Using Images in Class

For the visuals and images workshop I joined two peers evaluating images from English Unlimited Intermediate. The rubric set for me was to evaluate one diagram, graph, timeline or table taken from the coursebook. During our group IN-CLASS PRESENTATION We examined images using Duchastel’s taxonomy [1978] as a template, I examined a graph featured in English Unlimited Intermediate; see the link below.

IN-CLASS PRESENTATION

 MATERIALSIMAGES.pptx

The graph examined daily life in Japan, translating information into a visual form, allowing the reader to compare the information visually.  The image interacted with the text to the effect that the information provided wasn’t text heavy, allowing the learner to fully understand without becoming confused.  This also supports less able learners, the colours are not too bright and don’t distract from the text, the subject of the graph follows the previous exercise on world cultures, it is however at odds with the theme of the rest of the unit which could affect retention of new lexis for students as it is a erroneous addition to the unit on a different subject. English Unlimited produced some excellent diagrams, as shown in the attached power-point presentation, however it also produced some diagrams which distracted from learning.  The diagram below [a green arrow] seemed to be a pointless addition to the book, whereas the circle based diagram from Success Intermediate encourages learners to clarify basic vocabulary that they need to progress beyond their current level of study.

As a teacher I use a vast number of images to support my teaching, Canning-Wilson notes that ‘visuals allow for greater cognitive mapping and navigating’ and I believe a good example of successful use of images are some materials I used with a class of young adult Advanced/Proficiency learners.  Although the students had a strong grasp of English they did not have a full understanding of idioms and so I created extra materials for my students with visual aids to prepare them for comprehension questions, filling a gap between published materials and student requirements; please follow the link to view the materials.  

foot-heel-toe

The page below, taken from Changing Methodology in TESOL by Jane Spiro, encourages students to build words from just one word using prefixes and suffixes. This in turn enables learners, through generalizations, to significantly build their knowledge and understanding of lexis.  

Spiro suggests using collections of Raw Input (selections of authentic written, spoken or visual texts) without specifying how they’re to be used.  In the past I have successfully used selections of horoscopes from glossy magazines as a lead-in to writing in future forms, these were extremely effective.  I found the following cards on the internet (please follow the link zodiaccards) and I created some pre-teach vocabulary sheets (PTV) (please follow the link)

 zodiac

Each learner has an individual zodiac card and is given a corresponding pre-teach vocabulary (PTV) form, I tested the PTV sheets on short stay Italian teenage students and Hong Kong Chinese Students who worked individually to match vocabulary to images before using the images to write their own or their partner’s fortune using  future forms. Another idea to encourage students to write through picture prompts is using cartoon strips, learners can be provided with an example of completed cartoon strips (please see below).

Students would also be given the cartoon strips below and asked to fill in the speech bubbles to create a narrative for the cartoon.  Learners would need to write their ideas on separate paper first to enable me as their teacher to check their ideas for mistakes.  On completion of accurate narratives the students would be able to share their cartoon strips with the class as a reading exercise.

Cheung (2001:  60) proposes that:  “Popular culture is a rich source of authentic materials, bridging the gap between formal and informal English learning“.  Cheung (2001: 56) suggests English Language popular culture can be used as a source of motivation, encouraging students to be more ‘ more responsive and active’.  BBC comedies online are ideal to invite students on immersion courses to experience the customs of the countries they are staying in during English language lessons.

Canning-Wilson, C. (2001) Visuals & Language Learning. Is There A Connection?  ELT Newsletter, (48)

Duchastel, P.C. (1978) “Illustrating instructional texts”, Educational Technology, Vol. 18 No. 11, pp. 36-9.

Early, M.,et al (2015) Multimodailty: Out From the Margins of English Language Teaching. TESOL Quarterly 49 (3): pp. 447 – 460.  

Hewings, M. (1991) The interpretation of illustrations in ELT materials. ELT Journal 45 (3): pp.231 – 242.

Keddie, J. Images Oxford University Press 2009.

Kelsen, B. (200()  Teaching EFL to the iGeneration:  A Survey of Using YouTube as Supplementary Material with College EFL Students in Taiwan.  CALL – EJ Online 10 (2)

Janssen, D.H. (2008) Handbook Research on Educational Communications and Technology

LaSpina, J.A. (1998):  The visual Turn and the transformation of the textbook. L..Erlbaum Associates Mahwah, N.J.; London. 

Sless, D. Learning and Visual Communication David 1981

Wright, A. (1984) 1000 Pictures for Teachers to Copy.  Cambridge: Cambridge University Press