songs in a tape.
2.3. AUDIOVISUAL MATERIALS
Audiovisual materials proper include both sound and pictures. We next study how to
use the television, the video and the camcorder in the classroom.
Television
In relation to television, we can say that it is inherently a medium that has a great
potential for motivating learners. It provides a wide variety of situations, accents, topics and
presentation techniques. The real situations provide a context for language exploitation. The
language used offers the necessary authenticity. It offers the possibility of exploiting students
current interests. Television provides a wide range of paralinguistic clues facial
expressions, body movements, etc. that are very useful for comprehension. Television can
introduce the culture of the country food, clothes, buildings, etc. -. A major advantage is
that the same programme can adapted to different levels, depending on the task students
are asked to do. The role of the teacher becomes crucial to take the decision as to how to
work the programmes. As one of the major problems of using television and video in the
classroom is the ephemerality of the medium, our task as teachers is to confront the pupils
with activities that build and reinforce the viewing experience.
Children may not understand a real TV programme, but that is not a problem.
Watching regularly TV programmes especially made for native children is very beneficial.
But we cannot expect children to answer questions or reproduce what they hear, even if they
spend hours watching programmes in English. TV programmes, such as cartoons, do not
teach the language, but help internalise it. This kind of material must be authentic and
interesting.
The problem of using TV is that we cannot stop it. Although TV is an important aid for
study, it fulfils its real importance in the classroom on videocassette.
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Video and DVD

As an addition to the teachers resources, video (both magnetic or digital) offers an
interesting and motivating aid to learning. It brings the outside world into the classroom, it
offers examples of new language and is a stimulus to the classroom communication.
Video materials used in language teaching come from a wide range of sources:
video recordings of language-teaching broadcasts and films
video recording of domestic television broadcasts, such as comedy
and news programmes
video recordings of specialists films and television programmes such
as documentaries produced by industry, or educational programmes
video language-teaching materials made for the classroom rather
than for public transmission or broadcasts
self-made video films, involving the teachers and learners.
The combination of sound and vision is dynamic, immediate, and accessible. This
means that communication can be shown in a context; it is what we could call language in
action. We find out straight away about the speakers in dialogues since they can be seen
and heard. This way, we find out about their ages, their sex, whether they are related or not
to each other, the place where the situation is taking place, etc. With all this information the
learner can clarify whether the situation is formal or informal, etc.
Register is the way in which we say things depending on the people we are talking to
and our relationship with them. The learner can see why things are said in a different way.
Watching the video, s/he can judge relationships and feelings from the speakers gestures,
facial expressions, posture, distance from each other, dress and surroundings. All these
factors influence or reflect what people say and how they say it, and only video can show
them fully.
Like any feature film or TV programme, a video will use close-ups of people, places
and things to emphasise or explain what it is going on. The camera technique helps learners
to understand the narrative and the characters behaviour and motivation.
One more important aspect to think of is that learning a language is not only a matter
of structures and words. Cultural factors are a very important part of language learning.
Video allows the learner to see the target language at work.
Although the audiovisual features of video films are found in cinema films and
television broadcasts too, they do not offer the same facilities for classroom exploitation. On
top of that we must not forget the electronic tricks to create special effects and images.
All these previous aspects make the video material interesting. At their best, video
presentations will be intrinsically interesting to language learners, and they will want to watch
more, even if comprehension is limited, and should ask questions and follow-up ideas and
suggestions. By generating interest and motivation, the video films can create a climate for
successful learning.
We have to make it clear that the video recorder cannot and does not replace the
teacher. It changes his or her role so that teachers become more facilitators adapting the
materials to the needs of individual classes or pupils. Learners should not be exposed to
long excerpts whose body of texts would be so demanding that could create more frustration
than encouragement. As a general rule, it is much better to choose a short excerpt and to
work thoroughly on it.
An adequate approach could consist of three phases:
in the first phase the video is just being played so that pupils become
familiar with the materials they are going to watch
before the second phase takes place, some vocabulary might be
taught but it is not necessary. In this phase the video is paused frequently so that
attention can be focused on specific items of vocabulary and the actual teaching
and learning activities can be initiated.
phase three is aimed to reinforce the work that has been done.
Depending on how challenging the materials have been, the video can be played
through or paused at different stages for pupils to process what is being said.
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Some techniques for the use of video are:

1 Silent viewing: playing the video with the sound turned down
for no more than two minutes. The learners watch it and decide what is
happening and what the speakers are saying.
2 Freeze frame: pressing the Pause button on the video
recorder to freeze the motion of the screen. This allows the learner to look
more closely at individual images or utterances within a sequence. It is
useful for detailed language study, observation, and description.
3 Roleplay: it is, together with acting, one of the most useful
ways of using new language through a video. Acting out involves
practising the exact words of a dialogue, while roleplaying means that the
learners use their own words and personalities to act out the situation
they have seen on the screen.
4 Behaviour study: it concentrates on the non-verbal ways in
which people express themselves facial expressions, gesture, posture,
dress, physical contact, etc. The main aim is to sensitise learners to
conventions of behaviour in another culture.
5 Prediction: the teacher stops the video and elicits from the
class what happens or what is said next. They can predict the topic after
looking at the title, predict the end, guess the title, write the dialogue, the
synopsis, etc.
6 Thinking and feeling: this technique is designed to focus on
the thoughts and emotions of the characters in a sequence, and their
relation to what is said. The learners have to say how the speaker is
feeling, giving reasons for their choice. The teacher can also as What are
the characters thinking? or even How would you feel in a situation like
this?
7 Sound only: the opposite of silent viewing. Instead of not
listening, the learner can listen but has to imaging the picture. The
technique provides practice in describing things or people, identifying
things or people from their description and following an oral description of
something.
8 Watchers and listeners: half the class watch the screen and
the other half listen. Then the watchers explain to the listeners what they
have seen. This provides practice in speaking, observation and accurate
reporting.
Video improves both listening and speaking skills, but it can also be used to improve
writing ones, with exercises and activities, jumbles, word soups, etc. Even at higher levels
learners can be asked to complete a script, to take short notes about what is being said, or
produce short summaries.
The video camera
At a certain stage (after rehearsal, but at any level) students can be invited to produce
their own material and record it in video. It is a high motivating task, but it requires time and
technical mastery.
The teacher and/or the learners should operate the video camera and equipment
competently. Then a wide variety of stimulating projects can be undertaken. Speaking
abilities are developed, but also self-confidence, work in groups, organisation and order, care
for the class materials, etc.
Four steps can be suggested to make use of the camcorder:
a talking head: one person talks to the camera
dialogues: two or three people are filmed talking together
group discussion: a larger group of people are filmed in discussion
project work: a freer use of the video facilities
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The activities that can be carried out can be categorised in groups:

