Drama And Theater As A Method For Foreign Language .
Wozu all das Theater?Drama and Theater as a Methodfor Foreign Language Teachingand Learning in Higher Educationin the United Statesvorgelegt vonAstrid RonkeVon der Fakultät I - Geisteswissenschaftender Technischen Universität Berlinzur Erlangung des akademischen GradesDoktorin der Philosophie- Dr.-Phil genehmigte DissertationPromotionsausschuss:Vorsitzender: Prof. Hanns-Fred RathenowBerichter:Prof. Dr. Ulrich SteinmüllerBerichter:Priv.-Doz. Dr. Felicitas TeschTag der wissenschaftlichen Aussprache: 22.02.2005Berlin 2005D 83
iTo my sons Benny and Cameron
iiAcknowledgementsWithout the help and understanding of many people, this dissertation would not havebeen finished. First, and foremost, I want to thank my two sons, Benny and Cameron, fortheir patience, love, and understanding throughout these difficult years. This dissertationis dedicated to you, guys!Another important person I want to mention is my mother, who has been a tremendoushelp over the years. Her emotional and financial support, understanding, andunconditional love has made this project so much easier. Danke! I also want to thank myfather, who taught me not to give up easily and fight important things through to the end.My husband, Kevin Hill, deserves much credit to have managed to live with methroughout this intense time of my life. I also thank him so much for taking care of thekids on many weekends and evenings and for fixing numerous computer problems.Special thanks goes to three people: Hildegard Savage, a good friend, an amazinglygenerous, intelligent, and kind person, who provided me with a room to work in,wonderful advice and editing, and numerous delicious meals! I cannot thank her enough;Philip Vogt, a former student and friend, and one of the most patient, unselfish, andknowledge people I know, for his computer expertise and moral support around theclock; Rebecca Wallach, a friend, for her very skillful and reliable editing - thank you allso much!Heartfelt thanks also goes to Prof. Cornelia Moore, a gracious and intelligent friend andformer supervisor at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, for her thorough proofreadingand format editing. I also appreciate her encouragement and belief that I could see thiswork to completion. Thank you! I am also very grateful to Nina Slater for her help with word processing and for beingpatient with me through the "crunch" times. My friends, Rosemarie Dörner, UlrikeTallowitz, Antje Dohrn, and Johannes Bruestle offered their constructive criticism,
iiiintelligent ideas and patient listening for which I thank them. My gratitude also goes totwo other friends, Sherry Elshaug and Cindy Sieger, who provided their wonderful homesfor my numerous "dissertation writing retreats"! In addition, I thank Sherry forproofreading and most of all for helping me with the kids whenever I needed it.Last, but not least, I would like to extend my appreciation to my doctoral committee,Dr. Felicitas Tesch and Prof. Dr. Ulrich Steinmüller, for accepting me as their doctoralstudent despite their big workload and the great distance between the countries. As mymain advisor, I thank Prof. Steinmüller for his knowledgeable comments and help tofocus my thoughts and for giving me the freedom and opportunity to write about aninterdisciplinary pedagogical theme.Finally, I am grateful to all my students over the years, who inspired me to keep onlearning!
