Drama and EFL
Joon-taek Jun
06/26/2000


     Drama makes language learning enjoyable land lively and rescues
     second language learners from the fearful and soul-destroying
     clutches of boring pedagogues.
                                                                             ---J. V. Kallie


 The growing body of research on how the brain functions supports experiential learning that utilizes
bimodal functions and thereby supports drama as a teaching method. The evidence seems conclusive: all
students need many opportunities to learn that involve both the logical, rational, linear, verbal
processes of the left hemisphere of the brain, and the visualizing, intuitive, imagining, metaphoric,
and spatially-related processes resident in the right hemisphere. In addition, many students prefer to
learn (that is, they learn most readily) when learning emphasizes right-hemisphere functions.

 Traditionally, schools have been very left-hemisphere-oriented, with emphasis on rational thought and
the ability to verbalize with clarity, accuracy, and fluency -- often at the expense of learning
approaches that include or emphasize right hemisphere attributes. Dramatic activities offer experiences
in which both hemispheres can play major roles.

 This applies to EFL education as well. When teaching EFL students, working in role has lots of
particular benefits which meet their language learning needs appropriately and effectively. These are:

     1. the provision of 'real' contexts for the language
     2. opportunities to hear others modeling the appropriate language
     3. opportunities to practice language and take risks with new vocabulary and constructions in an
        enjoyable and non-threatening situation
     4. opportunities to 're-run' or 'repeat' language scenarios in order to practice fluency,
        expression, and build confidence.

 Thus, where it is done well, the teaching of plays in English and acting out of them has a strong
influence upon the development of English language and the student's self confidence.

 As dramas are originally written 'to be acted', there are many playwrights, including Shakespeare, who
would probably turn in their graves if they could see the tortured way in which students in some
English classes are asked to dissect and interpret their texts without even so much as five minutes
action during the hour's lesson! 'Doing a Foreign Play' does not and should not necessarily mean taking
on a whole play in its original entirety. As it will be observed, short sections can be more productive,
and certainly offer enough scope for activities.

 Drama goes right back to the Ancient Greeks. In Britain, apart from the period from 1642 to 1660 when
the Puritans succeeded in closing down the theatres, there has been a strong tradition of theatre,
always reflecting the moods and ideas of the times. Medieval Mystery Plays, Elizabethans performing
Renaissance drama, Restoration comedy, Victorian melodrama and later Victorian political drama, all
paved the way to the tapestry of theatrical genres available today--musical, farce, comedy,
kitchen-sink drama, psycho-drama, political and social drama, etc. Needless to day, for the EFL
students, there is more to learning English than acquiring vocabulary and syntax; EFL students put
English into the context of the geography, history, and culture of the different periods of Britain.
Incorporated folksongs, dances and the dramatization of folktales and legends drawn from the British
culture also create a highly stimulating environment in which EFL students can practice the words and
phrases from the target language study.

 Of all the dramatists, students tend to struggle most with Shakespeare (I don't think doing
Shakespeare is most effective in EFL class, but if you digest Shakespeare, you will be able to do all!).
It is a sad reality that Shakespeare's plays are regarded by many EFL students as unattainable. An
academic and somewhat elitist barrier exists which prevents many EFL students from believing that these
plays have any part to play in their lives. This is probably due to the endless analysis, dissection,
debate, controversy and intellectual possession which has taken over ownership of the plays.
Shakespeare himself would not be very happy with this state of affairs!

 Shakespeare in the primary school may be approached initially through story. The stories are wonderful
and there are lots of splendid abridged versions:
     Shakespeare's Stories, by Leon Garfield (Gollancz 1985)
     Shakespeare. The Animated Tales, by Leon Garfield (Heinenmann 1992)
     Favorite Tales from Shakespeare, by B. Miles (Hamlyn 1986)

 Activities in the primary school may include:
 ï½ telling a spooky story (Macbeth) in a darkened room using a torch
 ï½ making puppets to play out parts of the story
 ï½ improvise short sections
 ï½ thematic mobiles (e.g. Macbeth daggers and witches!)
 ï½ abstract art work of themes and moods
 ï½ making model play sets
 ï½ shortened versions of the play for assembly
 ï½ playing with parts of language
 ï½ cartoon strips
 ï½ creating backing sound effects (e.g. to 'Hubble, bubble...')

