Two main forms to use pictures in English classes

周翠花

（虞城縣第一中等專業學校，河南 虞城 476300）

Functional communication is based on the basic of ‘gap’,which means only when both sides of the conversation have something to know from the others then the conversation can go on.In our daily life,most of our communication is to fill these gaps.That’s to say,when we want to communicate with others,we must have a core or a topic that both of us are care about.In the light of this,challenges and opportunities are the main forms to use pictures in English classes.

Challenges can inspire the students’ interest and motivation to learn.That means challenges can turn passive learning to initiative and creative learning.What’s more,challenges can help to train the students’ ability to predict,analyze,distinguish,explain,evaluate,confirm and persuade.

The activities or games should be much different from those in traditional classes.They should be both interesting,and can train the students’ communicative competence and give chances to the students to learn to use the language skills indirectly,such as listening,speaking,reading,and writing.

There are much more challenges activities and games,which would help the students to communicate,train their imaging ability and help them master what they have learned.The most important thing is that teachers will be successful to let the students know that the goal of learning English is to use them and let the students form a good learning habit which will play a very important role in their future.

In comparison with challenges,opportunities provide the students a chances to do something with encouragement and without any restrain.In this situation,the function of teachers is to give the students a clear suggestion,a warm encouragement or a helpful hand.And in‘opportunities’,teachers should try their most to let the students express their feelings and ideas,and exchange experiences.Whether the students have spoken grammatically right is unimportant at all,the aim of opportunities is to let the students have the chance to speak in English and let them know that learning is for using.Here I will explain four kinds of opportunities.1.Opportunity to express opinions.Teacher can use ‘Juxtaposing’ pictures to let the students discuss.Because different students will have different opinions towards the information in the picture,so the opinion gap emerges and students will discuss with each other.Teacher should try their best to help the students use as much English as possible.2.Opportunity to express experiences and feelings.Teacher can let the students draw out what they want to do,what they like or anything they want to draw,then tell the others what he or she is drawing about and why.Teacher can also describe a place,a person,or an object to the classes and let them draw down and talk about the picture.For example,Teacher:I am going to ask you to close your eyes and then I am going to name something.I want to find that if you can see it in your mind.Close your eyes.It’s a tree.Have a good look at it for a few moments.Now open your eyes.Was it a big tree? Were there leaves on the tree? Did you see anything else near the tree? In this way,students can indirectly learn to describe something and practice listening skills.And it can also train their imagination ability and give them the chance to show themselves.3.Opportunity to speculate and express opinions.Teacher can show the students a picture of a person,then let them talk about what sort of person she or he might be,whether she or he is poor or rich,etc.4.Opportunity to dramatize.Teacher can help the students to create class soap operas to give them the opportunity to dramatize.