Graphic Novels as a Teaching Tool in High School and University English as a Foreign

Language (EFL) Classrooms

Author(s): Carola Hecke
Source: Amerikastudien / American Studies , 2011, Vol. 56, No. 4, American Comic
Books and Graphic Novels (2011), pp. 653-668
Published by: Universitätsverlag WINTER Gmbh

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Graphic Novels as a Teaching Tool in High School and
University English as a Foreign Language (EFL) Classrooms

Carola Hecke

ABSTRACT

The didactic potential and pedagogical value of graphic novels have caught the
American Studies and EFL teaching methodologists, who have realized that graphi
as teaching and learning tools, foster creative communication and intercultural lea
such advantages of graphic novels have been highlighted repeatedly, these texts h
become an integral part of high school and university curricula. Against the backd
reflections, this essay explains how graphic novels can be used to achieve major in
objectives of foreign language education, facilitate the teaching of intercultural co
competence (ICC), and increase reading motivation in EFL classes from grade 7 to
13. Since understanding images is a prerequisite for interpreting graphic novels, t
ther emphasizes the importance of developing students' and future teachers' visual
offers an innovative teaching methodology for courses in the new MA curricula,
through teaching' approach, according to which students learn matters of relevan
tive knowledge and procedural skills—by teaching other students.

Reading and Teaching Graphic Novels in the German EFL Classr

Objectives and Challenges

For a long time American Studies scholarship in Germany has negl

ics and graphic novels. Similarly, graphic novels have led a shadowy e
English teaching methodology. Given the fact that the use of comics
recommended frequently and unreservedly for foreign language classe
of sustained scholarly interest is actually surprising (see Schiiwer, "T
Since graphic novels share important narrative structures, expressive m
themes with traditional literary works and other prose texts, they de
tion in a school curriculum that demands the study of literary texts a
erary competence among the goals of foreign language education.2 In

1 Teaching methodologists have suggested that comics support language learn

central fields: reading and writing, listening and speaking, and thus learning to co
the foreign language (Christophel and Kolacki, for example, make compelling case
comics in French language teaching). By becoming engaged in all of these comm
tions, students practice and may improve their functional language skills (see Sch
ing" 4-5). At the same time, when they are reading and writing as well as listening an
students employ their grammatical knowledge, their mental lexicon, and their kn
intonation, pronunciation, and orthography. As a result, they are likely to develop
sions of their functional language competence to a greater extent (see Cary 100-0
2 The objectives of foreign language education are discussed in the Kultusmi
renz (Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs of t
the Federal Republic).

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654 Carola Hecke

studying graphic novels can support language learning in th

ing comic strips because both forms share a central feature:
text and image. One of the great advantages of graphic novel
design and narrative construction do not merely provide stru
mental imagery but also present them with extended storyl
stellations, and moral themes. While long stories have the po
readers' attention over a substantial period of time, the reade
allows them to relate to a story beyond the written word and
their understanding of the text (cf. McTaggart 32). Moreover,
may help students interpret the text and may prevent frustra
(cf. Schüwer, "Teaching" 5).3 Because they may already have
haps positive experiences with comics, many students can be
read graphic novels in school. According to German and Am
teaching methodologists, most students have a very positive a
ics and enjoy dealing with them in class (cf. Carter 48; Schü
This attitude can lead to heightened interest and greater willin
in class discussions or other speaking activities; it also enables
tasks, such as producing their own comic strips or writing oth
on specific graphic novels (cf. Schüwer, "Teaching" 4). Boys
prefer plurimedial comics to (purely written) monomedial tex
Surkamp 8-9).4

