July, 2021

COMICS IN THE EFL

CLASSROOM: A DIDACTIC

PROPOSAL FOR THE

DEVELOPMENT OF THE FOUR

COMMUNICATIVE SKILLS

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ABSTRACT .............................................................................................................................. 3

RESUMEN ................................................................................................................................ 3

1. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................. 4

2. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK ..................................................................................... 6

2.1. Definition of comic books .......................................................................................... 6

2.2. Historical background of comics ............................................................................ 11

2.3. The language of comics ........................................................................................... 14

2.3.1. Elements of comics ............................................................................................ 14

2.3.2. Space and time in comics. How to read comic books....................................... 19

2.4. The comic as an educational resource in the Foreign Language classroom ...... 21

2.4.1. Its place in the Curriculum ............................................................................... 24

2.4.2. Educational experiences exploiting comics ...................................................... 25

3. DIDACTIC PROPOSAL ................................................................................................ 27

3.1. Justification .............................................................................................................. 27

3.2. Didactic objectives ................................................................................................... 28

3.3. Competences............................................................................................................. 28

3.4. Contents .................................................................................................................... 30

3.5. Educational context ................................................................................................. 31

3.6. Methodology ............................................................................................................. 32

3.7. Resources and materials ......................................................................................... 33

3.8. Step-by-step .............................................................................................................. 34

3.9. Evaluation................................................................................................................. 42

3.10. Transversality ....................................................................................................... 43

3.11. Attention to diversity ........................................................................................... 44

4. CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................... 45

5. REFERENCES ................................................................................................................ 47

6. APPENDICES ................................................................................................................. 51

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ABSTRACT

The Present MA dissertation is aimed at giving comic books the value that they really deserve

as an educational resource in the Primary Education EFL classrooms as well as designing a

didactic proposal directed to Year 6 students in which comics are implemented to enhance the

four communicative skills. So as to be able to develop such proposal, an in-depth study on

comic books, delving into their definition, their particular language alongside their educational

potential and previous experiences implementing comic strips in the English class has been

developed. The conclusions obtained show that comics are a valuable resource to implement in

EFL lessons because of their huge possibilities to improve not only the reading comprehension

skill, but also the rest of the communicative skills.

Keywords: English, Foreign Language Learning, comics, Primary Education.

RESUMEN

El presente Trabajo Fin de Máster tiene como objetivo principal dar a los cómics el valor que

merecen como recurso educativo para la enseñanza del inglés en Educación Primaria y,

asimismo, diseñar una propuesta didáctica dirigida al alumnado de sexto curso en la que se

emplean los cómics para desarrollar las cuatro habilidades lingüísticas. Para poder desarrollar

la propuesta, ha sido necesario hacer un estudio en profundidad de los cómics, adentrándonos

en su definición, su lenguaje propio, posibilidades educativas y experiencias previas en las que

los cómics han sido empleados en el aula de inglés. Las conclusiones obtenidas demuestran que

los cómics son un recurso muy valioso para implementar en el aula de inglés debido a su gran

potencial para desarrollar no sólo la comprensión lectora, sino el resto de habilidades

comunicativas.

Palabras clave: inglés, aprendizaje de lenguas extranjeras, cómics, Educación Primaria.

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1. INTRODUCTION

Traditionally, comics have been considered a mere childish entertainment, being at best

regarded as suitable resources to introduce reading to young learners. With respect to this,

McCloud (2007, cited in Del Rey Cabrero, 2013, p. 182) suggests that such discredit is owing

to the confusion of the comic as a “container” and “vehicle” of a given content; usually, trivial

and comical. Additionally, the language of comics, which combines the visual and the verbal

code, also contributes to this perception. Certainly, it can be asserted that such undervaluing of

the comic genre is negatively affecting the exploitation of its huge potential, particularly within

the educational field. Regarding this, although it is imperative to remark that the conception of

comics has positively evolved in the last few decades; there is still long way to go to achieve

its full recognition as an educational resource for the teaching of languages and, especially for

the teaching of English as a Foreign Language (henceforward EFL).

As far as the EFL field is concerned, educators agree that to get students involved during

lessons is hard, being even more complicated to maintain such involvement; thus, any resource

that contributes to fulfilling this aim will be pleased. Related to this, Graham (2011) points out

that comics can be a valuable resource to improve English language learning, since children

really enjoy reading comics. In agreement with this author, Nieto Bedoya and Diago Egaña

(1989) affirm that “teaching through comics is teaching by delighting” (p. 55).

On the other hand, it is worth noticing what Gordo Ayén (2017) comments about comics,

concretely, he refers to comic books as “mass media and the didactic material par excellence to

work with the language” (p. 4). From Gordo Ayén´s, the notion of the “image society” comes

to the fore. With respect to this, Schwarz (2009, cited in Sadam Issa, 2017, p. 1) claims that “a

new generation is growing in a highly visual world and complex ideas that were traditionally

taught through the medium of books can today be better conveyed through comics”. In

nowadays society we are constantly exposed to thousands of visual stimuli, however not only

do we not stop to try to decipher the meaning of such images but also, we are not educated to

read them; hence, comics become an interesting teaching resource to develop students´ visual

literacy.

Therefore, considering the previous information, this MA dissertation becomes a great

opportunity to inquiry in comic books´ huge potential as an educational resource as well as to

plan and design an educational proposal using them to contribute to the development of the four

linguistic skills (listening, speaking, reading and writing), which in turn will make EFL lessons

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more interesting and enriching. Concretely, this idea of “reinventing” comics comes from the

necessity as an English Primary Education teacher to look for resources and materials that make

from English lessons a pleasant atmosphere in which young students learn and enjoy at the

same time.

With this MA dissertation, I intend to contribute to giving comic books the value that they

really deserve as an educational resource in the Primary Education EFL classrooms.

Accordingly, the objectives of this project are:

- To deepen into the comic genre, investigating about its definition, origin, language and

elements

- To delve into the potential of comic books as educative resources to teach Foreign

Languages, and particularly, English

- To know previous educative proposals implementing comics in the English classroom

- To plan and design an educational proposal using comics to develop the four linguistic

skills in the EFL classroom

The present project will be developed in five sections, each of them will be briefly

introduced below.

The first section of this dissertation will introduce the project by justifying the reasons that

have led the author to deepen into this topic and by listing the general and specific objectives

to be achieved. Subsequently, section two will provide an overview of comic books and their

educational potential for the EFL classroom. Particularly, it will start with an in-depth study of

comics, definition, historical background and their particular language and later, the author will

delve into comic books´ possibilities to teach English as a Foreign Language and to contribute

to enhancing the four linguistic skills.

Besides, chapter three will describe in detail the didactic proposal that has been designed.

Concretely, in the subsequent sections the justification, the didactic objectives, the

competences, the contents, the educational context, the methodology, the evaluation, the

transversality and the attention to diversity will be specified.

In the fourth section, the conclusions will be presented, connecting them with the

established objectives as well as reflecting on the pedagogical implications of the project, its

strengths and weaknesses. Moreover, section five will gather the bibliography used to develop

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this dissertation and finally, in section six, the appendices, containing the activities alongside

extra information, will be collected.

2. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

Comics´ perspective has changed over the years and, they have been gaining importance in

other fields rather than entertainment; however, it is still a challenge to implement comics in

Foreign Language lessons. Hence, this section will be devoted to review previous research so

as to deepen into the world of comic books and their possibilities as an educational resource to

teach English as a Foreign Language.

2.1.Definition of comic books

“Historieta”, “comic”, “tebeo” or “graphic novel” are some of the most common terms used

to refer to comic books. Before delving deeper into the core subject of this section, the definition

of comics, some considerations regarding various of the aforementioned terms need to

discussed. With respect to so-called Spanish term “tebeo”, it is paramount to emphasise that it

limits considerably the comic genre, restricting it exclusively to a young audience. In contrast,

the Anglicism “comic” has been consolidated in the last decades (Del Rey Cabrero, 2013). In

light of the limitations that some terms entail, the word “comic” and the compound nouns

“comic book” and “comic strip” have been the terms selected to be used along this project.

Interestingly enough, when searching for a definition of comics it can be noticed that there

are as many different ones as terms. Many scholars have investigated this narrative model and

have proposed several definitions; nevertheless, there is no agreement in relation to some

aspects, for instance, their elements. All in all, it can be asserted that providing an accurate and

appropriate definition about comic books is hard work; however, most of us have an idea about

what a comic is. Therefore, considering that almost everyone is able to provide a definition of

comics, children´s definitions will be considered as the starting point to address section.

Subsequently, more specific definitions, namely, dictionaries definitions and scholars’

definitions, will be provided in order to obtain an in-depth knowledge about comics.

Firstly, with regard to the kids´ definition that are displayed in Figure 1, it is essential to

point out that they were collected by Rollán Méndez, Sastre Zarzuela and Fernández Bolaños

(1986, cited in Hernando González, 2015, p. 7) for their book El cómic en la escuela:

aplicaciones didácticas.

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Figure 1. Kids´ definitions of comic books collected by Rollán Méndez, Sastre Zarzuela and

Fernández Bolaños, 1986. (Hernando González, 2015, p.7)

Analysing these children´s definitions, it comes to the fore that all statements share a

main idea, comic strips use drawings or images to achieve a specific goal. Besides, it is worth

mentioning to highlight some comics´ characteristics features included in these explanations.

Firstly, one of the kids underlines the comic character of comic books; on the other, another

child broadens comics theme, including among them horror and adventure stories. Besides, one

of them includes the writing as a feature of comic strips into his definition. In a broaden

perspective, it can be affirmed, as Hernando González (2015) points out, that pictures are a

fundamental element in comics, whereas text is not, since it does not necessarily need to be

present.

Having been getting familiar with comic books through children´s definitions, it is time

to delve into dictionary definitions. Before presenting the outcomes obtained in the search it is

crucial to specify the terms that have been employed in each situation. With respect to this, the

word “comic” was originally considered as the best option; nevertheless, the search results

obtained in both the Collins Dictionary and the Cambridge Dictionary were not as expected.

Yet, these dictionaries offer the compounds nouns, “comic book” and “comic strip” as possible

research terms to obtain a suitable definition of this genre. Consequently, the aforementioned

terms, “comic book” and “comic strip”, have been the selected to search in English dictionaries,

namely, Collins Dictionary and Cambridge Dictionary, and “cómic” has been the research term

employed in the Spanish dictionary, Diccionario de la Real Academia Española de la Lengua.

