Art, Drama and Communication

7/31/2019 Art, Drama and Communication

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ART , DRAMA

AND

COMMUNICATION

EFL University, Shillong Campus, Shillong 793022

[email protected] M.:9436110345
http://gardenofpraise.com/mugram7.htm


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May 25, 2012 a.k.mishra, EFL university, shillong 2

Man, from his earliest days, has used art and music to achieve

something that ordinary language fails to do. Wordsspoken or writtenseem unable to keep the world

from splitting and the generations from becoming strangers toeach other.

In art and music, we can find some bond of communication thatwould heal the wounds that worry us, and that would help makeour relationships and our world whole and meaningful again.Express and interpret information and ideas.

The arts are forms of communication extending beyond reading,

writing, listening and speaking. Communicating in the fine artsmeans learning to translate ideas through dance, drama, musicand visual arts. Students also participate in the communicationprocess as receivers observing, analyzing, evaluating, critiquingand interacting.

INTRODUCTION


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Points to Ponder

Art education helps children develop aesthetic nature. It fosters growth of originality and development of creativity

in children.

Art education enables children discover and identify their ownsensibilities and preferences through exposure to a variety of

media and materials to optimize their own capacity in one ormore forms of arts.

Art have been considered basic to individual developmentsince they stimulate all senses and are referred to as thelearning pores.

Experiences in arts are pathways to the cognition of beingand excellent means of moving towards discovery of identity.

Children should be provided with an integrated learningexperience of various forms of art, i.e., drawing, painting,music, dance, drama, etc.


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There is a need for integration of art-inspired learning experiences,

specifically student-created visuals, into the second language

classroom.

Such experiences can benefit the total language learning

experience.

The use of art activities can help build an atmosphere of cooperation

and community in the language classroom.

In addition, it can increase student motivation and enthusiasm forlanguage-oriented activities.

Art experiences can also lower the anxiety felt by many second

language learners. This point is an especially crucial one, because

unchecked anxiety may interfere with students' motivation and even

their learning.

The integration of student-created visuals with language learning

helps students to focus on the activity, allowing language to grow

within the safety of a non-verbal task.


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Art in Language Classroom Art provides children with an ability to

Express themselves openly while enabling them to ..... Experiment with Color, Shape, and Texture

Use Visual Expression as a Means of Communication

Express Their Feeling

Experience Pride in their Accomplishments

Develop an Understanding of Cause and Effect

Work With A Wide Variety Of Materials

Experience Sensory Pleasure by Working With Media

Develop Small Muscle Skills

Refine Hand-Eye Coordination

Share and Cooperate with Others

Enhance Creativity

Assert Their Individuality

Solve Simple Problems

Develop Planning Skills



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Music in Language Classroom Music provides children with a chance to/helps them to:

Develop motor skills

Improve short and long-term memory

Increase rhythm through dancing and other movements

Participate as a group and develop social skills

Refine listening skills

Establish a positive learning state

Build a sense of anticipation

Energize learning activities

Change brain wave states

Focus concentration

Increase attention

Facilitate a multisensory learning experience

Release tension

Enhance imagination



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DRAMA IN SCHOOL EDUCATION


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An attractive alternative is teaching language

through drama because it gives a context forlistening and meaningful language production,forcing the learners to use their languageresources and, thus, enhancing their linguistic

abilities.It provides situations for reading and writing.

It is very useful in teaching literary texts as it

helps in analyzing plot, character and style.It also involves learners more positively and

actively in the text.

May 25, 2012 8a.k.mishra, EFL university, shillong


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By using drama techniques to teach English, the

monotony of a conventional English class canbe broken and the syllabus can be transformedinto one which prepares learners to face theirimmediate world better as competent users of

the English language because they get anopportunity to use the language in operation.

Using drama techniques also fulfills socio-

affective requirements of the learners.Moreover, this learner-centered approach makes

the syllabus personally fulfilling.



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Creative and educational drama

activities are favorable techniques inhelping school students acquire anddevelop verbal and non verbal

communication skills.

The scope of creative drama may be

briefly explained through six learningprinciples.


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A student learns meaningful content better than othercontent.

Learning occurs as a result of a students interactionwith his environment.

