The visual image and its role in the critical reading skill of non-Arabic speakers (Selected models from the Arabic in Your Hands series at King Khalid University)

Abstract

The function of the image, in terms of its presence in Arabic language books for non-native speakers, was not only limited to the educational function as a means of paving the way for the lesson to be read, but it went beyond that perception to become a readable text as it is parallel to the written text in structure and meaning. This study aimed to shed light on how to read an image in a way that achieves the basics of critical thought through its components, semantic dimensions, and relationship to the written text. To read the image in this field, the study consisted of three sections: the first: a reading of the structure of the image, the second: the reading relationship between the visual text (the image) and the read (written), and the third: a reading of the dimensions of the image. Regarding the methodological framework of the study: Its treatment benefited from some structural and semiotic procedures within the limits of what responds to the text studied, and the study reached a number of results, perhaps the most important of which is: The image in Arabic language books for non-native speakers at King Khalid University goes beyond the stereotypical view when it is viewed as an educational tool whose function is limited to paving the way for the written text only. Rather, it is full of revelations and multiple dimensions that establish the learner’s critical thinking skill as it is a readable text.