Exploiting Context-bound and Context-sensitive Aspects of Editorial Cartoons: Developing Linguistic and Critical Thinking Abilities in English Language Classrooms

The use of humor and fun makes the class atmosphere more pleasant, motivates learners, increases student-teacher interaction, makes learning enjoyable and meaningful, and most of all, pleases the students. Editorial cartoons could be a rich source of all this and a lot more if used in an imaginative, creative and innovative manner for English Language Teaching (ELT).This paper, motivated by such pedagogical concerns, explores the idea of exploiting the neglected resource of context-bound and context-sensitive editorial cartoons and interactive approach to language teaching. It aims at demonstrating as to how it will work in developing students’ language skills and critical thinking abilities and provide a stimulating learning experience in English Language Classrooms. Keywords: editorial cartoons, critical thinking, interactive approach, context-bound, EIL classrooms DOI: 10.7176/JLLL/55-05 Publication date: April 30th 201