Firstly, the results obtained for each research term “comic book” and “comic strip” in

Collins Dictionary will be shown in Figure 2 and Figure 3.

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Figure 2. Definition of “comic book”. (Collins Dictionary)

Figure 3. Definition of “comic strip”. (Collins Dictionary)

Secondly, the search outcomes obtained for each term “comic book” and “comic strip”

in the Cambridge Dictionary will be presented with Figure 4 and Figure 5.

Figure 4. Definition of “comic book”. (Cambridge Dictionary)

Figure 5. Definition of “comic strip”. (Cambridge Dictionary)

Eventually, the results obtained in Diccionario de la Real Academia Española de la Lengua for

the research term “cómic” will be shown in Figure 6. Indeed, it is essential to highlight that the

information provided has been translated into English, since this is the language in which this

project is being developed.

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Figure 6. Definition of “cómic”. (Diccionario de la Real Academia Española de la Lengua)

The main idea appearing in all statements is that comics use pictures or drawings to tell

a story, which corresponds to children´s perceptions. Additionally, a relevant feature that is

worth mentioning is that the vast majority of definitions remark that comics are included either

in magazines or in newspapers. On the other hand, the definition of the DRAE mentions for the

first time up to this point one element of comics, frames. Last but not least, it is relevant to

underline that Cambridge Dictionary is the only one that includes writing within its definition.

In short, it can be stated that the only characteristic feature appearing in all the definitions that

have been dealt so far is that comics make use of images to fulfil a purpose, to tell a story.

The last part of this section is devoted to scholars´ definitions. In fact, they will be

displayed chronologically, allowing the reader to notice how the definition of comic strips has

evolved.

When reviewing previous literature, the definition provided by Coulton Waugh in his

book The Comics (1947) has been the first evidence found. Concretely, this author claims that:

Comics are a form of cartooning. The special feature of this latter is that it jumps at the

reader picture side first –you see the situation. In the strips, the writing is a side explanation

which the mind picks up, often without being aware of the process. (Waugh, 1947, cited in

Hernando González, 2015, p. 12).

Doubtlessly, the most interesting aspect to pinpoint is the importance that the author

attributes to the images; indeed, as Hernando González (2015) states, Waugh suggests that

pictures are able to convey more information than words themselves. Furthermore, he also

asserts that reading comics is faster and implies less endeavour than other types of narrative;

thus, it makes comics become reader-friendly. But Waugh´s contribution to the comic genre

goes further, particularly, he identifies three elements that comic strips normally have: “a

continuing character who becomes the reader’s dear friend”., “a sequence of pictures, which

may be funny or thrilling, complete in themselves or part of a longer story” and “speech in the

drawing, usually in blocks of lettering surrounded by “balloon” lines” (Waugh, 1947, cited in

Hernando González, 2015, p. 13).

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Lastly, the definitions proposed by Eisner, McCloud and Cohn, considered by Recine

(2013) as “the founders of modern comics scholarship”, will be displayed. In order to reach a

proper definition about comics it is practically mandatory to depart from Eisner. Concretely,

this scholar provides the following definition: “the fundamental function of comic (strip and

book) art is to communicate ideas and/or stories by means of words and pictures involves the

movement of certain images (such as people and things) thorough space” (Eisner, 1985, p. 38).

With respect to this statement, two main ideas can be extracted, on the one hand, comics are

sequential art and, on the other, images are the communicator element in comics.

Later, McCloud broadens Eisner´s definition, clarifying and deepening into the

“sequential art”. Specifically, McCloud defines comics as follows: “juxtaposed pictorial and

other images in deliberate sequence, intended to convey information and/or to produce an

aesthetic response in the viewer” (McCloud, 1993, p. 9). It is essential to pinpoint that this is

considered as the most popularly accepted definition of comics according to Cohn.

With regard to Cohn, this author claims that:

Simply, comics consist of images and text, most often with the images in sequence.

However, comics utilize these forms in a variety of different ways. In most, a sequence

of images clearly exists to define a narrative, integrating text throughout, though this is

not the only interplay between these elements (Cohn, 2005, p. 1).

Consequently, having reviewed the aforementioned definitions, all the information

gathered can be summarised as follows: comics are aimed at telling a story, to fulfil this aim,

they use images and they sometimes combine them with words. With regard to images, the

story can be either told in one image or in several drawings. Besides, with respect to words,

they may or may not be included, it depends on the narrative needs; nonetheless, when they

appear, they are usually displayed within balloons. On the other hand, it is important to remark

that comics are a potential cultural product, hence, as Del Rey Cabrero (2013) claims, comic

strips are carriers of a documentary value and a specific message that cannot be forgotten.

To conclude, the information presented in this section has contributed to deepen into the

definition of comics. Certainly, knowing this narrative model will help educators to thoroughly

plan an educative proposal in which the best of comic books can be exploited.

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2.2.Historical background of comics

This section will be devoted to study the historical background of comic books, in this

respect, three main topics are going to be addressed: comics´ predecessors, the factors that elicit

their birth and a brief course along the history of comic books.

As far as comic predecessors are concerned, it is necessary to remark that there is some

controversy regarding this. On the one hand, McCloud (1994, cited in Hernando González,

2015, pp. 21-22) establishes the Egyptian culture as the earliest predecessor of comic books.

The work of art found in the tomb of Menna, shown in Figure 7, led this author to reach such

conclusion since, as it can be observed in this picture, different people and locations are

represented through a sequence of images.

Figure 7. Fragment of the pictures found at the tomb of Menna provided by McCloud (1994).

(Hernando González, 2015, p. 21)

On the other hand, Waugh and Rollán Sastre and Fernández among several scholars

coincide in determining The Yellow Kid, Richard F. Outcault´s work, which was published in

the New York Sunday Word in February 16th, 1896, as the first evidence of comic books (cited

in Hernando González, 2015, p. 21). Concerning The Yellow Kid, it is regarded as the first

character that talks through balloons, element that was later employed by other authors as

Goidanish (1990, cited in Gonçalves & Machado, 2005, p. 264) claims.

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Figure 8. The Yelow Kid. (Retrieved

from:https://grupobizarro.wordpress.com/2011/03/23/yellow-kid-un-chico-amarillo-que-le-

dio-vida-al-comic/ )

Vilches Fuentes´ viewpoint contributes to shedding light on this matter. This author

partly agrees with McCloud´s perspective, nevertheless, he remarks that the novelty of comics

is not the use of images to tell a story but their possibility to be replicated. Indeed, Vilches

Fuentes (2014) states that “compared to the unique and irreproducible work of art, the comic is

an industrial object, that is, it is massively reproduced by mechanical means” (p. 15).

Comic books´ predecessors aside, the factors that elicit the birth of this narrative model

are going to be presented. Comics, as we know them nowadays, are the result of the modern

journalism in the United States of the late nineteenth century. They were created in order to

reach a wider audience, among which the semi-literate population and immigrants were

included; thus, two newspapers of that time created Sunday supplements, which mainly

contained images. Certainly, it was in one of them, that the aforementioned character, The

Yellow Kid, appeared for the first time (Gonçalves & Machado, 2005).

Following this, Martín (1978, cited in Nieto Bedoya & Diago Egaña, 1989, p. 53)

gathers in his book Historia del cómic español: 1875-1939 some of the factors that caused the

birth of comic strips, namely, they are: the creative individualities, the idea of image as a means

of communication, the development of the editorial industry and the expansion of the market,

in terms of the sale possibility and the audience.

Being acquainted with the birth of comic books, a brief route along their history will be

presented in the following paragraphs.

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Firstly, the Platinum Age (1883-1938). Many scholars establish the character The

Yellow Kid as the landmark that determines the beginning of this age; which in turn finishes

with the apparition of superhero comic books. Besides, some well-known characters such as

Micky Mouse, Tarzan, Peanuts or Popeye filled the pages of comic books during this period

(Petty & Craker, 2006; Hernando González, 2015).

Subsequently, the Golden Age (1938-1949). According to Petty and Craker (2006), the

comic industry really started with the publication of ACTION COMICS #1 in 1938, in which

the world-renowned Superman first appeared. Moreover, an outstanding characteristic of this

period is the superhero theme, which attracted younger audiences and notably popularized the

comic genre. Such a boom supposed the launch of other super-characters, for instance, Batman,

Wonder Woman, the Human Torch or Captain America, among others (Petty & Craker, 2006;

Hernando González, 2015).

After the Golden Age, the Atomic Age of comic books comes (1949-1956), this period

is characterized by the search of a new tendency. Indeed, two themes stood out, horror genre,

being William Geis its most representative author and, science fiction. Nevertheless, when

dealing with the Atomic Age, Frederic Wertham and his work The seduction of the innocent

need to be mentioned. This author claimed that comic books were eliciting violence among

youth people, thus, he proposed that they should be eliminated. Consequently, comic authors

needed to reinvent the genre by creating their own code and bringing superheroes back from

the past (Petty & Craker, 2006).

Below, we deepen into the Silver Age (1956- CA. 1970). After Frederic Wertham´s

attack on the comic industry, Julius Schwartz decided that it was the moment to retrieve the

superheroes from the past, highlighting during this period the publications of the well-known

companies DC comics and Marvel. The Flash was the first reappear in the pages of the

SHOWCASE #4 but, he was not the only that reborn, but Hawkman, Green Lantern and the

Atom also came back. Finally, it is also essential to mention the arrival of Stan Lee and Jack

Kirby to the company Marvel, they helped by other authors created The Fantastic Four,

Spiderman, The Avengers and The X- Men, some of superheroes and teams most common

nowadays (Petty & Craker, 2006; Hernando González, 2015).

Subsequently, the Bronze Age (CA. 1970 - 1980). The end of the Silver Age did not

actually mean the end of comics, the genre was still alive. From this period characters such as

Green Lantern or Green Arrow are worth mentioning. In a broaden perspective, the Bronze Age

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can be defined as a period of expansion, experimentation and transformation, in which

crossovers between the well-known companies, Marvel and DC, as well as the birth of anti-

heroes, Wolverine and The Punisher, emerged.

Lastly, we come to the Modern Age (CA. 1980 – PRESENT), which brings us to the

present. With respect to this period, Petty (2006) affirms that “this is definitely a period of

booms and busts for comics” (p. 9). Doubtlessly, great emphasis must be place on the comic

book WATCHMEN, created by Moore and Gibbons, it is considered to be one of the most

revolutionary works of the decade. Besides, Petty and Craker (2006) refers to this work as “one

of the cornerstones of comic literature” (p. 9). On the other hand, Hernando González (2015)

asserts that this age is strongly influenced by changes in the commercial interests of DC comics

and Marvel, one representative example of this is their interest in the TV and filming industry.

