The Role of Comic Reading Materials in Enhancing the Ability to Read in EFL

Zahra Sadat Roozafzai*
* The Academic Center for Education, Culture and Research (ACECR), IUT branch.
Periodicity:July - September'2012
DOI : https://doi.org/10.26634/jelt.2.3.1959

Abstract

Reading is an extremely active, complex, mental and personal process that concerns both the reader and the text. It is now generally believed that a range of reader with text factors affect the reading process to a considerable extent. So, teachers of EFL need to be aware of the important role of teaching materials. Thus, this study investigated the impact of comic reading materials on reading comprehension. Six general texts and pictures were given to the control group and six comic materials were presented to experimental group in usual English classes during 20 sessions. At the end, a general reading comprehension test was administered to both groups and the resultswere subjected to relevant statistical analysis, t-test. The findings of this study revealed that teaching reading ability through comic texts and pictures is more efficient than teaching it through general texts and pictures.

Keywords

Comic strips and texts, Reading comprehension.

How to Cite this Article?

Roozafzai, Z. S. (2012). The Role Of Comic Reading Materials In Enhancing The Ability To Read In EFL. i-manager’s Journal on English Language Teaching, 2(3), 7-15. https://doi.org/10.26634/jelt.2.3.1959

References

[1]. Atwell, N. (1987). In the middle, New Understandings about Writing, Reading, and Learning. Heinemann. NH.
[2]. Barret, T.C. (1968). What is Reading?. In Alderson, J.C. & Urquhart, A.H. (1984).Reading in a Foreign Language. Longman Group. London.
[3]. Berk, R.A. (1996). Students ratings of 10 strategies for using humor in college teaching. Journal of Excellence in College Teaching.7, 71-92.
[4]. Berk, R.A. (1998). Professors are from Mars and Students are from Snickers. Mendota Press. Madison, WI.
[5]. Betts, E. (1976). Capture Reading Motivation. Reading Improvement, 13, 41-46.
[6]. Carrell, P. L. (1983a). Three Components of Background Knowledge in Reading Comprehension. Language Learning, 33 (2), 183-207.
[7]. Carrell, P. L. (1985). Facilitating ESL Reading by Teaching Text Structure. TESOL Quarterly, 18, 441-465.
[8]. Carrell P. L. and Devine, J. and Eskey, D. E. (1988). An Interactive Approach to Second Language Reading. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge.
[9]. Christiansen, Hans-Christian (2000). Comics and Films: A Narrative Perspective. In Magnussen, Ann, and Christiansen, Hans-Christian.ComicsandCulture: Analytical and Theoretical Approaches to Comics (Ed.). Museum Tusculanum. Copenhagen.
[10]. Coady, J. (1979). A Psycholinguistic Model of ESL Reader. In Mackay, R. , Bachman, B. & Jordan, R. R. (Eds.), Reading in a Second Language. Newbury House. Rowley, MA.
[11]. Cohen, A. D. (1998). Strategies in Learning and Using a Second Language. Longman. London and New York.
[12]. Craik, F. I. M. and Tulving, E. (1975). Depth of Processing and the Retention of Words in Episodic Memory. In Alderson, J.C., & Urquhart, A. H. (1984).Reading in a Foreign Language. Longman Group. London.
[13]. Cummins, J. (1991). Language Development and Academic Learning. In Malave, L. and Duquette, G. Language, Culture and Cognition. Multilingual Matters. Clevedon.
[14]. Eisner, Will.(1996). Graphic Storytelling. Poorhouse. Tamarace, Fla.
[15]. Erlendson, J. (2001). Dual Coding Theory and visualization. http://chd.gse.gmu.edu/ immersion/ knowledgebase/
[16]. Friedman, H. W. & Amoo, T. (2002). Using Humor in the Introductory Statistics Course. Journal of Statistics Edication. Volume 10, Number 3.
[17]. Gibbs, R. W. (1994). The Poetics of Mind: Figurative Thought, Language and Understanding. Cambridge University Press. New York.
[18]. Gibbs, R. W. and Colston, H. L. (1995). The Cognitive Psychological Reality of Image Schemas and Their Transformations. Cognitive Linguistics.6 (4): 347-378.
[19]. Goodman, K. S. (1994). Reading, Writing and Written Texts: A Transactional Sociopsycho-linguistic View. In Singer, H. & Ruddell, R.B. Theoretical Models and the Processes of Reading (4rd Edition). International Reading, Association. Newark, DE.
[20]. Hadley, A. O. (2001). Teaching Language in Context (3rd Ed.). Heinle & Heinle. Boston.
[21]. Harvey, R.C. (1994). The Art of the Funnies: An aesthetic History. University Press of Mississipi. Jackson.
[22]. Hidi, S. & Anderson, V. (1992). Situational Interest and its Impact on Reading and Expository Writing. In Renninger, K. A., Hidi, S. & Krapp, A. Eds. The Role of Interest in Learning and Development.(p.215-38).Lawrence Erlbaum. Hillsdale, NJ
[23]. Inge, M. T. (1990). Comic as Culture. University Press of Mississipi. Jackson.
