THE USE OF AUDIO VISUAL AIDS IN ESL CLASSROOM

Written By

RATIH WIJAYANTI

1507042024

The teaching profession is filled with countless opportunities to enrich the academic lives of students. While some concepts and educational objectives will be easy for students to grasp, others will require you to think creatively to ensure that important learning objectives are met. Using audio/visual aids in teaching is one way to enhance lesson plans and give students additional ways to process subject information. Bridge the gap between the different types of learners by adding audio/visual aides to your teaching techniques. Since most people are visual learners, it's important to go beyond "spoken words" when educating students. Students are also more likely to learn material is they're exposed to it in a variety of ways. Always look over your lesson plans to find ways to inject different teaching styles.

In ELT (English language teaching, the English teaching methodology has developed in nature. Some methods in teaching have been implemented by teachers in teaching and learning process in order to produce the learning activity successfully . A long time ago, the most approaches used by teacher in teaching only focused on teacher-centered learning or we can call it as behaviorist approach. Students are still passive in learning. They just listen to what the teachers say and imitate what the teachers do in learning activity. Many drillings are given by teacher in teaching. Therefore, the result of that learning is still far of success.  Modern trends have changed the view of educational world that demands each educator to be creative in explaining the material in the classroom. The teacher must develop their approach, methods, and technique in teaching, because the learners also need to be actively involved in learning activity or we can say it as learner-centered learning. These approaches are used in Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) that attempts learners to be active in learning, using language communicatively. In this approach, teachers are demanded to use some authentic materials in teaching. The use of authentic materials allows the class activity to be a real communication in teaching. Teachers are encouraged to use some media including audio and visual in nature, in order that the teaching and learning process becomes interesting and enjoyable. For instance, in teaching writing that is considered as the difficult skills in English language. In writing, the language learners must produce a new knowledge or language. They should use their thought, idea, mind, even psychology aspect in creating a correct writing. In order to achieve the objectives of writing, teachers can use audio visual aids to help students write sentences easily and make teaching and learning processes becomes interesting and enjoyable.

The development of education also demanded teacher to think what he or she do to make the teaching and learning become interesting and effective. The main point making teachers also use audio visual aids is the modern English education. It is different from the past, because now in learning, students must study actively, creatively, independently, and allows students to explore their mind, idea, and opinion.

 A resourceful English language learning classroom with audio visual aids is helpful for effective language learning. Studies indicate that visual aids improve the effectiveness of teaching learning process in a classroom (Joshi, 1995 & Vissa, 1994 in Ghazala, 2013: 11). The term of Audio-visual refers to the instructional media consisting of hearing and seeing activities. It means that a text book or reference material is not fall in this material. Audio-visual aid allows students to learn actively and to pay attention to the material, because they use their eye and ear in learning together.

DEFINITION OF AUDIO VISUAL AIDS

The audio-visual aids are tools of record to improve speaking skills that are use for several times and more than others. These things have been employed for many years in the classroom, where the object picture section and gestures have been systematically used with audiovisual work to elucidate meaning, this practice has been an essential element in teaching. Audio-visual aids can clarify the material more easily in teaching learning process.

There are still a number of definitions asserted by many experts in defining audio visual in nature. According to (Anzaku in Ashaver et all., 2013: 44) in the term of audio-visual materials is generally used to refer to those instructional materials that may be used to declare meaning without complete dependence upon verbal symbols or language. In this case, the term of audio-visual aids is more associated by some instructional materials used by teacher or educator in the classroom. Those materials consist of any hearing and seeing activities in nature. Such as (Dike in Ashaver et all., 2013: 44) states that some materials used in audio-visual related to any information through the sense of hearing as in audio resources, sight, as in visual resources or through a combination of senses.

In other definitions is proposed by Hiral (2015: 92), urging that audio-visual includes seeing and understanding processes allowing students to express their mind to do what they are being asked to do. She also mentions that audio materials are a text that can be heard and recorded in tape, CD, or DVD player. Any recorded dialogue, speech, song, music can be audio materials for language classroom. On the other hand, visual aids can be seen such as pictures, poster, graphics, videos, charts, and flash cards. Thus, from some definitions above, a text book or a reference material does not include to those instructional materials. Based on (Mathew, 2013: 87) proposes that audio-visual aids are different tools from others used for presentation and abstract information in the classroom.

Audio-Visual aids are those instructional devices which are used in the classroom to encourage learning and make it easier and interesting. The material like charts, maps ,models, film strip, projectors radio, television etc called instructional aids (Rather,2004).

TYPES OF AUDIO-VISUAL MATERIALS

Teaching becomes monotonous in the classroom when the teachers just use a text book as the one source in learning. For instance, in behaviorist approach, in this case, teaching is mostly considered as teacher-centered learning. The dominant activities are imitation. Students imitate what the teachers say in the learning. This just make the students become passive in the classroom. In Mathew and Alidmat’s (2013) study explored that the use of audio-visual aids helps the language teacher in ELT (English Language Teaching). The result of their study stated that the use of audio visual can help both students and teacher in teaching and learning process.

