(No) Drama with grammar

A case study of a performative approach to teaching English conditional clauses to young adolescent learners

Abstract

This Window-of-Practice contribution is based on my Master’s thesis written in the Department of Foreign Language Education in Innsbruck, Austria. It discusses a performative approach to teaching grammar in EfL contexts. “Performative” is used as an umbrella term to describe different forms of language teaching that derive from the performing arts (Schewe, 2013). The motivation behind this topic lies in my enthusiasm for drama and the conviction that a drama-based approach applied to language learning is efficient, motivating and sustainable. The contribution provides insights into the methodology and procedure of a case study that investigates effects of drama-based teaching. The case study was performed in 2017 at an upper secondary school in Austria, where English learners were taught English conditional clauses via a drama-based approach. The study, including a control group, a mixed-method, pre-and post-test design, yields quantitative and qualitative data on effects of drama-based teaching. Despite the lack of significant differences in test results between treatment and control groups, the study provides evidence that a performative approach applied to grammar teaching is successful and related to fun, increased motivation and positive group dynamics.