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Visual Aids and Teaching Drama
Istabraq Tariq Al-azzawii
College Of Education
ABSTRACT
Visual aids are very significant in teaching English as a
foreign language in general and in teaching literature in particular.
These aids will assist both the teacher and the student in the process
of teaching. They will clarify many sides and simplify many ideas,
actions, setting, the characters’ behaviour and the whole atmosphere
of the literary work. Visual aids will make the students’
understanding and mastering of the literary work easier and quicker.
They will also develop the students' awareness of the foreign culture
in addition to the enjoyment the students get.
As a result, this paper attempts to help the teachers of literature
and especially drama teachers to utilize visual aids to enrich their
teaching and solve some of their problems.
Why Study Literature ?
Literature is one of the important elements in the syllabus of
teaching a foreign language for many aspects : the linguistic aspect
which is the main concern in learning a foreign language i.e. the four
language skills : listening, speaking, reading and writing; Younis
(1998 : 21) explains that "teaching literature and language is
interdependent. In order to have a better grasp of literature, the
student must have a proper training of these skills" because
"literature demonstrates language in use as its best” (Ibid:13). Also
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Quirk and Widdowson (1985 : 185) claim that " a study of literature
is in fact analogous with the study of language ".
Moreover, teaching literature is important and useful for the
cultural and comprehensive aspects in addition to the linguistic
aspect. To achieve the aims of teaching a foreign language through
literature, visual aids in any of their forms may be used to make the
process of teaching easier and quicker, since" language teachers
have been quick to seize upon the possibilities opened up by the easy
availability of recording equipment, both, audio and visual" (Rivers,
1981 : 398 ).
How do aids help the process of teaching literature ?
One may ask why the visual aids are used in teaching a foreign
language. Lee and Coppen (1971 : 1) explain that the visual aids can
be helpful for the teacher of a foreign language in a number of
different ways :
( i ) they can brighten up the classroom and bring more variety
and interest into language lessons ; ( ii ) visual aids in particular can
help to provide the situations ( contexts ) which light up the meaning
of the utterances used ; ( iii ) aural aids in particular help the teacher
to improve his / her own grasp of the foreign language and to
prepare more effective lessons ; ( iv ) both aural and visual aids can
stimulate (the student) to speak the language as well as to read and
write it ; ( v ) they can help in giving information of one kind or
another about the background of literature and about life in the
foreign country concerned .
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Visual aids may be of various types of educational equipment
such as tape and cassette recorders, language laboratories, filmstrips,
slides, overhead projectors, television, films, all kinds of pictures,
charts, and diagrams . Al- Jibouri ( 1978 : 107 ) explains that " any
material program or machine used to help the teacher explain his
lessons better is included under learning aids " .
Teaching a foreign language through literature has always
been a talent more than anything else, because the talented teacher
may use anything as an aid in his teaching .Kerop ( 1978 : 126 )
states that " a simple blackboard or a picture or a chart may well be
used to reinforce the idea behind the words used in a language " .
Visual aids in teaching a foreign language through literature
are very useful because they will improve the intellectual
development of the learners, which is to be fulfilled through the
employment of dramatic literature .This employment rests upon
enjoyment since without enjoyment learning would hardly or would
never take place because “literature is to be enjoyed" (Mayhead,
1965 : 9 ) . The usefulness of visual aids in teaching a foreign
language is very clear and in spite of its clarity Lado ( 1964 : 194 )
states that " visual aids must remain aids " which assist to improve
the process of teaching a foreign language .
Drama, as a literary form, is different from the other literary
forms since "drama is not just the description or discussion of events
from real life, it is the re-creation of real life and making use of all
the constituent elements of real activity. These obviously include
language as well as things like movement, position, gesture and
facial expression". So, in teaching drama “we are concerned with the
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fundamental process of converting a printed text into a live
performance whether in the realm of our imagination as we read or
for an actual stage production". ( Moody, 1971 : 67 ) .
Teaching drama, more than other literary forms like poetry, the
novel or short story, needs the use of any kind of visual aids because
of its complex and difficult (and some times poetic) language in
addition to the fact that there are many actions which cannot be
explained through speech only because of their complexity which
might cause misunderstanding to the students. Furthermore, the
difficult language of the play or its length can be an obstacle to the
students’ understanding of the play .So, by using any kind of visual
aids the process of teaching will be more obvious since “ it is
certainly highly desirable to start from visual or aural presentation
rather than from the printed word" ( Bright & Mcgregor, 1970 :
215).
There are many different styles of drama writings according to
the writer and time of writing. Shakesperian style is one of the
important and difficult forms of drama writing because of its
difficult language. Bright and Mcgrogor ( 214 ) confirm this saying
that " Shakespeare's language is very difficult, impossibly difficult if
we make the absurd demand that every word shall be fully
understood.” So the teachers " intending to teach drama have a
responsibility to ensure that their students gain this kind of
familiarity” (Moody, 1971 : 63 ) .The words or the sentences of the
dramatic text may have more than one meaning, learners may
misunderstand the central or main idea if it is not clarified for them .