As far as current comic industry is concerned, it can be stated that this is diverse, in fact, readers

can find comics of all themes, from crime to superheroes.

Summing up, comics emerge as a means of entertainment for a semi-literate society

(Aguilar, 2002), this has negatively influenced the genre, becoming to be considered as merely

sub-literature. On the contrary, many scholars have supported the idea of comic books as

potential tools in different realms such as marketing, education or politics. In short, from the

aforementioned lines and agreeing with Aguilar (2002), it can be stated that comic books are

actually a cultural product that has evolved together with society.

2.3.The language of comics

Firstly, it is essential to comment that comics are aimed at telling a story or event; moreover,

it is worth of mention, as Eisner (1985), Aguilar (2002) and Pérez (2013) state, that they make

use of two major communicative devices, words and images, to reach this goal. Thus, this

section will be devoted to the study of the complex language of comic books, particularly, two

main sub-sections, elements of comics and space and time and how to read comics will be

addressed.

2.3.1. Elements of comics

This subsection attempts to deepen into the aesthetic and semiotic study of the comic,

naming its elements as well as a brief definition of each of them.

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As far as the elements of comics are concerned, the contributions of Roberto Aparici,

Sergio García, Milagros Guzmán and Laura Ruíz Barquilla have led Gordo Ayén (2017) to

identify the visual, the gestural and the verbal code as the elements of comic books.

With respect to the visual code, it entails: panels, shots and viewing angles. Firstly,

panels, also known as frames or vignettes are going to be displayed. Eisner (1985) defines them

as sequence segments which capture or encapsulate the events that occur in a narrative. The

same author adds that there is a gap between frames, called street, which can be either real,

represented by a white space, or imaginary.

On the other hand, related to panels´ shapes, McCloud (1993) affirms that they can vary

considerably (Figure 9); nonetheless, he asserts that shape does not directly affect meaning but,

it may affect the reading experience. In reference to this, Eisner (1985) explains some years

before how frames´ shape influences the way in which readers should interpret the message;

rectangular panels with straight borders (A) usually mean that the event contained in them is

set in the present; whereas wavy edges (B and C) are commonly used to frame past events.

Finally, concerning zig-zag borders (D), this author states that they are normally employed to

express emotion.

Figure 9. Panels´ shapes (Eisner, 1985, p. 44)

To conclude with panels, it is remarkable that greater emphasis must be placed on

vignettes since they are regarded as “the minimal unit of narration in comics as several scholars

define them” (Gordo Ayén, 2017, p. 9).

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Subsequently, shots are going to be addressed. Regarding shots, Eisner (1985) holds

that to create a panel is paramount to previously determine the elements that will be included

in it as well as the perspective from which the reader will perceive it; thus, the shot becomes a

fundamental element. The same author differentiates three types of shots (Figure 10.): full

figure, medium and close up.

In respect to the full figure shot (A), characters are fully shown, which entails that the

reader does not need to imagine anything, all the information is provided. On the other hand, in

medium shot (B), the readers are provided with some information, concretely, they cut out the

space at the waist of the characters, and they are also expected to imagine the rest taking.

Eventually, the last sort of shot identified by Eisner, close up (C), with respect to it, this author

avers that “the reader is expected to assume that the entire figure exists and to deduce out of

memory and experience the posture and detail” (Eisner, 1985, p. 42).

Figure 10. Types of shots. (Eisner,1985, p. 42)

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To the shots´ types named by Eisner, Rodríguez Diéguez and Fernández Paz (1988;

1991, cited in Alonso, 2012, p. 40) added three: general, American and detail shot. As the

general shot (Figure 11) regards, it can be defined as the presentation of the background in

which the action occurs. Certainly, it is especially common at the beginning of the story, since

it helps to contextualize it

Figure 11. Types of shots according to Rodríguez Diéguez (1988) and Fernández Paz (1991).

(Alonso, 2012, pp.40-41)

On the other hand, in respect of the American shot, Rodríguez Diéguez and Fernández

Paz (1988; 1991, cited in Alonso, 2012, p. 41) claim that characters are usually represented up

to the knees. Besides, the detail shot, it only shows a particular part of a character or a detail

that happens and wants to be emphasised

Lastly, viewing angles, they alongside the shot are considered to have a potential

narrative function since, the author uses them to show the reader the perspective from which

the story is told (Alonso, 2012). Regarding the use of different viewing angles in comics, it is

paramount to mention Roberto Aparicio’s words (1978, cited in Gordo Ayén, 2017, p. 14), he

expounds that “the use of different angles will produce specific expressive effects, since they

are part of the whole and are not isolated elements of the narrative”. Furthermore, Rodríguez

Diéguez and Fernández Paz (1988; 1991, cited in Alonso, 2012, pp. 41-42) talk about three

types: horizontal, aerial view and low angle. The horizontal angle, also known as normal, places

readers´ eyes at the level of the characters´ thorax or heads. Besides, from the aerial view, both

characters and places are seen from above. Eventually, regarding the low angle, from this

perspective characters and objects are seen from below

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Subsequently, the gestural code is going to be handled, within it we will differentiate

between facial gestures, kinetic shapes and colour. Before entering into them, it is essential to

retrieve Rodríguez Diéguez (1988, cited in Alonso, 2012, p. 42), as he proposes, images in

comic books are static, thus, in order to create the sensation of movements, cartoonists created

this code.

Firstly, facial gestures are going to be addressed. Concretely, Eisner (1985) was one of

the pioneers in determining gestures as paramount, in fact, he even remarks that they have a

“position of primacy over text” (p. 103), “they invite the most attention and involvement” (p.

109). Additionally, he argues that through facial gestures emotions and moods are expressed,

as someone once put “the surface of the face is a window to the mind” (Eisner, 1985, p. 111).

Besides, Gordo Ayén (2017) points out some examples, open eyes and mouth express surprise,

whereas furrowed eyebrows transmit anger.

Secondly, kinetic shapes, they are defined by Gordo Ayén as “the lines that are used to

express the illusion of movement or trajectory” (p. 15). In relation to this, Gómez (2015) asserts

that cartoonists use kinetic shapes in three main ways: to characterize the types of movement,

to create situations outside the reality bounds, for instance, transforming the reality or

modifying it ignoring the laws of physics; and, to create visual metaphors and ideograms, a

representative example of the latter is the image of the light bulb above a character´s head to

express that he has an idea.

Thirdly, the last of the elements of the gestural code, the colour, is going to be addressed.

With respect to this, Gordo Ayén (2017) affirms that the colour is extremely powerful since it

can elicit different emotions in the reader. Additionally, it is also interesting to mention that

colours are used to bolster the emotions that characters or the setting expresses.

Ultimately, the verbal code is going to be tackled. Concretely, Gordo Ayén (2017) lists

the following elements within it: the text, balloons or speech bubbles, narrative boxes,

onomatopoeias, typography, ideographs and visual metaphors.

The first of the verbal code´s elements to be addressed will be the text, according to the

same author, the text expresses the characters´ thoughts as well as their dialogues, it introduces

support information and it conveys the reality sounds through onomatopoeias.

Besides, in regard to balloons, Eisner (1985) defines them as “a desperate device which

attempts to capture and make visible an ethereal element as sound is” (p. 26). Later, he added

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that as balloons were more employed a specific meaning was attributed to their outlines. Related

to this, Gordo Ayén (2017) specifies how to interpret them, a discontinuous border means that

the character is speaking quietly, a cloud-shaped outline expresses that the character is thinking

and, a sawtooth outline means that the characters is shouting. Furthermore, the “tail” that speech

bubbles have determines the character that is talking.

In comic books, characters are not the only announcers, but narrative boxes also perform

this function. Concretely, Gasca and Gubern (1998, cited in Del Rey Cabrero, 2013, p. 179)

define them as “capsules inserted within the vignette or between two consecutive vignettes (…)

whose inscribed text fulfills the function of clarifying or explaining the content of the image”.

On the other hand, onomatopoeias, they are combination of letters that are intended to

represent reality sounds (Aguilar, 2002). Moreover, Gordo Ayén (2017) annotates those

onomatopoeias can be either insider or outside balloons. Concerning typography, it depends on

the characters and their voice tone. When characters speak loudly big letters are used, contrarily,

if they are whispering small letters will be employed. Lastly, ideographs and visual metaphors,

Gordo Ayén (2017) defines them as “transpositions of verbal sentences to images” (p. 18); the

stars that revolve around a bump or the light bulb representing a good idea are instances of

ideographs and visual metaphors.

2.3.2. Space and time in comics. How to read comic books.

The language of comic books differs completely from the language of other narrative-

visual means; comic readers need to reconstruct the story by considering several elements, in

which space and timing are included (Gordo Ayén, 2017).

As far as space is concerned, it is easier to perceive than time; as Eisner (1985) declares,

space is visual, whereas time is interpreted by human beings in relation to their previous

experiences. Dealing with comic books and how to read them, this scholar points out “the

reader´s eye to wander” as the most relevant obstacle to overcome when perceiving time, in

fact, he states that the cartoonist needs to be sure of catching readers´ attention so as to guide

their reading. According to Eisner, comic strips should be read following the same rules as

usual reading, that is to say, from left to right and top to bottom as Figure 12 shows.

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Figure 12. Schema that represents how to read comics. (Eisner, 1985, p. 41)

Deepening into this topic, Eisner (1985) differentiates two frames within comics, one of

the frames corresponds to the total page, which contains several panels, and, the other refers to

the panel itself, which entails the narrative action. Concerning the latter, McCloud (1993)

affirms that “each panel of a comic shows a single moment in time” (p. 94). Furthermore,

McCloud refers to the aforementioned “streets” as elements that contribute to creating the

illusion of time and motion, concretely, he claims that comics make use of “pictures as well as

the intervals between them to create the illusion of time through closure” (McCloud, 1993, p.

95).

Therefore, it is a matter of fact that interpreting time when reading comics is much more

complex that it really seems. To shed light on this matter, McCloud (1993) suggests that when

reading comic books, we need to think of time as a rope, in which each inch represents a second.

In other words, the rope will guide the reader to order the events that happen within a panel as

it can be observed in Figure 13.

