Creating Learning Partners: A facilitator’s guide for training effective adult literacy tutors

Activity C

Using picture files, picture dictionaries and other dictionaries

Tutors often tend to use pictures and dictionaries as resources in teaching vocabulary. This activity gives you some more ideas on how to use these valuable tools.

Talk, use of handout
Materials and equipment Handout 12.11: Pictures and Picture Files Examples of picture dictionaries and bilingual dictionaries Preparation Copy handout. Find examples of picture dictionaries and bilingual dictionaries that your program has. STEP-BY-STEP PROCESS Using pictures You can use photographs for teaching vocabulary, but they can also stimulate stories and dialogue about joys and challenges in the learner’s background or current experiences. Talk about developing picture files by sharing a few points on the handout Pictures and Picture Files. Show your program’s picture dictionaries. Using dictionaries Show tutors a sample of your other dictionaries, English and bilingual. State that dictionaries are useful for more abstract terms. Unfortunately, it can be difficult for the learner to find the right meaning among several choices and many bilingual dictionaries don’t cover all the main meanings but give only one or two. Have advanced readers use a thesaurus or an advanced English dictionary that gives more meanings and examples. Using meaningful vocabulary Suggest that tutors work on vocabulary meaningful to the learner’s life. Encourage them to review vocabulary in a variety of ways as words need to be practised many times before they become part of our long-term memory. For example, learners can add entries to a personal dictionary. This can be used to assess their learning and to show what they have accomplished. Best of all, when new words are part of stories and conversation, they take on greater meaning.

Talk, use of handout

Materials and equipment

Handout 12.11: Pictures and Picture Files
Examples of picture dictionaries and bilingual dictionaries

Preparation

Copy handout.
Find examples of picture dictionaries and bilingual dictionaries that your program has.

STEP-BY-STEP PROCESS

Using pictures
- You can use photographs for teaching vocabulary, but they can also stimulate stories and dialogue about joys and challenges in the learner’s background or current experiences.
- Talk about developing picture files by sharing a few points on the handout Pictures and Picture Files.
- Show your program’s picture dictionaries.
Using dictionaries
- Show tutors a sample of your other dictionaries, English and bilingual.
- State that dictionaries are useful for more abstract terms.
- Unfortunately, it can be difficult for the learner to find the right meaning among several choices and many bilingual dictionaries don’t cover all the main meanings but give only one or two.
- Have advanced readers use a thesaurus or an advanced English dictionary that gives more meanings and examples.
Using meaningful vocabulary
- Suggest that tutors work on vocabulary meaningful to the learner’s life.
- Encourage them to review vocabulary in a variety of ways as words need to be practised many times before they become part of our long-term memory.
- For example, learners can add entries to a personal dictionary. This can be used to assess their learning and to show what they have accomplished.
- Best of all, when new words are part of stories and conversation, they take on greater meaning.

Coordinator tip

Should your tutors be interested in a separate session on picture files, you could set one up in which participants cut pictures from magazines to create files together using some of the ideas on the handout.