王薇
【Abstract】As an important means of contemporary educational technology， multi-media makes full use of its own advantages to probe into new patterns of teaching reform， to motivate new ways of thinking on teaching and learning， and to inspire creative spirits. This paper， composed of five parts， is aimed to evaluate the application of multi-media technology in English teaching. After a general introduction of multi-media technology in the first part， the second part explains the necessity of applying it in English teaching. The next two parts analyze the advantages as well as problems of multi-media technology in English teaching， and the last part is a conclusion.
【Key Words】multi-media technology， English teaching
1. Introduction
Since 1960s， the research on foreign language teaching especially English teaching has become more and more deep-going. Meanwhile， multi-media technology was increasingly popularized. Except for paper text-books， other teaching materials such as audio recordings and video clips， integrated into English teaching with the help of multi-media technology， have brought a lot of convenience to teachers and students.
2. Necessity of Applying Multi-media Technology in English Teaching
Nowadays in China， multi-media technology， popular among teachers and students， has entered into almost every aspect of education especially college English teaching. In recent years， as the continuous increase of enrolment in colleges， the lack of teaching resources becomes more and more severe. Meanwhile， to be in pace with the reform of college English teaching， the traditional classroom teaching pattern needs further improvement. In such a situation， the use of multi-media technology can not only relieve the stress of being short of teaching resources， but can also fully exert students subject functions and develop their abilities so as to improve teaching quality. As a matter of fact， not only in colleges， but in all kinds of educational organizations， multi-media technology in English teaching owns incomparable advantages over the traditional way of teaching.
3. Advantages of Multi-media Technology in English Teaching
The use of multi-media technology in English teaching is beneficial for both students and teachers.
3.1Stimulating Students Interests
An American psychologist has ever said that the best stimulus of learning is the interests in what has been or will be learned （Dai & Liu， 2004）. With interests， learners are able to actively concentrate their attention on the study and look for fun during the learning process， which makes them absorb knowledge unconsciously. However， the traditional teaching pattern of “a teacher + a textbook + a chalk” makes students passive in English learning. It is very common that students wander their attention， feel sleepy in the classroom， or even play truant. In comparison with the traditional way， multi-media technology mixes sounds， images and words together， which can stimulate students senses to the full. Therefore， their interests in English learning can be greatly aroused.
3.2Improving English Teaching Efficiency
The application of multi-media technology makes it possible to offer students a great deal of information during limited time， which can broaden their vision on one hand， and enrich their background knowledge on the other hand. Multi-media technology is able to make abstract knowledge vivid and concrete， so the key points can be stressed and the difficult points can be resolved more easily. Besides， multi-media technology has the ability to create lively classroom circumstance so as to attract students attention and make them actively participate into classroom activities， and thereby improve classroom teaching efficiency to a large extent.
3.3Enhancing English Teachers Overall Qualities
As the development of the Internet， we have stepped into an age of knowledge explosion. As English teachers， we can deliver more knowledge， information and skills to students with the help of multi-media technology. However， our overall qualities will be challenged by doing this， because not only should we have solid professional knowledge， but also have certain competence in operating computers and even developing teaching softwares.
3.4Promoting Reform and Innovation of English teaching
The application of multi-media technology can promote the reform and innovation of English teaching， because it can meet the needs of English courses and adapt to students psychologically cognitive features. It is favorable for the change from teacher-centered pattern to learner-centered pattern， from grammatical teaching approach to communicative teaching approach， and from knowledge transferring to “knowledge + competence” transferring.
4. Problems of Multi-media Technology in English Teaching
Even though the use of multi-media technology in English teaching has so many advantages， we cannot ignore the problems it may cause.
4.1An Overuse of Multi-media Technology
An appropriate use of multi-media technology can make classroom teaching rich and colorful， while an overuse of it will change an English class into a multi-media show and the teacher will become a cold “projector”. In fact， no matter how beautiful the courseware is， the effects exerted by the teacher can never be replaced. This is because English learning is full of practice. In order to improve students competence in communicating with others in English， the interaction between the teacher and students are very important and necessary. Thus， during the teaching process， multi-media technology should be properly used according to the need of classroom teaching.
4.2Multi-media Screen ≠ Blackboard
Although the effects of multi-media technology are significant in English teaching， it doesnt mean multi-media is able to replace all the traditional mediums especially the blackboard which is used by the teacher to give students an instant and direct feedback. Therefore， a blackboard is very useful for a teacher-student interaction， and it is also a kind of complement to multi-media aided teaching.
5. Conclusion
From what has been discussed above， we can make a conclusion that multi-media technology in English teaching has a lot of advantages although there may be some problems coming up if we use it inappropriately. As English teachers， we should improve our overall qualities as soon as possible so as to adjust to the rapid development of information technology. Besides， we should also push forward the popularization and development of multi-media English teaching by reinforcing the strength of teaching and research.
References：
[1]戴炜栋，刘春燕.学习理论的新发展与外语教学模式的嬗变 [J].外语界，2004（4）.
