Journal of Applied Sciences, 11 (3): 8058 – 8062
October 2008
ENHANCING PUPILS’ READING ACHIEVEMENT BY USE OF COMICS AND CARTOONS IN TEACHING READING A.N. Eneh and O.C. Eneh* Department of Education Foundations University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria. E-mail:
[email protected] Present address : Institute for Development Studies, University of Nigeria, Enugu Campus, Enugu, Nigeria * To whom all correspondence should be addressed, P.O. Box 9060, Enugu, Nigeria. (Accepted 25 June 2008) ABSTRACT The performance of Nigerian students in various external examinations, such as the West African Senior Secondary Schools Examinations (WASSSCE) and the Joint Matricculations Examinations (JME) had been notably poor. This is attributed to poor reading culture, among others. The use of comics and cartoons in enhancing pupils’ reading achievements was investigated among Primary II pupils in Enugu South Local Government Area of Enugu State. Cartoon sheets and comic strips, achievement tests, and observations were employed as instruments. The data analysed, using the standard deviation, revealed that teaching reading with cartoons and comics enhanced pupils’ achievements in reading It was recommended that the use of cartoons and comics in teaching reading should be introduced in the curriculum of the school system in the various States in Nigeria. INTRODUCTION Learning to read is not only a social necessity, but also an academic dictate. How well a child reads often determines how successful he is 8058
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in school and fits into the society. A child who cannot read may find it difficult to understand and interpret his environment, including his school subjects (1). The first goal of primary education is to inculcate permanent literacy and numeracy, and the ability to communicate effectively (2). Therefore, reading is introduced to pupils, usually aged 6 to 11+, in the primary education system in Nigeria. In spite of the importance of reading and the recognition accorded it in the Nigerian national education policy, most pupils cannot pronounce a word in a given text nor write down correct spellings of words dictated by their teachers. Poor achievements in English Language have been traced to poor teaching method, such as the conventional method, involving the teacher-centred reading, individual reading, sight words and look-and-say instructional method. The conventional method works on the assumption that in all matters of learning “the teacher knows best.” Here attention is focused more on what is taught and not the child. Teachers often use the “repeat after me” style of look and say method, usually without visual aids and other teaching equipment (3). Poor reading achievements have been reflected in external examinations, as well the general development of the Nigerian child (4 and 5). The consistent poor performance at the secondary school level implies lack of firm foundation, which should have been laid at the primarily level. Part of this fundamental problem is the use of poor method of teaching reading in the primary schools (6-8). For this reason, there is the need to improve the present reading level of the children. This work investigated the enhancement of reading achievement by use of comics and cartoons in teaching reading. MATERIALS AND METHODS The quasi-experimental design, specifically the non-randomized experimental/control group, pretest-posttest design was used because 8059
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the experiment was carried out intact-classes in order to avoid disruption of normal classes. The study was carried out in Enugu South Local Government Area (LGA) of Enugu State of Nigeria, targeting 861 Primary Two pupils enrolled in the 25 primary schools in Enugu South Local Government Area (LGA) in the 2004/2005 school year (State Primary Education Board, Enugu). A total of 60 pupils were sampled from two primary schools, and two classes were randomly sampled from streams in the schools. Purposive sampling technique had been used to select two primary schools based on the following criteria: • The Schools are public schools • The teachers of the classes are of the same sex (female). • These teachers possess the same professional qualifications (TCII and N.C.E certificates). Second, each of the classes was used intact because the school authority did not allow randomization of pupils into treatment and control groups to avoid disruption of normal classes in the school. Two types of instruments used for the study were achievement tests, and observation RESULTS AND DISCUSSION The number of pupils taught reading using cartoons and comics ((Treatment Group) was 30 (Table I). The mean score was 8.63, while the standard deviation was 1.63. The number of pupils taught reading using the conventional method was 30. The mean score was 1.87, while the standard deviation was 1.50. This implied that those in the treatment group performed much better (higher achievement) than those in the control group. Table 1: Comparative reading achievements Group Score Total N X SD N X Treatment 18 8.72 1.56 30 8.63 Control 14 2.00 1.66 30 1.87
SD 1.63 1.50 8060
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Total
32 5.36 1.61 60 5.25 3.25 Teaching reading using cartoons and comics showed improvement in pupils’ achievement over teaching reading using the conventional methods. Some of the teachers used in the experiment commented that comics and cartoons made “learning too easy” to the extent that some youngsters completed a whole week’s task in one evening. The researcher observed that the pupils were interested in the pictures that told the stories. In line with this, it was shared that when Superman language arts workbook was introduced to classrooms, teachers reported “unusual interest” among students, to the extent that reluctant readers were transformed over-night (9). Heilman (10) confirmed that the motivational value of cartoons and comics often lure young readers into reading because pictures in the cartoon sheets help children to focus attention on the reading lesson, for, according to him, pictures tell any story more effectively than words. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS This study has shown that there was improvement in reading achievement when pupils were taught with cartoons and comics than when they were taught reading without them. Cartoons and comics have the strengths of visual attractiveness, motivating reading and engraving learning, which can be harnessed. Since reading was found to be the key that unlocks the world of books and literature, and considering that teaching reading with cartoons and comics was found effective in enhancing reading achievement, it is hereby recommended that teaching reading with cartons and comics should be introduced in the primary school curriculum and teachers should be encouraged to use them. Limitations Much as the researcher trained teachers to implement the use of cartoons and comics in teaching reading, there could be some personal 8061
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teaching styles and gestures due to individual differences that might have introduced some extraneous factors in the study. Some of the materials used for this research work were not available in the libraries. They were obtained from the internet, foreign and local magazines and journals. REFERENCES 1. Orekyeh. V.C. Teaching reading in primary schools in Nsukka Urban. A Survey of teaching methods. Unpublished Masters Degree Thesis, University of Nigeria, Nsukka. 1992. 2. Federal Republic of Nigeria (FRN).’ National Policy on Education. 4th ed. National Primary Education Commission : Primary Schools Curriculum Modules. Federal Ministry of Education, Abuja. 2004. 3. Farrant, J.S Principles and Practice of Education, new edition. Longrnan Group Ltd., Hong Kong. 1980. 4. West African Examination Council, WAEC. Statistics on WASSSCE Results, 1998-2003.. WAEC Enugu Zonal Office, Enugu. 2004. 5. Ogunrombi, S.A and Adlo, C. Factors affecting the reading habits of secondary science students. Library Review. Vol. 44 No.4. 1995. 6. Macmillan. Macmillan reading scheme. Pre-reading: A guide for teachers and parents. Macmillan Education Ltd., London. 1979. 7. Unoh, 5.0. Literacy and Reading in Nigeria. Journal of Reading Association of Nigeria. 1(3): 56 - 63. 1982. 8. Kalu, W.J. Introduction to teaching children reading and spelling skills. Jonai Press (Nig) Enterprises, Lagos. 2001. 9. Yang, Gene.) History of comics in education. Retrieved on 8/13/2007 from hap.: //www humble comics. corn. 2003. 10. Heilman, I-lW. Phonics in proper perspective. 5th ed. Meril Publishing Company, Columbus. 1991.
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