module 10 two short writings
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Module 10
Visual Aids, Activities and Games & CALL (Computer Assisted Language Learning)
10.2Using Visual Aids When you employ different methods of conveying information in class, you make class more interesting, the information clearer and class more fun! For example, if you are teaching the names of the colors in English, students will respond more effectively if you are prepared to teach with color swatches, rather than if you are searching around the classroom, trying to find an example of a particular color. Likewise, when you bring in realia like a menu and pass it around, the kinesthetic learner will have a chance to touch and feel a part of the lesson and thus become engaged in the work. Using a picture instead of an explanation for vocabulary, grammar or other work can greatly speed comprehension and lessen your own TTT. Examples of visual aids include:
Drawings: If you are doing a grammar drill, you might be able to illustrate it with drawings to instantly show the meaning you're talking about. Think about the grammar lesson examples in Module VII. Suppose you are teaching the present continuous tense.
You can illustrate this idea with simple stick figure drawings in the following way to show standing, walking, climbing, swimming, running, studying:
Each image should be on a separate piece of paper so it can be shown individually to illustrate your drill work.
By using a series of drawings like this, you can readily get the idea across to your students. Keep in mind that your illustrations should be very simple like these above. Use dark, heavy lines, and leave out the detail; it causes confusion. The simpler the picture, the easier it will be for your students to see and understand, especially in larger classes.
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Pictures: Start a picture collection. Cut out pictures from magazines, newspapers, brochures, etc., that can be used to illustrate lessons. Again, make sure they are fairly large so everyone can see and understand. Smaller pictures can be used in pair work or passed around from student to student.
Flashcards: These could be anything, pictures, drawings, even vocabulary words that are used in rapid succession to produce a student response as in a stimulus with drill or review work.
Using the Board: Illustrate vocabulary, grammar, etc. on the board. Don't be shy if you don't have great artistic talent! Most of us don't but the board is one of the best mediums you have to illustrate or explain a point. Feel free to draw, diagram, chart, emphasize, and underline, etc. to illustrate what your students need to understand. Then, get your students to use the board as well to explain ideas, language concepts, etc.
Timelines: These are a great way to illustrate verb tenses. You can design your own system to convey the idea of a tense or many grammar books will provide suggestions for you. For example:
Teaching Verb Tenses with Timelines On the accompanying video, a teacher draws two contrasting timelines to call attention to the differences between the simple past tense and the use of the present perfect to describe unspecified past actions. Visual clues and strong contexts provide the clues our students need to guide their use of grammar structures.
03:47
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She went to university in 1975.
(definite past)
Tom has visited London.
(indefinite past)
Mauricio had studied English before he came here.
(one past action taking place before another)
Overhead Projector: Two of the disadvantages of the board are that your back is turned to the students and your hands are occupied. With an overhead projector, you can display your information and face your students at the same time. They can focus on the illustration, text, timeline, etc. and you can focus on them. Like drawings, your transparencies will need to be prepared beforehand if they are to be used efficiently.
Realia: We've already discussed how useful bringing in the item you want to discuss can be. Like your picture collection, you can start a collection of realia that you will frequently want to refer to: menus, postcards, brochures, timetables, maps, newspapers and magazines, especially examples of entertainment pages, want ads, personal ads and other kinds of advertising.
Videos: These are one of the most useful tools in the classroom if you have access to them. (Be careful though! There are different video and DVD formats. That they work in your country doesn't necessarily mean they will work in all countries. Enquire at your school before loading up your suitcase with videos!) The challenge with videos is in using them properly. Simply turning on the VCR or DVD player and having students watch a video is a wasted exercise. Teachers need to develop a strategy for using a video. There are two kinds of videos available to teachers: those that are specially prepared for the EFL/ESL class and those that are adapted for class. The latter type may include all the DVDs of movies, documentaries, and television shows plus all the video of news programs and sports commentary available online. These materials are highly motivating to students and, with proper teacher selection and preparation, can open your classroom to a world of possibilities. Here are some hints for getting the most out of video:
Plan ahead before you use the video, especially those that you are adapting to your students' needs. As in reading and listening work, preparation is key in the success of the video.
Prepare materials to accompany the video such as a video program outline, vocabulary lists, grammar points, sorting (out of order) dialogue exercises, fillin the blank exercises with dialogue, etc.
Know the material. View it beforehand and know what to ask, and how to guide your students' watching.
Use the still frame. This is a great technique to get the students to guess what they're going to see, to summarize what's been going on or guess what's going on at the moment in the freeze frame.
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Teach vocabulary before watching the video. When the students hear the vocabulary, stop the video and ask what they just heard to make sure they know it.
In sections of videos with complex language or action scenes with little dialogue, view the video with the sound turned off. As in the freeze frame, get the students to describe what they are seeing.
Do comprehension check work. It's sometimes easy for students to understand the gist of a movie, for example, by seeing what's happening.
A palindrome is a word, phrase or sentence that reads the same forward and backward as in: A Santa at NASA; Civic; Dad; Dee saw a seed; Never odd or even; Rise to vote, sir; Was it a cat I saw?
A man, a plan, a canal, Panama!
Madam in Eden, I'm Adam
What do you think?
1. Timelines can be used to teach verb tenses.
TRUE
FALSE
2. The following timeline is a good one to use to illustrate the continuous tense as in "I am speaking English with you now".
TRUE
FALSE
3. Preteaching of vocabulary is a helpful technique when using video in the classroom.
TRUE
FALSE
Score 100% Miniquizzes do not count toward your final grade. Print
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Using Visual Aids
Create a timeline to teach: "He was studying while I was playing baseball."
Describe the Visual Aid based on stick figure drawing(s) you would create to explain: "He used to exercise regularly but he doesn't anymore."
Describe the types of realia you could bring into class to help your students learn to ask for and give directions in English.
What kind of chart or diagram could you create on the board to teach the vocabulary words "majority" and "minority"?
You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation.
Platon
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