Using Images to Improve the Teaching

of SkillsEduardo Santos

Think of one adjective to define the images

in the next slides.

exotic

objectives• To examine some possibilities and reasons for

using images in the classroom. • To demonstrate how some course books

integrate images with the 4 skills. • To inspire teachers to look out for engaging

images and create activities around them.• To show how it is possible to integrate images

with the 4 skills.

reasons to use images

1. A perfect marriage2. Engagement3. Meaning4. Memory and language reactivation5. Technology and the image era6. Convenience7. An international ‘language’

reading

Source: Global Elementary pages 30-31. Macmillan.

Interpreting signs

Predicting book covers

• Show students pictures of graded readers.• Tell them to guess the name of the book.• Ask students to predict what the story is

about.• Read the summary of the book together and

ask students why/why not they would like to read that book.

Food for Thought This Rough MagicThe Ghost A Second Chance

listening

Source:New Total English Elementary. Pages 80-81.

Pearson.

Predicting the listening

• Tell students they will listen to a short program about tourists who visit London.

• They should predict 5 must-do activities in London which will be shown in the program.

• Watch the video, compare answers. • Watch again and write down the

places/activities shown in the video.

speaking

Source:New English File Intermediate. Page 117. OUP.

The story behind an image

• Choose an image which contains a powerful message.

• Ask students to imagine the story behind that image and tell their classmates.

• Share their stories with the whole group and choose the most creative one.

Quotes & Images

• Choose a theme for the lesson: travelling, happiness, money, etc.

• Ask students to find a quote about the given theme which represents themselves.

• Ask students to find an image to go with the quote (Google, Flickr, etc.).

• Share the image with the group and discuss the meaning of the quotes and pictures.

writing

Source:The Big Picture Pre-Intermediate page 115.

Richmond.

Jumbled story

• Use print screen to capture images from a short video which tells a story.

• Show the images to students and tell them to write a story using the pictures given. (set the plot, characters, scene, etc.)

• Students compare stories.• Students vote on the most creative story.

How I see meHow I see me.

How my students see me.

How society sees me.

How I really am.

conclusion• During lesson planning always think: “How can this

activity be enhanced, improved, strengthened, and become more memorable to my students through the incorporation of an image?”

• Start to look at the images around you and your students and think, “How can they be used with the teaching of skills?”

• Don’t start off a class with a word of phrase written on the board when an image can easily be used instead.

“Images speak to us. They give rise to outbursts of emotion, thought, and

curiosity. They bring back memories and remind us of the experiences we have

had. Images refresh the part of the brain that words alone fail to reach.”

Jamie Keddie – author of Images by OUP