LIVING  DRAMA

On September 21st, at 12:15, Vera Cabrera Duarte presented a talk entitled: Teaching/Learning English as a Foreign Language:  Overcoming Resistance Through Drama Activities.

 

On this page you will find all the slides and video used in the talk, the bibliography of the research, and another video related to the Project, which was not shown due to the short time alotted. We will be very pleased if you can share your thoughts about the presentation in Comment Box.

 

ABSTRACT: Learning a foreign language is a citizen’s right in Brazil. Students are, or should be, motivated to learn it, and schools are expected to help them develop various skills as well as creativity to face global challenges. Although educators have endeavoured to awaken students’ interest in learning English, learners still seem despondent and unable to find meaning in learning the language.  In this session, the presenter will share the experience she has had with undergraduate students of English at the Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo, Brazil, and the research she has carried out with EFL students at state schools in São Paulo.  The pedagogical proposal resulting from a research project - Living Drama in the Classroom: theatre activities and their pedagogical implications – is grounded on an interdisciplinary approach involving Educational Psychology, Drama in Education and Teaching English as a Foreign Language. It emphasizes the affective component involved in the learning process.  Findings of the research suggest that students’ resistance to learning English may be due to the lack of three interrelated competencies in language learning: 1- linguistic competency, 2-adequate study skills and 3-emotional competency. Such resistance seems to have been gradually overcome through drama activities. As a result, students became motivated, more open to learning the language and more confident in building interpersonal relationships. Videoed scenes of sketches and of students’ reports will be shown.

 

Bibliography here.