The Graphic Novel in the Foreign Language Classroom: A Review Binghamton University‘s 2nd Annual Conference Foreign Language Teaching September 20-21, 2014 The Graphic Novel in the Foreign Language Classroom: A Review Came into this as newbie: what is out there on GN and FL Scanned existing literature in this particular intersection this is the shortest possible overview of major findings with emphasis on concrete exercises: Julia Ludewig Binghamton, State University of New York Department of Comparative Literature

One text – Many competencies 2.1. Linguistic 2.2. (Inter-)Cultural Introduction  One text – Many competencies 2.1. Linguistic 2.2. (Inter-)Cultural 2.3. Multimodal Possible Pitfalls Internet Resources 3 6:30-6:30-6.00

Introduction

What is a GN? “sequential art” (Eisner 1985) long(er) advanced topics fleshed-out characters visually ambitious Often will hear minimalist def. “sequential art” i.e. every cartoon-style narrative that extends over two or more panels - laymen’s definition: comics in book format - Umbrella term for comics and GNs

The fun factor authenticity popular culture young adult literature foreign culture/language as attraction reading motivation non-didacticized texts

Linguistic Competencies First thing to mention: GNs can be used with many assignments teachers have been using with traditional texts Linguistic Competencies

Reading reading aloud (Ranker 2007) for beginners’ reading comprehension: yes/no-questions (Monnin 2009) vocab building >> vocab lists (David-West 2012) When it comes to reading >> aloud = option For beginners GN also be used formalized Vocabulary building E.g. In form of text-based vocab list Two examples from literature

the hat the hairband the fan Monnin suggests to Enlarge sequence for classroom Prepare index cards Have students pin IC to excerpt (Monnin 2009) the fan inspired by Monnin 2009

surprised shocked calm happy joyful sad curious eager bored - More advanced exercise would be to work on adjectives e.g. emotive adj. & those that describe facial expressions Different levels of sophisticaltion: add synonyms - antonyms happy joyful sad curious eager bored inspired by Davis 1997

- Technical vocab Henseler 2012

Writing summaries creative first-person narratives expository papers

Classical gap exercise Panknin & Wieland 2012

The Good Ol’ Reading Log Plus additional section to focus on special panel that students liked Hermann & Schröter 2012

First, they take a walk … Then, they talk about … Called “Sequential art” This invites sequential description In languages like German this sequential description would trigger complicated syntax ALSO perfect exercise for direct and reported speech Finally, Jobs agrees to...

kamen > sind gekommen Präteritum vs. Perfekt war > ist gewesen sah > hat gesehen kamen > sind gekommen lag > hat gelegen Another prominent grammatically-oriented exercise Different tenses for different domains: e.g. French & German employing diff. past tenses Have students transform these tenses into the alternitive inspired by Davis 1997

tu as >> vous avez ta >> votre Last exercise comes into play with languages that have T/V alternation Again: students can find and then rewrite these forms inspired by Bridges 2009

Speaking read aloud >> practice pronunciation retelling >> use own words special emphasis: dialogue & spoken language

Contractions Informal language ya I’m ain’t inspired by Davis 1997

Rude language (Davis 1997)

Meta-cognitive/linguistic abilities (Chun 2009) How does language change according to Situation Participants Function Time Culture different discourses, registers, different ‘masks’ Cross-cultural comparisons onomatopoeia non-verbal communication

Chun 2009

(Inter-) Cultural Competencies

“An important benefit of graphic novels is that they present alternative views of culture, history, and human life in general in accessible ways, giving voice to minorities and those with diverse viewpoints.” Schwarz 2002: 264

Reading your own culture rich in cultural stereotypes (Davis 1997, Vanderbeke 2006) professional stereotypes family roles gender roles … reading in translation

GENDER SEXUALITY ETHNIC IDENTIY

FAMILY ROLES AGE STEREOTYPES

GN as genre (Bridges 2009) culturally and temporarily remote topics changes in the genre, e.g. growing violence (Vandebeke 2006) Maus

