Vocabulary via Images — A Heyday!

post updated 1-20-2026

Halfway into the first month of the new year. Hope it’s been happy enough. As for me, I have been exploring Amadine, an art app for doodling around on my iPad, and reading e-books. (Love the George Cross mystery series by Tim Sullivan.) I rarely read a paperback anymore, as that world is fading away. For better or worse, this is the digital age.

It’s for the better as far as teaching vocabulary goes, because with the internet, pictures are more readily available than ever before, greatly expanding the teacher’s toolbox. Digital technology can greatly assist learners with special needs.  Never before has it been so easy to find the perfect picture to convey a concept and build vocabulary. It takes only seconds to search! Granted, some images in cyberspace are AI slop, but that can be interesting, too, and we can use AI-based programs to modify any image as needed for the lesson. 

As a starting point or introduction, pictures are a great word-learning resource for all students. This also applies to learning a second language (posted here by Cárdenas-Hagan). Keep in mind, pictures are not only for children. Studies with older students show that learning, memory, and attention/ interest are boosted by illustrations, with some important caveats (James & Son, 2020; Khafidhoh & Carolina, 2019). Also, for teaching many new concepts, a picture is useful but certainly not sufficient alone. Andy Biemiller has made a study of differentiating between word types and when the types are learned (2024). In recent conversation, he states “my strong suspicion is that verbally-defined word meanings require a lot more effort and instruction than perceptual/procedural/functional meanings.” (January 2026).

There are many ways to use pictures for teaching vocabulary. Learners can sort pictures, find their own illustrations to match a given prompt, generate images with Ai apps, create their own illustrations “ from scratch” in layers, or generate a picture dictionary. Create images with crayons, even! Results of a recent study suggest that drawing images that convey emotional words such as despair, relief, and frustration might promote memory of such abstract words (Tran & Fernandes, 2023). Is there a learning difference when drawing pictures by hand versus drawing on the computer, with an art program? 

This mountain goat caught my eye. I purchased this  photograph at a Big Sky art fair from a local artist (Brooke Kapalka at K3 Photography). The image is intriguing and could illustrate various concepts: A new beginning for this frolicsome fellow — maybe a happy new year. Off with the old, on with the new. It looks like the fur is about to fly. Nothing like a picture to teach concepts. One relevant word is molting, defined as shedding fur, feathers, scales, or skin.  A kind of transformation, almost a metamorphosis. Other words come to mind also: frolic, leap, gambol. More scientifically, mammal, bovidae, nanny goat, billy goat, ruminant. Chew on that.

References:

Bates, J. & Son, J. (2020). English vocabulary learning with simplified pictures. TESL-EJ, 24(3), 1-20. https://tesl-ej.org/wordpress/issues/volume24/ej95/ej95a12/ 

Biemiller, A. (2024). Word meaning types acquired before vs. after age 5: implications for education. Front. Psychol. 15:1280568. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1280568

Khafidhoh, K., & Carolina, A. (2019). Using pictures for teaching vocabulary to the junior high school students. English Language Teaching Educational Journal, 2(1), 32–38. 

Tran, S. H. N., & Fernandes, M. A. (2023). Drawing enhances memory for emotional words. Canadian Journal of Experimental Psychology / Revue canadienne de psychologie expérimentale, 77(4), 296–307. https://doi.org/10.1037/cep0000319

Word of the Year 2025

Happy New Year. Let’s Talk Definitions, Specifically “Artificial + Intelligence + Slop” 

Cambridge Dictionary defines intelligence as "the ability to learn, understand, and make judgments or have opinions that are based on reason." 

Learning is one key component of intelligence, but it is arguably the least advanced aspect compared with the ability to make judgments and form opinions.

What does artificial convey? Created by humans? Fake? Imitation? Artificial sunlight is similar to sunlight, providing some highly beneficial aspects of sunlight while simultaneously missing something essential. Artificial sunlight is as far removed from the power of the sun’s streaming beams as fool’s gold is from the real deal. 

In the context of artificial intelligence, the word artificial appears to convey a simulation of human intelligence, computer-based, non-organic, digital. Perhaps artificial should also convey a lesser sense here, a partial or reduced and limited level, despite its amazing capabilities to sort, organize, and analyze reams of data, and to learn. The prefixes near-, pseudo-, quasi-, and sub- come to mind.

And how do we define slop? This word, originally designating soft mud, and subsequently “food waste as fed to pigs” has taken on another meaning. It refers to the sheer volume of junk littering cyberspace, produced via AI-based computer programs. This includes flawed images, videos, books, blog posts, reports, graphs and charts, created with minimal human oversight. Blame the AI boom. 

Mirriam-Webster has declared slop as the 2025 Word of the Year, defining slop as “digital content of low quality that is produced usually in quantity by means of artificial intelligence.” This colloquial term has swept the cybernautic world in recent years. Read more about the Word of the Year decision at Mirriam-Webster.

Digital slop is a derisory term for the sheer volume of substandard work produced via AI, typically created for monetization purposes. Such slop clutters the web with absurdities and misinformation, making cyberspace a dangerous (or hilarious) place indeed. For example, see the shoveling scene my AI program produced. How many goofs can you find?

AI = artificial intelligence…automated intelligence… alleged intelligence…alternative intelligence

Anti-intelligence when used for slop.

Contractions, an addendum

Greetings. As discussed in a recent post, many students struggle to correctly position the apostrophe within contractions and possessives. Spelling contractions correctly can be a challenge.

Learners do not typically struggle with the meaning of contractions, except homonyms— who's versus whose, it's versus its, you’re versus your and they’re/ there/ their. Contractions (and homonyms) can be challenging for native speakers as well as English Language Learners.

Forming contractions involves a change in spelling but no real change in meaning. For example, is not conveys the same meaning as the contracted form isn't. However, there may be a change in register, as for example from the more formal can not to the less formal can’t. 

As student move up the grades, it is important to discuss variations of language, including register, slang, jargon, and dialect. Contractions are tricky in that sense, and evolving in usage and acceptance . Not so long ago, contractions were deemed lazy, slangy, unfit for formal discourse. The truth is that contractions are practical. Much more efficient to say here’s than here is. Mechanically easier to articulate, too. Contractions flow, making speech fluid and natural. This is similar to how much easier it is to articulate cell over cellular and phone over telephone (see posts on clips and linguistic blends). Furthermore, contractions have long been a part of worldwide human language patterns.

“Unfortunately, contractions aren’t readily accepted in scholarly works. They are almost looked down upon as childish and immature. However, that is far from the truth. While most look at contractions as a fairly modern invention, they’ve been here since before all of us, our parents, our grandparents, our great grandparents, and many generations before that were born” (from Historically Irrelevant: The History of Contractions).

Where do contractions fit in speaking and writing today? That is somewhat fluid. One thing we know for sure, the placement of the apostrophe is a problem for far too many spellers.