Attribute Cards

The system of Attribute Cards is the primary way that AIMS English addresses listening and speaking. Learners are introduced to 16 Attribute Cards and their accompanying Cue Cards. The cards are visual aids that assist instructors in providing a broad spectrum of language to their learners.

This system is especially effective with all levels of beginners and adds depth and density to the language skills of intermediate students as well. With Attribute Cards, the teacher provides comprehensible input by giving students easily understood characteristics of objects, such as name, color, shape, etc. This gives the students a broad base of things to talk about, not merely a vocabulary list. For example, a learner can identify a room in a housing lesson and then talk about what things look like, where they are, what they do and how he/she feels about them with the help of Attributes.

The Attribute Cards are laminated on eight 12” x 17.5” panels that are easy to display in the classroom. The accompanying 3” x 3” Cue Cards are symbols representing each attribute and go beyond language, as the students aren’t required to use English to understand their meaning.