A picture can give an English language learner something very important: a starting point.
When students are still developing their English, being asked to speak or write from nothing can feel difficult. A cartoon or comic gives them characters, actions, emotions and a situation to talk about before they have to produce much language themselves.
That makes visual stories particularly useful in the EAL classroom.
Cartoons and comics can support vocabulary, speaking, reading, writing and grammar, but they do not need to become complicated projects. Sometimes one picture and three carefully chosen questions are enough to create a meaningful language activity.
Here are seven practical ways to use them.
1. Start With a Picture Talk
Before students read any dialogue, show them a single comic panel or cartoon and ask them what they can see.
For beginners, keep the questions very simple:
Who can you see?
Where are they?
What is he/she doing?
How does the character feel?
Provide sentence starters when necessary:
I can see…
There is…
He is…
She looks…
I think…
Students can first talk with a partner before sharing with the class.
This gives EAL learners time to find the vocabulary they need and rehearse their ideas before speaking publicly.
For more confident learners, move beyond description:
What do you think happened before this?
What might happen next?
Why does the character look surprised?
One image can therefore support learners at several different proficiency levels.
2. Fill in the Speech Bubbles
Remove the dialogue from a short comic and ask students to create their own.
For younger or beginning learners, provide useful language on the board:
Hello!
Can I help you?
Where are you going?
I don’t know.
Look out!
Thank you.
Students choose suitable expressions and place them in the speech bubbles.
More advanced learners can write the dialogue independently.
The activity can also focus on a particular language function. For example:
asking for help
giving advice
inviting someone
apologising
making a suggestion
Students are then practising English for communication rather than simply completing isolated grammar sentences.
3. Put the Story in Order
Cut a simple comic strip into separate panels and mix them up.
Students work in pairs or groups to decide the correct order.
The pictures provide plenty of support, while the discussion encourages useful sequencing language:
First…
Then…
After that…
Next…
Finally…
Once the panels are in order, students can retell the story.
Beginners might produce one sentence for each picture.
More proficient learners can connect the events into a complete narrative using past tenses and linking expressions.
You can also remove one panel and ask:
What do you think is missing?
Students then have to infer part of the story rather than simply describe what they see.
4. Turn a Comic Into a Grammar Challenge
Comics can provide a context for grammar practice without making grammar the whole focus of the lesson.
For example, show a picture of several people at a park and ask students to describe what is happening:
The boy is running.
Two girls are playing football.
A woman is reading.
You have now created a natural reason to practise the present continuous.
A sequence of pictures can support the past tense:
The dog saw the cake.
It jumped onto the table.
It ate the cake.
A character with a problem can introduce should/shouldn’t:
He should ask for help.
She shouldn’t touch it.
The visual gives meaning to the grammar before students are asked to concentrate on the structure.
An additional activity is Grammar Detective.
Give students a comic containing several examples of the target structure and ask them to find and highlight them.
Then ask:
What do you notice?
This encourages students to look for patterns in real language.
5. Explore Feelings and Emotions
Facial expressions in cartoons make them particularly useful when teaching emotions.
Show several characters and ask students to match them with vocabulary:
excited
worried
angry
confused
embarrassed
proud
Then move from vocabulary to explanation:
How does she feel?
She feels worried.
Why?
Because she can’t find her bag.
For developing learners, add more precise language:
He looks disappointed because…
She might be nervous because…
Perhaps they are surprised because…
This type of activity gives students opportunities to practise both emotional vocabulary and reasoning.
You can also ask students to compare how two characters feel or explain how a character’s emotions change during a story.
6. Change the Story
Once students understand a short comic, ask them to change something.
They could:
- create a different ending;
- add another character;
- change the setting;
- turn a problem into a happy ending;
- rewrite the story from another character’s point of view;
- add one extra panel.
For younger learners, give choices rather than a completely open task.
For example:
Where does the story happen now?
A. At school
B. At the beach
C. In space
Students then adapt the dialogue to match their choice.
More advanced learners can rewrite an informal conversation more politely or change a serious scene into a humorous one.
This encourages students to manipulate language rather than simply copy it.
7. Create a Mini Comic
Students can eventually create their own comic.
It does not need to be beautifully drawn. Simple stick figures are enough.
Give students a template with three or four panels and a clear language goal.
For example:
Vocabulary comic
Use five words from this week’s vocabulary.
Grammar comic
Include three examples of the past tense.
Conversation comic
Create a dialogue in which one character asks another for help.
Feelings comic
Show a character experiencing three different emotions.
EAL learners often benefit from planning the language before drawing.
A simple planning sheet could include:
Characters:
Setting:
Problem:
Useful words:
What happens first?
How does it end?
Students can work independently or in pairs.
Afterwards, the comics can become reading material for classmates. Students can read one another’s work, answer questions or choose a favourite story.
In this way, one writing activity also becomes a reading and speaking activity.
How to Scaffold Comic Activities for EAL Learners
The visual support of a comic does not automatically make the language easy.
Students may still need help expressing what they understand.
Useful scaffolds include:
- picture dictionaries;
- vocabulary banks;
- sentence starters;
- model answers;
- labelled images;
- useful verbs;
- sequencing words;
- dialogue frames.
For a beginner, instead of asking:
“Describe what is happening in the comic.”
you might provide:
The boy is __________.
The girl feels __________.
They are at __________.
As students become more independent, gradually remove the support.
The goal is not to keep learners dependent on sentence frames, but to give them enough language to participate successfully until they are ready to work without them.
Choose the Visual Carefully
A funny image is not automatically a useful classroom resource.
Before using a cartoon or comic, ask:
Can my students understand the situation?
Is the language appropriate for their level?
Does the activity have a clear language objective?
Will the cultural references make sense to them?
For younger learners, simple situations are often most effective: school, family, animals, food, friendship, hobbies and everyday problems.
A complicated joke that requires extensive cultural knowledge may create more confusion than useful language practice.
The picture should support communication rather than become something students have to struggle to understand.
From Visual Support to Independent Language
One useful way to think about comics in EAL teaching is as a bridge.
Students begin with something they can see.
Then they identify the language they need.
Next, they use that language with support.
Finally, they communicate more independently.
For example:
Look at the picture → collect vocabulary → practise with a partner → tell the story independently.
This progression can be particularly helpful for learners who understand much more English than they are initially confident enough to produce.
Final Thoughts
Cartoons and comics do not have to be an occasional reward or a five-minute activity at the end of a lesson.
Used purposefully, they can provide accessible starting points for vocabulary, grammar, storytelling, speaking and writing.
For EAL learners, the combination of visual context and language support can make it easier to understand a situation, organise ideas and take part in classroom communication.
The most effective activity does not need elaborate technology or a professionally designed comic. A few simple panels, clear language support and the right questions can generate a surprising amount of English.
And ultimately, that is the goal: not simply to look at the pictures, but to use them as a reason to think, talk, read and create in English.
Source inspiration: Keith Taylor, “From Comics to Memes: Using Visual Humour in English Teaching,” Eslbase. The activities in this Love4English article have been developed specifically with EAL learners and classroom scaffolding in mind.