Figure 13. Exemplification of time as a rope. (McCloud, 1993, p. 96)

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On the other hand, McCloud (1993) claims that “portraying time on a line moving left

to right, this puts all the images on the same vertical axis” and “tangles up time beyond all

recognition” (p. 97). Certainly, this way of representing and understanding time seems complex

for human beings, since we are used to understand images as individual moments due to

photography. In order to overcome possible difficulties when reading comic books, McCloud

explains how panels should be read. Relate to this, he remarks that “each panel is arranged from

left to right in the sequence we will read them, each occupying a distinct time slot” (p. 97).

Besides, regarding balloons, Eisner (1985) and Gómez (2015) states that should be read

following the rules of conventional texts. Additionally, García adds that normally there are

more than one speech bubble per panel, so, in these cases they should be read in order of priority

as the conventional rules determine.

Doubtlessly, when addressing comic books is paramount to put emphasis on space and time,

how they are depicted as well as how readers should interpret them. With regard to this,

McCloud (1993) expounds that when we learn to read comics, we are at the same time learning

how to perceive time spatially, since, time and space are actually perceived as one in the world

of comic strips. Last but not least, it is fundamental to mention that comic readers are not only

influenced by photography but also by other media as well as the “real time” of daily basis

(McCloud, 1993). Hence, it can be affirmed that when facing a comic, we need to forget about

other types of narrative-visual media and consider other possibilities. Knowing the complexity

of the language of comic books, the following question arise, should educators teach learners

how to read comics?

2.4.The comic as an educational resource in the Foreign Language classroom

Stories have been always regarded as a valuable educational resource to teach Foreign

Languages and particularly, English. Related to this, Littlewood (2001) and Saka (2014) state

that stories have such recognition since they provide learners with real world experiences. To

which Barton and Baguley (2014, cited in Ana, 2015, p. 72)) add that teaching through stories

is entertaining and helps students understand the world that surrounds them. Definitely, there

are many scholars who support the implementation of stories in the EFL classroom, as Catalá

Carrasco (2007, cited in García Martínez, 2013, p. 15) expounds, frames have specific

characteristic that are extremely useful for the Foreign Language class Therefore, it can be

asserted that comics are ideal for young English learners.

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Nonetheless, despite the huge potential of comic books, García Martínez (2013) in her

study on the possibilities of the educational exploitation of comics found that the majority of

the participants agreed that the opportunities offered by the comic as a pedagogical tool are

wasted. With respect to this, it is crucial to emphasise that comic strips should not be considered

as punctual or merely “ludic activities” as Leontaridi et. al (2010, cited in Del Rey Cabrero,

2013, p. 182) claims, but a change in perspective is needed so as to get the most out of them.

Subsequently, some of the characteristics of comic strips that support their educational

potential are going to be presented. Firstly, Altarriba (2003, cited in Del Rey Cabrero, 2013, p.

183) points out that the complementarity between word and image of comics contributes to

overcoming lexicon difficulties. With respect to this, the importance of the context in the

teaching of Foreign Languages come to the fore. Actually, as the CEFR and the Communicative

Approach propose when teaching a language new items should be introduced within a context,

since it helps learners understand and assimilate them more easily. Thereby, comics become a

powerful resource to teach vocabulary (Alice Lever-Cook and Roy Cook, 2013, cited in Sadam

Issa, 2017, p. 8). In short, Alonso (2012) claims that comics are a compelling source of input

in EFL lessons due to their colloquial language and verb iconic nature.

Besides, it is noteworthy the simplicity of the texts in comics, indeed, as Guadamillas

Gómez (2014, cited in García Reyes, 2017, p. 14) affirms, the text is short and concise, which

reduces students´ anxiety level. Regarding the level of anxiety, it is essential to quote Krashen´s

low affective filter hypothesis; this scholar suggests that the less stressed students are, the more

they learn. Hence, the Foreign Language classroom needs to be a pleasant atmosphere, in which

students feel comfortable and their learning paces are respected. In other words, it can be

acknowledged that the value of comics for teaching English as a Foreign Language stems from

their ability to reduce students´ anxiety and lack of confidence (Sadam Issa, 2017). Another

outstanding characteristic of comic strips is that they are motivating. Pintrich and Schunk (2002,

cited in Alonso, 2012, p. 8) point out motivation as a crucial factor for language learning and

teaching, since it certainly influences students´ success.

Last but not least, it is fundamental to pinpoint the value of comics to cater the diversity,

in relation to this, Jun Liu (2004, cited in Sadam Issa, 2017, p. 8.) found that comics are a

helpful resource for second language learners with low-proficiency levels in reading skill, he

explains that the combination of images and text of comics enables students to read the text

using two complementary sources of information instead of one.

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On the other hand, Artacho (2002, cited in Gordo Ayén, 2017, p. 20) list the following

benefits of using comics:

- Comics are visually appealing and enjoyable to read

- They are a potential resource for visual learning

- They boost creativity, imagination and interest

- They can be created through comic workshops, making this tool feasible and

imaginative.

- They help in learning the meaning of image sequences

Below, we are going to deepen into the possibilities of comic books to develop the

communicative skills. Comics have been mainly employed to improve written skills; however,

as Del Rey Cabrero (2013) and Ana (2015) state an appropriate use of comic strips will allow

to enhance the four linguistic skills.

As written skills regard, Granja (1987, cited in Gómez, 2015, p. 4) comments that comics

are an active methodology for the teaching of reading and writing. Indeed, Rodari (1973, cited

in Gordo Ayén, 2017, p. 5) remarked comics as tool to introduce reading and, particularly, the

pleasure of reading to young learners. In relation to this, it is essential to underline that “reading

comics does not inhibit other types of reading and that it in fact facilitates heavier reading”

(Ujiie and Krashen, 1993, cited in Graham, 2011, p. 93). Additionally, Merc (2014, cited in

Ana, 2015, p. 78) proved that comic books have a positive effect on students´ reading skill.

With respect to writing skill, it can be chiefly developed by asking students to complete balloons

or creating their own comic strips.

Besides, Guadamillas Gómez (2014, cited in García Reyes, 2017, p. 15) forcefully endorses

the use of comics to improve speaking skills, he declares that comic books contain written text,

which can be either used to develop listening, by storytelling for instance or speaking by

representing it through a role-play. Relative to this, Hayati (2006, cited in Graham, 2011, p.

94) asserts that students enjoy when expressing themselves in another language; hence, this

should be exploited and comic strips can be a tool to do it.

Undoubtedly, comic books have a huge potential as a pedagogical resource, as Gordo Ayén

(2017) announces “well used, the comic is a resource applicable to almost all content” (p. 21).

Nonetheless, their value is not the only aspect that needs to be considered, but a thorough

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planification is required in order to exploit their potential. Concerning this, Barrero (2002, cited

in García Reyes, 2017, p. 16) names some premises that educators should consider when

implementing comic strips:

- To be familiar with comic books and their elements

- To know that comics are culture are closely linked

- To teach how to use images to tell a story

- To boost critical thinking

In summary, it can be asserted that although comics seem to be a simple narrative means,

they entail an extraordinary expressive richness (Aguilar, 2002, p. 114). Certainly, it can be

acknowledged that comics are a valuable educative resource to teach Foreign Languages, and

particularly, English, since they contribute to the development of the four communicative skills.

Last but not least, it is interesting to highlight that comics also help in the teaching of values

and attitudes (Gordo Ayén, 2017).

2.4.1. Its place in the Curriculum

Since its publication in 2001, the teaching of Foreign Languages in Spain is governed

according to the methodological guidelines proposed by the CEFR. Concretely, this document

names comic strips among one of the written texts with which leaners need to deal.

As far as comics are concerned, their language, which combines the verbal and the visual

code, enables readers to contextualize the message; hence, this fact supports their presence in

the CEFR and in turn, in EFL lesson. Regarding this, the CEFR identifies the context as one of

the factors that intervenes in the communicative act, in fact, it adds that the context determines

the meaning of message. Besides, the context is also fundamental in the teaching of Foreign

Languages since it helps students to contextualize the language items, facilitating its

comprehension.

Below, an in-depth analysis of the presence of comics in the legislation that regulates

education in Spain, and specifically Primary Education in the Region of Murcia is going to be

carried out.

Firstly, the Organic Law 2/2006, which regulates education in Spain, and the Organic Law

8/2013, which modifies the aforementioned, are going to be addressed. Neither the former nor

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the latter refers to comic books, maybe this absence is owing to these laws are really general,

they do not offer specific guidelines to approach any of the areas of content.

Secondly, the Royal Decree 126/2014, which establishes the Primary Education curriculum

in Spain will be analysed. Certainly, there are evidences of comic books in this law, they are

named in the First Foreign Language, in the Artistic Education and in the Second Foreign

Language areas. Focusing in the First Foreign Language area, one of the methodological

guidelines proposes the contextualized used of language, which leads us to consider that comics

are a valuable resource to implement in the English class. Moreover, comic books themselves

are also named in the Block 3, which is devoted to reading skills, as one of the textual models

with which students will work.

Lastly, the Decree 198/2014, which establishes the Primary Education curriculum in the

Region of Murcia will be covered. With respect to this law, it is paramount to emphasise that it

proposes comic books as a frequent resource to implement in the English classroom,

highlighting the helpful potential of their characteristic language. Although comics are in the

methodological guidelines, there are no more evidences of this genre along the section.

Nevertheless, comic strips are proposed as a resource to deepen into the knowledge about the

different historical ages within the Social Sciences area and there also reference to comic books

in the following curricular areas: Spanish Language and Literature, Comprehensive Reading

and Deepening in Spanish Language.

From the aforementioned analysis, it can be concluded that the huge potential of comic

books to develop the communicative skills as well as other contents is not being fully exploited.

2.4.2. Educational experiences exploiting comics

As Del Rey Cabrero (2013) mentions there are plenty of educational proposals that use

comics for different purposes, from the development of the intercultural competence to the

teaching of history; nonetheless, in this section, we are going to focus on those that implement

comics in the English Foreign Language classroom, some educational proposals are going to

be presented below.

The first proposal to be addressed was planned by García Martínez (2013). She designed

three didactic proposals in which comics were employed to the teaching of Spanish, English

and French as Foreign Languages. Concretely, these proposals were directed to students who

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aimed to reach a B1 level as the CEFR establishes. As this project is focused on the teaching of

English as a Second Language, we are going to briefly deepen into this example.

