Q:  Why posters?

Helene Rubinstein Pitzer:  Posters are a visceral and truly modern art form that will never go out of style. They are like Classic Rock.

Q:  Why teen and adult learner posters?

HRP:  I am not interested in reinventing the wheel.  There are so many wonderful ESL and bilingual wall posters geared to young children, offered by different companies and book publishers.  However, they are too childish for adults and teens.   Therefore, teachers are forced to rely on a lot of presidents, maps or sepia colored literary quotes.  Albert Einstein is a public domain image so you'll see a lot of him, as well. Class generated work is usually very interesting but why not start with a bright and relevant backdrop at the get go?

Q:  Why not bilingual or multilingual posters?

HRP:   Our posters are designed for teachers who teach English in English.  In primary school, multilingual posters are just fabulous.  The pace is slow and it is advantageous for young children to pick up a smattering of different languages.

Once students reach middle school and high school, the pressure is on and they are being tested non-stop.  Every teaching aid needs to be “on-point” getting students up to speed.  Additionally, many teachers face a multitude of native languages in their classrooms.  The unifying language is English. 

Q:  Shouldn't all eyes be on the teacher?  Isn't wall decor a distraction?

HRP:  Studies have shown that students who actually look away from the teacher now and then process language at a faster rate.  What are they doing when they are looking away?  They are processing the information.  

When I hear that question about wall decor, I know that I am speaking to a high school or university classroom instructor.  The elementary school teachers understand how integral the entire classroom environment is.  Upper level teachers focus on content and don't want the surrounding space to be a "distraction."  But the space supports the class and should be welcoming, bright and informative.

Think about your home and think about a solitary confinement cell.  Which is more optimal for learning?  If you really want the students not to be distracted, have them place their cellphones in a basket on your desk before the lesson begins to prevent non-stop texting.

Some teachers think that a quiet, "Zen" environment supports learning.  However, Zen is anything but blank.  Note all the beautiful natural textures, subtle sounds and visuals that you would find at a Japanese tea ceremony.  I don't think Zen masters are imagining a whitewashed classroom with strong overhead lighting. 

Q:  What is special about the content in Posterlingua posters?

In the Visual Grammar and Parts of Speech series, the content is crafted as questions which prompt the student to an inner dialogue in English.  Additionally, our posters are not 'overloaded' with too much information that learners read as verbal white noise;  we are using the language of posters in its purest form to communicate a strong core message with text and graphics.  The learner can absorb and respond to this message.  Our idiom posters, as well, contain five idioms each, with an explanation and model sentence for each idiom.

Q:  How do you choose the content of your posters?

I have been teaching for 25 years and know, from experience, what mistakes students continue to make, even after many years of study.  For example, many students do not change a vocabulary item to the right part of speech based on its position in a sentence.  Often they don't know adjective, noun and adverb suffixes.   Additionally, while they have studied every verb tense, students can be unsure of the situations in which they are used in real life and need constant reinforcement.  The passive knowledge of the students in this area is very great but they are afraid to take the leap and move out of the simple tenses.  Alternately, some feel the perfect tenses are always more sophisticated so their speech is garbled with convoluted tenses.  They cannot express the simple beauty of English.

Q:  Are Posterlingua Posters suited to adult learners in language schools?

HRP:  Are they ever!  Most language school classrooms look like cellblocks, as I've indicated before.  At most, there is a map of the United States.  There is no place to rest one’s eyes.  I do not believe that an ESL student feels nurtured in such an environment.

If I were a language school owner, I would mat and frame our 13" x 19” posters and place them in every classroom.  Not only are you creating a welcoming environment, you are taking advantage of the “word” and “grammar wall” approach that is ubiquitous in high schools.  Except here, you can keep these posters up long term because they are independent of curriculum.  In addition, I would have fresh plants placed prominently.  The difference in environment would be remarkable.