[24]. Johnson, Mark. (1987). The Body in the Mind: the Bodily Basis of Meaning, Imagination and Reason. University of Chicago Press. Chicago.
[25]. Johnson, Mark. (1993). The Moral Imagination. University of Chicago Press. Chicago.
[26]. Kearsly, G. (2005). Constructivist Theory. www. Theoryintopractice.com
[27]. Krashen, S. (1993). The Power of Reading. Libraries Unlimited. Englewood, Colorado.
[28]. Lakoff, G., and Johnson, M. (1980). Metaphors we live by. University of Chicago. Chicago.
[29]. Lakoff, George. (1987). Women, Fire and Dangerous Things: What Categories reveal about the Mind. University of Chicago Press. Chicago.
[30]. Lakoff, G. and Turner, M. (1989). More than Cool Reason: A Field Guide to Poetic Metaphor. University of Chicago Press. Chicago.
[31]. Lakoff, G. and Nunez, R. (2000). Where Mathematics Comes from: How the Embodied Mind Brings Mathematics into Being. Basic Books. New York.
[32]. Langacker, R. W. (1987). An Introduction to Cognitive Grammar. Cognitive Science. 10, 1-40.
[33]. Liu, Hun. (2004). Effects of Comic Strips on L2 Learners' Reading Comprehension. TESOL Quarterly, Vol. 38, No. 2.
[34]. Mandler, Jean. (1992). How to Build a Baby: ii. Conceptual Primitives. Psychological Review.99: 597-604.
[35]. Mayer, R. E. & Gallini, J. K. (1990). When is an Illustration Worth ten thousand Words? Journal of Educational Psychology, 82, 715-726.
[36]. McCloud, Scott. (1993). Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art. Northampton.
[37]. McCloud, Scott. (2000). Reinventing Comics. Paradox. New York.
[38]. Nutttall, C.(1996). Teaching Reading Skills in a Foreign Language. Macmillian Heinemann. Oxford.
[39]. O'Sullivan, J. (1971). The Art of the Comic Strips. College Park: University of Maryland, Department of Arts.
[40]. Purcell-Gates, V. (2005). There is Reading … and Then There is Reading: Process Models and Instruction. www.NCSALL.com.
[41]. Rieber, L. P. (1994). Computers, Graphics and Learning. WCB Brown & Benchmark. Madison. WI.
[42]. Rumelhart, D. (1985). Toward an Interactive Model of Reading. In Singer, H. & Ruddell, R.B. Theoretical Models and the Processes of Reading (3rd Edition). International Reading Association. Newark, DE.
[43]. Sadoski, M. and Paivio, A. (2001). Imagery and Text: A Dual Coding Theory of Reading and Writing. Lawrence Erlbaum. Mahwa, NJ.
[44]. Schmidt, R. (1990). The Role of Consciousness in Second Language Learning. Applied Linguistics, 11, 129-158.
[45]. Sherman, R. & Wright, G. (1996). Orchestra. Reading improvement, 33(2), 124-128.
[46]. Simpson, T. J. (1995). Message into Medium: An Extension of the Dual Coding Theory. In Imagery and Visual Literacy: Selected Readings from the Annual Conference of the International Visual Literacy Association (26th, Tempe, Arizona, October, 12-16, 1994), 2-10.
[47]. Sivak, Allison. (2003). Across Time and Space: Reading Comics.
[48]. Swain, E. H. (1978). Using Comic Books to Teach Reading and Language Arts. Journal of Reading.22, 253-258.
[49]. Talmy, L. (1983). How Language Structures Space. In Pick, H. & Acredelo, L. (Eds.): Spatial Orientation: Theory, Research and Application. Plenum. New York.
[50]. Turner, Mark. (1991). Reading Mind: The Study of English in the Age of Cognitive Science. Princeton University Press. Princeton, NJ.
[51]. Verdugo, D. R. (2003).Cognitive Reading Instruction for FL Learners of Technical English.
[52]. Versacia, Rocco. (2001). How Comic Books can Change the Way Our Students See Literature: One Teacher's Perspective. English Journal ,91 (2001): 61-67.
[53]. Wade, S. E. & Moje, E. B. (2000). The Role of Text in Classroom Learning. In Handbook of Reading Research: Volume III.
[54]. Waller, R. (1991). Typography and Discourse. In Handbook of Reading Research, Volume 2. Longman. New York.
[55]. Widdowson, H.G. (1979). Discourse and Text. Paper given at Ealing College of Higher Education Conference on The Reading Skill.
[56]. Williams, N. (1995). The Comic Book as Course Book: Why and How. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service, No. ED 330277).
[57]. Wright, G. & Sherman, R. (1999). Let's Create a Comic Strip. Reading Improvement, 36(2). 66-72.
If you have access to this article please login to view the article or kindly login to purchase the article

Purchase Instant Access

Single Article

North Americas,UK,
Middle East,Europe
India Rest of world
USD EUR INR USD-ROW
Pdf 35 35 200 20
Online 35 35 200 15
Pdf & Online 35 35 400 25

Options for accessing this content:
  • If you would like institutional access to this content, please recommend the title to your librarian.
    Library Recommendation Form
  • If you already have i-manager's user account: Login above and proceed to purchase the article.
  • New Users: Please register, then proceed to purchase the article.