A. Varsamidou
This article explores the use of comics as an innovative pedagogical tool to enhance oral and written interaction in foreign language learning. Comic strips, with their combination of visuals and text, offer a playful and engaging medium that facilitates contextual understanding and stimulates learners' creativity. This article looks at how this format can be integrated into interactive activities, such as creating dialogues, rewriting stories or developing original scenarios. These activities simultaneously develop oral skills (expression and interaction) and written skills (textual coherence, use of vocabulary and grammatical structures). In this article, we will present the results of an implementation that took place in Greek primary and secondary schools. A total of 12 foreign language teachers (English, French, German) participated in a training program on the pedagogical use of new technologies in foreign language teaching and created educational scenarios that they implemented in the classroom (October 2023-January 2024). As part of the application, students were asked to create digital stories using comic creation tools. The students who took part in the project showed great interest and motivation. Using digital tools, they created comic strips, simultaneously developing their written and oral skills. Using concrete examples and feedback, the article highlights the pedagogical benefits of comic strips, in particular their ability to motivate learners, contextualize learning and encourage active participation. It concludes that this tool is a valuable resource for revitalizing foreign language teaching practices while encouraging learner involvement and creativity.
Keywords: Oral interaction, written interaction, comics, foreign language, digital literacy.