The Value of Drama in Education
Collie and Slater (1987 cited in Po Chi, 2006) have focused on the positive contributions language learning through literature could make in that literary texts constituted valuable authentic material as it exposes the learner to different registers, types of language use and real communication. Regarding the position of literature Hall (2005) stats that: In second language teaching situations, when language is required more immediately for communication, and at lower schooling levels, literature is more likely to be integrated into a communicative curriculum, where language issues are focused on and difficult or distracting literary features are played down (p.47). All of the peculiar features of literature contribute to the development of communicative competence in EFL language learners. According to some other writers (Maley & Duff, 1978; Wessels, 1987 mentioned in Bang & Young; 2003 Cheung & Peatfield 2006) the values and uses of drama in language teaching and developing communicative competence are various. They have asserted that drama can help the teacher to achieve these goals in several ways. In fact using drama in EFL classroom can overcome the students’ resistance to learning the new language:
- by making the learning of the new language an enjoyable experience
- by setting realistic targets for the students to aim for
- by creative 'slowing down' of real experience
- by linking the language-learning experience with the student's own experience of life
Wessel (1987) has stated that drama can create in students a need to learn the language by the use of “creative tension” i.e. situations requiring urgent solutions by putting more responsibility on the learner. As Royka (2002) has pointed out drama is claimed to provide cultural and language enrichment by revealing insights into the target culture features and presenting language contexts that make items memorable by placing them in a realistic social and physical context. In fact EFL learners can make comparisons between their own culture norms and those of the target language culture that deepen their view toward both of the two cultures. It also can develop culture tolerance in students which is the necessary characteristic for the students who are in the multi-cultural classrooms the many of the countries all over the world. Hall (2005) contends that literature plays a very important role in communicative language teaching classroom when he says: The communicative approach argues for the importance of meaning and personalization for learners, for affective values in learning, for the use of authentic materials and real language and communication. For all of this literature was seen as an ideal resource .
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Drama can provide an opportunity for the language learners to become personally and fully involved in the learning process, in a context in which it is possible for learners to feel less self-conscious and more empowered to express themselves through the multiple voices when they are talking instead of or playing the role of a character in the drama. One of the problems with the use of literary texts such as novels and poems for language teaching is that many of them contain language forms that learners of a language find difficult to understand. Such difficult language forms can be old vocabulary, in form of reduced structures, literary styles for expressing ideas and some cultural information which dates back to the past and the language learners are not familiar with. Such a problem can be solved to some extent by simplifying them, often leading to a loss of literariness leading to criticism that the texts became pale imitations of the original writing. In other solution for this is to use the literature which has been written for the younger language learners. Literature experiments and language practitioners think that’s the latter is better because it preserves the authenticity and literary characteristics. Drama can be used for language teaching purposes institute of novel, poetry and some other less famous forms of literature. Dram is more open for simplification and change and it has been approved to be more interesting for the language learners. The basic idea to the development of creative drama was the realization that the need to play is an important developmental process in a child. When educationists realized this need, more attention was given to the use of drama in education. Drama can releases imagination and energy and this could be considered as an educational objective and encourages students to exercise their sensitivity and imagination and thus makes learning more realistic and meaningful. The benefits of drama to develop the imagination should not be undervalued. In our rote school routines of memorization and compulsory subject matter, we sometimes do not spend enough time on encouraging our students to use their imagination. It is the spark that makes the ordinary into something incredible. Imagination is the magic force that is beyond facts, figures and techniques which can inspire new ideas. It is with imagination that the ordinary is transformed into something significant. There is a need to cultivate this trait in our students. Imagination is closely linked to dreams and inspires us to get up every morning. Drama has the capability to keep this alive and/or rekindle what our routine daily lives are burying in ourselves. We need imagination to make a better world. In order to accomplish anything worthwhile, we first need to imagine and dream it. We should not neglect this facet of human behavior. It may seem like a trivial point but dreams without imagination would be like life without color. We would all be worst off without it. Drama centers around language development, personal awareness, group co-operation, sensory awareness, and imaginative growth. As an educational tool, the use of drama fosters the social, intellectual and the linguistic development of the child. According to Chauhan (2004) drama increases learners’ intrinsic motivation and provokes the high enthusiasm in them for learning language and culture together in a meaningful and pleasant situation. All of the drama-oriented activities tend to be purposeful and demand the active engagements of the language learners and the student sees the need to communicate and concentrates on how to go about a task since drama