Faculty of Humanities and Social Science > English

USING VISUALS FOR TEACHING & LEARNING ENGLISH

<< < (3/5) > >>

Mustafizur rRhman:
Point to keep in mind while using Visuals.

The students should use outside pictures, study them carefully for appropriateness.
The underneath detail is to expalin how students should judge a visual material.
For example, Are all people shown dressed to church standard? No. An attractive girl with a shiny face will send the wrong message if she is wearing a sleeveless shirt and tight jeans or if she has too many earrings. Students should look carefully at the background details of the visual materials for appropriateness. They should make sure the home in  picture doesn't have ash trays, inappropriate magazines or a wine glass. A cross on the wall will suggest this is not an LDS home. Does everything in the picture suggest a wholesome environment in which a Latter-day Saint might comfortably be found?

Mustafizur rRhman:
A picture may be worth a 1,000 words, but it can also lead to speechlessness. Over the centuries theorists have often wondered whether or not we can see before we think. Pablo Picasso was famous for stating "I paint what I think not what I see." Therefore, it only seems logical as language educators we ask the same questions to determine the effect of visuals on learning.

Mustafizur rRhman:
How Visual Works

Let’s start with a general framework of how we learn and see our world. If you were to look at a glass of water, many would argue it was half-full whilst others would debate it was half-empty. Perception affects learning. How a learner views an object, text or symbol can affect written and oral communication. Let’s take another example, if you were asked to count the windows in your home, would you be more apt to take a mental picture of the room before counting? A wide variety of interesting questions can be asked in connection with the topic of imagery in learning. Thus far, research in human learning has provided answers to only a few. Still even fewer answers are available from research directed specifically towards the learning process. Perhaps, this is because humans have an ability to form a "mental" picture of the room before making a judgement. Even those blind from birth can facilitate learning and recall using imagery instructions. Thus, the mental image of what we have seen may at times make a greater impact than auditory input. Therefore, visual cues are important, since they either facilitate or distract from understanding.

Mustafizur rRhman:
How Visuals work, continues...

In the area of foreign language and second language research empirical evidence showing relationships between the pictures and acquiring the target language is scant. However, in the areas of cognitive psychology and visual/verbal behavior the literature is saturated with empirical data. Therefore, as researchers and classroom teachers, it is essential that we investigate how visuals and images can aid in the area of second language learning.

Mustafizur rRhman:
How Visuals Work, continues....

Canning (2000) states that there is considerable confidence placed in the value of audio-visual aids to enhance the learning of foreign languages, yet there is little empirical data and research to support the proposition that video or visuals facilitate in the learning of foreign languages. However, with the amount of time devoted to using video/visuals in the F/SL classroom, research is warranted to show how audio-visual aids enhance the language learning process. Currently, many constraints on the studies completed over the past two-decades, show that there are several limitations to be recognized when examining results. For example, many studies have been done with visual aids and not with actual English language videos. Secondly, the use of intact groups instead of random groups (who were studying only one foreign language) have been used in most visual studies in relationship to language learning.

Navigation

[0] Message Index

[#] Next page

[*] Previous page