Genres within the GN inspired by Bridges 2009 Letters, greetings, answering machine speeches etc. > discourse genres inspired by Bridges 2009

Reading the ‘other’ culture National traditions American superhero comic Japanese manga/anime Francophone bande dessinnée (BD)

Business Culture Ousselin 1997 Not only technical vocabulary on business terms Also different ways of advertising between Gauls and Romans Ousselin 1997

Alternative Views of U.S. Culture

Immigrants’ experiences Transformation that immigrant undergo in their identity

Kimes-Link & Steininger 2012

Humor (not so) funny situations pragmatic failures puns

Multimodal Competencies

critical & media literacy “critically engage with and reflect on the politics of […] representations” “link personal experiences with socio-historical and institutional power relations” (Chun 2009 after Morgan and Ramanathan)

Compare with other GNs on similar theme Barefoot Gen, Persepolis racial profiling and stereotyping African Americans, Latinos compare with other GNs on similar themes Do “some of the experiences of Vladek Spiegelman resonate with … students’ senses of themselves? If so, how and in what ways?” Chun How does racial profiling and stereotyping affect students today? Compare with other GNs on similar theme Barefoot Gen, Persepolis

Multimodality many semiotic codes verbal, visual, aural “Comics are not illustrations of a text, but a certain medium for the combined representation of text and picture. “ (Jüngst 2002)

Visual literacy: content read and interpret gesture, facial expression, movement clothing, perspective, typography, use of color (Templer 2009) how color affects emotions, [...] how angles of viewing affect perception, and how realism or lack of it plays into the message of a work” (“Bridging” PAGE). EXAMPLE: effect of color from “Books to change your life” OR PERSPECTIVE: Froschperspektive vs. Vogel etc.

Henseler 2012 Also means having students describe panels in details Plus describing the effect on them (reader) Henseler 2012

Visual literacy: Panels and Sequences How does the sequence influence meaning? Which clues help the reader to determine a reading order? Why did the artist structure the page this way? How do books employ different sequence patterns? Not only within the panels But also panels as artistic element themselves

Reorder Scrambled up panels Schäfers 2012

Schäfers 2012

Kimes-Link & Steininger 2012

Kimes-Link & Steininger 2012

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Jaeckel & Süreyya Er 2010 Similar task in Sonderheft, S. 21 Add thought bubbles Act scene out with partner Jaeckel & Süreyya Er 2010

visual symbols comics smell, movement, thinking, sound effects etc. visual grammar partly international, partly culture-specific (Derrick 2008) basics of comic design including not only the structure of panels and gutters But also…

Manga iconography Cruciform > anger, irritation Drop > embarrasement

Possible Pitfalls

overemphasizing form (Hallet 2012) inaccessible or pricy material (Vanderbeke 2006) abstract language (Vanderbeke 2006) unintelligible humor (Ousselin 1997) patronizing students (Ousselin 1997) ‘interference’ of words and text (Liu 2004) ethnocentricity (Templer 2009)

Internet Resources

parts of speech idioms comics + worksheets Check out also “Langwich Scool” http://www.grammarmancomic.com/

Create your own comics http://www.makebeliefscomix.com/Comix/ http://bitstrips.com/create/comic http://marvel.com/games/play/34/create_your_own_comic

http://www.humblecomics.com/comicsedu/resources/rubric.doc

Schäfers 2012

syllabi of existing courses, instructional units, message board National Association of Comics Arts Educators (NACAE) syllabi of existing courses, instructional units, message board http://www.teachingcomics.org/

Terminology http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/lesson_images/lesson1102/terms.pdf

http://www. comicsenglish http://www.comicsenglish.com/teachers/comics-in-education-annotated-bibliography

Mainstream comics DC Comics http://www.dccomics.com/ Garfield http://garfield.com/ Comics.com www.archiecomics.com/podcasts OneManga.me

