Yes, a lot of the foreign-language vocabulary and dialogue scenarios map into the "get them to go there" mode of imagining oneself in the place that speaks the language you're learning.
Very useful in the imaginative part--the photos help people "place" themselves in the 'target locale,' and the phrases help introduce the ideas that
a) other people do things differently than you're used to (like taking the trains rather than driving everyplace), and
b) other people have different standards of courtesy than you're used to (like shaking hands and greeting everyone by name when you enter a roomful of friends).
But with handshaking discouraged, and travel being slowed down (for good reason) now, it's a bit different, isn't it?
M.