language-training video: which presents to the learners some
aspects of communication in the target language
recordings of the learners: which allow them to see and hear
themselves performing in the target language
video projects controlled by the learners, which offer the learners the
opportunity of working together in the target language
With small children the exploitation of the video camera will be on the part of the
teacher, but it will be as stimulating and instructive as with older students. The viewing will
be, in this case, the most important part of the process. For both small and older students
the viewing is enjoyable and surprising, and means the moment of feedback.
2.
COMPUTER AS AN AUXILIARY RESOURCE FOR LEARNING AND
IMPROVING FOREIGN LANGUAGES
Although they have been used for teaching since the 1960s, computers only became
practical and affordable for language learning in the early 1980s, when relatively inexpensive
personal computers first became available. The first Computer-Assisted Language Learning
(CALL) programs were mainly used for manipulating words and sentences, playing games
with students, testing them, and giving them feedback on their performance. Used in this
way the computer has often been described as the medium of the second chance
(because the activities usually let you try more than once to get the answer right) and of risktaking (because you can make mistakes in your answers without other students knowing).
As computers became more powerful, and multimedia software became practical, the
early 1990s saw the emergence of CD-ROMs, storing complete encyclopaedias or language
courses with text, graphics, and audio or video. Commercial products of this sort, which are
professionally produced, reliable, and straightforward to use, have a place in many
classrooms.
Of course, the teacher must know how to work the computer and the program. The
students have the mastery already. Every school has now its computer room and each
learner can sit down and work.
The use of a computer is an excellent way to set remedial work. Not only does the
learner have access to it at any time (with a computer at home), but has a reliable source if
the program has been properly developed, and, what is more, the computer never gets tired,
irritable or impatient. It is particularly good for learners who cannot cope with a more
traditional teaching approach. As in video learning, computer learning makes use of a series
of techniques that eases the task and makes it more enjoyable and entertaining. And pupils
find that using computers is highly motivating.
The number of interactive programs on the market has increased a lot, but not all of
them are useful for the class. Many are for adults and are still focused on the language, not
on the content, as the machine cannot grasp meaning. They work on pronunciation,
repetition, grammar and vocabulary exercises. The communication is still something that has
to do with human beings.
Programs that children can use are made specially for them, some are for the
learning of English but do not focus on grammar, but on concentration games, memory
games, tales, cookery recipes, numbers and letters, paintings, etc. Others are not specially
sold for learning English, but has the option of using it in this language. They are very
motivating for our students and they learn the language unconsciously and in a playful way.
In many ways, however, the challenges presented to both students and teachers by
the Internet can provide a more interesting, rewarding experience. The Net is a huge, rich
resource. Its main distinguishing feature is that it is a medium of exploration, which releases
creativity and imagination.
The Internet is beginning to transform language learning:
first of all by making available to teachers and students an enormous
range of information and resources
as a means of communication
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not only in writing, but it is beginning to allow audio and video

communication
it leads to more cross-curricular work
for their potential to motivate.
The students, once they are working on the computer, unless they need help, take the
attention away from the teacher, though the teacher must co-ordinate and assess. This
allows more flexibility in managing the lesson, and in particular there is often more time to
work with individuals and groups than in an ordinary class. Most of the activities with the
Internet require small groups, they are not usually done individually.
Materials from the Internet can be used with a variety of levels by allowing students
themselves to choose the kind of material they work with, and by varying the kind of task
they are asked to perform. For example, if students have to visit newspaper sites in order to
produce their own newspaper, they can be given a choice of Websites, of the kind of news
they select, and of the task they are to carry out with the news they find.
There are also steps to work with computers:
1.Pre-computer work: in some cases, before beginning an activity on the computer, it
will be necessary to pre-teach vocabulary, or a specific function or structure. In every case,
however, you will need to ensure that the students know exactly what they have to do when
they begin work on the computers.
2.
Computer work: If the activity has been well prepared, and the students
suitably trained, the teacher should intervene only if s/he is asked for help. Instead, the
teacher will monitor what the students are saying and doing.
3.
Post-computer work: it is important that anything done in the computer room
should be transferable to the normal classroom, and any Internet activity should be
planned from the outset with some kind of follow-up activity in mind. Wherever possible,
students should have something physical that they can take away with them from the
computer room, so that they have a record of what they have done for follow-up work or
for end-of-course- revision.
One drawback of the Internet is that it is a huge, rich resource, much of it yet
unplanned. The variety of resources is so great that deciding how to exploit resources once
you find them can be a challenge in itself. You have to plan the lessons very well in order to
ensure your students Internet time is productive in terms of language learning.