Vocabulary Teaching Via Multimedia On The Basis Of Constructivist Theories

In recent years, in tune with the rapid development of the information age and the digital, audio-visual technology, multimedia technology and its application has also entered a new era of development in the people's life, especially in the academic field. Multimedia technology that integrates texts, graphics, images, animations, audios and videos in a diverse and creative manner and therefore creates an authentic English teaching environment. Until now, multimedia technology has been widely used in the foreign language teaching.Based on the constructivist views of Piaget's, this present research is intended to do a quantitative research on the vocabulary teaching via multimedia technology through contrastive experiment with the traditional approach. After some variables affecting the effectiveness are controlled,150 students are chosen to attend this experiment, and 20 new words are presented to them. During the teaching experiment, tests are supplied to students to practise what they assimilated, aiming at the goal of new vocabulary cognition and usage. The scores of every subject in the examination would be collected and sorted through SPSS 13.0 with the aid of independent samples T test. Then the questionnaire survey is delivered to the learners to investigate the learner's attitude towards the two comparative approaches.The research applies the process and conclusion consciously and systematically based on the literature review; and the statistical data prove that there is a significant difference in teaching effectiveness between teaching via multimedia and traditional approach. The results of the comparative research indicates that it is a more effective way to teach vocabulary via multimedia technology, no matter teaching vocabulary cognition or usage, than teaching through traditional approach. Multimedia technology, which is characterized by a combination of graphic, textual, audio and video functions, is superior to any other medium in its devastatingly huge mass of information and arouses the students'interest and desire for study. It not only provides richer and more authentic language teaching environment and eables both teachers and students to have more access to the enormous English information and materials.Multimedia English teaching will not abandon the effective methods in traditional English language teaching. We should review and reconstruct the relations between multi-media technology and English language teaching from the viewpoint of modernization of English teaching mode so as to promote the integration of modern techniques and modern teaching ideology, teaching content, teaching aim and teaching subject and then to fulfill the transformation from technical modernization to multi-media teaching process modernization, which is also the key problem for English teachers to consider in the multi-media English language teaching.The results of this research explore how to make full use of the advantages of multimedia technology, and how to improve the teaching approach. Some valuable suggestions are mentioned, with the hope of further improvement.