3 The panels show verbal communication in relation to its nonverb

they do not isolate utterances from their natural visual context as other li
types generally do. As nonverbal communication strongly influences the in
messages (cf. Frey 113, 124), it should be dealt with in EFL literature c
guage classes. German foreign language teaching, however, still widely
aspect of communication (cf. Surkamp 3), but by introducing comics an
classrooms, teachers can discuss with their students different modes of nonverbal communica
tion and its effects on verbal messages (cf. Schüwer, "Teaching" 4). The multimodality, or inter
play, of different "semiotic codes," is discussed in Kress and van Leeuwen, where multimodality
refers to "any text whose meanings are realized through more than one semiotic code" (177). On
comics as a multimodal medium, cf. also Kaindl 190.
4 The necessity of designing lessons that appeal to both female and male students cannot be
overstated. Recent studies indicate that the overall performance of boys in school has taken a
turn for the worse. This development is attributed partly to a predominance of female teachers
and unintentionally girl-oriented teaching, as Hurrelmann argues (Spiewak and Otto 3). Efforts
have to be made to motivate male students to participate in class, for example by using comics
in EFL classes. All of the sixteen boys in the ninth-grade class that I taught in 2011 were eager
to study a graphic novel such as Art Spiegelman's Maus; they displayed strong intrinsic motiva
tion and even created their own (rather impressive) comic strips. That said, it is important to
consider, as Faulstich-Wieland points out, the needs and interests of all students. In one of her
responses to Hurrelman, she notes, "Ein guter Unterricht nimmt den einzelnen Lernenden in
den Blick, egal, ob er ein Junge oder ein Mädchen ist. Das kann natürlich bedeuten, dass man
im Deutschunterricht neben literarischen Texten auch Sachtexte oder Comics behandelt, die
im Schnitt von Jungen lieber gelesen werden. Lehrkräfte sollten darauf aber nicht explizit hin
weisen oder gar ein rosa Regal für die Mädchen und ein blaues Regal für die Jungen aufstellen"
(qtd. in Spiewak and Otto 4). "In classroom settings, good education is geared to the individual
learner, regardless of whether s/he is a boy or a girl. This may involve additional reading in
German classes, not only readings that focus on literary texts, but also non-fictional texts and

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 Graphic Novels as a Teaching Tool in High School 655

Another advantage of graphic novels is that they can be used to foster inter
cultural learning (see Vanderbeke, "Comics and Graphic Novels"), particularly in
those cases in which they address intercultural topics such as identity and inter
cultural understanding (cf. Schüwer, "Teaching" 4) or discuss intercultural com
petence on the story level.5 Intercultural learning can also be realized if graphic
novels initiate research on a foreign culture, for instance, when a story is either
set in a foreign country or when a narrator or major character belongs to a cul
ture about which students know very little or perhaps nothing at all. Additionally,
graphic novels can be used to prepare and facilitate activities that will develop and
improve students' intercultural skills and affect their perspective on questions of
cultural difference, identity, racial stereotyping, etc. Engaging with graphic novels
and participating in subsequent in-class activities, students will arrive at a better
understanding of someone else's attitudes and opinions—even when intercultural
issues are not directly present in the text itself. By changing their perspectives,
students can attain socio-cultural knowledge, develop respect, learn to under
stand divergent opinions or habits (cf. Schüwer, "Teaching" 3-5), and eventually
master intercultural interaction. Graphic novels can be an effective and highly
productive tool for teachers in EFL courses and other classes to create a broad
variety of beneficial learning situations.
EFL teaching methodologists assume that studying literature leads to the de
velopment of intercultural communicative competence (ICC) (cf. Nünning and
Surkamp 12-15). And as comics and graphic novels have been classified as litera
ture (see Chute), albeit a very specific kind with very specific features, there is
no reason why they should not be suitable tools for the development of ICC.6 A

comics, the latter of which is, on average, preferred by boys. Teachers should not explicitly point
to this, however, and should not set up separate or differently-colored bookshelves for reading
materials, i. e., pink for girls and blue for boys" (translation mine).
5 Identity is an important concept in studies of intercultural learning. These studies deal
with contact situations between two or more cultures and with representations and perceptions
of foreign cultures. These kinds of explorations are necessarily linked to reflections on concep
tions of identity and society in one's own culture. One of the aims of intercultural learning is to
alter and expand the perspective of students, or, rather, to improve their ability to adopt a point
of view different from their own (cf. also Bredella 122).
6 Graphic novels are a particular kind of literary text—they are novels told in images and
text, which means that the text becomes part of the graphic design (cf. Hatfield 23). They treat
fictional and nonfictional topics with the same depth and subtlety as traditional text types (see
Tabachnick, "Introduction" 2), and they fit into the widening boundaries of the concept and
canon of literature. Hatfield states that "[sjince literature no longer has to mean a narrow set of
sanctified genres and works, since recent theory and practice have urged us to talk about litera
ture in a pluralistic way, I am loath to bracket off comics rigidly from all other forms; rather, I am
interested in setting comics alongside other forms" (23). Here, I would like to refer to Chester
Brown's I Never Liked You: A Comic-Strip Narrative (1991-2002), which will be discussed in
greater detail later in this essay. This graphic novel might not only be used as a teaching tool
for intercultural competence but also to discuss generic parameters. Since the story draws on
the author's personal experiences (e. g. the decline of his mother's mental health and her early
death) and because author and protagonist bear the same name, I Never Liked You can easily
be considered an autobiographical text. However, the text might also be called a graphic 'novel'
because the story does not purport to portray a true, historically accurate account. The panels