The didactic proposal is called “Social networks”, it was developed in one session (55

minutes), in which oral and written expression as well as reading comprehension were

developed. Specifically, it consisted of four main steps. Firstly, students read the proposed

frames individually, then, they answered some questions regarding the text. Thirdly, students

debated in pairs the pros and cons of social networks, and finally, this discussion was developed

in whole-group class. Analysing this proposal, it can be asserted that comics are not really used

to improve any of the linguistic skills, but it is mainly used as a resource to practice them.

Subsequently, the didactic proposal designed by Gómez (2015) is going to be presented.

First and foremost, it is paramount to pinpoint that it was aimed at developing reading

comprehension and it was directed to students aged between 8 to 12. To plan this proposal a

diagnostic evaluation was carried out in order to know the strengths and weaknesses of the

students, thus, teachers will be able to design suitable activities to work on these weaknesses.

Particularly, this proposal was developed in six sessions, each of them was in turned

carried out in four stages: motivation, presentation, practice and production. The two first steps

correspond to the pre-reading stage, in them, students inferred what they were going to read.

Then, during the practice or while-reading stage, students read the proposed texts trying to

identify the main and the secondary ideas, connect the information with their previous

knowledge and deduce the meaning of unknown words from the context. Lastly, in the after-

reading stage, students reflected on what they have read, trying to connect it with the reality,

discussing or creating alternative ends among other activities. With respect to this proposal, it

is noteworthy that students achieved the expected results, notable improvements in their reading

comprehension were noticed after it.

The third proposal to be analysed was planned by Rosales Fernández (2016), it is

directed to Year 5 and Year 6 Primary Education students, the proposal encompassed the

English and Artistic Education area and it was developed in three sessions of fifty minutes.

Concretely, the first session was aimed at knowing the language of comic books, students got

familiar with their main elements that allowed them to create a comic in further sessions.

Besides, in the second sessions, students deepened into the structure of comic strips, moreover,

in pairs, learners thought about a theme and started creating a draft about the comic that was

created in the last session. Regarding the different communicative skills, oral skills were mainly

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practiced during the interventions that take place during the lessons, whereas written skills,

were developed by reading and writing comics; therefore, it can be affirmed that this proposal

is mainly focus on the improvement of written skills.

Finally, the didactic proposal designed by García Reyes (2017) is going to be presented.

It was directed to Year 6 Primary Education students, specifically, it consisted in the creation

of a comic book in cooperative work, to reach this aim, students made use of their previous

knowledge and five skills (reading, writing, listening, speaking and interaction). This didactic

proposal was developed in six sessions, in the first one, comics were presented, in the second

session, students reviewed the vocabulary and grammatical structures that they would use for

the creation of their comics in later sessions. In the third lesson, students were presented with

the main narrative elements of comic books. The next two sessions were devoted to the creation

of the comic strips in cooperative groups, and in the last session, which coincided with the

International Book Day, each group presented their work in front of the whole class.

From the reviewed proposals it can be affirmed that the majority of them are aimed at

developing written skills, through the reading of comics or by creating them; nevertheless,

scarce instances of proposals that contribute to improving the four linguistic skills in the EFL

classroom has been noticed. Therefore, the present study will intend to overcome the aforesaid

lacunae by designed several activities in which comic books will be used to enhance the four

communicative skills.

3. DIDACTIC PROPOSAL

The present section is aimed at presenting the didactic proposal that has been planned

implementing comics in the EFL lesson for the development of the four communicative skills

in conjunction with other transversal contents, related to the Literature and Social Sciences

areas.

3.1.Justification

In Aguilar´s terms (2002) “the comic appears as an ideal medium for inclusion in the

curriculum of certain areas of Primary and Secondary Education, including the first levels”

(p.114). In fact, when reviewing previous literature, a wide variety of studies that implement

comics in the EFL classroom have been found; however, the majority of them were mainly

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focused on reading comprehension. With respect to this, it is interesting to refer to Sáez Rivera

(2011, cited in Del Rey Cabrero, 2013, p. 183), this author points out that comic books are

considered as the flawless tool for the development of reading skill but, they certainly are “one

of the multimodal texts per excellence”. As aforesaid, the vast majority of the proposals

reviewed were focused on reading skill, undertaking the possibilities of comics; thereby, this

project intends to overcome this lacuna by presenting a didactic proposal in which comic books

are employed to enhance the four linguistic skills as well as to exploit this narrative genre´s

potential to address other content areas, specifically, Literature and Social Sciences.

Last but not least, it is essential to mention that this proposal will be directed to Year 6

Primary Education students. I have opted for this educative stage since I am an English Primary

Education teacher and, I am aware of the existing need to find resources that help to engage

students in the lessons. Hence, from this arises the idea to “reinvent” a traditional resource, as

comics are, so as to make from EFL lessons a funny and enriching moment in which students

learn out of curiosity and interest and not as something compulsory.

3.2.Didactic objectives

Having presented the general objective of the present didactic proposal, to implement comic

books in the EFL classroom to help learners´ develop the four linguistic skills, the specific

didactic objectives are going to be named:

- To know the main elements of comic books (panels, streets shots, viewing angles, facial

gestures…).

- To know the narrative elements of comics (beginning, climax and end)

- To deepen into the Inca, the Maya and the Aztec cultures

- To extract specific information from oral and written texts provided by the teacher

- To organise and express ideas and information previously gathered with considerable

accuracy using a comic format

- To do a brief, rehearsed presentations in cooperative groups on the comic created

3.3. Competences

In this section, the competences, gathered in the Real Decree 126/2014, that are developed

during this proposal are going to be presented.

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Firstly, the communicative competence needs to be mentioned, undoubtedly, this

competence will be developed since it is directly related to the area of content around which

the proposal has been designed. Particularly, so as to develop students´ communicative

competence a set of activities in which they will acquire specific vocabulary, recycle previous

knowledge as well as work on language functions, mainly, telling a story, expressing opinions

and giving information both orally and in writing, are going to be carried out.

The second competence to be handled is learning to learn. With respect to this it is

pivotal to comment that this proposal follows a student-centered approach, that is to say,

learners are the main characters of their own learning process whereas the teacher acts as a

learning facilitator, guiding the process instead of being a source of knowledge. Furthermore,

to carry out the different activities designed students will work cooperatively, thus, this

combination between a learner-centered approach and cooperative work allows students to

work together in order to solve the different situations that they will face during the activities.

Last but not least, this competence will also be developed by encouraging learners to make use

of dictionaries to look for specific words, which they are unable to guess the meaning from the

context in which they are presented.

Thirdly, sense of initiative and entrepreneurial spirit, concretely, this competence refers

to students´ initiative, interest for learning, proactivity, involvement in the lessons and

creativity. Thus, it is a matter of fact that this competence will be developed by students working

cooperatively to create a comic strip. In fact, this competence is closely linked to the social and

civic competence, which is also developed through cooperative work. By developing of this

competence, students start forgetting the self-centeredness of the first stages of their cognitive

development to begin to behave as actual citizens. Regarding cooperative work and how it

contributes to the development of these two skills, it can be claim that when working in groups,

students need to make decisions considering different viewpoints and determining what is the

best option for the team as well as to provide reasons that justify their ideas and opinions.

Eventually, we are going to deepen into awareness and cultural expressions.

Specifically, this competence has to do with the knowledge, valuation and appreciation of the

different cultural and artistic manifestations and considering them as a source of personal

enrichment. Thereby, it can be acknowledged that this competence is enhanced by deepening

into the Inca, the Maya and the Aztec cultures to learn about their traditions and the facts that

made them so relevant to the History.

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3.4.Contents

This section will be devoted to the presentation of the contents that are going to be addressed

in the present didactic proposal. In the following lines, contents, organised in three categories

(conceptual contents, procedural contents and attitudinal contents) as proposed by Coll, Pozo,

Sarabia and Valls (1994, cited in Latorre, 2017, p. 1), are going to be listed.

Firstly, conceptual contents (know what) encompass the knowledge of concepts, events,

facts principles and laws (Latorre, 2017). Related to them, these are the conceptual contents

that are going to be worked during this proposal:

- The elements of comic books (panels, streets shots, viewing angles, facial gestures,

kinetic shapes, colour, text, balloons, narrative boxes, onomatopoeias and visual

metaphors)

- The narrative elements of comics (beginning, climax and end)

- The Inca, the Maya and the Aztec cultures (time, space, traditions, relevant aspects of

the culture, important events and monuments, relevance in History)

Subsequently, procedural contents, also known as “know to do” are going to be handled.

Concerning them, Latorre (2017) claims that procedural contents entail the acquisition of

procedures, strategies, methods, techniques and skills. Below, the procedural contents to be

developed with this proposal are going to be named:

- To search and organise information from the materials provided

- To extract specific information from oral and written texts in the target language

- To express ideas and opinions in the Second Language

- To give information either orally or in writing in the target language

- To create a comic

Eventually, attitudinal contents (know how to be). According to Latorre (2017), within this

category contents related to values, attitudes and personal and professional ethics are included.

Particularly, these are the attitudinal contents that are going to be worked during this proposal:

- Interest and involvement in the activities to be developed

- Favourable attitude towards teamwork

- Respect for speaking turns

- Knowledge and appreciation of the literary value of comics

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- Valuation and appreciation of the Inca, Mayan and Aztec culture

3.5.Educational context

The present didactic proposal has been designed considering the educational context of

“CEIP El Recuerdo” a state Infant and Primary Education school located in the coastal town of

San Javier, Region of Murcia. Moreover, the school is taken part in the Foreign Language

Teaching System since the school year 2012/2013, thus apart from the English area, the

teaching of Natural Sciences, Art and Crafts and Physical Education are also conducted in this

language up to Year 3; from this year on, that is, Years 4, 5 and 6, to the aforementioned areas,

Foreign Language Deepening is added.

Likewise, regarding the centre´s economic and sociocultural background, it is located in a

new and residential area of San Javier, in which families with a medium sociocultural and

economic status predominate. Besides, it is also necessary to mention that there are students

who come from different cultures and religions, which have an outstanding influence on their

expectations towards education, as well as the way in which parents are involved in the

education of their children.

Subsequently, the group of students (Year 6 A) that have been taken into account when

planning the present didactic proposal are going to be introduced. Concretely, this group is

made up of twenty-two students, of which fifteen are girls and, the remaining seven are boys.

Additionally, the classroom has certain cultural variety, there are two students from Morocco

and two students from Ecuador. Nevertheless, these students have correctly adapted to the

Spanish educational system, so they do not present specific learning needs neither in Spanish

Language nor in the rest of the curricular areas. Despite this, different learning paces can be

noticed in the classroom, on the one hand, there are students that understand and acquire new

concepts easily, whereas there are other students who have greater difficulties in understanding

the content, thus they require special support from the teacher.

