In our last post about comics we’ve already made a short introduction to those useful reading tools. Now we will take a closer look into how we can use cartoons in teaching English.
When a child or an adult start learning English, it might be challenging at the beginning.
The key to getting the reader through is to engage his imagination and interest.
Comic books can tell a complex story in a few images, combining words and illustrations, which is very suitable for teaching.
Especially in Korea, China and Japan, to whom comics are an important part of the culture, it is a great idea to introduce comic books as a part of teaching English.
By offering a similar style of reading with which these students are familiar, they will be more motivated to read.
Another important thing is that not every student is the same. Students learn in different ways.
Traditionally, schools mostly teach verbal and logical styles. But there are other ways, the so called multiple intelligence, that includes many learning styles.
This learning approach will insure that the students who learn in different ways will increase their success in the classroom.
Finally reading cartoons is more than just reading text and matching it with illustrations. A reader can only understand a comic book when he puts those two together and make a meaning out of it.
As a quick summarize, here are once again the advantages of comic books for English learners:
engagement for those who learn in combined learning style
development of reading, writing and analytical skills
increasing vocabulary
encouragement of readers to explore different genres
opening a reader’s mind to new ways of storytelling
increasing readers imagination, through text and pictures.