INSTRUCTIONAL AIDS

INSTRUCTIONAL AIDS

Learning and teaching a foreign language needs a lot of patience, energy, time, creativity and competence. The success of the teaching and learning of foreign language skills including English is determined by a number of factors both linguistic and non linguistic such as the students, the teacher, the methods, material and media or aids used.

English teaching media are very important to help students acquire new concepts of, the skills and language competences. They are many kinds of media which can be used by the teachers in the teaching learning process, but the teacher should be selective when choosing.

          Any aid which facilitates or encourages learning through the senses of hearing and sight is called instructional aids(teaching aids). It can be used to help the students learn.

A teaching aid is a tool used by teachers to help learners improve reading and other skills, illustrate or reinforce  a skill, fact or idea and relieve anxiety, fears or boredom.

IMPORTANCE OF TEACHING AIDS

•         Create interest in the mind of learners towards the topic.

•         Help the students to make a bridge between idea and expression in the classroom.

•         Provide direct and firsthand experience to the students.

•         Reinforce what the teacher is  saying and summarize key concepts,

•         Develop critical thinking and the power of independent judgement by looking at the materials.

•         Make the teaching more meaningful and effective.

•         Ensure that the point is understood,

•         Enable students to visualize or experience something that is impractical to see or do in real life,

•         Engage or stimulate students’ other senses in the learning process,

•         Facilitate different learning styles.

Instructional/Teaching Aids must be:

ü Well prepared

ü Well presented

ü Readable

•         Legible

•         Visible to all

•         Appropriate format for room and audience size

ü Relevant

•         Pertinent to topic

•         Up-to-date

•         Consistent with local protocols

Projected aids

Projected aids refers to those aids where a bright light is passed through a transparent picture by means of a lens and an enlarged picture is thrown or projected on the screen or the white wall.

Non- projected aids

Non projected aids do not require projector, projection screen or electricity. Materials can be simply shown, hung on the wall, touched and handled by everyone.

TEACHER MADE AIDS

•      Flash cards

•      Pictures

•      Charts

•      Models

•      Blackboard sketches

FLASH CARDS

                It is a piece of chart paper or card board on which something is written or drawn. These are especially useful for teaching reading to beginners. They are of two types: (a) picture flash cards with or without words or sentence; (b) word, phrase or sentence flash cards. A flash card is called flash card because it is meant for just flashing before the students. As it is flashed only for a moment, they prompt quick word recognition and increase the speed of reading. It is used for teaching spelling, pronunciation, reading, words, structures etc.

Advantages of flash card

Ø Easy to make

Ø  As a medium, they give considerable teacher control; teacher can prepare exactly what he/she wants and can show the material.

Ø They are easy to handle and to store

Ø Attract the student

   

PICTURES

                A good picture is worth more than thousand words. It attracts the attention of the learners. What cannot be described by words, or is described only by inadequately by words, is fully materialized in pictures. Pictures help in the enlargement of vocabulary.         

          Pictures can be used for teaching words, structures, and composition and for creating situations. The pictures should be relevant, suitable to the mental level of learners, bold, sufficiently large and attractive.

          Pictures can be profitably used for practicing the tenses. The teacher may ask the learners what the people in a picture are doing, have done, did, were doing, will do or will have done at some time. After the picture has been discussed in the present tense, the teacher puts it away and asks questions in the past tense. Pictures must also be used for inducing the learners to speak. Pictures play a significant role in making ideas clear and comprehensive. They cultivate the power of observation and judgment.

While using pictures, the teacher should take care of the following points-

v The picture should be related to the topic.

v It should be beautiful to look at.

v It should be used systematically.

v Due care should be taken to write the accurate word or structure below the picture. Otherwise wring idea may be developed in the mind of the learners.

v The teacher should use it judiciously. Otherwise students may think about the pictures and not about the teaching points.

Charts

.           A chart is a combination of pictorial, graphic, numerical or vertical material which presents a clear visual summary. Edgar Dale defines charts as, “a visual symbol summarizing or comparing or contrasting or performing other helpful services in explaining subject-matter”. The main function of the chart is always to show relationships such as comparisons, relative amounts, developments, processes, classification and organization.

          A chart can be prepared to present the new words and structures which are to be listed out under one head. Small pictures may also be fixed against each linguistic item. A teacher can present a poem by writing on it and make practice of reciting the poem with proper rhythm. Charts are also useful to teach pronunciation and spelling of English words and structures.

The criteria of a good chart:

1.     Size: large enough to be seen by all the pupils in the class.

2.     Clarity: clear and relevant things.

3.     Suitability: suitable for providing the necessary language practice. Contains necessary structures and vocabulary items.

Uses of charts:

1. Motivates the students

2. Shows continuity in the process

3. Shows relationships by means of facts, figures and statistics

4. Presents matter symbolically

5. Presents abstract ideas in visual form

6. Summarizes information

7. Shows the development of structures

8. Creates problems and stimulates thinking

9. Encourages utilization of other media of communication

Models

          Models are concrete representations of objects. Models are mostly three dimensional and can clearly exhibit the structure or functions of the original. A model should have the essential qualities of accuracy, simplicity, utility, solidity and ingenuity.

