Activating students’ specialized knowledge through illustrations for marine engineering vocabulary learning at Maritime College No.1 = Kích hoạt kiến thức chuyê

1
VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI
UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES






ACTIVATING STUDENTS’ SPECIALIZED KNOWLEDGE
THROUGH ILLUSTRATIONS FOR MARINE ENGINEERING
VOCABULARY LEARNING AT MARITIME COLLEGE NO. 1
(Kích hoạt kiến thức chuyên ngành của sinh viên thông qua hình
ảnh minh họa cho việc học từ vựng chuyên ngành máy tàu thủy
tại trường Cao đẳng Hàng Hải I)

MA MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS

Field: English Language Teaching Methodology
Code: 601410





HANOI - 2012

ĐẶNG THỊ HOÀNG YẾN

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VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI
UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES







ACTIVATING STUDENTS’ SPECIALIZED KNOWLEDGE
THROUGH ILLUSTRATIONS FOR MARINE ENGINEERING
VOCABULARY LEARNING AT MARITIME COLLEGE NO. 1
(Kích hoạt kiến thức chuyên ngành của sinh viên thông qua hình ảnh
minh họa cho việc học từ vựng chuyên ngành máy tàu thủy
tại trường Cao đẳng Hàng Hải I)

MA MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS

Field: English Language Teaching Methodology
Code: 601410
Supervisor: Cấn Thị Chang Duyên, M.A




HANOI - 2012
ĐẶNG THỊ HOÀNG YẾN

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page
DECLARATION
i
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
ii
ABSTRACT
iii
TABLE OF CONTENT
iv
LIST OF ABBREVIATION
vi
LIST OF FIGURES, TABLES AND CHARTS
vii
PART A: INTRODUCTION

1. Rationale of the study
1
2. Aims of the study
2
3. Scope of the study
3
4. Methods of the study
3
5. Significance of the study
4

6. Design of the study
4
PART B: DEVELOPMENT

CHAPTER 1: ENGLISH TEACHING AND LEARNING CONTEXT AT
MARITIME COLLEGE N
0
1

1.1. Students‟ language background
6
1.2. Teachers‟ current methods of teaching vocabulary
7
1.3. Material and material assessment
8
CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1. English for special purposes

2.1.1. Definition of ESP
9
2.1.2. Students‟ prior knowledge in learning ESP vocabulary
10
2.2. Illustrations as visual aids in learning ESP vocabulary
14
2.2.1. The advantages of illustrations
16
2.2.2. The disadvantages of illustrations
18
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CHAPTER 3: THE STUDY

3.1. Research questions
20
3.2. Participants
20
3.3. Instruments
20
3.4. The procedure
20
3.5. Findings and discussions
22
PART C: CONCLUSION
29
1. Summary of the study
30
2. Limitations of the study
31
3. Suggestions for further study
32
References
35
APPENDICES

APPENDIX 1: Survey questionnaire from the students
I
APPENDIX 2: Three lesson plan samples
V

vi

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

International Maritime Organization : IMO
English for Specific Purposes : ESP
English as a Second Language : ESL
Vietnam National University, Hanoi : VNU
Maritime College No. 1 : MC1






vii

LIST OF FIGURES, TABLES AND CHARTS

FIGURES

Figure 1: Piston with crossheads
13
Figure 2: Trunk piston
13
Figure 3: A Diesel engine
22
Figure 4: A Diesel engine
27
TABLES
Table 1: Students‟ attitude towards vocabulary learning.
28
Table 2: students‟ difficulty of guessing the meanings
32
Table 3: students‟ comment of vocabulary learning
33
CHARTS
Chart 1: Students‟ abilities of guessing the meanings of word
30
Chart 2: Students‟ attitudes towards teaching methods of guessing
the meanings of the words
31
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PART A: INTRODUCTION