provides him with a meaningful context. McCaslin (1996) has claimed that drama fosters a sense of responsibility and cooperation among the students in the classroom. Drama- related activities normally take the form of group work and students cannot afford to stay passive for too long. There is a need to belong to the group and to complete the task. The students develop a sense of self worth of themselves as they work together. In edition drama has a therapeutic effect and can somehow help solve emotional and behavioral problems. Therefore drama oriented activities consider the affective and emotional needs of the language learners in the target language. Such activities can also provide the situation in which those students who are not active in the classroom be involved and forget their introvert personality and shyness. Generally drama-derived classroom activities motivate the teacher to meet the needs of the student .The drama activities provide opportunities to understand the thoughts and feelings of the students as they express themselves in the drama activities. From the constant feedback provided by the activities, the teacher can plan better strategies for more effective learning and teaching. Cheung and Peatfield (2006) state that drama encourages students to exercise their sensitivity and imagination. Temporary suspension of the ego occurs when students participate in dramatic activities. They have to perceive an experience through the roles they, take on which are often different from their own. In role-play for example, a student is given a chance to understand and relate to the feelings of others. This develops a sense of empathy in the student as he learns to look beyond himself. Drama develops moral and social qualities in a student. Royka (2002) and Young (2006) stated that drama heightened self-esteem, motivation, spontaneity, increased capacity for empathy, and lowered sensitivity to rejection. All these facilitate communication and provide an appropriate psycholinguistic climate for language learning. Generally, drama-derived classroom activities motivate the teacher to meet the needs of the student .The drama activities provide opportunities to understand the thoughts and feelings of the students as they express themselves in the drama activities. From the constant feedback provided by the activities, the teacher can plan better strategies for more effective learning and teaching.
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The Use of Drama In TEFL
Drama has been used for language teaching since the middle ages. About 10 years ago, many teachers used to scoff at the idea of using drama to teach a second language. The change in attitude towards the use of drama in language teaching came about due to a greater emphasis on meaningful communicative activities instead of mechanical drills. Drama can be used in the teaching of English as a Foreign or Second language for a variety of purposes. Language is used in meaningful situations. Drama contextualizes the language in real or imagined situations in and out of the classroom. Language in the class that uses drama activities is explored, tried out and practiced in meaningful situations. There are many reasons in favor of using drama as a pedagogic technique in the language classroom. It is fun and entertaining and can therefore provide motivation to learn. It can provide varied opportunities for different uses of language and because it engages feelings it can provide a rich experience of language for the participants. According to Jones (1999), drama is inevitably learner-centered because it can only operate through active cooperation. It is therefore a social activity and thus embodies much of the theory that has emphasized the social and communal, as opposed to the purely individual, aspects of learning. Many researchers and language practitioners have argued that only through accurate interaction the errors and the teacher in the target language within authentic and meaningful contexts can help the EFL learners build up communicative competence and therefore be able to use the language spontaneously and communicative. It has been revealed by conducting some studies that drama oriented activities of an effective in developing communicative competence because of such activities require the involvement of learners in the dynamic and interactive process of communication. Based on O’Neill and Lambert (1982), the meaning of drama is “built up from contributions of individuals…….. And these contributions must be monitored, understood, accepted, and responded to but the rest of the group” (cited in Young, 2006, p.2). Drama-oriented activities give students a virtual experience in functioning in extended, realistic discourse in the target language and by doing so they help the learner to learn not only appropriate use but real communicative processes as well. Such activities as the whole stress the importance of providing language learners with more opportunities to interactive directly with the target language in order to acquire it by using it rather than to learn it by studying (Fleming, 2003a). One of the principles of communicative language teaching is that it integrates all of the four language skills and drama-oriented activities can integrate the four skills, as one activity flows naturally to the next. In order to participate in the activities, language learners will have to express their ideas, listen to others’ opinions, read related texts, and let on projects as the drama progresses. Boltan (1992) comments that the use of drama-oriented activities is in line with learners multidimensional aspects in a second/foreign language class. Some investigations have revealed that learning activities which have been devised based on drama can facilitate the learners’ cognitive development and can help them develop better creative thinking, problem solving, questioning, and negotiating skills. In a peculiar characteristic of dram oriented activities used a group-related nature and this in turn is the source of creativity that fosters new ideas and provides the better solutions to problems. According to Vygotsky (1978), individual learners develop thinking processes through interaction with other individuals. Now, drama as a group process involves learners in the spontaneous situations which enable them to project themselves into the imagined roles, as a way of exploring and expressing ideas .
