Using drama to improve SAE skills
and enhancing a feeling of
engagement in the process
ACTA International Conference 2-5 July 2012
Dr Margery Hertzberg
Mobile: 0415 326 78
[email protected]
©
These notes are working draft only. Please request
permission from the author if you wish to distribute or
1
reprint.
• Margery is an independent language and
literacy consultant. Should you wish her to
do some PD, see the previous slide for her
contact details.
• Before her career as a university lecturer, she
was an early childhood, primary and middle
school mainstream teacher.
• She has published widely and her latest book is
This book addresses English language
learning (ELL) pedagogical practices. It
begins by considering general ELL (ESL,
EAL/D) theory, and later examines specific
theories in the areas of oracy, reading and
writing. Many examples in the book are
illustrated with authentic and recent student
work samples. This book also helps readers
to plan an effective ELL program for the
diverse needs of English language learners.
Drama
IN the classroom
3
• ACARA English as an Additional Language document, p 91
“the extent of vocabulary knowledge is
one of the best predictors of literacy
success”.http://www.acara.edu.au/verve/_resources/EALD_tea
cher_resource.pdf
• By the middle years students require a
vocab of 8000 to 9000 words
• Students may need to encounter a new word
up to 15 times – for it to be part of
productive vocab as opposed to just
4
receptive
The Fair Go Project
• Began in 2000
• Joint enterprise between the Fair Go Team
at UWS and the NSW Priority Schools
Funding Program (PSFP)
• Specific focus on improving outcomes for
low SES students
• Theoretical underpinnings from research
into ‘authentic’ (Newmann & Associates, 1996)
and ‘productive’ pedagogy (School Reform
Longitudinal Study: Hayes, Lingard and Mills,
2000).
Fair Go Model of Student
Engagement
(Refer to my book pages 43 to 45 as well
as other references on the reference list)
Centralises
Student Engagement
Because…to enhance both learning and social
outcomes students need to “buy into” the
educational experience
Big ‘E’ and little ‘e' distinction
• ‘e’ —in task – as distinct
from on task or
compliance to teachers’
wishes
• ‘E’ —long term ‘school is
for me’ enduring
engagement
• ‘Future in the present’
The ‘eE’ngaging Classroom
Messages received/discourses of power
• Knowledge: What counts as knowledge and who
has access to really useful knowledge?
• Ability: Who has ability?
• Control: Who controls the teaching space?
• Place: Who is valued as an individual and a
learner?
• Voice: Whose voice is given credence within the
teaching space?
Disengaging Messages
Engaging messages
My specific
research focus
• Is educational drama a pedagogy that
might provide engaging messages for
low SES students?
• Find out what the children thought
they were learning during drama
lessons, specifically in terms of
literacy development.
Implementing the “eE”ngagement
model
• Three schools (Years 3, 4 and 6) in low
SES school
• Data collected by
–
–
–
–
–
pre-post questionnaire (in one site only)
observations
focus group and teacher semi-structured interviews
work samples
video of classroom activities
Evidence of ‘e’ngaged learning
MESSAGES
• Knowledge
• Ability
• Control
• Place
• Voice
PEDAGOGICAL
PROCESS
• High cognitive
• High affective
• High operational
English language learning: Why drama?
• I hear and I see and I do and I say and then I
understand English (or begin to)- apologies to
Chinese proverb 
• Educational drama emanates from dramatic play
in early childhood which is how children learn
their home language (Bruner).
• This is why drama is so prominent in EAL
research. E.g.. Booth & Neelands, 1998 Crumpler & Schneider, 2002;
Fleming et al, 2004; Ewing, 2010; Kao & O’Neil, 1998; Stinson, 2008
• This is why drama is so prominent in teaching
Role play and other drama strategies
suggested often, but do we use it?????
• Northern Territory ECE and Primary : Role play
mentioned 13 times, other drama 13 times and
cloze 4 times as suggested activities.
• NT Secondary : Role play mentioned 11 times,
other drama 13 times and cloze 8 times as
suggested activities.
• WA Adolescent Progress Map- Role play
mentioned 17 times and cloze 8 times as
suggested activities.
NB--Similar statistics for other states in Australia16
Educational drama emanates from dramatic play in
early childhood which is how children learn their
home language (Bruner).
We’ll put a
spell on her
to make her
good!
Heartbeat
stethoscope
Menu taken at the restaurant: from
dramatic play to writing
4½
years
old girl
18
I’m the
oldest.
You’re the
tallest
children
deciding
on roles
before
playing
going
fishing
I’m more taller.
I’m the tallest,
so I’m the big
brother
Yes! R
looks
bigger, so
he’s the big
brother and
I’m the
tallest. I’m
the father.
Hello, can I
have some
sushi?
Sushi. Yes.
I can make
that. Come
now.
