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19Применение мультимедиа курса при обучении английскому языку для специальных целей
Глоткина Антонина Александровна
старший преподаватель кафедры И-13 «Иностранный язык для физико-математических и инженерных специальностей», Московский авиационный институт (национальный исследовательский университет), glotkina@gmail.com
В статье рассматривается важность внедрения мультимедиа курса нового поколения при обучении английскому языку для специальных целей. В связи с развитием технологий происходят значительные изменения в таких областях, как наука и экономика, но также отмечаются изменения в личностном и психологическом восприятии информации. Современные студенты выдвигают новые требования, которым сложно соответствовать при отсутствии инновационных педагогических подходов и методов. В статье проводится анализ существующих ресурсов и источников по практике языка. Автором объясняется недостатки, которые возникают при текущих вариантах работы с данными источниками. Процесс вовлечения студентов в обучение языку для специальных целей невозможен без нового взгляда на проблематику и привлечения современных методов, в частности введения мультимедиа курса с интерактивными компонентами при работе со студентами, заинтересованных в изучении языка для специальных целей. Абсолютно очевидно, что видео становится ключевым элементом при обучении языку, однако до сих пор рассматривается как развлекательное звено, а не образовательное. Этот подход должен претерпеть изменения, автором статьи предлагается видение нового мультимедиа курса, который будет способствовать полноценному погружению в курс.
Ключевые слова. Обучение английскому языку, английский язык для специальных целей, овладение языком, видео, мультимедиа курс, интерактивность, коммуникативный подход, мотивация.
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Introduction
Current technologies are extremely helpful while using them skillfully in a classroom. The more agile a teacher is today the more benefits they provide for their students. «Bad teaching will not disappear with the addition of even the most advanced technology; good teaching will benefit from appropriate use of technology to help learners achieve their goals». [4, p.17] Being early adopters of the technnologies is quite risky, however, this quality is highly valuable in teaching. The English language takes a special role while being a lingua franca, it is the language of engineering, medicine and progress. Scientific research needs to be published in English so that the results could be known in the modern world community. Working with aircraft designers, programmers and economists tightly connected with the aviation sphere, the international industry, it is becoming clear that despite professional skills it's vital to have proper skills in communicating in English.
What differs one generation from another one it is the attitude towards the technologies that appear on a daily basis. Some of them are becoming trend setters, the others disappear astronomically fast, leaving only the gismos that further generations even cannot recognize. To realize that this exact technology will transform the whole way we do things is enormously hard and it needs the vision of experts, yet some trends are visible today and it's highly likely they are going to last long into the future. Among them we can list mobile technologies and the Internet.
At least currently teachers while inviting their students to the lessons don't ask them to switch off their smartphones and tablets, on the contrary, the tendency of «bring your own device» (BYOD) is widely spread. Collaborative tasks in teams and the Internet research tasks are common due to high speed Internet connection. Such activities raise students' engagement, their autonomy: «The use of mobile devices is known to help personalise the learning process, making it more motivating, flexible and enjoyable, while assisting students to develop autonomy in what they produce». [9] Students have an access to authentic materials and study how to evaluate critically the information they have read. Technologies do not stay in a way of students' learning, balanced and thought-out lesson plans will make a difference in a traditional curriculum.
It's important today to surround yourself with all possible resources while studying the language.
Thanks to YouTube, Vimeo students watch video clips with and without subtitles. Quite often students complain that they lack the vocabulary to express their idea: «Low-level proficiency students lack motivation and confidence when they speak. They are usually very silent and passive. They hesitate to answer any question or take self-initiative when needed to participate in class activities... Such students are not able to bring their ideas and also comprehend the information well because they have very limited vocabulary and are not able to pronounce the words well». [8] But practice makes it perfect, if they read a lot different news items, articles, watch Ted Talks and listen to podcasts, it is believed they can boost the knowledge of the language. Among some resources which are recommended it is BBC podcasts (the variety of topics covered there from literature to computer science), BBC ideas (short video clips discussing dilemmas), VOA podcasts (especially Amrican cafe — fascinating talks about the social life, culture, technologies), Ted Talks (ideas worth spreading — amasing speakers that can change the way one thinks), YouTube Bloomberg (business news), the Economist (some documentary films covering the finance world and the world economy), NBC news. Students can easily go to Google playmarket and download a variety of mobile applications — it would be nice to have BBC news, their articles show the current world affairs. There are applications for training grammar and vocabulary and preparing yourself to any sort of exams — TOEIC (English all levels), IELTS listening and speaking, VOA learning English (short podcasts on various topics). The task is to stick to the pattern of everyday use of the language, it might be making a short script of the news item with new expressions, or it could be recording the retelling of the article. One aspect that causes worries is that there is not a single versatile source which combines all positive features of online applications and resources.
