Mass Media

Volume 2 Number 1, 2009

TEACHING ENGLISH THROUGH MASS MEDIA
Vilma Tafani
Abstract: This article aims at analyzing the importance of using Mass Media in the classroom and finding the ways how to use Printed and Audio-visual Media. It is the result of an in-depth study, surveys and questionnaires thus trying to make the ideas in this article more trustworthy. It is based not only on theliterature review but also on long personal experience. It is a brief description of some practical examples and some tips for novice teachers. Further more, this article tends to deal with some of the key issues of using media in the classroom. Here are included some of the findings of my research work on a post-doctorate Fulbright Program in 2001. The following issues are open for discussion: theimportance of Media in general and in education in particular; Media are persuasive and pervasive, newspapers, magazines, radio, television and internet in the classroom, etc. Zusammenfassung: Dieser Artikel zielt auf die Analyse der Bedeutung der Nutzung von Medien im Unterricht und die Suche nach der Art und Weise, wie Sie mit Druck-und Audio-visuelle Medien umgehen. Es zeigt eine Ergebnis einereingehenden Studie, Umfragen so zu versuchen, die Ideen mehr vertrauenswürdig zu machen.Es ist nicht nur auf die Literatur, sondern auch auf lange persönliche Erfahrung nachgefragt. In dieses Artikel zeigen wier eine kurze Beschreibung einiger praktischer Beispiele und einige Tipps für Anfänger Lehrer. Darüber hinaus ist dieser Artikel ist die Frage eher um eine wichtigsten Verwendung von Medien imUnterricht. Hier sind einige der Ergebnisse meiner Arbeit auf eien Post- doc- Fulbright-Programm im Jahr 2001. Die foolgenden Fragen sind offen für die Discussion: die Bedeutung der Medien im Allgemein und insbesondere in den Bereich der Bildung. Medien sind überzeugend Zeitungen, Zeitschriften, Hörfunken, Fernsehen und Internet in Unterricht,.etc. Keywords: teaching English, multimedia ineducation, mass-media in education

Introduction Using various kinds of Media in the classroom has always been a challenge, and how to bring these Media in the classroom is more than a challenge. Students and teachers should be able to use in their classrooms different media through different technologies. Media provide teachers and students with creative and practical ideas. They enable teachers tomeet various needs and interests of their students. They also provide students with a lot of language practice through activities using newspapers, magazines, radio, TV, movies, books, Internet, etc, and tasks which develop reading, writing, speaking and listening skills. They entertain students and encourage reading English in general, both inside and outside the classroom, promoting extensivereading by giving the students the confidence, the motivation and the ability to continue their reading outside the classroom. Media “inform, amuse, startle, anger, entertain, thrill, but very seldom leave anyone untouched”. (Shirley Biagy, 1996) Bearing in mind all these features and positive input of Media in Education I thought to undertake this study to give my modest contribution to theenhancement of teaching and learning English. I undertook a lot of surveys, questionnaires and interviews to make this issue more persuasive and more practical for the students. Based on my experience and the study in this field I also aimed at giving some practical advice and tips how to use Media in the classroom. As classroom teachers it is necessary to bring mass media in our classrooms exactly for allthese reasons mentioned above. We should understand the media, the messages they give and their influence upon us, how to explore this abundant information and create a continuum of the liveliness media create in the life of people and why not in the classrooms where students spend a lot of their time.
Received 22 February 2009, accepted 19 March 2009, published 30 March 2009.

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Vilma...