ESL Students Need Real Photos (NOT Clipart)

Picture this: You’re introducing classroom objects to your new ESL students. You hold up a flash card, but instead of a cartoon desk al la Carson Dellosa®, they see a real, vibrant photo of a desk. With this photo, you’ve communicated a powerful message to your students. Do you know what it is?

1. Real Photos Provide Respectful Comprehension

As ESL teachers, we know visuals are important to build vocabulary and comprehension, but we have communicated more than that to our secondary and adult students when we use real photos. We have communicated that we respect their age and educational journey, and that our classroom is not “kindergarten time.”

You are no doubt an intelligent person. However, how smart are you if you were to be dropped in the middle of Vietnam? India? Rwanda? You would likely turn into a caveman: grunting, pointing, acting out what you need. You look utterly unintelligent to most, even though you are not. Many of our students feel the same, and many are self-conscious about starting at zero with a new language. Clipart may be cute, but it’s disingenuous to older learners. The least we can do is respect that they are not children, but smart teens and adults who simply need the right words and photos to communicate.

2. Real Photos Provide Cultural Clarity

If I had a penny for every time a Spanish speaker called a story a “history,” I would have about $2.00. False cognates exist throughout many languages. Unlike clipart, which can be vague, real photos represent the object without cultural bias or stylistic differences. Students see the photo, the word, and know exactly what is being communicated.

3. Real Photos Provide Language Retention

When students see a real image alongside a new word, their brains create a stronger connection between language and meaning. For example, showing a real photo of a glue stick helps the word stick (pun completely intended) because students can connect it to something they’ve seen in their classrooms. This multisensory pairing of visual plus verbal makes it easier for learners to recall the vocabulary later during reading, writing, or conversation.

Using Real Photos of Classroom Objects

Language-rich classrooms are a must for ESL students, whether it be anchor charts, word walls, or classroom labels. Personally, I start the year with labels of classroom objects, so the first week of school, all students can communicate what they need either through pointing at the label or reading the label. Here are some other ways I use these:

Label the Room: Place the labels with real photos on desks, doors, or above class supplies. Students quickly learn words like scissors, notebook, and eraser. This vocabulary is essential for when I begin to teach the verb ‘to be.’
Warm-up Routines: Incorporate labels into your routines, like “Take out your notebook” or “You need a pencil.” Real-photo visuals give students clear cues for starting class, reducing confusion and encouraging independence.
Class Activities – Use classroom object cards in scavenger hunts or memory games. These activities make vocabulary practice engaging while reinforcing everyday words.

When I first created my classroom object labels, my goal was simple: make the beginning of the year vocabulary real for my ESL students. These visuals aren’t cute; they are practical and respectful. I watch students go from pointing to the correct card, to cautiously naming the object, to even using the words in a complete question.