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Shakesperian language in particular will cause ambiguity more
than difficulty to the learners because “if they [the learners] give the
language their full attention, they will find more meanings than they
have ever found before, because Shakespeare, more than any other
poet, was exploring the possibilities of language - making
words as much as possible" (Bright and Mc Gregor, 1970 : 216).
Subsequently, language adds a considerable element of complexity
to drama. Besides language, the theme of the play may cause a
difficulty for the students, especially those who are beginners in
reading drama.
The strange and complex theme and actions of Marlowe’s
Doctor Faustus for instance may cause difficulty to the learners and
in order to make the ideas vivid, visual aids may be used to draw a
picture in their minds about the play.
Using aids is not useful in teaching the long plays only, but
even the one-act plays, sometimes need aids to make the ideas
understandable to the learners. Moreover, because of the intensity of
the actions, the one –act play may be more difficult for the student to
understand than the full-length play. For example in Samuel
Backett’s one –act play Act Without Words there is only one
character and the whole play is without dialogue, but there is only
the movement of the character and the things round him.
Consequently any visual aid may be used in clarifying the ideas of
this play, and if there are none the teacher may use the chalk to draw
a picture on the blackboard about the cubes’ size or how the
character moves on the stage to help the students get an impression
of what is going on .
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Using visual aids in teaching drama may simplify and clarify
the cultural difference which appears through teaching drama since
"through drama we recreate and examine people’s actions, see
how(the actions) might have come about and where they might lead"
(Taylar, 1991:9). Literature in general is like an ideal vehicle for
illustrating language use and introducing cultural assumptions
because " one of the major functions of literature is to serve as a
medium to transmit the culture of people who speak the language in
which it is written " ( Valdes, 1986 : 137 ) .
What will the teacher do to help his students overcome the
difficulties they face and to make the process of teaching drama
successful? The best solution for that is to use any visual aid
available for the teacher. For drama more than any other form of
literature, films and pictures are very useful for the process of
teaching . These aids can be explained as follows :
Films : Films can be considered as one of the most effective visual
aids in teaching literature in general because films offer the students
an opportunity to witness behaviours that are not obvious in texts .
Massi & Merin (1996:21) state that there are such obvious
advantages in using films that:
They allow for constant reinforcement in their acquisition of a
foreign language, they provide a good medium for self – study ; they
offer the learners the possibility of thinking critically as well as
using their imagination .
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Besides, a " film is an excellent medium for explicit teaching
of syntactic, morphological, semantic and pragmatic aspects of the
foreign language ”
(Ibid.). Films are always one of the current and comprehensive
means to mix the look, feel, image and rhythm of a culture .
Stephens ( 201: 22 ) claims that " films also connect students
with language and cultural issues simultaneously " since "
students can identify the person depicted in a living experience in the
other culture and hear and observe the total response, with facial
expressions, gesture hesitations and pauses" (Rivers,1981: 211).
" Imagination " is the remarkable and distinguished basic
feature of literature which is going to be enriched by the studying of
different kinds of literature especially when the students see a film;
because " the ultimate goal is to arouse sensitivity in the learner and
to provide a stimulus to stretch his / her imagination and creativity "
( Massi and Merino, 1996 : 20 ) . When the learners see a film of any
play or even a novel, they are going to understand many aspects
clearly with more ideas about the plot of the play or the novel . Thus
films are very useful in learning a foreign language through teaching
literature in general because " one possible use of films in language
programme is to promote new ideas, and expand the learner’s
horizon" (Ibid. : 20).
Films will provide a clear picture about the action in all its
aspects, in view of the fact that a " film can be used vividly to
illustrate situations which are unfamiliar or inaccessible and provide
the learner with a stimulus which serves as a spring board for further
discussion of an issue " ( Ibid. ) .
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Moreover, Films present slices of life and add fun and
involvement to the language classroom . Rivers ( 1981 : 24 ) claims
that films “ give a vivid representation of the life of the people and
the places where they live, thus providing much useful information
as a background to reading and as a basis for oral discussion ". So,
the best start in teaching drama is to see a film
for " it would
certainly be helpful for students to see a good stage performance of a
play " ( Moody, 1971 : 68 ), but absolutely in teaching drama " the
best solution is to make use of a good recorded performance on disc
or tape”(Ibid.) .
As a result, films assist to improve the process of teaching a
foreign language through teaching drama because the learners are
going to see, imagine, analyze, criticize and comment on an action
or the whole actions of the play i.e. the learner is going to see
something he has heard about and he may have different impressions
about it, then he compares between what he had heard and what he
has seen .After that he will have many ideas and images in his
imagination, about the whole story, which enable and give him self
– confidence to speak, discuss and criticize through the discussion, if
and only if he has understood the plot of the play .For example,
when anyone reads Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, he may have
certain images in his mind about the whole situation and about the
characters’ behaviours, but definitely with confusion about certain
actions such as the disguise of Viola which causes many ironies as a
consequence of her similarity to her twin brother Sebastian, and the
misunderstanding and development of actions become a result of this
disguise .