1. Rationale of the study
To be a developing country with a 3000 km coastline, Vietnam has
advantages of maritime industry. Our country has been supporting the
international maritime big amount of seafarers. Ships are like big houses, sea is
like country, and seamen on board are from multi-countries and in multi-
languages. Therefore, in order to work and live in harmony, in a same house,
seafarers are needed to have a common language – maritime English. Nowadays
shipping industry communicates through maritime English, the language of the
sea. This cross-cultural labour mobility makes many maritime English instructors
aware that the quality of cadets in the global seafarer‟s community needs a proper
teaching pedagogy. Competent seafarers should also be proficient in
understanding and using maritime English, which is essential for the safety of life
at sea, effectiveness of work, ship property, pollution prevention, etc. Maritime
English knowledge and skills can ensure the effectiveness of communication
between English speaking seafarers and non-English speaking ones; and between
seafarers and offshore personnel. To a certain degree safety at sea depends on
seafarers‟ communication in maritime English. Proper command of maritime
English is not only for the necessity of seafarers but also for the appropriate
operation of ship.
According to the above significances, IMO (International Maritime
Organization) has officially adopted maritime English as the language of
maritime industry which requires seafarers must gain good maritime English
communication skills. Mastering communication skills is one of the important
components which ensure the safety at sea. In order to help seafarers to achieve
high quality performance, maritime English instructors should focus on
communication skills that include four language skills namely listening,
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speaking, reading and writing. The maritime terminology is the certain basic part
to form understandable working environment.

In school days, future seafarers are in need of accumulating knowledge
from learning materials. One of the important elements is lecturers. How to
combine the students‟ prior knowledge and new vocabulary? which is a big
questions for all lecturers in maritime school. It requires teachers to have good
methodology in explaining new words. Using illustration is among the most
effective ways to activate students‟ knowledge and help learners to remember
maritime terminology easier and better. Therefore, the quality of maritime
English teaching will have enough conditions which meet requirements of IMO
Conventions.
That is the reason why the thesis named “Activating students’ specialized
knowledge through illustrations for marine engineering vocabulary learning at
Maritime College No. 1” has been fostered and conducted. In this paper I would
like to give an overview of maritime English teaching at the Maritime College
No. 1, Hai Phong, addressing some advantages and disadvantages of illustrations
and how to activate students‟ prior knowledge in learning English for Specific
Purpose (ESP) vocabulary.

2. Aims of the study
From the above mentioned viewpoints, the study was carried out at
Maritime College No. 1 with a target to identify students‟ attitudes towards
learning of ESP vocabulary, their abilities and difficulties of guessing the
meanings of the words. The study also draws out the ways to activate students‟
knowledge in learning marine engineering vocabulary.
Following that, the findings and solutions were given with hope to make
contribution to the specialized vocabulary teaching for teachers in general and
teachers at Maritime College No. 1 in particular. Attached sample lesson plans of
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using illustrations in teaching marine engineering vocabulary will be shown by
the author to strengthen the thesis more truthfully.

3. Scope of the study
It is impossible to cover every aspect of language theory and practice in
this study. Therefore, the study focuses on how to activate students‟ specialised
knowledge through using illustrations in teaching marine engineering vocabulary
in Maritime College No. 1. It is not proposed to deal with other techniques in
presenting vocabulary. Based on theoretical background and actual observations,
several recommendations for teaching are given.

4. Methods of the study
In this section, the author provided the description of the instruments for
collecting data that were used and also highlighted the strengths and weakness of
the research methods chosen.
The thesis is developed based on a survey research with the instrument of
survey questionnaires. The research questions for the students are used to collect
data that relate to the students‟ attitudes and abilities towards the new marine
engineering vocabulary. The procedures describe the whole applied performance
of using illustrations. Interviewing students, on the other hand, ask open
questions, collects data from participating and then most importantly, clarify
information collected in the survey questionnaire and observation. The final part
of the study is a detailed discussion. Above of all, the author with her heart and
attempt is to carry out a qualitative and quantitative research at Maritime College
No. 1.

