Picture Talk
A Picture Talk is by far my favorite CI teaching method! For a Picture Talk, you work with a photo, a drawing, a painting, a sculpture, ... (for a painting or a sculpture, I prefer to use the name "Art Talk").
I like to begin with a bit of TPR (Total Physical Response - James Asher) where I establish the meaning of as many new words as possible.
Next, I describe what I see, I point to things in the picture, and I name what I see, while I also write the new words on the board. I circle the structures I use so that the students hear them over and over again.
As an example, I show you the presentation I made for this Picture Talk (beginning of Breaktrough 1 of the CEFR Level A1.1) about the photo below:
I like to begin with a bit of TPR (Total Physical Response - James Asher) where I establish the meaning of as many new words as possible.
Next, I describe what I see, I point to things in the picture, and I name what I see, while I also write the new words on the board. I circle the structures I use so that the students hear them over and over again.
As an example, I show you the presentation I made for this Picture Talk (beginning of Breaktrough 1 of the CEFR Level A1.1) about the photo below:
iStockafbeelding ID 487096298
The following words (In Dutch - as I teach Dutch) are introduced through TPR:
Beforehand, I create a presentation (PowerPoint Presentation or Google Slides) in which on each slide, I paste the above photo on the left side and on the right side, the pictures I want to use to clarify the meaning of what I'm saying (including during circling).
- sta recht (stand up)
- zit (sit)
- kijk naar (look at)
- lach (naar) (smile (at))
- huil (cry)
- slaap (sleep)
- eet (eat)
- drink (drink)
Beforehand, I create a presentation (PowerPoint Presentation or Google Slides) in which on each slide, I paste the above photo on the left side and on the right side, the pictures I want to use to clarify the meaning of what I'm saying (including during circling).
This is the first slide of the presentation I made for the picture talk of this photo.
I then point to the above photo in the presentation and I describe what I see. I also circle the statements I give. Here's how I proceed with slide 1, for example:
"Dit is een vrouw (show silhouette of the woman). Het is geen man (gesture 'not' and show silhouette of the man). Het is een vrouw. Ik heet Janique. Mijn naam is Janique. Ik HEET Janique (emphasize 'heet'). De vrouw heet Nina. Is Nina een man? Ben ik een man? Is Nina een man of een vrouw? Nina heeft een baby (point to the photo of the baby). De baby heet Leon. Ik heet Janique. Hoe heet de vrouw? Hoe heet de baby? Leon is een jongen (point to the photo of the boy). Is Nina een jongen of is Leon een jongen? Is Nina een baby? Is Leon een meisje (point to the photo of the girl)? Wie is een vrouw? Wie is de baby?"
Each slide is handled in the same manner.
As a written processing exercise of the Picture Talk, I do a Write & Discuss session.
The goal of "Write and Discuss" is to help students deepen their understanding of the language, improve their writing skills, and encourage them to actively participate in the learning process. Through interaction, discussion, and writing, students are exposed to comprehensible input and are encouraged to use the language in a meaningful and contextual way.
In a very first module of the CEFR Level A1.1 (such as the module in which I use the photo with the dog), I write the text together with the students. I ask questions, and with the answers they give, I reconstruct the story in writing. When the text is ready, I first read it aloud and check if everyone understands everything. Then, we read the text together again (choral reading). It is not intended for the students to write along during the reconstruction or to copy the text after choral reading; quite the opposite. They are not even allowed to write, only to think along.
In a subsequent lesson, I do provide my students with a written summary of the story, possibly with a few additional difficult words. I read this text paragraph by paragraph, and after each paragraph, I stop and ask comprehension questions. While reading, the students highlight with a highlighter every word, every sentence they understand (as opposed to 'regular education', where often the instruction is to underline the words you don't understand).
"Dit is een vrouw (show silhouette of the woman). Het is geen man (gesture 'not' and show silhouette of the man). Het is een vrouw. Ik heet Janique. Mijn naam is Janique. Ik HEET Janique (emphasize 'heet'). De vrouw heet Nina. Is Nina een man? Ben ik een man? Is Nina een man of een vrouw? Nina heeft een baby (point to the photo of the baby). De baby heet Leon. Ik heet Janique. Hoe heet de vrouw? Hoe heet de baby? Leon is een jongen (point to the photo of the boy). Is Nina een jongen of is Leon een jongen? Is Nina een baby? Is Leon een meisje (point to the photo of the girl)? Wie is een vrouw? Wie is de baby?"
- (This is a woman. It is not a man. It is a woman. My name is Janique. The womans' name is Nina. Is Nina a man? Am I a man? Is Nina a man or a woman? Nina has a baby. The baby's name is Leon. My name is Janique. What 's the womans' name? What's the baby's name? Leon is a boy. Is Nina a boy or is Leon a boy? Is Nina a baby? Is Leon a girl? Who is the woman? Who is the baby?)
Each slide is handled in the same manner.
As a written processing exercise of the Picture Talk, I do a Write & Discuss session.
The goal of "Write and Discuss" is to help students deepen their understanding of the language, improve their writing skills, and encourage them to actively participate in the learning process. Through interaction, discussion, and writing, students are exposed to comprehensible input and are encouraged to use the language in a meaningful and contextual way.
In a very first module of the CEFR Level A1.1 (such as the module in which I use the photo with the dog), I write the text together with the students. I ask questions, and with the answers they give, I reconstruct the story in writing. When the text is ready, I first read it aloud and check if everyone understands everything. Then, we read the text together again (choral reading). It is not intended for the students to write along during the reconstruction or to copy the text after choral reading; quite the opposite. They are not even allowed to write, only to think along.
In a subsequent lesson, I do provide my students with a written summary of the story, possibly with a few additional difficult words. I read this text paragraph by paragraph, and after each paragraph, I stop and ask comprehension questions. While reading, the students highlight with a highlighter every word, every sentence they understand (as opposed to 'regular education', where often the instruction is to underline the words you don't understand).
In a higher-level module, the students write the story themselves in pairs (and ideally, each duo has students with similar language levels). They discuss and write for about 20 minutes. Afterward, they hand in their text, even if it's not entirely finished.
I ensure that all the students receive a copy of their text, but I don't make any changes to the text itself. I don't write anything on it, I don't cross anything out, etc. The students receive a copy of their text as they wrote it. I keep the original (from each pair) so I can track their progress. After the lesson, I type out the text from each pair. I try to keep the 'original sentences' as much as possible, but I do make necessary corrections. All student has a feedback card in their folder. This is also how I type their text. In the photos below, you can see the feedback card and a text from 2 students with the corrected version alongside.
I ensure that all the students receive a copy of their text, but I don't make any changes to the text itself. I don't write anything on it, I don't cross anything out, etc. The students receive a copy of their text as they wrote it. I keep the original (from each pair) so I can track their progress. After the lesson, I type out the text from each pair. I try to keep the 'original sentences' as much as possible, but I do make necessary corrections. All student has a feedback card in their folder. This is also how I type their text. In the photos below, you can see the feedback card and a text from 2 students with the corrected version alongside.
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