Hello guys! I haven't been around for some weeks but I'm back! hehe. Today I'll share with you some information about Drama Techniques, something that I've been using in my Didactic classes.
I hope the information I'm about to post will help you in some way!
First of all let's define What Drama is?
As Charlyn Wessels the author of the book "Drama" says: "Drama is doing". This simplified definition accurately depicts drama as the direct involvement of learning by experience. A famous Chinese proverb informs, "Tell me and I will forget; teach me and I will remember; involve me and I will learn". Rather than just listening and remembering, or seeing and explaining, the students take a personal journey through kinetic experimental learning.
The student learns more than information, by developing practical "hands-on" skills for applying meaning into real-life situations.
Benefits of using Drama Techniques.
Using drama techniques has many advantages within the classroom curriculum. Using them could increase personal confidence in our students; something very important in everything but primarily in a personal aspect.
Stephen Whitear observes that speaking is not only words, structure, and pronunciation, but feelings, motivations, and meanings.
1. Drama is Fun.
A fun class improves the learning environment as the affective filter is lowered. The combination of drama techniques with learning a second language brings about a fun, enriching and purposeful experience. Learners want to enjoy the learning process and drama allows them to experiment with language and laugh at the same time. Nobody said that English classroom had to be serious.
2. Drama is a relaxed and informal way to learn English.
Text books only provides one possible way to communicate the message, but when a learner is given individual choices of how to say something, allowing them the freedom to step out the box, the right answer/wrong answer concept is removed and communication becomes more informal while the learner can remain enjoyably relaxed.
3. Drama helps to learn new vocabulary and expressions in their proper environment.
Drama helps to extend, retain and reinforce vocabulary and sentence structure trough role-play and communication games. (Mordecai, Fernandez & Coil, Sam)
When a teacher brings in a particular scenario, along with some props and costumes, certain words and expressions take on a new meaning in context.
4. Drama helps in proper pronunciation and intonation in English.
Clarity of spoken English is absolutely essential for clear communication. The teacher can use words and expressions found within the drama script to focus on particular phonetic sounds ans assists with correction on an individual basis. As Goodwin writes: "Drama is a particularly effective tool for pronunciation teaching because various components of communicative competence (discourse intonation, pragmatic awareness, nonverbal communication) can be practiced in an integrated way."
5. Drama builds confidence in the learner's ability to speak English.
The goal of many teachers is to build confidence within their students. Sometimes is pretty difficult to talk in front of people, primarily for the lack of confidence in our speaking and the cultural ideology of not making mistakes.That's why drama helps on confidence, because on the stage, exactness in language is not as critical as communication. The focus is not on exact speaking, but on enabling students to communicate. As students are provided various activities to get involved with the language, their personal outlook on the stage and their speaking confidence become greatly enhanced.
6. Drama builds a better understanding of culture.
There is a strong connection between language and culture. Withing short skits and drama activities, cultural elements can be explained and better understood. Being able to include familiarity with these cultural learning points helps to bring a stronger relationship between the language and its meaning.
7. Drama removes the focus from the English textbook.
As we know the use of the English book is pretty important at the beginning of learning a language, but the teacher has to look for the ways of remove it from the learner, if not you're at risk of being a "booky teacher".The actual learning of English comes when the learner can experience the language in a real environment. Role-play simulations are good methods for learners to use language learned within the textbook. The goal of the teacher is to lead learners to use the language in real situations, not the memorization of the textbooks dialogues.
8. Drama involves the whole person as a total physical activity.
Dramatic activities in learning English apply a kinesthetic, emotional, and experiential approach to learning. Language, together with feelings and movement, blend together to affect the whole person.
This is just a few information that I shared about the topic mentioned and I hope it could help you in some way.
See you in the next post.
Blessings.
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