USING DRAMA SKILLS IN THE CLASSROOM

By James Hanley

Good teachers seem to know instinctively how to use performance

skills in the classroom to gain and hold students interest.
There seems to be general agreement among teachers that in order to
continue raising academic standards we need to constantly examine and
explore our methods of teaching.
If you are lucky enough to have that rare opportunity to observe other
teachers lessons at your school, you might notice that one or two
classroom performances stand out. Why? What is it that makes them
different? Is it luck? Is it talent? Is it training? Is it experience? Is it some
kind of intangible presence?
Some teachers do have similar qualities to good actors and are totally
convincing in what they do. Effective teachers seem to know instinctively
how to use performance skills to gain and hold students interest. They also
seem aware of the impact that dramatic techniques can have upon students
and are always looking for opportunities to incorporate these into their
lessons.
Perhaps it is time for us all to adopt a variety of drama skills to win the
attention and interest of our students, to convey information effectively to
our diverse and demanding audience. These skills might include the use
of body language and voice, role-playing and improvisation.
Body language
All teachers can use appropriate body language to create the desired
atmosphere within their classrooms, for example:

Exaggerating movements when explaining something to the whole

class. This should capture and hold the students attention and can be
used to emphasise important points.
Walking towards the person who is talking, even if it is only one or
two steps. This can have an incredibly positive effect on individuals,
boosting self-esteem by physically demonstrating an interest in what
they say.
Responding by smiling and nodding when a student is talking.
Keeping eye contact with the student who is talking and showing
enthusiasm with facial expressions.

Walking around the room during a discussion so that the whole class
feels involved.
Avoiding closed body language (such as folding arms) and physical
signals that can distract from the learning process, for example:
constantly checking the time or looking at paperwork that has
nothing to do with the lesson.

It is easy to forget that students absorb more information from what they
physically see than from what they actually hear. It is also important to
remember that nonverbal communication is generally thought to be more
honest than verbal communication; if your body language is positive then
students are more likely to trust you.
Use of voice
Like good actors, teachers need to use their voices appropriately in a
variety of situations, such as narrating a story or giving a character a
distinctive accent (see Role-playing below). Effective teachers incorporate
variations in vocal pitch and deliberately raise or lower their voice in order
to make a point or simply to communicate more effectively.
I have always had a problem with my voice. It is naturally low and
monotonous, not the kind of voice that will naturally grab the students
attention. So I have spent a great deal of time working on ways to vary the
pitch and to make it sound more enthusiastic and interesting.
I found the following particularly useful:

Reading poetry aloud. This is particularly helpful because poetry

requires greater vocal inflection for its meaning to become clear.
Varying the speed and tone of my voice in conversation and listening
to myself on a tape recorder. (This is the hardest part as we all hate
hearing what our own voices actually sound like.)
Using these recordings to recognise personal speech characteristics
that might distract from the learning process and attempting to
overcome these impediments. The voice exercises in Cicely Berrys
book Voice & the Actor are particularly useful for this

Many teachers injure their voices by trying to compete with the sounds of
students in and out of the classroom. We need to learn to pay attention to
the signals that our voices send us so that we can take the necessary steps to
avoid damaging one of our most important teaching tools.

How many of us have sore throats by the end of every November? Is this
an occupational hazard or can we do something about it?
We need to think ahead and to learn to change certain behaviours which
might cause serious damage, such as shouting over thirty students every
lesson to try to get them to be quiet!
Role-playing
The most obvious role that we take on every day is that of the teacher. Like
most of us, I can play the cross teacher, the disappointed teacher and the
concerned teacher, if I feel that these roles are appropriate in any given
situation.
There are, however, many other roles that we are able to play and many
other situations when adopting a role in the classroom may be of use, for
example:

Narrating a story or playing a character within a story when reading

to students will obviously interest them more than a straight
reading.
Using role-playing techniques in order to attract and hold students
attention.
To convey information, to stimulate discussion and to better
communicate with students.
In many subjects, role-playing can be used to develop empathy and
to enliven discussion. For instance, taking the role of a historical
figure and being hotseated by the students.

Improvisation
Great actors improvise so impressively that it is virtually impossible to tell
that they are improvising. Similarly, effective teachers can improvise so
well that they always appear to know exactly what they are doing and
everything seems to be carefully planned and well thought-out.
These teachers will often bring exciting ideas into the classroom in
stimulating and original ways; they will use humour to help establish a
rapport with their students, as well as to diffuse situations and to deal with
difficult moments.

Good classroom improvisation, however, does not mean having to be

outrageously funny or wild, it simply means being capable of appearing
natural and confident in every situation.
I believe that improvisation is one of the most important skills for a teacher
to learn. If you can learn to improvise convincingly, you will put students at
ease and encourage them to take risks, improving your classroom
performance tenfold.
For the best ideas on learning how to be spontaneous and how to
improvise, get hold of a copy of ex-teacher Keith Johnstones book Impro. I
think that it is one of the most important and influential books ever written
and I recommend it unreservedly.
References
Berry, C. (1973): Voice and the Actor. London: Harrap
Hodgson, J. (ed.) (1972): The Uses of Drama. London: Methuen
Johnstone, K. (1981): Impro. London. Methuen.
Pisk, L. (1975): The Actor and his Body London. Harrap.
(James Hanley is head of drama at a London comprehensive school.
Before becoming a teacher, he worked in childrens homes and hostels
across London as well as running drama workshops for children and adults
with disabilities).
Notes on vocabulary
Stand outConveyBoostNodTrustPitchGrabInflectionOvercomeSoreHazardEnlivenRapportEaseTenfold-

2.

Principais dimensins de comunicacin non verbal.

2.1.

A kinsica: posturas, xestos, expresins faciais, mirada, sonrisa.

2.2.

A proxmica: a utilizacin do espazo persoal.

2.3.

A tactxsica: o uso do contacto corporal.

2.4.

A paralingstica: os recursos expresivos da fala.

2.5.

A apariencia fsica.