5. Significance of the study
4

Maritime College, as its name implies, is one of five Vietnamese crews
and officer training centres, and also one of the schools with a large number of
students specialized in maritime field. MC has been contributing the success of

Vietnam maritime industry and taking part in the process of international crew
export. In the last few years, MC has been providing maritime labour forces for
the industrialization and modernization of the nation. Thus, studying maritime
terminology in general or marine engineering in particular, one of the most
important factors, will bring out students good specialized vocabulary. There are
so many techniques applied in presenting vocabulary such as concise definition,
detailed description, examples, illustrations, demonstration (acting, mime),
context, synonyms, antonyms, translation, visual aids or real objects. However,
not all techniques are suited to be taught for marine engineering students in MC.
The study is to clearly understand how feasible technique is applying at MC.
Besides, the author has expected to give recommendations for enhancing teaching
and learning quality of the school; providing consultation to the school‟s
education managers to better understand English studies at MC and making
suitable teaching methodology for lecturers; improving the qualified graduates
working in maritime industry who will make a valuable contribution to the
society.
6. Design of the study
PART A: INTRODUCTION provides the basic information such as the
aims, the scope, and significance of the study.
PART B: DEVEPLOPMENT contains of 3 chapters.
Chapter 1: English teaching and learning context at Maritime College No. 1
provides the background of students‟ learning, current methods of teaching
vocabulary and states material and assess material.
Chapter 2: Literature Review justifies the literature on English for special
purposes, students‟ prior knowledge in learning ESP vocabulary, the advantages
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and disadvantages of illustrations and the statement of the illustrations as visual
aids in learning ESP vocabulary.
Chapter 3: The study focuses are reported.

PART C: CONCLUSION includes review, limitations and suggestions for the
study.























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PART B: DEVELOPMENT

CHAPTER 1: ENGLISH TEACHING AND LEARNING

CONTEXT AT MARITIME COLLEGE NO. 1

To make the success of educational outcomes, there are many factors
including teacher‟s role, learners‟ background, teaching methodology, learning
environment and materials. In this chapter, I would like to present an overview of
students‟ language background, teachers; current methods of teaching
vocabulary. Further, the materials and material assessment are also presented.
1.1. Students’ language background
Maritime College No. 1 is a school which has trained future seafarers and
from the 1980s to now, this school has been supplying maritime field many
generations of labour forces. The students of Maritime College No.1 need to have
not only competency in specialised knowledge but also in English. Maritime
College No.1 is near Chua Ve port and not very far from the Port of Hai Phong.
Therefore, students in general and engineering students in particular have many
opportunities of practice and big opportunities of looking for jobs. However,
students are selected through an entrance examination for college level. As for
other levels such as intermediate and vocational students, these procedures are
determined via documents assessments. There are only three hundred students
accepted to study at college level. About 1,200 students are learning at secondary
and vocational courses. The requirements for these students are the completion of
twelve years of primary and secondary education. At high school they were not
taught English in accordance with the national standard. Most of them come from
different part of the province. Some of them are from the rural areas or remote
areas, where there are no good opportunities for studying English. These students
commonly did not spend much time learning English at high school before. The
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others come from cities, which theoretically have all finished a three year or
seven year program of learning English at high schools before entering Maritime
College No.1. Most of them are male students (85%). To some extent, there are

some students whose English are very good, but generally the target students'
English proficiency is still low. Most of students learn English by doing
grammatical exercises. Some have strong pressure to pass exams with high
marks; the others would prefer ESP to enhance their specialized knowledge,
which is required in their future job. However, technical knowledge in
Vietnamese makes it easy for them to learn English for Engineering. On the other
hand, brings them high motivation in learning ESP. In addition, it helps students
feel more confident to interact with the teacher in ESP class.

1.2. Teachers’ current methods of teaching vocabulary
The teaching staff have been known to be the key to success of traditional
teaching and learning at Maritime College No.1. At the college, there are 23
teachers of English. The teachers of Maritime College No.1 graduated from
University of Languages and International Studies – VNU, Hanoi University,
Haiphong University. All of them are major in English, among whom, two are
major in sea-economic, and seven teachers have from 10 to 20 years experience.
Some teachers have experience in teaching English for marine engineering.
However, some young teachers who have never seen a diesel engine or known
what a diesel engine is or how it work, etc., find it difficult to explain unfamiliar
and unaccustomed vocabulary. Besides, some students who have ever been
worked on board ship as oilers or greasers have specialized knowledge.
Therefore, those teachers met problems in teaching. Furthermore, materials used
for teaching like machineries, engines are too big to be used as visual aids, so the
methodology is concerned. Fortunately, there are many different kinds of
teaching methods in ESP vocabulary lessons which can be named a few but the
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Grammar-Translation Method, the Direct Method, the Audio-Lingual method, the
Communicative approach. From the teacher‟s perspective, illustrations provide an
interesting way to extend textbook activities. Due to space and cost limitations, a

