A Case Study Of The Role Of Graphic Novels In English Extra-curricular Reading In A High School

Graphic novel is a new genre in literature in America.It is a new kind of graphic publication in book form,in which a complete story is told in comic-strip format.The literariness and variety of topics feature graphic novels from comics.These years,graphic novels’ potential in education has been found gradually and they are brought into school.Reading is an important part in language learning.Enough comprehensible input ensures language learning.At abroad,many researchers have applied graphic novels to reading and found that graphic novels can help for the improvement of reading motivation and reading comprehension.It can be assumed that graphic novels are also beneficial for Chines students’ English extra-curricular reading.According to Ambe,effective and attractive reading materials can promote reading motivation and reading comprehension.Thus,this study aims to find out what effects do graphic novels have on Chinese students’ English extra-curricular reading and how they affect.In addition,this study focuses on the effects of graphic novels on reading comprehension and reading motivation.Reading comprehension is further divided into vocabulary understanding,inference making and critical understanding based on the analysis of the language comprehension model and visual literacy,Thus,research questions are raised: what effects do graphic novels have on students’ vocabulary understanding,inference making,critical understanding,and reading motivation respectively?The reading group of 19 students is studied as the case.Every week,reading,exercises and discussion were conducted in the group.Data,which is mainly about the reading groups’ reading comprehension and reading motivation,was collected according to the questionnaire,tests,survey and interview.It is found that graphic novels can help with vocabulary understanding,inference making and critical understanding by the visual aids,and further improve readers’ reading comprehension.Graphic novels could also improve reading motivation with the help of attractive content and more readable text.