Pictures Are Worth A Thousand Words

When we think of using pictures to support language learning most people think of young learners who just beginning their journey to acquiring a second language. However, in Valentina Gonzalez's experience, using pictures to teach language is effective at all grade levels, and across all curriculums. As part of an ongoing series in effective teaching strategies, this week Mrs. Gonzalez (along with 3 other educators) sat down with Larry Ferlazzo of Education Week to discuss what she felt was the single most effective instructional technique for language learners in her experience: the Picture Word Inductive Model (PWIM).

Mrs. Gonzalez has over 20 years experience as a teacher, district facilitator for English-learners, professional-development specialist for ELs, and as an educational consultant. Currently Mrs. Gonzalez is delivering professional development and coaching for teachers on sheltered instruction strategies.

In the article, Mrs. Gonzalez begins by stating that when teachers start with the assets that students bring to the classroom, we "value not only their culture but also the content and literacy they bring to the table" (Ferlazzo, 2021, para. 16). This coincides with the first step of implementing PWIM, tapping into to students background knowledge.

According to Mrs. Gonzalez, there are many benefits to this technique, including its flexibility across curriculums, grade levels, language levels, and content. PWIM builds upon the knowledge students bring to the table, and supports development of the four language skills through individual and group work, by developing critical thinking skills, and using scaffolds and supports such as visuals and sentence stems or frames.

Below are the steps and benefits of using PWIM:

Because this technique can be adapted to any proficiency level, differentiating learning in a mixed-level classroom is easy. Mrs. Gonzalez offers some tips she's learned to educators who haven’t tried PWIM before:

• Carefully select images that are compelling to your age group of students.
  

• Try color coding or chunking labeled words (ex.: all verbs in orange, adjectives in blue, etc.).
  

• Keep in mind students’ language-proficiency levels when creating sentence stems and frames. Students with advanced English proficiency will benefit from more sophisticated sentence structures.
  

• Don’t stress about doing it all in one day. Gage your students and make adjustments as needed.
  

• On a subsequent day, use the generated words as a sorting activity. Ask students to work with a partner to put the words in groups and label the groups.
  

• Co-create a sentence-patterning chart with the class. Some groups of students may need this level of support during Step 7.

This technique helps to lower anxiety and increase participation in classes because of the amount of group and class work involved. If you'd like to watch a video demonstration of PWIM, check out Mrs. Gonzalez's blog here.

Ferlazzo, L. (June 26, 2021). The six most effective instructional strategies for ELs - According to teachers. Education Week. https://www.edweek.org/teaching-learning/opinion-the-six-most-effective-instructional-strategies-for-ells-according-to-teachers/2021/06

Gonzalez, V. (September 17, 2020). Using pictures to promote language development. ValentinaESL. https://www.valentinaesl.com/blog/category/picture-word-inductive-model