USE OF ENVIRONMENT-THEMED CARTOONS IN ESP TEACHING
USE OF ENVIRONMENT-THEMED CARTOONS IN ESP TEACHING

Summary/Abstract: In Serbia, as in many other countries, humour is frequently integrated into General English instruction in primary and secondary schools, but less frequently so in higher education, especially in specialized study programmes offering ESP courses. The present discussion concerns students enrolled at the Faculty of Occupational Safety (FOS), University of Niš, Serbia, particularly those in the environmental protection programme, but may also benefit students in analogous programmes at other higher education institutions. This paper investigates the potential of illustrated cartoons / comic strips as tools for English language instruction tailored to the field of environmental studies. The analysis of these cartoons assesses their prospective advantages for students regarding vocabulary acquisition, grammar proficiency, and a deeper comprehension of pertinent environmental concepts. The latter aspect is emphasized as FOS students are required to take the English Language course for only one semester during their freshman year, well before they encounter more specialized science and engineering coursework. Their familiarity with environmental terminology and fundamental concepts is thus likely to be limited, so pre-exposure to these concepts could prove particularly advantageous for their subsequent studies. Ideally, the inclusion of humour should enhance both their linguistic competencies and their grasp of the specialized subject matter.

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