INSTRUCTIONAL MEDIA USED FOR TEACHING LANGUAGE
A. What are Instructional Media and Teaching Aids?
There are a lot of
definitions of media. Gagne (1970) defines that media are various components in
learners’ environment which support the learners learn. Briggs (1970) defines
media are physical means which are used to send messages to the students and
stimulate them to learn. A little beat differencesfrom the opinions of the two
experts, The National Education Association defines that media are the forms of
communication either printed or audiovisual.
Whatever the
definitions of media are, there is a guideline which can be stated about media.
Media is anything used to send message(s) from the sender(s) to the
receiver(s), so it can be aroused the learners’ thought, feeling, and interest to
gear the students’ learn. (Sadiman et al, 2002).
On the other hand,
teaching aids are used by teachers to impart and emphasize on information,
stimulate interest, and facilitate the learning process. They range from simple
to sophisticated ones and they can be aural, visual, or computerized. One of
the earliest known teaching aids was the hornbook, which was used in English
schools from the mid-1400s (and later in colonial America) through the early
nineteenth century. It was a flat board on which a sheet of paper printed with
the alphabet, the Lord's Prayer, and several simple words were pasted. A
transparent piece of horns were covered the paper to protect it. The blackboard
probably evolved from the horn-book, and has traditionally been one of the most
widely-used teaching aids. It was patented in 1823 by Samuel Read Hall of
Concord, Vermont, a Congregational minister who founded the Concord Academy to
train teachers in "school keeping." Hall's version was made of pine board,
planed smooth and painted black. Today, the blackboard is often called a
chalkboard; it may be green instead of black and made of slate, glass, or wood.
From the above
description, there is nearly no differences between instructional media and
teaching aids. Both, instructional media and teaching aids, have functions to
make learners easily to understand the teaching materials. Furthermore the class
will be more alive.
However, some
experts still differentiate between instructional media and teaching aids. When
we talk about a board, either whiteboard or blackboard, which is being used by
a teacher to inform learners about what he/she is teaching, at the same time we
also talk about instructional media and teaching aids. The board is teaching
aids and what is on the board is instructional media. Here, we can say that
teaching aids are the objects and the content of the objects is the
instructional media. It is unnecessary for us to argue the both terms. We use
the term of “instructional media” in this supplement.
B. Why We Use Instructional Media ?
A good media is like
a window. It should not be called attention to itself; it should just have been
let in the light. Media is very useful in learning the English language.
Teachers instructors and learners are helped by using media to achieve the
learning goals. So, The teachers should apply the media in teaching - learning
activities because:
- Instructional media can be solved the lack of the learners’ experiences. Learners have different background such as family life, society, social economic, etc. Learners who live at different areas will have different experiences, because they have different environment, society, social economic, etc.
- Instructional media can be reached everything out of the class. There are so many things around the learners that can not be reached by themselves, such as: bacteria, virus, etc. To know and see those tiny things, we must use a microscope as a media. We use a picture to present things which can not be brought into the classroom such as: markets, stations, harbors.
- Instructional media are created the possible direct interaction between the learners and their environment.
- Media are produced some observation. The learners’ observation can be directed into the important things based on the teachers aims.
- Media can be kept the basic, concrete and real concepts of the teaching.
- The learners’ motivation are aroused by using media in learning.
- Media are integrated the experience from the concrete things to the abstract ones
According to
Sukartiwi (1996), there are some advantages of using media in teaching-learning
process. Those are;
1. to increase the
learners’ motivation.
2. to avoid the
learners bored.
3. to make the
learners easy to understand the instructional material.
4. to make the
teaching learning process more systematic
C. Kinds of Media
Vernon (1996) states
that there are six kinds of media;
- Drawing or teacher mode drawings
- Still pictures
- Audio recording
- Motion picture and TV
- Real object, simulation and models
- Programmed and computer-assisted instruction
Mulyana, Kim
classifies the instructional media for teaching language into :
Games and simulation, for example: Simon says, Scrabble, Bingo, Words puzzle. Some examples
of simulation: role playing, socio drama, psycho drama, puppet show.
Visual media,
for example : a black board, flannel board, magnetic board, wall chart, flash
card, reading box, reading machine, module, picture card, slide, film, OHP.
Audio Media,
for example: radio, recordings, record player. Audio-visual media, for example:
voiced slide, film, TV, Video Tape Recorder.
D. Selecting the Appropriate Instructional Media in a
Classroom
These basic steps
are outlined below (St. Cloud State University, 1997):
- Review instructional goals, objectives, audience and instructional strategies
- Determine the best medium for your lesson components
- Search for and review existing media/materials
- Adapt existing media/materials if necessary
- If new media/materials need to be developed:
Draft materials and media
Check for clarity and flow of ideas
- Conduct formative evaluation
- Implement/apply
- Evaluate/revise
Strauss and Frost
(1999) identify nine key factors that should influence media selection:
- Institutional resource constraints,
- Course content appropriateness,.
- Learner characteristics,
- Professor attitudes and skill levels,
- Course learning objectives,
- The learning relationships,
- Learning location,
- Time (synchronous versus asynchronous), and
- Media richness level.
Reiser and Dick (1996)
distill these nine factors down to three major criteria for selecting
instructional media: practicality, student appropriateness, and instructional
appropriateness
Practicality:
Is the intended media practicality in that the media is available, cost efficient,
time efficient, and understood by the instructor?
Student Appropriateness: Is the intended media appropriate for the developmental and
experiential levels of the students?
Instructional Appropriateness: Is the intended media
appropriate for the planned instructional strategy? Will the media be allowed
for the presentation of the proposed lesson in an efficient and effective
manner? Will the media be facilitated for the students’ acquisition of the
specific learning objectives?Resource :
Instructional-media.pdf
Briggs, L.J. (ed.) (1977). Instructional
Design: Principles and Applications New Jersey: Englewood Cliffs.
DePorter, Bobby dan Mike Hernacki. (2000). Quantum
Learning. Boston: Alyn and Bacon
Mulyana, Kim.2003. A review of Instructional
Media as One the Aspects of Teaching Methodolody. Presented at P3G bahasa
Jakarta
Sadiman, Arief S. et al. (2002) Media
Pendidikan: Pengertian, Pengembangan dan Pemanfaatannya. PT. RajaGrafindo
Persada: Jakarta.
Scanlan, Craigh. L. Instructional Media:
Selection and Use. Available at: http://www.uab.edu/instructional media/cdm/media.htm
Soekartiwi (1996). Rancangan
Instruksional. Jakarta: PT. RajaGrafindo Persada.
