In past seminars we had Teresa Clementon, who talked about her coursebook the English Unlimited B1+ Intermediate. Later in the week, we prepared a presentation in a group to analyse visuals in ELT coursebooks for Thursday 10th March. I worked with Lucinda and Sherifah, and as we had assessed different visuals from the same book we chose the English Unlimited B1+ Intermediate Coursebook Rea, D. & Clementon, T. with Tilbury & Hendra, A. (2011).
What’s behind selecting visuals for coursebook?
Most of the Second Language Teaching (SLT) Coursebook bombards the reader with too many colourful visual images with different purposes. Recent research by Wilson (2000) suggests
“that visuals can be used to help enhance the meaning of the message trying to be conveyed by the speakers through the use of paralinguistic cues.”
If one of the reasons is to convey the meaning of content within the book’s unit, then the visuals must be effective. Unfortunately, our chosen book for intermediate level, the English Unlimited B1, had a variety of visuals which were of poor quality and often mismatched the quality of the content. In this review, I will reflect on examples of this.
Even though writers and editors go through a long academic evaluation before their books reach the market, commercial goals can supersede the need for quality and proper visuals. Skehan (1998: 260) states that
“a central factor underlying publisher behaviour is to maximize profits, and the simplest equation for doing so is to sell more units.”
Therefore, publishers could potentially create a problem by selecting poor quality visuals. Published teaching materials can be of high-quality, but there is the possibility that effective content could be undermined by irrelevant images selected by the editor.
Another consideration that editors of this type of books could usefully address is the inference and connotation drawn from visuals and contents. The diverse ways in which values are communicated through images should be scrutinised as thoroughly as the language. Some choices of content, according to Richards (2014: 27), reveal that
“publishers and writers seek to ensure that their textbooks reflect progressive and politically acceptable values.”
Richards suggests (2014: 27) the target for publishers and writers should be to achieve a
“gender-neutral style of illustration; to use illustrations that include all physical types, with occasional evidence of physical disability; and avoid images with a stereotypical association.”
This leads to issues of the appropriateness of visuals used in textbooks.
Furthermore, recent research has identified a shortlist that can summarise the inappropriateness of visuals, explained by Canning-Wilson (2000) that ‘visuals are ineffective when used incorrectly.’ The list is as follows:
1.Too many distractors
2.Too crowded or causes an overwhelming effect on information
3.Too small or not clearly defined
4.Stereotyped images
5.Poor reproduction
6.Not related to text
7.Irrelevant captioning
8.Offers too much information
9.Unclear picture which doesn’t compliment the text
10.Poorly scaled illustration
11.Cluttered composition that is not aesthetically meaningful.
Therefore, in order to trigger answers from students, the selection of visuals should consider the list above so they are relevant to the learner.
Analysing the visuals in English Unlimited B1+ Intermediate Coursebook
In our Teaching Materials review group we studied how visuals are utilised within the book. I focused on photographs. Tomlinson (2013: 160) points out that
“ELT publishers, editors and authors think that it is as important to provide attractive space-filling accompanying illustrations than to provide pictures with related activities.”
This supports our findings in this Intermediate book. Some visuals were unnecessary, e.g., the book provides a wide range of attention-grabbing topics with usage of too many photographs. In unit nine some visuals were not clear and distracted the learners from focusing in the topic. Link to PowerPoint: Analysing the use of visuals in English Unlimited.pptx
To assess the images we found that using Duchastel’s ( 2003) taxonomy for illustrations in instructional texts allowed us to consider if the image was designed to be:
•Affective: provided to enhance interest and motivation.
•Attentive: intended to attract and direct attention.
•Didactic: intended to facilitate learning by showing something difficult to convey in words.
•Supportive: provided for less able learners.
•Retentional: provided to facilitate memorisation.
The photographs accompanying the writing tasks have the role of being attentive as they prompt students to engage in discussion and problem solving tasks. The content is ‘affective’ because it is inspiring, however the pictures, illustrations and photographs are of poor quality. Our findings concur with Walker and White (2013: 80) who argue that some caution is needed when claiming that all texts which combine images and written words are helpful.
