Innovative+ELT+Technique+2+by+Zafer+Gedikli

COMICS AS an EDUCATIONAL TOOL In the area of language instruction, teachers are constantly searching for new and innovative materials to enhance learning in the formal classroom environment. To meet this demand, publishers try to promote their material as being authentic, but many teachers believe that no matter how appealing texts might be, they still ring of artificiality and are just a representation of the real thing. A textbook is just that material that has been altered and simplified for the consumption of the learner. That is not to say that there are not quality books out there; in fact, I am suggesting that a book be used as the core text of any class. I do believe, however, that other materials should be introduced into the class that expose students, both physically and mentally, to the outside world, particularly in EFL settings where authentic models are scarce. One authentic material that has been explored over the past few years is the comic strip or comic. Before this form of educational entertainment emerged to the foreground, it was often believed that "comic books were so educationally unsound that their use would lead to mental stagnation. Teachers, businesses, and publishers, however, have realized that comic strips and comic books have a widespread appeal to all age groups and levels of society because they reflect authentic language and culture, for example, social commentary, human idosycracies, stereotypes, and life conflicts and contain a richness in story content and character development. In fact, it is one of the most widely read media throughout the world, especially in Japan where comic books accounted for 22.9% of the entire publications in 1994. The resurgence of interest in this form of entertainment has spawned a host of texts and magazines seeking to ride the wave on using comics for educational purposes. All of these have taken advantage of the inherent characteristics that make this medium so attractive as an educational tool:  (a) A built-in desire to learn through comics (b) easy accessibility in daily newspapers and bookstands;  (c) the novel and ingenious way in which this authentic medium depicts real-life language and "every facet of people and society"  (d) the variety of visual and linguistic elements and codes that appeal to students with different learning styles.  Furthermore, many lessons can be adapted to bring the material within the linguistic reach of different levels of students. Many native English teachers in Japan are assigned listening and speaking classes, with limited opportunities to teach the other skills areas. There is, however, a general movement on many fronts to shift this once generic class towards more content-based or ESP courses. The result has been that English now becomes more than a mere frill to a true vehicle to disseminate one's ideas. With the emergence of such a need, comics can fill this gap because of its multi-dimensional nature, combing both words and pictorial images.

**COMMENTS:** __Barış ERGÜN:__ Young learners tend to be distracted in language classes. We should use some strategies to attract their attention to the main subject. Thus, we should analyze our learners. What they like, what are their interests, what motivates them? Comics are good motivators for the young learners. Learners at these ages are really interested in comics. They love to read comics. I agree with Zafer in that comics include real life things. As they include real life elements, students may be interested in these elements. I think, we should not be afraid of using comics in language teaching environment. However; we should control our learners. As they like comics very much, they may forget to deal with the main aim of the lesson. Comics should be used as tools for language teaching, they should not be the main target for learners. There is no problem as much as comics are used as motivator tools. As well as comics are desirable materials for young learners, they are easily accessible in daily newspapers and bookstands. They include visual and linguistic elements and codes. These features of comic book also appeal to students with different learning styles. Learning should not be centered on the teacher. Learners should take place in their own learning process as much as possible. However; they don't know how to take part in this process. As teachers, we should lead them. They should enjoy taking part in the process and teacher should pass his/her role to learners. If we want enthusiastic language learners, we should consider learning tools like comics to attract their attention. As they love comics, they love language, teachers, classroom environment. They want to attend language lessons as soon as possible. They even feel sad about quickly passing lesson time. All these positive approaches to language classrooms can be developed by learners, if teachers guide them well.