Here you
are.
I’ll have this one.
19
Recasting and
reformulating
1. I
need to
2. Does your
car need
repairing
?
4. Oh! Has
the glass in
your
windscree
n broken?
fix my
car.
3.Yes the
glass is
broken.
Well you’ve
come to the
right place.
My men will
fix will repair
it.
20
Still image and
tapping in
Voice collage/
soundscape
Readers’
Theatre
image
• Still
• Readers’
Sculpting
Role
walk
delighted
Questioning
in role
21
‘Narratored’ still image
In this still image
Mama, and the
twins are etc etc
etc for about 30
seconds
Stepping out
It’s a
disgrace that
our water
supply is not
checked. If it
means paying
more taxes
then I think
we should etc
etc for about
15 seconds
Stepping out
Well really
Maria
should see a
doctor... I
know it is
expensive
but etc etc
for about 15
seconds
22
• Further explanation
on the drama
strategies on previous
slides with practical
ideas of how to
implement them in
your classroom can
be found in my book
available from
www.petaa.edu.au for
$39.95
Activating prior knowledge to
unknown through SCULPTING
Pairs:
B sculpts A to show how they
might feel when emotionally
abused because of their
ethnicity
Communicate your message using:
*Body
language
*Facial expressions
*Position and levels (e.g sitting
/standing /lying /crouching )
24
Role play is not easy and there needs to be drama so
have something/more to talk about
a) Role play two
miners panning for
gold during the
1850’s Australian
Gold rush
b) Create a still
image of a miner
panning for gold
when 2 traps come
asking to see his
mining licence.
Explain to students it is like
a photo that tells story
through facial expressions
and body gesture and levels
25
How’s this for an analogy about scaffolding!
“The
teacher gives you the bones of it
and we have to act the muscles.” 11
years old EAL boy
Why education drama does lead
to substantive ‘e’ngagement
• Enactment (being in a role)
(high cognitive, high affective, high
operative).
• Topics always developed WITH students
(ability, control, place, voice ).
•
Metaxis- two worlds (real and fictional) at
some time (knowledge, place)
Sculpting
Sculpting an
issue
• High cognitive: Substantive oral
communication
When I talk about it (bullying)
during drama I can think of
heaps better ways of saying
and I have more to say .
• High operative and high affective
Put your head down…
sit kind of squashed
up… look really lonely
…look down to show you
want to ignore them, •
but look sad
too…they’re trying to
discriminate (sic) you
and make you feel bad.
(11 year old EAL)
Because you’re actually being the
person you have to work it out and
see how it feels.
Substantive engagement: control and
voice
I really like doing reading this way.
At first I was nervous because the
teacher wants me have my own
opinions.
From doing and talking (sculpting and “It helps you
communicate your
voice collage) to reading and then
thoughts because
improved comprehension
you can feel the
Before sculpting: (11 year old EAL)
situation, and you
Paprika must of felt like
have more opinions
being the other person
you take on
instead of the bullied one. because
that role.”
She also must of felt
alone.
After sculpting: (Well... He does
have
the words!!)
She felt depressed and the
other person is feeling guilty.
She felt discriminated
(against). When I did the
activity I felt that I was
Paprika and felt alone.
“I can show what I
know by doing it.
Sometimes I don’t
have the words.”30
•
Teacher: What is your sculpture portraying? What is it showing?
•
•
•
•
Alan: I’m making Sam look like Mari when she’s being teased.
Teacher: So you’re portraying Mari when Patrick teases her.
Sam: Yeah, I’m Mari so my face has to be sad.
Teacher: Your face has to be sad? Have a look at the instructions. (A chart on the
wall that explains how to do sculpting.) What is the phrase that explains this?
Sam and Alan: Facial expressions!
Teacher: Great! And what sort of facial expressions have you decided on?
Alan: Looking sad.
Teacher: So he’ll be frowning will he? Do you know what frown means?
Alan: Yes, he’ll need to, you know, make his face look sad. (Alan makes a frown.)
Teacher: So can you say what you’ll do again but this time use the word frown?
Alan: Yeah! I’m going to make Sam frown. (Sam overacts and they both laugh.)
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
When explaining sculpture to the group, they used the words portray, facial expression
and frown. I.e.. appropriating and recasting the language from this previous
conversation.
As well all pairs introduced their sculpture by starting with the clause ‘Our sculpture
portrays Mari…’ (focus on language functions of explaining and describing).
Questioning in role
Questioning in role during HSIE unit
(8 year old EAL students)
Q in Role before writing an information report
and/or advertising brochure
• High cognitive:
When they questioned me I had to think more
and I knew more about Bill. I had more ideas
but my friend helps me write it because I
can’t write good.
• High operative and high affective
It’s fun to do it and not just do the writing…
because your doing it!
