FLAVA Conference 2014 –

Language Matters

Drama Techniques: A
Powerful Tool in
Language Learning

Dr. Mónica Mulholland, Ph.D.

Department of Modern and Classical
Languages
The Truth about Languages
KNOWLEDGE OF GRAMMAR

KNOWLEDGE OF VOCABULARY

COMMUNICATION SKILLS
Foreign Language Teaching
 TRADITIONAL  CONTEMPORARY/FLIPPED

 TEACHER CENTERED  STUDENT CENTERED

 GRAMMAR & VOCABULARY  COMMUNICATION

DRILLS
 RISK TAKING & SPONTANEITY
 MEMORIZATION
 DO SOMETHING IN THE
 STUDY FOR THE TEST LANGUAGE

 FOCUS ON ACCURACY AT  FOCUS ON PERFORMANCE

THE EXPENSE OF A
COMMUNICATIVE PURPOSE
Example of traditional
teacher-student interaction

What is he doing?

An obvious question that encourages

the production of a predictable
answer.
The result?

BOREDOM & PAIN

 Drama Techniques
 Are language teaching techniques derived from
acting training.
 Engage the whole person: body, voice, mind, and
emotions
 Boost self-confidence
 Draw on the imagination
 Promote interpersonal interaction and intra-
personal skills such as reflection and
introspection
 Relate to real life
 Drama Techniques

Go beyond grammar and vocabulary

to engage higher-order thinking
skills such as problem solving and
interpretation.

Crucial XXI Century Skills

Drama Techniques
In using children’s games as an
approach to drama training, one gets
completely away from the concept of
teaching someone a set of skills he or
she does not possess, and knows does
not possess, all of which produces
anxiety. Through games, one goes back
to the root processes of learning, which
are generally associated with pleasure,
and often delight, and which, in most
cases, were free from anxiety. This
method substitutes for the pain of
learning the joy of re-discovery. With
plenty of practice in this method, the
actor or the actress is lead to the
optimum use of his or her mind and body
resources (Clive Barker).
 Warm-up games
 The name-game  The yarn web

 A True-to-life Find Someone who…  The Layers of the Onion

Lights, camera, action!

1. Roles
2. Setting: place &
time
3. Props
4. Actions
5. Conflict???
 Bibliography
 Barker, Clive, and Dick McCaw. Theatre Games: A New Approach to
Drama Training. London: Methuen Drama, 2010. Print.

 Bowen, José A. Teaching Naked: How Moving Technology Out of Your

College Classroom Will Improve Student Learning. San Francisco:
Jossey-Bass, a Wiley imprint, 2012. Print.

 Jensen, Eric. Teaching with the Brain in Mind. Alexandria, Va:

Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, 2005. Print.

 Maley, Alan, and Alan Duff. Drama Techniques in Language Learning: A

Resource Book of Communication Activities for Language Teachers.
Cambridge: CUP, 1982. Print.

 Winston, Joe. Second Language Learning Through Drama: Practical

Techniques and Applications. London: Routledge, 2012. Print.
Questions? Comments?

Mónica Mulholland
George Mason
University
mmulholl@gmu.edu