The Effects of Visuals in EFL Classes

       There are various types of teaching methods which are applied in schools.  Teachers try to make the courses attractive for the learners.  Thus, they apply a number of effective strategies so that the pupils can focus on the lessons, and perceive the information well.  Benefiting from visual aids is one of the effective methods which is preferred by most teachers.  That is, visuals are good and useful tools for the lessons.  Particularly, visuals play a major role in EFL classes in terms of facilitating the learning process, making the lessons more catchy for the students, and making the students creative.

       To begin with, visuals facilitate the learning process for pupils in EFL classes.  In other words, visul aids make the lessons more vivid, and attract the students’ attention. Specifically, language learners have a chance to see, hear or touch the objects while learning. Thus, visual aids make the information permanent in students’ minds (Carrales, 2008).  For instance, if teachers prepare a presentation related to the topic, students perceive the information in a  better way thanks to coloured pictures or diagrams. That is, the illustrations or diagrams which are used in presentations help students clarify the gist of the topic.  Due to this, the learners do not have difficulty in recalling the subjects.  In addition to this, if teachers give an opportunity to foreign language learners to watch videos related to their recent subjects, the students can improve their listening skills (Herron, 1994).

       In addition to facilitating the learning process for pupils and making the information more permanent in their minds, visuals lead foreign language learners to be more active in class. Thanks to viusal aids, learners estimate, deduce and comprehend the information easily because illustrations make even the most complex situations more real and genuine (Dhabi, 1999).  Due to this, they participate in the lessons in a willing mood, and they become more eager to learn new information because they do not get bored while acquiring.  For instance, watching sub-titled movies related to the subject or solving online tests on the Internet in EFL classes makes the foreign language learner more enthusiastic towards the learning process (Mueller, 1980).

       Additionally, the information takes shape clearly in the students’ minds thanks to visual aids used in EFL classes.  Visuals are quite significant for the students in terms of using their imagination while learning.  That is, they make the information concrete by thinking about it.  Due to this, they easily recall what they have learned. It is obvious that visual aids help the students to perceive the information well instead of causing memorization.  Since there is no memorization, the learners can think in a free way and use their imagination.  As a result, they become creative individuals thanks to acquiring the information via visuals. 

       All in all, the significance of using visual aids in EFL classes is an undeniable fact. They both make the topic more simple, and attract the students' attention during the lessons. When teachers benefit from coloured pictures, illustrations, videos or diagrams, students do not have difficulty in perceiving the subject (Bailey, 2001). Visual aids also make the information more permanent in learners’ minds. In addition, since the students find the lessons interesting due to visuals, they become more active in class. Benefiting from visual aids in the EFL classrooms is not a traditional method. So, it takes attention. For effective foreign language instruction, teachers should use visual aids in order to make all students acquire at least one foreign language in an easy way.

Reference
Adelson-Goldstein, (2006). Curtis & Bailey (2001). Wright & Haleem, (1991). Wright (1989).
Carrales, K. (2008). Getting Your Hands on Learning: Manipulative Tools in Content ESL / EFL InstructionLatin Americans Journal of CLIL.
Dhabi, A. (1999, June), Current Trends in English Language Testing Conference, United Arab Emirates.
              Herron, C. An investigation of the effectiveness of using an advance organizer
              to introduce video in the foreign language classroom. Modern Language
              Journal, 78, (1994): 190-198.
Mueller, G. Visual Contextual Clues and Listening Comprehension: An experiment.
              Modern Language Journal 64 (1980): 335-40.