Drama and Oracy

Stinson, M., & Freebody, K. (2010). The DOL project: The contributions of process drama to improved results in English oral communication. Youth Theatre Journal, 20(1), 27-41.

Background

This paper reported that although students were expected to communicate well orally to be employable in the labour market, there was more emphasis on written rather than oral communication in schools in Singapore. Oracy was rarely explicitly taught. Texts and materials showed very little support for developing oracy in schools.

Aims

This paper investigated the effects of process drama, a genre of applied theatre involving all participants all the time, in the English language classroom in improving the oral competency of second language (L2) learners in an English-medium environment.

Sample

Four Singapore secondary schools participated in this study. A total of 140 low-ability students (70 each in intervention and comparison classes), aged 16 years, participated in this study. These students spoke predominantly their heritage language.

Method

Data were collected via pre-tests and post-tests from randomly selected students in the intervention and comparison groups. Other data sources included facilitators’ journals, the interviewing of facilitators, the students’ regular English teachers, and randomly selected students. The facilitators attended a week-long training programme to prepare them to teach the ten drama lessons, and to record personal reflections on the classes in regular journals. The students had to work in and out of role, in small and large groups. The specific language activities that took place during these drama lessons were interviewing, collaboratively creating new roles and relationships, explaining, describing, persuading, sequencing ideas, questioning, and reporting.

Findings

The results of this study indicated that students in the intervention group scored significantly better in the oral post-test scores than those in the comparison groups. The students, facilitators, and teachers also identified that there was increased confidence among students in the intervention classes in other English-speaking contexts, and there were improved relations within the class and across the ethnic groups.

Implications

The authors recommend that process drama be used in both first and second language classrooms because it gives students the opportunity to explore, experiment, and engage with oral language in a variety of settings, from a variety of perspectives, for a variety of purposes. They believe that process drama also gives students a vehicle for thinking on their feet, solving problems, and making connections to the real world.

Original article retrieved from EBSCOHost.