The more sensory organs a student uses while

learning, the greater the retention of the lessons. A student learns best by doing and experiencing.

Effective participation is important in learningemotional conduct.

Learning becomes easier and more permanent ineducational environments where there is more thanone stimulus.


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Why use drama activities?

Creative, instructional and educational drama activitieshave positive contributions to the general educationprocess and improve speaking skills.

These activities are valuable classroom techniques thatencourage students to participate actively in the learningprocess.

Dramatic activity takes several different forms and the

teacher can provide students with a variety of learningexperiences by developing different methodologiesaccording to individual needs, interests and learninglevels.


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Drama is a particularly effective tool for

pronunciation teaching because variouscomponents of communicative competence(discourse intonation, pragmatic awareness,

nonverbal communication) can be practiced inan integrated way.

Drama means not only speaking about words,

structure and pronunciation but also feelings,motivations, meanings that are highly beneficialfor bringing drama to the language learner.


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Some characteristics of drama activities for

developing communication skills

Drama techniques and activities can be used todevelop communication skills through fluency,pronunciation, co-operative learning,

confidence-building and intercultural awareness. Drama activities can be used to provide

opportunities for the student to be involvedactively. The activities involve the studentswhole personality and not merely their mentalprocess.


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How is drama activity helpful?

Sharing and presenting views, information andideas.

Physical, vocal and mental warm-ups.

Voice, speech and pronunciation exercises.

Communication skills with adequate use of body

language. Creative drama and improvisation.



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Aims of communication skills and

drama activities

To build students confidence and self esteem through

drama.

To promote an enjoyment of language in all its forms.

To produce students who are vocally and physicallyexpressive, whose speech is clear, colourful and

individual.

To help each students personal development andenable them to communicate with sensitivity.

To ensure an understanding of communication as a

two-way process.


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Drama Techniques

1. Questioning in Role or Hot Seating Questioning in role/hot seating involves one of the learners "...

being questioned in a role about their motives, character andattitude to a situation or other people and so on."(Fleming, M.

1994) Texts about characters who have done heroic feats, livedan adventurous life or been in the news for some reason or theother, can be used for hot seating or questioning in a role.

Aims of the Activity

Comprehension and interpretation of character Taking down notes

Practice in report writing



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Procedure

The class is told that they are newspaper reporters at a press

conference to interview the character after his/her adventures. The 'character' (a learner who has volunteered to take on therole) sits in the front, facing the rest of the class and answersquestions posed by the reporters. He is interviewed for nomore than 10 minutes. The reporters ask not just questions,but, also take notes in order to write a news story or a moredescriptive feature article for the next edition of their paper. Incase of a large number of learners in the class, about threelearners can team together and pose as reporters from the samenewspapers. A learner can be given the role of a moderatorwho introduces the "character" and ensures a smooth

functioning of the conference. After the interview is over, theteams of "reporters" work together for the write-up. Thelearner who has been questioned in the role of the charactercan join one of the teams of the reporters.



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2. Telephone Conversations Telephone conversations test the learners' ability to react quickly

and, though the learners are free to say whatever they like, they have

to bear in mind whatever is said by the other speaker and continuethe conversation accordingly. This technique helps in enhancing thespeaking-listening skills of the learners.


Being able to sustain a meaningful telephone conversation

Interpretation of characterProcedure

The class is divided into groups of two learners. The learners sitwith their backs to each other so that they can only hear theirtelephone conversation partner. The learners in each group are toimagine that they are two different characters. A particular situationfrom the story/text is taken for which every pair has to build up atelephone conversation. You could ask them to discuss anothercharacter or some specific event from the text. You could also gobeyond the text and give them a conflicting situation and ask themto resolve it as the "characters" they are role playing.



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3. Thought TrackingThis drama technique can be exploited for interpretation of the literary text and,

especially, for understanding a fictitious character. In this particular technique,

the learner gets into the skin of the character and thinks from his/her point ofview. He totally empathizes with the character.


Reading comprehension, especially interpretation of text and character.

Writing diary entries, i.e., being able to express personal feelings and thoughts.

ProcedureThe class is divided into groups of five or six students. In groups, learners are to

select an important point of time in the main characters life in their text. It could

be a time of success, failure, disappointment, loss, rejection, elation, isolation or

struggle, a time when the character has a monologue with himself.

