What is a picture file?
A collection of photographs, magazine advertisements, striking pictures, advertisements, maps, menus, brochures, and other images used for teaching purposes.
Why are pictures great language learning tools?
It is said that a picture says a 1,000 words. In the same way, pictures may be used 1,000 ways in the classroom. They support learners' visual needs, enforce grammatical concepts and vocabulary, provide opportunities for practice, encourage creativity, contextualize language, are natural outlets for speaking that are interesting but not overly personal, and are a fun way to learn and teach!
Where do you find pictures?
- Old magazines and catalogues (either your own or students’)
- Digital photography
- Realia from local restaurants, information centers, or trips abroad
- Clip art
- Online images with Creative Commons Licensing
How do you mount them?
It’s important that pictures are pretty durable and can be used more than once. I suggest mounting them on cardboard, construction paper, or other stiff paper with rubber cement or glue and leaving them underneath a large pile of books overnight to set (those piles of grammar books work great!). Then your pictures are more durable and long-lasting (some of mine have lasted through 3-4 moves to different countries and several years of use). You can also consider laminating them, if it is affordable and you are able.
What makes a good picture file?
Variety: A great picture file has variety but should also include a number of 1) pictures of average, unusual, and famous people of different ethnicities, professions, and ages, 2) different settings and times of the day or year (school, seaside, nighttime, fall, etc.), 3) intriguing scenarios that require some kind of response from the viewer. These provocative shots are easy to develop into short role plays, writing tasks, or conversations.
Adequate size and organization: It is helpful to have enough pictures to be able to choose between and yet not so many that the choice is overwhelming. When I first started using a picture file, I erred on the side of having too many and rifling through them got to be quite taxing. I suggest using some sort of organizational strategy so you can quickly find pictures (I use large sturdy folders labeled with the types of objects inside — animals, scenery, furniture, etc.). Consider putting a picture file together with other teachers from your school for everyone to use.
Within the limits of your students’ abilities: Be careful when choosing pictures for classroom activities. You don't want to choose pictures with too many new terms or grammatical forms that haven't been mastered. Consider grammatical forms needed to describe activities (present continuous) or recently finished actions (present perfect). If learners feel like the picture is beyond their language abilities and they don't have the tools for the task, your aims may backfire, and learners will leave unmotivated or discouraged.