 EFL secondary school students may work with scripts from real plays. Working with scripts from real
plays adds the following benefits to those in the previous list:
     1. it helps to broaden their knowledge of literature
     2. it also helps them to start learning about famous playwrights
     3. they can start to make links with real theatre
     4. they can compare styles of writing
     5. they can look at plays historically
     6. there are more detailed stage directions demanding more interpretation.

 An effective way to introduce Shakespeare to secondary school students may be through some of the most
famous segments of all of his plays. They include: Pyramus and Thisby from A Midsummer Night's Dream
(Appendix 1, rewritten in contemporary English), the gulling of Malvolio in Twelfth Night, the Falstaff
scene in Henry IV, the balcony scene from Romeo and Juliet, the duel scene from Hamlet, etc.

 When doing a segment, using films can help EFL students to recognize the effects of the plays in
performance and the conventions and theatrical possibilities that produce their impact. For example,
looking at the corresponding parts of three or four films play an integral part in discovering how
various actors and directors have chosen to speak and act the lines. For the Pyramus and Thisby, one
may use Joseph Papp's Central Park version (1974), Benjamin Britten's opera adaptation (1982), Film
version of Garfield's Animated Tales (1992), etc. (VCR 1, three Pyramus and Thisby clips). By watching
these clips in the order listed, EFL students can reap the additional benefit of seeing both their own
choices confirmed and choices they either rejected or did not imagine played out on the screen, which
demonstrate the openness of Shakespeare's scripts to interpretation.

 Then, what about EFL through performance in college? Here let me introduce three articles by
professors in the dept. of English (Appendix 2, 3, and 4) who tried performances in class. The articles
discuss the benefits of EFL performance and of teaching drama through performance. They all emphasize
that performance, makes students close readers and exact speakers without calling their attention to
those ends as well. They also stress the role of a teacher in class, which the teachers or the
teachers-to-be should be familiar with.

 Now to teach EFL students through performance effectively, the teachers should be familiar with some
of the basic theatre skills and crafts. Excerpts (Appendix 5) from Drama in Primary English Teaching
will meet your needs though the book is originally written for primary English teaching.

 As Shakespeare writes, "All the world is a stage (As You Like It, II.7.140)" and "Play is the Thing
(Hamlet, II.2.604)".

Good Luck!

Works Cited

Books and Articles

Cottrell, June. Creative Drama in the Classroom. Lincolnwood, Illinois:National Textbook Company. 1987.
Gilbert, Miriam. "Teaching Shakespeare through Performance. Shakespeare Quarterly. 35:5 (1984):602-8.
Jennings, Coleman A. and Harris, Aurand. Ed. Plays Children Love, Vol. 2. New York: St. Martin's Press,
   1988.
Muir, Kenneth. "The Wrong Way and Right." Shakespeare Quarterly. 35:5 ( 1984):642-643.
Ryu, Yung-kyun. "Mounting English Drama on Campus."http://www.uos.ac.krrykryu/edrama/mounting.htm1.
   On-line, Internet. May, 10. 2000.
Suzi, Clipson-Boyles. Drama in Primary English Teaching. London: David Fulton Publishers Ltd. 1998.
Pyramus and Thisbe Clips from Films (in the order recorded)

***note: A Midsummer Night's Dream (1999), 5tarring Kevin Kline and Miche11e Pfeiffer is available at
   the local video shop now. As it is, if you are not familiar with the play, I want you (to read the
   whole play, if possible and) to view this version before you view the following clips.

1. A Midsummer Night's Dream (1974)
     Joseph Papp directs at Central Park in 1974 New York Shakespeare Festival (20 min.)

2. A Midsummer Night's Dream (1982)
     peter Hall directs Benjamin Britten's opera adaptation at Glyndebourne' Festival Opera (20 min.)

3. A Midsummer Night's Dream (1992), as seen on HBO
     Film version of Garfield's Animated Tales (30 min.) mentioned above. This is not the clip but the
     whole version of the play


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