Use of the Codes of Audio-Visual Media: Strengthening the Sub-Lingual International Communication in Higher Education

Introduction

The role of audio-visual media in technology based- or enhanced language learning is already a thing that barely could be disputed – from high schools to universities language teachers and professors rely on media in some capacity. It may be argued that audio is actually more effective because visual component provides additional distraction, but firstly it also provides additional background which makes audio component more memorable and understandable; and secondly practical usage of language in real world has much more distractions – one of the certain and common problems of people who are learning foreign languages is inability to use all of their knowledge practically, conversing freely with other people, for instance. Not only does audio-visual media provides examples on how to do it – it also prepares learners to the fact that conversation may catch them in rather unexpected, uncomfortable place.

Moreover, cultural background of a language in question is something that learner should be at least rudimentary familiar with (or in-depth aware of) to learn the foreign language. Movies have amazing ability to capture complex social and cultural traits of places where they were made, those serving as some kind of encyclopedia of habits. At times as time capsule, as well, providing the viewer with a lot of obvious differences between time periods, thus increasing the strength of his perception of history, which could be used to signify some national dimension of a culture through a prism of what is eventually called historical awareness.

People genuinely interested in culture of certain countries will much more likely be interested in their languages as well and those more enthusiastic to learn the language. It helps when they’re fully engaged in the movies they use to learn. But such engagement is in itself a hard task to achieve as the audiovisual media used in education should balance to be educational, informational and culturally relevant for those who are learning. These three components tend to be crucial in student’s perception of a course, either strengthening the desire to learn more and be capable of more, or paralyzing his intentions with dilemmas of cultural compatibility and facultative capability.

As such, objectives of this chapter include:

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  Designation of new challenges brought by technology-based global wide-spread of audio-visual media;

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  Justification of using co-called “new media” as an advantage for higher education;

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  Description of phenomena of self-education via use of audio-visual mediums;

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  Formulation of advantages and disadvantages of audio-visual means of education if compared to traditional text (especially while used in language learning);

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  Methodology of audio-visual language learning, phenomenon of such;

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  Contribution to new era of multi-cultural contacts between nations.

Background

For quite a time, humanity is interested in the possibility of creation of the universal language. Concept of “lingua franca”, leading world language, as well as partially successful attempts like Ludwig Zamengoff’s Esperanto and the use of Latin as a leading language of natural science – all of those are well-known, studied and systematized. Gorelov and Yengalychev (1991, pp. 102-105) in their essential work on non-verbal communication, though, state that nearly anything could be (and was) used as a language of non-verbal communication, as well. They also emphasizing that not only human beings have rather unique ability to make language out of anything and use it, but they also needed both verbal and non-verbal signal systems from the very beginning.