Criteri di selezione delle immagini in un compito di ascolto di frasi in LS. Uno studio preliminare

Abstract

Current research concerning the use of images to support the learning of scientific concepts underline the importance that they are chosen, segmented and presented to respond to users’ perceptual and cognitive processes. It is in this perspective that in the present study the contribution of images to the comprehension of L2 sentences pronounced orally is evaluated. The problem is relevant since sentences pronounced orally are often not understood by L2 learners even if they are made up of well-known words. On the other hand, the literature that deals specifically with the topic is lacking precisely in relation to the properties that the stimuli should have to facilitate understanding. Three experiments were conducted on the selection, positioning and possible decomposition of still images used to support the comprehension of sentences pronounced orally in L2. The results indicate that the greatest benefits of visual presentation occur when: (a) imagines are simple; (b) they precede the sentence; (c) they are presented decomposed into significant parts, while the order of presentation was not important.