ivTable of ContentsChapter I: Setting the Stage1Chapter II: Learning German at Institutions of Higher Education inthe United States81. Historical Overview and the Present Situation of German LanguageInstruction in the United States82. The Adult Learner15Chapter III: Theoretical Framework for Drama and Theateras a Method in Foreign Language Education201. Definition of Terms202. From Drama in General Education to Drama in Foreign LanguageEducation: Historical Overview222.1 Drama in General Education2.2 From Drama in General Education to Drama in First Language Education2.3 From Drama in First Language Education to Second and Foreign LanguageEducation3. The Drama and Theater Method within Foreign Language LearningTheories and Teaching Methodologies3.1 Major Foreign Language Learning Theories in Relation to the Drama andTheater Method3.2 Major Foreign Language Teaching Methodologies in Relation to the Dramaand Theater Method3.2.1 The Direct Method3.2.2 The Audio-Lingual Method3.2.3 The Communicative Method3.2.4 The Natural Approach3.2.5 Alternative Methods23343644455152555763654. Neuro-Psychological Findings on Foreign Language Learning and theImpact of the Drama and Theater Method725. Parallels between the Theater Arts and Foreign Language Teachingand Learning90
v6. Impact of the Drama and Theater Method on Dimensions ofForeign Language Learning6.1 Communicative and Linguistic Aspects6.1.1 Communicative Aspects Pertaining to the Drama and TheaterMethod6.1.2 Linguistic Aspects: Pronunciation and Intonation6.1.2.1 Intonation and Pronunciation Pertaining to the Dramaand Theater Method6.2 Cultural Aspects6.2.1 Cultural Aspects Pertaining to the Drama and Theater Method6.3 Psychological, Social, and Physical Aspects6.3.1 Psychological Aspects6.3.1.1 Psychological Aspects Pertaining to the Drama and TheaterMethod6.3.2 Social Aspects6.3.2.1 Social Aspects Pertaining to the Drama and Theater Method6.3.3 Physical Aspects6.3.3.1 Physical Aspects Pertaining to the Drama and Theater pter IV: Practical Application of Drama and Theater as a Methodfor Teaching Foreign Languages1691. Theatrical Techniques and Drama-Oriented Exercises1.1 Theatrical Techniques for Foreign Language Learning1.1.1 Nonverbal Theatrical Techniques1.1.1.1 Statues and Body Sculptures1.1.1.2 Pantomimes1.1.2 Verbal Theatrical Techniques1.1.2.1 Role-Play1.1.2.2 Improvisation1.2 Selection of Drama-Oriented Exercises for the Foreign LanguageClassroom1.2.1 Drama-Oriented Exercises for the Warm-up Phase1.2.1.1 Primarily Nonverbal Exercises1.2.1.2 Nonverbal/Verbal Exercises1.2.1.3 Primarily Verbal Exercises1.2.2 Drama-Oriented Exercises for the Language Application/Independent Practice Phase2. Incorporating Larger Theater Projects within the ForeignLanguage 32242
vi2.1 Theater as a Tool for Foreign Language Teaching—A National Survey2.2 Data Collection Procedures2.2.1 Technique2.2.2 Quantitative and Qualitative Research Methods2.3 Survey Results and Discussion2.3.1 Number of Respondents with Theater Project Experience2.3.2 Integration of Theater Projects into the German LanguageCurriculum2.3.3 Preparation of a Theater Project2.3.3.1 Type of Production and Text Material2.3.3.2 Collaboration with Other University Departments andLocal Theaters2.3.3.3 Budget and Financial Support2.3.4 Execution of a Theater Project within a German LanguageUniversity Course2.3.4.1 Course Objectives2.3.4.2 Course Structure2.3.4.3 Grading2.3.5 Student Evaluations of Theater Projects2.3.6 Fulfillment of Course Objectives and Educational Benefits forthe Students2.3.7 Potential Problems in Theater Projects2.4 69271272275277Chapter V: Conclusion280Appendices290Appendix A1. Lists of Tables and Figures291Appendix B1. Letter to the German Program Chairs at American and Canadian Universitiesand Colleges2. Questionnaire for the Survey292294Appendix C1. Selected Results from the National Survey Theater as a Method for ForeignLanguage Teaching1.1 Ranking of Most Frequently Produced German Language Plays andAuthors from 1996-20011.2 Ranking of Most Frequently Suggested German Language Plays andAuthors from 1996-2001Bibliography302302304309
Chapter I: Setting the Stage1Chapter I: Setting the Stage“Education is not the filling of a pailbut the lighting of a fire!”(Sir Butler Yeats)Teaching should be such that it ‘sparks’ students’ interest and inspires them to keep onlearning independently. It should also help them take pride in their accomplishments. Forforeign language teachers, this means motivating and retaining students by presentingdynamic, creative, meaningful, and enjoyable language classes. When languageinstruction takes place outside the target country, teachers need to immerse the studentsin the foreign language and culture as much as possible by assigning them tasks thatencourage language production in real and meaningful contexts. In order to achieve thesegoals on a consistent basis, teachers need to frequently test their teaching practices withregard to effectiveness and student appeal. At the same time, they should strive todevelop and implement new techniques that will make student learning even moresuccessful and their own teaching more rewarding.Since the 1970’s, language teachers in the United States