Effects of Comic Strips on L2 Learners' Reading Comprehension JUN LIU University of Arizona Tucson, Arizona, United States
This article reports the results of an experiment investigating the role of comic strips on ESL learners' reading comprehension. The students' proficiency levels were estimated, and students were organized into a low intermediatelevel proficiency group !lowlevel students" and a high intermediatelevel proficiency group !highlevel students". Students in each group were presented with either a highlevel text or a lowlevel text, and the text was presented with or without a comic strip. Twoway and threeway #$%&#s #$%&#s run on data from 1( immediate recall protocols reveal that the lowlevel students receiving the highlevel text with the comic strip scored significantly higher than their counterparts receiving the highlevel text only. They also show that providing a comic strip with the highlevel text did not enhance the highlevel students' recall. )n addition to offering pedagogical suggestions, ) discuss results in light of the dual coding theory and refer to to other cognitive theories such as mental model, noticing, and the repetition hypothesis.
E *L and ESL teachers often give students reading materials accompanied +y visuals such as pictures, cartoons, or comic strips to mae reading more en-oya+le and compre com prehen hensi+ si+le. le. Li Liew ewise ise,, ES ESL L and E*L tex text+o t+oo o des design igners ers and ma mater terial ialss developers often use visuals to provide context, which helps engage students in readin rea ding. g. #lo #long ng wi with th pra practi ctice ce ori orient ented ed ue uesti stions ons,, L/ rea readin ding g spe specia cialis lists ts and researchers have investigated whether using visuals or not maes a difference in L/ learners' reading comprehension, and what types of visuals wor +etter for learners at different proficiency levels. This study helps to resolve theoretical and practical issues in L/ reading +y investigating to what extent including comics as visual support for ESL texts increases reading comprehension.
TESOL QUARTERLY Vol. 38, No. 2, Summer 2004
1
THE EFFECT OF VISUALS
4any reading comprehension studies consider the extent to which visuals, that is, any graphic display that portrays all or some of the accompanying text's content, help readers to comprehend factual information. These studies usually compare how well readers remem+er a text with visuals and how well they remem+er a text withou wit houtt vis visual uals, s, and the they y gen genera erally lly fin find d tha thatt vis visual ualss in tex textt fa facil cilita itate te rea reader ders' s' comprehension and memory.
2esearchers !e.g., Levie 5 Lentz, 167/8 Levin, #nglin, 5 9arney, 167(" have outlined five ma-or functions of visuals in reading.
: :
2epresentation; &isuals repeat the text's content or su+stantially overlap with the text. %rganization; &isuals &isuals enhance the text's coherence.
:
)nterpretation; &isuals &isuals provide the reader with more concrete information.
:
Transformation; &isuals target critical information in the text and recode it in a more memora+le form.
:
/
TES%L 0#2TE2L3
DUAL CODING THEORY
2esearchers have used numerous theoretical framewors to descri+e, explain, and predict the effects of visuals on cognition in general and on reading comprehension in particular, among them the mental model theory !4arcus, 9ooper, 5 Sweller, 166@", the repetition hypothesis !=yselinc 5 Tardieu, 1666", and the dual coding theory !>aivio, 16(1, 167@8 Sadosi 5 >aivio, /1". The dual coding theory !<9T", which concerns the nature of language and imagery, can perhaps provide a framewor to unify these disparate theories.
The inclusion of nonver+al aspects of cognition such as mental imagery is Athe most novel facet of this approach in a modern context,
E**E9TS %* 9%4)9 ST2)>S
?
+ut it provides a comprehensive account of the ver+al, linguistic aspects of cognition as wellA !Sadosi 5 >aivio, /1, p. /". )n <9T, the linguistic coding system can +e called the verbal system, and the nonver+al coding system can +e called the imagery system. These two systems ena+le the analysis of external scenes and the generation of internal mental images. Cowever, unlie schemata theory, <9T assumes that the ver+al system is organized seuentially and the nonver+al system is organized non seuentially, resulting in different constraints in processing. #ccording to Sadosi and >aivio !/1", Athe structuring and processing of these mental representations, or encodings, is the +asis of all cognition in this theoryA !p. B?". )n reading, <9T accounts for hypothesized +ottomup and topdown processes. 2egarding +ottomup processes, <9T assumes that language units derived from natural language are organized and mentally represented in various sensory modalities. Dased on familiarity and the effects of context, the reader may use these representations to perceive graphemephoneme correspondences, and the visual, auditory, andor articu latory configurations of letters, words, or word seuences. 2egarding topdown processes, <9T provides a +roader and more specific account of meaning, coherence, and inference effects. #ctivating +oth ver+al and nonver+al mental representations of text helps readers create alternative, interconnected contexts for generating inferences and integrating text, which ena+les them to alter their accessing strategies along a continuum from feature perception to inferential text modeling.
