ShodhKosh: Journal of Visual and Performing ArtsISSN (Online): 2582-7472
Outcome of Learning Drama in Literature Classroom Dr. S. Vasuki 1 1 Assistant
Professor, Department of English (UAP), National College, Trichy -2, India
1. INTRODUCTION Human interest in weaving a story interestingly gave birth to literature. These stories at the early stage presented orally, gradually attained the shape of words, that are printed and a few among them are presented at the religious functions or at the social events. The primary purpose of literature through various genres is to please aesthetically the readers. Later it gains the role of educating the humanity with values and thoughts. It exhibits to the world the reality of life, through its creative productions. As such the presentation of the drama also. Literary prides irrespective of genre if it has been performed as a play, then the spectacular view of it would be tremendous. There by the reaching of this visual art is also to be equally rich. Almond (2005) If a learner of the foreign language, has been encouraged to equip his/her skill of language, through the performance of it as a play definitely the outcome of their learning skill would be eterning. Learning skill would be inspired a lot to proceed further interestingly to develop their potential is language by themselves. Coming to Our Senses: The Significance of the Arts for American Education (1988) If we just look back our traditional way of learning any discipline of study, for example by means of 'gurukula method', it’s visible that the learning was done only through recital and demo. For example, the live history of ‘Lavakush', 'Harikatha', 'Harichandhran' are all enacted down the lane, and live long in the mind and heart. 2. An approach to learning literature Learning literature to appreciate the work and its influence on the life is inevitable process. They are in a different realm while learning literature. They become aware of the cultures of various people globally. They learn to sympathize and empathize more than to criticize. Their creativity is fine-tuned through studying and analysing different works of literature. It promotes their skills and enrich them with vocabulary, expressions, and thoughts in a multidimensional angle. Students cognitive level has been sharpened and lead them even to learn about their own cultural heritage and also the culture of others. It has its impact on the learners strongly and access them to lead life of perfection embraced with self- content. Dougill (1987) Literature learning acts an apt tool to shape the mankind, down the lane. Such an effective and important vehicle in case been provided to the students by means of performance of art, the consequence be tremendous and fruitful. Genres like graphic Novels, Chick literature are growing fast in this post-modern era, though artificial intelligence 's regime authentizises its position globally. Drama as an act of learning. The term drama or play can be defined as a creative work, staged to the audience in a simple dialogue form, in order to entertain and educate them. It has its own speciality of reaching and penetrating the mind and heart of the humanity so easily and quickly. Yet its impact is deep rooted. Twined with influence and experience, it can recreate the mankind. Thus, such a powerful medium, has its acknowledgement in education, especially in learning literature would be a worthy aspect. It helps in identifying the smart learners, their skill in attaining the supremacy of language, exhaustively comprehensive etc. Freeman (2011) The learners in general, and the learners through performing drama, can be statistically sealed to challenge the productivity. They can easily reach out the society, to bring in reforms and awareness into the people. They can even be powerful agents in scattering thoughts, ideas, and feelings. They might have exceeded the speed of light in reaching the mankind. The performers are framed to be the multifaceted personalities. Teaching English as a second language through drama gives them cheer and feel relaxed. Their fear of attacking the foreign language will be vanished gradually from them. Their capacity in learning the scripts by heart and retaining the dialogue in their memory. This act of performing drama, in the language learning classroom, serves as a stimuli in inspiring the learners to give up their inhibition. Holden (1982) Based on the research analysis of many linguists and researchers, it is clear that the interest of the learners for the foreign language is possible through apt motivation from the instructor. It is rather proven and reached out that the technique of conducting drama in the classroom resulted in enhancing the fluency of the speaker, enormously. They can stage the particulars scene, even perform roleplay, skit etc, freely without any fear or shyness to the audience, since they involved into such activity with certain interest in them. They gain confidence while they narrate or present a dialogue. It serves as a self-improving tool for the students, in their expression and delivery. Maley & Duff (1982) This art of performing drama, by the students, in the classroom learning, strengthens their self-confidence, critical thinking, involving in group activities, leadership quality, teamwork, etc. These are possible provided the students are let free to plan and organise by themselves. When they trust that they are not unnecessarily controlled or monitored, they entered into their activity with full hope and cheerfulness. That leads them to perform not only the play, but also help them to develop their spoken skill; when they believe that they gain the supremacy of their expressiveness, they stanted loving language, and become handling it to the situation. Maley and Alan (1984) Moreover, this ease in language usage, assists them to further develops their skill in presenting seminar, symposium in a mass level. Researchers, globally, joined and critically analyse the advantage of performing drama, in a language