English and the Mass Media
G.O.Almakhova
Магистрант 1 курс Евразийский национальный университет им. Л.Н.
Гумилева Астана, Казахстан
Abstract
Ағылшын тілі - халықаралық тіл. Ақпараттық ғасырда жетістікке жеткісі келетін адамдар үшін ағылшын тілін білу керемет артықшылық болып табылады. Және ағылшын тілін жетік меңгеруде бұқаралық ақпарат құралдарын қолдану жақсы нәтижеге жеткізеді. Бұл мақалада ағылшын тілін үйретуде бұқаралық ақпарат құралдарын қолданудың маңыздылығы мен артықшылықтары сөз етіледі.
Английский язык является международным языком, знание которого предоставляет неотъемлемую возможность людям, которые хотят преуспеть в современном информационном веке. А использование средств массовой информации в обучении английскому языкому способствует достижению высокого уровня овладения языком. В данной статъе рассматриваютя важность и преимущества применение средств массовой информации в обучении английскому языку.
English is an international language, the knowledge of which represents a great advantage for people who want to succeed in the New Media Age. And the use of mass media in learning English will definitely lead to mastering English. This present article focuses on the importance and benefits of teaching English through mass media. Key words: Mass media, teaching English, information, LSRW skills
The mass media play an active part in every society around the world. This has had a big influence on people's lifestyles, ways of behaving and interaction, and it is quite indisputable that they are important and active participants of our postmodern society: newspapers, the radio, press and television influence people’s likes and attitudes towards different things. Bestsellers, mega hits, celebrity idolatry, fashion obsession… and many other phenomena create a great scale of emotional similarity among people.
As can be seen, mass media play a significant role in shaping public perceptions on a variety of important issues. Almost all the people in the world have some interaction with the mass media, either in the form of television, radio, newspapers, publicity,
Internet, films, or other forms. The mass media have entered almost every home all over the world, no matter the circumstances, social conditions, geographical location, and beliefs. We can see their evident influence in the determination of the level of

development of any community. It is a daily reality in which every one participates.
Nowadays, people’s lives and personalities are modified by the mass media. They have become so important that we can not imagine living without them. People have come into contact with different cultures of the world through the mass media.
In the present global situation in which English is undoubtedly the preferred language of communication, it is possible to find its use everywhere as a result of the mass media. Whenever you turn on either the television or the radio you can watch and listen to news, music, video clips, movies, advertisements, sports, documentaries, and cartoons in English. Thus, the main idea of our project is the use of the mass media in the teaching of English so that students will be able to connect to a real language which is beyond the traditional textbooks, and one that is easy of access to everyone via the mass media.
We should take advantage of these resources to give students the opportunity to experience the English language at an early age. Media play a very important role in learning a language. They enable teachers to make the learning process full of advantages meeting various needs and interests of their students. They also provide teachers and students with creative and practical ideas. Students can have a lot of practice through the use of newspapers, magazines, radio, TV, Internet, movies, books, etc, and tasks which improve speaking, listening, reading and writing skills.
The importance of the Media in teaching foreign language.
“We live in a world where media are omnipresent. An increasing number of people spend a great deal of time watching television, reading newspapers and magazines, playing records and listening to the radio… The school and the family share the responsibility of preparing the young person living in a world of powerful images, words and sounds” (UNESCO Declaration on Media, 1982)
The importance of Media is evident as they let us be and feel we are part of the world. Who owns the information he owns the world. It is impossible to underestimate the impact of Mass Media on every single person, and a society as a whole. All the important and necessary information we get to know through using the media. So why not take advantage of using Media in teaching language.
Reasons why we should use media when teaching foreign language are obvious to many experienced teachers. Media help us to motivate students by bringing a slice of real life into the classroom and by presenting language in its more complete communicative context. The following statements outline the rationale for using media in the language classroom:
• Given the role media play in the world outside the classroom, students expect to find media inside the classroom as well.
• Audiovisual materials provide students with content, meaning, and guidance.
• Media materials can lend authenticity to the classroom situation, reinforcing for students the direct relation between the language classroom and the outside world. • Since the learning styles of students differ, media provide us with a way of

