LANGUAGE IN INDIA

Strength for Today and Bright Hope for Tomorrow

Volume 19:10 October 2019
ISSN 1930-2940

Editors:
         Sam Mohanlal, Ph.D.
         A. R. Fatihi, Ph.D.
         G. Baskaran, Ph.D.
         T. Deivasigamani, Ph.D.
         Pammi Pavan Kumar, Ph.D.
         Soibam Rebika Devi, M.Sc., Ph.D.

Managing Editor & Publisher: M. S. Thirumalai, Ph.D.

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USING THEATRE TO ENHANCE LEARNER LANGUAGE IN ENGLISH CLASSROOMS:
A SRI LANKAN EXPERIMENT
Ph.D. English Dissertation

Dr K.Shriganeshan
Senior Lecturer
Department of English Language Teaching
University of Jaffna
Jaffna, 40000
Sri Lanka
kshriganeshan@yahoo.com

Abstract

The thesis represents an attempt to explore the possibilities of using theatre in ESL classrooms at the secondary level in Sri Lankan schools. The study is based on the assumption that theatre will facilitate and enhance language learning especially when learners hail from a rich L1 theatrical culture.

The thesis therefore aimed to find out whether theatre could be used to promote oral and written communication skills and whether it would encourage community learning in groups and create a healthy collaborative learning atmosphere in order to open up possibilities for extending the scope of traditional classroom teaching and learning. Being exploratory and essentially ethnographic in nature, the research methods used in the investigation were participant observation and open-ended interactions with students accompanied by researcher intervention and teaching. The texts that were analysed included classroom scripts, students’ and teacher’s diaries, the workshop journal of the researcher and comments from parents and well-wishers.

The theoretical framework of the thesis draws on the uses of theatre in education and language learning, the notion of a scaffolding device and concepts of dialogic and liberating pedagogy. The initial investigation in the form of a preliminary study paved the way for the main study and indicated the need for a longitudinal ethnographic oriented main study. This was carried out over a period of three months with secondary level Sri Lankan Tamil students transiting into English medium of instruction. The findings reveal that the use of theatre promotes learning in a substantial manner. Students were able to create situations, enact scenes and then script plays, thus producing the necessary language for communication in those contexts. Their spontaneous and effective oral communicative capability which the theatre workshop enhanced was reflected in the performances that preceded the group-wise scripting and the enhancing of the written capability was captured in the scripts and diary entries.

Keywords: Theatre for English Language Teaching and Learning, Sri Lankan Tamil ethnic students, theatre scripts, Classroom and Theatre, Language Curriculum, Curriculum implementation, Teachers’ perceptions, Students' participation

A Brief Summary

In this dissertation, a detailed analysis of the usefulness of Theatre for the teaching and learning of English as Foreign/Second Language for Sri Lankan Tamil ethnic students is presented. The dissertation presents also concrete and specific strategies and techniques for the teaching and learning of English using Theatre. The Dissertation consists of six chapters:

Chapter 1 Behind the Scenes – In this chapter, Theatre of English Language Teaching with focus on Theatre for Communication, Theatre in Language classroom, Theatre at the University and Experiential Learning are presented. In addition, Statement of the Problem, Methods adopted in the ELT in Schools, and Methods of Investigation are also presented.

Chapter 2 Setting the ESL Stage – This chapter focuses on Theatre in Language Education, Rationale for the Use of Theatre in Language Education, Classification of ELT Methods, CLT and Full-fledged Theatre, Experimental Theatres in Language Education, Different Theatres in Vogue, Language Enabling Classroom Dynamics and Learning Communities, Emotional Climate and Social Dynamics, Language Learning in a Multilingual Context, Cultural Bias towards the Use of Theatre and other related instructional issues.

Chapter 3 The Research Design on the Boards – This chapter presents the Design of the Study, Aims and Objectives, Methodology, Activities and Tasks, Analysis of the Scripts, Discussions on the observations, The Target Group for the Main Study, Observations and Findings of the Preliminary Study, The Tools for the Study and Method and Analysis.

Chapter 4 Scene Setting for the Main Study – This chapter presents Proficiency Level of the Students at the Beginning of the Workshop, The Research Questions for the Main Study, The Research Procedure for the Main Study, The Research Tools for the Study, Assumptions behind Using Theatre-based Tasks, and Procedure for Data Analysis.

Chapter 5 The Main Players on the Boards – This chapter focuses on the Nature and Data Collection and Analysis, Sources for Data Collection, Rationale, Text Analyses, Students’ Output and Language Growth, Analysis of the Scripts – Phase I, Analysis of the Scripts – Phase II, Analysis of the Scripts – Phase III, Analysis of the Scripts – Phase IV, and An Analysis based on Grammatical Categories.

Chapter 6 Theatrical Spaces in Language Classrooms – This chapter presents issues relating to Theatre in Education as well as The Findings of the Study, Significance of the Study, Implications of the Study, Teaching/ Learning Implications, Implications for Teacher Training, Limitations of the Study, and The Path Forward.

Chapters are followed by a detailed list of references used in the research done and in the writing of this dissertation.

This is only the beginning part of the Dissertation USING THEATRE TO ENHANCE LEARNER LANGUAGE IN ENGLISH CLASSROOMS: A SRI LANKAN EXPERIMENT. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE DISSERTATION IN PRINTER-FRIENDLY VERSION.


Dr K.Shriganeshan
Senior Lecturer
Department of English Language Teaching
University of Jaffna
Jaffna, 40000
Sri Lanka
kshriganeshan@yahoo.com

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