Engage or Entertain? The Nature of Teacher/Participant Collaboration in Process Drama for Additional Language Teaching

Erika Piazzoli

doi:10.33178/scenario.6.2.5

Authors

Erika Piazzoli Trinity College Dublin

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.33178/scenario.6.2.5

Abstract

This paper was presented at the conference ‘Plot me no plots: Theatre for University Language teaching’ held at the University of Padua in October 2011. The presentation included a practical demonstration of the teacher-in-role strategy and a discussion. Process drama is an experiential approach that has been gaining momentum in the field of language teaching; it is a genre of applied theatre in which the participants, together with the facilitator, engage in the co-construction of a story. As an improvised dramatic form, it encourages negotiation of meaning through the process of experience and reflection. In this article, I reflect on the nature of the collaborative process between teacher and participants in process drama, drawing on my doctoral research on the aesthetics of process drama for teaching additional languages. In this research, I worked with three cohorts of adult language learners, studying Italian as a Second Language (L2), and three cohorts of teachers of Italian (L2) new to drama. I draw on classroom data to illustrate two of the main dramatic strategies of the form: ‘teacher-in-role’ and ‘mantle of the expert’. I introduce these strategies, situate them in a theoretical context and discuss issues and implications when teaching to engage, rather than to entertain.

References

Araki Metcalfe, Naoko (2008): Introducing Creative Language Learning In Japan Through Educational Drama. In: Drama Australia Journal (NJ) 31/2, 45-57

Araki Metcalfe, Naoko (2007): The Waterhole: Using Educational Drama As A Pedagogical Tool In A Foreign Language Class At A Public Primary School In Japan. University of Melbourne: Parkville

Araki Metcalfe, Naoko (2001): Where Is Tora? Implementing Process Drama In Japanese Language Classes At An Australian Primary School. University of Melbourne: Parkville

Barab, Sasha; Squire, Kurt (2004): Design-Based Research: Putting A Stake In The Ground. In: The Journal of the Learning Sciences 13/1, 1-14

Belliveau, George; Bournot-Trites, Monique, Séror, Jeremie; Spiliotopoulos, Valia (2007): The Role Of Drama On Cultural Sensitivity, Motivation And Literacy In A Second Language Context. In: Journal for Learning through the Arts: a Research Journal on Arts Integration in Schools and Communities 3/1, 1-33

Bolton, Gavin (1979): Towards A Theory Of Drama In Education. London: Longman

Bowell, Pamela; Heap, Brian (2005): Drama On The Run: A Prelude To Mapping The Practice Of Process Drama. In: Journal of Aesthetic Education 39/4, 5-69

Bowell, Pamela; Heap, Brian (2001): Planning Process Drama. London: David Fulton

Bruner, Jerome S.; Jolly, Alison; Sylva, Kathy (eds.) (1976): Play: Its Role In Development And Evolution. New York: Penguin Books

Dewey, John (1934): Art As Experience. New York: Perigee

Dunn, Julie; Stinson, Madonna (2011): Not Without The Art!! The Importance Of Teacher Artistry When Applying Drama As Pedagogy For Additional Language Learning. In: Research in Drama Education: The Journal of Applied Theatre and Performance 16/4, 617-633

Eisner, Elliot W. (1985): The Educational Imagination: On The Design And Evaluation Of School Programs. New York: MacMillan

Ethell, Ruth G.; McMeniman, Marilyn M. (2000): Unlocking The Knowledge In Action Of Anexpert Practitioner. In: Journal of Teacher Education 51/2, 87-101

Heathcote, Dorothy; Bolton, Gavin (1995): Drama For Learning: Dorothy Heathcote’s Mantle Of The Expert Approach To Education. Portsmouth: Heinemann

Heathcote, Dorothy (1973): Drama As Challenge. In: Lambert, Johnson; O’Neill, Cecily (eds.): Dorothy Heathcote, Collected Writings of Drama and Education. London: Hutchinson

Johnstone, Keith (1999): Impro For Storytellers. New York: Routledge Theatre Arts Books

Kao, Shin Mei; O’Neill, Cecily (1998): Words Into Worlds: Learning A Second Language Through Process Drama. London: Ablex Publishing Corporation

