How to describe a picture? – Helpful information
Describing a picture is a challenging speaking task
Describing a picture may seem an easy activity but it is not so effortless. Students should follow specific steps when they are asked to describe a landscape or people. Here are some tips:
– Using appropriate vocabulary, such as adverbs and phrases for directions, colors for sceneries, adjectives for people.
– Avoiding expressing personal opinions. On the contrary, being objective is required.
What are the language benefits of this oral activity?
The language benefits of students describing pictures are a lot: they develop their vocabulary since they are supposed to use appropriate words and phrases. Furthermore, they should express accurate sentences with well-form syntax. Otherwise, the description will not be well-organised. Apart from that, students become more fluent and improve their pronunciation.
Describing a picture during the Ellinomatheia oral exams
During the oral Elliomatheia exams, candidates of all levels should describe a picture in detail. The duration of this task is about five minutes. Pictures are related to current social, political, economic issues. Examiners can pose questions on the picture to facilitate the candidates to describe the picture precisely.
Some basic steps to describe pictures with accuracy
Students should express an overview of what they can see. Then, they should present the picture in detail. One option could be to say what they see at the foreground, mid-ground and background. Another option is to describe the picture with directions from the examiner’s perspective. Phrases such as the following could be useful: on the left, in the middle, on the right.
People, objects, actions
Students should not forget to describe all people, objects and actions depicted in the pictures. They should not describe only people, objects and actions that seem easy to them.
Moreover, Present Continuous is the appropriate tense when describing a picture. Vocabulary on colours and shapes is also useful.
How to finish a description?
Before finishing a description, students can say what you think about the context of the picture. For instance, where is the picture taken? How do the people feel?
Overall, when describing pictures, students should stick to simple vocabulary for description, be accurate and avoid expressing their opinion.
Vocabulary
1/ περιγράφω = to describe
2/ η εικόνα = picture
3/ το τοπίo = landscape
4/ η λεπτομέρεια = detail
5/ το σχέδιο = shape