textbook might provide simple line drawings and three to five instances for
learners to practice target language elements. However, using a folder with 10-20
pictures illustrating the same topic, a teacher can expand upon the textbook and
provide additional practice in a colorful and engaging way. Illustration activities
add variety and new ways of interaction in ESL classrooms. Furthermore,
illustrations provide “a vehicle around which students can jump off into non-
scripted, free from conversation as they discuss the illustrations themselves or
connections that illustrations make the students‟ lives.” Jane C.Miler (2007:3).
From the above viewpoints, using illustrations known as the most suitable
teaching methods can activate students‟ technical knowledge and the teachers are
able to explain the new words much easier.
1.3. Material and material assessment
The textbook “English for marine engineering students” was composed by
a group of teachers and then compiled into the material to teach students of
marine engineering at Maritime College No. 1 in 90 periods. “English for marine
engineering students” consists of twelve units containing vocabulary related to
marine engineering such as engine-room organization, a diesel engine, parts of a
diesel engine, how a diesel engine works, functions of auxiliary machineries,
pistons, cylinders, etc. Each unit includes parts as text, vocabulary list, structure
or grammar note. Students are able to consolidate vocabulary through reading,
listening, speaking and writing skills. The aims and objectives of the textbook are
to provide students specialized words and enrich the vocabulary. From then,
students will be able to use in communication and future jobs. However, subject
matter required is rather difficult for students. They find it hard to understand the
texts, and therefore, it requires teachers use illustrations to make effectives for the
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lessons. This is obviously manifested in teaching methods of almost teachers in
my school is encouraged in this new material.

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CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1. English for special purposes

2.1.1. Definition of ESP
“ESP” stands for English for Specific Purpose and “what is ESP?” To get
the answer, thanks to Hutchinson and Waters (1987: 19), they define ESP as “an
approach not as a product. ESP is not a particular kind of language or
methodology, nor does it consist of a particular type of teaching material.
Understood properly, it is and approach to language learning, which is based on
learner need”. Likewise, John Munby (1978 : 2) indicated that “ESP courses are
those where the syllabus and materials are determined in all essentials by the
prior analysis of the communication needs of the learner, rather than by
nonlearner – centred criteria”. Two descriptions emphasizes that ESP should pay
attention to the learners and their needs.
In an understandable way, Martin (1992: 16-23) has explained the E, S and
P elements of ESP. The „S‟ element is inclined to mean „specifiable‟. For the „E‟
of ESP, there is a general field of „languages for specific purposes‟ (LSP). The
„P‟ in ESP refers to the learner‟s purpose, which was defined as „a combination
of pre-determined or pre-selected goal and ongoing intentionality and
motivation‟. This definition of ESP shows us a simple segregation of the three
elements and explanation of each one. We can see that the learner‟s purposes on
learning specific English have been mentioned clearly.
Dudley – Evans (1998: 2-5) defined ESP as follows “Absolute character:
1-ESP is designed to meet specific needs of the learners.
2-ESP makes use of underlying methodology and activities of the
disciplines it serves.
3- ESP is centred on the language (grammar, lexis, register), skills,
discourse and genre appropriate to these activities.
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Variable characteristics:
1-ESP may be related to or designed for specific disciplines.
2- ESP may use, in specific teaching situations, a different methodology

from that of general English.
3- ESP is likely to be designed for adult learner, either at a tertiary level
institution or in a professional work situation. It could, however, be used for
learner at secondary school level.
4- ESP is generally designed for intermediate or advanced students. Most
of ESP courses assume basic knowledge of the language system, but it can be
used with beginners.”
Steven (1988: 1) stated: “ESP is a particular cause of the general category
of special purpose language teaching.”
The above definitions, though they were defined by different authors at
different time, these definitions affirmed that any ESP course must be based on
learners‟ needs.