Lantolf, James P. (ed.) (2000): Sociocultural Theory And Second Language Learning. Oxford: Oxford University Press

Marshall, Catherine; Rossman, Gretchen (2006): Designing Qualitative Research. Thousands Oaks: Sage Publications

McLaren, Peter (1986): Schooling As A Ritual Performance: Towards A Political Economy Of Educational Symbols And Gestures. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul

Neelands, Jonothan; Goode, Tony (2000): Structuring Drama Work: A Handbook Of Available Forms In Theatre And Drama. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press

O'Neill, Cecily (2006): Dialogue and Drama. In: Taylor and Christine D. Warner (eds.): Structure And Spontaneity: The process drama of Cecily O'Neill. Sterling, VA: Trentham

O’Neill, Cecily (1995): Drama Worlds: A Framework For Process Drama. Portsmouth: Heinemann

O'Toole, John; Dunn, Julie (2002): Pretending To Learn: Helping Children Learn Through Drama. French’s Forest, N.S.W: Pearson Education

Owens, Allan; Barber, Keith (2005): Mapping Drama. Melbourne: Phoenix Education

Piazzoli, Erika (2010): Process Drama And Intercultural Language Learning: An Experience Of Contemporary Italy. In: Research in Drama Education: The Journal of Applied Theatre and Performance 15/3, 385-402

Piazzoli, Erika (2011a): Process Drama: The Use Of Affective Space To Reduce Language Anxiety In The Additional Language Learning Classroom. In: Research in Drama Education: The Journal of Applied Theatre and Performance 16/4, 557-573

Piazzoli, Erika (2011b): Film And Drama Aesthetics For Additional Language Teaching. In: Winston, Joe (ed.): Second Language Learning Through Drama: Practical Techniques And Applications. London: Routledge

Platt, Elisabeth; Brooks, Frank (2002): Task Engagement: A Turning Point In Foreign Language Development. In: Language Learning 52/2, 365-400

Rothwell, Julia (2011): Drama And Languages Education: Authentic Assessment Through Process Drama. In: Winston, Joe (ed.): Second Language Learning Through Drama: Practical Techniques And Applications. London: Routledge

Schewe, Manfred L. (2002): Tapping The Students' Bodily-Kinesthetic Intelligence. In: Bräuer, Gerd (ed.): Body And Language: Intercultural Learning Through Drama. Westport: Ablex Publishing

Schön, Donald (1983): The Reflective Practitioner: How Professionals Think In Action. London: Temple Smith

Stinson, Madonna (2008): Process Drama And Teaching English To Speakers Of Other Languages. In: Manuel, Jacqueline; Hughes, John; Anderson, Michael (eds.): Drama and English teaching: Imagination, action and engagement. Oxford : Oxford University Press

Stinson, Madonna (2009): Drama Is Like Reversing Everything: Intervention Research As Teacher Professional Development. In: Research in Drama Education 14/2, 225-243

Stinson, Madonna; Winston, Joe (2011): Drama Education And Second Language Learning: A Growing Field Of Practice And Research. In: Research in Drama Education: The Journal of Applied Theatre and Performance 16/4, 479-488

Stinson, Madonna; Freebody, Kelly (2006): The DOL Project: An Investigation Into The Contribution Of Process Drama To Improved Results In English Oral Communication. In: Youth Theatre Journal 20, 27-41.

Taylor, Philip; Warner, Christine (2006): Structure And Spontaneity: The Process Drama Of Cecily O'Neill. Sterling, VA: Trentham

Van Lier, Leo (2007): Action-Based Teaching, Autonomy And Identity. In: Innovation in Language Teaching and Learning 1/1, 46-65

Van Lier, Leo (1996): Interaction In The Language Curriculum: Awareness, Autonomy, And Authenticity. London: Longman

Vygostky, Lev (1978): Mind In Society: The Development Of Higher Psychological Processes. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press

Winston, Joe (ed.) (2011): Second Language Learning Through Drama: Practical Techniques And Applications. Padstow, Cornwall: Routledge

Yaman Ntelioglu, Burcu (2011): 'But Why Do I Have To Take This Class?' The Mandatory Drama-ESL Class And Multiliteracies Pedagogy. In: Research in Drama Education 16/4, 595-615