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656 Carola Hecke

graphie novel that would be suitable to developing students' IC

and up is Aaron McGruder, Reginald Hudlin, and Kyle Baker
A Comic Novel (2004). This illustrated novel tells the bold and
fictional secession of East St. Louis during George W. Bus
story begins with the gubernatorial election during which it
citizens of shabby East St. Louis (mostly African Americans)
as felons and therefore, in accordance with state voting rig
chised. Without these votes, the Republican candidate is able
Out of anger, the people of East St. Louis, led by protagonis
decide to create their own new nation: the Republic of Black
ment on, Mayor Fredericks and the Blacklanders have to conj
of their state out of thin air while fighting the Bush adminis
sabotage and war as well as settling private relationships and
But the story ends on a happy note with the signing of the
land Treaty and with images of hugging and kissing Blacklan
The design of McGruder, Hudlin, and Baker's Birth of
children's picture books, as it contains colorful drawings wi
and captions for the dialogues instead of speech bubbles. How
design nor the satirical approach—for example, the portrayal
as a naïve ignoramus ("Whatever. That all sounds good." [63])
the serious concerns addressed in the graphic novel: civil righ
United States, crime and justice, the Bush administration, the
economy, and gender relations. Many students will not be fam
ics and initially struggle to understand the text, but organi
projects could be an effective way to solve this problem. As
investigate a different topic, present its findings to the class
and productively bridge crucial information gaps, all memb
begin to relate the accumulated findings to the graphic nov
In order to explore the numerous cultural connotations and
ences of Birth of a Nation, students could also prepare resear
W. Griffith's 1915 film Birth of a Nation.1 At any rate, speci
pre-reading tasks) are required so that students can actually u
range of allusions and connotations in the graphic novel. If th
these matters (the Bush administration and its political action
racism of the movie, etc.), they can compare them with the g
cal rewriting of them in the post-reading phase. This compar

(or rather the gutters between them) leave substantial interpretative f

rylines constituted by the readers may vary and the plot may be read as
Students could be made aware of the inherent tension between autobiog
and fictionalized self-representation by filling in the empty gutters with
of the events and then comparing their ideas.
7 Griffith's film adapts Thomas Dixon's racist novels The Leopard's
the White Man's Burden—1865-1900 (1902) and The Clansman, an His
Ku Klux Klan (1905). At university, McGruder, Hudlin, and Baker's B
be studied in seminars on contemporary African American literature o
narratives.

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 Graphic Novels as a Teaching Tool in High School 657

better understanding of American politics, history, and society. Birth of a Nation

may be used not only to develop the cognitive side of students' ICC but also to fur
ther its affective dimension. For example, teachers could exploit the lack of speech
bubbles and ask students to adopt the characters' points of view by inventing dia
logues and thoughts in key scenes. To complete this or similar tasks, students
would have to grapple with the often conflicting emotions of the characters, and
they would begin to feel empathy for the inhabitants of Blackland. I would there
fore argue that reading and studying this graphic novel allows for an improvement
of affective and cognitive faculties. This includes the mental imagery generated by
the graphic novel's visual design and its narrative construction.
Images, however, are never self-explanatory, and students must develop their
knowledge of visual codes and acquire new interpretive tools for visual analysis.
In other words, students must be trained in visual literacy, and for several rea
sons, cartoons, comic strips, and especially graphic novels can be effectively used
to begin and advance this much-needed discussion over the meaning of images,
particularly those that (due to their intended or unintended ambiguity) often re
main inaccessible to many students. Scott McCloud assumes that comics require
a higher degree of reader involvement than other types of narrative because they
contain images that can be abstract or symbolic, often bear multiple connotations,
and frequently go beyond the depicted subject matter (cf. 49, 59). More impor
tantly, the sequence of images becomes a story only if readers relate individual
images and textual information in their minds. McCloud explains this point in
reference to two images—the first showing a man with an axe hunting another, the
second depicting a city skyline with a scream in bold letters—as follows: "Every
act committed to paper by the comics artist is aided and abetted by a silent ac
complice. An equal partner in crime known as the reader. I may have drawn an
axe being raised in the example, but I'm not the one who let it drop or decided how
hard the blow, or who screamed, or why" (68). By using their knowledge of comic
book storytelling and by drawing on their own experience, most readers will in
terpret these images to constitute a progression of causally connected actions,
even though the images themselves only allude to the possibility of a cause-and
effect relationship. Learning about this and related processes, students will come
to understand images at an appropriate pace. As Rocco Versaci puts it:

