Comics in the Classroom: Something to Be Taken Seriously

Abstract

Children enjoy reading comics, so it makes perfect sense to use such a resource to enhance English-language learning. Using dialogues created for audiovisual materials that reflect curriculum requirements of English language teaching and learning, it is possible to create supplementary gap-fill activity cartoons to recycle content in line with a required schema of works. This paper recounts an ongoing longitudinal project that is in the process of designing a comics series based on the curriculum requirements for the first six years of English language basic education (primary) in Thailand. The dialogues are based on the language found in end-of-year examination preparatory books (O Net and N Net) and input into an Internet-based comic-making application, www.makebeliefscomix.com. Early indications are that students benefit from the recycling of language and the introduction in the early years of activities such as gap-fill. Moreover, students have been able to practice writing as an additional activity.Thailand has an archaic education system that has an emphasis on basic literacy and rote memorisation, resulting in Thailand's TOEFL scores for university entrance overseas ranking amongst the lowest in Asia (Kurlantzick, 2010). Academic expectations in Thailand have been low for many years; students rarely fail English subjects even though their English skills are weak. The idea of maintaining high standards and allowing students to fail (Andrade, 2010) is uncommon and has been reflected in the lacklustre approach to academic support for the teaching profession. Moreover, internal quality control mechanisms are lacking (Graham, 2009a), resulting in educational institutions becoming "robot factories" designed to maintain the existing class boundaries within society (Yatvin, 2010). What is needed are communicative materials that can be administered in the classroom in a learner-centred way.The vast majority of primary school teachers of English in Thailand did not major in English language teaching and so, by their own admission (Mackenzie, 2002(Mackenzie, , 2004, do not possess the English language skills or communicative teaching style to teach in a learner-centred way in accordance with the 1999 Education Act (Foley, 2005). Thailand shares similarities with countries like Iran, in that there is a lack of personal English language skills and poor social conditions for these teachers (Namaghi, 2010).

Efektivitas Pemanfaatan Komik sebagai Media Pembelajaran Matematika

“…Komik sebagai media pembelajaran dapat menarik perhatian siswa karena pemakaian gambar kartun di dalamnya serta memuat halaman yang berwarna warni. Hasil penelitian serupa menyatakan bahwa komik digambarkan sebagai hal yang menyenangkan (Karmawati, 2007;Hadi, 2008;Graham, 2011, Manalu, Hartono & Aisyah, 2017. Pemakaian gambar kartun pada komik dapat memberikan dampak positif terhadap respon siswa.…”

Çi̇zgi̇ Romanlarin Yabanci Di̇l Öğreti̇mi̇nde Kullanimi Üzeri̇ne Bi̇r İnceleme

“…Kilickaya ve Krajka (2012) yaptıkları araştırmada bu uygulamayı kullanarak İngilizceyi yabancı dil olarak öğrenen öğrencilerin dil bilgisinde ve yazma becerisinde olumlu etkisi olduğunu belirtmişlerdir. Ayrıca bazı alanyazın araştırmalarında makebeliefscomix'in tanıtımları yapılmıştır (Graham, 2011;Jensen & Tunon, 2012;Kohnke, 2020;Mauidloh, 2020).…”

Eğitici Çizgi Romanların Işığında Okuduğunu Anlama Stratejilerinin Kullanımı

“…Alanyazındaki araştırmalara bakıldığında çizgi romanlara ilişkin bazı çalışmaların bulunduğu (Akkaya, 2013;Başal, Aytan ve Demir, 2016;Topkaya, 2016) ve eğitici çizgi romanların öğrenme öğretme süreçlerinde yararlanılabilecek kaynaklardan biri olduğu araştırmacılar tarafından ifade edilmektedir (Başol, 2011;Cimermanová, 2015;Graham, 2011;Öz ve Efecioğlu, 2015;Rajendra, 2015;Swai, 1978). Buna karşılık alanyazında Adam Olmuş Çocuklar ile Kahraman Kadınlarımız eğitici çizgi roman dizilerinin disiplinler arası içeriklerini belirlemeyi ve bunları okuduğunu anlama stratejileri ile ilişkilendirmeyi amaçlayan herhangi bir çalışmaya rastlanmamıştır.…”