2.1.

Definition of concepts
1. Teaching is the process of conveying information from the teacher to the
students. It is a social event in which students are required to grasp the main idea
conveyed by the textbook through the aid of the teacher.
2. Aids are anything that can assist an individual in certain social environment. In
education, an aid is the material that is going to help both students and teachers
to successfully conduct the teaching and learning process.
3. In the perrispective of P. G. College & Anshul Chandra, (s.d, p. 3) Teaching aids
‘‘are tool and equipment used in teaching as a supplement in class room
instruction to enhance the interest of students.’’

Visual aids are all the visual teaching materials that are used as bridge for an
effective and memorable teaching and learning process to take place. It includes all
the teaching materials that students can experience visually by observing them such
as pictures, flash cards, wall charts, realia (real objects), charts (flip charts), maps,
boards and other visual materials that can bring variety in the classroom.
Shabiralyani, Hasan, Hamad, & Iqbal, (2015, p. 226) corroborating with Burton and
Kinder, S. James state that “Visual aids are those sensory objects or images which
initiate or stimulate and support learning”. Furthermore, Kinder, S. James; describe
visual aids as “Visual aids are any devices which can be used to make the learning
experience more real, more accurate and more active”.
Based on these two insights brought forward, it becomes clear that visual aids
are of a paramount importance for making learning process effective and promoting
qualified knowledge dissemination, because students understand better by
observing in reality what they learn. Moreover, they are stimulating, motivating and
extraordinary teaching aids for all the ages, especially children because they want to
concretize the knowledge they are acquiring so that they can build their language
competence and consequently enhance their fluency. Additionally, visual aids are
those materials indispensable for encouraging language acquisition, in an
interesting, easier and motivating natural environment.

2.2. Importance of visual aids

Visual aids are really encouraging tools for the students to actively participate on the
lesson. If the students observe and the teacher ask them to produce a physical or
oral response toward the image observed already, students are going to reactive
positively during the lessons.

Types of visual aids

The information that we experience daily become captured in our brain that
any time of life they can be retrieved clearly and neatly to convey a meaningful
message about that set of situation in which the memory is called to explain. The
same applies to the visual learning in the classroom. Students tend to recall the
information they have seen in the classroom or when the teacher calls the attention
of the students to remember about particular event and then associate that particular
event to certain language context. Studies reveal that most of the students better
understand and remember the concepts that they have experienced visually rather
than a mere explanation destitute of any visual demonstration.
Additionally, visual aids can bring variety and flexibility, and never
monotonous lessons in the classroom. And there are different sources to obtain
visual aids of different sizes adjusted to a variety of situation of the classroom.
Besides, as they are non-authentic materials, which means teachers can create their
own material adjusted according to the lesson, level and interest of the student;
therefore, they can be found everywhere from cheap material, elaborated with
handwriting along with the help of teacher’s creativity, to expensive and more
elaborated materials using information technology tools.
Aligned with this light of idea, different scholars suggest different types of
visual aids that can be used in the classroom, but all the viewpoints suggested by
them can be summarized in the light of Rodger et.al. ( 2009) cited by Raiyn, (2016,
p. 115) who states that ‘‘Visual information is presented in different formats, such as

images, flowcharts, diagrams, video, simulations, graphs, cartoons, colouring books,

slide shows/PowerPoint decks, posters, movies, games, and flashcards’’.
Using the aforementioned materials and others such as videos, realia,
pictures, maps, photographs, wall charts, flipcharts, and the teacher him/herself (as
teaching material to demonstrate some physical response activities) teachers can
foster language acquisition naturally and easy to understand and recall the
information effortlessly. It means that students are going to relate the abstract
concepts they are learning with the visual information they are observing right at the
moment and consequently stimulate students to actively interact with the teacher
and their peers helping students to retain the concepts and disseminate their critical
thinking abilities.
Additionally, Nawir, Abubakar, & Meidaryanti, (2022, p.145) citing Patesan,
Balagiu, and Alibec (2018) agree that ‘‘visual aids are powerful tools that can be
used by teachers to assist them in teaching a foreign language’’. Therefore, the
students are found encouraged to participate and communicate in the classroom in a
joyful and effetive manner, so using visual aids students have the chanceof 80% to
be the center of the lesson. Furthermore, Bright ideas emphasizes that (2021)
‘‘students with disabilities may require visual support in order to communicate with
their teachers, peers, and to promote independence’’ so visual aids can strengthen
these set of students to learn effectively.

