How Can Visual Literacy Support English Language Teaching?

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How Can Visual Literacy Support English Language Teaching?

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Suryanto

suryanto99@yahoo.com.au

Abstract: Visually literate persons are able to understand, to create and to use images as a means of expression and communication. Understanding the elements, the meanings, and the natures of visual images may lead visually literate persons to be able to use the images for the purpose of teaching English. Integrating the visual images in the steps of teaching learning process may create better learning atmosphere that trigger the students' higher achievement. This paper is aimed to elaborate the nature of visual literacy and the integration of visual literacy component in teaching English.

Keywords:Visual literacy, English language teaching, meaning of images, elements of images, steps of teaching learning process

Abstrak: Orang yang melek secara visual mampu memahami, menciptakan, dan mengunakan gambar sebagai alat untuk berekspresi dan berkomunikasi. Dengan memahami serangkaian elemen, arti, dan sifat gambar visual, orang yang melek secara visual mampu mengunakan gambar untuk tujuan pengajaran Bahasa Inggris. Dengan mengintegrasikan gambar visual dalam langkah-langkah belajar mengajar, atmosfir pembelajaran akan tercipta lebih baik dan mendorong peserta didik untuk meraih prestasi lebih tinggi. Paper ini dimaksudkan untuk mengelaborasi tentang karakteristik melek visual dan pengintegrasian komponen melek visual dalam pengajaran bahasa Inggris.

Kata kunci: Literasi visual, pembelajaran Bahasa Inggris, makna gambar, bagian gambar, tahapan proses pembelajaran

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The undeniably role of English as a global natural or man-made, that he encounters in means of communication has triggered almost all his environment. Through the creative use countries in the world accommodating English as of these competencies, he is able to one of the subjects in their educational communicate with others. Through curriculum. Teaching English, then, becomes creative use of these competencies, he is one of the focuses of the governments to facilitate able to comprehend and enjoy the their citizens in order to be globally literate by masterworks of visual communications” building their English language literacy. (Fransecky & Debes, 1992, p.7).

However, teachers as the fore-front actors to

realize this effort must face various challenges to Seel (1994) defined visual literacy as an foster their students to master English well. In aptitude to conduct visual communication, visual this respect, teachers then need resources, skills, thinking, and visual learning. Visual thinking knowledge and expertise to overcome every according to Kovalik and King (2011) refers to obstacle they face. Their visual literacy may help the ability of a person to use pictures, colours, themselves coping with the problems in their diagrams, other elements to represent his views, teaching. Visual literacy may help teachers notions and information that assist him to design teaching learning process more attractive communicate the information. Meanwhile, with which students would be more engaged in visual communication is a circumstance when learning. As a result, the students will end up with pictures, graphics, and other images are good English language mastery. This writing employed to prompt thoughts and to teach would like to explore through literature review people. In this case, the counterpart in the how teachers' visual literacy may enhance communication must be able to understand what teachers to design better English language the image means to effectively communicate. teaching and learning processes in the class. Then, the visual learning can be addressed to the

process of learning from pictures and media. This

What is visual literacy? includes when learners understand knowledge by Many experts had made every effort to define seeing visual image.

what visual literacy is. Yet, they still have their In a brief way, based on various definition of various ideas on the definition (Avgerinou & visual literacy, Messaris and Moriarty (2005, Ericson, 1997; Messaris & Moriaty, 2005). p.482) highlighted that there were two main Debes was historically the pioneer in raising the components embodied in visual literacy: 'the issue of visual literacy and defined the term ability to understand visual images and the ability visual literacy as 'a set of competences owned by to create or use images as a means of expression a person to discriminate and interpret the visible and communication'. In other words, in order to actions, objects and symbols, natural or man- be visually literate, one must be able to made, that he encounters in his environment, and understand what images are, and to create or use to apply the competences to communicate with them for certain purposes.

others and to appreciate visual texts' (Arizpe &

Styles, 2003, p. 39-40). Referring to the National Understanding visual images

Conference of Visual Literacy, visual literacy is Understanding visual images may take place defined as: in two sequences (Messaris & Moriaty, 2005). “a group of vision-competencies a The first is to understand a sign, an image, or a human being can develop by seeing and graphic representation through basic perceptual at the same time having and integrating standards of what we see to acquire the meaning other sensory experiences. The develop- from the perceptual vision. The second may refer ment of these competencies is fundamen- to the ability to view critically the images in terms tal to normal human learning. When of how the image creator manipulates them. developed, they enable a visually literate Through basic perceptual standards in visual person to discriminate and interpret the communication, images may compose at least visible actions, objects, and symbols ten elements: dot, line, shape, direction, tone,

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JURNAL BAHASA & SASTRA, VOLUME 15, NOMOR 1, DESEMBER 2014

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Suryanto, Visual literacy in supporting ELT 41

having better understanding toward the subjects the interactional routines can be subcategorized the students learn. into service activities (job interviews) and social activities (social gathering, birthday party, etc.).

