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However, during the application of English picture book in English teaching, teachers often find that it is difficult to design the teaching activity, because the teaching process will be different according to the picture book itself. And during my internship in Xuejun primary school, I was lucky to join a teaching observation of a picture book reading class. In order to intermingle the text of the picture book with this English lesson more efficiently, teachers in Xuejin primary school have worked very hard. The teaching design for this lesson has been altered for many times in the process of practice, and the text has also been adapted partially. This experience leads me to think about the role picture book plays in an English class and the difficulties teachers may have during the application. Therefore, this essay explores the application of English picture book in primary school English teaching to discuss how to integrate picture book reading into English class efficiently.
2. Literature review
2.1 Basic knowledge of English picture books
2.1.1 Concepts of English picture books
The compound word, “picture book” (Lewis, 2001), recognizes the union of text and art that results in something beyond what each form separately contributes. Sipe makes the argument that, “‘Picture book’ emphasizes the inextricable connection of words and pictures and the unique qualities of the form: a picture book is not simply a book that happens to have pictures.” (Sipe，1998:101) Further, as Arizpe and Styles point out, a picture book is a “book in which the story depends on the interaction between written text and image and where both have been created with a conscious aesthetic intention” (Arizpe and Styles, 2003). Sipe also argues that the actual reading event is part of a synergy created when text and art come together in the form of a picture book; some new entity is revealed that is more than the sum of its parts. (Sipe，1998:101) As the event of reading a picture book evolves, readers integrate their responses to each element of the book into a complete experience.
Many writers believe that the essence of the picture book is the way how text and illustrations are related to each other. The relationship between text and picture determine the significant characteristic of picture books. Illustrations and texts are equally important in picture books. And the aim of the picture book is to attract children’s attention to read. The close link between text work and images makes it possible for a picture book to convey temporal and spatial information. With so many rich colors and various compositions of the pictures, it not only helps students understand the main idea of the story which they cannot comprehend through words and sentences but also stimulates students’ motivation to read.
2.1.2 Characteristic of picture books
As a brunch of children’s literature, picture books are distinguished form other kind of literature. It includes the following features:
a. The themes, topics or story-lines of the books are appropriate to the age of the learners.
b. The main characters are similar in age or older than the learners and descriptions of characters are simple and clear.
c. The plot is simple and straight-forward.
d. The sentence patterns are simple and mostly controlled.
e. The use of dialogue is realistic and there is limited use of unfamiliar language and experiences.
f. Rhyming is included as it aids memorization and it is useful in language learning.
g. The books are well-illustrated. Ideally, the readers are able to understand the story just by looking at the pictures (Smallwood, 1988).