On application of visuals in teaching English; selected issues ...

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F.L. Billows suggests that visuals can be divided into three main groups: 9 1) 2-dimensional aids – include wide variety of pictures and drawings, such as all kind of pictures, postcards, posters and magazines, maps and plans, tables, charts, diagrams, graphs, mind maps and time lines, picture stories, cartoons and comic strips, film, video, television, cinema and OHP transparencies and slides. 2) 3-dimensional aids which mean teacher’s and students’ body language (mimes, gestures, facial expression, acting a situation, puppets) 3) other visual aids - almost everything that presents information visually and is used in teaching process. These are realia such as a calendar, a clock, a mirror, toys and art: (paintings, albums, sculptures). As has been already stated, visual aids have many different forms, but they have something in common – they mean all events of human communication which transcend spoken or written language. They are used as a medium of conveying a message in iconic code and play important role in a communication system. 2. Factors which influence the choice of visual aids Visuals are thought to be suitable for all levels and age groups, but not every visual is appropriate to every class. We must judge for ourselves if the materials matches the needs of the pupils. Andrew Wright presents a chart with a wide range of factors that should be considered before choosing supplementary materials. He divides them into three groups: 10 1) Factors connected with learning situation: a. Pupil Students’ age is probably the most important factor. Not only topics but also applied methods, techniques and aids should be relevant to it. The younger the students are, the simpler (less detailed), more colourful pictures and the shorter films should be presented. According to Jan Rusiecki, films generally are not appropriate for young pupils. He argues that there are too many changeable elements, too fast tempo and almost no repetition. He writes that the sequence of pictures is more suitable for use with children. The only exception are films specially made for teaching purpose. They are adopted to the level and practice specific structures or vocabulary. 11 While teaching young pupils very effective is the use of visuals such as puppets, toys and real objects, which give them the chance to touch and manipulate things. They also take advantages of picture stories, cartoons and comic strips. Tables, charts and diagrams, although help to organize new material, are usually more appropriate for elder learners. Students’ age is not the only factor which influences the choice of teaching aids. There are more pupils’ individual differences that should be considered. These are their abilities, motivation, character, interests, social and cultural backgrounds and their previous experience of the language. Komorowska points out that students from neglected backgrounds tend to show traits and needs typical for younger age group. 12 What is more, students present certain level of proficiency in target language. Even the elder students who begin English learning, need topics and teaching aids suitable not only for their age but also for their language level. A general rule is that materials should be slightly higher in their level of difficulty than the students' current level of English proficiency. Furthermore, students’ intelligence and lateralization also impact their ability to take advantages of different supplementary materials. Especially those with visual intelligence and right brain hemisphere predominance need more non-verbal means. b. Environment Teaching involves the creation of environment and activities that effectively invoke learning. Technology, such as OHP, slides, video and computers supports learning, but there are many classrooms which are not equipped so well. When the English language classroom is of poor physical and technical conditions, a teacher has no choice and has to resign from using visuals that require technology. What s/he can do instead of this, is to balance out disadvantages of classroom by the wide variety of other visual aids. First of all, it is obvious that a safe, comfortable and attractive classroom stimulates learning and helps build a classroom community. A great idea then is to decorate the walls. Attractive visual aids, such as bulletin boards and posters, are key components of an effective classroom. Wall decorations should be colorful, appealing and relevant to current class work. They should be rotated and refreshed frequently. What is more, it could be very useful to create a students’ work display and present children’s drawings and projects. It would make them proud of their contribution to classroom decoration and will be a very motivating factor. Furthermore, David A. Hill points that teaching language is teaching the culture of the people who speak that language and has a lot of references to things which are alien to a foreign language learner. He writes: “if the explanation is accompanied by a visual image - where appropriate - the learner will understand far better: the picture makes the 9 F.L.Billows (translated by B.Jasińska, B.Pawłowska), Technika nauczania języków obcych (Warszawa: Państwowe Zakłady Wydawnictw Szkolnych, 1968), 138-163. 10 Andrew Wright, “Audio-Visual Materials in Language Teaching”, The Edinburgh Course in Applied Linguistics, vol.3 (London: Oxford University Press, 1974), 266-269. 11 Jan Rusiecki, O nauczaniu języków obcych (Warszawa: Państwowe Zakłady Wydawnictw Szkolnych, 1964), 135-136. 12 Komorowska, Metodyka, 38-40.
