Your language-teaching mission, should you choose to accept it, is to consider the rebuttals against some common arguments against incorporating drama into the language classroom.
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We know that drama is an incredibly powerful way to for students to engage with language learning. However, often there are concerns from teachers about incorporating it into their teaching practice. Below are some commonly heard issues and my responses to them. I’d like to note that these responses were greatly informed by the work of others, particularly Ryoka (see below).
“I am not a drama expert!”
That okay! In fact, the majority of resources available for incorporating drama into the second language classroom are created for teachers with little to no drama experience in mind. As Lobman and Lundquist say in their instructional book for teachers on how to use improv, “improv is too valuable a learning tool to only be used by specialists” (p. xv). If you are looking for some guidance from experts, I cannot recommend the book Enlivening instruction with drama and improv: A guide for second language and world language teachers highly enough, and if you had to use only one resource (other than this website, of course!) this would be the one. Remember, you don’t need to stage a huge theatrical production in order to be teaching using drama. Instead, you can start slowly, incorporating a few games or activities into your existing lesson plans.
“This is all about fun, and not about learning!”
When I hear this, my first thought is always, why can’t learning BE fun? My second thought is that I can’t think of a language learning model that doesn’t involve communicating effectively through speaking as a high priority. What I think this is actually asking is ‘where’s all the grammar?’ Don’t worry though, grammar (even explicitly taught grammar) has its place in drama/improv (see: post about Drama Grammar). Drama games can reinforce grammatical concepts (see: “What are you doing?”) and improv scenes are as legitimate of a way for students to share what they know as writing on a piece of paper.
“I don’t want to look foolish in front of my class!”
Neither do your students… at first. But what’s the worst thing that could happen? You have a class where foolishness (i.e. mistakes) are normalized and even welcomed! There’s laughter, and sharing, and an understanding that we’re all in this together. Also, if you expect your students to take risks, you need to be willing to model some of your own risk taking! Remember that incorporating drama is not about the teacher performing in front of the class, but a co-created experience between the teacher and students. If this is a big concern, go slowly and incorporate a few games or activities at a time until you feel more confident.
“My students don’t have the language skills!”
I’m not saying that you should expect students to create long, in-depth scenes the first day that they start class, but I am saying that you can start with drama/improv on day one! There are a ton of non-verbal games that still build community and introduce thinking about communication skills. Moreover, body language conveys so much more than we give it credit for!
“I have some very shy students!”
Personally, I was very shy as a child, and theatre was one of the ways that I was able to get out of my shell. Specifically, I remember a drama workshop sponsored by BC Hydro that came to my elementary school in grade four that was the catalyst for me realizing I was good at improvising. Therefore, while I wholeheartedly agree that adaptations and accommodations should be made for students, I strongly suggest you find ways to include them in speaking-roles. Some classes (and students) are less enthusiastic than others, which means starting smaller, giving more time for preparation and encouragement, and scaffolding more.
“I don’t have the time for this!”
If you’re worried about planning time, I have some great news for you! I find drama easy to prep for, because my lesson plans can literally have a 40-minute chunk of time that only says “scenes”, but I’m still confident an incredible amount of learning will be happening. (It also makes writing substitute plans a breeze once students know the games!) If you’re worried about fitting it into the many, many curricular outcomes of your courses, I would urge you to remember that time spent on direct instruction does not equal time spent learning. I found that students retained more, even though we spent less time in drill-and-kill mode, because they were able to take ownership of their learning and put it into practice almost immediately. As for me, this gave me much needed time to check in with students individually, observe them, or even have a glass of water uninterrupted!
“My students would never do this/they’ll just goof off!”
I cannot emphasize enough the power of peer pressure. Students don’t want to look foolish in front of their peers, and therefore will be more on-task than given a worksheet. They want to get laughs, and look competent in front of their classmates. That being said, making sure that the classroom is emotionally safe (i.e., laughter is always with, not at) is incredibly important before asking students to take risks.
“All my colleagues will think I’m unprofessional!”
It’s true that there are teachers out there that view drama as less academic or less focused on the subject matter of the language. Rather than present your choice to include drama into the curriculum as incorporating drama for drama’s sake, you can explain it to your colleagues as fulfilling the objective of overcoming students’ resistance to using the target language, and creating a need for speaking. You can also explain that you’re not giving up your textbook, to instead think of drama as another way to bring the textbook more authenticity. If they still don’t see value, there is so much research out there that supports drama in the foreign language classroom that you can direct them towards (see: post about academic research supporting drama). Finally, I would ask you, is it more important that your students have a meaningful and fun experience with language learning, or that your colleagues are appeased?
If you have any other concerns you’d like me to address, or anything to add to these rebuttals, please leave a comment below!
Resources consulted when writing this post:
Angelianawati, L. (2019). Using drama in EFL classroom. Journal of English Teaching, 5(2), 125-134.
Atas, M. (2015). The reduction of speaking anxiety in EFL learners through drama techniques. Procedia, Social and Behavioral Sciences, 176, 961-969.
Cahnmann-Taylor, M. & McGovern, K.R. (2021). Enlivening instruction with drama and improv: A guide for second language and world language teachers. Routledge.
Even, S. (2004). Dramagrammar in Theory and Practice. GFL-Journal 1: 35-51.
Lobman, C., and Lundquist, M. (2007). Unscripted learning: Using improv activities across the K-8 curriculum. New York: Teachers College Press.
Perone, A. (2011). Improvising with adult English language learners. In R. Sawyer (Ed.), Structure and improvisation in creative teaching (pp. 162-183). Cambridge University Press.
Royka, J. (2002). Overcoming the fear of using drama in English language teaching. The Internet TESL Journal, 18(6), 156-166.