have been encouraged to use acommunicative approach to foreign language teaching, which posits that language is a“form of social behavior and sees the aim of language teaching as teaching learners tocommunicate fluently, appropriately and spontaneously” (Brumfit and Roberts 1983, 182,paraphrasing Shier 1993). It has been the teacher’s task to help language learners gobeyond merely learning a linguistic system while engaging them in genuinecommunicative interaction in the target language.In practice, however, what takes place in the classroom often looks quite different fromwhat the communicative method advocates in theory. Many textbooks still do not provideenough material that involves students not only intellectually, but also emotionally andphysically in their learning process, and that is personally relevant to them. I agree with
Chapter I: Setting the Stage2Schewe, who pin-points the problem: “Die meisten Konversationsstunden kranken daran,dass die Studenten sich persönlich nicht betroffen fühlen. Es mangelt an bedeutungsvollerInteraktion im (entsinnlichten) Unterrichtsraum” (Schewe 1988, 430). Often,communicative exercises end up being more like communicative ‘drills.’ In a greatnumber of institutions, the main objective of language classes still seems to be to preparestudents for upcoming written tests, which can be evaluated easily, quickly, andobjectively. It is not uncommon for students to graduate from their university or collegeGerman program with the ability to write an essay about Goethe, but without the selfconfidence to communicate verbally in the language.In order to fulfill the objectives of communicative competence, teachers must—from theoutset—equip students to express themselves spontaneously and appropriately inmeaningful interactive encounters and thus involve them with “head, heart, hand, andfoot” (Fitzgibbon 1993, 7, my translation) in their learning process. Because it is difficultto create the same total immersion environment that exists in the target country, it isimperative for teachers to try out new approaches that will nonetheless ensure genuinelanguage acquisition and rewarding learning experiences.In this dissertation, I intend to explore one such alternative approach, namely the use ofdrama and theater as a method for foreign language learning, in particular German, at theuniversity level in the USA. I will argue that drama and theater-based learning andteaching provides an excellent setting for foreign language acquisition and application.Furthermore, it can serve as a means of generating genuine conversation as well as apositive environment for social learning and the promotion of the German language andculture in the United States.In an educational context, drama and theater are not primarily seen as an art form; rather,the drama and theater approach takes principles from the field of theater and uses them toinitiate educational processes. Drama is concerned with the different dimensions of the
Chapter I: Setting the Stage3learning process in dramatic classroom activities, while theater also has a productoriented component: it involves a performance in front of an audience outside theclassroom.Personal background and motivationIn choosing the topic for this dissertation, I was strongly influenced by my own positiveexperiences with drama-oriented exercises and theater projects while teaching German touniversity and college students in the US for many years. When I first experimented witha few drama-oriented exercises in my language classes years ago, I did so on the basis ofmy own intuition (‘aus dem Bauch heraus!’) without reflecting much upon the rationalebehind it. Afterwards, I realized that it actually worked!A few years later, while I was teaching a literature class at the University of Hawaii, Idecided to modify the traditional teaching approach. Instead of assigning a long readinglist and then discussing each work for a short time (“filling the pail”), I reduced thereading requirement to just a few books, giving the students a chance to really involvethemselves with one literary work in a theatrical way. Bringing the text to life by actingout the characters and imbuing them with feelings and physical movement seemed to be aworthwhile approach. The class culminated in a performance of a classic German literaryplay. Two years later, the students and I produced a German cabaret, which became partof the curriculum. These projects proved to be a huge success with the students and werevery well received by the audience, and the foreign language department. They had ahighly positive impact on many dimensions of learning, but most importantly, onstudents’ oral proficiency and on their level of self-confidence and motivation in usingthe German language.Although I was now able to attest to the benefits and popularity of such projects withmore certainty, my knowledge was still based to a large extent on my own practicalexperience. It was then that I felt inspired to research in detail the theory that would