Previous studies
Cao (2010) conducted a study of teaching vocabulary in mechanical
engineering to the second year students at Bacninh vocational colleges:
challenges and suggested solutions. She found out the teachers‟ difficulties of
teaching vocabulary in Mechanical Engineering and students‟ difficulties of
learning ESP vocabulary as well.
Another study is one of Le (2010) about applying metacognitive strategies
in learning vocabulary for in-service students at Hanoi university of languages
and international studies, Vietnam National University. This study pointed out
that there are subcategories of metacognitive strategies as planning and
monitoring are used at low frequency and the positive tests results show a higher
vocabulary proficiency after the strategies instruction. The teaching of
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metacognitive skills is considered a valuable use of instructional time for a
second language teacher.
It is visible that most of the previous studies focused on vocabulary

teaching, only the study of Le (2010) was about vocabulary learning. It was about
general ESP vocabulary learning or the effectiveness of using illustrations like
the study of Pham (2010). It was about using visual aids for effective ESP
vocabulary teaching for students at nursing college, Vietnam Academy of
traditional medicine. Therefore, the author got the desire to investigate the ways
of activating students‟ specialized knowledge through illustrations for marine
engineering vocabulary learning.

2.1.2. Students’ prior knowledge in learning ESP vocabulary
According to learning theorist, Jean Piaget (1977: 63), accessing prior
knowledge is how students make sense of the world. They attempt to take new
information and fit it into existing knowledge in order to create a schema, or
mental map that fits into a specific category. This makes the information more
accessible because it is more memorable. When they make connections, it allows
them to find the information using this network.
“What students may already know” seems to be a question that teachers
have to make prediction. When students come into a classroom, they enter with a
wide range of experiences and come from many cultures. They have ideas,
knowledge and concepts that are already formed. Some of this knowledge may be
incorrect, and some might be right on target, but needs expansion. This prior
knowledge is very important to acknowledge in order to motivate student
learning. When teachers discount the previous knowledge that students bring into
the classroom, they risk ostracizing them. Instead of discounting previously
learned material, build upon it to increase knowledge retention.
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Students‟ minds are not blank slates able to receive instructions in a
neutral way; on the contrary, students approach experiences presented in science
classes with previously acquired notions, and these influence what is learnt from
new experience in a number of ways. These include the observations made of

events, the interpretations offered for such observations and the strategies
students use to acquire new information, including reading from texts and
experimentation.
Students have ideas about things, and the ideas about these things, and
such ideas play a role in the learning experience. Many didderent authors such as
Ausubel, Piaget and Wallon, have incorporated this notion as an integral part of
their theory. What students are capable of learning depends, at least in part, on
“what they have in their heads” as well as on the learning context in which they
find themselves.
A model introduced by cognitive scientifists fits well what is known of the
interaction between the students‟ different ideas and the manner in which these
ideas involved in teaching. The model is based on the hypothesis that information
is stored in memory in various forms, and that everything people say and do
depends on the elements or groups of elements of this stored information which
have been called “schemes”. A scheme may concern an individual‟s knowledge
about a specific phenomenon i.e the sensation of cold elicited y a metallic object,
or a more complex reasoning structure such as the association of one variable
with another that leads some children to anticipate that “the brighter the light
bulb, the larger the shadow will be”). Thus, the term “scheme” denotes the
diverse things that are stored and interrelated in memory. These “scheme” also
influence the way a person may behave and interact with the environment, and in
turn may be influenced by feedback from the environment.
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Taking account of students‟ prior ideas is one of the strategies, though
certainly not the only one, which enables teaching to be better asapted to
studetns. This can occur in a number of ways:
- The choice of concepts to teach: in some teachingschemes used with
second year students, some concepts have been consideres to be obvious and
have been taken for granted in planning course. But some concepts are too far

