Pleasure Reading

 

Fifteen minutes of two days of classes will be devoted to pleasure reading. In class, students will be asked to read Tintin Comic Books of their choice throughout the semester. You will not be asked to produce a report of the reading or discuss your responses in class. However, the students are strongly advised to write afterthoughts or responses about the comic books and give feedback to the messages posted at the community site, Yahoo Clubs.

 

The Benefits of Pleasure Reading

 

Perhaps the most powerful way of encouraging language learners to read is by exposing them to light reading. According to Krashen in his book, The Power of Reading, he recommends using comic books in the classroom for several reasons. He found that the texts of comics are linguistically appropriate [contrary to common belief], and pictures can help make the texts comprehensible. He also found that comic book reading does not interfere with learning to read or with language development and that comic books are not responsible for antisocial behavior. He also found that comic book readers do at least as much book reading as non-comic book readers. There is, moreover, suggestive evidence that comics may serve as a conduit to book reading, perhaps leading to some serious reading.