Learning English through Drama

An introduction to the drama technique

Traditional perception of drama

• sketches, role-plays, plays

• emphasis on interpretation, rehearsal and performance

• text comes first: students have to deal with it

Drama as a method

• provides techniques that improve creative

skills

• appeals to different intelligences

• personalises experiences

• increases the learners’ capacity to concentrate

Drama technique for English learners

• to improve speaking, listening, reading, writing, thinking and memorizing skills

• to practise vocabulary, pronunciation, stress, intonation, grammar, spelling

• to explore feelings, thoughts, situations

Structure of the workshop

• warming-up / concentration

• body / movement / miming

• voice / pronunciation

• improvisation / story-telling

→ focus: the benefits for learners of English

Warming-up / concentration

• Slap/slap/clap/clap

• I want somebody sitting next to me who…

Body / movement / miming

• Face-throwing

• Word formation

• Freeze-frame

• Back-writing

Voice / pronunciation

• Stepping: American; Japanese; Japan; complication; fascinating; interesting

• I didn’t say ...

I didn’t say I’d give you £10,000. I didn’t say you stole Mum’s chocolates.

→ How many subtexts are there?

Improvisation / storytelling

• Tenses Race

• Story-telling warm-up

• Story telling in pairs (walking around)

• Tell me about elephants

Beyond English

• Drama provides tools for language learning

• It prepares for acting and performing

• It increases self-confidence

• It enhances empathy + open-mindedness

• It trains learners to be creative, to find solutions

and come up with ideas