Modern school books are filled with cartoons and comics, which are supposed to support the students in their learning efforts. Before it can be discussed whether comics are a useful tool in second language teaching or not, it is necessary to understand why comics have made their way into the classroom. Then, a discussion about the effects of comics on children and their abilities follows. The last part of this essay deals with concrete examples of how comics can be used in second language teaching.
It is very obvious that children are the major consumers of comic books. Paul Burgdorf, the author of the book “Comics im Unterricht”, conducted a survey among students, in which he found out that 82.4% of them read comics in their spare time. Paul Witty, a former professor of education and director of the Psycho-Educational Clinic at Northwestern University of Illinois gave an answer to the question why children read comic books by providing these eight reasons:
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At a glance
- Grade: 2.0 (1.0 is the best grade)
- Examines Doff’s comic-based lesson plans for vocabulary and writing
- Contrasts Larson’s concerns about reading with Sones’s analyses
- 12 sources in the bibliography
Contents
1. Introduction
2. Children’s Reading and Classroom Motivation
3. Reading Ability and Abstract Thinking
4. Classroom Applications and Conclusion
Objectives and Themes
This essay evaluates whether comics are useful tools for second language teaching. It considers their appeal to students, competing claims about their effects on reading and thinking, and examples of their use in language lessons.
- Children’s interest in comics and classroom motivation
- Gender differences in comic-reading habits
- Debates about reading ability and verbal expression
- Visual learning and abstract thinking
- Vocabulary and writing activities using comics
- Practical challenges in selecting classroom material
Excerpt from the Book
Evaluation of the Uses and Usefulness of Comics as a Tool in Second Language Teaching
In an article, Prof. Dr. Doff has suggested several ways to teach a foreign language by using comics. She gives an exemplary lesson plan detailing how to learn vocabulary with the help of comics. Comics with English speech bubbles are handed out to the students. Having looked at the comic for a few minutes the students speculate about the plot of the story. The teacher does not provide an answer but has the students look up the words they do not know and translate each speech bubble as exactly as possible. Simultaneously the students transcribe all the words they do not know into their vocabulary notebook. After finishing the translation, the students compare their first idea of the plot with the correct plot. This is supposed to show the students the importance of knowing vocabulary. The idea behind the whole task is that the learners can memorize vocabulary better if they put more effort into finding out the words’ meaning, and if the new vocabulary is learned in a context. Motivation is another reason to combine looking up vocabulary in a dictionary with comics. Just looking up the words would probably bore the students really quickly since they would lack the reason why they have to do it themselves and cannot just ask the teacher. Following this method the students might even see it as a kind of puzzle and therefore enjoy doing it. In another of her lesson plans Doff uses a comic book to improve the students’ writing skills. The students are divided into groups of three to four. After they have read and understood the whole book they choose a chapter and try to rewrite it in their own words. The teacher pays special attention to the style of the written. The text must not be a description of each panel but the actions depicted in all panels have to merge into a fluent and exciting text. It would be ideal if every group picks a different chapter because the whole comic book could be turned into a text book that way and it could be presented in a public reading. This exercise gives students a chance to practice their writing skills without being overly creative. The story is already determined but since this is not done thorough words the students have to phrase the story themselves.
Section Summaries
1. Introduction: The essay introduces its evaluation of comics in second language teaching and outlines its discussion of their appeal, effects and classroom uses.
2. Children’s Reading and Classroom Motivation: The author considers survey evidence about children’s comic-reading habits and discusses motivation and gender-sensitive selection.
3. Reading Ability and Abstract Thinking: The essay compares arguments about the relationship between comics and reading development, expression and abstract thought.
4. Classroom Applications and Conclusion: The author describes Doff’s vocabulary and writing activities, considers obstacles to choosing suitable comics and assesses their use in language teaching.
Keywords
comics, second language teaching, foreign language education, reading ability, vocabulary learning, writing skills, student motivation, visual learning, abstract thinking, comic books, classroom activities, gender differences
Frequently Asked Questions
What is this essay about?
It evaluates the uses and usefulness of comics in second language teaching.
What are its central themes?
The essay discusses children’s reading habits, motivation, reading ability, abstract thinking and classroom applications.
What question guides the work?
It asks whether comics are a useful tool for teaching a second language.
What method does the author use?
The author discusses published surveys, educational arguments and teaching suggestions rather than presenting a new empirical study.
What does the main discussion cover?
It considers competing claims about comics and learning, then examines examples of vocabulary and writing instruction.
Which keywords characterize the work?
Key terms include comics, second language teaching, reading ability, vocabulary learning, writing skills and student motivation.
How does the vocabulary activity use comics?
Students predict a story, look up unfamiliar words, translate speech bubbles and compare their initial interpretation with the plot.
What writing activity does the essay describe?
Students work in groups to rewrite a comic-book chapter as a continuous text in their own words.
What challenges does the author identify for teachers?
Teachers must find comics suited to students’ proficiency and interests and consider objections to their classroom use.
- Quote paper
- Julian Meinold (Author), 2008, Evaluation of the Uses and Usefulness of Comics as a Tool in Second Language Teaching, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/122026
