Drama for Teaching Purposes

Jorge Comte G.jorgecomtegodoy@gmail.com

http://www.teachingnewbies.com/Class 1

“from Latin dramat […] from Greek deed” (Merriam Webster Dictionary)

“a dramatic [expression] intended for performance by actors on a stage” (google glossary)

What is drama?

“Drama integrates language skills in a natural way”

“It integrates verbal and non-verbal aspects of communication” (Maley and Duff I)

“55% of communication is conveyed by the body language we use” (Thompson 1)

Drama in Language Teaching

It helps with “self-esteem and confidence” (Maley and Duff I)

“There is a transfer of responsibility for learning from teacher to learners” (I)

“It has a positive effect on classroom dynamics and atmosphere” (I)

Drama in Language Teaching

Classes at school (from 5th to 12th)

Classes for adults at ICHN

Classes for students at UNAB

Director of Drama Club in ACCESS program at ICHN

My Experience

Any experience you would like to share?

The objective of this course is to give students tools used in theatre that may be useful in a classroom.

Students will improve their breathing and use of voice.

They will learn several drama techniques used for teaching English worldwide.

Description of the Course

First Class (6 hours)◦ Drama in language teaching◦ Breathing◦ Voicework◦ Taking care of the voice

Contents

Second Class (6 hours)◦ Warm-up activities and games◦ Cooling-down activities and games

Third Class (6 hours):◦ Drama techniques for teaching purposes

Role play Miming Puppets Forum theatre Invisible theatre Photo-novella Improv Radio drama

Fourth Class (6 hours):◦ Working with video◦ Video clip making◦ Short film making◦ Use of video editing software◦ Video broadcasting◦ Video blogging

Fifth Class (6 hours)◦ Dramatic reading◦ Story telling◦ Forming a drama club◦ Selecting a play◦ Adapting literature◦ Evaluation

Group work Design language teaching activities using

drama techniques Peer evaluation Evaluation from the teacher

Evaluation

12 Fabulously Funny Fairy Tale Plays (Justin McCory Martin)

Drama Techniques (Alan Maley and Alan Duff)Games for Language Learning (Andrew Wright,

David Betteridge, and Michael Buckby)Keep Talking (Friederike Klippel)On Stage (Lisa Bany-Winters)Theatre Games for the Classroom (Viola

Spolin)Teatro: un Lenguaje en el Aula (José Cañas)

Bibliography

Videos Music Pictures Jorge Comte’s video blog Class filming www.teachingnewbies.com

Multimedia

What is voice? (American National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders)

◦ Sound

◦ We use lungs, vocal folds, and larynx

Breathing and Voicework

The Voice Box

How is your voice important to you?

Relaxation Breathing Warming up the voice Preparing articulators Volume

Steps for a healthy use of the voice

Situation: 4 old friends get together again after 10 years at a school reunion.

Task: Create and rehearse a short dialog. Invent the characters and give them a voice other than yours.

Working with the Voice

Rooms in the house:

Bedroom - Kitchen - Bathroom

Living room - Garden - Dining room

Working on Words

Low voice: MOVE

High voice: WALK

Level tone: JOG

Up-and-down: RUN

Solo: JUMP

Vocabulary Orchestra - Verbs

Causes of voice probems:◦ Physical◦ Psychological◦ Abuse and misuse of voice

Taking Care of your Voice

1. Has your voice become hoarse or raspy?2. Have you lost the ability to hit high notes

when singing?3. Does your voice suddenly sound deeper?4. Does your throat feel raw or achy?5. Has it become an effort to talk?6. Do you find yourself repeatedly clearing

your throat?

How do you know your voice is not healthy?

1. Breathe deeply2. Learn to relax3. Condition your voice

How can we take care of our voice?

1. Breathe deeply2. Learn to relax3. Condition your voice

- Steam your vocal folds- Gargle with warm water and salt- Drink a cup of herbal tea or decaf

How can we take care of our voice?

1. Breathe deeply2. Learn to relax3. Condition your voice4. Hydrate

How can we take care of our voice?

1. Breathe deeply2. Learn to relax3. Condition your voice4. Hydrate

- Drink 6 to 8 glasses of water a day- Avoid spicy food, alcohol, coffee, and smoking- Drink hot beverages

How can we take care of our voice?

1. Breathe deeply2. Learn to relax3. Condition your voice4. Hydrate5. Empower your voice

How can we take care of our voice?

1. Breathe deeply2. Learn to relax3. Condition your voice4. Hydrate5. Empower your voice

- Get a good night sleep- Open a big mouth- Avoid speaking or singing when your voice is hoarse- Wash your hands- Have vitamins A, E, and C- Avoid neck and shoulder muscle tension- Avoid talking in noisy places

How can we take care of our voice?

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&defl=en&q=define:drama&ei=15tAS6OIBY-1tgfKyoiQCQ&sa=X&oi=glossary_definition&ct=title&ved=0CAcQkAE

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/DRAMA

Duff, Alan and Alan Maley. Drama Techniques. Third edition. Cambridge University Press. UK, 2005.

Thompson, Delia. Body Language and Communication. The Communication Academy Website. http://74.125.47.132/search?q=cache:Oyyvo4rimz4J:www.selfgrowth.com/articles/Body_Language_and_Communication.html+body+language+in+communication&cd=1&hl=es&ct=clnk&gl=cl

Sources

http://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/voice/whatis_vsl.htm (American Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders)

The voice box image: http://www.umm.edu/respiratory/images/respiratory_anatomy.jpg

Sources (cont’d)