L1 Reading Research
<9T has +een used as a theoretical framewor for studying L1 reading comprehension. 2esearchers have found that pictures duplicating information in the text improve reading comprehension and memory. To examine how high school students used illustrations to comprehend technical materials, for example, >urnell and Solman !1661" conducted five experiments; Some students received text alone, some received a visual illustrating the same content alone, and others received +oth the text and the visuals. )n accordance with <9T, they found that the text and illustration presented together produced +etter results than either did alone, even when students were repeatedly exposed to either the text or the illustration. These results are consistent with other research conducted +y Fulhavy, Lee, and 9aterino !167G", who found that fifth graders +etter understood and retained information in maps and prose directions when it was presented in +oth spatial and ela+orated ver+al forms rather than either form alone. Their con-oint retention hypothesis is acnowledged as a rendition of <9T. B
TES%L 0#2TE2L3
#long with exposure to +oth pictures and text, =am+rell and Hawitz !166?" investigated the relative effectiveness of induced mental imagery, attention to story illustrations, and +oth together. They found that students who had attended to +oth text and illustrations and who had formed their own mental images performed +etter on several measures of comprehension than students who had studied +oth text and illustrations, and who in turn performed +etter than students who had studied text alone. 4ore recently, 4ayer !1666" investigated educational multimedia explanations including science text and illustrations. 4ayer found that words and pictures together produced +etter recall and transfer than either did alone, and that individual differences in a+ility were a factor. )n every experimental test in his research program, the multimedia group outperformed the single representation group. Doth 4ayer's and =am+rell and Hawitz's studies are consistent with <9T principles.
L2 Reading Research
<9T is also a useful theoretical framewor for studying the effects of visuals on L/ reading comprehension. To investigate the reading comprehension of a group of seventhgrade ESL students, Tang !166/" ased one group of students to read academic texts with the help of graphic classification trees reflecting the organization of the text, and the other group to read without the graphic trees. The results revealed that the students who had the graphic trees performed significantly +etter on recall protocols. The visuals may have helped improve comprehension +ecause they provided Aadditional contextual informationA !Cadley, /1, p. 1G", which is consistent with <9T.
2esearchers have also investigated the effects of different types of visuals on reading comprehension. )n her study of Englishspeaing college students reading a story in *rench under six pictorial context conditions, %maggio !16((, 16(6" found that using several pictures together is not necessarily +etter than using -ust one. )n their study comparing the effects of video segments and still pictures on the foreign language reading comprehension of a group of Englishspeaing fifth graders studying *rench, Canley, Cerron, and 9ole !166G" found that students who watched video segments that presented the narratives !the &ideo 9ondition =roup, n I ?1" performed +etter on followup, short answer comprehension tests than those who listened to the teacher read the narratives aloud while following along in the text and studying four still pictures that illustrated the narrative's meaning !the >icture plus Teacher $arrative 9ondition =roup, n I ?1". Cudson !167/" investigated the effects of visuals on adult ESL learners at +eginning, intermediate, and advanced proficiency levels. Ce E**E9TS %* 9%4)9 ST2)>S
G
assessed the su+-ects' reading comprehension on three passages under each of the three conditions; !a" Su+-ects saw pictures related to the passage, received focus uestions, and wrote down predictions +efore reading8 !+" su+-ects received voca+ulary lists and discussed definitions +efore reading8 and !c" su+-ects read the passage, too a test on it, reread the passage, then too a test on it again. Cis study found that at lower proficiency levels, procedure !a", pictures plus uestions and predictions, was more effective, +ut at more advanced levels, procedures !+", voca+ulary lists and definitions, and !c", read, test, reread, retest, were more effective than procedure !a". Dased on his finding, Cudson concluded that visual imagery via picture cues can overcome deficits of lower proficiency readers and that more advanced readers +ring more nonvisual information to the reading comprehension process. #lthough Cudson did not directly associate this result with <9T, the salient finding that using visuals helped lowproficiency level students merits further investigation from that perspective.
CARTOONS AS VISUALS
# comic strip is defined in this study as a series of pictures inside +oxes that tell a story. #mong visual genres, comic strips catch many researchers' attention +ecause they are communicative, popular, accessi+le, and reada+le, and they com+ine aesthetic perception with intellectual pursuit !Carvey, 166B8 )nge, 1668 %'Sullivan, 16(18 Swain, 16(78 Jaller, 1661". 9omic strips communicate using two ma-or mediaKwords and imagesKa somewhat ar+itrary separation +ecause comic strips' expressive potential lies in sillfully employing words and images together.