Sources Bridges, Elizabeth. “Bridging the Gap: A Literacy-Oriented Approach to Teaching the Graphic Novel Der erste Frühling.” Die Unterrichtspraxis/Teaching German 42.2 (2009): 151-162. Print. Chun, Christian. “Critical Literacies and Graphic Novels for English-Language Learners: Teaching Maus.” Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy 53.2 (2009): 144–153. Print. David-West, Alzo. “Comics, Contractions, and Classics: At the Sign of the Lion in the University EFL Classroom.” The Journal of the Faculty of Foreign Studies. Aichi Prefectural University. Language and Literature 44 (2012): 103-114. Print. Davis, Randall. “Comics: A Multi-dimensional teaching aid in integrated-skills classes.” ESL-lab, 1998. Web. 6 Jul. 2014. Derrick, Justine. “Using Comics with ESL/EFL Students.” The Internet TESL Journal 11.7 (2008): n.p. Web. 19 Jun. 2014. Eisner, Will. Comics and Sequential Art. New York: Norton, 1985. Print. Hallet, Wolfgang. “Graphic Novels. Literarisches und multiliterales Lernen mit Comic-Romanen.“ Der Fremdsprachliche Unterricht Englisch 117 (2012): 2-9. Print. Henseler, Roswitha. “Story-orientiere Aufgaben zu einer graphic novel stellen.” Der Fremdsprachliche Unterricht Englisch 117 (2012): 10-13. Print. Hermann, Frank, and Anne Schröter. “Sophisticated Suspense. Fremdverstehen anhand einer graphic novel trainieren.” Der Fremdsprachliche Unterricht Englisch 117 (2012): 39-45. Print. Jaeckel, Ralph, and Mehmet Süreyya Er. “ Faruk Geç’s A Letter from Germany. An interactive module for self-study and classroom use. Adapted for students of Turkish.” CIS University of Chicago, n.d. Web. 15 Septemeber 2014.

Sources (ctd.) Jüngst, Heike. “ Textsortenrealisierung im Comic-Format. Comics zum Fremdsprachenlernen." Lebende Sprachen 47 (2002): 1-6. Print. Kimes-Link, Ann, and Ivo Steininger. “American Born Chinese. Sich anhand einer graphic novel mit dem Leben zwischen zwei Kulturen auseinandersetzen.” Der Fremdsprachliche Unterricht Englisch 117 (2012): 28-33. Print. Liu, Jun. “Effects of comic strips on L2 learners’ reading comprehension.” TESOL Quarterly 38.2 (2004): 225-243. Print. Monnin, Katie. Teaching Graphic Novels. Practical Strategies for the Secondary ELA Classroom. Gainsville: Maupin House, 2009. Print. Ousselin, Edward. “Ils sont frais, mes menhirs”: Comic strips in the business French class. Journal of Language for International Business, 8.2 (1997): 22-35. Print. Panknin, Christian, and Björn Wieland. “Let’s get outta here. Die Handlung einer graphic novel nachvollziehen.” Der Fremdsprachliche Unterricht Englisch 117 (2012): 16-21. Print. Ranker , Jason. “Using comic books as read-alouds: Insights on reading instruction from an English as a second language classroom. The Reading Teacher, 61.4: 296-305. Print. Schäfers, Monika. “This is not a diary. Narrative Strategien von grafischer Literatur untersuchen.” Der Fremdsprachliche Unterricht Englisch 117 (2012): 22-27. Print. Schwarz , Gretchen. “Graphic novels for multiple literacies.” Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy 46 (2002): 262-65. Print. Templer 2009 in Humanising Language Teaching 11; Issue 3; Vanderbeke, Dirk. “Comics and graphic novels in the classroom.” Cultural Studies in the EFL Classroom. Ed. Werner Delanoy, and Laurenz Volkmann. Heidelberg, Winter. 2002. 365-379. Print.