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Word choice - This gives an idea of the character's level of education and the way he thinks, as well as what interests he may have. Does he use simple words, or does he select longer, more descriptive words? Does he say that he's angry, or mad, or incensed? Did he buy some flowers, or did he buy some magnolias? Does he drive a car, or does he drive a Chevy? When talking about another character, does he call her a girl, or a woman, or a bitch? The choice of word will tell you the character's attitude toward the subject of the speech.
Choice of phrases and sentence structure - This falls under speech patterns. A person will fall into such patterns without thinking about it at all. This gives insight to the character's background. Do they speak powerfully - action verbs, positive assertions - or negatively - passive structure, more questions than statements? Are they self-assured or do they lack confidence? Are his patterns used by people from Boston, or from Liverpool? Find out where he's from, and you know what sports he follows plus his favorite team. You might get an idea of his politics. Does he form his sentences carefully, or does he blurt it out? This might tell you how honest the character is, or how precisely they want to express themselves. Does the character use foreign phrases, and if he does, does he use them correctly? He may have traveled the world, or he may just want you to think he has. Does he stutter? His thoughts may be too fast for his mouth. Does he pause in odd places (Captain Kirk)? He may be thinking more slowly and deliberately.
Choice of image - Well we can always drag out the platitude that a picture is worth a thousand words. The image that the character's words conjures is a more direct view into his psyche. Is it violent? Serene? Comical? These are the pictures running through his head all the time - the thoughts before they are put into words. They give the most insight of the character's emotional state.
Now, IF the teacher means choice of image as in how the character looks, this is entirely different. This is how the character visually presents himself to the public, and it tells us how important he thinks image is, plus the particular sort of person he wants to appeal to. Kind of like your t-shirt message - what do you tell people by the way you dress and groom yourself? I don't think that this is what was meant, but your mom pointed out that it was possible.
Choice of peculiar characteristics. Some of what I put into phrases and sentence structures may belong here. Dialect tells us where he spent his formative years. Stuttering - emotional state. Pausing - need to think. Clearing the throat - need to be heard. This is more "in the moment" than sentence structure - these are the things you say and do with your voice more in the moment, and with less thought. Do you say "huh?" or "eh?" This might tell the listener whether you're American or Canadian. If you say "WTF?" then you spend a lot of time on the Internet. Does the character call them fireflies, or lightning bugs? If the former, they're from the South, if the latter, they're from the North. Do they say "blacks" or "colored people" or "darkies" or do they use more offensive phrases? This tells us not only their attitudes toward minorities, but also region they're from and how old they are. These things are so ingrained that the character doesn't even think about them.
Structure of lines and speeches - This is, if I understand right, how often the character speaks, why do they speak, how long do they speak? This probably falls mostly under motive. Do they stay in the background, only speaking occasionally? That's a watcher. When the do speak, do they come to the point and stop? If so then they expect people to get it the first time. Do they ramble on? Might not have a clear thought process. Do they repeat themselves? Maybe they don't think you heard or understood - or maybe they don't think that they expressed it well enough the first time. Are they sharing information, like a teacher? Are they sharing opinions? Do they actually orate? Or do they prefer back-and-forth exchanges? The difference may tell us how important they think other people are?
There's a lot of bleedover between these categories, which makes it hard to answer this question clearly. But the bleedover is good - it helps affirm each aspect of the character. Plus, when you put all this together, you get an idea of what it is that the character ISN'T saying - and this (the subtext) is probably even more important than what they do say.
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