Use Photos for Speaking, Writing Activities
2022-03-09
LRC
TXT
大字
小字
滚动
全页
1Language teachers are always looking for new ways to get their students to practice speaking in class.
2One way to get students to talk is to show them photographs and ask them to talk about what they see.
3Many teachers may already have a collection of interesting pictures to use in class.
4If you are a new teacher, you can find excellent photos in our "Day in Photos" section.
5The daily collection includes images from around the world.
6You can also use newspaper photos.
7In 2013, The New York Times' free Learning Network website began publishing a special photo each Monday.
8The photo does not include any description or information.
9The Times invited teachers to use the weekly photo to start discussions with students.
10The Times calls the section "What's Going on in This Picture?"
11It suggests that educators ask these questions:
12What is going on in this picture?
13What do you see that makes you say that?
14What more can you find?
15Readers can post comments that say what they think is happening in the photo.
16Later in the week, the Times prints the description of the photo.
17Teachers can use photographs to help students practice new grammar points.
18You can choose to ask questions that they must answer using a verb tense you are studying or using certain grammatical forms.
19Here are two examples.
20Our first photo is from the January 20 Day in Photos.
21It shows people at a festival in Nicaragua.
22If you are studying prepositions, you might ask,
23What do you see on their heads?
24If you want your students to use the past tense, you can ask,
25What did they do before someone took this photo?
26After a discussion, you can ask your students to begin a story with a statement related to the photo. For example:
27Yesterday, I was walking to school and I saw...
28Our next photo is from the January 6 The Day in Photos.
29We see Japanese firemen showing firefighting methods.
30They are on long ladders high in the air.
31Questions about this photo might include:
32What are these people doing?
33How do you feel about what they are doing?
34What do you notice about how they are dressed?
35In a recent class with teachers, my coworker Anna Matteo and I learned how some English teachers in Bolivia use pictures. Here are their ideas:
36Have students write a caption or description for the picture. If this photo was in a news story, what would the headline be?
37Show only part of a picture and ask, "What do you think this photo is about?" Slowly show more and more of the picture, until all of it is seen. Ask students to write about it and read their stories to each other.
38Use a photo of a popular place for travelers. Ask students to make it the center of a tourism marketing campaign. They may make an Instagram post with a few words or a magazine advertisement with words or expressions to help "sell" the place.
39Use a picture of a local art or craft and ask students to write about its cultural importance and their own experience with making or using it.
40Our final photo today is an historical image taken in the United States during the 1940s.
41Some men are carrying covered cans.
42Their clothing and faces are marked with dirt.
43They are wearing a special hat with a light on the front.
44Look at the photo. Choose to be a teacher or student and answer the questions in the comments.
45For the Teacher: What questions would you ask about this picture? Tell about two or more activities you would do with your students after viewing the picture.
46For the Student: What is happening in this picture? What do you think is in the cans? Where are the men going? Write about the picture.
47If you try this activity, you will find the old expression is true in more ways than one:
48A picture is worth a thousand words.
49I'm Jill Robbins.
1Language teachers are always looking for new ways to get their students to practice speaking in class. One way to get students to talk is to show them photographs and ask them to talk about what they see. 2Many teachers may already have a collection of interesting pictures to use in class. If you are a new teacher, you can find excellent photos in our "Day in Photos" section. The daily collection includes images from around the world. 3Newspaper photos 4You can also use newspaper photos. 5In 2013, The New York Times' free Learning Network website began publishing a special photo each Monday. The photo does not include any description or information. The Times invited teachers to use the weekly photo to start discussions with students. The Times calls the section "What's Going on in This Picture?" It suggests that educators ask these questions: 6What is going on in this picture? 7What do you see that makes you say that? 8What more can you find? 9Readers can post comments that say what they think is happening in the photo. Later in the week, the Times prints the description of the photo. 10Ask at your students' level 11Teachers can use photographs to help students practice new grammar points. You can choose to ask questions that they must answer using a verb tense you are studying or using certain grammatical forms. 12Here are two examples. 13Our first photo is from the January 20 Day in Photos. It shows people at a festival in Nicaragua. If you are studying prepositions, you might ask, 14What do you see on their heads? 15If you want your students to use the past tense, you can ask, 16What did they do before someone took this photo? 17After a discussion, you can ask your students to begin a story with a statement related to the photo. For example: 18Yesterday, I was walking to school and I saw... 19Our next photo is from the January 6 The Day in Photos. We see Japanese firemen showing firefighting methods. They are on long ladders high in the air. Questions about this photo might include: 20What are these people doing? 21How do you feel about what they are doing? 22What do you notice about how they are dressed? 23Teacher ideas 24In a recent class with teachers, my coworker Anna Matteo and I learned how some English teachers in Bolivia use pictures. Here are their ideas: 25Have students write a caption or description for the picture. If this photo was in a news story, what would the headline be? 26Show only part of a picture and ask, What do you think this photo is about? Slowly show more and more of the picture, until all of it is seen. Ask students to write about it and read their stories to each other. 27Use a photo of a popular place for travelers. Ask students to make it the center of a tourism marketing campaign. They may make an Instagram post with a few words or a magazine advertisement with words or expressions to help sell the place. 28Use a picture of a local art or craft and ask students to write about its cultural importance and their own experience with making or using it. 29Now you try it 30Our final photo today is an historical image taken in the United States during the 1940s. Some men are carrying covered cans. Their clothing and faces are marked with dirt. They are wearing a special hat with a light on the front. 31Look at the photo. Choose to be a teacher or student and answer the questions in the comments. 32For the Teacher: What questions would you ask about this picture? Tell about two or more activities you would do with your students after viewing the picture. 33For the Student: What is happening in this picture? What do you think is in the cans? Where are the men going? Write about the picture. 34If you try this activity, you will find the old expression is true in more ways than one: 35A picture is worth a thousand words. 36I'm Jill Robbins. 37Jill Robbins and Anna Matteo wrote this lesson for Learning English. 38____________________________________________________________________ 39Words in This Story 40practice - v. to do something again and again in order to become better at it 41photograph (photo) - n. a picture made by a camera 42sentence - n. a group of words that expresses a statement, question, command, or wish 43caption - n. a sentence or group of words that is written on or next to a picture to explain what is being shown 44ladder - n. a device used for climbing that has two long pieces of wood, metal, or rope with a series of steps or rungs between them 45tourism - n. the activity of traveling to a place for pleasure 46Do you use pictures in your classes? We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section.