Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to study how learners get impression by pictures for language teaching according to the technique of stimulus, the age of learners and so on. Procedure : Examinees were shown pictures one at a time which they could identify, and were asked to write in Japanese every word for which they thought each picture stood. The examinees were: 200 students in the 12th grade, 86 in the 7th, and 86 in the 4th grade. (Each devided into experimental and controlled groups. ) Results and Interpretations : A. Influence from the techniques of stimulus 1. Concerning the number of elements in one picture The examinees were best able to grasp the common meaning when there were 3 different elements in one picture. The subjects were confused when too many elements (e.g. 7-10 elements) were shown. 2. A picture grouped with pictures of similar objects was as well understood when the picture was grouped with pictures of completely different objects. 3. The method by 'Figure-Ground' was effective to some extent. 4. The way to put the elements representing the connected words together had much effect. B. Concerning the examinees 1. Readiness If the examinees were conditioned, they could understand better than if they had not been conditioned. 2.Age Younger examinees could understand only the meaning what a picture had but older examinees could grasp the abstract meaning it could have. C. Concerning pictures 1. It is better to omit parts other than the ones which expressed the meaning of what was intended. 2. It is better to omit what are common to all the elements except what they are meant to understand. 3. Abstract paintings are better than realistic ones in case of letting them understand general or abstract meanings with 1 element. 4. The preximity of the elements made no difference in understandability.
