THE IMPACT OF DRAMATICS ON ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNING
The Impact of Dramatics on English Language Learning
Abstract: English language learning is prime in every society as
it is the most frequently used language world- wide. Acquisition of second
language is a perilous task for most of the second language learners, and
tutors thus seek new tools and teaching methods to aid the learners to reach
proficiency in the language learning. The article aims at the use of drama in
English Language Teaching a.k.a ELT. Dramatics involves the use of role play,
simulation, scripted plays, soliloquies, mime etc. By employing such activities
in the classroom, students can involve in the learning process and thereby
contributing to the better understanding of the language, literature and
culture of the target group. Dramatics is thus a combination of entertainment
and education (edutainment).
Keywords: Drama, dramatics, English language learning,
communication skills, target language.
Introduction
English is an international language and the
additional associate official language of India. English is being taught as the
second language in schools and colleges. Most of the students thus face a
problem with the different elements of the language as they are not exposed to
the language like the mother tongue. Teachers are on a constant quest for
variation to their repertoire in order to maintain the students’ interest in
the classroom. There is a famous quote by Benjamin Franklin that goes by; “Tell
me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn”. Students’
involvement in learning process has become the main aim of modern approaches
that focus on student centered class rather than teacher centered class (Zahid
et. al., 2019). Teachers thus adopt different techniques for the same. Language
games, Dramatics (role play, simulation, scripted plays etc.), use of audio-
visual aids are some among them. These in turn develops a learner centered
classroom that leads to the better understanding of the subject.
Drama: Origin and Definitions
There are different genres in English. They are poetry, prose, drama etc. There are different definitions for each of these. Here the article focuses on dramatics. The word drama is derived from the Greek word ‘dran’ which means ‘to act ‘or ‘to do’. It is a fictional representation through dialogue and performance. Drama is not simply the presentation of interesting characters or a matter of preaching interesting ideas; rather, it is the presentation of human beings engaged in action. Drama can be defined as a wide range of oral activities that have an element of creativity present (Hubbard et. al., 1986). In other words, drama is concerned with the world of ‘let’s pretend’; it asks the learner to project himself imaginatively into another situation, outside the classroom, or into the skin and persona of another person (Holden, 1982). The value of these activities lies not in what they lead up to but in what they are, in what they bring out right now (Maley et, al., 1984). This comment can be interpreted as meaning that students do their ‘acting’ for language and imaginative activity and not for exhibition. Nevertheless, teachers should not deny their opportunity to act out their scenes to the rest of the class if they so wish, for if rehearsed drama activities are left unperformed, there may be a sense of incompleteness in the class (Davies, 1990).
Drama and Dramatics in Classrooms
Drama is a creative and an active approach to
learning. As prospective teachers we must understand the fact that learners
learn differently and learning styles comprises of all the three domains viz;
cognitive, affective and psychomotor. Hence, drama can be considered as one
among the best strategies that can be adopted as it involves a combination of
audio (dialogue), visual (performance) and kinesthetic (involves body movement)
learning and thus it benefits different learning styles providing a concrete
learning experience. In addition, it also paves a path for expressing the
creative talents and thereby develop their social, presentation, cognitive and
language skills. It improves both verbal and non- verbal mediums of
communications. Furthermore; it is built on the Howard Gardner’s concept of
multiple intelligence as it involves verbal linguistic, body kinesthetic,
interpersonal, intrapersonal and visual- spatial intelligences. Drama provides
a pivotal outlet for self -expression leading to holistic development. Drama
bridges the gap between dialogues given in the course books and natural usage
and also between the classroom and real -life situations by providing insights into
how to handle tricky situations. It also strengthens the bond between thought
and expression, provides practice of supra -segmentals and also enhances
listening skills. The use of drama in the language classroom allows the teacher
to present the target language in an active, communicative and conceptualized
way (Mattevi, 2005). It also enables teacher to address the LSRW skills. The use
of drama thus raises the target language and culture awareness.
Burke
and O’ Sullivan (2002), identified seven reasons to incorporate drama in second
language classroom:
1)
Teachers
and students can concentrate on pronunciation.
2)
Students
are motivated.
3)
Students
are relaxed.
4)
Students
use language for real purposes.
5)
Risk-
taking equals heightened language retention.
6)
Community
is created.
7)
Students
and teachers can approach sensitive topics.
Drama does things with words.
It introduces language as an essential and authentic method of communication.
Drama sustains interactions between students with the target language, creating
a world of social roles and relations in which the learner is an active
participant. Drama focuses on negotiation of meaning. The language that arises
is fluent, purposeful and generative because it is embedded in context (Kao et,
al., 1998). Drama is both an entertainment and educative genre that helps us to
explore the practical as well as the theoretical aspects of language. Keeping
students motivated through the whole lesson is an intractable problem. The most
important task for a teacher is to activate the students (Heikkinen, 2004).
According to constructivism, learning is a result of a personal construction
process and the teacher’s task is to create a framework and hence further
students’ personal learning processes. Drama provides solutions for the
situation accordingly (Savela, 2009). Drama is more like a child- centered
approach as teacher only acts as a facilitator or a mentor and the entire
responsibility rests with the students.
When students are assigned to play the parts of characters in a play, they should be asked to decide why their characters are saying each line of dialogue, i.e. what they want at that moment, and what their characters are doing by saying those words. They should describe their actions in terms of verbs. Not only will the student vocabulary increase, but also each entire phase will come to life as the student speaks it as an action, and will more effectively enter the student’s memory for later use in other situations and will be visual experience for other students (Guliyeva, 2011). Drama also facilitates group work and thus they become socially intelligent and thereby can cope up with real life situations. Students learn to use regular speech through drama. They do it either by themselves or with the help of the fellow students. Either, they act according to the linguistic guidelines prescribed by the teacher or may be left free to work matters out. In both cases, there is interaction and reaction taking place and they make use of their personal store of language for meaningful communication. Drama also facilitates in developing social skills and cultural knowledge in an interesting way. Drama is therefore a good source for language learning as it stimulates imagination, develops critical thinking, strengthens learning retention, comprehension, increases empathy, listening skills, exposes learners to culture of the target group, fosters peer respect, group dynamics, improves self confidence and better communication skills.
Conclusion
Drama can be
considered as an eclectic approach and it aids in the acquisition of good
communication skills. Students also become highly confident to use the
language. Being learner centered approach, this is a successful strategy that
can be used for teaching of second language, literature and the culture. Simply
listening to lectures seem boring and drama is a way to escape those. The
students engaging in drama not only learns the language but also how to
effectively use it for communication. It helps students to promote
comprehension of verbal and non- verbal attributes of the target language. Drama
also improves motivation and maturity as it draws upon students the ability to
imitate and express themselves by arousing imagination and interest. Language
is a skill and is best learned when it is put into practice. Drama is
contextual and provides a concrete experience and thereby encourages
adaptability, fluency and communicative competence. Teachers also can make use
of this to make the classroom activity more colourful, friendly and interesting
and thereby they can achieve a realistic and meaningful teaching through which
the students can benefits to a great extent.
Works Cited
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Guliyeva, Gulnar. (2011). The Role of Drama in
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Linguistics. 521- 524.
Holden, S. (1982). Drama in language teaching. Essex:
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Hubbard, P. (1986). A Training Course for TEFL. Oxford
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learning with students of limited L2 oral proficiency
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Zahid, Abdul Latif & Saifuurahman Rohi. (2019).
Effectiveness of Drama in Teaching and
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