Adaptation of ecuadorian reading material for the development of cultural awareness and comprehension skills among teenage learners in district 09d19 (Daule) through the use of a translated version of the comic book “Leyendas Guayaquileñas III”.

Abstract

This project consists of an adaptation of the comic book "Leyendas Guayaquileñas III" as culturally relevant reading material to develop reading comprehension skills among teenage students of English as a foreign language (EFL). The process included translating a comic book, evaluating and adapting its visual images, where applicable, and designing an educational booklet with reading comprehension activities. The data showed that secondary school teachers had a positive attitude about comics to develop reading comprehension skills among students, acknowledging the ability they have to increase student participation and engagement. On the other hand, the evaluation of the visual images and linguistic content confirmed that the three comic book legends have significant cultural and educational value. Overall, this project proves that locally, and linguistically adapted literature can become an effective tool for the practice of reading English as a foreign language, since it may foster language learning as well as cultural knowledge among teenage readers.