Regarding students with specific educational support needs, concretely there is one student

in this class who require a different attention to the ordinary for presenting learning difficulties

related to dyslexia. The adaptations that will be planned will be presented in further sessions.

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3.6.Methodology

Traditionally, teaching was mainly understood as the presentation of knowledge by the

teacher, and the rote learning of these contents by students; therefore, from this perspective,

teachers played the most important role in the learning-teaching process; while the individual

learning needs of students, as well as their learning paces were not considered. Nonetheless, the

situation has notably changed in the last years, gaining active methodologies a leading role in

the classrooms and concretely, in this didactic proposal, in which they are the central axis.

Specifically, active methodologies and, consequently, the present project opt for giving

students a more important role in the teaching-learning process, certainly, learners are

considered as the main characters and at the same time responsible for their own learning

progress, that is to say a learner-centred approach. On the other hand, as far as teachers are

concerned, they emerge from their role as sources of knowledge to become learning facilitators,

concretely, this function entails guiding students in their learning process as well as providing

them with opportunities that allow them to experience meaningful learning.

Deepening into the methodologies that addresses the present proposal, it is essential to

retrieve that its ultimate goal is to enhance students´ communicative competence in the First

Foreign Language, which in turn includes the development of the four linguistic skills. To reach

this aim, the teaching of the English is going to be addressed through a communicative

approach, as the CEFR (2001) and the current legislation, Decree n. º 198/2014 propose. With

regard to the communicative approach, it suggests a communicative use of the language, in

which teaching is planned around language functions, such as providing information or

expressing ideas, rather than around grammatical and vocabulary items (Canale & Swain,

1996).

On the other hand, this didactic proposal also follows a Project- Based Learning approach

(henceforward PBL), in which students are required to create a comic about the culture, Inca,

Maya or Aztec, that has been assigned to his/her group. It is worth mentioning that the learning

process will be scaffolded, since students will move from more controlled activities, in which

they learn about comics and review possible language that they will need to less controlled

activities, in which students will create and present their own creations. Thus, it can be affirmed

that this proposal endorses students´ autonomy, learner-centred activities as well as involved

high order thinking skills. Furthermore, I have opted for a PBL since as Vergara Ramírez (2016,

cited in García Reyes, 2017, p. 10) perfectly explains through this methodology students

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experiment with the contents, becoming a tool to learn rather than something that they have to

learn by hearth.

Besides, concerning the four linguistic skills, they will be worked in an integrated way,

following the guidelines of the current legislation. In fact, each of sessions is specifically

devoted to the development of one of the skills, however, the remaining three are also worked.

Eventually, cooperative learning requires to be handled. Agreeing with García Reyes

(2017), cooperative work promotes positive interpersonal relationships among students; in

addition, it also favours the attention to diversity as well as peer-tutoring. On the other hand,

this grouping is intended to help students learn to work cooperatively, thinking of the collective

good rather than for individual benefit (Casanny, 2009, cited in García Reyes, 2017, p. 6).

Moreover, working in groups students will learn to negotiate meanings, which is crucial to

foster communicative use of the language. Thereby, cooperative learning firmly contributes to

developing a set of skills that are regarded as fundamentals for future citizens.

3.7.Resources and materials

The resources and materials required to carry out the present didactic proposal are going

to be listed in the following lines, particularly, they are to be presented grouped in two

categories: traditional resources and digital resources.

As far as traditional resources are concerned, students will use:

- images extracted from actual comics

- Cardboards

- Scissors

- Glue

- All the materials required to a comic strip (paper, pencil, colours…)

On the other hand, the digital resources required to implement this proposal are:

- PowerPoint presentation

- Projector

- Any electronic device (laptop, bookchrome, tablet….) with internet access

34

3.8.Step-by-step

This section is aimed at presenting the activities that will be developed in each of the five

sections in which this proposal is developed. Regarding the activities, the activity system

proposed by Verdú and Coyle (2002) has been followed to name the different tasks.

SESSION 1.” Discovering comic books”

Areas: English and Literature Skill1: Reading

Topic: Elements of comics Time: 55 minutes

Didactic objectives:

- To know the main elements of comic strips

- To be able to define the elements of comics

- To identify and label the different elements of comic books

- To extract specific information from a written text in the target language

Linguistic contents:

- Vocabulary related to elements of comics (panels, streets, shots, viewing

angles, facial gestures, kinetic shapes, colour, text, balloons, narrative boxes,

onomatopoeias and visual metaphors).

Development:

Activity 1. Warm-up

- Aim: to get students involved in an English-speaking environment and to make

them feel motivated to begin the lesson

- Time: 2 minutes

-

Steps:

1. The teacher will greet students in English and s/he will ask one of them to write

the date on the blackboard.

Activity 2. Brainstorming

- Aim: to detect students´ existing knowledge about comics, what they are as well

as the different elements of comic with which they are familiar.

- Time: 5 minutes

-

Steps:

1. The teacher will ask students some questions in order to discover students´

previous knowledge about comic books.

Activity 3. Organisation

35

- Aim: to contextualize the final task, explaining students the activities they are

going to develop during each session. The teacher will group students and show

them an example of a comic strips.

- Time: 5 minutes

Steps:

1. The teacher will present students the final task, and s/he will show them an

example of comic strips, as they will have to do in the final task

2. The teacher will explain to students the different activities that they are going

to develop during the session

3. The teacher will organise students in groups of four-five people.

Activity 4. Instructions

- Aim: to introduce the activity that is going to be developed and to provide

students with the materials needed

- Time: 5 minutes

-

Steps:

1. The teacher will briefly present the visual, gestural and verbal codes in comics

as well as the different elements included in each of them (Appendix 1).

2. The teacher will provide students with the materials they are going to use in the

next activity.

Activity 5. Selecting information

- Aim: to read the sources of information so as to find a definition for each of the

elements of comic strips required.

- Time: 20 minutes

Steps:

1. Students will read the sources of information provided by the teacher

(Appendix 2) and they will complete a worksheet (Appendix 3) with the data

gathered.

Activity 6. Recognition/Decision making

- Aim: to create three different posters, each of them referred to one of the three

codes (visual, gestural and verbal), containing examples of the different

elements included within each code

- Time: 20 minutes

Steps:

1. The teacher will provide each group with the materials (Appendix 4) they will

use to create their own posters.

36

2. Students will use the materials provided by the teacher to find examples for

each of the elements of comics studied.

3. Each group will create their poster, which will be later displayed in the class.

SESSION 2.” Deepening into comic books”

Areas: English and Literature Skill1: Listening

Topic: Narrative elements of comics Time: 55 minutes

Didactic objectives:

- To identify the sequence in comic books

- To listen and complete with the information required

- To create an alternative ending for a comic strip

- To extract specific information from an oral text in the Foreign Language

- To narrate an event in written langugae in the target language

Linguistic contents:

- Vocabulary related to the narrative elements of comics (beginning, climax and

end)

- Recycling grammatical structures (past simple).

Development:

Activity 7. Warm-up

- Aim: to get students involved in an English-speaking environment and to make

them feel motivated to begin the lesson

- Time: 2 minutes

Steps:

1. The teacher will greet students in English and s/he will ask one of them to write

the date on the blackboard.

Activity 8. Organisation

- Aim: to present learners the goal of the session as well as the different activities

that are going to be carried out

- Time: 5 minutes

Steps:

1. The teacher will explain to students the different activities that are going to be

developed.

2. The teacher will ask students to sit in the same groups they work in the previous

session.

37

Activity 9. Recognition (pre-listening stage)

- Aim: to introduce students the narrative elements (sequence, coherence,

cohesion) of comic strips through a listening activity

- Time: 8 minutes

Steps:

1. The teacher will present the narrative elements of comics to students with a

PowerPoint (Appendix 5).

2. The teacher will provide students with the different frames of the comic strip

jumbled up (Appendix 6)

3. Students will try to guess the correct order using as a clue the information inside

the balloons.

Activity 10. Recognition (while-listening stage)

- Aim: to check the order of the sequence organised in the previous activity and

to complete the missing information within the balloons

- Time: 15 minutes

Steps:

1. The teacher will explain to students that s/he is going to read the comic strip

twice and that while-listening they should check the order of the panels and they

will also have to complete the missing information.

2. The learners will hear the teacher reading aloud twice and they will check they

order and complete the gaps.

Activity 11. Verification

- Aim: to check the results obtained in the previous activity by reading aloud the

information and comparing their work with their classmates

- Time: 5 minutes

Steps:

1. The teacher will ask some students to read out the information they have

collected and the rest of the classmates will say if they agree or disagree in order

to check the previous activity.

Activity 12. Meaningful drill

- Aim: to create an alternative ending for the comic strip with which students

have worked.

- Time: 20 minutes

Steps:

38

1. The teacher will provide students with the first five panels of the comic strips

with which they have been working during the lesson and s/he will ask them to

create an alternative ending in 3 to 5 frames.

2. Students will create and alternative ending (Appendix 7).

SESSION 3.” The Incas, The Mayas and the Aztecs”

Areas: English and Social Sciences Skill1: Reading and speaking

Topic: Inca, Maya and Aztec cultures Time: 55 minutes

Didactic objectives:

- To delve into these three cultures

- To collect the information that they will use to create their comic strips

- To extract specific information from a written text in the target language

- To do a draft

Linguistic contents:

- Vocabulary related to the Inca, the Maya and the Aztec cultures

- Recycling grammatical structures (past simple)

Development:

Activity 13. Warm-up

- Aim: to get students involved in an English-speaking environment and to make

them feel motivated to begin the lesson

- Time: 2 minutes

Steps:

1. The teacher will greet students in English and s/he will ask one of them to write

the date on the blackboard.