Visual images in Teaching listening To run such routines, speakers needs to have Listening is important in foreign language conversational management and negotiating classrooms (Nunan, 1999). It gains recognition meaning skills (Bygates, 1987).

when the theory of comprehensible input To build speaking ability, teachers may proposed by Krashen (1982) came into fashion develop the student skill to carry out the mentioning that in order to be able to produce a information and interaction routines as good output, students need to have a mentioned above. Visual images are very much comprehensive input. In this respect, listening helpful to support the students to practice the skill should be mastered by students for the language as indicated by many books that reason that this skill can equip students with contain exercises for speaking practice abilities to encode inputs. accommodate the visual images (Klippel, 1991;

In teaching listening skills, a teacher should Ladousse, 1994). provide materials that enable the students to

understand them properly to build thorough Visual images for teaching reading skills

knowledge in their minds. Schema theory Comparing the printed-based texts and proposed by Bartlett (1932) arguing that multimodal texts, texts which may incorporate knowledge of man comprises of interrelated spoken or written language, still or moving schemata that functions as unbroken units. Based images, Walsh (2011) found differences between on this theory, to create listening materials, the two texts. The multimodal texts incorporate teachers need to prepare a holistic picture of the many modes of delivering meanings with which contents since the knowledge schema works readers find them useful to understand the texts holistically as unbroken units. comprehensively. Therefore, teaching reading Teachers can create holistic listening materials skills by incorporating visual component will be more comprehensively by adding visual helpful for the student because visual components in the materials. Adding such components can become the tools for students to components can support students to understand learn to understand ideas and to learn in new the listening lessons sufficiently. A listening ways (Zoss, 2009).

study with three experimental groups indicated

that a group with a visual aid of a concept map Visual images for teaching writing skills

possessed superior comprehension (Nunan, For teaching academic writing, Baratta & 1999). In short, to facilitate better learning Jones (2008) conducted a study to include visual outcome, visually literate teachers should design images in their teaching. After six week pilot listening materials by integrating visual programme, they found that students found components in their teaching processes to serve useful to have visual teaching methods and at the better student understanding end of the program, the study indicated that average students' performance increased. Such a

Visual images in teaching speaking condition is supported by Zoss (2009) who stated Bygate (1987) proposed that the purpose of that incorporating visual art in teaching is a speaking conversationally can be analysed in promising endeavour.

terms of routines, the common methods of

expressing information. In this case, Bygate Principles of integrating visual images in

(1987) classified routines into information teaching English

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be able to understand, create and use visual learning achievement may not be portrayed images, teachers should be also be aware of some appropriately. Related to social communities, principle to integrate the visuals images. the educational institutions should build mutual Meredith (1947) mentioned some principles of relationship by disseminating to them any integrating visual images in teaching English: (1) required information with intention that they The teacher must make adaptation to the may support any teaching learning program that available resources. (2) The visual images be entail the communities' participation.

precisely related to a particular task in the

learning process. (3) A balance must be Conclusion

maintained between all the different elements in Visual literacy components may be integrated the learning process and (4) teachers should in English language teaching. Visually literate develop student's self-reliance to anticipate their teachers are capable of choosing or creating use of the language in real contexts. visual images and use them to enhance the students' achievement in learning.

Under-Some consideration in integrating visual standing the meaning and the characteristic of

literacy components visuals image is important for teachers in order Some components may be taken into accounts that they may integrate in some steps of teaching to ensure the smooth running in integrating the learning processes whether they are in the stages visual literacy components: space, an agent of of pre-teaching, while teaching or post-teaching learning and teaching, display learning, in their teaching English language skill: assessment, social community (Heath, 2000). listening, speaking, reading and writing. To The classroom as a space for study should be ensure the success of integration of visual redefined as not only a cubical space. It should be teaching, some principles and some consi-expanded to the place where study may take derations on space of teaching, the role of the place like museum, garden, and other outer students, display learning facilities, assessment, spaces that enable the students to study the and social communities need to be taken into subjects assigned in the curriculum. In such account.

spaces, teachers may design better

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