Using the picturebook The Rabbits to teach visual literacy in a 7th grade EFL classroom

Abstract

This thesis explores how the picturebook, The Rabbits, can be used to teach 7th grade pupils about visual literacy as a skill in the EFL classroom. The study consists of a mixed-methods approach, where I will use both quantitative and qualitative methods to meet my research question. The thesis builds on theory on picturebooks and visual literacy theory. I have chosen to write this thesis to explore how picturebooks can be used to teach pupils about visual literacy, and further investigate how the pupils demonstrates their competence after a small-scale classroom study. This thesis will use a questionnaire to research how the pupils learn visual literacy through the picturebook, where the pupils shall produce their own drawings by using knowledge from the lesson on visual literacy. Their production, in form of drawings, shall reflect the pupils’ competence after the lesson, and will indicate the pupils’ level of competence seen in light of Bloom’s Taxonomy. This study was completed in a 7th grade class, with me as both the researcher and the teacher. It consisted of a total of 14 pupils, where ten participants joined the project. The classroom study consisted of three lessons over the period of two days, where a review of the picturebook was completed, followed by teaching visual literacy by using the picturebook. This study will shed light on picturebooks as a neat tool in language learning, and that picturebooks not only can be used for children, but is also interesting for young adults. The study will also show that visual literacy in the EFL classroom needs a thorough learning over time, and frequent teaching of the topic. The pupils’ answers in the questionnaire after the study was completed, shows that the visual elements used in this study; colors, shape, and size, contributes both large and small to teach visual literacy as a skill.