Recibido: 20/diciembre/2024 Aceptado: 30/abril/2025
Infographics use as a tool in the English language learning
(Original)
Uso de infografías como herramienta en el aprendizaje de
idioma inglés (Original)
Maritza Núñez Arévalo. Licenciada en Educación en la especialidad
de Lengua Inglesa. Master en Ciencia. Especialista en Docencia Universitaria. Profesora
Auxiliar. Profesora de Educación Superior. Universidad Matanzas. Matanzas. Cuba.
[ maritza.nunez@umcc.cu ]
[ https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0796-4174 ]
Ana Velia Domínguez
León.
Especialista en Docencia Universitaria.
Doctor en Ciencia. Profesora Auxiliar. Profesora de Educación Superior.
Universidad de Granma. Bayamo. Granma. Cuba. [ adominguezl@udg.cuo.cu ] [ https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6930-6823 ]
Tania Morales De la Cruz. Licenciada en Educación en la especialidad
de Lengua Inglesa. Máster en ciencias de la educación. Profesora Auxiliar. Profesora
de Educación Superior. Universidad Matanzas. Matanzas. Cuba. [ tania.morales@umcc.cu ]
[ https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4415-463X ]
Dayami Álvarez Ayala. Licenciada en Educación. Master en Ciencia y
Doctoranda del Centro de Estudios para el Perfeccionamiento de la Educación
Superior. Profesora Auxiliar. Docente Investigadora. Universidad de la Habana.
Cuba. Quito. Ecuador. [ dayami.morales@umcc.cu ]
[ https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4622- 0274 ]
Abstract
This research focuses on the importance and impact of infographics in teaching English language. The objective of
this research is to identify the positive of the use of infographics
for teaching and learning the English language outside and inside the classroom
and also as a useful teaching resource for educators. The methodology followed
was a quantitative approach through a survey applied to 1st year
Bachelor of Industrial Engineer students, through which the students' opinions
were collected in relation to the use of infographics
as a didactic-digital tool. The results show the need of using infographics as a digital teaching resource to support
lessons and as a necessary means to improve the quality of students'
understanding of materials and their interest in learning.
Keywords: infographic; learning
activities; teaching resources, English
Resumen
La presente investigación se enfoca en la
importancia e impacto de las infografías en la enseñanza del idioma inglés. El
objetivo es identificar lo positivo del uso de las infografías para la
enseñanza aprendizaje del idioma inglés fuera y dentro del aula y además como
medio de enseñanza útil para los educadores. La metodología siguió un enfoque
cuantitativo a través de una encuesta aplicada a estudiantes de primer año de
Ingeniería Industrial, mediante la cual se recolectaron las opiniones de los
estudiantes en relación con el uso de la infografía como herramienta
didáctica-digital. Los resultados arrojan la necesidad de usar la infografía
como recurso didáctico digital para apoyar las clases y como un medio necesario
para mejorar la calidad de los estudiantes en la comprensión de materiales y su
interés en el aprendizaje.
Palabras clave:
infografía; actividades de aprendizaje; medio de enseñanza; Inglés
Introduction
We live in
a time where generations of students prefer information presented in a brief
and concise manner, a trend that favors graphic representation of information
over written information. A new way of reporting is emerging, where the format
for presenting data allows for immediate and engaging reading and
understanding, but is not necessarily simplistic or ineffective. This new way
of developing a topic is based on the illustration and schematization of
information, i.e., infographics.
It is often
said that a picture is worth a thousand words, and in the case of education,
this is undoubtedly the case. According to research by the Social Science
Research Network, 65% of people learn primarily through images (they are what
is called "visual learners"). It is also estimated that the mind can
process an image thousands of times faster than written text. In this context,
the use of educational infographics in the classroom
is an extremely powerful tool that can provide numerous benefits to students,
facilitating their learning process and stimulating their creativity.
