INTRODUCTION TO VIEWING

Why is viewing important?

What is viewing? Viewing is important because as
Viewing is one of the most important students are dealing with mainly
skills in communication because it is a multimodal texts they need to
way of portraying information in the understand them and to become more
record, thus, giving more emphasis on effective, active and critical viewers to be
the importance of mental faculty that able to participate fully in society.
allows a perceiver to give details about a Viewing helps students develop the
target that is difficult to get to normal knowledge and skills to analyse and
senses due to time, distance or shielding. evaluate visual texts and multimodal
Also, viewing involves interpreting texts that use visuals. Viewing also helps
images for which word stand, and students acquire information and
connecting visual images in videos, appreciate ideas and experiences visually
computer programs, and websites with communicated by others.
accompanying printed or spoken words
(B.D. Roe, E.P. Ross 2010). (A multimodal text is one where the
meaning is communicated by more than
According to Ignatius Joseph Estroga one mode – e.g. written text, audio, still
(2012), a language professor at Liceo De pictures, moving pictures, gesture, use of
Cagayan University, viewing enhances space, etc. The fact that communication
listening skills when students attend to nowadays is largely multimodal changes
non-verbal communication and visual the construct of communicative
elements of performance, video, competence. This has huge implications
television, film and multimedia for our educational systems.
presentation. Also, viewing enhances
reading when students attend to visual What do active viewers do?
accompanying print, specific textual According to the Canadian Common
techniques, and the assumptions, Curriculum Framework, active and
perspectives, and quality of a variety effective viewers would ask themselves a
media. series of questions such as:
 What is the text representing?
 An active process of attending and  How is the text constructed?
comprehending visual media, such as  What assumptions, interests, beliefs,
television, advertising images, films, biases and values are portrayed by
diagrams, symbols, photographs, the text?
videos, drama, drawings, sculpture  What is the purpose of the text?
and paintings.  To whom is the text directed? Who
does the text exclude?
 So ‘viewing’ is about ‘reading’ –  What is my reaction to the text? What
analysing, evaluating and appreciating causes this reaction?
– visual texts. Viewing is an active  What personal connections and
rather than a passive process. associations can I make with this text?
It’s important that students are schools in the UK. The 3Cs (Colour,
aware that understanding the Camera, Character) and the 3Ss
viewing process is as important as (Story, Setting, Sound) framework
understanding the listening and can be used to help students
reading process. Students should discuss and analyse all the
understand that effective, active elements of a film text.
viewers engage in the following - Story, Setting, Sound, Colour,
procedure: Character and Camera are simple
headings with discussion questions
Pre-viewing: Students prepare to view teachers can use as an easy way
by activating their schema (the prior for exploring any film. Here are
knowledge they bring to the study of a some of the discussion questions:
topic or theme), anticipating a message,
predicting, speculating, asking questions,
and setting a purpose for viewing. Colour
During viewing: Students view the  What colours do you see?
visual text to understand the message by  What do the colours make you feel?
seeking and checking understanding, by  Why do you think certain colours are
making connections, making and used?
confirming predictions and inferences,  What mood do you think the colours
interpreting and summarising, pausing create?
and reviewing, and analysing and Camera
evaluating. Students should monitor their  What shots have been used? Can you
understanding by connecting to their name them?
schema, questioning and reflecting.  Through whose eyes do we see the
After viewing / responding: Students story?
should be given opportunities to respond  When do we see different characters’
personally, critically and creatively to point of view?
visual texts. Students respond by  When does the camera move and
reflecting, analysing, evaluating and when does it stay still?
creating. Character
 What do the main characters look
Viewing frameworks like?
These models, which have been tried and  How do they speak and what do they
tested with thousands of students at say?
schools and universities around the world  How do they behave?
with great success, help to systematise  Which character interests you the
viewing effectively into the language most? Why?
classroom. Story
 What happens in the beginning,
1. FILM AND VIDEO: THE 3CS AND middle and at the end of the story?
3SS  What are the most important things
- This framework was developed by (events) that happen in the story?
Into Film and is used widely in
 How do we know where the story students’ curiosity and helps students
takes place? reach for new connections.
 How long does the story take place in
‘real’ time? This routine is designed to be easy to
Setting remember, practical and invite a broad
 Where does the action take place? range of thinking moves. Watch this
 When and how does the setting video to see the See, Think, Wonder
change? routine being put into practice with
 How could you tell where the story secondary school students.
was taking place?
 How could you tell when the story was
taking place? The Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS)
Sound - The Visual Thinking Strategies
 How many different sounds do you (VTS) approach was codeveloped
hear? What are they? by Abigail Housen and Philip
 How does the music make you feel? Yenawine 30 years ago. It finds
 Are there any moments of silence? meaning in imagery and develops
 Can you hear any sound effects? visual literacy skills through
learning in the arts, fostering
2. Paintings and photographs: See, thinking and communication skills
Think, Wonder through listening carefully and
- The See, Think, Wonder routine is expressing oneself. The approach
one of the Visible Thinking Routines works in the following way:
developed by researcher-educators  Students silently examine carefully
for Project Zero at Harvard selected art images
University. This routine helps  The teacher asks these three open-
students make careful observations ended questions
and develop their own ideas and  What’s going on in this picture?
interpretations based on what they  What do you see that makes you
see when viewing a painting or say that?
photograph by asking these three  What more can we find?
questions.  Students then..
 What do you see? - Look carefully at the image
 What do you think about what you - Talk about what they observe
see? - Back up their ideas with evidence
 What does it make you wonder? - Listen and consider the views of
others
By separating the two questions – ‘What - Discuss many possible
do you see?’ and ‘What do you think interpretations
about what you see?’ – the routine helps - Construct meaning together
students distinguish between  The teacher…
observations and interpretations. By - Listens carefully to each comment
encouraging students to wonder and ask - Paraphrases student responses
questions, the routine stimulates demonstrating language use
 - Points to features described in the
artwork throughout the discussion
- Facilitates student discussions
- Encourages scaffolding of
observations and interpretations
- Validates individual views
- Links related ideas and points of
agreement/disagreement
- Reinforces a range of ideas

Conclusion
Viewing helps students to slow down,
reflect and think about the images they
are seeing, and develop the knowledge
and skills to analyse and evaluate visual
texts and multimedia texts that use
visuals. Viewing also helps students
acquire information and appreciate ideas
and experiences visually communicated
by others.
Undoubtedly, viewing will become part of
English language curricula in many more
countries in the near future and we, as
teachers, need to be able to help our
students become more effective viewers.