Teaching English Through Drama

David Burns – English Language Fellow Tirana

15 March 2012

English Language Fellow Program

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Think of synonyms for:

BIG&SMALL

SMALL

BIG SMALL

Large, huge, enormous, giant, gigantic, gargantuan, massive, vast, colossal, hefty, hulking, oversized, super, burly, fat, capacious, humongous, jumbo, extensive, roomy, spacious, ample, mammoth, immense, voluminous, copious, considerable, full, tall….

Little, tiny, mini, miniature, minute, baby, petite, meager, petty, bantam, microscopic, undersized, toy, minuscule, modest, wee, puny, runty, scanty, paltry, limited, short, narrow, pocket-sized, pint-sized…

Teeny, teensy, teeny-weeny, itty-bitty, itsy-bitsy…

Itsy-bitsy spiderwent up the water spout.

Down came the rainand washed the spider out.

Out came the sunand dried up all the rain.

Itsy-bitsy spiderwent up the spout again!

Something in CommonTurn to your neighbor and share a bit about

yourself. Find 3 things that you have in common. Do NOT count the obvious!

Silent ordering of students by height

Drama Activities: Considerations for Learners

Process over product Learner involvement as

Performers Audience

Directed activities or autonomous activities Emotional involvement Ideas found in newspapers, magazines, songs,

poems, e-mails, any source of human interest stories, pictures, objects, etc.

Why use drama?

1. Develops real communication-skills: involving ideas, emotions, feelings, appropriateness, and adaptability.

2. Many options for learner-centered activities in the classroom.

3. Skills in working together and learning tolerance of different opinions and outcomes

4. Students gain confidence; using English in and out of class; develop fluency; improvisation; public speaking practice.

5. Nurture and encourage creativity; exposure to literature/poetry/plays. Writing, reading, speaking, and listening all developed.

6. Change from the monotony of the day-to-day class.

Beginning with a focus exercise. (Adapted from Viola Spolin's Theater Game File)

Stand. Close your eyes. Where are your feet? Feel your feet on the

floor. Pull your toes up and wiggle them. Slowly bend your knees and straighten.

Where are your hands? Feel your hands. Rub your hands together, feel the warmth. Let your hands down, let your arms hang.

Feel your arms, shoulders, neck.

Open your eyes.  

Miming Activities

The Silence is Deafening

• Great way to show the POWER of non-verbal communication. Show clips of famous silent movies (Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, this year’s Best Film ‘The Artist’). Students can write (or dictate) original scripts for the silent film clips.

• This is a good way to get your students up and moving around – and a sure way for them to remember the new words. Can mime abstract ideas.

• Think of verbs or phrasal verbs that pairs of students can act out together – without the use of words, only actions.

Let’s try a few…

Charades

• Check out this web-site for 1000’s of ideas from the main topics: music, movies, TV, books, celebrities (including a new section for kids):

http://www.charades-ideas.com/

• Of course, charades is easily adapted to Albania and whatever you are studying at the time.

• Try this one….

Expert Interview Arms

Select 3 participants: An interviewer An interviewee “Expert Chef” Arms

The “arms” sit behind the interviewee and become the interviewee's arms.

The interviewer conducts an interview with the interviewee while the “arms” make gestures.

With your hands, create a ball. Can you see the ball? What color is it? How big is it?

Put the ball into someone's hand. What is it? How big is it? What does it feel like? Depending upon the level, the details may be elicited or supplied by the teacher.

Have participants pass the ball around. If it's a large group, you can separate into groups each with a ball. Pass with eyes open. Continue, eyes closed.

Have participants play, throwing & catching the ball.

Space Ball

I'm a Tree! Form a circle. Select a participant to come to the center of

the circle. S/he poses as a tree and says, “I'm a tree!”

A 2nd participant then joins the 1st. S/he poses as an object that is associated with a tree and announces what s/he is: “I'm a nest.”

A 3rd participant joins the others. S/he poses as an object that is associated with the first two and announces what s/he is: “I'm a chick.”

The 1st participant chooses one to remain.

Ad-libbing with Mad-libs…

• Funny fill-in-the-blank word game activities in paragraph, poetry, essay, story, or song form.

• Challenges students to think of specific words according to their part of speech.

