Definition of Comic Strips

Figure 1 : Parts of Comics

c. Advantages of Comic Strips for Language Learning

Like another form of materials, comics as one of the teaching and learning materials have some advantages. First, according to Banks in Clysdesdale, 2007 comics are ways to bridge the gap between first languages or cultures and the target language. Comics can bring the multicultural situation to their stories. In line with Banks, Davis 1997 states that comics have a widespread appeal to all groups and levels of society because they reflect authentic language and culture, and contain interesting story content and character development. Davis also explains comics can fill the need of content-based courses because of its multi-dimensional nature, combining both words and pictorial images. Comics allow teachers and students to explore language in creative ways. These teaching materials can heighten Narratio n students’ interest. Moreover, Clysdesdale 2007 states comics are combination of text and visual which give a total effect for linguistic and cultural integration unpatrolled in ‘straight text’. Comics call for “visual liter acy,” where students need to learn to recognize certain symbols and decode their meaning, much in the same way they do while reading texts Derrick: 2008. In addition, Smith 2006: 06 explains that with combination of text and illustration, comics are powerful aids who excel at visual learning or who have short attention spans. Based on all the experts’ opinion, comic strips can be regarded as a potential material in the teaching and learning process to motivate students’ interest. In short, by using comic strips as media, a teaching and learning process will be more effective.

d. Comic Strips for Writing

Nowadays, it is not unusual activities that comic strips are used for an English classroom. Some experts state some advantages of using comic strips especially in the prewriting stage. Edmunds 2006 states that comic strips enable students to identify the elements of a story through the presented visual art and dialogues. They consist of enough words and expressions that can help students to construct sentences. They also provide contextual clues to the meaning of written narrative. In line with that, Vukoja 2005 states that through the use of comic strips in the prewriting activity, students can explore the structural devices of a story plotlines, character development, setting, and themes. Moreover Fay 2009 states that the reasons of using comics in the classroom are their visual appeal, efficiency, and power of