Abstract:

The article proves the necessity of using different ways of visual representation in the English language teaching in the system of Higher Education. In the modern world the didactic principle of illustration (visibility) developed by I.A. Komensky takes the form of the teacher’s modelling different aspects of reality with the help of various means: from objects and pictures, gestures and movements to videos and Internet services. Implementation of online service providers for creating, displaying and analyzing data in the Information and Сommunication Technologies has accelerated due to the fact that four out of five students are visual learners and only one is an auditory learner. Visual representation allows students to remember, analyze and systematize material more effectively, it motivates them for learning.

The research is thematically relevant and justified due to the description of visual representation in the context of English and American literature study. In teaching English and American literature visual representation of the material helps to fulfill the cognitive, developing, educative potential of this discipline. The authors’ classification focuses on electronic and non-electronic ways of visual representation. Non-electronic ways illustrated in the article include creation and use of creolized texts, among which comics and graphic novels are paid special attention to. As for electronic ways, the authors distinguish and describe the following: interactive posters and walls (online service Gloster), interactive books and dictionaries (online services Calameo, WordSmyth), interactive exercises (Educaplay), infographics and mind maps (Infogram, Easel, Mindmeister, Mindomo) and others.

Keywords:

The didactic principle of illustration, online service, visual learners, creolized texts, teaching English and American literature.