USING DRAMA IN THE
ELEMENTARY
ELT CLASSROOM
Dr. Andrew Finch
IMPLICATIONS FOR USING DRAMA IN THE
ELT CLASSROOM
Drama in EFL teaching:
1.provides a variety of contexts for language use;
2.creates contexts with feeling, meaning and
motivation;
3.brings us closer to ‘real’ experiences because it
engages us in human, fictitious contexts;
4.helps us not just to use language but to experience
our use of language
4th Grade drama (0:26)
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WHY USE DRAMA IN EFL LEARNING?
 Young children use drama naturally.
 They are always in the land of make-believe:
 "this is our house, and this is the baby, she is
just born and she has to sleep now".
 They assign roles and direct the action:
 "I'll be the mommy and I'm going shopping.
You're the daddy; you have to go to work!"
 And they slip in and out of multiple roles:
 "now it's my turn to be the teacher".
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WHY USE DRAMA IN EFL LEARNING?
 Children love being part of something
 Preparing a play together is a bonding experience.
 All the children are involved and all contribute to the
final outcome.
 Children want to belong and being part of a play allows
that to happen.
Sample drama:
Who stole the cookie from
the cookie jar? (3:09)
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WHY USE DRAMA IN EFL LEARNING?
 You don't have time NOT to use ESL plays.
 Drama is not an addition to your teaching, but a
method of teaching more effectively.
 It does not matter if you can't act - the children will
be doing the acting and they are the experts!
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BENEFITS OF DRAMA IN LANGUAGE
TEACHING:
1. Aside from direct benefits for learning English,
creative drama makes students more skilled and
more rounded individuals.


A three-year study funded by the Guggenheim
museum in 2006, Teaching Literacy through Art,
showed that including arts education increases
literacy skills in elementary school students.
Students involved in these programs also "scored
higher on expression, risk-taking, creativity,
imagination and cooperative learning."
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BENEFITS OF DRAMA IN LANGUAGE
TEACHING
2. English plays provide practical experience in
communicating
3. they give children the opportunity to learn to
work together and to be part of something, to
belong in a group and to develop tolerance and
empathy as they begin to see the world from
different perspectives.
Bong Yang Elementary School:
English Drama Class (1:21)
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BENEFITS OF DRAMA IN LANGUAGE
TEACHING:
4. They promote active learning, enriching and
reinforcing their more traditional school
experiences.
5. Most children are excited by the idea of
performing in front of others.
6. In terms of teaching English as a second
language, drama and children are a winning
combination.
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BENEFITS OF USING DRAMA IN LANGUAGE
TEACHING:
7. It's authentic. Using drama enables children to
use English in real conversations.
8. The conversational use of language in an EFL
play promotes fluency.
• While learning a play, children listen to and repeat their
lines over a period of time.
• By repeating the words and phrases they become familiar
with them and are able to say them with increasing
fluency.
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BENEFITS FROM USING DRAMA IN
LANGUAGE TEACHING:
9. EFL Drama teaches children to enunciate their
words and to project their voices helping them to
become clear and confident speakers.
10.Drama helps to improve the understanding and
retention of language.

By the time a child has read, rehearsed and acted a
scene using on the phrase "I've forgotten my..." there is
little likelihood of ever forgetting how to use it in
context.
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BENEFITS FROM USING DRAMA IN
LANGUAGE TEACHING:
11.Active participation in an EFL drama involves
intellect, imagination and emotions .
12.By encouraging self-expression, drama
motivates children to use language confidently
and creatively.
When two vowels
go walking (00:46)
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BENEFITS FROM USING DRAMA IN
LANGUAGE TEACHING:
13.Drama encourages different learning styles visual, auditory, kinesthetic and tactile.

Hearing the lines, seeing the actions, feeling the props,
acting out movements and using expression all make
the lesson a far richer one.
14.EFL plays are ideal for mixed ability groups.

Children whose language skills are limited can be given
fewer lines, or they can be communicate using
nonverbal cues such as body movements and facial
expressions.
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PSYCHOLOGICAL BENEFITS OF USING A
DRAMA PROJECT
• We get involved with putting on a play, as well as
learning English.
• We have fun, and the students learn by doing.
• The students get great joy out of performing.
• The audience, even the mothers and fathers who don’t
speak English, are delighted to see the performance.
• We give the students a taste of success.
• Through Drama, English becomes a living experience
of communication.’
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TIPS FOR USING DRAMA IN THE
ELT CLASSROOM
1. Pre-teach the vocabulary first.
 Use it in songs and in games; chant the words, stamp out
the syllables, act them out individually - this is really fun
when using words describing emotions and actions.
Watch out,
Cinderella! (03:25)
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TIPS FOR USING DRAMA IN THE
ELT CLASSROOM
1. Now teach the key phrases.
 Once the children are familiar with the separate words let
them start practicing the lines in the play.
 These short sentences can also be practiced in games.
 The idea is not to have individual children word -perfect in
their own roles but to let the whole class experience using
the sentences and vocabulary in context.
Handouts:
Easy plays 1: Sleepy Head
Easy plays 2: On the Bus
Easy plays 3: The Opposite
family
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TIPS FOR USING DRAMA IN THE
ELT CLASSROOM
3. Rehearse.
 When all the children know the key words and lines of the
play you can put together all the elements - words,
expression and movement.
 Allow the children to use their own creativity in setting
the scene, deciding on props, costumes etc.
Handout:
Alice in Wonderland,
Chapter VII:
“A Mad Tea-Party
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TIPS FOR USING DRAMA IN THE
ELT CLASSROOM
4. Keep props simple.
 Remember that these should be kept very simple, using
the "less is more" principle, and they only need to be
included in the final rehearsals.
Little Red Riding
Hood (07:58)
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MORE TIPS FOR USING DRAMA IN THE
ELT CLASSROOM
5. It is absolutely vital to put on a performance , even if it's
to the class next door, because it allows the children to
feel the satisfaction of showing their work.
6. Performance - warm up:
 Start with the pupils singing a group song or two with
actions, play some vocabulary games in front of the
audience finish with the play.
 This helps the children get used to suddenly being in
front of an audience and will mean they are much less
likely to freeze up with nerves when saying their lines.
Mae Hyun Elementary:
Performance (6:50)
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MORE TIPS FOR USING DRAMA IN THE
ELT CLASSROOM
7. Take a video of the play , if you can.
 Not only will the children love seeing themselves act,
it will serve as useful revision whenever the children
watch the play.
 It will enable you to give them feedback later
 A recording of one of your plays is a testimony to your
success as a teacher.
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THANK YOU, AND FINALLY . . .
• “All the world’s a stage,
And all the men and women merely players;
They have their exits and their entrances;
And one man in his time plays many parts.”
(As You Like It, Act II. Scene VII.)
이 모든 세상은 일종의 무대와 같아,
모든 남자와 여자들은 단지 배우에 불과하지.
그들은 그들만의 퇴장과 입장이 있어,
그런데 한 남자는 살아가는 동안 여러 가지
배역을 맡아서 하게 되지.
• Laughter is the sign of comprehension.
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