eanuts comic strip. )n a more recent article, Jright and Sherman !1666" argued that teachers can promote literacy, higher level thining, and writing sills +y encouraging students to
@
TES%L 0#2TE2L3
com+ine words and pictures to create comic strips. They further asserted that if teachers want students to +ecome literate, critical, and creative thiners, then they must align curricula, teaching strategies, and instructional resources. )n the area of reading and writing, the tas is to stimulate students' thining a+out explicit and implicit meanings conveyed +y textual material. Jright and Sherman concluded that teachers can accomplish this tas +y using comic strips as +oth a method and medium of instruction. 9omic strips have also +een used to teach second or foreign languages. %usselin !166(" argued that teaching +usiness culture and terminology reuires a variety of pedagogical resources. Ce suggested that comic strips, +ecause they are versatile, easy to use, and culturally relevant, can complement text+oos and activities commonly used in +usiness *rench courses. Jilliams !166G" investigated how comic +oos can +e used as instructional materials for ESL students with low intermediatelevel English language sills, and with limited discourse and interactive competence. Jilliams found that using comic strips in second language classrooms can guide students to hypothesize a+out the cartoons' language, raise awareness of pragmatics, and emphasize language's underlying regularity.
THE STUDY
2esearch within the <9T framewor has shown that ver+al and nonver+al coding systems wor +etter together for +oth L1 and L/ reading comprehension than either one of them wors alone. Dut in the L/ context it is not clear which types of visual organizers help which inds of learners !e.g., at different proficiency levels, and with different learning styles". )t is unclear to what extent a certain type of visual element can help learners' reading comprehension or when a certain type of visual element should +e presented to facilitate text comprehension. #+ove all, it is unclear what cognitive processes use visuals to +ring a+out +eneficial effects. Cadley !/1" raises a num+er of issues regarding the role of visual elements in L/ reading comprehension. She ass whether pictures, drawings, or other visual elements can actually enhance students' comprehension of L/ texts and calls for research to demonstrate the differential effects of certain types and num+ers of visuals on students at various proficiency levels !/1, p. 1B6". This study employs one type of visualsKcomic stripsKto test whether presenting the text with or without the comic strip generates different results among L/ learners at different proficiency levels. The specific research uestions are
E**E9TS %* 9%4)9 ST2)>S
(
:
Jhat effect does presenting text with comic strips have on L/ students' reading comprehension
:
ETHODS This study employed a / !English proficiency level; high, low" M / !text difficulty; difficult, easy" M / !visual support; with, without comic strips" factorial design, using volunteers from ESL classes at a university in the nited States.
!ar"ici#an"s
This study's target population is adult ESL learners reuired to tae ESL courses +efore or after enrolling in either undergraduate or graduate programs in .S. universities. The sample was taen from those who registered for various ESL courses in an ESL center at a large southwestern university during a recent summer language program. Jhen they enroll, all the students are reuired to tae a placement test, and +ased on their test results, their core proficiency level is estimated on a scale from 1 to (.
#ll students tae an essay writing test !? minutes". # committee grades the essays holistically. The placements are used to determine whether a student should +e in a writing class at a proficiency level different from his or her core level. Students then tae the ST29T2E !S#" portion of the 9ELT !BG minutes" followed +y the L)STE$)$= !L#" portion of the 9ELT !approximately ? minutes". The results from the two 9ELT tests are entered into the computer, which converts the raw scores to percentages. # perfect composite score would +e /N. Students are placed in a regular 7wee program according to the following scale; : Level ( for those who score 1/@ or higher 7
TES%L 0#2TE2L3
:
Level @ for those who score 1G1/G
E**E9TS %* 9%4)9 ST2)>S
6
:
:
Level G for those who score 6G1B
:
Level B for those who score ((6B
:
Level ? for those who score @G(@
Students whose essays contain only a few words or nothing and students who score ?N or +elow on the ST29T2E section !raw score O /B" go directly to 1s/s ?s testing. )n this testing procedure, students tae the writing test as a group then tae the oral interview individually. The committee, which consists of experienced teachers, then compiles the scores and places students at the appropriate proficiency level. 9lassroom instructors distri+uted a consent letter to a+out 1?G 9ESL students representing B@ countries !the ma-ority of the students are Cispanics, #ra+s, Hapanese, 9hinese, and Forean" enrolled in /hour reading classes, and the ma-ority of the students !$ I 1(" signed the consent letter. #fter consulting with the program coordinator and instructors, all 1( participants were clustered into either the low intermediate proficiency group !Levels 1?" or the high intermediate proficiency group !Levels B(". #s it turned out, the num+er of students was almost evenly divided +etween the two clusters, with G? in the low intermediate proficiency group and GB in the high intermediate proficiency group.