In some case, there are many types of audio-visual materials in teaching. Some of which can be used by teacher in teaching as follow:

1. Filmstrips and Slide

Filmstrips and Slide are among the most economical of Audio Visual materials (Allen, 1956: 131). Film is media consisting of hearing and seeing processes in nature. Film can also give the teachers a traditional and structured discussion. It is simple by using film in teaching. It can be set based on what the teacher wants. Film is readily accessible in that it can be bought, rented, or borrowed from libraries, schools, or private institution. (Stampolis and Sewell in Allen, 1956: 132) on their study compared the use of four filmstrips with lectures in teaching economic concepts to university students.

2. Video Compact Disc (VCD)

The other types of audio-visual aids are video compact disc. It is also similar to film that consists of hearing and seeing activities in nature. But, it also has some differences. Unlike an event recorded on film, video tape can be played back immediately for analysis. It can be set fast. Video compact disc has a lot of advantages of being portable, cheap, and visible in a lighted room. Harmer (2001) declares that the use of video in class is just listening with “pictures”. In recent years, the use of video in English classes has developed rapidly as a result of the increasing emphasis on communicative techniques. Many students like it because video is interesting, challenging, and stimulating to watch. Video can promote comprehension in learning. Indeed, in a video, the viewer is seeing the results of the writing, not just reading or hearing them as in print and radio.

3. Internet and YouTube

Internet and You tube are also one of the audio visual aids types. Most of people in the world now know that internet is useful for education in some case, especially for students when they get some online task from teachers. Through internet, students can do browsing activities as much as possible they want to watch. For instance, when the students want to watch advertisement products in google, automatically they get it fast. They just determine the key word taped in google search engine. They can read and hear some a new language program. Another important difference presented by the Internet is that the quality of presentation of information is not necessarily a clue as to the quality of the content the way it might be with a print publication (Rijlaarsdam: 1993).

4. Television

Allen (1956) states that educational television has received the most concentrated study of any of the Audio Visual materials during the past several years. TV instruction was found to be just as effective as regular classroom instruction in teaching training subject. Today, many programs on TV have developed from year to year whether educational channel programs or commercial ones. Indeed, on TV serves a lot of advertisement that can be seen directly. It also has some advantages in practice. Through TV, people can know some issues being occurred in real life on TV news. They also get knowledge in some case.

Mind Map of  Audio Visual Materials

 AUDIO-VISUAL IN ESL CLASSROOM

Today  English second language is considered as a language learned by the learners in the teaching and learning processes after the first language or mother tongue. English language has put the important role for people to survive in the world, especially for students in school education. But, in fact, many of students still have difficulties in learning English. It is caused by some reasons addressed may be for an ineffective teaching, students’ lack motivation, an uninterested teaching, or even lack of facilitation in teaching. From those problems, teacher can determine a new way to solve it. Today, for instance, teacher can uses media in teaching. In some case, many teachers apply the more strategies and approach in teaching English. For instance, Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) allowing students to use English language communicative in nature. It is one of the popular language teaching approaches in the recent time. It was introduced in the early 1980s. In this approach, teachers are demanded to use some authentic materials in teaching. The use of authentic materials allows the class activity to be a real communication in teaching. Teachers are encouraged to use some media including audio and visual in nature, in order that the teaching and learning process becomes interesting and enjoyable. The students can learn easily by using media. Indeed, it also allows teacher to explain materials easily. Teachers no longer use their energy in delivering the materials. In teaching of English, the teacher uses the direct method. Thus, it is for the teacher to give a clear idea to the students through audio-visual aids.

According to (Hiral, 2015: 92) on her study indicates that audio-visual aids can be implemented in all skills of English (such as listening, speaking, reading, and writing) language to make it interesting for students in learning some English materials. Furthermore, the role of audio-visual has made the students to be creative in learning, because in this case, the role of teachers is just guiding and facilitating in teaching. All activities are mostly done by the students in the classroom by media. In ESL classroom, the using of audio visual aids not only as a source of help for teachers, but also provided a stimulus variation. Audio visual also helps teacher in psychology aspect (Gopal in Ashaver et all., 2013: 45). Teacher can easily manage the classroom’s complex situation and condition, because most of classroom atmospheres are noisy and makes teacher may become down.

References

Allen, William. 1956. Audio-Visual Materials. American Educational Research Association Vol 26,No.2, 125-135.

Ashaver,  Dhoosuur. 2013. The Use of Audio-Visual Materials in the Teaching and Learning Processes in Colleges of Education in Benue State – Nigeria. IOSR Journal of Research and Method in Education (IOSR-JRME) Vol. 1,Issue 6, 3811-3813.

Harmer, Jeremy. 2001. The Practice of English Language Teaching. UK: Longman.

Joseph Macwan, Hiral. 2015. Using Visual Aids as Authentic Material in ESL Classrooms. Research Journal of English Language and Literature (RJELAL) Vol 3,Issue.1.

Kausar, Ghazala. 2013. Students’ Perspective of the Use of Audio visual Aids in Pakistan. Pakistan : International Islamic University.

Madhuri, J. Naga. 2013. Use of Audio Visual Aids in Teaching and Speaking. Research Journal of English Language and Literature (RJELAL) Vol.1,Issue.3.

Mathew George, Nalliveettil. 2103. A Study of Usefulness of Audio-Visual Aids in EFL Classroom: Implications for Effective Instruction. International Journal of Higher Education Vol. 2, No. 2.

Rather, A.R.2004. Essentials Instructional Technology, published by Darya gaj New Delhi.  

Rijlaarsdam, Gert. 2005. Effective Learning and Teaching of Writing. Boston: Kluwer Academic Publisher.