Using Art in the ESL Classroom

Does Art have a place in language learning? I believe it does. Children are naturally creative. They respond to visual images and have most active imaginations. Isn't creating images what art I all about? Art can assist a teacher with many aspects of teaching English.

You don't have to be an artist. If you have artistic talents, then you likely already know the value art can have in the language classroom. If not, here are some ideas for you.

Use art when you are teaching the names of colors:

Primary: White, Black, Red, Blue, Yellow

Secondary: Green, Pink, Orange, Brown, Purple, Gray

What about sky blue, teal, magenta, lilac, scarlet, azure, chartreuse, burgundy, crimson, apple green, lemon or canary yellow, burnt orange, dusty pink, forest green, battleship gray, chocolate brown, mahogany, tan, ivory, off-white, etc.

A color wheel can help you to demonstrate these. Pick up some car brochures from local dealers and see how they describe the colors of their vehicles. These can augment a lesson on using more descriptive adjectives. In one lesson, I first show my class a black and white illustration of a typical office situation with several people engaged in various routines. The students describe what people are doing. Then, I show the students a color version and have them elaborate on their description. Color makes a big difference.

You can use art to teach shapes, simple tools artists use (including tools students use every day such as pencils, pens, erasers, rulers, etc.

A book with different styles of paintings makes a great vocabulary building reference tool. Every painting can be a topic for discussion. Even just reading the various descriptions in the book can be a worthwhile language activity.

I had a two-CD set of 'Great Museums of the World'. You could use your computer mouse to navigate through each museum on the screen, enter different rooms and zoom in on a specific painting - even a section of the painting - which would prompt a pop-up description of what the artist had done. Aside from its artistic merit, what a great teaching tool! Unfortunately, it remained at a former school. I must look for it again.

Drawing programs such as Paint, Corel Draw, ZBrush, Smart Draw, ArtRage and Twisted Brush can be useful if you have artistically inclined learners. Pick a program and open the tutorial section. Students can greatly improve their vocabulary as they learn to use the program. There is a whole world of digital art and digital artists who use these programs to create images for cartoons, animated films and book covers. Creatures that you see in films were more often than not created on a computer. There are special digital art magazines (quite pricey!) and regular art magazines (not so pricey). Any one of these should start our creative and artistic ESL juices flowing. Check out the magazine section of a major bookseller in your area. I have used one of these in an English Conversation class to talk about the images in the magazine.

If, like me, you are teaching in a different culture, students can be invited to bring in a piece of art and 'show and tell'. This is a wonderful speaking opportunity. Think of possible related research and writing assignments you could apply as well. Local artists? Local museums or art galleries? Exhibitions? Art schools? Painting clubs? Any of these may have someone who would be willing to come in to talk to your class about what they do - maybe even put on a short demonstration.

Finally, students can use their artistic talents to illustrate their writing efforts - essays, short stories, descriptions of homes, friends, family, vacation, and other such typical ESL topics. I have had students make Japanese scroll stories where they have six or so panels on which to write and illustrate a short story. They then tape the panels together to form a scroll, tying the finished product with a ribbon. In the next class, students untie their scrolls and read their stories to the class.

Art can add another dimension to teaching English and is another way you can take advantage of local resources to support your efforts. Through the Internet, you have the whole artistic world at your beck and call.

If you use art in your class, I'd be interested in hearing from you.

If you would like a copy of my e-book "Introduction to Teaching Overseas", e-mail me at rwftaylor@gmail.com

Dr. Robert Taylor has been teaching English in Thailand for close to ten years. He also teaches the e-learning TESOL course for Sunbridge Institute of English. http://www.teachesl.org

Learning About Art Glazes With a Classroom Mural Project

A classroom ceramic mural project is an inspiring way to involve students in learning basic ceramics and Acmi glazes techniques. Designing and producing their own ceramic tile wall mural not only teaches students the technique of ceramics, but also can be a great source of pride: it gives the students a sense of the value of collaboration, and of being able to make a permanent contribution to their school community. Moreover, the theme of the mural can be keyed to other classroom activities and lessons, such as social studies, science, geography, and art. Some possible subjects for a mural are plants and animals, undersea life, outer space, dinosaurs, athletic events, local history and landmarks, circus, flower gardens, etc. The art instructor can work together with classroom teachers to create lessons and provide supporting materials, so that the students have a good background understanding of the subject matter. The art instructor should prepare the students by explaining the differences between ceramic and painted murals, and exhibit historical examples of ceramic murals with slides. Depending upon the chosen subject, the students can be shown historical examples of art works with subjects similar to the theme of the projected mural, such as the paintings of Rousseau (for jungle animals); Moillet or Seurat (circus); or Impressionist garden paintings (flowers, landscapes).

The students should be directed to make individual drawings which illustrate different aspects of the completed mural. The student drawings - in different arrangements - can be projected onto a large paper fastened to the wall with an opaque projector, until a pleasing overall composition is found. Then the students can color the enlarged projection with crayons or markers to guide the selection of dipping glazes which will be used in the final mural. The paper drawing is then cut into 6-inch squares, each of which represents one tile. The squares of paper, and the unglazed commercial bisque tiles, should be labeled on the back with row and column numbers, so that it will be easy to recognize where they fit into the final mural. Underglazes are used to create the design or picture on the tile surfaces. These are safe and simple to use, and can be applied with a brush. Underglazes do not bleed or move when fired, and they take on deeper values when they are fired.

Clear art glazes can be poured over the tiles or brushed on in three coats (making sure that each coat is completely dry before applying the next one). If the glaze is applied by brush it is better to fire the underglazed tiles before applying the clear glaze, to avoid smearing (brush on the clear glaze and fire once more to cone 05). The kiln can be loaded in the afternoon and fired at 02 all night, then turned up the next morning and fired to cone 05. This way the kiln shuts off while school is in session, avoiding late-night trips to check the kiln. A 22" by 27" kiln can fire approximately sixty to eighty 6" by 6" tiles at a time. The final mural should be installed by a professional tile installer.

A ceramic tile mural project is an ideal way for students to learn about Acmi glazes and other art glazes. It can bring classroom subjects to life; and the permanent installation can serve as a point of student pride. Murals made with ceramic dipping glazes can be placed on the walls of hallways, cafeteria or gym, and on walls by doorways and drinking fountains.