Comic books—more so than any other visual medium—allow teachers to pose questions
that help students do two things: understand how images produce meaning, and become
engaged in the search for this meaning. Unlike film and television, which unspool at a
predetermined rate and are experienced more or less passively, comics can be read at
whatever pace the reader desires. And "read" is a key word here. (96)

Versaci's observations about comic books are, of course, also true with regard to
graphic novels, which may even ask (to return to McCloud's phrase) for a "higher
degree of reader involvement" and visual literacy than other texts or, for that mat
ter, comics.
It is important to note that the realization of a high level of visual literacy
among students cannot be achieved in a cultural vacuum. Visual language is nec
essarily culturally specific, and comics are, as critics such as Dirk Vanderbeke

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658 Carola Hecke

have noted, likewise culturally specific sources and meaning

that can offer important insight to students, particularly, but no
classroom.8 Visual attributes of the characters in graphic nove
ally serve to indicate a character's personality by appealing to
tural values and memory. For example, in Chester Brown's gr
Liked You: A Comic-Strip Narrative (1991-2002), the intro
Chester lets his hair grow over the course of the novel, and h
it 'Kurt Cobain style.'9 This hairstyle, together with the prota
and nonconformity, serves to remind the reader of the spiri
and of Nirvana's frontman, who committed suicide in 1994. In
story heavily draws on the cultural knowledge of American m
counters with the iconic images of star musicians. Meaning is
of previous knowledge that is activated by text and images. S
ognize what they know, and teachers will have to provide key
to find key information so that students can come to underst
textual clues or references. Of course, students can still read
graphic novel without any previous knowledge on Nirvana or
they would miss the multifaceted meanings of the text. This
encounter would, however, be particularly problematic in the
Hudlin, and Baker's Birth of a Nation. The authors employ s
African American women in tight clothes hugging their cur
driving big cars and wearing gold rings on each finger, etc.—
ter's socio-economic and political affiliations. Students would

8 Vanderbeke writes, "Comics [sind] immer auch ein Ausdruck der

stehen, und in ihnen spiegelt sich—wenn auch häufig gebrochen—das S
sellschaft, in der sie rezipiert werden" ("Comics und Krimis" 296) "C
pression of the culture in which they are created, and they reflect—even i
self-conception of the society in which they are read" (translation mine)
9 In the course of the story, Chester experiences his first serious crush
another friend (Carrie) is in love with him\ she eventually yells, "I neve
students could be asked before reading the novel what they expect from
after reading, they could discuss why this title was chosen and suggest oth
almost unrelated to the other events with his friends, Chester's mother is
health problems, has an accident in the clinic, and dies from her injuri
subdued: He comments on his mother's death only briefly and then goes
introverted teenager. The story leaves much interpreting to the reader; it
clear explications by a narrator but contains many silent panels (all dra
and-white style). This openness leaves much creative freedom to the studen
a great basis for creative tasks on the topic of growing up, such as imagin
writing from his point of view, and so on. In fact, it needs such tasks, as
still leave many questions unanswered. Due to this complex relationship
ages and because of the topics addressed—family relations, friendship (
love, puberty, and school—teachers should consider using I Never Liked
higher. / Never Liked You can also be employed at the university level.
be on the form and content of the novel, not on language learning. It co
dealing with American youth culture and could be read alongside novel
Giffs Pictures of Mollis Wood (2002) or Patricia McCord's Pictures in th
which have female protagonists.

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 Graphic Novels as a Teaching Tool in High School 659

