Advantages and Disadvantages of Using Pictures in Teaching English Language B.ED Notes

Back to: Pedagogy of English- Unit 5

Pictures give learners a chance to reflect on what they can see and it also offers an opportunity to develop their other senses by considering what they can smell, touch, and hear. Pictures also come in handy for translating abstract ideas into more realistic ideas. Most of all, pictures can also be obtained easily from various materials and resources such as newspapers, magazines, schoolbooks, and more. Pictures can also be used in different levels of education. Using pictures makes the class more engaging and interesting and it also saves the time and energy of the teacher.

Advantages of Using Pictures in Teaching the English Language

The advantages of using pictures in teaching the English Language are as follows:

Easy to remember

Pictures engage both sides of the brain making it easier for the children to remember and recall the information. It also connects them with their connectivity. Students may find it difficult to grasp the words but pictures can stay in their minds for a long time.

Fosters Visual Learning

Visual information is also highly important for the development of learners. They can also be used for teaching various languages and not just English.

Suits all Learning Styles

No matter what kind of learner a student is, anyone can learn easily through pictures and visual images. It accommodates different kinds of aspects such as visual, auditory, or kinaesthetic.

Better Clarity

Pictures give better clarity of the lesson that is being taught in the classroom. For instance, if the teacher is explaining the process of evaporation, he or she can show a picture to give better clarity.

Introduce New Concepts

Pictures can also be used by teachers to introduce new concepts that they may have otherwise been unaware of. The understanding of the learners will be better when they gain more exposure to images.

Disadvantages of Using Pictures in Teaching the English Language

The disadvantages of using pictures in teaching the English language are as follows:

Diversion of attention

With too many images, there is a chance that the attention of the learners may get diverted from the main point of the topic.

Lack of resources

It may be hard for the teacher to find appropriate resources and find the right images that can be shown to the learners.

Limited Emphasis

When it comes to visual images, the emphasis is limited to eye perception.

Inappropriate for a large class

The pictures may be small and may not be suitable for a large class that has many students.

Quality of pictures

The pictures must be of high quality or the learners may have a problem deciphering the same.

Although pictures have their set of advantages and disadvantages, it cannot be denied that they make the class more engaging and motivating.