Munadi (2008) cited by Nawir, et al, (2022, p.146) analyses visual aids as
tools that encompasses the sense of sight. In this line of ideas it is clear that as the
students see or observe an image or a video about the topic they are learning, they
can spontaneously speak in the classroom, memorize new concepts, internalize and
practice vocabulary or language structure.
On the same note CENTRE, (2003, p. 2) highlights that ‘‘PowerPoint slides and
overhead transparencies (OHTs) are useful visual aids for all sizes of classes
provided they are well designed and appropriately used. They are cost-effective and
quick to produce, and most classrooms are equipped with the means to display
them’’. These devices, the same as pictures are more motivating materials firstly
because they create curiosity in the students soon they see these tools in the
classroom by their teacher, secondly they encourage students to respond to them
freely and naturally and finally teachers have 90% of probability to accomplish the
lesson objectives in the sense that the students will learn from their own and the
teacher’s presence will be solely to guide the students to build their knowledge.
Why do teachers use visual aids?
Wiyati & Marlina, (2021, p. 16) citing Dolati, R., & Richards, (2010) propose the
following uses of each visual aids according to the learning context:
Types of Examples Objectives Role of Role of
Visual Teacher Students
Learning
Aids

Flash card Double sided Building up Organizing and Recognizing

cards with new providing the the right
picture and vocabularies correct words and
spelling pronunciation pronunciation
Movies & Educational Educational Persuading and Core
Animation movies movies triggering the participants
discussion in following the
discussion
Authentic Restaurant Introducing Simulating the Communicating
role plays exchange authentic conversation in in
situation different contexts different
situations
Computer Educational Surfing and Familiarize the Exploring new
based getting into students with information
sites
or useful websites
multimedia
interface
Models Bodily Getting Presenting and Exploring new
organs: e.g., familiar simplifying the concepts
the human with the concepts
heart function and
location of
organs
Table 1:. Categorization of Visual Learning Aids (Dolati, R., & Richards, (2010) cited
by Wiyati & Marlina, 2021, p. 16).

How can teacher design effective visual aids?

A picture or video on its own does not give too much worthy information so there
is a need of the teacher’s creativity in order to design materials that meet the
students’ objectives and when scaffolding by the teacher they are going to transmit
exactly the message which the teacher aims to convey to the students. As a result,
teachers should think about the students’ age, interest, cultural background, and the
grade level. As a response, researchers proposed six principles to take into account
when designing visual aids. In the perspective of (CENTRE, 2003) a teacher need to
pay attention on the following principles: chunk information, organise the content,
check the relevance of the information conveyed, order them in order of importance,
visual effectiveness and finally the appropriateness of the visual information. This
page( Centre, 2003,p.3) states that:
 Chunk information: put similar materials together in manageable, sensible
chunks. If information must be split over a number of slides or screens,
consider reducing the size of the chunks you have.
 Organize the content: use the basic principles such as simple to complex,
known to unknown, knowledge to application. Include any image as close to
the relevant content as is possible.
 Relevance: be sure that the information or visual that you are using is
relevant to the topic. Be able to give a rational reason for something to be in
the visual. Just because the technology exists isn't a good enough reason to
use a visual. Over use of PowerPoint is a common student complaint.
 Importance: place the most important information early in your slides or
visuals. Call attention to it in some way. Be sure it really is an important idea
to include.
 Appropriateness: consider the audience receiving the information, the
material being presented and the medium you are using.
 Visual effectiveness: keep your visuals simple so that they have the most
impact.