Comics as “Little narratives…”

The present paper discusses the pedagogical shifts in English Language Teaching which demands the participation of the subgenres in Literature. The paper also justifies the role of comics in English Language Teaching through Gerard Genette’s paradigm and strongly recommends that Comics can be a viable genre of Sub-literature.  Any element in language teaching requires a context and Literature serves as the best source for any classroom interaction, irrespective of the level of the students. Again, the present scenario in teaching and learning had redefined what ‘literature’ is.  In the present era, where one’s time is their valuable asset, research shows that reading in any form has been dwindling. The communication not only has to take place but also have to happen at a quick pace.  On the other hand, the role of the students in learning is acquiring importance with the concept of flipped classrooms. Also, Learners have to read, understand and interpret language.  On this occasion, sub-literatures serve a better choice to improve reading habit among learners.  Sub-Literature includes anecdotes, jokes, repartees, quotations, riddles, comics, ‘middles’ in newspapers, etc., (Ram R V,2008). Of the above mentioned forms, Comics serve as a best way to promote reading, applicative and critical skills. In a worksheet, the students imagine the contents, given in words. But comics contain pictures which motivates the students to read. They enhance the understanding of the language as they are a series of pictures with a beginning, middle and an end, with meaning implicit. The immediacy of the content is an attractive factor in comics which helps the students to stay tuned. A comic, when put to effective use helps a teacher in numerous ways. The paper throws light on the pedagogies of using comics as an effective tool in language classrooms and justifies comics as a sub genre with the help of the narrative paradigm of Gerard Genette, a French Structure list.