Activity 14. Setting

- Aim: to introduce the topic of the lesson by reading a comic strip

- Time: 5 minutes

Steps:

1. Students, organised in groups, will read the comic strip provided by the teacher

(Appendix 8)

Activity 15. Brainstorming

- Aim: to detect students´ previous knowledge about the Incas through a set of

questions asked by the teacher and two introduce two more cultures: the Mayas

and the Aztecs

39

SESSION 4. “Becoming comic strips creators”

Areas: English and Social Sciences Skill1: Writing

Topic: Inca, Maya and Aztec cultures Time: 55 minutes

Didactic objectives:

- To create a comic strip using the information they have collected in the previous

session

- To give information, previously gathered, in a written format with

considerable accuracy

Linguistic contents:

- Vocabulary related to the Inca, the Maya and the Aztec cultures

- Recycling grammatical structures (past simple)

Development:

- Time: 8 minutes

Steps:

1. The teacher will ask some questions about the Incas, the Mayas and the Aztecs.

Activity 16. Organisation/Instruction

- Aim: to present learners the different activities that are going to develop as well

as to conduct a draw to assign each group one of the three cultures, Inca, Maya

or Aztec

- Time: 10 minutes

Steps:

1. The teacher will present students the session, explaining them the different

activities they are going to develop. Then, s/he will ask students to sit in their

work groups and finally, s/he will conduct a draw to assign each group a culture.

Activity 17. Information transfer/ Decision making

- Aim: to extract information form written and oral texts reinterpreting the

language content using their own words while students are working

collaboratively

- Time: 30 minutes

Steps:

1. Students will search information about the culture that has been assigned to

their group using the information provided by the teacher (Appendix 9) and

they will extract specific information using a worksheet (Appendix 10).

2. Students will start thinking about the information they are going to include in

their comic and creating a draft.

40

Activity 18. Warm up

- Aim: to get students involved in an English-speaking environment and to make

them feel motivated to begin the lesson

- Time: 2 minutes

Steps:

1. The teacher will greet students in English and s/he will ask one of them to write

the date on the blackboard.

Activity 19. Organisation/ instruction

- Aim: to present students the activity that they are going to carry out during the

session

- Time: 5 minutes

Steps:

1. The teacher will explain to students the activity they are going to develop and

s/he will ask them to sit in their work groups.

Activity 20. Written report

- Aim: to create a comic strips showing the information they have learnt about

the Inca, the Maya and the Aztec cultures.

- Time: 50 minutes

Steps:

1. Each group will work on their comic strips.

SESSION 5. “Comics premier”

Areas: English and Social Sciences Skill1: Speaking and listening

Topic: Inca, Maya and Aztec cultures Time: 55 minutes

Didactic objectives:

- To present the comic strips created by each group

- To evaluate students´ work

- To do brief, rehearsed presentations on the comic created by the group with

considerable accurcy and fluency and using appropriate vocabulary and

grammatical patterns

Linguistic contents:

- Vocabulary related to the Inca, the Maya and the Aztec cultures

- Recycling grammatical structures (past simple)

41

Development:

Activity 21. Warm up

- Aim: to get students involved in an English-speaking environment and to make

them feel motivated to begin the lesson

- Time: 2 minutes

Steps:

1. The teacher will greet students in English and s/he will ask one of them to write

the date on the blackboard.

Activity 22. Organisation/Instruction

- Aim: to explain students the activities that they are going to develop during the

session, to organise the presentations

- Time: 8 minutes

Steps:

1. The teacher will present students how the lesson will be organised.

2. The teacher will conduct a draw to organise the presentations.

Activity 23. Oral report

- Aim: to elaborate, working in groups, an oral presentation using the comic strips

that they have created.

- Time: 45 minutes

Steps:

1. Each will present their own comic strip, each presentation will last about 9

minutes

Activity 24. Recognition

- Aim: to evaluate student´s work by checking that they contain all the

information required

- Time: 45 minutes (while the oral report)

Steps:

1. The teacher will provide each group with a worksheet (Appendix 11) containing

the information they have to evaluate about their classmates´ presentations.

42

3.9.Evaluation

This section is to explain how evaluation of this proposal is going to be developed. First

and foremost, this project will be assessed combining a formative and a summative evaluation

method. With respect to the former, it is carried out during the teaching-learning process. In

fact, its function is purely pedagogical since, it is directed at adapting the teaching-learning

process according to the demands of the students (Allal, 1979, Jorba & Sanmartí, 1993; Jorba

& Casellas, 1997, cited in Díaz- Barriga & Hernández, 2002, p. 406).

Likewise, it is essential to specify that the formative evaluation will be carried out by the

teacher and students. On the one hand, the teacher will assess students´ learning process through

systematic observation during the sessions, and he will collect information regarding students´

involvement, participation, progress and difficulties in the class diary. In addition, the teacher

will assess some specific activities using evaluation rubrics (Appendix 12). On the other,

students will be asked to complete a brief questionnaire (Appendix 13.) at the end of each

session, in which they will reflect about their own learning process. It has been considered to

ask students to reflect on their own process since that way they are developing their learning

awareness.

Subsequently, the summative evaluation is going to be addressed. In it students´ knowledge

are evaluated by the teacher so as to determine if they have reached the objectives established.

Thus, it can be affirmed that it has a social function rather than just pedagogical (Díaz- Barriga

& Hernández, 2002).

With regard to the summative evaluation, it will be carried out by the teacher. Concretely,

in this evaluation the final product, the comic and its presentation will be assessed; to do it, the

teacher will use systematic observation as a technique, and the data will be collected in rubrics.

(Appendix 14).

Having presented both the formative and summative evaluations as well as the moments,

instruments, techniques and educational agents involved in carrying them out, it is paramount

to underline that the formative evaluation will have a greater weight when evaluating students,

since as aforesaid, it takes into account the whole learning process. Finally, it is crucial to

connect this section with the current legislation, particularly, the contents, evaluation criteria

and learning standards gathered in the Decree 1985/2014, which are going to be evaluated in

the present didactic proposal (Appendices 15, 16 and 17).

43

3.10. Transversality

Accepting the fact that, education nowadays is expected to contribute to the holistic

development of students; indeed, the ultimate aim of current education is to provide students

with the tools that will allow them to learn and treat data by their own rather than transmitting

contents that will be meaningless in a future; transversal elements come to the fore. Concretely,

Vírgula (2018) defines “transversal elements” as “those aspects defined by the LOMCE to work

interdisciplinary, in all subjects at Primary and Secondary Education. Having become familiar

with the term, the transversal elements that are going to be addressed in this proposal, gathered

in article 10 of the Real Decree 126/2014.

The first transversal element to be handled is reading comprehension; undoubtedly, the

present proposal will make use of one of the great potentials of comics, to introduce reading to

young learners. In fact, as it is well-known reading comprehension is an essential skill when

learning a language since, it is a valuable input source. Moreover, by reading learners can delve

into topic of their interest. Besides, with respect to reading, two categories, intensive and

extensive reading, can be identified. Regarding the former, which refers to those activities

developed within the classroom setting so as to improve reading skill, it will be developed in

all sessions, by asking students to extract information from different sources. Concerning the

latter, which refers to foster students pleasure in reading, it will be promoted by working with

comics, teaching students how to read them as well as their elements and specific

characteristics, opening students´ minds to different genres.

Subsequently, the second transversal element, oral and written expression, is going to

be addressed. As aforesaid, the present proposal is an endeavour to implement comic books in

the ELF classroom for the development of the four communicative skills; thus, both oral and

written expression in English will be worked and improved along this proposal by a set of

activities, in which the creation of a comic strip and its later presentation are included.

On the other hand, as far as audio-visual communication is concerned, this transversal

content will also be treated during this didactic proposal. Particularly, the comic genre entails

the visual code; thus, by dealing with the elements included within this code students will learn

to read images and to interpret the information they hide.

Audio-visual communication aside, the fourth transversal element, ICTs, will be

presented. As it has been clarified in the first lines of this section, nowadays´ education is aimed

44

at providing students with the tools they will need to deal with information, and thus, it involves

working with ICTs. Specifically, in the present proposal students will work with ICTs by

searching in the Internet the information requested to complete some activities.

Lastly, civic and constitutional education is going to be handled. Retrieving the first

lines of this section, the ultimate goal of the Spanish educational system is to educate citizens,

people able to behave appropriately within a society and therefore, this involves the

development of values and positive attitudes towards cultural diversity. Certainly, the present

didactic proposal will be focused on developing group cohesion by cooperative group, as well

as other values such as respect towards others´ ideas and opinions.

3.11. Attention to diversity

As aforementioned, in the class that has been considered to plan this project, there is a

student who requires an educational attention different to the ordinary for presenting learning

difficulties related to dyslexia, as the article 71.2 of the Organic Law 2/2006 gathers. Dyslexia

is associated to difficulties in learning written skills; thus, following the guidelines proposed by

the legislation, Resolution of July 30, 2019, dictating instructions for the identification and

educational response to the needs of students with learning difficulties, the set of measures that

will be developed are going to be presented.

First and foremost, it is paramount to remark that this proposal will be carried out in

collaborative groups, which contributes to fostering group cohesion and peer-tutoring. With

respect to this, the student will be located in a group in which he feels comfortable and his

classmates can help him, moreover, rather than avoiding his participation in reading and writing

activities, the teacher will ensure that this student is actively taking part and that their classmates

are actually helping him.

Besides, motivation is also fundamental, teachers need to have a positive attitude and

support him to improve his self-esteem, usually affected by this learning difficulty.

With regard to specific measures, the teacher will give brief and simple instructions and

tasks will be sequenced in steps. On the one hand, as the teaching of English concerns, words

will always be introduced orally and later, the written form, accompanied with visual support.

In relation to written skills, comics become a valuable resource to work with dyslexic students,

since their particular language, combining the visual and the verbal codes, makes the process

of decoding information easier since students receive information from two sources.

45

On the other hand, this student will work on the specific vocabulary with the teacher before,

ensuring that he will later be able to follow the lessons. Concerning the evaluation, learning

standards related to oral skills, will have a greater weight than those of written skills. Last but

not least, all the measures taken to cater the learning necessities of this student will be collected

in his Individual Work Plan.

4. CONCLUSION

This project is presented as an attempt to overcome a lacuna in the use of comics for Foreign

Languages Teaching since, comic books have been mainly employed to improve written skills;

nevertheless, as Del Rey Cabrero (2013) and Ana (2015) state an appropriate use of them will

allow to enhance the four linguistic skills. Thereby, departing from this arises the idea to

develop this MA dissertation, in which a didactic proposal in which comics are implemented in

the EFL Primary Education classroom to work the four linguistic skills. Indeed, it can be

asserted that carrying out this dissertation has allowed me to achieve the general objective “to

give comic books the value that they really deserve as an education resource in the Primary

Education in the EFL classroom” as well as to deepen into the complex language of comics, to

discover their huge educational potential and to review previous teaching experiences using

comic strips.