from the facial of their future jobs so it makes students confused.
- The choice of learning experiences. If students‟ prior ideas are known
then these can be challenged directedly by experiences which conflict with
expectations, so provoking students to reconsider their ideas. However,
challenging students‟ current ideas is not by itself enough to promote change;
alternative ideas have to be offered and these need to be seen by students not only
as necessary but also reasonable and plausible. Knowledge of students‟ ideas
enables us to choose teaching activities which are more likely to interpreted by
students in the way intended.
- The presentation of the purposed activites: in formulating the purposes of
learning tasks it is important to bear in mind that students may reinterpret the
intensions of the teacher in terms of their own understandings. This is illustrated
in the following example where students were programmed through a series of
activities on work-cards. One group of students were asked to find out the
differences between two types of pistons. The fucntion of the task was to
demonstrate the variation of pistons. The students has been instructed to discribe
the different parts of each pistons. Towards the end of the lesson the students
were instructed to look at the graphs they had produced and compare them,
suggesting an explanation. The teacher (T) enters their discussion:

15


Figure 1 Figure 2
Piston with crossheads Trunk piston

T: What has your illustration shown you?
S2: That different…um…those different parts and that …see the
movement of the pistons.
T: What did you find out?

S1: Well…er…the movement of the piston is easier through the ….
T: Crosshead.
The students had has first-hand experience – they had collected their data,
but these has been assimilated into a scheme concerned with conductivity, rather
than in the way intended.
While it is necessary to bear students‟ ideas in mind while teaching, it
certain is not easy to put this into practice. The teacher has responsibility for the
class as a whole and may consider it quite unrealistic to take the varied ideas of
each student into account.

2.2. Illustrations as visual aids in learning ESP vocabulary
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Vocabulary is, according to Hatch & Brown (1995), the list of words that
speakers of a particular language use. As language teachers we use different types
of teaching aids to explain the meaning of new words. Using illustrations is one
of the teaching aids that teachers depend on in their teaching. Harmer (2001:134)
states that “Teachers have always used illustrations or graphics – whether drawn,
taken from books, newspapers and magazines, or photographs – to facilitate
learning”. In my experience, English teachers tend to feel that using illustrations
in teaching new words makes the process enjoyable and memorable. They also
feel that illustrations attract pupils‟ attention and deepen their understanding of
vocabulary. Illustrations can also help learners with abstract words, as associating
the words with a concrete object makes these words easier to remember. Harmer
(2001:135) states that “one of the most appropriate uses of illustrations is for the
presenting and checking of meaning. An easy way of explaining the meaning of
the word aeroplane, for example, is to have a illustration of one”. There is no
doubt that not all new words can be taught using illustrations but most concrete
vocabulary can.
Nation (1990:51) lists a number of basic techniques through which

teachers can explain the meanings of new words, all of which can be used in the
young learner classroom. Some of these techniques involve the use of
illustrations from a variety of sources - illustrations from computers;
photographs; drawings or diagrams on the board; and illustrations from books. It
will be interesting in this study to see which techniques teachers use. Undeniably,
illustrations must be chosen carefully and it is hoped that this study will shed
some light on how teachers make these choices. According to Harmer (2001),
illustrations should be appropriate not only for the language to be learned but also
for the classes they are being used for; if pictures are too childish students may
not like them and if they are culturally inappropriate they can offend people.
Illustrations also need to be visible – especially if they are being shown to the
17

whole class they need to be big enough for everyone to see. And it also helps if
pictures are durable – that is, strong enough to be used several times. As noted
above, although it is generally accepted that illustrations can play an important
role in supporting vocabulary learning, we know little about teacher and learner
perspectives on this issue.
Visual aids can be defined in two ways: as an illustration a teacher shows
learners to help their understanding, or in a broader sense as anything a teacher
shows learners in a classroom to do this. Andrew Wright and Safia Haleem
(Visuals for the Language Classroom, Longman Keys to Language Teaching,
1991) clarify visual aids as “anything the learners can is see used for different
teaching purposes in a language class”. Students learn best through visual
learning style. Visual aids include facial expressions and gesticulations of
teachers, pictures, text with illustrations, DVDs, etc. Visual learners think and
learn in illustrations. This style of learning has an important advantage: It makes
recollection easier when, in an environment different from where you had learned
the information, you see illustrations similar to those through which you learned
the information. Illustrations are one of the media to teach and learn language and