As a
teaching material for communicating a topic, infographics
can be a powerful influence on students, providing the information is
adequately and visually structured. For Minervini
(2005), the value of their use lies in their communicative potential, which
functions as a positive tool for knowledge appropriation within the teaching
and learning process. According to Richter (2013, cited by Abio,
2014), students who use them achieve increased information literacy, increased
visual literacy, greater ability to process and interpret information, and
greater ability to interpret information; increased technological literacy, in
addition to the ability to use technology creatively, productively, and
effectively.
Considering
the benefits that students gain from using infographics
in their learning process, it will also be important to consider the suggestion
made by Abio (2014), who asserts that infographics appear to be a trend with educational value
and should not be ignored as a teaching object and form of expression. In fact,
we observe that infographics are beginning to be
introduced in various work proposals in the most recent language teaching
textbooks.
It should
be of great importance for teachers to consider the didactic possibilities
offered by infographics, as they constitute an
indispensable resource in current teaching processes. This has been suggested
by Ferrés (1989, cited by Minervini,
2005), who states that:
If the school wants to build a bridge with society, it
will have to fully embrace audiovisual media as a differentiated form of
expression. That is, in addition to educating in the images, it will have to
educate through images. (p. 2)
Assuming
people live in a visual culture that has reached the learning and teaching
processes in educational institutions, infographics
are an effective teaching resource that awakens students' interest in learning
and that stands as a resource for translating complexities, facilitating the
efficient and immediate acquisition of knowledge due to their information
visualization character.
For the
development of this research, it was essential to understand how the brain
learns, particularly when images are involved. Some of the answers were found
in cognitive neuroscience, which as a relatively new science and with the
contributions made so far has shown how fascinating the study of consciousness,
thoughts, emotions, and other aspects generated in the brain is from a learning
perspective.
In this
sense, the neuroscience of learning presents itself as a field of study in
which teachers can obtain information to apply in their practical and
theoretical work, which can be widely beneficial for improving their
teaching-learning strategies and methods.
Based on
all the above, the objective is to identify the positive effects of using infographics for teaching and learning English both inside
and outside the classroom and also as a useful teaching resources for
educators.
Materials and Methods
This
proposal was first implemented in 2023, with just a few examples. As a sample,
it was worked with 30 first-year Tourism students at the University of
Matanzas, who require English as a working tool and must be very proficient.
After implementing the appropriate use of infographics,
the students demonstrated excellent results in the classroom and on
certification exams, achieving level B1, with a 95.4 percent promotion rate.
Therefore, it was decided to use the proposal in the Industrial Engineering Syllabus,
one of the largest at the university.
Theoretical
methods, such as analysis-synthesis for the entire research process; and
inductive-deductive methods were used to derive conclusions and establish
generalizations through the analysis of specific elements about the research
object, thus verifying their behavior throughout the research process.
Empirical methods and techniques were also used, helping to verify the current
state of the teaching-learning process through the use of visual teaching aids
in English teaching at the University of Matanzas and to identify existing
problems. Statistical techniques were also used to interpret and process the
results derived from the application of empirical methods and techniques. The
dialectical-hermeneutical approach was present throughout the research, which
allows for a scientific logic from understanding the explanation and
interpretation of the process.
This
proposal was based on the communicative approach, Task-Teach-Task, task-based
work, action-oriented approach, and student-centered approach.
Results and Discussion
A
fascinating idea from Frith and Blakemore (2007) was
to propose the teacher as a "gardener" who can plant seeds in
students' minds to stimulate them. These seeds can be nurtured with good ideas
and important facts, but they can also uproot weeds, errors, and
misunderstandings. The idea proposes to consider education as “gardening” of
the brain, in which teachers are the gardeners. Thus, they will be responsible
for finding the right moments and determining the elements that stimulate the
student's brain. This is crucial considering that the visual functions of
movement and memory are the main providers of stimulant for brain development.
The belief
that the brain is instinctively conditioned to learn, regardless of an
individual's stage of life, has led to the determination that there are
different ways of learning. Only those related to the use of images are
mentioned below.