words more accessible”. 13 Posters, maps, photos and other realia connected with the target language country help students to immerse in this country’s language and culture, and bring some reality into the language classroom. The size of the classroom is also important. In big classrooms visual materials should be large enough to be visible for all students. Big formats are suitable to work with the whole class, while small ones are better in group or pair work. c. Teacher As was previously said, teachers themselves can be treated as visual teaching aids. Many teachers who are conscious of this, make use of their body language, gestures, mimes and facial expression to convey meaning of new words. It is especially effective when these new words are rather abstract or refer to feelings or action. Many teachers claim that they can not draw. For this reason they resign from drawing and use flashcards or pictures taken from magazines. Andrew Wright emphasis the role of drawing and encourages teachers to use it. He points that “inadequacy of their drawings catches the students’ attention”. The experience and personal inclinations of the teacher also influence the choice of materials. “A keen teacher expects to try out materials and ideas which are unfamiliar to him, but it would be unwise to plunge into a method of teaching which is quite new and for which he is unprepared.” 14 For less experienced teachers, who are not self-confident, using video or film is a way of presenting correct English pronunciation, though there are also teachers who are not very familiar with technology and avoid using it. What is more, “through the choice of materials used in the classroom, the teacher can propose concrete and visible images - a vision of the world to which the teacher is affiliated in some way.” d. Economics Most teachers have to work on a tight budget and the question of costs is a very important factor influencing the choice of teaching aids. Those who have access to OHP, VCR , computer or other teaching equipment can take advantages of using these media, while others should collect visual aids not relying on technology. Taking into account the fact, that teacher’s time is limited, he cannot be expected to make a new set of visuals for every item in the syllabus. In many cases the teacher will be obliged to do without visuals, but it could be difficult to motivate a class with just chalk and talk or a textbook only. Teacher can of course shop around, but there are also many alternative sources of teaching aids. David A. Hill points to magazines as a great source and encourages teachers to “cut and keep all available visuals” 15 . He points, that even pictures which at first seem to have no use can become an exciting stimulus when linked, for example, to other picture or to a poem which is being studied. Good advice is to involve students in making visuals and realia. Having children involved in creating the visuals that are related to the lesson helps engage students in the learning process by introducing them to the context as well as to relevant vocabulary items. If the teacher can not spare the time in class to make the visuals, another idea can be to consult the art teacher and combine their efforts. Jennifer Goodman points that “the Internet is a fantastic source of pictures and can be found related to any topic through major search engines.” 16 Günter Gerngross and Herbert Puchta write: “magazines, newspapers, private photo collections, picture postcards, etc. are ideal stimuli for exciting lessons.” 17 Although building a collection of visuals can be costly or time consuming, it is worth of effort because they can be reused in many classes, for different level learners and in many different learning situations. 2) Factors connected with lesson aims: Every lesson plan involves many items among which the superior are lesson aims. Others, such as used materials, applied methods and techniques should be subordinated to them. The aims are things teacher wants the students to be able to do at the end of the lesson that they couldn't do before. There are three general lesson aims: acquiring information, developing skills and modifying attitudes. One of the advantages of using visual aids is, that they can be used to present many different topics and many different grammar points, for big classes and for one-to-one teaching, from the beginner to advanced level. Whether the goal is to introduce new vocabulary or new grammar structure, to develop any of four skills, to promote interest in the culture or just to create a relaxed atmosphere in the classroom, the visuals are useful and effective means of gaining these aims. According to Andrew Wright visual aids should be: 18 • easy to organise in the classroom - the effects should be worth of the effort of organising a more complicated activity • interesting - engaging students is important for learning process effects • meaningful and authentic - the closer to authentic situation is the aid and the thought material, the better are teaching results 13 Hill, Visual Impact, 15. 14 Wright, “Audio-Visual Materials”, 269. 15 Hill, Visual Impact, 2. 16 Jennifer Goodman, „Picture stories in the communicative classroom,”10 February 2006; avaliable from http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk; Internet; accessed 21 October 2007. 17 Günter Gerngross and Herbert Puchta, Pictures in Action (New York: Prentice Hall International, 1992), 6. 18 Andrew Wright, Pictures for Language Learning (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1989), 2-3.
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