Ins"r$%en"a"i&n The instruments for the study were two texts, one high level and one low level !see #ppendix #", and one comic strip !see #ppendix 9". The comic strip was selected from a text+oo !#shenas, 167G" and modified to ensure overall comprehensi+ility, the a+sence of cultural +ias, and minimal written scripts. Each text was constructed for students at one of two proficiency levels. Text 1 was created for ESL students at the low intermediate level8 it was relatively short !/G words", with a more limited voca+ulary, simple syntax, and controlled use of slang and idioms. Text / was created for ESL students at the high intermediate level8 it was longer than Text 1 !? words" and had more complicated syntax, a larger voca+ulary, and used slang and idioms. #lthough the texts' linguistic difficulty levels were different, +oth texts conveyed a+out the same information as the comic strip. The researcher, a nonnative Englishspeaing professional, created the texts, then 1
TES%L 0#2TE2L3
two native English speaers trained in applied linguistics modified them. %nce the texts were developed, a linguist evaluated the comic strip's relevance to the texts' content and each text's voca+ulary, syntax, discourse, and idiomatic language. The instruments were fieldtested among five ESL learners in a local intensive language program !two highlevel students and three
E**E9TS %* 9%4)9 ST2)>S
11
lowlevel students", and the instrument was modified one last time +efore it was used in the study.
Da"a C&''ec"i&n The researcher collected data with the help of language program coordinators and instructors. Students in each cluster were randomly divided into four treatment groups, with 1? or 1B students in each group. The four treatments were
:
T1, lowlevel text only
:
T/, lowlevel text with comic strips
:
T?, highlevel text only
:
TB, highlevel text with comic strips
To differentiate treatments and to ease data collection, different colored papers were used for different treatment groups !e.g., white for T1, yellow for T/, pin for T?, and green for TB".
1/
TES%L 0#2TE2L3
"Ka postreading tas designed to test students' a+ilities to understand texts without the help of outside materials. 2esearch in second and foreign language reading favors )2> !over multiple choice and truefalse formats, among others" as a valid means of assessing reading comprehension for foreign language students !e.g., Dernhardt, 167@, 1661". Hohnston !167?" claims that the )2> is the most straightforward assessment of the interaction +etween reader and text. Dernhardt !167@" asserts that this method offers insight into the method of reconstruction that the reader
E**E9TS %* 9%4)9 ST2)>S
1?
employs to encode information in a text. Dernhardt !1661" also maintains that the immediate recall protocol avoids many of the pitfalls commonly found in other assessment measures. )n sum, the )2> demands that the reader comprehend the text well enough to recall it coherently and logically, and it allows misunderstandings or gaps in comprehension to surfaceKa feature that other methods of evaluation cannot offer. Data Analysis
The participants' written )2>s were scored +y three language specialists !the researcher and the two research assistants" using the simple propositional analysis system +ased on pausal units or +reath groups !Hohnson, 16(". ) opted not to use idea units for scoring so that ) could capture different levels of recall +ased on the fourvalue system designed for the study. Each recall protocol was first divided into accepta+le pausal units !each unit refers to a pause during normally paced oral reading" that are then raned from 1 to B points depending on their salience to the message of the text. *our points are given to the units having the greatest semantic significance and one point to the least. The three raters first wored independently determining the pausal units of each recall, and then cali+rated their results +efore they each rated the recalls according to the normed numerical value for each pausal unit. The interrater relia+ility was high !.6G".
)nterpretations of numerical values are &alue B !information essential to the story, and telegraphic account of the story"8 &alue ? !important +ut not necessarily essential information"8 &alue / !additional or redundant information that helped to reveal the story's completeness"8 and &alue 1 !trivial or su+ordinate information, which least affects the story line". See #ppendix 9 for an example.
Decause the num+er of pausal units in the highlevel text !n I (7" is greater than in the lowlevel text !n I @7", and +ecause the numerical values assigned to the pausal units over four values in the highlevel text !total points I 177" is different from those in the lowlevel text !total points I 1(", the numerical values were converted to percentages. *or instance, if a student reading the lowtext with or without a comic strip received 1 points out of 1(, then this student's points were converted to G7.7N. Liewise, if a student reading the highlevel text with or without a comic strip received 1 points out of 177, then this student's points were converted to G?./N.
1B
TES%L 0#2TE2L3
RESULTS
The results indicated that the comic strips accompanying a written text do not have a uniform effect across proficiency levels. )nstead, as shown in *igure 1, the lowlevel students receiving the highlevel text with the comic strip scored significantly higher than the lowlevel students receiving the highlevel text only. #dding comic strips to the highlevel text for the more proficient learners, however, does not enhance this group's recalls. # threeway #$%&# was carried out to test for statistical significance of the o+served differences !see Ta+le 1". The high proficiency level students tended to score significantly higher overall than the low proficiency level students, thus confirming their different proficiency levels, * !1, 1G" I 16./?, p I .. #ll participants scored significantly higher on easy texts than on difficult ones, * !1, 1G" I ??.1(, p I .. 9omics use had no significant effect on the performance of these participants as a group, *!1, 1G" I 1.17, p I ./7. Cowever, comics use did interact significantly with participants' proficiency level, *!1, 1G" I 7.1@, p I .G. This interaction suggests that comics use had a differential effect on the two groups. )t had a significant effect on the low proficiency group +ut not on the high proficiency group. $o other significant interaction was found. )n sum, the analyses show that using comic strips significantly enhanced the performance of lowlevel students +ut had little impact on the performance of highlevel participants. FIGURE 1 !ar"ici#an"s( ean !ercen"ages &) C&rrec" Reca''s
( @ G B ? / 1
4>LL
4>CL
) ) Jithout 9omics
L>LL
L>CL
) ) Jith 9omics
Note. 4>LL I more proficient, lowlevel text8 4>CL I more proficient, highlevel text8 L>LL I low proficient, lowlevel text8 L>CL I low proficient, highlevel text.
