Approaching Images from a Cultural Perspective in the Foreign Language Classroom

The following paper is based on research work undertaken during my supervised teaching practice, in 2010 and 2011, as a component of the Master’s Course in Teaching English and German in the 3 rd Cycle of Basic Education and in Secondary Education of the Faculty of Social and Human Sciences of the New University of Lisbon. This research aimed at exploring how visual material can be applied towards stimulating the learning of foreign languages and cultures, and its results were presented in greater detail in an academic report entitled A Imagem na Aprendizagem da Língua e da Cultura Estrangeiras, in 2011. Here, in a more succinct fashion, I will look specifically at how images can become a privileged source of cultural information for foreign language learners. Topics addressed include the definition of the term “image” and the relevance of visuals in the foreign language classroom throughout time as well as suggestions on how language teachers can promote visual literacy and approach images from a cultural perspective.