• Substantive engagement
I can use my own ideas and that’s funner .
Q in R before writing a literary
description
• Picture of an elderly High cognitive;
woman doing an
knowledge; ability
amazingly difficult
I’m going to pretend
physical exercise!
• The aim was to
debate sterotyping of
the elderly
• Deleted for copyright
reasons.
to be doing drama
during the Basic
Skills Test, because
then I can use my
imagination and
come up with some
good ideas.
Opinion
adjective
amazing
Factual
adjective
flexible
Not sure
yet
smart
stretchy
skinny
bright
awesome
wrinkly
clever
weird
athletic
‘brainiac’
embarrassing colourful
wacky
tanned
fancy
healthy
lonely
famous
‘zoogly’
funny
Writing literary descriptions: excerpts from 3 pairs
after Qin R and verbal collage
• Ethel is very flexible because when she
was young she was a gymnastic… She
loves dressing in bright colours… she is
very emotional for her age… (Two 2nd
phase ESL girls-11 yrs)
• Ethel is old and she has wrinkly skin.
Some people think she is crazy and a
psycho, freaky, weird and creepy and
other people say she is clever, flexible
active energetic and bubbly… (3rd phase
ESL boy 11 years old)
• Ethel is an 87 years old good-hearted
woman who is very bubbly and quite
Questioning in role and then writing in role
“The experience of taking on a character in
drama also provided many students with
enhanced empathy and understanding for a
broad range of people … [allowing] them to
write sensitively and genuinely from a
variety of different points of view. … Finding
out about a character by asking questions
and listening to and watching the responses
the character makes … will flesh out
literally, the student’s own ideas”. (Booth &
Neelands, 1998: 20–22).
38
Inferring – Going beyond the text (Marianthe’s story by Aliki) in
order to understand the text better: Writing in role and character
analysis
3/16 Stacey St
Liverpool NSW 2170
Australia
16th August 2003
My dear wife and children,
Thank you sooooooooooooooooooo much for the letters. Mari your
writing is really good. Do you like going to school?
I really miss you all, but I’m Okay. I have moved to a new flat in
Liverpool which is good because it is closer to the factory that I work
at. I have made friends with the people next door. They have twins,
but they are girls and not boys. They are cute and remind me of the
boys. The mother’s name is Rima and she cooks nice food and I
play cards with her husband.
Well I have to go now because I am tired.
Hugs and kisses to you all and I can’t wait until I have enough
money so you can come here.
Lots of love
Dad
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx0000000000000000000000000xxxxxxx
xxx
PS Mari the kids are nice here and will be kind to you at school.
Two 11 year old EAL
High cognitive
• My Dad’s a refugee and he always tells me how
lucky I am and how great Australia is and like I
sort of understand, but now I reckon I understand
deeper because I had to really think about it (the
issues) to do the drama. 11 years EAL
• In drama I understand more about how a person
is feeling (in a story) ‘cause I am that person
(Nana) and I feel sorry for Nana as well as
Jack (Shayne). 11 years EAL
• When you have to use your imagination, you can
think up better ideas…so when you think, you
must be learning English. 10 years EAL
High operative high affective
•If you’re acting it you can be a little more passionate
about it. Like if you act it, then you’ll get more of a
picture of what you're doing… If you write it, it
doesn’t stay for long. But if you act it , it’s a memory,
you still remember it. 11 years EAL
•Like isn’t that the whole idea for doing drama
because even though you’re not really doing it
because its pretend you can feel what other people
are feeling and learn more. 11 years EAL
•It (drama) helps you communicate your thoughts
because you can feel the situation, and you have
more opinions because you take on that role. 11 EAL
Engaging messages: Knowledge; Ability; Control; Place; Voice
• I like it [drama] because I can think big ideas and plus I’m allowed to
share them with my friends and I like how we work in groups and have
to think for ourselves and I think Miss likes it because we are all good
and we work heaps more and then she is happy. 8 years EAL
• because I liked it- most kids like to do things. 8 years EAL
• because these things make you learn but are fun at the same time. 8
years EAL
• Well I want to go to Uni so I have to learn big words and now I do!
(know big words) 11 years EAL
• The teacher gives you the bones of it and we have to act the muscles.
(building the play) 11 years EAL
Margery: Well (student) I know you liked doing
drama, but maybe it’s because it takes longer and
wastes time from other subjects.
Student: (with a vehement voice and stance) It’s
[drama] NOT wasting time because wasting time
means like you’re out of it, like you’re not doing
anything, you’re just sitting there bored but if you
are in it, it’s like it’s fun and then you’re learning...
It’s better, funner, teaching you more. ... [In other
lessons] I just sit there pretending to do more but I
don’t. It’s [drama] teaching more and having fun. 11
years EAL
End of PP notes