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Pictures : A picture is the simplest aid used inside the
classroom to clarify the actions of the play and characters’
behaviours because it is the representation of real life . Usually
pictures are used to explain an action or important movement of the
character which cannot be explained by speech because " a picture is
better than a thousand words " ( Kerop,1978:129). Through pictures
the learners’ imagination will be enriched to let them have a clear
image of the action at their minds. And the pictures will be a clear
mirror which reflects what they have in their minds about the plot,
setting and characterization etc. of the play .
In addition, pictures may stimulate the student to discuss,
criticize and even analyze what he has seen through them .They will
cause a unified image inside the minds of all the students about an
action, behaviour or character, but they will be somehow different in
their analysis and impressions through the discussion .
In teaching Hamlet, for example, there are many situations
that are going to be more obvious for the students if they are
compared with pictures; such as the play " mousetrap " in Act 3
scene 2 when the players act in front of Claudius and Gertrude,
Hamlet’s uncle and mother, the murder of Gonzago which takes its
toll on Claudius’s conscience without assistance and lets him know
that Hamlet knows how his father had died . The picture of "
the mousetrap " also shows how the writer explained the play in a
stage – within – stage which can be considered a theatrical technique
used in this play and the pictures assist the students to have a clear
image about the situation . In this picture we have the real audience
of the play and the other audience inside the play " the mousetrap ":
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The following picture shows the first appearance of the ghost
in Shakespeare’s Hamlet which contains five scenes for his
appearance ; it will give the students the chance to have an image in
their minds about the shape and clothes of the ghost .In addition to
that it shows a good explanation about his hiding under the stage
to let them imagine how the actor will act as a ghost :
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In the following picture, the student will see clearly how
Hamlet fights Learts at Ophelia’s grave. The grave is there, and it
gives a feeling of sorrow and horror. That is exactly what happened
after the fighting :
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In Othello the next picture shows Othello’s character and
Desdemona’s father. Through this picture the learners will have a
picture at their minds about the Elizabethian stage :
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And this picture, which contains five scenes, explains the
climax of
Othello :
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The following picture shows the Elizabethian costumes in
Twelfth Night :
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Not only the pictures of the actions are important to clarify the
play for the learners, but also the pictures of the characters which
explain the character’s image in the learners’ mind and his clothes
and appearance . The following picture exemplifies the clown in
Twelfth Night to give the learners an idea about the appearance of
the clown in the Elizabethan age :
If there are no pictures, films or any other visual aid, the
talented good teacher might use the chalk and the blackboard to
clarify anything. For example in Arther Miller’s Death of a
Salesman, through the explanation the teacher may draw such as the
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following diagram to explain the stage for the students and how the
technique of flashback is used :
Stage
Stage
House
Bedroom
House
kitchen
door
livingroom
X spot
1
(1)
(2)
In diagram number (1) we have only lines and no real walls, to
be able to explain the technique of the flash back as it is used in this
play ; but in diagram (2) we have a spot on the stage, it is sometimes
lit and sometimes dark. When Willy remembers events from the
past, he comes to the spot and then it is lit but when there is no
action happening there it will be kept dark with the inside of the
house being lit . These simple diagrams will assist the students to
imagine the actions and the plot of this play .
In the explanation of the structure of any play the teacher may
also draw the following diagram to explain the structure of the plot
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Middle
( climax )
Beginning ( Exposition )
End ( Denouement )
In Beckett’s Act Without Words for example, we have no
development in the actions, so, in the explanation of the structure,
the teacher may draw the following digram to explain its structure ;
showing that it is circular and not linear:
The Conclusion
Visual aids in all their kinds and especially the pictures and
films are of great importance in developing and improving the
process of learning a foreign language through teaching different
forms of literature . For drama, they are very essential and important
means to let the learners have a full, complete and unified idea about
the actions which cannot be explained thoroughly without watching
them either by pictures or films which are going to enrich their
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imagination with more, different and apparent ideas which they
might not grasp through reading only .As a result, these aids will
help the learners imagine and think and will stimulate them to take
part in the discussions held inside the classroom. Because when one
reads any literary work whether it is a story, novel or a play, she / he
may forget it or some of its details or even misunderstand some of its
actions visualizing the elements of characters and action can be of
great help to fix them in the learner’s mind for a long time which
gives him the opportunity to make
suggestions
and conclude
relations between the actions of the work and the characters’
behaviours or reactions . After the student gets a clear idea of what is
going on in the literary work he might have the courage to discuss
with self confidence.
Bibliography
Al-Jibouri, Najat, " Pictures in Teaching A Foreign Language " in
IDELTI Journal No. 10,1978, pp 107-118.
Bright, J.A. & Mc Gregor, G.P. Teaching English as a Second
Language, London : Longman Group Ltd,1970.
Kerop, Daniel, " Audio Visual Aids And The Language Teaching "
in IDELTI Journal No. 10,1978, pp 126-129.
Lado, Robert, Language Teaching, NewYork : Mc- Graw Hill
Inc,1964.
Lee, W.R. & Coppen, Helen, Simple Audio – Visual Aids to Foreign
Language Taching. London : O. U. P., 1970.
Massi, Maria Palmira & Merino, Adriana G " Films and EFL " in
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