The Drama of Language Teaching
TEACHER: TRANS-LATOR, WILD CARD, DIRECTOR
Anna Witte, M.A. TESOL Program
The metaphors we teach by…
Second Language Acquisition
Research Metaphors
From L1 to L2
LANGUAGE
Target:
L2: TARGET
ACQUISITION
Teacher as Trans-lator
TRANS-LATUS (latin): “CARRIED ACROSS”
Grammar Translation as a teaching method
Teacher as guide from L1 to L2
A PARTIAL METAPHOR
Stuck in “inter-language”
A bounty of approaches
From Grammar Translation to the
Communicative Approach, yet…
Still a teacher-fronted classroom
Dismantling authoritarian models: Brook,
Boal, Buenaventura
The classroom/stage as “EMPTY SPACE” where anything
is possible (Peter Brook, 1968)
Augusto Boal: The director as joker
The spectator as actor:
SPECT-ACTOR
The collective = author
Process Drama in the language
classroom
•
FOCUS ON IMPROVISATION
•
REHEARSAL without PERFORMANCE
•
FROM PRETEXTS to …
•
“MULTILAYERED CONTEXTS FOR
EXPLORATION”
•
REFLECTION for linguistic and lexical accuracy
Process Drama in the language
classroom
•
FOCUS ON IMPROVISATION
•
REHEARSAL without PERFORMANCE
•
FROM PRETEXTS to …
•
“MULTILAYERED CONTEXTS FOR
EXPLORATION”
•
REFLECTION for linguistic and lexical accuracy
Process drama: Teacher-in-role
Successes and challenges
A democratic model:
Process drama transforms the traditional power dynamics.
Challenges:
Evaluation methods
Traditional student attitudes to improvisation and play
Neglect of literature as culturally rich resource
Performance: step-child of SLA research
Process or Performance?
And old debate:
Staged performance, according to Karl Mathes, should be
reserved for advanced students since scripted
performance is “not active learning” (1929)
Suspicion of behaviorist models of learning
The teacher as director
1. Intercultural learning through scripted performance
2. Enhancing student investment (The play must go on!)
3. Collapsing classroom boundaries
Performance with an accent
Trends in SLA research
Lev Vygotsky: “We become ourselves through others.”
Learning as communal (Vygotsky, see also NortonPierce, Zappa-Hollman and Duff)
Language Learning as aesthetic and kinesthetic process
(Huber 2003)
“Living in the house of language”
(Huber)
“Living in the house of language”
(Huber)
Time’s Up!
About you:
Name: Anna Witte
Department: English (MATESOL)
Contact Information: [email protected]
Twitter/URL: www.annawitte.org