That's why there are some questions we need to answer urgently to build the system which could meet the requirements of a modern student. First of all how is it possible to aggregate the materials at one place eliminating the complete mess of a huge and sophisticated structure? Secondly, how can our user be confident about the quality of the content?And finally how can we create a user-friendly platform which would be equally engrossing for students and teachers as well?
Issues in details
The first problem that any teacher faces is the necessity to find a fragile balance between a programme imposed by the traditional curriculum and the interests that future specialists have. This problem motivates a teacher to be in a constant process of searching for additional articles, videos and podcasts to support their students' interest towards the subject that they study. Yet this adventure is full of pitfalls as it's time-consuming and sometimes not so much rewarding, it goes without saying, tastes differ, and teachers can make too high stakes. Being burnt-out is not an acceptable option, but under this scenario it is
highly likely to happen. Endless work with additional materials is a double-edged sword. On the one hand it's exausting for teachers and they will look for some course as a calm harbour for them and their students. And on the other hand students working without the coursebook can be dissatisfied, as they might lack the feeling of progress as they see it traditionally, some students could be conservative and not big fans of impromptu. A lot of efforts go in vain while explaining the strategy and the tactics of work for that sort of students, so presumably that battle might be lost by teachers.
«A link between quantity and quality of information was highlighted: Things are more accessible, and quicker to get to, but now everyone can post information the quality has decreased». [2] In the age of the information overload the precious elements are time and quality. It means how easily and quickly a user can find the required and verified information. Brand sites such as BBC, VOA, Ted Talks are definitely full of the content useful for students, but considering the aspects of English for special purposes, it might take a lot of time to find particular information.
Additionally it is quite significant to have a properly working recommendation system, which not only suggests plunging into the matter deeper and deeper but also it could provide random topics as well to spark students' interest for the further studying.
Furthermore, personalised learning is a trend that gives results but it's demanding. Teachers need to work out the tactics efficient for each student while the learners acquire the information with the pace comfortable for them. And this is the ideal situation. We cannot deny the psychological transformation that happens among younger generations, spending time with their screens. The statistics say that visual perception is prevailing: «About 30% of our brains are involved in processing visual images as opposed to 3% for auditory input». [11] And the preferences of visual and kinesthetic students are different and these types of students gain their position in a classroom. The consequences are pretty evident, teachers need to come up with new bright ideas how to impress and ignite their students to channel more and more efforts in their learning.
Prospects for multimedia courses
Cutting-edge multimedia courses will allow to catch up with new generations of students and provide them with the techniques closer to their abilities and wishes.
Although these multimedia courses need to be redesigned as the heritage of the 20th century has flooded the educational market, while a new product should go beyond the hypertext and simple watching videos with comprehension questions. The transformation process will take awhile, since the status quo of current courses remains of the same power and we cannot see the alternatives versatile enough and affordable for regular users. In addition the complexity of the issue stems from the technical world itself, as the technologies are not intuitively understable and require extra education from teachers and students have to familiarize themselves with the
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technologies too, this precious time is spent not on the creation of projects and work with the language but time is wasted on merely studying the platform which is cumbersome, old-fashioned and falling. Frustraion is rising and students do not see the point of collaborating in such a context as they simply see a raw interface and faulty systems. Some features like speech recognition and talks with robots/AI are in elaboration but still these are the early days for the mentioned technologies. But the solution is highly necessary today.
The concept of multimedia is defined in many ways. Most of the definitions agree on the characteristic that multimedia contains texts, graphics, animations, video and sound in an integrated way and the content can be structured and presented differently. One of the most crucial characteristics is the interactivity of multimedia products. [1, p 140]
The most comlex part of liner multimedia is video. Video is not only the sequence of images, but a spatio-temporal representation of the sequence of facts and events. Video can express the same idea in different ways.
The dissemination of the broadband Internet and mobile technologies creates options of using video everywhere. It changes the way of the multimedia consumption. Nowadays you can choose any video to watch and any point of the video timeline to playback, pause it, and choose another point.
When you consult with the sequence of facts to learn you can rewatch it. But there is no way to check yourself during watching a video clip. There are several learning platforms, that give you that feature, yet they are not as modern and productive as teachers and students wish them to be. At the same time among the main successful criteria of the future multimedia courses can be listed the following:
• the correct design of the material selected according to the targets of the education course;
• the correct choice of the infotech (thought-out methods of delivering the materials, honing skills, feedback, demonstration and interaction etc.);
• the opportunity to control and monitor the process by teachers and students;
• the provided opportunity to choose the personalized route of studying according to the programme;
• the support of learners' autonomy and self-education;
• a correct combination of the learning materials and infotechs, so that they could be mutually complementary.
