Chapter One Introduction

1.1 Background of the study

In 2004, 180 universities took part in College English Teaching Reform. TheMinistry of Education put forward the guidance to reform the traditional teachingmethod, which mainly used textbooks, blackboard and chalk as a teaching medium.This is a one-way and passive communication where the teachers give lectures andstudents listen. The mode was greatly challenged in an age of information thatcomputer network, courseware and other multimedia technologies should be made fulluse in teaching to cultivate students  independent learning capability.In fact, it is in 1999 that Multimedia-Assisted Instruction was introduced intoCollege English Teaching in china. Chinese scholars Cai Jigang (2001,2003), WangChaoying(2003), Han Geling(2003), Deng Xinghui(2003), Song Li(2002), WangJianxin(2003), etc. devoted themselves to analyzing the feasibility of the new teachingmodel, discussing the significance of it and carrying out some empirical researches atthe same time. Most of the empirical researches were concerned with the application ofMCES-IR (Multimedia College English System- Intensive Reading) in multimedialanguage-lab, exploring the perfect combination of modern MTF (MultimediaTeaching Facilities) and MCES-IR.

…………..

1.2 Significance of the Study

The study on the application of courseware in reading and writing class forcollege students is of practical importance. The current study intends to offer help forboth English teachers and future researches in this field.First of all, the current study may add some practical implications to the Englishteachers. With the progress of the society and the development of the informationtechnology, Multimedia-assisted Instruction is widely applied in many disciplinesincluding English teaching in China. In the past ten years, Chinese scholars have donevarious researches on the topic of College English Teaching Reform, which advocatedteachers to use courseware together with other multimedia devices in their teaching.Some of them found the defects existed in this new teaching method besides all thestrong points it reflected. One problem is that these scholars discovered the defects butdidn t tackle the possible solutions. Therefore, it is very imperative to find out theactual situation of the application of courseware in College English Teaching, and thenexplore an appropriate way which can combine this new teaching method well with thetraditional one. Once succeed, it will be helpful for teachers in their daily teaching.

…………

Chapter Two Theoretical Framework

2.1 Basic theory of constructivism

Constructivism was derived from Piaget s (1972) perspective of learning andBruner s (1966) general framework for instruction based upon the study of cognition.The whole central idea is that human learning is an internal process that occurs in themind of the individual and learners build new knowledge upon the foundation ofprevious learning. Learners incorporate knowledge into the mind by investigating anddiscovering for themselves, by creating and recreating, and by interacting with theenvironment.Constructionism is a constructivist learning theory and theory of instruction. Itstates that building knowledge occurs best through building things that are tangible andsharable. “Constructionism (in the context of learning) is the idea that people learneffectively through making things. Constructionism is connected with experientiallearning and builds on some of the ideas of Jean Piaget.” (Wikipedia retrieved 17:17,15 September 2013).Constructivist learning theory stresses that the significance of knowledge isundergoing continuous development with changes of learning environment. Andlearners get to know the outside world by interacting with the environment surroundthem. Thus, they can develop their cognitive structure. Constructivist learning theoryalso emphasizes student-centered learning. It requires students to work as subjects ofinformation processing and take the initiative in meaning construction instead of beingpassive recipients stimulated by outside world or spoon-fed by teachers. Meanwhile,teachers should help promote students' active construction of significance rather thanmerely impart or feed their students.

……….

2.2 Constructivism & English teaching mode

Professor Huang Ruoyu (2000) summarized six distinct modes of Multimediaaided Foreign Language Learning upon the constructivism learning theory. The firstone is Classroom Learning in which teachers play a dominant role and transmitknowledge by using computer, English teaching software, and sorts of audio or videoequipment as media to present teaching information. The second one is IndividualLearning provided a learning format in which students can study and acquire necessaryresources via internet. Moreover, it is not limited to time or place. The open languageteaching courseware provides students with functions of recombining and alteringinformation. The third one is Cooperative Learning (also group learning) which isoften conducted in multimedia language laboratory. According to actual teaching needs,teachers randomly specify students who participate in group learning. The forth one isInternet Cooperative Learning which uses computer and internet as media. As a patternof focused learning, it considers students as the center of the class and teachers asorganizers and guides. The fifth one is Virtual Reality Learning, a student-centeredlearning pattern under the guidance of teachers. In a real situation created by makinguse of computer and other hardware or software, students finish a particular taskthrough interaction with computer. The last one is Distance Learning which is an openteaching mode took computer as a center and transmitted teaching information throughinternet or telecommunication satellite.

………………

Chapter Three Literature Review........10

3.1 Courseware......... 10

3.2 Traditional teaching method......18

3.3 Researches on the relationship between courseware.. .........19

Chapter Four Methodology.....21

4.1 Research questions.......21

4.2 Respondents of the questionnaire........ 21

4.3 Instruments....23

4.4 Implements of questionnaire.......24

4.5 Data analysis.........25

Chapter Five Findings and Discussions......26

5.1 Questionnaire analysis........26

5.3 Tentative solutions………….

Chapter Five Findings and Discussions

This chapter is composed of five parts and it mainly deals with the researchquestions raised in the previous chapter. By using descriptive statistics, the first sectiongives a detailed description of the current situation of courseware application inCollege English classroom according to data collected from students  questionnaire;and the second section gives a detailed description of the current situation ofcourseware usage in College English classroom based on data collected from teachers questionnaire. By using inferential statistics, the third section analyzes writtenmaterials interview carried out among the students and the teachers; and the fourthsection analyzes the correlation between the students  and the teachers  answers.Finally, the last part puts forward tentative solutions to the existing problems.

………….

Conclusion

This research explored the current situation of courseware application in CollegeEnglish Teaching. It also investigated the relationship between multimedia-assistedteaching method and the traditional teaching methods. The analysis and comparisonspresent the situation of courseware application in reading and writing class of CollegeEnglish Teaching, the problems existing in teaching and the students  needs in learning.Taking all these factors into account, this author invented a new teaching pattern basedon information technology to change the traditional teacher-centered teaching modeinto a student-centered one. In such a teaching mode, students were encouraged tolearn independently through cooperation and teachers plaid a role of organizer orassistant. Students were asked to present learning outcomes via various interestingforms, teachers were asked to give pertinent evaluation to all students about their groupactivity and individual activity. The new teaching pattern enabled the students acquirelanguage competence and improve learning ability in quite a natural way.

…………

Reference (omitted)