Memory learning
is the simplest and perhaps the best-known form of learning. In an educational
setting, it is frequently used as a way to store knowledge, although memorized
information deteriorates over time. This method is effective at certain times
and for certain types of knowledge, such as when learning vocabulary in a
foreign language, the script for a play, or a mathematical formula. It is
related to the use of imagination for learning; regarding this, The
psychologist Pavio (1960, cited by Frith and Blakemore, 2007) proposed that concrete words
were easier to remember (e.g., "forest" or "treetop")
compared to abstract ones (e.g., "far" or "pleasant"). He
suggested that the former were more imaginable (representable) and, therefore,
by allowing the creation of visual images, learning was enhanced. In fact,
we've all experienced that it's easier to remember something when is associated
with an image: first the image of what it's associated with is recalled, and
the image is what leads to remember the question.
Another
form of learning is one that uses stimulant to associate or evoke imaginable
situations, as occurs with the auditory system. Sounds are a source of visual
imagery. Studies on this subject show that associating images with sounds
activates areas of the brain previously thought to respond only to one type of
stimulus. The study by Frith & Blakemore (2007)
investigated how unnamed things, such as sounds and visual symbols, are
remembered.
The results
highlight that the visual areas of the brain responded to a specific color when
it was preceded by a previously associated sound, revealing that the brain
quickly adapts to stimulant from other senses so that information becomes
imaginable. Another form of learning, one of the oldest, is imitation, which both
animals and humans engage in. It consists of observing what others do and then
attempting to do it ourselves. Shortly after birth, humans begin to imitate
communicative gestures and continue imitating throughout life. Everything is
imitated from the simplest to the most complex: gestures, attitudes, values,
clothing, etc., since imitation is a social behavior that fosters cultural
learning. Hence the popular adage: "You should imitate... so you learn
something." When we imagine ourselves as someone else, imitating what they
do, visual images of ourselves in specific situations with the intention of
experiencing some learning experience are created.
Infographics
Images have
great communicative potential. It is known for millennia, and art history is a magnificent
example. However, people currently live in the age of the image, so its
importance is greater than ever. Therefore, more and more people, from
increasingly diverse fields, understand the advantages of using infographics to convey specific ideas or knowledge.
Infographics
are a useful tool that allows you to generate and structure knowledge in an
attractive and versatile way. The schematic division of information, along with
the use of striking images, leads to a quick and enjoyable understanding of
what you want to explain. The combined use of images and concepts also
activates the brain's logical and verbal skills, as well as figurative and
creative imagination, promoting the assimilation of the content conveyed.
Infographics,
derived from the fusion of "information" and "graphics,"
serve as visual representations conveying information, data, or knowledge
concisely and clearly (Naparin & Saad, 2017). In educational contexts, infographics
go beyond traditional text-only methods, presenting information, ideas, and
data visually to enhance student comprehension (Smiciklas,
2012). Simply put, infographics is the graphical
depiction of information or knowledge (Damyanov &
Tsankov, 2018). Golombisky
and Hagen (2013) identify five key components of infographics:
headlines, chatter, callouts, source lines, and by lines. However, Basco (2020) suggests a tripartite classification,
emphasizing visual elements (such as colour,
graphics, icons, maps, and signs), content elements (including facts,
references, statistics, and texts), and knowledge elements (encompassing
conclusions and messages). Recognized as an effective tool for data
representation and visual communication (Basco, 2020;
Alyahya, 2019), infographics
are increasingly popular in education. Teachers are drawn to infographics for their potential to present data
effectively (Basco, 2020), explain concepts, and
provide simple visual representations for mapping relationships, display
trends, and offer fundamental insights (Parveen &
Husain, 2021). The multisensory and multimodal nature of infographics,
combining text and visuals (Yarbrough, 2019), enables them to transform complex
and abstract information into a visual narrative, effectively communicating
core points (Basco, 2020; Fateh
& Saeed, 2020).
