Importance of visual aids to motivate young learners

Abstract

This report presents the results of the experiences gathered during the internship done in Rajuk Uttara Model College from Sep-Dec, 2016. As an undergraduate student of BRAC University, I was required to do a dissertation of six credits for which I chose to do an internship. I was given an opportunity in Rajuk Uttara Model College to work under the supervision of Shawpan Sarkar, a senior English teacher of the school. It discusses the efficacy of the use of visual aids in motivating young learners. Young learners are children up to nine or ten years old whose learning needs are different from older learners of fifteen or sixteen years old. As young learners are children up to ten years old so they need attention and motivation. Compared to adult learners, it is easier to motivate young learners. In this case visual aids can help a lot. As young children have short attention spans and get bored very quickly so giving lectures to them is not a very good idea. Visual aids are more effective than lectures. Visual aids can be anything which is visual such as photographs, pictures, movies, videos, maps, slides, short-films, animation movies etc. As the teaching aids are visual students find it easier to understand and remember any topic. Visual teaching aids also help to grab and hold the attention of young learners as they find more interest in the course content presented in a colourful and visually interesting manner. The institution where I did my internship in was Rajuk Uttara Model College. The students were from lower intermediate level that is young learners of ages up to nine or ten. The students were of class six. This paper will discuss how the use of visual aids helped me to motivate my students. The report will highlight the problems faced and discuss the new ideas learnt during the course of the internship. Based on those ideas, the report offers a few recommendations which it is hoped will contribute to better teaching.