Besides, considering the information reviewed during the development of this project, some

questions have raised: why are comic books undervalued in the educational field? Why comic

strips are not included in the Foreign Languages curriculum taking into account the enormous

educational possibilities that they offer? why are comics limited to the teaching or practice of

reading skill when they also give possibilities to work on the rest of the linguistic skills? why

are comics include in several textbooks but they are not properly worked by teaching students

their main elements, their particular language…?

Personally, I consider that comic books should be given more importance in the English

teaching process, as this project has shown, not only do comic contribute to the improvement

of reading comprehension, but they also enhance significantly the rest of the linguistic skills

and they are a valuable resource to deal with topic of other areas. Furthermore, as it can be

noticed by reviewing previous literature, such undervaluation of the educational potential of

comics is due to their particular language, in which images and words are combined, which led

people to perceive comics as sub-literature. Nevertheless, it is that feature, the combination of

46

these two codes, that makes from comic strips a valuable resource to implement in the EFL

classroom, specially, at the lower levels, since they offer learners the possibility to receive

information from to different sources rather than one, which makes the task of reading easier.

Yet, this is not the only reason that endorses the implementation of this resource in

English lessons, but Artacho (2002, cited in Gordo Ayén, 2017, p. 20) lists a series of reasons

that support the implementation of comics; he remarks that are visually appealing and

enjoyable, they help in learning the meaning of image sequences, they boost creativity and

imagination and they foster visual learning. In relation to the last idea, it is paramount to retrieve

Schwarz´s words (2009, cited in Sadam Issa, 2017, p. 1), in fact, he states that “a new generation

is growing in a highly visual world and complex ideas that were traditionally taught through

the medium of books can today be better conveyed through comics”. Moreover, it is interesting

to highlight that those comics are a compelling source of input in EFL lessons due to their

colloquial language and verb iconic nature (Alonso, 2012). All in all, I encourage English

teachers to consider the educational implications presented in this dissertation, since they can

firmly contribute to improving English teaching in Primary Education and to help young

learners achieve a higher degree of proficiency in that language.

Once the pedagogical implications arisen from this project have been presented, I would

like to comment on the strengths and weaknesses of this dissertation.

On the one hand, I consider that one of the greatest strengths of this project has been to

delve into the potential of comics books as a resource to implement in the EFL classroom not

only for the development of reading comprehension but the four linguistic skills. Moreover,

when planning the didactic proposal, it does not only focus on English but it also addresses

Social Sciences and Literature contents. On the other hand, the main weakness of this

dissertation is that the didactic proposal has not been able to be implemented in an actual class

since, I am currently not working in a school so it has been impossible to put it into practice.

Therefore, the efficiency of the proposal could not be checked, thus, it is mainly based on

theory.

Lastly, after reflecting on the strengths and weaknesses of the present project, some

considerations to be covered in further investigations have emerged. Firstly, it could be

interesting to put the didactic proposal into practice in order to detect their strengths and

weaknesses. Additionally, it will be valuable to do a diagnostic evaluation to adapt the proposal

to the individual needs of students. Last but not least, it will be suitable to interview English

47

Primary Education teachers so as to know their viewpoints regarding comics and their

educational potential to teach English.

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actitudinales. Universidad Marcelino Champagnat, 1-9. Retrieved from:

http://umch.edu.pe/arch/hnomarino/58_Contenidos%20declarativos%20procedimentales%

20y%20actitudinales.pdf

Ley Orgánica 2/2006, de 3 de mayo, de Educación. BOE, 106, 1-112.

Ley Orgánica 8/2013, de 9 de septiembre, para la mejora de la calidad educativa. BOE, 295, 1-

64.

McCloud, C. (1993). Understanding comics. The invisible art (1st ed). New York:

HapperCollinsPublishers.

Nieto Bedoya, M., & Diago Egaña, E. M. (1989). El cómic como recurso didáctico: una

reflexión coeducativa. Tabanque: Revista pedagógica, 5, 53-66 Retrieved from:

http://uvadoc.uva.es/bitstream/handle/10324/8714/Tabanque-1989-5-

ElComicComoRecursoDidactico.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y

Pérez, A.E.M. (2013). Un acercamiento al cómic: origen, desarrollo y potencialidades.

Perspectivas docentes, 50, 12-16.

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23, 2021 from https://dle.rae.es/c%C3%B3mic

50

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51

6. APPENDICES

Appendix 1. PowerPoint Presentation on the language of comics.

52

53

Appendix 2. Information to deepen into the elements of comic books.

54

55

56

Appendix 3. Worksheet on the elements of comics.

57

58

59

Appendix 4. Materials to create the posters about the elements of comics.

60

61

62

63

Appendix 5. PowerPoint presentation on the narrative elements of comic strips.

Appendix 6. Worksheet listening activity.

64

Appendix 7. Worksheet “creating an alternative ending”.

65

Appendix 8. Comic strip on the Inca culture.

Appendix 9. Sources of information to deepen into the Inca, Maya and Aztec cultures.

66

67

Appendix 10. Worksheet guiding the search of information.

68

Appendix 11. Worksheet to evaluate comics presentations.

Appendix 12. Evaluation rubrics for the formative evaluation.

Learning

standard Target

elements Very Poor Poor Average Good Excellent

Listening

1.6. S/he extracts

specific

information of

audio-visual

material on a

given topic

Listening

to the

teacher

reading a

comic

strip.

The student

does not

understand

any, or

understands

very few of

the target

main ideas

(0% -25%).

The student

understands

a limited

number of

the target

main ideas

(26%-

49%).

The student

understands

about half

of the

target main

ideas

(50%-

69%).

The student

understands

more than

half of the

target main

ideas

(70%-

84%).

The student

understands

all, or most

of the

target main

ideas

(85%-

100%).

69

Learning

standard

Target

elements

Very Poor Poor Average Good Excellent

Reading

3. 5. S/he

extracts

specific

information

to complete

a task

(questions on

a narrative)

in paper or

digitally.

Reading

different

sources

provided by

the teacher in

order to

extract

information

students will

need to create

a comic strip.

The student

does not

understand

any, or

understands

very few of

the target

main ideas

(0% -25%).

The student

understands

a limited

number of

the target

main ideas

(26%-49%).

The student

understands

about half

of the

target main

ideas

(50%-

69%).

The student

understands

more than

half of the

target main

ideas

(70%-

84%).

The student

understands

all, or most

of the target

main ideas

(85%-

100%).

Learning

standard Target

elements Very Poor Poor Average Good Excellent

Literature

5.1. S/he

recognizes

key features

of narrative,

poetic and

literary texts

dramatic.

Activity in

which

students

identify and

label the

different

elements of

comics.

The student

does not

identify

and label

any, or

identifies

and labels

very few of

the target

main ideas

(0% -25%).

The student

identifies

and labels a

limited

number of

the target

main ideas

(26%-49%).

The student

identifies

and labels

about half

of the

target main

ideas

(50%-

69%).

The student

identifies

and labels

more than

half of the

target main

ideas

(70%-

84%).

The student

identifies

and labels

all, or most

of the target

main ideas

(85%-

100%).

Appendix 13. Questionnaire students will complete to reflect on their learning process.

70

71

Appendix 14. Evaluation rubrics for the summative evaluation.

Learning

standard Target

elements Very Poor Poor Average Good Excellent

Speaking

2.5. S/he gives

brief, rehearsed

presentations on

familiar topics

with acceptable

pronunciation

prioritizing

fluency and

using simple

structures.

Oral report

presenting

the comic

book that

the

students

have

created

about the

assigned

culture

(Inca,

Aztec or

Maya).

The student

does not

exchange

any, or

exchanges

very little of

the target

information

(0%-25%).

Only up to

the 25% of

the

information

exchanged

is coherent

(fluency,

cohesion,

register)

and/or

accurate (for

grammar

and syntax,

phonetics

and lexis).

The student

exchanges

a limited

number of

the target

information

(26%-

49%).

Only up to

the 26%-

49% of the

information

exchanged

is coherent

(fluency,

cohesion,

register)

and/or

accurate

(for

grammar

and syntax,

phonetics

and lexis).

The student

exchanges

about half

of the

target

information

(50%-

69%).

50%-69%

of the

information

exchanged

is coherent

(fluency,

cohesion,

register)

and/or

accurate

(for

grammar

and syntax,

phonetics

and lexis).

The student

exchanges

more than

half of the

target

information

(70%-

84%).

70%-84%

of the

information

exchanged

is coherent

(fluency,

cohesion,

register)

and/or

accurate

(for

grammar

and syntax,

phonetics

and lexis).

The student

exchanges

more all, or

most of the

target

information

(85%-

100%).

85%-100%

of the

information

exchanged

is coherent

(fluency,

cohesion,

register)

and/or

accurate (for

grammar

and syntax,

phonetics

and lexis).

Learning

standard Target

elements Very Poor Poor Average Good Excellent

Writing

4.5. S/he

uses

previous

knowledge

of the

expressions

and customs

of English-

speaking

countries in

a written

text,

Comic strip

giving

information

about a

particular

culture (Inca,

Maya or

Aztec).

The student

does not

exchange

any, or

exchanges

very little of

the target

information

(0%-25%).

Only up to

the 25% of

the

information

The student

exchanges

a limited

number of

the target

information

(26%-

49%).

Only up to

the 26%-

49% of the

information

The student

exchanges

about half

of the

target

information

(50%-

69%).

50%-69%

of the

information

exchanged

The student

exchanges

more than

half of the

target

information

(70%-84%).

70%-84%

of the

information

exchanged

The student

exchanges

more all, or

most of the

target

information

(85%-

100%).

85%-100%

of the

information

exchanged

72

respecting

courtesy

norms.

exchanged

is coherent

(fluency,

cohesion,

register)

and/or

accurate

(for

grammar

and syntax,

phonetics

and lexis).

exchanged

is coherent

(fluency,

cohesion,

register)

and/or

accurate

(for

grammar

and syntax,

phonetics

and lexis).

is coherent

(fluency,

cohesion,

register)

and/or

accurate

(for

grammar

and syntax,

phonetics

and lexis).

is coherent

(fluency,

cohesion,

register)

and/or

accurate

(for

grammar

and syntax,

phonetics

and lexis).

is coherent

(fluency,

cohesion,

register)

and/or

accurate

(for

grammar

and syntax,

phonetics

and lexis).

Appendix 15. Contents, evaluation criteria and learning standards of the Spanish and Literature

area.

Appendix 16. Contents, evaluation criteria and learning standards of the Social Sciences area.

73

Appendix 17. Contents, evaluation criteria and learning standards of the First Foreign Language

area.

74