What You Can Do with Online Photos: 8 Creative ESL

Activities
1. 1

Gimme 20!
For this activity (and for the others), you’ll need to find the right photo first. There are
countless websites offering stock images and digital photos, but I recommend using the Creative
Commons search tool. With this tool, you can search for images on Flickr, Google Images or
Wikimedia Commons, use them in your ESL classroom, and rest assured you won’t be violating
any copyright laws. Search for an image that conveys feelings or a mood you wish to explore. I
found this one on Flickr. Show this image to your class and ask them to brainstorm and come up
with 20 words related to this image. When they’re done brainstorming, they must place these
words into categories, for example, “feelings”, “colors”, “nature”, etc.... Finally, give them a
writing assignment to complete in class or for homework, like a story based on the photo, in
which they must use the words.
2. 2

What’s He Thinking?
Have you ever looked at a photo and tried to guess what the person in it is thinking? Well,
now your students can put those thoughts to good use. With a tool like Bubblr, they can add
speech and thought bubbles to images available from Flickr and even make their own comic
strip.
3. 3

Can You Find…?

This is a great way to practice prepositions of place. Find a photo with lots of objects in it
like a messy office. Ask your class: Can you find the water bottle? Students raise their hands as
soon as they have the answer. Call on a student to answer the question with the correct
preposition.
4. 4

Making Comparisons
Find two images you want your class to compare, for example, our previous messy office
and a much tidier one. Students use comparatives to describe the two.
5. 5

Flickr Story
This is a really fun tool, great for writing practice! Have your ESL students play a hand of
Five Card Flickr. Students are given a set of randomly presented photos, and they have to
choose one. Then they’re given a second set from which to pick one. Once they have picked
 five photos from five different sets, the real fun begins. They are prompted to create a title for
their story and a comment or explanation, which of course they can flesh out into a short story.
Because the photos are so random, this is a real challenge and a great creative writing activity.
6. 6

Picture Writing
Images are great prompts for writing, and PicLits is another wonderful online tool that
lets your ESL students add messages, thoughts or captions to an image. Students have the
option of dragging and dropping nouns, verbs, articles and adjectives from a list. Words are
categorized into different parts of speech, so students may wish to try different adjectives or
verbs. They also have the option to simply write what they wish to express – freestyle. Their
work is saved and a link to it is provided, so they can email their creations to family or friends.
7. 7

Photos that Babble

PhotoBabble is an awesome tool for speaking practice! Upload a photo you’ve previously
selected and record students taking about them. You may have them speak freely and
spontaneously, or you may choose to give them time to prepare what they want to say. This
works exceptionally well with photos of cartoon characters, comic book heroes or celebrities –
your students can give a voice to a wide range of characters and practice their speaking skills at
the same time.
8. 8

Create a Mural
Why simply ask students to talk about what they did over the holidays or how they
celebrated Christmas, when they can show you with a mural? Mural.ly is the perfect tool for
this. Students can create their own murals with their vacation photos and not only that; they can
also add notes, comments and text all around for great writing practice. The beauty of this tool
is that students can work on their murals at home and simply add you as a collaborator so you
can see their work any day, any time.

If you have a classroom with a computer and access to an

Internet connection, I strongly encourage you to try using these
online tools and digital photos.
It’s a great way to promote an increasingly paperless classroom. Rather than using technology in the
classroom for technology’s sake, you’ll be using it to help your students meet their language goals. And
there can be no better use for technology.