Do ELLs need pictures when they are learning the sounds of English?
This was a question asked on Twitter by the very knowledgeable Dr Katie Toppel:
Should phonemic awareness practice include pictures/visuals? (By visuals I mean images connected to words being manipulated, not print/letters)
There were lots of great answers: some were concerned about possible confusion created by pictures. Some thought we should avoid a never/always mindset. Here was my response:
I always use visuals when presenting sound patterns in English. English speakers "see" the referent in their minds when they hear words. ELLs don't. So it's 'always' and then 'sometimes' and then 'not needed'.
My students responded very well to lessons and activities that incorporated picture cards. That gave them a referent to 'see' when pronouncing the words.
Also, they were better able to connect sounds to words when they could see how the sound worked in the word. For example, we learned that CVC words make a short sound. Then I added the final silent 'e' and discussed the change in the sound of the vowel. For this reason I colour code the letters in the words. All vowels are red because they play such an important role in the representation of words in graphic form. No vowel = not a word!
I believe strongly that these resources are lacking in regular school resources because English speakers learn these sounds and corresponding words much earlier in their learning. Older students might not be interested in the vast number of resources that are geared toward this younger set. To meet this need, I created a number of card sets using photographs of real objects. These cards are much more accessible to students in Grades 4 and up.
I have created, and continue to create card sets for Alphabet Naming and Sound Identification, CVC words, Consonant Digraphs and Blends, and have recently completed CVCe words: aCe.
Check out my most recent creation: CVCe in my store.
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