help students become active. Gerlach and Emily (1980:241) stated that “a
medium is any person, material or even that establishes condition which enables
learners or students to acquire knowledge, skill and attitude.” Additionally,
Gerlach and Emily (1980:273) Teaching aids consists of materials and equipment
used in teaching from audio, visual, audiovisual aid – materials using sight or
sound to present new knowledge; “language tapes and videocassettes and other
audiovisuals” to equipment – an instrumentality needed for an undertaking or to
perform a service. Among three main kinds of teaching aid (audio aids, visual
aids and audio – aids), visual aids are the most common. Most teachers notice
that visual aids are very valuable for creating a real language environment so that
students can learn vocabulary better. Thus, the first important benefit of using
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visual aids is to create real situation and to motivate learners in studying
vocabulary. Secondly, visual aids can be used as a tool to help students memorize
vocabulary more easily. Furthermore, visual aids are also considered a factor of
interactions.

2.2.1. The advantages of illustrations
Teachers of English to the second language learners know that language
learning is enhanced by engaging multiple senses – sound, sight, and touch – in
classroom instruction. Illustrations connect spoken and printed words to known
objects. In addition to their practical function of conveying information,
illustrations are lively and interesting. Students are always eager to objects
relating their future jobs. Students of marine engineering enjoy looking at
illustrations of engines, machinery of every type. They are interested in observing
the details that they learn as their specialized knowledge. They enjoy speculating
on how the images shown in illustrations compare to those in their own
specialized knowledge. Using illustrations, teachers can expand upon the
textbook and provide additional practice in an engaging way. Illustrations

activities add variety and new ways of interaction in ESL classroom.
Furthermore, illustrations provide “a vehicle around which students can jump off
into non – scripted, free from conversation as they discuss the illustrations
themselves or connections that illustrations make to the learner‟s lives” - Jane
C.Miler (2007:3).
ESL best practices support the use of pictures with learners. In article
Beginning to Work with Adult English Language Learners: Some Considerations
MaryAnn Cunningham Florez and Miriam Burt described instructional
approaches that support second language development in adults. They write “Use
visuals to support your instruction. English language learners need context in
their process. Using gestures, expressions, illustrations, and realia makes words
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and concepts concrete and connections more obvious and memorable”. Similarly,
Grace Massey Holt, in her article, Teaching Low-Level Adult ESL Learners,
includes “illustrations or photographs: personal, magazine and others” as the third
item in her list of appropriate classroom materials for beginning level ESL
learners.
Zenger, (1991: 79) stated some advantages of using illustrations. To name
but a few, they can stimulate and motivate students to become more observant
and express themselves; they are inexpensive, many even are free, and fairly easy
to locate; they can be used by individual or in groups; they can be displayed for
as long as necessary so students can work at their own rate; they are up-to-date:
they can bring reality into the classroom; can be used to introduce, supplement, or
summarize at unit; and enrich reading and can help clarify misunderstanding.
- A means for creating real situation and for motivating learners in vocabulary
learning
According to Adrian Doff (1988: 82), visual aids often draw students‟ attention,
and help to make language used in the class more real, lively and interesting. W.
R. Lee and H. Coppen (1970:1) claim that visual aids can help teacher create real

communicative situations (contexts), clarifying the meaning of the words used.
Visual aids can quickly and efficiently demonstrate ideas that are difficult to
explain verbally. Many science and art concepts can only be effectively taught by
showing students as well as, or instead of, simply telling them the meaning.
Therefore, the learners can have a feeling of reality as visual aids help them make
the meaning of words clearer and more understandable.
- A tool for memorizing vocabulary
Visuals appeal to different parts of the brain than words. According to Howard
Garner, some people are very strong visual learners because they have
“Visual/Spatial Intelligence”. They tend to think in pictures and need to create
vivid mental images to retain information. They enjoy looking at maps, charts,