Adding Value to Using the Web for Class Handouts
Although I am the English Pronunciation Instructor at Universidad Latina, I have always believed that, no matter what the class one teaches is, we can always use it to help students expand their learning horizons a bit more. Based on this reason, I try to use my Pronunciation class as a means to teach more than pronunciation itself. Using handouts with short passages about historical or scientific events to work on “rhythm and intonation” has been the norm for some time now.
I was not used to inserting pictures, or any kind of illustration, in those “rhythm and intonation” handouts. However, to see students’ reactions in class, I prepared two different handouts with and without a picture: one about the origins of the typewriter, and the other about sequoias. “What’s QWERTY?” was the title for the worksheet about typewriters, and the second I used in class was entitled “Sequoias.”
Once I had given out the first worksheet about typewriters, everyone was asking for the meaning of QWERTY. Students got to ask me for the meaning of this new word. To their surprise, I explained to them that QWERTY are first six letters on any typewriter or computer keyboard. Some of them got up from their seats to take a look at the classroom PC’s keyboard to see these sequence of letters. Had it been the same if I had inserted a picture of a keyboard for students to see QWERTY on it?
With the second handout entitled “Sequoias,” students behaved differently for I had included a picture of a group of these redwood trees in California. “Sequoia” is not exactly a very popular word among English students, nor is the concept of redwood trees for people who do not study biology. But, since a picture is worth a thousand words (and explanations that cut out precious class time), the photo of the sequoia in the worksheet made the trick. Students learned about the content of the handout while they practiced their rhythm and intonation.
To sum up, a “meaningful” picture in a worksheet, which really reflects the passage’s content, can be a nice way to introduce a new topic that may be somehow alien to the class objectives and content. Having the same picture in the handout displayed in class can also give you a chance to prompt students to use their language as a means to learn something beyond the class syllabus.
What do you think?
Jonathan
Universidad Latina
Costa Rica
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