Acting French Avoiding grammatical drama by using drama

Acting French Avoiding grammatical drama by using drama to teach grammar

The Grammar Drama • focus on communicative skills in foreign language teaching may result in a disregard for teaching basic language structure • students often struggle to convert cognitively learnt structures into appropriate linguistic action • How can communicative skills and grammatical knowledge be equally integrated in foreign language teaching? • How can the gap between structural knowledge and communicative competence be bridged?

What is Drama Grammar? • synthesis of grammar instruction and drama pedagogy (Even) • combination of language use and language reflection • students learn language structure using cognitive, emotional, social, practical and kinesthetic learning dimensions • typical drama grammar lesson: • phase of awareness raising • context-finding phase • linguistic phase • phase of dramatic play • presentation phase • reflection phase

The Benefits of Drama Grammar in the Foreign Language Classroom • supports the progress from structured activities to free expression • examination of grammatical phenomena happens not at the beginning but in the middle of the lesson: focus on grammar is deliberate and purposeful • raises student awareness about appropriate linguistic structure • activities teach form but emphasis is on meaning • grammatical knowledge is contextualized • students are less afraid of making mistakes and more inclined to take risks (Even)

Things to consider when using Drama Grammar • minimize student inhibition by creating an atmosphere of mutual trust and cooperation • sequence dramatic activities so students develop confidence and build proficiency • be clear about learning outcome: teaching language structure can clash with free dramatic expression

Literature • Patricia S. Dickson: Acting French: Drama Techniques in the Second Language Classroom, in The French Review, Vol. 63, No. 2 (1989), p. 300 -311 • Susanne Even: Dramagrammar in Theory and Practice, in GFL-Journal 1 (2004): p. 35 -51