Visual Aids for Classrooms and Suitability for Different Leveled Learners

2949 Words12 Pages
Module 2: Section B Question 5: Discuss the range of visual aids available to the language teacher, and how they can be used in the classroom, mentioning their suitability to different learners. Plenty of research has been conducted that shows that there is no one specific teaching method. Recent studies have shown that students tend to learn in different ways and even prefer the use of different teaching materials (Franzoni & Assar, 2009). Before going into an in depth analysis of visual aids, it is important to know how the brain works while learning. The brain consists of two hemispheres. When cut at the corpus callosum, these hemispheres are more commonly known as the left and right brain, specifically merited with separate names due to the independent capabilities and mental properties each side possesses (Sperry, 1975). The left brain according to Sperry (1975) is highly verbal, mathematical and does well performing analytical, symbolic and computer like activities whereas the right is spatial and mute but is particularly talented and superior in visual-spatial activities. Based on experiments conducted by Dennis Molfese (2000), it appears that while Sperry claims linguistic skills are located in the left portion of the brain, Molfese suggests that these skills are not just restricted to the left hemisphere during the early stages after post-natal life. This probably would explain why children learn languages faster than adults. Considering how the brain operates, one may claim since language mostly resides in the left hemisphere, teaching should be conducted in a more “left-brained” manner. This is not the case. Studies have shown that when linguistic teaching is conducted, better results come from teaching styles that are more right-brain oriented than left-brain oriented (Asher, 2009). This fact proves the importance of visual aids to a teacher
Open Document