Perfect disguises: Building an evidence base for improvisational drama techniques

Kristina Goodnight; Catherine van Beuningen; Rick de Graaff

doi:10.33178/scenario.15.1.1

Authors

Kristina Goodnight University of Applied Sciences Utrecht
Catherine van Beuningen HU University of Applied Sciences Utrecht; Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0229-2647
Rick de Graaff University of Applied Sciences Utrecht https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6154-7286

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.33178/scenario.15.1.1

Abstract

Dutch secondary school pupils seldom speak the foreign language in class, citing anxiety as a primary factor (Haijma, 2013). Implementing improvisational drama techniques (IDTs), however, could help ameliorate this situation by generating positive affective reactions, such as confidence and joy, and in turn stimulate pupils to speak. The concept IDT in this study contains two key elements. Firstly, participants take on roles in fictitious situations. Secondly, the activities must elicit spontaneous speech as to offer language learners opportunities to practice real-life communication, which is central to the goal of this research. The question driving this study was: What types of IDTs induce positive affective reactions among pupils and, as such, have the potential to stimulate spoken interaction in FL classrooms? The study yielded 77 IDTs associated with positive affective reactions through a literature review and an analysis of student teacher reflections on their IDT use in their English classrooms. This combined evidence lends credence to the conception that it could be the essence of improvisational drama that generates positive reactions, rather than the type of activity—the essence being an invitation to enter a fictional world, combined with the improvisational element that readies learners for spontaneous interactions.

Author Biographies

Kristina Goodnight, University of Applied Sciences Utrecht

Kristina Goodnight hails from the USA where she trained and worked as an actor, playwright and English and drama teacher. After moving to The Netherlands, she became an English teacher trainer at the University of Applied Sciences, Utrecht, where drama has remained central to her teaching practice. She is now conducting doctoral research in conjunction with Utrecht University on the integration of improvisational drama techniques into foreign language classrooms to stimulate spoken interaction.
Catherine van Beuningen, HU University of Applied Sciences Utrecht; Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences

Catherine van Beuningen has a PhD in applied linguistics from the University of Amsterdam. Her research interests include instructed second language learning, (language) teaching in multilingual classrooms, and teacher professional development. She currently holds a position as senior researcher within the Research Centre for Learning and Innovation at the HU University of Applied Sciences Utrecht. She also works as a senior lecturer within the Faculty of Education at the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences.
Rick de Graaff, University of Applied Sciences Utrecht

Rick de Graaff has been chairing in the Multilingualism and Education Research Group at the University of Applied Sciences, Utrecht since 2016, and has been a Professor in Foreign Language Pedagogy and Bilingual Education at Utrecht University since 2012. He studied Liberal Arts at Utrecht University and Spanish Language Pedagogy at the University of Barcelona. In 1997 he received his PhD from Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam on the effects of grammar instruction on second language acquisition.

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