This survey is intended to give the researcher information on the teacher

trainees personal perceptions towards graphic novels

NAME MUHAMMAD FIRDAUS BIN GHAZALI

NAME OF INSTITUT OF IPGK RAJA MELEWAR
TEACHER EDUCATION
PROGRAMME PISMP TESL 1
SEMESTER 7
PRACTICUM 1 / 2 / 3

A Teacher trainees reading habit

1. Do you enjoy reading?

Yes/No

2. If yes, what kinds of reading do you like to do? (You may tick more than
one)
a. newspapers

b. magazines

c. novels
Please state types of novel (mystery, science-fiction, horror, romance,
ect):

Science fiction

d. online reading materials

e. others (please state) : psychology & philosophy

B Teacher trainees perceptions towards graphic novels

1. What do you understand by the term graphic novel?

Supposedly a fancy name for comic. Manga, the Japanese variant of
comic, is a more appropriate candidate which fulfils the novel with
graphical representation

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2. When was the first time you read a graphic novel?
I think when I was in Year 2, a short graphic novel for children about a
trip to the zoo.

3. Do you enjoy reading graphic novels?

Yes / No

i. If yes, what are the elements of a graphic novel that you like?
(you may tick more than one)

a. Linear narrative

b. Illustrations and images

c. Word balloons

d. Others:___________________________________________________

ii. If no, why?

Sometimes the illustrators failed to convey/ display the actions or

situations which the characters/ events take place.

4. Do you prefer graphic novels to traditional text? Why?

It depends. Some novels are best being portrayed through words; they
enhance the readers imagination and there would be more space for
the authors to write rather than incorporating illustrations. However,
some novels might be too difficult to be drawn or be illustrated
abstract concepts, for instance. In sum, I accept both reading material
as long as the method of presentation is suitable with their
genre/length.

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5. How do you make sense of a graphic novel? What do you think is more
important: graphic images, word balloons or a combination of both?
Please explain.

I prefer the images over word balloons; the word balloons in a graphic
novel would make it looks more like a typical comic. By only incorporating
a few images while reading the novel, the book will be more of a novel
than a comic.

C Questions on Teaching Graphic Novels

1. Have you been taught how to read and how to teach reading graphic
novels in
the Language Arts class in our TESL Degree Programme?
Yes.

2. Have you ever taught your pupils to read graphic novels during any of
your
practicum? If yes, name the year of the pupil (year 4 or year 5) and the
text.

Yes, Year 4 The Jungle Book

3. Before you introduced the prescribed graphic novel to your pupils, how
many
of your pupils do you think would have read graphic novels(of different
titles)?

None, since my pupils proficiency in English is already low. I dont think

they would commit to English language material.

4. What was their reaction when they were asked to read the graphic
novel?

They were kind of excited but at the same time anxious since they
understand the pictures but not the text.

5. Did you ask your pupils how they felt about the graphic novel (without
reading
them)? If you did, how did the pupils respond to your question?

No, since I only taught once

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6. When you first asked the pupils to read the graphic novel, did they
know how to
read them?

No

7. Do you explain the features of the graphic novel (ie. Frame, panel,
gutter etc) to
your pupils?
No

i. If yes, why do you think it is necessary to explain the features to your

pupils?

iii. If no, why

Because I assumed that they are familiar with comics

8. Do you think your pupils enjoy reading and learning the graphic novel?
Yes / No. Why?
Yes. Since there are images, they will be able to guess the content of the
novel.

9. Do you enjoy teaching graphic novels to your pupils?

Yes / No. Why?
No, since the novel (The Jungle Book) and the illustrations are not enough
to convey the meaning of the real book by Rudyard Kipling

10. Do you make use of the teacher module in teaching the graphic novel?
Yes / No

i. If yes, in what way does the module help?

ii. If no, why?

No, since I have no access to the teachers module

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11. What are the challenges that you face in teaching graphic novels?

The pupils are not focused in reading it but rather flipping to other oages
to see the illustrations

12. In your opinion, are graphic novels a good choice of genre for primary
pupils?
Yes / No. Why?
Yes. Malaysian ESL primary learners proficiency are undeniably low.
Perhaps its about time we incorporate comic-like approach in
teaching English to gain their interest to read more English-related
material. However, the illustrators should take into consideration
what types of drawing that pupils are familiar with. This will further
boost their interest toward the graphic novels, rather than using
American-style drawings.

Thank you for taking the time to complete the research questions.
Please kindly return the questionnaires to this email address:
surianiyusof@ymail.com

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