E**E9TS %* 9%4)9 ST2)>S
1G
df
TA*LE 1 Three+,a- ANOVA &) !ar"ici#an"s( !er)&r%ance Source 4odel
(
Sum of suares 1@611./B
4ean suare /B1G.76
*
Si
6.7
.
g.
S
1
B@6@.@6
B@6@.@6
16./
.
T
1
767.77
767.77
??.1
.
9
1
/7(.6@
/7(.6@
1.1
./7
SPT
1
B?6.BG
B?6.BG
1.7
.17
SP9
1
166/.71
166/.71
7.1
.1
1
B/6.G
B/6.G
1.(
.16
1
/6/.@@
/6/.@@
1.1
./7
66
/B1(G.6(
/BB./
1@
B17(./
T P 9
Error
S P T P 9
Total
Note. S I student level8 T I text difficulty8 9 I comics use.
DISCUSSION
Jhen lowlevel students have difficulties comprehending the high level text, their recall is poor !16.B1N". That means the students in this group comprehended a+out onefifth of the information in the text, although it does not necessarily mean that they did not comprehend the text +ecause pro+lems recalling information could result from pro+lems in encoding, storing, or retrieving the information. The linguistic input !text" might not +e transferred to output +ecause of poor intae !=ass, 1677".
Cowever, students at the same level had significantly higher scores !?7.(N" in their recall protocols when the text was presented together with the comic strip. Students might have shifted their attention from the text to the accompanying comic strip when they realized that they did not fully comprehend the L/ input !text". )n return, the comic strip, which they did comprehend, might lead students to notice the text's linguistic input and thus ena+le them to comprehend the text through matching and mapping among factors such as word recognition, phonographemic features, syntax, intertextual perceptions, and +acground nowledge !Dernhardt, 1661". The interaction +etween the text and the comic strip thus facilitated the students' comprehension and output !recall protocols".
%verall, the pattern of results in the study is consistent with <9T. The lowlevel students apparently did not need the pictures to support the simpler text, and the higher proficiency group liewise did not need the pictures to support either the simpler or the more difficult text versions. 1@
TES%L 0#2TE2L3
Cowever, the lower proficiency group did significantly +etter with the more difficult text when it was supported with pictures +ecause presenting the text with pictures ena+led them to read the text using two sources of information instead of-ust one.
#ccording to <9T, the process of reading involves at least two coding systems; a ver+al system and a nonver+al system. These two systems are interconnected +ut independent. <9T holds that pictures are stored only in the nonver+al code and language is stored only in the ver+al code, +ut referential connections may +e forged +etween them. The pictures in this study could not +e stored in the ver+al code +ecause they are not ver+al, +ut they could +e stored in the nonver+al code and associated with their respective text descriptions in the ver+al code. <9T helps to explain why the comic strip reiterating information from the text facilitated comprehension of the text, +ut <9T does not explain why the highlevel students did not +enefit from the comic strip presented with the highlevel text.
The mental model theory proposed +y 4arcus, 9ooper, and Sweller !166@", however, seems to offer a plausi+le explanation. These researchers argue that graphics or illustrations can reduce the cognitive load associated with complex reasoning tass +ecause they can present essential information more concisely than euivalent textual statements. )llustrations are easier to process than text +ecause they show spatial relations, whereas text reuires the reader to construct a mental representation of the relations. )n other words, visuals facilitate mental model +uilding. #ccording to =len+erg, Fruley, and Langston !166B", Athe entities in the encoded picture would serve as referent for the words in the text, and the encoded picture would +ecome a mental modelA !p. @1@". )n this scenario, visuals act as a transitory step in the process of transforming text into mental images that eventually +ecome a mental model.
Dut when the comic strips do not reflect the highlevel text's linguistic complexities, the simpler comics tend to interfere with readers' a+ility to construct a mental model as complex as the text. #ccording to this logic, to construct an accurate mental model of the text, readers need visuals that closely mirror the text's structure and complexity. The compati+ility of the comic strips with the lowlevel text supports this logic. They greatly facilitated the comprehension of the low intermediatelevel students in the study.