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addressing the needs of both visual and auditory learners.
The role that input plays in language learning is virtually uncontested. By bringing media into the classroom, teachers can expose their students to multiple input sources.
Media can help students call up existing schemata and therefore maximize their use of prior background knowledge in the language learning process.
Media provide teachers with a means of presenting material in a time-efficient and compact manner and of stimulating students’ senses.
Media provide huge information, they motivate students to speak and help them integrate listening, reading, talking and writing skills, through various kinds of activities.
Media Education develops students’ creative powers for those images, words and sounds that come to the students from various Media. Thus, creating more active and critical media users, who will always be more demanding in the future. Media Education enables students to develop critical thinking, analyzing and reflecting on their experiences while using various means of Media.
Media also provide students with lots of inside and outside classroom activities, promoting extensive reading by giving the students the confidence and the ability to continue their reading outside the classroom and above all they enhance motivation.
Media keep us informed about what is happening in the world, they extend our knowledge and deepen our understanding.

Different Types of Mass Media
There are a lot of different types of mass media we can use in teaching a foreign language. In general they fall into two classes:
Print Media: Newspapers, magazines, booklets and brochures, house magazines, periodicals or newsletters, direct mailers, handbills or flyers, billboards, press releases, books.
Electronic media: Television, radio, music and songs. New Age Media: Internet, mobile phones, computers, Emails, websites, podcasts, eForums, eBooks, eNewspapers, bloggings, Interner TV, YouTube, etc.
All of the sources mentioned above can successfully be used in language learning.
We can use them not only as teaching material but as an efficient way to motivate the students. The Use of Mass Media Fosters Meaningful Learning
Four main points support the conclusion that the use of mass media fosters meaningful learning:
1. Students are in permanent interaction with the mass media. This interaction allows the maximization of the use of material provided by mass media. So that students will always be open to receive any kind of media manifestation since they are familiar with them. A song, a television show, a poster, or a simple picture will be

attractive for them as that constitutes part of their routines.
What teachers should pay special attention to is that not everything is attractive for students. So it is advisable to be very careful when choosing any kind of material.
The reason for this is that if students are not familiar at all with the material selected, the activity will not be meaningful.
2. The more previous information students have, the more interest they feel. This point is directly related to the previous one. It is about paying attention to students' age and worldview, their current knowledge and interaction with media. For instance, students' knowledge certain celebrities, film stars, etc. This means that the familiarity that students have with the material determines the success or failure of the activity.
This awareness is given by the mass media and the icons they show and create.
3. Music is always meaningful. As Murphey (1995) states, pop music is a universal language that does not have any specific audience and can be listened to everywhere.
This suggestion makes the teaching of English through songs very easy since the pop music industry is practically boundless and experiences constant enhancement. As well, music is a part of every culture, making it a vehicle for varied interaction.
Additionally, to study the English language by means of songs makes students change their perception of the English language. They become more enthusiastic because they see the target language as a way to get to know and understand the songs that they can listen to on the radio or view on television.
4. The implementation of mass media should foster critical thinking. The use of mass media is not only an enjoyable activity for students but also a means to foster critical thinking. Teachers must be able to make students reflect on what they see. It is not only the information that can be extracted from the mass media, but also the analysis of that information. Parents and teachers are responsible for controlling what children see. This control should not be by means of hiding the bad things that children are not supposed to view, but parental control should go beyond to make children critical consumers and not only passive receptors. The mass media provides interesting subjects for discourse analysis study.
In short, it can be affirmed that the continuous interaction students have with the mass media makes the implementation of media tasks much easier, and also are very well appreciated by the students. In addition, it facilitates the exploitation of activities that motivate students.

References
1. Tafani Vilma. Teaching English through Mass Media / Vilma Tafani // Acta
Didactica Napocensia. V. 2, № 1. 2009. Internet Resource Access: http://dppd.ubbcluj.ro/adn/article_2_1_9.pdf 2. Diego Mideros. The Use of Mass Media as a Didactic Strategy in the Teaching of
English as a Foreign Language/ -Music and Songs-/ Proceedings of the 2007
Biennial Cross-Campus Conference in Education, 23–26 April, 2007, School of
Education, UWI, St. Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago
3. Donna M. Brinton. Summary of the use of Media in language teaching./ Internet
Resource Access: http://smp2wlingi-start-english.blogspot.com/2012/07/summary-ofuse-media-in-language.html
4. Mass Media. Internet Resource Access: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass_media