{"id":28883,"date":"2025-11-19T08:30:00","date_gmt":"2025-11-19T13:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/teachmag.com\/?p=28883"},"modified":"2026-01-20T09:52:36","modified_gmt":"2026-01-20T14:52:36","slug":"using-comics-to-boost-esl-confidence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/teachmag.com\/using-comics-to-boost-esl-confidence\/","title":{"rendered":"Flipping the Script: Using Comics and Creative Play to Boost ESL Confidence"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>By Ragavendran SS<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When I took up a part-time role as an ESL trainer at a local language institute, I was tasked with leading a summer course for students in grades 6 through 12. Most of these students had been attending English-medium schools for years. On paper, they had a solid grasp of grammar, vocabulary, and reading comprehension. They could write essays, complete worksheets, and pass exams with reasonable ease. Yet, when it came to speaking, they froze.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Even in informal situations, their spoken English was hesitant, heavily accented by their mother tongues, and often peppered with awkward pauses. I noticed a consistent pattern across the group: they were fluent readers but reluctant speakers.<\/p>\n\n\n\t\t<div class=\"wp-block-woocommerce-memberships-member-content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"woocommerce\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"woocommerce-info wc-memberships-restriction-message wc-memberships-message wc-memberships-content-restricted-message\">\n\t\t\t\t<h3>Subscribe to Keep Reading<\/h3>\r\n<p>\ud83d\udd11 You\u2019re one step away from unlocking premium content.<br>\r\nSubscribe now for as low as $5.99 and get full access!<\/p>\r\n<p><a class=\"btn\" href=\"\/product-category\/subscription\/\">Subscribe<\/a><\/p>\r\n<p><small>If you\u2019re already subscribed, please <a href=\"https:\/\/teachmag.com\/my-account\/\">Log In<\/a>.<\/small><\/p>\t\t    <\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>On paper, the students I was teaching had a solid grasp of grammar, vocabulary, and reading comprehension. Yet, when it came to speaking, they froze.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":384,"featured_media":29415,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2950,2985,2915],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-28883","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-classroom-perspectives","8":"category-esl-and-ell","9":"category-reading-and-literacy"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.1.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Flipping the Script: Using Comics and Creative Play to Boost ESL Confidence - TEACH Magazine<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"I wanted to create a space where students felt safe enough to take risks, make mistakes, and discover their own voice in English.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/teachmag.com\/using-comics-to-boost-esl-confidence\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Flipping the Script: Using Comics and Creative Play to Boost ESL Confidence\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I wanted to create a space where students felt safe enough to take risks, make mistakes, and discover their own voice in English.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/teachmag.com\/using-comics-to-boost-esl-confidence\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"TEACH Magazine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/teachmag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-11-19T13:30:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-01-20T14:52:36+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/teachmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Flipping-the-Script_X_2400px.jpg?_t=1768920756\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2400\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1256\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Ragavendran SS\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@teachmag\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@teachmag\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Ragavendran SS\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/teachmag.com\/using-comics-to-boost-esl-confidence\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/teachmag.com\/using-comics-to-boost-esl-confidence\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Ragavendran SS\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/teachmag.com\/#\/schema\/person\/c7c9aee5eb41c75d35995c387161adac\"},\"headline\":\"Flipping the Script: Using Comics and Creative Play to Boost ESL Confidence\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-11-19T13:30:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-01-20T14:52:36+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/teachmag.com\/using-comics-to-boost-esl-confidence\/\"},\"wordCount\":1202,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/teachmag.com\/using-comics-to-boost-esl-confidence\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/teachmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Flipping-the-Script_Web_1920px.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"Classroom Perspectives\",\"ESL and ELL\",\"Reading and Literacy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/teachmag.com\/using-comics-to-boost-esl-confidence\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/teachmag.com\/using-comics-to-boost-esl-confidence\/\",\"name\":\"Flipping the Script: Using Comics and Creative Play to Boost ESL Confidence - 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