The Future of Education

This study presents a longitudinal qualitative research analyzing the potential language and life skills benefits of dramatizing literature to university foundation students. The literary enactment project took place in 2015, and structured interviews were conducted to assess its effects on students. Five years later in 2019, eight students from the original cast were interviewed again for their reflections on the project’s effects on their English language proficiency, intrinsic motivation, and life skills such as creativity, collaboration, critical thinking, and confidence.  Using Otter, a program that records, transcribes, and categorizes words in interviews, emerging themes were processed and analyzed to determine how the project influenced students during the intervening years.  Literature is trending in TESOL as a platform for organic language engagement (Hişmanoğlu, 2005; "Using literature-an Introduction," 2014).  Literature provides a springboard for imagination, higher order thinking, knowledge of self, society, history and culture as well as contextualized practice in reading, writing, listening, and speaking (Gardner, n.d; Shazu, 2015). However, educators may lack strategies for exploiting literature, and students may miss its benefits. Another under-utilized approach in language education, drama, can be enlisted to mine the riches of literature (Brinda, 2008). Multiple intelligences (Healy, 2004) deploy as students choose project roles: script, acting, backstage, costumes, make-up, sound and lights, reporter, advertising, usher, historian, stage managing.  Live footage will show how students staged the novel in 2015 for an audience of parents and peers. In a media-saturated world where students rarely read, demonstrated benefits to students’ language skills, intrinsic motivation, and life skills can inform language teaching curricula and highlight the power of story to engage students. For active engagement, attendees will explore ways to stage a short passage from a classic novel and depart inspired to further explore this whole person, whole language, all senses method.

Keywords: Drama Literature, Creativity Project, Learning English.

References:
[1] Brinda, W. (2008). Engaging alliterate students: A literacy/theatre project helps students comprehend, visualize, and enjoy literature. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy 51(6) 488-497.
[2] Gardner, H. (1983) Frames of mind: the theory of multiple intelligences. New York, Basic Books.
[3] Healy, C. (2004). Drama in education for language learning. Humanizing Language Teaching, 6(3),1-8.
[4] Hişmanoğlu, M. (2005). Teaching English Through Literature. Journal of Language and Linguistic Studies, 1(1), 53-66.
[5] Shazu, R. (2014). Use of literature in language teaching and learning: A critical assessment. Journal of Education and Practice. 5(7), 29-35.
[6] Using literature - an introduction. (2014, October 1). Retrieved from
https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/using-literature-introduction.