Recently, the term graphic novel is commonly used in the educational area, and it’s often associated with another term, which is ‘comic book ‘. In a typical perception, the graphic novel provides an interesting way to communicate language concepts with a number of characteristics that may help students learning in a more effective manner rather than traditional textbooks. Given that it has been introduced in school lessons, it has certainly represented an opportunity for teachers. However…what exactly is a graphic novel? It is a didactic tool. A graphic novel, as its name suggests, is a novel that tells a complete story via illustrations. A graphic novel will offer the type of resolution that one expects from a novel, even if it is part of a series. Effectively, this makes a graphic novel longer and more substantive than a comic book, which is a serialized excerpt from a larger narrative story. Humankind has long told stories via images, beginning, perhaps, with the cave paintings of ancient civilizations. It was in the twentieth century, that we witnessed the rise in the use of comic books, which experienced a golden age during the Great Depression and World War II with the ascendance of Marvel and DC Comics. The Cold War era saw comic books and novels emerge into what is now known as a graphic novel. The term “graphic novel” traces back to an essay written by Richard Kyle in the comic book fanzine Capa-Alpha (although to this day there is not one fixed definition of “graphic novel”). The term is thought to have become mainstream with the publication of Will Eisner's A Contract with God in 1978. The authors provide an overview of the graphic novel format and its use in school lessons. The work is aimed at describing the most important steps of this format, with its implications for teachers and students and the theoretical base that highlights how and why it can be a useful tool to present content relevant for the current generation of students. The authors provide examples of how the graphic novel medium could be applied to English concepts and conclude with the future prospects of this studying/teaching tool.
TEACHING ENGLISH WITH A CHILLY FORMAT: THE GRAPHIC NOVEL!
Rosanna Tammaro
;Alessia Notti
2022-01-01
Abstract
Recently, the term graphic novel is commonly used in the educational area, and it’s often associated with another term, which is ‘comic book ‘. In a typical perception, the graphic novel provides an interesting way to communicate language concepts with a number of characteristics that may help students learning in a more effective manner rather than traditional textbooks. Given that it has been introduced in school lessons, it has certainly represented an opportunity for teachers. However…what exactly is a graphic novel? It is a didactic tool. A graphic novel, as its name suggests, is a novel that tells a complete story via illustrations. A graphic novel will offer the type of resolution that one expects from a novel, even if it is part of a series. Effectively, this makes a graphic novel longer and more substantive than a comic book, which is a serialized excerpt from a larger narrative story. Humankind has long told stories via images, beginning, perhaps, with the cave paintings of ancient civilizations. It was in the twentieth century, that we witnessed the rise in the use of comic books, which experienced a golden age during the Great Depression and World War II with the ascendance of Marvel and DC Comics. The Cold War era saw comic books and novels emerge into what is now known as a graphic novel. The term “graphic novel” traces back to an essay written by Richard Kyle in the comic book fanzine Capa-Alpha (although to this day there is not one fixed definition of “graphic novel”). The term is thought to have become mainstream with the publication of Will Eisner's A Contract with God in 1978. The authors provide an overview of the graphic novel format and its use in school lessons. The work is aimed at describing the most important steps of this format, with its implications for teachers and students and the theoretical base that highlights how and why it can be a useful tool to present content relevant for the current generation of students. The authors provide examples of how the graphic novel medium could be applied to English concepts and conclude with the future prospects of this studying/teaching tool.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