          Models are even more interesting to watch.Two types of models- working and non-working models. working models are activated through batteries, electricity and robes. Teacher can teach synonyms or antonyms using working models. The non-working models could be anything like a building, a statue or railway station that is relevant to the lessons being taught. To great extent it induces pupils’ curiosity.

Blackboard sketches

Blackboard sketches are simple, free hand sketches with straight and curved lines. A black board sketch is a quick rough drawing. It is a very handy aid. There is no need for much planning and preparation as needed in making charts and models. When the teacher desires to draw the attention of the pupils on a particular teaching item she can immediately resort to sketching a picture or drawing a diagram on the blackboard. These are highly useful in teaching grammar and vocabulary. It can break the monotony of the class. It is skill of stimulus variation.  It conveys the meanings easily. Blackboard sketches are more learners friendly.

 

MECHANICAL AIDS

With the development of technology, innovative methods in teaching are brought into the classrooms. Some of them are expensive and sophisticated .Some of the common mechanical aids used in teaching English is,

•      Overhead projector

•      Tape recorder

•      Lingua phone records

•      Radio

•      Television

Overhead projector

          Overhead projector is a new device used in the teaching learning process. It is an improvement over the filmstrip projector as well as the slide projector.

          In the Overhead Projector, the teaching material at first is written on a transparent sheet. Then it is placed horizontally on the upper base of the O.H.P. where the light is focused from the inner side through the sheet to the mirror and finally reflected to the screen at 90 degree angle. As the screen where the light is focused or projected lies over the head of the speaker or teacher, so it is known as Overhead Projector.

          In teaching English, the teacher  can prepare materials of various kinds such as substitution tables, new words and structures, different pictorial and diagrammatic representation, a detailed account of poets, authors, etc even short poems may be written on the transparency sheet inorder to enable students to look towards the teacher and side by side to the screen.

Merits

v The overhead projector helps the students to look at the material clearly as the light focused on the screen is very bright. So, there is no need to darken the classroom while teaching English.

v The students can look towards the screen and no need to bend their heads down while teaching is going on.

v The projection gives a large image and hence the material is clearly observable by all.

v It is easy to operate, on the part of the learner.

v It is cost effective in nature.

v Permits the teacher to face the class.

Tape recorder

It acts as an auditory teaching aid in classroom situation. It has two functions one is to recording another is to cassette playing. Tape recorder provides opportunities for students to hear a vast amount of authentic native speech. It is used in grammar drills and in listening comprehension Listening to good models, like a native speaker’s can improve their pronunciation. Lessons in stress, rhythm, and pause are recorded by experts that are made available to the pupils to listen to. The pupils can record their own voice, compare with the model and correct themselves. Tape recorders are used in giving jigsaw listening. Dictation material can be recorded beforehand and played for the students to take down.

Lingua phone records

          It is another audio-aid helpful for language learning. It assists the teacher in presenting the learning material repeatedly before the students. To teach pronunciation, stress, intonation, it is very much important. The actual pitch, voice can be identified by the students and hence they can practice a lot to learn the sounds of English.

It can be used to teach language correctly. It helps to develop good pronunciation. Students are to listen it carefully and note down the intricacies of language there in. After that, Teachers should clarify the doubts and difficulties of the students.

Radio

Radio is one of the earliest modes of communication. It is also useful in teaching language. Various topics related to language are broad casted..Opportunities to listen to expert teachers in various subjects. Encourages to carry on follow up discussion, projects or other creative activities. Hence it supplements and enriches class- room instruction.

Radio not only serves instructional purposes but also act as a source of entertainment. The programmes based on English language may be made available in a classroom through it. It is not only useful for students but also for the new teachers.

Merits

v It is the cheapest way of getting information about language.

v It serves a wider network of people.

v It is helpful in teaching pronunciation in English.

v It gives instruction as well as entertainment.

v Students can make the habit of learning English language, by the help of it.

Demerits

v One way communication

v No opportunity to rectify the mistakes as the students only once.

v Cannot affordable to poor students.

v Not provide individual instruction

v Students may not get time when the programme is broadcasted.

Television

          Television is the most developed recent media in language learning. It is not only acts as the audio but also visual aid. Students can listen as well as visualize the learning material. They get interest in the topic as they visualize it. By visualizing the various programmes based on learning a language, the students can get perfect idea like producing a letter or a word, doing language work, reciting poems etc.

          Various lessons and demonstrations duly illustrated by slides, models specimens etc. can be observed. Many important talks, scene and sights can be seen through it. The students can also use it for watching commentaries of cricket, hockey, football etc. Even; the daily news telecasted in it serves the major source of learning speech habit in English. It removes the sense of fatigue and boredom in the mind of students and serves the best for developing good speaking skills.