INTRODUCTION TO DRAMA

The studies indicate that using drama in the classroom as a means of teaching helps students learn academically, socially, and developmentally. Drama is an invaluable tool for educators, since it supports every aspect of literacy development. Drama has been also recognized as a powerful learning medium because it creates a context for children to relate to their lived experience.

Drama activities encourage the affective aspects of reading and emergent literacy. Drama begins with the concept of meaningful communication and provides multiple opportunities for social interaction and feedback.

Researchers have discovered that the mental requirements for understanding drama are similar to those for reading. Therefore, it’s not surprising that children who experience drama seem to be more capable of making appropriate linguistic choices and expressing opinions or suggesting solutions frequently.

Teachers may avoid using drama in the classroom because they fear it will involve tedious, time-consuming preparations or children will not take learning seriously as drama activities are playful. This can cause educators to overlook drama as an important tool for teaching in general and for the teaching of reading and language arts in particular.

However, the intriguing nature of drama lies in its flexibility and most drama activities do not require teachers to have direct theatre experience. When drama serves as a teaching method, teachers should view it as a concept and a philosophy rather than a set of strict curriculum models.

DRAMA ACTIVITIES

 DRAMA ACTIVITIES

SENSLESS ANSWER (Can’t say yes or no variation)

PROCEDURE

In this game each student has a 3 piece of paper (you can use coins instead), every single student has to move around the classroom asking questions. The trick here is that the students have to answer something senseless nothing related to the question this has to be fast 2 or three seconds for each answer if the student answer correctly, he or she gives a coin or piece of paper to the person who ask the question.

ADVANTAGES 

 Advantages and Disadvantages of the activity

 It is a funny and motivating activity.

 Promotes creativity.

 It motivates students to practice grammar structures.

 

DISADVANTAGES

 It should be used with students with a higher level of knowledge of the target language

 It could require that all the students had the same level of proficiency.

HAVE YOU EVER?

The Have You Ever game is a great way to get your class going because it can really get your students moving. And getting their students moving is never a bad thing.

PROCEDURE

 Teacher organizes the group in a large circle with one person in the middle.

 The leader will ask you for the phrase Have you ever?

 The person in the middle will finish the sentence.

 Student ask: Have you ever eaten sour lollipops? Each of the students in the circle who has done what the student in the middle said (eat sour lollipops) will quickly switch places with someone else who has done it too.

 Whoever stays in the middle will finish the sentence the next time.

 The game does not have a real ending, so you can play 2 or 20 times. 

NOTE: How to apply in online class, the teacher can apply in online classes although it is a bit difficult because students have to move. But it can be done on the zoom platform with the same instructions, with the change that the last person to turn off their camera will take their turn and continue with the activity.

ADVANTAGES

Ø Students can interact and have fun in class.

Ø Teachers can really get their students moving.

Ø It is a pleasant talking activity, students can practice talking about their experiences by asking and answering.

 DISADVANTAGES

Ø Some students are afraid to speak up or make mistakes.

Ø The class time is not enough for all students to participate, if the group of students is large.

 

DRAMA IN THE EFL CLASSROOM

 DRAMA IN THE EFL CLASSROOM

Using theater during ESL classes is not very common, as it provides help as a platform to explore theoretical and practical aspects of the English language (Whiteson, 1996).

Improvisation in theater helps students with opportunities to develop their communication skills in authentic and dynamic situations. Theater in the English classroom can be used with students in interesting and useful ways for learning the language. Language can be used in context and brings it to life. Drama allows for a learning experience as it can be fun for students and even memorable because it is interactive and visual.

There are different studies on the use of theater during English classes. According to Wan Yee Sam says that the communicative approach, drama techniques, the value of drama in education, advantages and disadvantages (Sam, 1990). Alan Maley and Alan Duff are classic fonts that provide benefits for the use of dramatic techniques; which allows the learning of new vocabulary, allows students to build confidence which motivates students and helps to change the focus from teacher to students (Maley, 1982). The theater is important for the special communication that imposes considerable situations on the flexibility and skills of the teacher (Kao, 1998).

We have Morrow (1981) chose some guiding principles behind the management of communication activities. Susan Holden (1981) includes some meanings about what drama is and how it provides opportunities for a person to express themselves. Natural improvisation allows many outlets for self-expression. We even heard that children need to play as an important skill development process.

Benefits of Using Drama:

The use of theater in the ESL / EFL classroom is important as the benefits of theater by teaching languages as follows:

·         The acquisition of a fluent and meaningful interaction in the target language;

·         The assimilation of a whole range of pronunciation and prosodic characteristics in a fully contextualized and interactive way;

·         The fully contextualized acquisition of new vocabulary and structure; 

A greater sense of confidence in the student in their ability to learn the target language "(Wessels, p. 10).

 

During the theater it allows the teacher to take on the role of support in the learning process as the students can take more responsibility for their own learning. The teacher will also assume a less dominant role in the language class as it will allow students to investigate language activities. In the classroom it is student centered and each student is a potential teacher for the group.

Theater provides students with an opportunity to develop imagination. It also allows students to think independently (McCaslin 1996).

Since students can express their own ideas and contribute to the whole. Drama is creative and offers critical thinking exercises and the opportunity for students to be creative. The theater allows us to study human nature and work in harmony. It also allows for the healthy release of emotions in a safe environment and can work to relieve the stress of learning a second language.