the long history of racial discrimination that is evoked by, and debunked through,
these representations. Here, as in I Never Liked You, the visual dimension must
be understood in relation to the verbal information and, more importantly, to a
variety of interconnected and highly specific cultural contexts. In other words,
students can only fully grasp the complex meanings and allusions of the story if
they are also able to decode the images offered in these texts.10
I would argue that it does not suffice to read comics and other forms of graphic
narrative as predominantly verbal texts. Yet most comic-based tasks devised by
EFL teaching methodologists advocate the treatment of comics as merely ver
bal texts or the use of images only as impulses for speaking and writing activi
ties. Especially in the 1970s and 1980s, the focus in German didactic publica
tions dealing with comics was on written language (cf. von Ziegesar 56-58). As a
result, these publications examined speech bubbles and captions, discussed ver
bal content, and suggested the training of reading strategies in foreign language
classes. But they neither explained nor considered for their lesson plans the fact
that achieving comics literacy always includes the ability to decode the complex
ways in which visual images and verbal language collaborate in the construction
of narrative coherence and meaning.11 This important dimension of visual literacy
has not been addressed in EFL teaching methodology scholarship on comics lit
eracy until recently. Furthermore, a look at textbooks shows us that comic strips
included in these books are rarely used as comic strips, but merely as introduc
tory activities (for example, as discussion starters). In other words, the medium
does not seem to matter; the emphasis is on the content. It is surprising that the
discourse of teaching methodologists on visual literacy has largely ignored comics
and graphic novels. For instance, the 2007 special issue on visual literacy of Der
fremdsprachliche Unterricht Englisch—currently the most important publication
in German teaching methodology on visual literacy—does not address comics or
graphic novels, and neither does the 2005 issue on comics deal with issues of vi
sual literacy.12 More emphasis should be put on the images as a central element of
the text because most critics agree that the interpretation of a comic always also
depends on the ability to understand visual depictions of narrative content (cf.
Carter 48-50; Versaci 96-102). Thus, interpreting an individual panel or a com
plete strip requires more than the analysis of verbal narrative in speech bubbles
and captions; it also requires readers to decode the visual narrative offered by the
accompanying pictorial narrative and constantly interrelate the different 'modes'

10 On cultural studies and media studies approaches to EFL teaching, see Delanoy and
Volkmann; Donnerstag and Volkmann.
11 I chose the term 'comics literacy' instead of 'visual and literary literacy' to refer to the
ability to relate image and text. 'Visual and literary literacy' stands for (separate) abilities to
read images and to read texts. 'Visual literacy' does not imply that the information from image
and text have to be related. Instead, it could also refer to the case that someone knows how to
read images (the winking of a character indicates that he is joking) and how to read texts (the
sentences in the character's speech bubble) but does not link the information from both semi
otic codes (as in this example, where what the character says might be ironic). The term 'comics
literacy,' however, demands exactly this—the complementary interpretation of images and texts.
12 For recent work that addresses these issues, see Berninger.

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660 Carola Hecke

of representation. Teachers and teaching methodologists, how

trained in analyzing pictures (unless they were lucky to part
graphic novels or on the use of pictures in foreign language
be why they tend to ignore pictures as one core element of g
This neglect of the visual element of graphic novels is sta
academic discourse among German teaching methodologists
visual literacy began in the late 1980s (see Schwerdtfeger; W
visual literacy was identified as the precondition for unders
ported texts, especially with respect to film (cf. Schwerdtfe
have to be able to understand images in order to be able to re
open criticism (see Breidbach), visual literacy has not been i
communicative competences in the German Bildungsstandar
lum 'learning standards.' American Studies scholars, by cont
take this insight to heart, and thus their comics discourse of
already implied a discussion on visual literacy. What follows f
is that teaching comics means training the students' visual lit
Fisher 1-4). German EFL teaching methodology—at least as i
the curricula and in the leading journals—has yet to come to
portant critical and theoretical contributions. Obviously, aca
its didactic application have been largely out of touch with ea
scholarship and teaching should seek to overcome this problem
(see especially Freese). The following section suggests one wa
scholarship and teaching methodology can be usefully conne

Teaching Graphic Novels in German EFL Classroom

Methodological and Practical Suggestions

A recent study conducted at Georg-August-University Gö

secutive winter terms (2008/09 and 2009/10) indicates that t
els can help university students—all of them EFL students—
foster this competence among their students as well. The re
are of interest to American Studies scholars, literary critics
odologists alike because they show how graphic novels can an
legitimate part of school and university EFL curricula. In th
university students—future EFL teachers—studied a graphic
La Perdida (by Jessica Abel) and Persepolis (by Marjane Satra
teaching methodology seminar with the goal to teach a graphi
tenth-grade high school students who came to campus volunta
a ninety-minute extracurricular English reading class.13 Each
by one of the university students who had developed his or he

13 In the first semester, it was the English translation of Satrapi's gr

which is largely set in Iran and told from the perspective of an Iranian
ter, it was Abel's La Perdida, which is set in Mexico and told from the p
can girl who moves to Mexico in order to learn about her father's country

