Notes from Amy Roe’s lecture “Worth 1000 Words: The Power of PictureTalk”
Why do we use PictureTalk?
Pictures are powerful tools for interest, engagement and memory.
PictureTalk is a combination of picture and listening.
Don’t overwhelm students with too many images. It is much powerful to build our lesson around one or two meaningful images.
How do we use PictureTalk?
1. Picture.
2. The teacher asks questions about the picture.
3. No text (or very limited text).
Rules in PictureTalk
Stay in Bounds:
It means using the language that the students know and 3~5 new words.
1. Write the 3~5 target words or structures on the board.
2. English and Chinese.
3. Be very intentional about the questions you ask.
Pause and Point:
Whenever you use the new words, pause and point to the words on the board.
Wait a few seconds for students to read the word and translation, and to think and process.
For younger kids who don’t know how to read, pause and ask “Who can tell me what … means in Chinese?”
Skills in PictureTalk
Skill 1: Circling
It is the way to ask questions about the picture.
Remember to circle new words only.
1. Begin the circling with a statement: The cat sees the mouse.
2. Ask question with a yes answer: Does the cat see the mouse?
Student may answer in different ways: a thumb up or a thumb down; yes; yes, the cat sees the mouse.
Either way, the teacher will state the complete answer to students “Yes, the cat sees the mouse.”
4. Continue with“either/or” question: Does the cat see a mouse or does the cat see a dog?
The students can answer in different ways as long as they understand the question.
Either way, the teacher will state the positive and negative “The cat sees a mouse. The cat does not see a dog.” Then, restate the positive.
5. Ask question with a no answer: Does the cat see a dog?
The teacher will state the negative “No,the cat does not see a dog” and the positive “The cat sees a mouse”.
Skill 2: Personalizing
When the teacher gives input to students by asking questions about themselves, the teacher invite them to share their interest, experiences or ideas and connect them to the PictureTalk.
This skill allows the teacher to know more about the students and allows the students to make connections with each other. It is a good way to build relationship.
1. Teacher asks question: What is your favorite book?
2. Teacher calls a student to answer.
If the student doesn’t how to say the title in English, he/she can use Chinese, because the focus is not the book title, it is possessive.
3. Teacher says: Samuel says “My favorite book is ….”His favorite book is ….
4. Teacher starts using circling and combines circling with personalizing.
Starting with the statement: His favorite book is ….
5. Teacher can use circling to allow the students to make connections with each other.
Samuel’s favorite book is …. Who also says “My favorite book is …”?
Check for comprehension:
1. Identify difficult language.
2. Ask questions in Chinese.
What does…mean in Chinese?
What did I just say?
Look at the Research
Dual Coding Theory
Pavio (1971): Students in classroom learn information in two ways, through their eyes, when they look at something or read something; or through their ears, when they listen to something or hear something.
Eyes: once
Ears: once
Eyes and ears: twice
Complementary Images
1. Do images help with learning?
Yes, they helped the most when combined with listening. The youngest students benefited the most.
2. Is there a difference between reading and listening?
Many students are still learning how to read, so teachers should give them time to read so that they won’t feel overwhelmed.
Modality Principle: (Clark & Mayer,2011)
Use spoken words rather than written text if presenting words and images at the same time.
When the teacher shows a picture to the student, have them listen, later, after they have looked at the picture, the teacher can add some written text.
Extensions of PictureTalk
Asking a story
Extend Picturetalk and create a story from the questions we are asking.
Who? What? Where? Why? When? How long? How many?...
E.g., What color is the cat? What’s his name?...
We can also use circling and personalizing when asking questions.
The teacher and students co-create the story and the teacher can guide the students to the best answer.
Don’t make them feel they don’t answer correctly, act like it’s a guessing game.
Stephan Krashen: Language acquisition proceeds best when the input is not only comprehensible, but really interesting, even compelling; so compelling that you forget you are listening or reading another language.
In PictureTalk, choose the compelling pictures so that students feel most engaged.
Create a Reading
1. Type the story your class has created.
2. Add the picture (optional).
3. Print the story.
Read & Discuss
1. Give students a different story with the same vocabulary or grammar structures.
2. The student translates the story out aloud into Chinese.
Draw, Act out the story, Ask questions
How to Use Readings
1. Rewrite the stories in the past tense.
2. Warm-up.
3. Reading assessment.
4. Cut the story into strips. Students have to put the story in order.
5. Add the story to your classroom library.
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