• Fun and silly results that can be read in front of the class; worked on in groups; create original mad-libs; oral mad-lib competitions, etc.

http://www.eduplace.com/tales/

http://madlibs.org/

http://www.itsamadlibsworld.com/

Let’s try a mad-lib…

1. Adjective

2. Adjective

3. Noun

4. Noun

5. Subject pronoun

6. Adverb

7. Verb

8. Verb

9. Adjective

English class mad-lib

My English class is 1.___________. My teacher is always 2.___________ . The students seem to like 3._______________ more than 4.______________. 5.______________ speak English 6._______________ and never 7. ____________ English outside of class. I 8._____________ English so much and I think it’s the 9._______________ language in the world.

Mirror Images

Select 2 participants. One participant will lead

the actions. The second participant

mirrors the actions. Students can take notes

on what they see.

Back to Back

Select 2 participants. Participants take a minute to look at

each other. Participants then turn back to back. The 1st participant describes the

other participant. Participants switch roles. Other students can take notes and

add new or difficult vocabulary.

Interactive Story Telling

A Fun Way to Explore Poems & Short Stories

1. Draw out characterization, inference, and deduction

2. Discuss themes, parables, morals

3. Work on writing & speaking skills – narrative structure

4. Stretch your imagination & show off your creativity

5. Entertain your classmates!

Make masks, costumes, etc.

Students will be able to:

1. Explore the issues within the story before meeting the text

2. Enact scenes in the original text.

3. Use space and objects (including costumes) in a variety of realist and symbolist ways

4. Explore how to use gesture to convey sub-text.

5. Ad-lib, or improvise alternate endings or new lines.

6. Demonstrate to each other that there can be a variety of possible when it comes to the interpretation and representation of meaning.

Some of my favorites

Lower levels:

The Rainbow Fish

The Selfish Giant

Going on a Bear Hunt

The Very Hungry Caterpillar

The Omnibombulator

The Gingerbread Man

Intermediate levels:

Dr. Seuss

Roald Dahl

Shel Silverstein

When Jessie Sailed Across the Sea

The Golden Compass

The Iron Man

The Jabberwocky

Yearbook Photo

Participants think of their favorite sports.

Each participant poses as a statue representing his/her sport.

An interviewer asks them questions about their sport.

Interview Hot-seat Have a participant volunteer to be

interviewed. The interviewee pretends to be a celebrity (actor, singer, politician, etc).

The interviewee sits in front in the “hot-seat.”

The other participants are journalists. They ask questions about the event and take notes.

Participants then report back on “the story.”

Role Play Considerations

•Who are the characters?

•What objects (realia or substitute) can be used?

•Where is the situation?

•How would the problem be explained (& resolved) by the characters?

•What would the characters do?

MATERIALS SETTING

DIALOGUE ACTIONS

Using Pictures for Role Plays

Puppet Shows

The Creativity Institute is a great resource:

http://www.creativityinstitute.com/puppettheaterscriptideas.aspx

• Sock, finger, shadow puppets

• Thematic shows: Earth Day,

Women’s Rights, etc.

Readers' TheaterReaders' Theater asks

participants to read a story or script aloud.

Participants can add some elements of movement, but the action is different from acting out a scene.

The focus of Readers' Theater is on the voice and vocal elements, rather than visual elements.

More ideas….

• Comedy, improv, joke telling, games, Simon says, etc.

• Original films or plays (could be small or large-scale productions).

• Free writing or speaking activities using prompts.

• Verbal or written chain (or bouncing) stories.

• Songwriting, live music, poetry readings (slams)

• Field trips (theater, concerts, art departments); guest speakers; have class outside; on the roof.

• Photo essays on different themes (using cell phones); or short original videos.

Questions or Comments?

For more information...

The Benefits of Using Drama in the EFL Classroom at http://iteslj.org/Articles/Boudreault-Drama.html

EFL Resources at http://www.efl-resource.com/tag/drama/

Language though drama at http://www.tefl.net/esl-lesson-plans/esl-activities-

drama.htm

For more information...

For more information...

• Drama Techniques for Teacher English

http://iteslj.org/Techniques/Chauhan-Drama.html• Teach it Through Drama

http://www.teach-it-through-drama.com/drama-workshops.htm#PSHE

• Famous Why? Using Drama Techniques in English

http://forum.famouswhy.com/index.php?showtopic=1150

And 3 more links:

There was a farmerwho had a dog,

and Bingo was his name-oh!

B-I-N-G-O (x3)

And Bingo was his name-oh!

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Twitter: @ELFellowAlbania

Email: ELFellow.Albania@gmail.com

Mobile: + 355 69 549 0927

Shumë Faleminderit!Many Thanks!