E**E9TS %* 9%4)9 ST2)>S
1(
The comic strip's noneffect on highlevel students' comprehension of highlevel texts can +e further explained +y AnoticingA !Schmidt, 166".
17
TES%L 0#2TE2L3
linguistic input. This explains why lowlevel students reading the high level text with the comic have a +etter recall than their counterparts who read only the high level text without the comic. Dut comic strips can also distract the reader from the text's linguistic complexities, especially when they do not reflect the information em+edded in the text. The highlevel students do not +enefit from the comic strip accompanying the highlevel text +ecause the comic strip provides simplified input that shifts their attention away from the complexities of linguistic structure and the details of the story that the comic strip does not reveal. The differential effects of comic strips on the reading comprehension of learners at different levels challenges the commonly held assumption that comic strips accompanying texts can improve students' reading comprehension, thus calling into uestion Sadosi and >aivio's !/1" claim that the <9T is universal.
The results of this study suggest that the effects of comic strips on L/ learners' reading comprehension are constrained +y a num+er of factors, such as the students' comprehension level of the written text, their individual strategies for processing the text, and the way their reading comprehension is measured !e.g., multiple choice vs. recall protocols". nlie multiple choice tests that are Aoften not passage dependentA !Dernhardt, 1661, p. 167", recall protocols reuire the reader to retrieve information that reflects his or her level of reading comprehension. Decause we ased the students in the study to do recall protocols after they had finished reading, they used what we had given them !i.e., lowlevel or highlevel text, and with or without the comic strip" to process the information and perform the tas !recall protocols".
The study's results also imply that the advantage of providing comic strips with reading text diminishes when the student has difficulty comprehending the text. %n the contrary, when the comic strip does not reflect the text's linguistic complexities, it does not enhance students' recalls. The effect of comic strips on reading comprehension largely depends on the uality of the repetition effect. Jhen the information from the text and from the illustration are well integrated, they AQactR as if the information was presented twice, thus enhancing performanceA !=yselinc 5 Tardieu, 1666, p. /11". This study suggests that the reading comprehension of the lowlevel students was greatly facilitated when the comic strip repeated the information presented in the text. 9omic strips accompanying highlevel texts, however, often do not reflect the text's linguistic complexity and tend to suggest only the +asic information or the story line. sing comic strips with the highlevel text might have prevented the
E**E9TS %* 9%4)9 ST2)>S
16
highlevel students from exploring the text's complexities as indicated in the recall protocols. Therefore, visuals that do not reflect the text's linguistic
/
TES%L 0#2TE2L3
complexity can hinder reading comprehension when the reader assumes that the visual and the text carry the same information.
I!LICATIONS
The results of this study suggest that materials developers designing text+oos for ESL and E*L learners should choose the visuals cautiously. Jhether they +e pictures, cartoons, or comic strips, visuals should reflect the text's linguistic complexity and help the reader process the linguistic input and retrieve the necessary information for output. #lthough striving to maximize comprehension +y choosing visuals that are compati+le with the text, they should also consider the readers' language proficiency levels. L/ reading teachers should use pictures and visual aids with caution, regardless of learners' ages or stage of language development, +ecause overloading them with images might not challenge them cognitively. Teachers should also consider which types of visuals wor +etter for learners at different proficiency levels. Jhile this study tests only the effects of comic strips on adult L/ learners, there are many other visual forms !e.g., cartoons, illustrations, photos, maps, ta+les, and charts" that might have different effects on second and foreign language learners' reading comprehension. *or instance, language learners might find political cartoons, with their implicit meaning, more cognitively challenging. *uture research should consider the effects of these other genres on reading comprehension so that text+oo designers and materials developers can mae informed decisions when selecting visual aids for language text+oos. #lthough this study suggests that comic strips have an effect on L/ learners' reading comprehension, it did not test comic strips' effect on learners' L/ retention, which is another su+-ect for future research. *urthermore, using recall protocols as scoring measurement is too timeconsuming for practitioners to use in real classrooms. 2esearchers might use other testing measures in similar studies to find a more efficient and effective way to measure reading comprehension that second and foreign language teachers can use in their classrooms. AC.NO/LEDGENTS
) would lie to than the niversity of #rizona for providing a grant that ena+led me to execute this pro-ect. ) would also lie to than Sara Fim, $an Hiang, 2andy Sadler, >aula =under, and Hian Hianhua for their support and assistance.
E**E9TS %* 9%4)9 ST2)>S
/1
THE AUTHOR Hun Liu is an associate professor of English at the niversity of #rizona. Cis research interests include curriculum development, sylla+us design, teacher education, classroomoriented research, and secondlanguage writing. Ce is the author of Asian Students' Classroom Communication Patterns in U.S. Universities !/1", coauthor of Peer Resonse in Second !anguage "riting Classrooms !//", and he serves as coeditor of the 4ichigan Series on Teaching 4ultilingual Jriters and editor of the Revie# of Alied !inguistics in C$ina.
