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Showing 2 results for Images
Hadi Farjami,
Volume 15, Issue 1 (3-2012)
Abstract
Metaphors and images, as part of the learners' belief systems, seem to play a large part in language learning (Cortazzi & Jin, 1999). So, awareness of them can be of substantial value to teachers in dealing with language learning problems. Aiming to contribute to this awareness, this study sought to explore the images/metaphors English language learners hold about grammar learning. To elicit learners' images, a questionnaire was delivered to 350 adult English learners, including both males and females, with at least one year of serious language learning experience. It demanded the respondents to provide one or more images about learning grammar of English as a foreign language. One hundred and thirty-nine completed forms were content-analyzed and specific metaphors were identified and grouped under descriptive rubrics. Next, the specific images were examined and general and conceptually oriented categories were identified. The results of the content-analysis and categorization are reported and discussed in terms of their implications for language teaching practice.
, ,
Volume 16, Issue 2 (9-2013)
Abstract
Although images are abundant and play significant aesthetic and pedagogical roles in today’s EFL course books, they are still one of the less explored areas of research. The present study is an attempt to examine the role and function of images in Iranian high school EFL course books it also aims to cast a critical eye over their suitability and efficiency. To this end, Kress and Van Leeuwen’s (2006) model of visual grammar was adopted. The findings revealed that although the informative and/or illustrative functions of the images make them important resources in Iranian high school EFL course books, their full potential for language learning does not seem to be adequately exploited. This relates to flaws at the representational mode of meaning making, such as outdated portrayal of objects, gender stereotyping, and overdramatizing national identity as well as shortcomings at the interactive mode, such as poor modality due to grayscale printing and plain graphics with no contextualization or pictorial detail. These flaws make the images seem out of today’s world and hardly credible for high school students who are already adept at new technology. Since these shortcomings may sacrifice pedagogical objectives, the study calls for changes in both technical quality and underlying messages of images in the course books.
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