In India or elsewhere in the non-native speaking countries, English is used as a second or third language and for some people the first language. With the rapid development of English day by day and worldwide, now it is an important medium of communication among the people of different languages and culture. At present, the role and status of English in India is higher than ever as it is a medium of instruction and curriculum in the institutions. As a result, Teaching of English Language is one of the most important subjects in education.
As we see, with the remarkable development of newer technologies, such as multimedia technology, a drastic changed has come in the tradition of teaching English. The modern English language teachers have new duties and challenges given by the New Era. So it is important for language teachers to be aware of the latest technologies and to stop following the same old ways of teaching and experiment and acknowledge that the world is changing and we need to bring change in our methodology of teaching English. Teachers can use multimedia technology to create more colorful and stimulating language classes.
Multimedia technology refers to computer-based interactive applications that use both the hardware and software that allow people to share their ideas and information. It is a combination of text, graphics, animation, video, and sound.
The language teachers should integrate it into their planning of lesson and assessment in the same way they have been doing with film, videos, and computer-assisted learning strategies. Technology also makes teaching interesting and productive because it has the capability to attract language learners. The use of multimedia technology in the language classroom improves teaching content and makes the best use of class time. It breaks the teacher-centered traditional teaching method and brings improvement in teachers’ teaching efficiency. In this way, the teachers of English can take full advantage of Multimedia technology to teach English in non-native speaking countries. The benefits of using multimedia in the English classroom are as follows:
- With the help of audio, visual and animation effects, multimedia technology motivates the students to learn English quickly and effectively.
- It helps teachers to integrate teaching and learning and provides the students greater incentives.
- It equipped students with knowledge about the culture of the target language.
- The use of multimedia provides information sharing opportunity among students and makes them actively participate in the class activities and help the students to learn the language more quickly and effectively.
- It creates more real-life environment for English teaching and improves interaction among students and between teachers and students.
- The use of multimedia technology in classrooms improves students’ ability to listen and speak, and thereby develop their communicative competence.
- It creates a context for language teaching by exchanging information among students and between teachers and students.
Thus it can be said that the use of multimedia technology creates a multimedia language environment for teaching English.
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