Teaching English Through Drama

KNU Teacher Training 2013

M r Bri a n M a lo v a ny

Wednesday, January 23, 13

Educational Theorists
Lev Vygotsky:
Social interaction plays a large role in cognitive development. Only
once social interaction has occurred can an individual understand on a personal level.

Teachers should collaborate with the students to help facilitate meaning

and learning. (Hausfather, 1996; Kam, 2011; Schmidt, 2011)

Howard Gardner:
Multiple intelligences includes bodily-kinesthetic intelligence, where entire body
is used to solve problems in the process of learning.

Interpersonal and Intrapersonal intelligence, which includes understanding ones

own motivations and the motivations of others in the process of learning. (Freese, 1998)

Wednesday, January 23, 13

Educational Theorists
Benjamin Blooms Taxonomy: Blooms taxonomy presents another educational theory that looks at
higher levels of understanding and learning within development at various stages. .

Bloom's taxonomy can be one mean of helping achieve such desired

goals, such as researching student comprehension and understanding of varied subjects, and in particular through social studies (Freese, 1998)

Blooms Taxonomy

1. Comprehension 2. Knowledge 3. Analysis

4. Evaluation 5. Application 6. Synthesis

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Dramatic Examples
Margaret Goodnow- Has students choose a civilization in
order to create a play. The Golden Apple was utilized to socially have students find cooperative solutions to problems while learning about other cultures and historic peoples. (Goodnow, 2004) found that drama infused lesson plans unite classes, and create leaders in social studies learning. (Rosler, 2008)

Brenda Rosler- Fifth-grade teacher in an urban community

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By integrating dramatic roleplaying activities within social studies lessons over a six-week period of time to twenty-eight students at Public School X in Brooklyn, New York, students will increase test scores in the social sciences curriculum.

To Act, Or Not To Act? Drama In The Classroom

Lauren E. Duerson

Wednesday, January 23, 13

Ed. Theorists: Paulo Freire

! From Drama Pedagogy to Pedagogy of the Oppressed
From the pursuit of some of the major drama in education innovators of the middle of the Twentieth Century, let us now focus on how educational theory in general was affected by the revolutionary theorist/practitioner, Paulo Freire. Bursting upon the world scene in 1968, Freires Pedagogy of the Oppressed stood the educational community on its head and galvanized progressive educators into re-evaluation of the status quo.

Freires ideas in regards to pedagogy are important to the field of teaching language through drama because he integrates the social domain with the work of language development. His approach is the opposite to what he describes as the banking concept of education. In the banking concept:

Wednesday, January 23, 13

The Banking Concept

(a) the teacher teaches and the students are taught; (b) the teacher knows everything and the students know nothing; (c) the teacher thinks and the students are thought about; (d) the teacher talks and the students listen meekly; (e) the teacher disciplines and the students are disciplined; (f) the teacher chooses and enforces his choice, and the students comply; (g) the teacher acts and the students have the illusion of acting through the action of the teacher; (h) the teacher chooses the program content, and the students (who are not consulted) adapt to it; (i) the teacher confuses the authority of knowledge with his own professional authority, which he sets in opposition to the freedom of the students; (j) the teacher is the Subject of the learning process, while the students are mere objects (Freire, 1969, p. 59).
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...and Freires Response

Freire implies that in an effective education, the following model should apply: (a) the teacher and the students learn together; the teacher and the students share their knowledge with each other; the teacher and the students exchange in intellectual dialogue; (d) the teacher and the students listen to each other; (e) the material being learned and the learning process discipline both teacher and students; (f) the teacher and the students make decisions together as outgrowth of dialogue; (g) teacher and students act together; (h) the students have a voice in choosing the program content; (i) both teacher and students subordinate themselves to the authority of knowledge; (j) the students are the Subjects of the learning process while the teacher is a guide. An echo of the early practitioners of drama-in education can be heard in such propositions.

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Dramatic activities
What did you think of the two drama-based videos? Which would/could fit Freires approach better? What kinds of role plays and dramatic scenes would you have your students do?

Wednesday, January 23, 13

Dramatic activities
Design a short role play for your students! Tell us what their age & learning needs are Describe what language the drama activity would introduce or reinforce; would you address any social issues? Give a brief demonstration of how you would present it to them & your best guess of how they would perform it!

Wednesday, January 23, 13

Teaching English Through Drama: Conversation, Skits, Movies & Videos

Wednesday, January 23, 13

Dramatic activities
Are the following activities for children? Not Really! But teaching is a dramatic activity, an act of performance; youre putting yourself out there and can flop or succeed, just like an actor on stage Extending and expanding your own dramatic repertoire and experience can only help your teaching!
Wednesday, January 23, 13

Drama-Based Activities: Small Talk

Small talk is an informal type of discourse that does not cover any functional topics of conversation or any transactions that need to be addressed.

Small talk is conversation for its own sake, or "....comments on what is perfectly obvious."

Wednesday, January 23, 13

Drama-Based Activities: Small Talk

The phenomenon of small talk was initially studied in 1923 by Bronisaw Malinowski, who coined the term "phatic communication" to describe it. The ability to conduct small talk is a social skill; hence, small talk is some type of social communication. Early publications assume networked work positions as suitable for social communication.
[3]

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Drama-Based Activities: Small Talk

Wednesday, January 23, 13

Drama-Based Activities: The Art of Sarcasm

Sarcasm is "a sharp, bitter, or cutting expression or
remark; a bitter gibe or taunt", usually conveyed through irony (an incongruity between the literal and the implied meaning.) or understatement.

Most authorities distinguish sarcasm from irony However, others argue that sarcasm may or often does
involve irony or employs ambivalence.

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Drama-Based Activities: Small Talk

Small Talk/Lies/Sarcasm Dialogue In groups of 4, create a scene that incorporates both small talk and lies. There should be a kind of lie (little white lie, huge lies, hurtful lies) a scene (the water cooler, the elevator, airplane) equal/unequal relationships (co workers, boss & employee, teacher & student) Add some sarcasm! topics of conversation (safe ones or unsafe ones? the weather or politics? where youre from or what you weigh?)

Wednesday, January 23, 13