It seems to me that most English teachers undervalue drama as a teaching tool. They know that it exists as one of many possible teaching techniques, they will sometimes work with roleplays, and they will probably have one or two drama-based activities in their repertoire, but most English teachers do not think of drama as something that they need to use regularly in order to do their job well.
I agree that teachers do not absolutely need drama in the sense that there are other ways to teach. I do think however that drama is a more effective teaching tool than most people realize and that teachers who learn to embrace Drama in ELT will become better teachers. Basically, teachers who are not regularly using Drama in ELT do not know what they are missing.
This blog looks at the reasons why teachers are reticent to use drama in their teaching and also at the reasons why using it can be so powerful. It is in three sections ….
- Why are teachers reticent to use Drama in ELT?
- The advantages of using Drama in ELT.
- How can we persuade more teachers to use Drama in ELT?
Why Are Teachers Reticent to Use Drama in ELT?
I have given this question a lot of thought, as it affects me directly as somebody who runs an educational theatre. There are many different reasons why teachers do not naturally embrace drama techniques in their teaching, but none of those reasons are related to the effectiveness of drama as a teaching tool. They are rather things like…
Habit – Teachers are used to managing without drama. They have never used it and so do not miss it.
Lack of Experience – Many teachers did not encounter drama as a teaching technique in their own education at school, or even during their teacher-training. This means that they do not know how to use drama activities effectively.
Lack of Awareness – Teachers do not realize how powerful drama techniques can be simply because they have not seen them used well in practice.
Textbooks – Textbooks do not contain many drama activities. They are rarely a central part of the structure of a text-book course.
Book Publishers – Book publishers do not promote drama. Publishers still have a lot of influence over English teachers in many parts of the world and they do not promote drama much as they can not easily profit from it. This reinforces the feeling among teachers that drama is less-significant than other teaching methodologies.
Drama in ELT is Old News – Drama was trending some decades ago, but people feel that we have moved on to more modern teaching trends like 21st century skills or AI or whatever else is trending at the time of reading this. It looks like drama is outdated, a thing of the past.
The Advantages of Using Drama in ELT.
Using Drama Can Be Powerful – Drama is really good stuff. I am a mighty advocate of drama in ELT just because I know that it can work in a way that transcends other things. As an example, during Covid times, interactive online questionnaires were popular and rightly so. This is because, on top of the primary function of eliciting the opinions of the group, they serve other valuable functions like uniting a class, getting everyone to contribute in a simple way, and checking that everyone is still focussed on the lesson. That is all great (really, I have nothing in the world against interactive online questionaires), but I know drama-based activities that can achieve those same effects in an even more dynamic and effective way. I know drama-based activities that can get a class moving, creating, laughing and learning at the same time in a way that I have not seen achieved with other methods, even the most modern ones. There are many ways to teach well, but I truly believe that drama, when used properly, has the power to take teaching to another level.
Giving a Lesson a Hook – Related to the above point, there are age-old tricks and simple dramatic practices that can be used to give a stage show an extra boost of specialness and memorability. Teachers can learn and use these tricks to make their lessons more special too.
It is Natural to Play-Act – Young children learn through play, and the most common form of play is acting things out, imagining that they are somebody else, or that they have special powers or whatever. If you can find a way to get your students, even adult students, to do activities where they act things out in a way that they are comfortable with, there is a good chance that those activities will resonate deeply with them.
Deeper Understanding Through Doing – The old discussions about the value of drama in ELT quite rightly point out the need for language learners to meet language in practice. It is one thing to understand how a language functions in theory; it is another to be responsible for making the sounds of the words, and creating sentences. Drama activities can be an effective way to get students speaking naturally.
Creating an Emotional Connection With The Subject – Not only can drama provide motivation through connecting classroom practice to real life, it can create emotional connections between the student and the words and language as a whole. Working carefully with drama has the potential to take the experience of teaching and learning to a deeper level.
Doing Drama Can Be Empowering For Students and for Teachers – The act of creating original acts of communication in real time is by itself empowering. Drama based activities often make students feel good about themselves and when students are feeling happy and good about themselves, that tends to make teachers feel the same way. When this works well, it is empowering for everyone.
Drama Activities Are a Good Way To Get Your Class Having Fun and Bonding as a Group – There are many good reasons for having fun in the classroom, not the least of which is motivation. Students who have fun doing a subject are more motivated to apply themselves to that subject and are more likely to do well at it. It is also motivating for teachers to see that the group is enjoying their class. It may be that teachers are primarily concerned with getting their students through exams, but it is special moments of fun and connection that give students and teachers the impulse to keep working together.
Speaking Clearly – At some point in their career most teachers will say to a student something like, ‘Speak up!‘ or ‘You must speak more clearly!‘ But the skill of speaking clearly is not automatic; it needs to be trained. Students can understand a lot, but the process of producing language and speaking with confidence in a foreign language is something that can involve overcoming personal obstacles like introversion, shyness or shame. Drama is a highly effective way of helping people to make the transition from having passive knowledge of a language to being able to use it to speak and communicate in real time.
Doing Drama Is Anti-Intellectual and That Is a Positive Thing – A big part of the teaching and of the learning process is anti-intellectual, and instinctive. I believe that teaching at a high level requires a creative mindset, and there is a point where a high-functioning teacher will let their instincts take over. Drama activities, especially improvisation activities provide a short-cut to this kind of mindset and are a useful component of a creative teacher’s toolbox.
Directing the Flow Of a Lesson. – A lesson is not a show and a teacher is not an entertainer, but a teacher who understands how principles of entertainment work can use those principles to create lessons and courses that are themselves entertaining, memorable and thereby more effective. Part of the skill of a theatre director is the skill of leading an audience through a story in a way that keeps them continually engaged and motivated to keep watching. Similarly, teachers want to engage the attention of their class and keep their attention focused on certain subject matter. Isn’t it obvious then that teachers should look to drama and entertainment for inspiration on how to do this?
How Can We Persuade More Teachers to Use Drama in ELT?
The answer is …….. I wish I knew, I guess we have to keep plugging away at it. In The Bear Educational Theatre we do our best to promote drama as an effective teaching tool. I think the best thing for teachers who do not use drama techniques to do is to find a few activities that they are comfortable with and start to use them with their students. Once they become really comfortable with using them, then they can try some new ones. You can find my favourite activities in other blog articles here. They are a good place to start, or you can write to me for advice on what you could do with your particular class. There are many ways to teach well and to teach creatively, but I truly believe that, even today, drama is the best.