REFERENCES #shenas, H. !167G". Comics and conversation% Using $umor to elicit conversation and
develo vocabulary. Studio 9ity, 9#; H#=.
Dernhardt, E. D. !167@". 2eading in the foreign language. )n D. C. Jing !Ed.", !istening, readin g #riting% Analysis and alication !pp. 6?11G". 4iddle+ury, &T; $orthwest 9onference on the Teaching of *oreign Languages.
Dernhardt, E. D. !1661". Reading develoment in a second language. $ew Hersey; #+lex. =am+rell, L. D., 5 Hawitz, >. D. !166?". 4ental imagery, text illustrations, and children's story comprehension and recall. Reading Researc$ &uarterly, (, /@B/(@. '
=ass, S. !1677". )ntegrating research areas; # framewor for second language studies.
Alied !inguistics ), 167/1(.
=len+erg, #. 4., Fruley, >., 5 Langston, J. E. !166B". #nalogical processes in comprehension; Simulation of a mental model. )n 4. #. =erns+acher !Ed.", *andboo+ of syc$olinguistics !pp. @6@B". San
=yselinc, &., 5 Tardieu, C. !1666". The role of illustrations in text comprehension; Jhat, when, for whom, and why )n C. van %ostendorp 5 S. 2. =oldman !Eds.", T$e construction of mental reresentations during reading !pp. 16G/17". 4ahwah, $H; Lawrence Erl+aum.
//
TES%L 0#2TE2L3
Cadley, #. %. !/1". Teac$ing language in contet !?rd ed.". Doston; Ceinle 5 Ceinle. Canley, H, Cerron, 9., 5 9ole, S. !166G". sing video as an advance organizer to a
written passage in the *LES classroom. -odern !anguage /ournal 0), G(@@. Carrison, S. L. !1667". 9artoons as a teaching tool in -ournalism history. /ournalism
and ass Communication 1ducator, 23456, 6G11.
Carvey, 2. 9. !166B". T$e art of t$e funnies% An aest$etic $istory. Hacson; niversity >ress of 4ississippi.
Cudson, T. !167/". The effects of induced schemata on the Ashort circuitA in L/ reading; $on decoding factors in L/ reading performance. !anguage !earning 3, 1?1. ' ''
)nge, 4. T. !166". Comic as culture. Hacson; niversity >ress of 4ississippi. Hohnson, 2. E. !16(". 2ecall of prose as a function of the structural importance of
the linguistic units. /ournal of 7erbal !earning and 7erbal 8e$avior, ), 1//. Hohnston, >. C. !167?". Reading comre$ension assessment% A cognitive basis. $ewar,
)nternational 2eading #ssociation.
Fulhavy, 2. J., 5 Lee, D. H., 5 9aterino, L. 9. !167G". 9on-oint retention of maps and
related discourse. Contemorary 1ducational Psyc$ology, 59, /7?(.
Levie, J. C., 5 Lentz, 2. !167/". Effects of text illustrations; # review of research.
E**E9TS %* 9%4)9 ST2)>S
/?
1ducation Communication and Tec$nology /ournal, 39, 16G/?/.
Levin, H. 2., #nglin, =. H., 5 9arney, 2. $. !167(". %n empirically validating functions of pictures in prose. )n <. 4. Jillows 5 C. #. Coughton !Eds.", T$e syc$ology of illustration% 7olume :. 8asic researc$ !pp. G17@". $ew 3or; Springer&erlag.
/B
TES%L 0#2TE2L3
4arcus, $., 9ooper, 4., 5 Sweller, H. !166@". nderstanding instructions. /ournal of
1ducational Psyc$ology, ((, B6@?.
4ayer, 2. E. !1666". 2esearch+ased principles for the design of instructional
messages; The case of multimedia explan ations. ;ocument ;esign, -l,-0<9. %maggio, #. 9. !16((". T$e effects of selected ictorial contets on measures of reading comre$ension in beginning college =renc$. npu+lished doctoral dissertation, The %hio State niversity.
%maggio, #. 9. !16(6". >ictures and second language reading comprehension.
Studies of Second !anguage Ac>uisition, 5?, 1((16G.
%'Sullivan, H. !16(1". T$e art of t$e comic stri. 9ollege >ar; niversity of 4aryland,
>aivio, #. !16(1". :magery and verbal rocesses. $ew 3or; Colt, 2einhart 5 Jinston. %usselin, E. !166(". A)ls sont frais, mes menhirsA; 9omic strips in t he +usiness *rench
class. /ournal of !anguage for :nternational 8usiness, 7!/", //?G.
>aivio, #. !167@". ental reresentations% A dual coding aroac$. $ew 3or; %xford niversity >ress.
