Cheick Félix Bobodo Ouedraogo

Exploiting comics as a tool to learn French in Burkina Faso’s primary schools.; [EXPLOITER LA BANDE DESSINÉE COMME OUTIL D’APPRENTISSAGE DU FRANÇAIS DANS LES ÉCOLES PRIMAIRES DU BURKINA FASO]

By Cheick Félix Bobodo Ouedraogo

When discussing the effectiveness of sub-Saharan African educational systems – a topic currently under debate – one issue that immediately comes to the fore is the obstacle represented by the vehicular language of school, which is French, and does not match the language children learn in the family before entering school. This implies that the language of the school must be learned on a formal and systematic basis. In the case of Burkina Faso, the task for students becomes complex because, on the one hand, French is a medium they do not master and, on the other, being the vehicular language of the school, the mastery of French is crucial for school achievement. In this situation, comic books, which undeniably exert a strong appeal to children, can serve as an effective pedagogical tool for learning French. The method adopted for this research is analytical, although certain data are based on fieldwork carried out in the context of other studies. The results of this work show that comic books can have an important place in the primary education system of Burkina Faso as an appropriate pedagogical method to exploit educational resources in general, and linguistic resources in particular. © 2023 Fabrizio Serra Editore Srl. All rights reserved.