Graphic Novels as Multimodal Literacy Tools in Education
Summary
Graphic novels have emerged as powerful multimodal literacy tools that integrate textual, visual and spatial elements to support comprehension, engagement and critical thinking across age groups and disciplines. By combining narrative structures with illustrative design, they offer diverse entry points for learners with varying linguistic abilities and cultural backgrounds. In educational settings, graphic novels can foster inclusive learning environments, encourage identity negotiation and empower under-represented voices. Their capacity to visualise abstract concepts enhances subject-specific learning—from history and science to literature—while promoting digital literacy through interactive and transmedia adaptations. As curricula evolve towards multimodal frameworks, graphic novels are recognised for their potential to bridge traditional literacy skills with contemporary communication practices, cultivating creative expression and collaborative analysis in both the classroom and informal learning contexts.
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Graphic Novels as Multimodal Literacy Tools in Education publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in graphic novels as multimodal literacy tools in education across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Multimodal literacy: The ability to interpret and create meaning through the integrated use of various communicative modes, including text, images and spatial design.
Modality: A channel of communication such as linguistic, visual, auditory or gestural, each contributing uniquely to meaning in a text.
Cognitive load: The mental effort required to process and integrate multiple modes of information simultaneously.
Identity negotiation: The process by which learners use literacy practices to construct, affirm or challenge their personal and social identities within educational contexts.
References
- Supporting Literacy and Positive Identity Negotiations with Multimodal Comic Composing. Language and Literacy (2021).
- Teacher Trainees’ Perspectives of Teaching Graphic Novels to ESL Primary Schoolers. 3L: Language, Linguistics, Literature. The Southeast Asian Journal of English Language Studies (2017).
- Another Fever Year? Making sense of pandemics with a historical graphic novel. Literacy (2023).
- Appropriating Shakespearean graphic novels for Malaysian classrooms to create correct gender representations. Frontiers in Psychology (2022).
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