Kommunikationsaufgabe 1

Task 1:

• Get together in a group of three. Each of you has a picture showing a school. Study your picture for about 3 minutes without showing it to the other members of your group. Prepare a description and interpretation of the picture to present to your partners. You may take brief notes, but don’t write complete sentences. Describe your picture to your partners without showing it to them.
• Then show your partners your picture and ask them to compare it with the picture you created in their minds. In what ways was the description good? How could it be improved?
  Here are some words and phrases to help you: ¹

Description:

Interpretation:
The picture / the artist wants to show us that …
The message of the picture is that…
This picture is interesting / funny / disturbing / powerful because …
The picture creates a feeling of sadness / happiness / unease by showing …

Task 2:

With your partners, discuss which school you would most like to go to. Justify your choice.  

Introduction

• Where is the picture from (newspaper, magazine, website…)?
• Who took it and when?
• What type of picture is it (photograph, painting, cartoon…)?
• The subject: What does the picture (roughly) show (This picture shows…)?

Description

Describe the picture systematically, don’t jump around!
Use the descriptive vocabulary (see above)!
Use the present progressive (she is wearing trousers /she is smiling) except for: she wants / she needs / she looks / she seems ...
Use plenty of adjectives (like colours)!

Start with the less important elements and move on to the more important elements:
⇒ start with the background and move on to the foreground
⇒ describe people by starting with their feet and move upwards to their face
⇒ after the physical description of a person, move on to the state of mind (this girl looks sad/happy…) and/or character (she seems to be a very strict person…)

Interpretation: message and effect

• What is the message of the picture? What is the artist trying to say?
• Is the picture successful in getting the message across to the target group?    
• What effect does the picture have on you?