Photo-Booklets for English Language Learning: Incorporating Visual Communication into Early Childhood Teacher Preparation

Abstract

Teachers can integrate discussion and writing about photographs into the early childhood curriculum to build speaking, reading, and writing skills in any language. Although little available research focuses on photography and early childhood education as related specifically to English Language Learners, several current teacher resources do focus on uses of photography in classrooms for young children. What is lacking, however, is substantial reference to the planned use of language along with image creation through photography for the language development of English Language Learners (ELLs) in the early childhood classroom. Teacher training, too, devotes insufficient attention to either visual literacy or visual communication. This article provides a discussion of the role of the visual in English language development as a basis for a sample photography project that can be incorporated into a course for pre-service teachers in methods of teaching ELLs. Pre-service teachers thus experience the project first-hand in terms of image creation and the planning of appropriate content, language, and visual literacy objectives. The resulting visual products then function as teaching resources themselves; however, effective visual learning for ELLs requires that teachers possess such an informed understanding of the techniques that structure and assist language development.

Addition Concept through the Lenses of Young Children: Creating Visual Representation with Digital Cameras

“…Previous studies have reported the positive link between incorporating digital cameras and using photographs and visual imageries with children's learning. For example, the use of photographs during literacy learning has facilitated children's literacy and language skills (Britsch, 2010;Byrnes & Wasik, 2009). Photographic activities incorporated into classroom learning have sparked meaningful discussions among children (Marinak, Strickland, & Keat, 2010).…”

The Reflections of Visual Literacy Training in Pre-Service Teachers’ Perceptions and Instructional Materials Design

“…Media education covers all new literacies including visual literacy. Even though studies aiming to advance students' and teachers' visual literacy are on the rise (Brumberger, 2011;Schonborn & Anderson, 2010;Wu & Newman, 2008;Carter, 2003;Sosa, 2009;Yeh & Lohr 2010;Yeh & Cheng 2010), there are studies which argue that not enough importance is attached to visual communication and literacy in teacher education programs (Britsch, 2010;Sadık, 2009). This study was conducted to describe how pre-service teachers perceive the visual literacy training they receive, and to what extent and how they reflect this training in their instructional materials regarding design tools.…”

The verbal and the visual in language learning and teaching: insights from the ‘Selfie Project’

“…The relationship between language and visual imagery has always been a fundamental part of learning how to communicate (Britsch, 2010). An entity like a 'tree', for instance, only becomes a linguistic fact once the association between the word tree and the image of a tree has been established (ibid).…”