Visual Literacy in the 21st Century Classroom with Tim Phillips

Visual Literacy in the 21^st Century Classroom

We live in a visual age. It is estimated that 1.2 trillion photos will be taken this year, each person worldwide with a smartphone taking on average 10 photos per day. At the same time 300 hours of video are uploaded to You Tube every minute with 4 billion video views every day.

Hence, we are all curious. And there is nothing more crucial in the classroom than curiosity – regardless of our learners’ age. Curiosity relates directly to motivation and engages learners in developing the skills they need when operating in the world outside in a second or foreign language. What better way is there of evoking curiosity than by using engaging visuals?

In this workshop, we will be looking at how different kinds of authentic visual materials, – video material, photos, graphics – can be used effectively in the English language classroom to support students’ development in all four language skills.

The workshop will:

• offer advice on selecting those kinds of real world photos, videos and further authentic content which inspire and engage learners in the classroom
• provide practical activities and tasks on how to work with different kinds of images, both still and moving
• demonstrate how to use images as a springboard to help learners develop their communication, critical thinking and creative skills.

Examples will be drawn from National Geographic Learning resources, including the new edition of Life, NGL’s most successful and highly visual adult course-book based on authentic content, as well as from TED Talks which are relevant and inspiring for adult learners at all levels.

Timothy Phillips, National Geographic Learning representative for Austria and Germany, has been working in the English language teaching world in Germany, Central Europe and South East Asia for over 30 years. He has taught learners of all ages and has been involved in a broad range of projects including use of video in the classroom, the design and development of online learning materials as well as teacher training. Throughout his career he has always been a strong proponent of using relevant and inspiring authentic content to engage learners in the classroom.