The Role of Visuals in Language Learning and Instructions

Abstract

         A single image can stand for complex idea. We might spend an hour reading an article about the divorce effect on children and destruction of the family. But a photograph of a child crying between two hands of his parents evokes in us an instant emotional response. While both the articles and the photographs communicate the magnitude of the damage that divorce can cause, the power of an image allows us to understand this message within nanoseconds. The study is focused on the ability of image in eliciting language across all the four skills: listening, speaking, reading, and writing in the instructional strategies which may definitely enhance students’ critical thinking skills. Besides, this research offers one strategy which is adapted from an online lesson at the National Archives and Records Administration NARA for integrating visual literacy into language instruction. thereby transforming a language lesson into one that meets the goals of the content classroom as well.