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 Graphic Novels as a Teaching Tool in High School 661

work in the teaching methodology seminar. In accordance with the main objec
tives of EFL teaching, the initial and primary objective of these sessions was the
development of the high school students' ICC. At the end of the term, the high
school students had made great progress in this respect, and it became increas
ingly obvious that the university students had likewise become more competent
intercultural actors over the course of the semester.
The high school students' intercultural communicative performance, their re
sponses in questionnaires, and their comments during lessons suggest that they
attained cultural knowledge through researching and reflecting on the texts' set
tings, the history and traditions of the protagonists' cultures, and other unfamiliar
concepts addressed in the graphic novels. They demonstrated this knowledge by
being able to correct previously held and sometimes obviously false assumptions
(for instance the misconception that there are no cars in Iran) and by taking steps
toward overcoming their own stereotypes. Research on the graphic novels' respec
tive settings facilitated the students' understanding of the text. For example, the
students located the places named in Persepolis on a map and were thus better able
to understand the description of journeys. The images further helped them achieve
a better understanding of the more challenging scenes, in part because the com
ics chosen for the classes remained within a comic tradition to which the students
could easily relate. Therefore, with the help of these images, they also expanded
their vocabulary by learning and using new words such as 'veil' or 'ATM card.'
The project run on La Perdida also proved that graphic novels are not easy
texts per se. Not the images, but the text and the foreign cultural and politi
cal issues posed substantial obstacles. Several of the tenth-graders complained
that the dialogues were rather difficult to understand. For example, one of the
characters keeps praising communism, a political ideology with which many of
the students were not, or only superficially, familiar, so they did not understand
many explicit statements and allusions. Obviously, teachers have to familiarize
their students with these kinds of concepts if they are meaningful for the story.
Furthermore, teachers have to ensure that the topics and language level are ap
propriate for their students because intercultural learning through literature can
take place only if the students can understand the text to be studied in the first
place. Finally, the students' comments suggested that due to their greater knowl
edge concerning the graphic novels' cultural contexts (history, traditions, and so
cial conditions), they may be better equipped to achieve cultural understanding
in a real-life situation if they were to meet a member of one of the cultures that
appeared in the graphic novels and which they researched in the course. The new
insights led to a different attitude toward other cultures in general and to a more
differentiated view of Mexican and Iranian people in particular, and they al
lowed students to identify and overcome some of their prejudices and cultural bi
ases. One student wrote in the questionnaire completed by all participants at the
end of the course: "The lesson on stereotypes made me realize that people are
different even though they are from the same country."14 She must have become
aware that it was inadequate to lump one member of a culture together with ev

All of the following quotations by students are taken from the same questionnaire.

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662 Carola Hecke

erybody else. Another student wrote: "Now I have more back

and can understand people better."
The students' performance in class was a positive indication
and acceptance. They were able and willing to imagine themse
nists' place, that is, they were able to empathize, which is a
of ICC and the teaching of ICC. Specifically, they successful
such as writing letters from the perspective of a character, d
which they took on the roles of the different characters, giv
as freeze frames, and so on.15 Their successful performance
suggests that students can develop and sustain ICC and thus p
intercultural interaction in the target language through worki
els. Ultimately, the participants claimed that their attitudes h
become more aware of cultural differences and more open t
cultures, particularly Iranians, and had become aware that th
harbored stereotypical or prejudiced attitudes about other p
this heightened awareness, an interest in learning more about
evolved, a disposition that is likely to lead to more openness
that different cultural values, beliefs, and attitudes may exist
make students more sensitive toward potential differences i
opinion when they interact with people from different cult
new sense of confidence—in the sense of knowing one's inter
and strengths—had developed, which will allow these studen
interactions with people from different cultures more expertl
The university students' interaction, teaching performanc
the questionnaires suggested that their involvement with the
positive results in terms of their own ICC. In their case, prog
from engaging with the graphic novel on their own, but also—
the more important factor—from teaching it to the younger
of the course, the university students claimed to know more
(Iran, Mexico) and their cultures than before. One male studen
reotypes vanished" and added in parentheses "by learning ab
To what extent his stereotypes and those of the other studen

15 In these activities, the students put themselves into the shoes of a

pose as this person. These tasks demand from students that they take ov
tive, which is a process essential for understanding any literary text. Th
information on the character and his or her attitudes regarding the topic
conversation or play. Moreover, they have to reflect on how they want
based on the information collected—which requires a close reading and
literary text. Thus, tasks in which students are asked to act as character
a literary text because they demand taking on a character's perspective,
and reflecting on the story; they are helpful methods for the study of
time, these activities are a welcome variation from the oral or written ana
routine. For instance, the playful character of setting up a talk show (in
the roles of the protagonists of a novel discuss the text's central issues) mi
ing atmosphere in class. This should not distract from the fact that suc
preparation from the students, namely close reading, collection of infor
of character constellations.