>urnell, F. $., 5 Solman, 2. T. !1661". The influence of technical illustrations on E**E9TS %* 9%4)9 ST2)>S
/G
students' comprehension of geography. Reading Researc$ &uarterly, @, /((/66. Sadosi, 4., 5 >aivio, #. !/1". :magery and tet% A dual coding t$eory of reading and
#riting. 4ahwah, $H; Lawrence Erl+aum.
Schmidt, 2. !166". The role of consciousness in second language learning. Alied
!inguistics, 55, 1/61G7.
Sherman, 2., 5 Jright, =. !166@". rc$estra. Reading :mrovement, ??!/",1/B1/7. Swain, E. C. !16(7". sing comic +oos to teach reading and language arts. /ournal
of Reading, //, /G?/G7.
Tang, =. !166/". The effect of graphic representation of nowledge structures on ESL reading comprehension. Studies in Second !anguage Ac>uisition, 5?, 1((16G. Jaller, 2. !1661". Typography and discourses. )n 2. Darr, 4. L. Famil, >. 4osenthal, 5 >. <. >earson !Eds.", *andboo+ of reading researc$, 7olume . $ew 3or; Longman. Jilliams, $. !166G". The comic +oo as course +oo; Jhy and how. !E2)9
Jright, =., 5 Sherman, 2. !166B". Jhat is +lac and white and read all over The
funnies Reading )mprovement,?1!1",?(B7.
Jright, =., 5 Sherman, 2. !1666". Let's create a comic strip. Reading :mrovement, ?@!/",@@ (/. U'
/@
TES%L 0#2TE2L3
A!!ENDI0 A Te"s The L&,+Lee' Te" 4r. Thompson was a very strict thirdgrade English teacher. Ce often challenged his students with hard uestions. %ne morning, he waled into the classroom and said energetically, ADoys and girls, today we are going to learn a+out a very important punctuation mar; the hyphen.A The students did not now what a hyphen was. 4r. Thompson continued to explain; ACyphens are used within a word or +etween two words.A Then 4r. Thompson ased; A9an anyone give an example of how we use hyphensA $o one could answer the uestion. Suddenly, Do+ *its, who always had an answer, raised his hand. Looing through his thic glasses, Do+ said, A$ot all fast food servers are fast food servers, and not all highschool students are $ig$.B The rest of the class dislied Do+ and looed at him angrily. 4r. Thompson, however, praised him and said, AThat's a very good example, as usual, Do+ Let's write it out.A The students were all mad at Do+. 4r. Thompson turned to write on the +oard. #s he did, a +all of paper hit 4r. Thompson's
E**E9TS %* 9%4)9 ST2)>S
/(
shining +ald head. Surprised and then angry, 4r. Thompson turned around and shouted, AJho did thatA 4r. Thompson looed at the class angrily and waited for an answer. Together, the students pointed their fingers at Do+. Do+'s eyes were wide with fear as 4r. Thompson stared at him and ased, A2o+ert *its, what do you have to say for yourselfA #nd for once, Do+ did not have an answer to 4r. Thompson's uestion. !/G words"
The High+Lee' Te" 4r. Thompson, a thirdgrade language arts teacher, was constantly challenging his students with rather difficult uestions. Entering the classroom one morning, he energetically announced; ADoys and girls, today we are going to learn a+out an extremely important punctuation mar; the hyphen.A >erplexity filled the students' eyes as they looed at one another, completely clueless. ACyphens,A 4r. Thompson continued, Aare odd little sideways mars that el+ow into the language, +oth written and spoen.A # fore+oding atmosphere +egan to envelop the classroom, and the sense of fear mounted as 4r. Thompson posed one of his infamous uestions; A9an anyone give an example of how we use hyphensA %ut of the dead silence +rought on +y the uestion, the hand of the teacher's pet, Do+ *its, shot up. >eering through his thic lenses, Do+ offered, A$ot all fast
A!!ENDI0 * Ea%#'e &) !a$sa' Uni"s and Va'$e Assign%en"s >ausal unit
&alue assignment
4r. Thompson was a very strict
B
thirdgrade English teacher
B
Ce often challenged his students
?
with hard uestions
/
%ne morning,
1
he waled into his classroom
/
and said energetically,
?
ADoys and girls,
1
today
1
we are going to learn
B
a+out a very important punctuation mar;
?
The hyphen.A
B
A!!ENDI0 C The C&%ic S"ri#
/7
TES%L 0#2TE2L3
Note. *rom Comics and Conversation% Using *umor to 1licit Conversation and ;evelo 7ocabulary !p. 7", +y H. #shenas, 167G, Studio 9ity, 9#; H#=. 9opyright 167G +y H#= >u+lications. 2eprinted with permission.
E**E9TS %* 9%4)9 ST2)>S
/6