When we studied Unit 9, termed “Decision Making”, we found that the unit involves and motivates learners to use their prior knowledge in order to aid their decision making skills. This is indicated by de Bono’s (2008) ‘Thinking Hats’ as a reading introduction and high thinking skills. Due to time constraints we couldn’t test this book on a large group of students. However, we tested Second Language learners, tested ourselves and L2 learners.
The importance of visuals for learning
There is a need to understand photography, as Bull (2009: 31) argues:
“in the study of photography it is vital to be aware of the ways in which photographs can be interpreted. Despite appearing to be more about communication outside of verbal language, applying terms and theories.”
Photography in language coursebooks can prompt students to engage in class discussion, and it has always been used as an effective resource. Bull (2009:31)cites Barthes’ claims that the photograph is ‘a message without a code’, inferring the power of visuals to reach the learner without an intermediary.
The overall layout and design of the book is well balanced, with clear objectives in some chapters. The design is exciting on the introduction of the unit pages but on the adjunct pages it is occasionally chaotic. However, in unit 9(Fig.1), the photography in the book contributes to the overall message of the unit. The photographs aided students to be able to make a connection with the oral task of a ‘problem solving situation’. In the pictures given, the body language and gestures of the characters are clearly seen as appropriate when the students are shown the problem. Therefore, the picture is effective, students will connect with daily life routine, however some students might find the body language aggressive.
Fig.2 Unit 9- Decision Making
The photos will help the learner to tell a story by observing the subjects’ pose, gestures, emotions and facial expressions. The image reveals an intimate moment for the subjects, and the mood of the piece correctly enables students to judge the right tone. It is tailored to the intermediate students through the chosen typography. The image displays systematic use of colour which is powerful, allowing the students to be attracted both visually and emotionally to the content. Unfortunately, the overall photographs in this book are poor and unrealistic, and the paper quality is detrimental to the content. Furthermore, primary colours are overused and it lacks in colour scale and density.
Do photographs distract from learning?
The images could potentially distract from learning if the students are not carefully prompted and re-directed to the aim of the lesson. Various types of visuals can be effective learning tools: photos, illustrations, icons, symbols, sketches, figures, and idea maps. If we consider how memorable visual graphics are to consumers such as those found in logos, for example the brand Nike can be instantly recognised by seeing the visual graphic, even before reading the name of the brand. According to current research, the more sensory modes in which mental representation is stored, the more likely they will be remembered (Borsook, Higginbotham & Wheat, 1992).
Conclusion
After reviewing the visuals in the English Unlimited B1+ Intermediate Coursebook, it allowed me to conclude that overall, the visuals are necessary as long as their high quality corresponds to the content within the book. In the book studied, its contents consist of high pedagogical content. Visuals ought to remain in books because they are inherently important for the learners, but there are still problems with the visuals encountered in the textbook and improvements on visuals for future additions are necessary to motivate learners.
References
Bull, S. (2009) Photography. Routledge, London.
“Six Thinking Hats – de Bono for Schools.” 2008. 5 Mar. 2016 <http://www.debonoforschools.com/asp/six_hats.asp>
Canning-Wilson, Christine, and Julie Wallace. “Practical aspects of using video in the foreign language classroom.” The Internet TESL Journal 6.11 (2000): 36-1.
Canning-Wilson, C. (2001) Visuals & Language Learning: Is There A Connection? ELT Newsletter, (48). Available from:http://www.eltnewsletter.com/back/Feb2001/art482001.htm [Accessed 28-Feb-16].
Hill, D. A. (2013) The visual element in EFL coursebooks. In: Tomlinson, B.(ed.) (1998) Developing Materials for Language Teaching. (2nd edn) London:Bloomsbury. ( pp.174-182.)
Mishan, F. & Timmis, I. (2015) Materials development for TESOL. Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh.
Skehan, P. (1998) A cognitive approach to language learning. Published Oxford: Oxford University Press.