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Drama is essentially social, and involves contact and communication of meanings. By verbally and non-verbally taking part in created imaginative worlds, learners can experience how language functions in different situations. Language experts have emphasized the social rules of language as more important than a mere linguistic interaction in the target language. Many communicative activities in language classrooms, though they provide useful practice in the manipulation of linguistic forms, are devoid of the social meaning in the sense that they are not an accurate reflection of the target language culture. In contrast, drama oriented activities that are culturally and socially situated in a meaningful context may be more useful in the development of communicative competence if the cultural appropriateness of the learner’s verbal and non-verbal responses are considered carefully and are paid attention to. Accordingly, through their varied use of language in their search for the most appropriate ways to express ideas, the learners could gain insights not only into the problems concerning the nature of the target culture but also into that nature of the target culture and the human behavior shaped by it. In addition, drama-activities fulfill many of the goals of learner-centered interaction. Learner-centered interaction seeks to involve the learner more fully in the instructional process, making a far more active use of the learners’ mental powers than traditional methodologies. Language learners are encouraged to actively participate in activities that are designed to exploit their needs or interests . Yet another feature of the drama related activities in the classroom is collaboration among the learners. By having the students cooperate with each other, the teacher gives the proper respect to the students won linguistic resources Drama can be useful for teaching new lexical content, improving the four skills and especially for enhancing the spoken communication skills of the students. Drama is certainly an excellent technique of communicative language teaching. It can be said that important values and skills can be taught through drama. Drama has the potential to empower the students, give them many opportunities to have pride in their work, it teaches them responsibility, problem solving, management and directing proficiencies. The many activities of team work force students to develop organizational skills and to think on their feet. These are tools that can be used in all aspects of their lives. When you think about it, drama is a method to reveal aspects of the human condition; life is nothing more than a grand series of improvisations. Through the games, the students begin to realize the importance of shared space, time, attention, information and ideas. The games spark spontaneity and minimize self-consciousness which often inhibits learning. Drama in the English classroom can provide an opportunity to develop the imagination of the students. It provides an opportunity for independent thinking. Students are encouraged to express their own ideas and contribute to the whole. Creative drama will offer exercises in critical thinking and the chance for the students to be creative. The ELT group will get many instances where they can develop their own ideas as well as skills of cooperation. The group work builds social awareness and understanding as we walk in the ‘shoes of another’. Drama gives an excellent method for studying human nature and working in harmony. The play acting provides the opportunity for a healthy release of emotion in a safe setting which can work to relieve tension. Drama can also be used to bring literature to life for the students. While drama does have a characteristic of recreation, the fun aspect shouldn’t be under-estimated. When the students are enjoying an activity they are learning and letting their guard down. Several scientific investigations have demonstrated that creative, instructional and educational drama activities have positive contributions to the general education process and that these activities improve speaking skills. According to Makita (1995) dramatic and role-playing activities are valuable classroom techniques that encourage students to participate actively in the learning process. It is important to note that dramatic activity takes several different forms and that the teacher can provide students with a variety of learning experiences by deploying different methodologies according to individual needs, interests and learning levels. In addition, these role-playing activities enable the teacher to create a supportive, enjoyable classroom environment in which students are encouraged and motivated to effectively learn the target language
The shyness and fear of English sometimes blocks learning. Michael (1997) argues that when the students are submerged in an active fun activity, they are more open to new concepts and learning will occur. Drama activities can be used as a means of reinforcement of language learnt. It helps to extend, retain and reinforce vocabulary and sentence structure through role-play and communication games. Drama improves oral communication. As a form of communication methodology, drama provides the opportunity for the student to use language meaningfully and appropriately. State that drama puts back some of the forgotten emotional content into language. Appropriacy and meaning are more important than form or structure of the language. Drama can help restore the totality of the situation by reversing the learning process, beginning with meaning and moving towards language form . This makes language learning more meaningful and attempts to prepare the student for real life situations. Learning a second language can be enjoyable, stimulating and meaningful when combined with drama activities. Shewe and Shaw (1993) state that language learning must appeal to the creative intuitive aspect of personality as well as the conscious and rational part. Drama activities can be used to provide opportunities for the student to be involved actively. The activities involve the student's whole personality and not merely his mental process. Effective learning takes place as the student involves himself in the tasks and is motivated to use the target language. The problem of mixed ability is reduced when drama activities are used. Students who are more fluent can take the main roles which require more oral communication, while the weaker students compensate for their lack of linguistic ability by paralinguistic communication e.g. body language and general acting ability (miming).
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