2.4.1 Definition of Interactive Teaching Approach
The interactive teaching approach was a form of learning and communication activities. The focus of interactive teaching was the needs, abilities and interests of students (Dgebuadze, 2017). The interactive teaching approach emphasizes the interaction between students and students, the interaction between students and websites, and the interaction between students and teachers. The teaching in this mode has rich interaction types, rapid information update speed, and was fully utilized based on the role of the teacher; it stimulated the enthusiasm of students (Ma, 2019).
Interactive teaching was all about instructing the students in a way they were actively involved with their learning process. There were different ways to create an involvement like this. Most of the time it was through the following activities (Knapen, 2018):
1) Teacher-student interaction
2) Student-student interaction
3) The use of audio, visuals, video
4) Hands-on demonstrations and exercises
This approach was a flexible teaching method. A person who sees learners as active participants in the classroom rather than passive learners insists that the language should not only be the object and content of learning, but also be an
interactive experience, in which learning people were willing to interact with each other and communicate in a second language (Nicolai, Sato & Cotter, 2015). In teaching Chinese as a foreign language, effective teacher-student interaction could help stimulate students' interest in learning. Teacher-student speech interaction was a basic method of classroom teaching and a key link in the process of language teaching.
At the same time, it could create the necessary language environment, promoted the development of students' language skills, and improved their practical ability (Kandambi, 2018). Dynamic and communicative teaching methods, also known as interactive teaching methods, constitute the basic elements of the recently developed stimulating learning process. By used interactive techniques and strategies, students could focus more on learning, retain more information, and became more satisfied (Senthamarai, 2018).
2.4.2 How to Use Interactive Teaching Approach
Whereas students often lose interest during lecture-style teaching, interactive teaching styles promoted an atmosphere of attention and participation. Make it interesting. Make it exciting. Make it fun.
1) Encourage student participation.
2) Used questions that stimulate a response, discussion, and a hands-on experience.
3) Used teaching aids that press for answers, and capture/hold the student’s attention.
4) Set up a workgroup environment.
5) Involve yourself as well as the student.
Teachers should try their best to create a more relaxed and stimulating teaching environment for students. Teachers should also fully consider students’
personality and psychological factors, and design classroom teaching activities flexibly according to different teaching content, according to the situation and reality of students’ feedback makes a corresponding summary and record of the classroom effect, sum up the experience (Shu, 2016).
2.4.3 Advantages of Interactive Teaching Approach
The advantage of the interactive teaching method was that it becomes easier to organize courses and used some corresponding multimedia tools, and teachers could easily plan and formulate courses in advance, could make students enjoyable, interesting and participate in the entire teaching process. Some of the latest technologies used in the interactive learning environment allow teachers to gamify their courses, introduced competitive elements into their learning and more importantly, bring achievement levels aspects into the learning process. Interactive teaching brings flexibility and convenience to the learning environment. Some of the programs come with pre-installed interactive whiteboards on which teachers could share notes and other learning resources. There were the advantages of the interactive approach such as greater interaction of students with the teacher and classmates, the dominance of the activity of students in the learning process. The students actively participated in educational activities, simulate professional situations, perform creative and research tasks, engage in discussions with fellow students, learn to substantiate their point of view using arguments, discuss the strategies for effective behavior in conflict situations. The task of the teacher was to create conditions for the students' initiative (Kutbiddinovaa, Eromasovaa, and Romanova, 2016).
Interactive teaching combined with multimedia, the more common was interactive whiteboard teaching, through the interactive whiteboard in the classroom to enrich the learning experience, and interactive whiteboard could help students learn in the most suitable way. Many applications available on these devices allowed multiple styles of learning. Audio, visual, and dynamic learners could watch and listen to the material, and could even track their own synchronized devices in real-time. With interactive whiteboards, teachers could easily digitize lessons, making it easier for students to continue learning on their own devices. Materials could be uploaded to cloud storage, where these interactive courses were always accessible. They have created a more concentrated and simplified learning environment in which students could quickly ask questions and got the answers they needed in real-time.
2.4.4 Disadvantage of Interactive Teaching Approach
The organization was difficult, and the depth and breadth of the questions raised by the students were uncontrollable, which often affects the teaching process.
Teaching was complicated. Teachers always spent a lot of time prepared the interactive whiteboard courseware in advance and input the situation into the electronic whiteboard in advance. And in the class was still busy operating the courseware.
The school’s teaching facilities were uncontrollable, which were affecting the actual operability of the interactive whiteboard. Not every school had the equipment needed for interactive whiteboard teaching.