learning class room, founded that it increases the productivity of language learning, in the classroom, with special regard to Non- native speakers, students, when they are engaged in drama activity, they feel happy and it entertaining one. This happy atmosphere further increases the students interest in performing mimicry, mime with interest. Their skill is understanding the event and expressing through dialogues also trigger their spoken skill. Non-verbal communication is possible while the student involve himself in performing mime. At the same the art of imitation increases the students creativity and the skill of expression. If the students are facilitated by their teachers to engage themselves in all such activities and performance, the outcome of their efficiency in their speech would be possible if the techniques of dramatizing is been introduced and encouraged in their class room learning. The outcome of expression, speech flow, self-confidence, are all noteworthy things as a by-product. If we apply few questions to judge the result of this practice, that will lead us to the realization of the greatest impact on the students. 1) How does drama fit into the communicative process of language Teaching 2) How does the idea of Drama in the language classroom develop? The above questions are assureable and possible by bringing in the various types of enacting models. They are like 1) Role Play 2) Simulation 3) Improvisation 4) Scripts 5) Mime 6) Mimicry 7) Monologue 8) Soliloquy etc Furthermore, a study by Canadian Centre of science and Education has undergone research to attain the result of student’s fluency and accuracy of speaking in foreign language by making the students perform the Modern English Drama in their classroom learning, itself. As a result, the participants from Hormozgon University, doing upper intermediate ELT, proved their efficiency in speaking and expressing authentically. The statistic has also been provided by them. Rather the findings of this test assumed that the texts of modern English Drama, senses the purpose of the competency and fluency in their speech and also it invariably inspires the students to involve in a greater number of activities like this. Drama has been used as a tool for education for many years, and there is a growing body of research that supports the use of drama in the classroom. Empirical evidence suggests that drama can be an effective way to engage students, improve their communication skills, and enhance their understanding of subject matter. One of the key benefits of using drama in the classroom is its ability to engage students. Research has shown that drama can be a powerful tool for motivating students and encouraging them to participate in class. This is particularly true for students who may be disengaged or disinterested in traditional teaching methods. By incorporating drama into the curriculum, teachers can provide students with a more interactive and engaging learning experience. Another benefit of using drama in the classroom is its ability to improve students' communication skills. Drama can help students to develop their public speaking abilities, as well as their ability to work collaboratively with others. This can be particularly beneficial for students who may struggle with communication in other settings. Through drama, students can gain confidence in their ability to express themselves and to work effectively with others. Shraiber and Yaroslavova (2016) Additionally, drama can be used to enhance students' understanding of subject matter. Research has shown that drama can be an effective way to help students to grasp complex concepts and to make connections between different ideas. For example, drama can be used to teach history by putting students in the role of historical figures and allowing them to explore different aspects of the past. Additionally, drama can be used to teach literature by allowing students to act out scenes from a novel or play, which can help to bring the text to life and deepen students' understanding of the themes and characters. Furthermore, drama can also help students to develop their critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Through drama, students learn to think creatively, consider different perspectives, and come up with solutions to problems. This helps students to think beyond the surface and to come up with new ways of looking at things which can be very beneficial for their future education and career. In conclusion, there is a growing body of empirical evidence that supports the use of drama in the classroom. Drama can be an effective way to engage students, improve their communication skills, and enhance their understanding of subject matter. Additionally, drama can also help students to develop their critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Therefore, it is important for teachers to consider incorporating drama into their curriculum and to use it as a tool to support student learning. There have been numerous studies that have explored the benefits of drama and theatre education. Some of the benefits that have been identified include: Improved self-esteem and confidence: Drama and theatre education can help students develop self-awareness, self-expression, and self-confidence. Increased empathy and social skills: Drama and theatre education can help students develop empathy, communication skills, and the ability to work well in a group. Enhanced cognitive development: Drama and theatre education can help students develop critical thinking, problem-solving, and creativity. Improved academic performance: Studies have shown that students who participate in drama and theatre education tend to do better in school, especially in subjects such as language arts and history. Increased cultural understanding: Drama and theatre education can help students learn about different cultures and perspectives. It should be noted that the benefits of drama and theatre education are not limited to children and youth, but also to adults, people with mental and physical disabilities, veterans, and elderly. Figure 1
