COMICS: A MULTI DIMENSIONAL AID IN DUAL SKILL DEVELOPMENT IN WRITING AND SPEAKING IN AN ELT CLASSROOM

V. Anuradha

Volume : VI, Issue : VI, June - 2016

COMICS: A MULTI DIMENSIONAL AID IN DUAL SKILL DEVELOPMENT IN WRITING AND SPEAKING IN AN ELT CLASSROOM

V. Anuradha

Abstract :

 Streich (2009) shrewdly points that using visuals in teaching promote students’ analytical skills and activate higher level thinking ability. Besides, humours in cartoons and comics comprise enjoyment in foreign language classes and release students’ burden and tenseness in learning a new language. In any language acquisition, providing a variety of activities by integrating comics helps the students learn and comprehend better. The current study is about the various activities incorporated in the ELT class room among EFL learners by using comics. The visual images in comics encourage the students to observe and analyze the situation in a better way and make them understand the situation presented in the comics and interpret easily. It tends to be easier to understand vocabulary with comics, the visual aspect of the comics generally provides the context and the vision of the words given, and naturally vocabulary acquisition is facilitated. It may lead the students to enjoy their learning and freely explore their creative and analytical thinking in Grammar: Adjectives, prepositions, direct speech and indirect speech. While grasping a comic strip, one has to closely pay attention to the graphics in relation to the text that is given, by doing so the students will be able to understand the use of satire, symbolism and humor in comic strips, which develops a logic and continuity in narration. Comics’ strips can be used to enhance the speaking skill through role play activity and for narrating anecdotes. Thus the students could relate the materials learnt with their environment. As a result, the students could be more creative, active, responsive, analytical and critical. Improvements in the students’ communicative competence as well as writing skill are quite obvious when one uses the Comics in ELT class room among EFL learners.