Why Use Plays In The Language Learning Classroom?: By Achmad Zaini

Why Use Plays In The Language Learning Classroom?

By

Achmad Zaini

REASONS FOR USING PLAYS:

•

1. ORAL SKILLS Confidence

Students confidence improves by having written text/script in their hands to develop their oral skills. Shy or unconfident students will find script less threatening while doing a role play

• Pronunciation & Fluency

Students get a chance to improve their pronunciation and fluency by experimenting with different patterns of intonation and practicing different sounds.

• Non verbal features

Analyzing and discussing non verbal features such as gestures, body language, eye contact and etc. Students might be asked to what extent these features reflect the relationships of the characters in the play

2. MEANINGFUL CONTEXT

• Acquisition & Memorization Studying the dialogue of a play provides students with a meaningful context for acquiring and memorizing new language. Students often pick up new phrases or expressions by studying how these are used by the characters in a play

3. EXPOSURE TO LANGUAGE IN CONVERSATION

• What Does Someone Really Mean? In order to make sense of a dialogue we need to move beyond the surface meaning to an interpretation of what is implied. In this stage a teacher can broaden the students understanding of conversational discourse

• Ordering And

Sequencing In Conversation As Well As Identifying Status And Relationship

At the same time, a teacher will be exposing students to other features of conversational language - how conversations are ordered and sequenced in English, what kinds of formulaic expressions it is appropriate to use in different contexts, how and what people say in a conversation reflects their relationship and relative status.

4. INVOLVEMENT

• Motivation And Group Cohesion Getting students to work together on a mini-production of a play, or simply to read an extract from a play aloud in class, is an excellent way of creating cohesion and cooperation in a group. A strong sense of involvement is fostered which helps to motivate students and encourages them to learn through active participation.

CONCLUSION

• Thinking about performance and text separately can direct our attention to some of the benefits of using plays in the ESL classroom

• The benefits are related to both literature and language teaching

NOTE IN ATTENTION

“You will not be teaching drama, but using drama to teach”

• THANK YOU VERY MUCH