While discussing on the use of ‘Drama in English Language Teaching ‘ Susan Holden says, “ in other words, drama is concerned with the world of ‘let's pretend ‘, it takes the learner to project himself imaginatively into another situation, outside the classroom, or into the skin and persona of another person. “(Holden1982:1). when the students involve themselves or guided by the teacher to perform like this, naturally they tend to interact with other characters and respond to their actions. Thus, here, in this process of performing a drama, or a role play a particular episode or scene from a fixed drama, helps the students, gain fluency in their utterance and they easily grasp the content, then others, due to their bubbling enthusiasm in performing the given scene, or episode. This sort of acting on the stage or classroom extends their curiosity and also creativity enormously. Thereby possessed with self-confidence, the unknowingly increase their spoken and creative skill. Once they developed their accuracy has also been strengthen ed. They are rather particular in performing completely, this commitment with the students helps them to achieve their communication skill, speedily, in a short span of time. Susan Holden even suggests five-point plan for integrating drama activities in to tge lesson. They are initially, the teacher should expose the students with the idea, theme, or the crisis, then the students with these in hand, discuss in their groups, thirdly, they involve themselves experimenting with various interpretations, till they are satisfied at the fourth stage, they exhibit their interpretations to the rest of the students -audience, finally they shape it as an assessment of their work. However, before they execute their performance, the teacher should check and approve. To a greater extent, this performing art of drama, in different form like Mime, mimicry, simulation is applied in ELT classes and attained a tremendous result from the side of the learners. Mime focuses on paralinguistic features of communication. It helps proudly say, that the techi in reinforcing the memory power, says the researcher. John Dougil defines mime as” nonverbal representation of an idea or story through gesture, bodily movement, and expression”. As such simulation is also an activity involves students to present different types of dialogues, such as, greetings, etc introducing, parting, complementing. Students at one stage by Practising these activities gain mastery of language, they unwind their creativity, prepare their own script to enact a drama. Thus, this art of learning language through the performance of drama enhances the students’ potentials to the gigantic level. They are equipped finally with the power of rich memory, creativity, imagination and above all implementing all coherently and accurately. To conclude, this single aspect of performance molds the students with various skills, assures them with mastery over language skills places them at ease with the art of foreign language learning. Such a wonderful art of performance should be encouraged uniformly in all the educational institutions and forums under the sun to enrich the skill of learning any foreign language at ease. Post modern era, lays its focus on learning foreign languages to compete globally. Many of the countries, might be on the impact of colonialism, tend to follow English as a strong vehicle for communication world around. Inculcating competency, in English, is the challenging task among teachers of FLT and FLL, even at the higher education level. Researchers say that the use of drama techniques in education dates back to the 1950s. Drama, when it’s performed by the students, encourages focused listening. Concentration is rather improved, and retaining tendency has also been developed. The techniques involved in drama, fine tune different speaking activities, like narration, role play, talk show, advertisements, demo etc, with varied stress and intonation and pronunciation. Simultaneously, the preparation of script for dialogue enhances their writing skill also. Lucid and correct way of writing, lead them to perfection in the skill. The techniques in drama develop performers social and interactive skills. It helps them to overcome their communication barriers. It even modifies their attitude in general towards learning, particularly communication skill. The performance of drama demands their team spirit. Thus, in learning English as the second language, the learners, without any inhibition excel in their communication skill, if they adopt the art of performing in their classroom learning itself. Doubts apart this technique, will definitely promote their LSRW skills effectively and produce the learner enriched with supremacy of speaking and writing similar to that of the native speakers. Thus, it is not an exaggeration if we proudly say, that the technique of drama inside the classroom situation is nothing but an exuberant productivity.
CONFLICT OF INTERESTS None. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS None. REFERENCES Almond, M. (2005). Teaching English With Drama. “How to Use Drama and Plays When Teaching for the Professional English Language Teacher”. Modern English Publishing. Coming to Our Senses : The Significance of the Arts for American Education (1988). American for the Arts. Dougill, J. (1987). Drama Activities for Language Learning. MacMillan. Freeman, L. (2011). Techniques and Principles in Language Teaching. (3rd Ed). Oxford University Press. Holden, S. (1982). Drama in Language Teaching. Longman. Maley, A. & Duff, A. (1982). Drama Teaching in Language Learning. CUP. Maley, A. and Alan, D. (1984). Drama
Techniques in Language Learning : A Resource Book of Communication Activities
for Language Teachers. Cambridge. Shraiber, E. H., and Yaroslavova, E.N. (2016).
Drama Techniques in Teaching English as a Second Language to University Students.
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