The Need for Learners' Contribution in Visual Resources

Visual illustrations in ELT materials for a long time have been the work of expert artists and photographers who are commissioned to support the content developed by course writers. Sensible as it sounds, this process is massively a top-down practice as it draws a boundary between the supplier who distributes images and the user who receives them without any say over whether a picture seems culturally irrelevant or poorly pedagogical. To address such dominance, this chapter argues that language coursebook activities can arrange for learners to be involved in a process of drawing pictures to express individualised meaning. If learners are recognised as rightful negotiators of their own learning, materials writers might consider occasionally liberating them from the heavy reliance on the illustrations provided by the coursebook. This can be realised by inviting learners to create their own visuals as a way to share voices and perspectives.

Research conducted by Bao (2006, 2017) shows that many English coursebooks tend to control the direction in which learners are supposed to respond, such as simplifying reality without building an in-depth discussion or interpreting the world they see. In many cases, visuals neither stimulate critical thinking nor push imagination forward but tend to spoon-feed learners with ideas that constrain autonomy. Some pictures restrict multiple senses and intelligences by showing learners what to see rather than inviting them to find and by asking learners to witness without much emotional engagement. Others neglect logical intelligence as they ignore learners' reasoning skills and ability to create connections among events. Some fail to promote interpersonal intelligence by not offering the learner the opportunity to walk in the shoes of others. Many tasks overlook intrapersonal intelligence by not allowing learners to analyse issues, feelings or dilemmas themselves. Such examples run on indefinitely, Pictures allocate information in domineering ways that restrain learners' self-expression.