Infographics
are gaining traction in education not only for their capacity to appeal to
learners' senses through the use of images but also for facilitating the
understanding of abstract ideas (Basco, 2020). Their
utilization promotes collaboration, comprehension, and engagement (MacQuarrie, 2012), enhancing the interaction and
involvement of students in the teaching-learning process when applied
systematically. They can be beneficial for language teachers, developers of
learning multimedia and the enhancement of students' learning processes (Fievez et al., 2023).
Infographics in Education
In
teaching, infographics offer especially interesting
possibilities. Today it is known that not everyone processes verbal language in
the same way, and that reading comprehension is especially connected to
attention span. For students who have difficulties in these areas, infographics offer fantastic support for attention.
Infographics
rely on students' a priori knowledge to the extent that they can activate prior
knowledge through the association of ideas, which contributes to a better
understanding of the content explained. In this way, they reduce the cognitive
and memory burden of this content, while encouraging creative thinking through
aesthetic treatment and stimulating student motivation.
Of course, infographics
are just one tool, like so many others, and the essential thing is to be able
to combine them all according to the needs of our students. If we use them
properly, we can ensure that they will be very useful to us and our students!
Several
studies were conducted with the utilization of infographic
in the educational system. Bicen and Beheshti (2017) conducted a research which has a purpose to
investigate the students’ perception of using infographic
in education. From the results of the study, the students thought that using infographic helped them to master their learning skills,
giving them motivation, and developing their creativity. The students preferred
to study with visual materials rather than the traditional materials such as
books. Another similar research was conducted by Alqudah
et al. (2019) that has a purpose to investigate the impact of using educational
infographic by focusing on the students’ interaction
and perception of the meaning of the transferred information.
How
to use infographics in the classroom?
• Infographics offer a wide range of applications in the
classroom. In addition, to be attractive to students of all ages, their
characteristics make them highly adaptable to the needs of the course. Whether
it's history or physics, literature or languages, infographics
will always be a highly beneficial teaching tool.
• Infographics can be used to support an explanation or as a
complement to other teaching materials. Teachers can encourage students to
analyze data, interpret information, and draw conclusions from the infographic. They can also use an infographic
to spark a class debate. Or They can even invite students to create an infographic themselves with the information from the
lesson—an excellent way to review content and develop their ability to
summarize.
• As you
can see, infographics have numerous applications in
the classroom. It all depends on the teaching objectives and the intended use!
Images are
replacing the written word, as people (especially the younger generations)
prefer to learn with images rather than written information. This involves
directing the transmission of information under a new concept, where text and
images contribute to efficient communication. This new graphic concept is known
as infographics, which go beyond a simple
illustration, such as the geometric diagrams or navigation charts of the 16th
century. According to Belenguer's (1999) definition,
an infographic is created with computer graphics and
serves to transmit information. On the other hand, for Aguilera and Vivar (1990), the relevance of the association between
graphics and computing, seen as a technical development in the audiovisual
field, has positively transformed print and audiovisual media by generating
representational possibilities that were previously unthinkable.
According
to Belenguer (1999), it is essential to differentiate
the two applications of infographics: one is dynamic
or animated, and the other is static or journalistic. Dynamic infographics are the creation of moving images generated by
electronic means, which originated in scientific and military laboratories.
Today, it is widely used in industrial design, architecture, advertising, art,
and animated films, and is also prominent in the areas of scientific imagery
and science education. It is also relevant in scientific and technical research
because it allows for the visual representation of objects and their behavior,
and is useful as a communication tool for scientific dissemination.
On the
other hand, static infographics were the result of
illustrating and schematizing information for a new visual culture that emerged
in print publications, especially newspapers. This was argued by De Pablos (1991), who defined them as a new journalistic
genre, with a new format and a new way of reporting. They became popular in all
newspapers. Today, every day a newspaper presents a topic developed through an infographic. In fact, this way of reporting has given rise
to the development of a typology determined by its content. Analysts Peltzer and Aguado (1991, 1993
cited in Belenguer, 1999) have divided them into two
groups: visual infographics, that is, graphics that
explicitly and in detail present a situation (plans, sections, perspectives,
and panoramas), and explanatory infographics, that
is, visual representations that explain an event, phenomenon, or process. Infographics are visual tools that combine graphics,
images, and text to present information clearly and concisely. In the context
of language learning, these can be extremely useful, as they allow complex
aspects of the language to be visualized in a structured and simplified way,
such as grammar, vocabulary, verb tenses, among others.
