Streaming Video For Enhanced Foreign Language Training In Secondary And Tertiary Education

Abstract

Streaming video is increasingly recognized as a most effective tool within the field of contemporary and future education. The Austrian SMILE project (SMILE = Streaming Media for Interactive Learning Experience) aims at the enhancement of foreign language learning by making use of the streaming video technology. The SMILE approach with synchronized slides accompanying a video clip combines language training with a better understanding of technical processes. The main component of the SMILE software is video clips, each of which comes along with a series of interactive training units, lesson plan and vocabulary. The authenticity of pronunciation and intonation is guaranteed by well-trained native speakers. The learners will benefit from the opportunity to work according to their individual capacity. The makers of this e-learning software have taken into account state of the art technology, didactics and methodology. The program may either be used for secondary or tertiary education in a blended learning environment or as a distance learning device. We will demonstrate its employment as a means of language teaching with the focus on the technical terminology for a selected topic of molecular biology (DNA profile).