Multimedia course for the course of ESP taught to managers in aviation
To create a course for the future specialists in aviation industry requires the answers to the following questions:
What is the course devoted to? It's vital the course covers practical issues of the international industry in the area of aviation and space research. Students have to learn the skills of conducting negotiations and discussions in their prefessional sphere and be confident speakers and interlocutors.
What is the target of the course? The help of shaping reading, listening, speaking and writing skills, keeping in mind, that the professional sphere of their future career is tightly connected with aviation and space.
What information technologies are going to be used? It is significant to be equipped with mobile technologies and apply VR and AR.
What does the course contain? There should be demonstrated the whole variety of means like articles, video clips, podcasts, elaborated activities and project tasks, everything needs to meet the requirement of practicality.
What topics should be highlighted? The themes should have an insight into the operation of airports and airlines. Students familiarize themselves with the organisation structure, finance, maintenance support. Their analysis of the international aviation market and the environment for marketing is crucial. And aviation history and its development should be a hot topic for students as well.
What are the sources? Students are taught to work with authentic articles and media sources, this way they learn critical thinking and correct evaluation of the information they encounter.
Based on the above mentioned information it is critical to say that the creation of the multimedia course will demand non-trivial collaborative approaches from the teams of teachers and developers.
We offer to use video with interactive elements. The learning process looks like watching a movie and answering questions after the significant parts of it, as we'll call "breakpoints". This "breakpoints" should be preseted by a teacher.
What a teacher has to do in this approach:
• Choose a video clip for a student's work.
• Mark "breakpoints" along the movie timeline.
• Choose the type of a task and tune it up for each "breakpoint".
What a student has to do:
1. Open the view with the video player.
2. Watch a video clip until the given "breakpoint".
3. Complete a task at that "breakpoint".
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Pic. 1: The view with the video player and a task at the "breakpoint"
When the "breakpoint" occurs the system stops the video and shows the task. If a student successfully answers the questions of the task they can move on watching the movie. Otherwise there are several scenarios, which can be set by a teacher. For some tasks it'll be better to repeat a part of the video to pass it one more time, or to try a simplified task or a video
for another option. The main idea of such an activity is that a student can affect the future tasks through passing the current one.
Moreover, the approach can be used in two different modes. The first one is «learning». In this mode a student can check any answer or task just in progress. The second one is an exam, when a student can check all tasks only after answering all of them.
Our experience has shown that students get rapidly tired with monotonous work. So, we suggest using different types of tasks and different visual representations of each type:
• True-or-false choice, unique choice, multiple choice:
◦ with «radio-buttons»;
◦ with «check-boxes»;
◦ with a «combo-box»;
◦ with switch buttons or sliders;
◦ with drag and drop;
◦ as a select and multiple select box;
• Matching the notions:
◦ with a select and multiple select box;
◦ with drop-down lists;
◦ with drag and drop — move, reorder, sort;
• Filling in the gaps, sentences completion, opening brackets:
◦ as a direct text insert;
■ exact matching;
■ pattern matching;
■ matching one of the variants;
◦ as a text insert with drop-down list of predefined options;
■ exact matching;
■ matching one of the variants;
◦ as drop-down lists;
◦ as drag and drop.
Pic. 2: The types of interactive elements
Conclusion
While introducing a multimedia course we need to put students' motivation as a paramount condition, so that they could cultivate their interest in the English language. The practicality of such a course is obvious and will find a great support among students if the content and activities will be up to their standards. Technologies create a favorable environment to plunge into the sphere of learning the language and
make it entertaining and productive. Other options that this technology provides are student-centered lessons and their rising communicative competence.
Application of a multimedia course while teaching ESP Glotkina A.A.
Moscow Aviation Institute (National Research University) The article aims to show the importance of implementing a new-genretion multimedia courses to teach English as a foreign language and language for specific purposes. Due to advancing technologies the transformations are undergoing not only in the economy and science but in the psychological perception of the information. Modern students have special requirements that we need to meet and it is unlikely to do relying solely on the traditional teaching methods. This article demonstrates a possible variety of resources and the possibilities to work with them. Also the article contains the explanation of the shortcomings that current sources of practicing the language have. To fully engage students in a learning process it's significant to introduce innovative methods, such as a multimedia course with interactive elements. It goes without saying that today video is an indispensable component of studying the language, yet it is more considered as an entertainment part than an educational one. This concept needs to be changed, and the aurthor of the article suggests a possible vision of an multimedia course that could fully engross students in the process of learning. Key words. English language teaching, English for specific purposes, language acquiring, video, multimedia course, interaction, communicative approach, motivation. References
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