Funny paper provides serious path to learning how to read, author says_72604

Posted: 7/23/04

Funny paper provides serious path to
learning how to read, author says

By Mary Crouch

BGCT Summer Intern

WACO–The funny pages offer a serious gateway to literacy, author Glenda Reese believes.

People who don't speak English well can learn from cartoons, Reese said during a session on teaching English-as-a-Second-Language at the Conference for International and Literacy Ministries this summer.

Reece drew the idea from “Whatcha Gonna Learn from Comics?”–a training book that uses comic strips to teach ESL.

Newspaper cartoons are helpful in literacy training because they include “lots of action” and few words, Reese explained.

Teaching through action will help literacy students grasp concepts faster, because they are seeing the verbs in action, rather than just reading and repeating them, she said.

Adults learn English best when they focus on “daily routines, everyday stuff,” Reece said.

She used a copy of a “LuAnn” cartoon that contained mostly actions, rather than words, and asked the seminar class to convey in English what the cartoon character was doing.

Reece frequently teaches English through picture books, because “book idioms are not useful” in a situation like English training, where a student would not understand American or English slang and figures of speech.

The conference drew English-as-a-Second-Language and literacy instructors from around the state to Baylor University.

Seminars included lectures on blending cultures, basic English-teaching techniques and immigration issues.

They also focused on tutoring children and teaching Spanish literacy. About 150 participants attended the conference, which included 31 sessions.

The purpose of the conference was to “advance God's kingdom through international and literacy missions,” said Lester Meriwether, Baptist Literacy Missions Center coordinator.