Picture-Based Language Teaching Exercises and Worksheets

4th February 2025

• Pictures provoke the imagination.
• Pictures are fun.
• Pictures are a universal language. They can convey meanings instantly.
• Pictures can make difficult topics more accessible.
• Pictures can be used to aid almost any ESL teaching exercise including vocabulary exercises, brainstorming exercises, dialogues, role plays, story-telling, and cultural lessons.
• Pictures encourage discussions as individuals interpret images in different ways.
• These days, with image libraries, it is quite easy to find a picture or image to suit almost any word or situation.

For some of the newest possibilities for teaching with pictures, see my Substack posts:

Images and Questions: The Next Generation of Language Teaching

Visual Discussion Sheets: Part 2

AI-Generated Timelines and Visuals for Teaching ESL Vocabulary and Grammar

State of the Art Visualizations and Collocations

Other resources on this website

Environmental issues and vocabulary exercises (PDF)

Food, cooking and restaurant language exercises (PDF)

Adjectives worksheets and lessons with pictures

Business English speaking skills worksheets (PDF)

Picture dialogue-booking a room at a hotel (PDF)

Picture-based worksheets for teaching the present continuous tense (PDF)

Pic Tac Toe A