Teaching Vocabulary through Pictorial and Verbal Illustrations to the Learners of English at Intermediate Level: An Experimental Study

Abstract

The aim of the study was to find out the importance of the pictorial and verbal illustrations in teaching English vocabulary at Intermediate level in Pakistan. Most of the researchers recommend that vocabulary can be taught well through pictorial illustration. Some researchers also recommend verbal illustration for teaching vocabulary. In Pakistan, pictures are being used in order to teach vocabulary at primary level. However, there is no use of pictures for teaching vocabulary at higher level i.e. Intermediate level. The present study is premised upon the Hypothesis that Vocabulary of English can be taught effectively through pictorial and verbal illustrations at Intermediate level. In order to examine the hypothesis, an experiment was carried out. In a public college, a class (comprising 50 students) of Intermediate part 1 was taught vocabulary for 8 weeks by the researcher. The class was divided into two groups (25 students per group). The controlled group was taught vocabulary through traditional way that is GTM and experimental group was taught through pictorial and verbal illustrations. Two tests i.e. pre-test and post-test were conducted. The results of tests were analyzed. The findings of the analysis showed that there was no significant difference between the marks in the pre-test and the marks in the post-test of controlled group. However, there was a significant difference between the marks in pre-test and the marks in post-test of experimental group. It concluded that vocabulary can be taught well through pictorial and verbal illustrations at Intermediate level.

Keywords: Vocabulary, illustrations, Grammar Translation Method, intermediate,   pictorial, verbal