After having selected a crucial point of time, the individual members of thegroups are to articulate aloud the thoughts of the character to each other. After

having heard each others' interpretations, the group has to work on a final one

which will be presented in front of the class by a student as if he were actually

the character going through that moment.



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4. SkitBuying a train ticket

Student 1 (Traveller): Good morning. I want a ticket toGuwahati, please.

Student 2 (Booking clerk): Which class?

Student 1: AC second class. When is the next train?

Student 2: There's an Inter City that leaves at 9:30 p.m., but you

have to change at Lumding. There's an expressShatabdiExpress-- that goes straight through at 4:15 p.m.

Student 1: Oh. I don't want to change trains. Give me ticket forShatabdi Express. How much will the ticket cost?

Student 2: Three hundred and thirty rupees.

Student 1: OK. Ill take it. What platform does the train leavefrom?

Student 2: Platform 1.



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5. Improvisation

Role play involves giving students role cards, instructions and

time to prepare. Improvisations are more spontaneous. Theteacher does not give details or language phrases to use.

Improvisations work best if students are given roles andsituations and asked to react immediately.

Improvisations encourage students to use whatever language they have available to communicate; develop thinkingon your feet skills and gain confidence in coping with

the unexpected; get practice in instigating communication from nothing; focus on getting the message across rather than on repeating dialogues

parrot fashion; use their imagination; imagine themselves using the language in real-life situations; be creative with language.



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Classroom management

In a whole class, put students in a circle with an innercircle of students facing them.

After each spontaneous dialogue/situation studentssitting in the outer circle move one place to find a new

partner. Then call out new roles or situations and say "action".

Keep to a non-judgemental director role and do notintervene to correct language or discuss content.

Hold feedback at the end. Allow students to feel freeduring the improvisation phase.



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Ways to introduce improvisations

Use a song (just listened to, covered recently in class or very familiar to

students). For example: Shes leaving home The Beatles. Give pairs roles

(the girl, the mother/father, the boyfriend) and give situations to try out (thenight before she left, the parents talking on finding her leaving note, the

boyfriend asking her to run away, the telephone call home after a week

away).

Use a picture and photos of people speaking to each other: vary scenes and

pass the pictures around. Focus on a theme, such as all pictures of people indifferent parts of an airport or social situations. Assign roles so students

form a tableau if there are a variety of interactions going on in the

photo/picture.

Use a cartoon with no written dialogue. Students are the different

characters and mimic the behaviour and imagine the conversation takingplace.

Use a piece of realia: a real object to spark conversation e.g. a train

timetable, a hat or outfit, a musical instrument, a mobile phone, a menu

(students must incorporate these objects as part of their invented dialogue).



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6. Mime

On small pieces of paper write a range of verbs or

any other language that you have been practisingin class. Put the class into two teams. One person

from each team comes and looks at a randomly

picked paper and then acts out the word(s) to his

team. The first team to guess what is on the card

wins a point. You put the class into teams so that

the shy children dont have to perform in front of

the whole class. You can always make sure thatthese children get the easier words to act out so

that they participate and help the class generate

some English without having a hard time.



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Put the class into groups and give each group ahandful of small pieces of paper upon which

you have previously written places. i.e. abedroom, school, the beach, the market, amountain As a group they have to mime the

scene for the rest of the class to guess. Whoeverguesses correctly where the scene is acts out thenext scene with their group. The class can later

choose their favourite places and create ascenario based on one or two of the settings.



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Creative drama

Drama Based Speaking Show a video, e.g. Piano by Aidan Gibbons.

Feelings, slang, and idioms can be used in this kind of activity.

After viewing ask the following questions:

1. Describe the situation. Please make sentences around your key words.

a. Who did you see in the video?

b. What happened to them?

2. How do you think the old man felt as he remembered each situation?

3. How did you feel when watching this video? (Give the students a list of

feeling words). Please try to use at least three feeling words. And try to

describe the part of the video that made you feel that way. For example, I

felt very enraged when his friend was shot in the war. What is the

meaning of the video?



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Children can work in pairs/groups and write the dialogues.

They can enact a short play using the dialogues they wrote.

Cartoons without dialogues can also be used.


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Thanks

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Art, Drama and Communication