Comics in the Classroom

Everybody loves comic strips. And as teachers we want out students to enjoy learning. So another tool that can be used in the classroom to make learning fun; is the comic strip. There are many ways to use this. A simple idea would be to bring the comics section of the newspaper into class,students have fun and practice reading. To practice writing, you could have your students create their own dialogues and paste them over the text boxes. If you have some tech savvy students or you want to create your own custom lesson, there are several free options for making a comic strip online. Goanimate is the site I tried. It took a bit of time and a lot of patience, but totally worth it if you have a particular message or lesson you want to show.
I attempted to illustrate how an outsider might feel when attempting a seemingly simple task of ordering at a  Donut Shop .  The language is only the first hurtle you must jump when coming to America. Many foreigners are overwhelmed at the choices offered, the stream of questions,the special offers and even mundane small talk. These can all lead to a person feeling confused and leaving without buying anything in an attempt to save face. These feelings can be addressed or even avoided with the right tools and explanations. In my classroom, I would use these comic scenarios to prepare students for situations they are likely to encounter, while exposing them to typical conversational phrases.