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 Graphic Novels as a Teaching Tool in High School 663

were rather replaced by less blatant ones can be questioned, of course.16 But this
particular student seemed to have developed at least an awareness of the existence
and potentially negative impact of stereotypes. In terms of cultural understand
ing, it was striking that some university students said that preparing the graphic
novels had improved their own intercultural competence. One student wrote about
Persepolis: "It provided me with a whole new perspective on a land I virtually knew
nothing about." Persepolis obviously changed the students' perception of Iran as
they gathered new information on the country. And this kind of information, which
helped them understand the characters, might also help them interact successfully
with real persons from Iran. As one student put it: "My attitude towards Iranians
has changed in so far as that I have got an idea about their way of life and an idea
about the Iranian history." Another student wrote: "I was also full of stereotypes
and also uncertainty about Iranian life and [I] now think to have acquired a much
better understanding of Iranian life; and most of all am aware of the fact that there
are many similarities despite the differences with regards to the political situa
tion." Ideally, new perspectives lead students to a more differentiated view on a
country, its cultures, and its people, as well as to successful interactions in English
with someone from Iran, Mexico, or any other foreign country.
The learning through teaching approach seemed to have had a tremendous ef
fect on this increase of ICC, as the university students reported: "[M]y own lesson
helped me to get an inside view about Marjane and about the Iranian culture."
In addition, the students gained insights beyond this particular culture: "it has
helped [me to develop/sustain ICC] that I had the responsibility to make them [the
students] more open to ICC," one student wrote; another commented, "because
you always have to reflect about what you want to teach. So you reflect about in
tercultural interaction and therefore learn about it." Apparently the students con
sidered themselves more proficient in this respect than before, thanks to having
taught classes on a graphic novel aiming at ICC. The experiences of the univer
sity students in Göttingen indicate that the learning through teaching approach
should be considered a very helpful method for improving students' intercultural
communicative competences. While it is, for obvious reasons, particularly useful
for university students who aspire to become teachers, this approach could, in a
slightly different format, also be used in grade levels 10 to 12 or 13.
Whether any of the aforementioned goals with regard to ICC are met in an
actual classroom situation depends largely on the methods employed by the teach
ers. The last segment of this essay suggests three effective methods and exemplary
tasks for teaching graphic novels in EFL classes: process-oriented tasks that de
mand pre-, while-, and post- reading activities, a variety of creative and analytical
tasks, and student-activating product-oriented exercises.17

16 Grosch and Hany have developed a research design with which these assumptions could
be put to a test. Teachers should also keep in mind and communicate to their students that
graphic novels, like all other types of literature and cultural representations, never simply show
a real world, but always a more or less fictionalized as well as complexly mediated version of this
world.
17 Methods are procedures chosen and followed by teachers that are supposed to help students
attain learning goals. They are tools—mediators between students, the subject, and their learning

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664 Carola Hecke

The first method is quite simple: Since reading and underst

els depend on cognitive and affective processes as well as on
edge of the readers, understanding can be fostered by suppor
and providing the necessary information in pre-, while-, and
ties. Before reading a graphic novel, students should be fami
concepts and key vocabulary of the story as well as with the
ogy for discussing comics.18 They should be made curious abo
stance by making educated guesses about the story based on t
panels, by filling empty speech bubbles, and by adding deta
image. While students are reading, they should complete tas
ing motivation (e. g. looking for answers to a question), stim
(e. g. ordering mixed panels), and draw their attention to imp
marking details). After having finished reading a passage or
dents should be asked to explore specific topics through pos
as producing alternative panels; writing a comment, letter, or
ing; re-enacting; and so on. Language learning is fostered dur
post-viewing vocabulary tasks, when students engage with and
and when they are asked to communicate, to read and listen
and to speak and write (output). Intercultural learning takes p
are asked to change their perspective and to reflect on interc
methodological competences are trained when questions of m
rectly addressed (e. g. reasons for vocabulary activation befor
ticed in the pre- or post-reading phases.
The second principle is more variable since pre-, while-, and
can be either analytical or creative. While panels (text an
analyzed since their interpretation must be based on their c
characteristics, it is not necessary to complete one analysis af
would be rather boring. Instead, the panels' formal characte
fied by creative tasks and a reflection on the outcome, for
alternative panels and explaining the choice of formal chara
effects (as compared to the original). The positive side-effec
tion is that it makes students think critically about the con
of pictures, which helps them develop their visual literacy. Cr
the discussion of their results also allow for more communica

