Illustration and Text Comprehension: Tales Study for Primary Students

Abstract

Essential for the individual’s successful adaptation in the society, text comprehension is a cognitive activity more and more complicated to the child (Blanc & Brouillet, 2005). However, these understanding difficulties get better with the age (Boisclair, Makdissi, Sanchez, Fortier, & Sirois, 2004; Segui & Léveillé, 1977). The present study, working on the principle that illustration is beneficial to the comprehension process (Ammari, 2015; Blanc & Tapiero, 2002; Gyselinck, 1995, 1996; Gyselinck & Tardieu, 1993; Reinwein, 1988; Rizk Batien, 2009; Vezin, 1986), has proposed to study the effect, the role of this one on comprehension to the children through tales. Two groups of students aged from 7 to 9 years old read two short stories, illustrated or not. Two tests were also submitted to them: the task of understanding and highlighting important words and/or ideas. The results obtained show clearly the positive effect of the illustration on the students’ performances and testify thus to the fact that illustration can be used as a palliative to the understanding difficulties of to the children.