Chapter I: Setting the Stage4better explain the potential of theater and drama in foreign language acquisition andteaching. My work in this area has come to fruition in the form of this dissertation.Although my research utilizes a more systematic approach, I still consider it to be‘practice-based research’, as defined by Bräuer (2002): “Language practitioners becomereflective researchers in order to deepen their own and the reader’s theoreticalunderstanding of their work and to develop practical consequences” (vii). One of themain questions I wish to answer is the one I was often asked by other educators:Wozu all das Theater? (Why all this fuss about theater?)In particular, I would like to provide a theoretical foundation for the followinghypotheses:(1) Several characteristics of the drama and theater approach can be found in wellestablished and scientifically proven language learning theories as well as in bothtraditional and modern teaching methodologies.(2) There are many significant parallels between language teaching and the theater artswhich are beneficial to language learning and which justify and strongly support theapplication of theater arts in foreign language teaching.(3) The use of drama and theater in foreign language teaching primarily benefits thefollowing areas of language learning:communicative competenceappreciation and understanding of foreign literature and cultureemotional and social developmentmotivation and enthusiasm for learning a foreign language(4) Drama-oriented exercises that incorporate theater techniques can be integrated intodaily German instruction in many ways and in many forms without special theatertraining.
Chapter I: Setting the Stage5(5) Larger theater projects, such as productions of an entire play, can be incorporatedinto German language curricula at American universities and colleges. They canoffer students a valuable learning experience and bring about marked improvementin students’ foreign language skills.Structure of the dissertationI have structured this dissertation as follows: Chapter I consists of a general introductionto the topic at hand. Chapter II describes the development of German languageinstruction at universities and colleges in the United States. A summary of the majorhistorical trends in German language instruction is followed by an analysis of thesituation faced by German language educators today. It is against this background that Idiscuss the teaching approach proposed in this dissertation. As the research pertains topost-secondary language learners, one subchapter briefly deals with the special needs ofadult learners in regards to foreign language acquisition.Chapters III and IV lay out the theoretical framework for the drama and theater methodand its practical applications as a tool for foreign language teaching and learning.In Chapter III, I first present an overview of the history of theater and drama in educationas well as its most influential trends and pioneers. I examine how theater and dramadeveloped, first within general education, then later within the fields of ‘first,’ ‘second,’and ‘foreign’ language education. Subsequently, the theater and drama approach isviewed in conjunction with established language learning theories as well as traditionaland contemporary teaching methodologies with the intention of uncovering reciprocalinfluences. I will also look at studies done in the field of neurology that pertain tolanguage learning and find out if “affectively-coded techniques” (Danesi 1988, 454),such as drama and theater, correspond to brain processes involved in language learning.
Chapter I: Setting the Stage6The next section analyzes the mutual relationship between the fields of Theater Arts andForeign Language Learning. It will reveal many similarities, for example, the use of(verbal and nonverbal) ‘language’ as a tool for communicating meaningfully, and thecreation of fictional situations, as well as the portrayal of roles.The following section of Chapter III begins with a general exploration of the cognitive,emotional, and physical dimensions of foreign language learning. It then examines theway in which principles of theater and drama methodology could have a positive impacton these aspects of learning and thus foster the language learning process. I have chosento discuss communicative and linguistic aspects, cultural aspects, as well aspsychological, social, and physical factors, because I believe that they benefit the mostfrom the theatrical approach.In Chapter IV, I begin to explore practical applications of drama and theater as a tool forforeign language teaching and learning. The chapter discusses two approaches:(a) using theatrical techniques and drama exercises in everyday teaching as asupplement to other forms of instruction, and(b) preparing and implementing larger theater projects (e.g., entire play productions orthe performance of scenes or skits) within the German language or literature classand the curriculum.In Section 1.1 of this chapter, I search for ways to incorporate drama-oriented exercisesinto foreign language or, in particular, German lessons. I begin by examining some basictheatrical techniques, such as pantomime, improvisation, and role-play. Subsequently, Ioffer suggestions and ideas on how these techniques could be instrumental in developing,practicing, and applying foreign language skills and foster holistic learning.