support; they structure the lessons and provide their institutional fram
has to be acknowledged that the individual methods by themselves are not
that their success depends on their combined application, their variation, a
consideration of students' preferences and needs (students of a BA-level co
play-act). How much learners' personalities matter became apparent in th
that students had enjoyed in one project run (e. g. giving a speech) were no
cally in the other; nonetheless, they were carried out and led to the expec
18 Helpful sources to teach students about comics-specific narration
derstanding Comics and Eisner's Comics and Sequential Art and Graphic
Narrative, which could be used to teach students about comics-specific n
Schüwer's Wie Comics erzählen, Dittmar's Comic-Analyse, and Frahm's
are useful secondary texts.

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 Graphic Novels as a Teaching Tool in High School 665

than regular teacher-centered question and answer sequences and analytical

tasks. Moreover, while the analytical approach allows students to examine inter
cultural matters from the outside (e. g. looking for stereotypes), creative tasks such
as writing a dialogue between the victim of prejudices and another character can
demand a change of perspective and allow a closer look seemingly from within.
Students have to imagine how someone who is affected by the events may feel,
rather than describe a situation from the position of an uninvolved observer. If
these two approaches—analytical and creative—are applied, students will be able
to approach a text at least once in their favorite way (analytically or creatively, as
usually there seems to be a preference), which should motivate their reading and
lead them to a more comprehensive understanding of the text.
The third method calls for student activation. Instead of only looking, read
ing, and writing, students should be physically involved to make the content of
the lesson truly meaningful to them. According to this principle, it is not enough
to take notes; elements in the panels must be marked with a pen. Postures and
movements of characters should not just be described, but re-enacted; students
should put themselves, to the greatest extent possible, in a given character's place.
The character constellation should not simply not be drawn on the board, but
expressed in a play or talk show, for which the students prepare role biographies
and speech cards. As with most creative activities, action-oriented tasks prom
ise stronger student participation and often allow students more speaking time.
Additionally, learning becomes particularly meaningful through participation.
Action-oriented tasks are suitable for language learning because students can
experience language as a functional tool; for intercultural learning, because in
tercultural matters should affect students more due to their involvement and the
resulting deeper reflection; and for methodical learning, because students might
realize that certain tasks help them understand a story better than others. All of
these methods and tasks can be made productive in the teaching of graphic novels.

Conclusion

The findings of the reading project suggest that graphic novels can further th
achievement of central objectives in EFL and American Studies classes: Intercu
tural competence can be developed and sustained apart from attaining linguist
and literary goals such as enlarging one's mental lexicon and—last but not leas
developing comics literacy. Because of the importance of these goals, graphic no
els should be used more often (yet not exclusively) in EFL classes at school, an
should be taught regularly in American Studies courses at university. They are
fective and appealing tools for EFL and EFL teaching methodology classes—not
only from the perspective of teaching methodology instructors of EFL teache
but also from the perspective of EFL students. Yet graphic novels are no univ
sal remedy. The participants of the reading project agreed that they would lik
to work with graphic novels more often, but not exclusively. Female students i
particular expressed the concern that comics do not allow for enough imagina
tive freedom. Creative methods can be a remedy. One method that turned out

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666 Carola Hecke

to be truly effective at the university level was learning throu

students are required to teach central course material themselv
much better understanding of key points, they are more motiv
the matter, and they understand the importance of the object
to pursue with their teaching. American Studies should conside
well, as giving students a chance to teach course material is a
proach for literature classes and for studying graphic novels at the
In addition, participation in a learning-through-teaching class
teachers—who still form the majority of American Studies st
graphic novels at the high school level. Graphic novels are not
rial in high school EFL classes, as many teachers are not yet f
or do not know how to work with them. This kind of insecurit
prevent the use of graphic novel in schools, which is why this u
at university. Graphic novels may not only serve as engaging m
ics literacy and intercultural communicative competence, but
read and analyze American culture. These interrelated aspects
off fruitful cross-disciplinary discussions in further research p

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