How can pictures, flashcards, and other visual aids be used in the teaching of

reading elementary and intermediate level?

Visual aids fulfill a remarkable role on improving reading skills of the L2 students at
elementary and intermediate level. Firstly, pictures, flashcards and other visual material
increase students’ motivation for reading. For example, a teacher shows eye-catching
pictures of the city of New York to their students. They become engaged and feel
encouraged to find out more about this city. Then, the teacher tells students to read a
short article about life in New York.

Secondly, visual aids provide clues that help students to grasp both the gist of a text and
clarify meaning in detail. Suppose that students are going to read Little Red Riding
Hood in the classroom. As a pre-task, the teacher displays picture flashcards on the
board that illustrate the main passages of the story. Then the teacher asks students to
predict what the story is about based on what they see on the board. Following, the
students read the story and can confirm whether their predictions were accurate or not.
Although the students may not understand all the words from the text, they will be able
to understand the main idea and specific events of the story guided by the meaning
conveyed on the flashcards.