Chapter I: Setting the Stage7In Section 1.2 of this chapter, I present a list of verbal and nonverbal exercises forclassroom use. Research has shown that only a few of the publications currently on themarket provide drama exercises with detailed objectives and other didactic materials forthe German language (e.g., Tselikas 1999; Fitzgibbon 1993; Schewe 2002; Eckert andKlemm 1998). Most of the material available pertains to teaching English to speakers ofother languages (TESOL), or to first language instruction (e.g., Kao and O'Neill 1998;Maley and Duff 1979; Wessels 1987; Smith 1984; Culham 2002; Wagner 1992; Wagner1995; Wagner 1998 and others). Thus, I developed some exercises, as well as adapted oraltere
Drama and Theater as a Method for Foreign Language Teaching . father, who taught me not to give up easily and fight important things through to the end. My husband, Kevin Hill, deserves much credit to have managed to live with me . Practical Application of Drama and Theater as a Meth
theater work. b. Make and discuss group decisions and identify responsibilities required to present a drama or theater work to peers. b. Participate in defined responsibilities required to present a drama or theater work informally to an audience. b. Collaborate to devise a drama or theater work. b. Inhabit a role and respect the roles of
Drama Experiences Drama Games Drama games can take many forms and are used for multiple purposes in school-based learning. In particular, drama games can be used: 1. As a warm up or cool down (to drama activities or for the day) 2. For relationship building 3. To motivate and engage students’ interest in a topic 4.
Drama Stage 6 Syllabus Drama is located in the K–12 continuum in the Creative Arts K–6 syllabus, Drama Years 7–10 Elective course and the Drama course in Years 11 and 12. The Creative Arts K–6 syllabus includes Drama for Stages 1–3. In Drama, students make, p
the genre of their drama, with a relevant reason. The candidate: Has identified the genre of the drama, with a relevant reason. If more than one genre is 2 marks Has identified the genre of the drama. 1 mark 2 Possible genres may include - comedy, tragedy, crime, dance drama, documentary drama, historical, kitchen sink drama,
Learning English through Drama 1 Teaching Drama In part 2 of the workshops we experienced two demonstrations. In this section we review the two teaching sequences and consider the stages, aims and range of activities available for developing English skills through drama. 1.1 A Structured Approach to Teaching DramaFile Size: 392KBPage Count: 45Explore furtherEffectiveness of Teaching English Subject using Drama on .www.iosrjournals.orgTeaching English Through Drama EFL Magazineeflmagazine.comBBC Learning English - Dramas from BBC Learning Englishwww.bbc.co.ukRecommended to you b
drama tidak akan cukup apabila tidak diimbangi dengan tahap mementaskan atau melakukan pementasan drama. Pentingnya pementasan drama tersebut, siswa harus diarahkan utuk melakukan pementasan drama. Kegiatan tersebut harus diimbangi dengan pembelajaran ekspresi drama agar aspek-aspek afektif dan psikomotorik dapat tersentuh.
lThe word drama comes from the Greek word for action. Drama is written to be performed by actors and watched by an audience. lDrama is a type of literature that is primarily written to be performed for an audience. When reading a play, it is important to keep certain features of drama in mind. Some of these features relate to drama as .
Artificial intelligence is the branch of computer science concerned with making comput-ers behave like humans, i.e., with automation of intelligent behavior. Artificial intelli- gence includes game playing, expert systems, natural language, and robotics. The area may be subdivided into two main branches. The first branch, cognitive science, has a strong affiliation with psychology. The goal is .
