Multimedia College English Teaching based upon the Behaviorism Theory

徐卿

【Abstract】According to the behaviorism learning theory， the language learning is a process of habitual acquisition and practice. Based on the characteristics of college English teaching mode under the multimedia Internet condition， this article explores the practical guiding function of behaviorism learning theory to college English teaching， so as to realize the goal of college English teaching.

【Keywords】the behaviorism learning theory； multimedia teaching； college English teaching

In the 1950s， through long-term teaching practice， the educators gradually realized the two most important elements in mastering a language are “teaching” and “l(fā)earning”. This cognition has brought transition of language teaching concept： the focus of teaching research has to shift from “teaching” to “l(fā)earning”. The transition of cognition has caused the adjustment of research focus and reform in practice. Although there are too many learning theories based upon different linguistic schools to guide different learning approaches， they are all originated from the research and development of child language acquisition， that is the behaviorism learning theory.

I. The Behaviorism Learning Theory

Generally speaking， most behaviorists believe in Mechanism theory. However， there is a big difference between the understanding of different behaviorists to behaviors and that of the explanation principles. The concept of behaviorism learning theory can be summarized as the following aspects： language is a habit， is the essential part of all human actions， and is gradually formed under the action of external environment； language acquisition and its process is proceeding according to operant conditioning； language behavior can be formed and strengthened by positive reinforcement.

II. Multimedia College English Teaching

College English Teaching is a basic subject. The English learning process is also a process of language habit obtained from practice. Therefore， the task of English teachers is not only to pass on knowledge， but more importantly， teachers should provide various activities to make students have more language skills training and practice， make them listen more， speak more， read more， and write more in practice to develop their sense of English， accumulate cultural background knowledge， and improve and cultivate their comprehensive ability to use English.

Nowadays， the introduction of modern multimedia has enriched the classroom teaching method and structure， optimizing the English classroom teaching to equip it with incomparable superiority to traditional model of English teaching. Multimedia college English teaching is a modern means of teaching characterized by the combination of picture， text， sound and video， so any teachers can consciously and selectively choose the teaching contents according to teaching objectives， to make the classroom teaching more vivid. Meanwhile， the development of internet technology has realized the resource sharing， enriched the English teaching resources， especially the materials concerning listening， reading， writing and many other aspects. Moreover， students can also use the multimedia to look for or download study materials to practice and improve their English abilities after class. So， with information and effects， much more than the traditional classroom， multimedia teaching has surpassed the space limitation of traditional college English classroom teaching mode， and constructed an open teaching space.endprint

III. The guide function of behaviorism learning theory to the current multimedia college English teaching.

1. College English course is essentially a skill training and practice course， so it needs students to participate in relevant language skills training and practicing activities. For instance， the following is a dialogue about peoples opinion.

A： What do you think of the movie “Life of Pi”？

B： I like the story most. Its very thought-provoking. What about you？

According to the behaviorism， Question A is the stimulus， to stimulate the reaction of B. So， the language itself is a chain structure of one linear-stimulus to another. By the same token， teachers should design a teaching mode characterized by pattern drills so as to help students master the target language more quickly to communicate. At this moment， the role of teacher is a trainer to offer the stimulus and make students react.

As a result， in class， teachers can adopt induction method to present and explain similar language structure and environment and then compare their differences in usage. Whats more， teachers can use analogic reasoning and substitution practice to immerse students in the real condition， thus leaving a deep impression on the students. Then， through assimilation， adjustment， students can understand the meaning of the sentence pattern and its usage scenarios. In the process of learning， pictures， scenes and connections can give strong stimulus to students， constructing new significance to the original knowledge and experience.

2. In the initial stage of English teaching， teachers can use sentence pattern practice concept in behaviorism theory to make students practice again and again. According to students proficiency， teachers can freely select contents from different ranks and levels to explain repeatedly the language difficulties to students until they understand them， thus motivating students interests in learning English. Based on the reading practice， vocabulary extension， and the students schedule， teachers also should design diversified suitable relationships to establish the mutual training. Furthermore， according to the students characteristics of the English language learning， teachers should take advantage of all available teaching platforms and methods to tutor and communicate with students in order to increase the authenticity of learning exchange， which can help teachers monitor the learning progress and play the guiding and supervising role.endprint

3. With the help of web-based teaching platform， teachers should make full use of the movie， tape， video and online resources， such as original English movies， English news， background information， biography， and so on to build an authentic language learning environment， and design the situation for teaching contents， so as to make students have something to listen and talk. Through panel discussion and communication， students can also supplement different options to understand more thoroughly， which can improve their actual ability of language communication， and enhance their comprehensive ability of language learning.

4. The behaviorism requires prompt feedbacks to students， and praise or criticism to students learning. As the organizer of teaching activity， teachers should give encouragement and instruction to students performance， stimulate their English learning interest， and bring their cognition into play. Moreover， teachers should inspire students enthusiasm through positive reinforcement， and promote the development of students body and mind. So the perfect feedback system should be established to monitor and guide students. Teachers can use the feedback information offered by the language test system to learn their problems and design the relevant specialized training practice and explanation of answers， and then send them to students by internet， so as to improve the overall learning effect. Students can also check the knowledge in different stages. Through the timely and correct feedbacks of students， teachers can adjust teaching contents and schedule， improve teaching method to regulate the teaching process， which can ensure the expected targets of college English teaching and realize the principle of “teaching students in accordance with their aptitude ”.

Conclusion

Guided by the ideology of “teachers as guide， and students as subject”， based upon the behaviorism learning theory， and combined the multimedia with college English teaching， college English teaching should be a bidirectional， interactive and open teaching mode. In order to effectively reform college English teaching mode， we should update the concept， change the traditional teacher-centered mode， and build a multimedia college English teaching mode. Only by this can the ideal college English teaching environment be designed with modern information technology， which has a profound significance to cultivate students language application ability and autonomous learning ability.

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