To let my students enjoy English I try to use the so-called “dramatic activities” at lessons .To my mind they give an excellent opportunity to express themselves through imagination and the ability to imitate.
I think these activities arouse students’ wish to communicate. Of course, they do not mean dialogues or short sketches learnt by heart. According to Maley and Duff mechanically memorized words “ lose their savour even before they are spoken”. Much has changed and will change in language teaching. But it is still true that the base of any foreign language is“ vocabulary+ essential structures =language.” No doubt language is an intellectual matter. But intellect rarely functions without emotion, yet we often lack this element in our text-books.
People we speak to during the day are not faceless ones. They are busy, tired, happy, worried – they are alive. And so we are. In order to speak to these people, we need to know who they are and who we are.
Drama activities attempt to put back some emotional content into language.
By the way these activities help the teacher to keep all the students active. You divide your class into groups and control only these groups. So your burden is
less intensive, isn’t it?
Here are some activities I use. I hope they will be useful for my collegues as well.
LISTENING WITH CLOSED EYES
a. You ask your students to close their eyes. They listen to all sounds in the room .Then they open their eyes and describe everything they heard in details.
b. You can prepare a recording of isolated sounds ( a bouncing ball a ticking clock, a squeaking door) and play one sound two or three times. Then the students write down what they think the sound is and discuss their answer with the neighbour.
c. You can use a recording of a connected sequence of sounds which suggest a story. While listening students create the story and write down in the correct order. Then the students are divided into groups, they compare their notes and try to arrive at an agreed version.
S.1: I heard footsteps.
S.2: Inside or outside?
S.1: Outside.
S.2: On grass?
S.1: No, on concrete.
THE VERB GAME
The teacher divides the group into pairs. Each pair is given a short list of actions for miming. These actions should be fairy understandable( such as chopping down a tree, blowing out candles on a birthday cake) The others in the group must then suggest what they think is or was being done,who the person is and where he is.
STOP
Imagine you are: on roller-skates and trying to stop suddenly,
helping somebody to park: signal him to stop,
telling the dog to stay where he is
a policeman at the crossing: tell the pedestrians to wait
CARRY
Imagine you are:
carrying a heavy rucksack uphill in the sun
carrying a tray full of glasses at a party
carrying a large picture
carrying a heavy suitcase in one hand and an umbrella in the other
carrying a loaded gun
BREAK
Imagine you are:
trying to break down a door
trying to crack nuts between your hands
forcing your way through thick jungle
OPEN
Imagine you are:
trying to open a tin of sardines
opening an important letter
opening a heavy iron gate
opening an umbrella in the wind
opening a window that suddenly comes unstuck
LOOK
Imagine you are:
looking through a keyhole
looking for money you have dropped in the street
looking for a name in the telephone directory
looking for somebody in the crowd
CUT
Imagine you are:
slicing ham
cutting a tough steak
cutting grass
cutting firewood
BLOW
Imagine you are:
blowing a big balloon
blowing a whistle
blowing a fly off your nose
blowing onto your hands to make them warm
PULL
Imagine you are:
pulling a net of fish while standing on a boat
pulling a sledge in thick snow
pulling a bucket of water from a deep well
pulling on socks
CLEAN
Imagine you are:
cleaning a pair of very muddy boots
cleaning the bath
cleaning a very dirty car
CATCH
Imagine you are:
are trying to catch a dangerous snake in your garden
are trying to catch a train
are about to catch a fly that has settled on the table
are trying to catch your hat , which has blown off in the wind
WALK
Imagine you are:
walking in deep snow
walking along the corridor of a train
walking barefoot over red-hot coal
EAT
Imagine you are:
eating with chopsticks for the first time
trying to eat a bar of chocolate without being noticed
eating for the first time after being on a hunger strike
trying to eat in a crowded train
DRINK
Imagine you are:
drinking a medicine you do not like
drinking water from a fast-flowing mountain stream
WRITE
Imagine you are:
a pop star signing his autograph
a young child learning to write
a waiter writing out the bill
READ
Imagine you are:
trying to read a newspaper on a windy beach
trying to read somebody else’s newspaper over his shoulder in the bus
PEOPLE, PLACES, PROBLEMS AND THINGS
a.The teacher prepares a number of separate slips of paper with a theme written on each and slips bearing a scene. For example:
The teacher places the theme slips in one box and scene slips in another.
Then students are divided into groups. A representative from each group comes to take one slip from each box Groups have to prepare a short sketch based on the theme and the scene.(for example” Nobody loves me + in the British Museum”) Students have to invent the characters involved in the incident. When the sketch is ready, it is performed for another group , who comment and criticize
b. The teacher prepares slips of paper describing a person, a place, the time and the weather.
The slips are put into four separate boxes. The teacher divides the students into groups. A representative of each group takes one slip from each box, except the “ person” box, from which he takes three slips. The group then have to construct a short sketch using the information on the slips. When their sketch is ready, they act it out for another group, which offers comment and criticism.
The slips of paper offer groups a starting point for the exercise of their own imagination. They have to come to agreement on a story-line ,allot roles,offer criticism and comment. I think it leads to the production of language inauthentic circumstances.