Benefits of using infographics in language
learning:
·
Improves
visual retention: Infographics use colors, shapes,
and designs that facilitate memorization of information.
·
Simplifies
complex concepts: It breaks down grammar rules and vocabulary into smaller,
more manageable chunks.
·
Engages
students: Visual content is more attractive and can motivate students to engage
more with the study material.
·
Encourages
self-instruction: It allows students to learn at their own pace, revisiting the
infographics as needed.
Creating
Effective Infographics for Language Learning
An infographic is
effective in language learning, when it is clear, informative, and visually
appealing. Here are some steps and tips for creating useful infographics:
Step 1:
Define the objective of the infographic. Before
starting to design it, it's crucial to determine what aspect of the language
you want to teach or reinforce. This could be vocabulary for a specific topic,
verb conjugation, or idiomatic expressions.
Step 2:
Collect and organize the information. Gather all the necessary information and
organize it logically. Make sure the information is accurate and up-to-date.
Step 3:
Choose appropriate design tools. There are several online tools such as Canva, Piktochart, or Venngage that allow you to create attractive infographics without advanced graphic design knowledge.
Step 4: Use
appropriate colors and graphics. Select colors that are not only attractive but
also help differentiate between different types of information. Use charts and
icons to illustrate key points.
Step 5:
Include examples and context. It's especially important in language learning to
provide examples of how a word or grammar rule is used in context. This can
make learning more relatable and easier to understand.
Integrating
Infographics into Study Methods
Infographics
can be integrated into different study methods to maximize their effectiveness.
Here are some examples:
• Visual
Flashcards: Transform infographics into visual
learning cards. These can be used to quickly review key points.
•
Supplementary Classroom Resources: Teachers can use infographics
as support material during lessons to explain difficult concepts in a more
engaging and visual way.
• Learning
Stations: In a classroom setting, set up different learning stations that
students can visit, each with a different infographic
related to the topic of study.
• Student
Newsletters: Include infographics in newsletters, WhatsApp messages, or emails sent to students as a visual
reminder of what they have learned, or in preparation for upcoming lessons.
Evaluating
the Impact of Infographics on Learning
To measure
the effectiveness of infographics in language
learning, it is important to conduct evaluations and collect feedback from
students. Some strategies include:
• Surveys
and direct feedback: Ask students what they think about infographics
and whether they find them facilitate their learning process.
• Before
and after tests: Conduct evaluations before introducing infographics
and compare the results with post-implementation tests to see if there is an
improvement in comprehension and retention.
•
Participation analysis: Observe whether there is an increase in student
participation and interest in classes where infographics
are used.
• Review of
long-term results: Evaluate whether students can better remember information
long-term with the use of infographics compared to
more traditional methods (see appendix 1).
Appendix 1. Example
of some infographics that are used in our lessons
Conclusions
Infographics
are powerful tools in the field of language learning. They not only facilitate
the comprehension and retention of complex information, but they also make the
learning process more interactive and enjoyable. By implementing them correctly
and evaluating their impact, educators can significantly improve the
effectiveness of their teaching methods and provide their students with a
valuable tool for their linguistic development.
The
environments formed by ICT and b-learning allow infographics,
especially interactive ones, by their nature, to be the element that
amalgamates different learning styles and is the best means of acquiring
knowledge, especially when it is related to self-learning. Furthermore,
considering the time and willingness required by today's students, who have had
to adapt for various reasons to new types of learning, such as hybrid and
remote learning, which have become a trend in all grade levels.
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