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Is Shakespeare Bilingual? The Effectiveness of Drama, Film and the Arts for Second
Language Acquisition.
Mayra Ron
Developing ESOL Language and Literacy TSL 5245
Florida International University
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Abstract
In her book, “Techniques and Principles in Language Teaching,” Diane Larsen-Freeman asks,
“How is it that language teachers learn how to teach?” To effectively answer this question, we
must first discover which way is the best way to learn a language. Over the past 50 years many
methods have arisen, yet language teaching is still a very young field with much uncharted
territory. This report will discuss how the arts and drama can make an impact in an English
Language Learner (ELL) classroom. It will conclude with recommendations for further research.
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Language Acquisition
Since the onset of Teaching English to Students of Other Languages (TESOL) in
1966, many methods of teaching languages have emerged. One of these methods in the
1960’s was the Audio-Lingual approach. The 1970’s gave rise to many methods, some of
which were The Silent Way, Suggestopedia, and the Communicative Approach. In the 1980’s
Krashen’s “Affective Filter” brought many changes to Language pedagogy that resulted in the
Communicative Language Teaching (CLT), Content Based Instruction (CBI), and the Task
Based Language Teaching (TBLT). Yet, according to the Center for Linguistics (2012) with
the US immigrant population reaching 50 million, English Language Learning has not had
such high demand to produce quick English language cognitive readiness until now.
To fulfill the high demand presently needed in this field; English language educators
are looking for alternate approaches to accelerate the language acquisition process. A key
concept that has been emphasized by Lambert (1974) is that motivation along with aptitude,
are the biggest factors that influence the degree of language attainment. Motivation, which
fosters self-confidence, is the biggest contributor to the acquisition of a second language
(Corder, 1967).
No matter the age of a language learner motivation is a concept that needs to be fostered
at every stage of language development. For instance, adult language learners may require
English to obtain a job, while a child entering the school may need to learn English to
communicate. Both students are motivated; yet, the act of sorting out their feelings of loss over
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their first language and their anxiety at the prospect of an uncertain future in their target language
can sometimes add a sense of failure and diminish their motivation.
The following section will introduce the arts, drama, online and face to face interaction with a
Shakespeare play, and video as tools for increasing motivation in a second language
acquisition classroom.
DRAMA
Vygosky’s Zone of Proximal Development states that a student is able to reach a
higher cognitive level with the help of a mentor and scaffolding. Drama works in the same
way in an English language classroom. The teacher becomes the mentor helping the student
with the script. Also while the script is being rehearsed, the actor/teacher/ student’s interaction
promotes natural language. As the student changes his identity, his language also changes
because language and identity are linked Brash & Warnecke (2007, p. 101).
In life we take on many roles and our identity changes with each role. We speak
differently as a mother, as a daughter, or as a friend. Depending on our identity of the
moment, is the language which we speak. In drama, the actor recreates themselves in
situations that otherwise would never really happen. They must learn dialogue they would
probably never have used; must confront situations they would never have used; they must
rehearse constantly for the day when they use all the tools to face an expectant audience. The
English language learner must go through all those steps but being himself. Drama therefore,
allows an English language learner to make mistakes, look silly, laugh, speak with an accent
without embarrassment, and still learn English.
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Despite these many benefits, students resist acting because they fear they cannot
perform. As an acting teacher I know everyone can act. If you have cried or laughed in a
movie or play you were achieving an emotion but not living it, which is acting.
With the initiation of Task Based Language Teaching, role plays and simulations were
introduced into the language classroom. Role play help an ELL with real life situations and
teach him how to react when these happen. These range from paying a cashier at a
supermarket to a simulation of a job interview. On the other hand drama deals with
storytelling which is one of the most powerful educational tool available. You can forget a
vocabulary word but if it is linked to a story it is easier to remember. Most importantly for
the ELL, pretending to be someone else can give him the self-confidence to take risks, move
beyond the comfort zone, and increase motivation Brash and Warnecke (2007, p. 102).
“Designing Video narratives to contextualize content for ESL learners: a design
process case study,” South, Gabbitas & Merrill state that context goes hand in hand with
language teaching. Context also varies depending on our culture (p. 232). What is permissive
in the United States as entering a room, just greeting, and immediately beginning a meeting,
would be considered rude in Japan, as relationships go before business and business is done
only when there is a relationship. In drama therefore, the language learner acquires a sense of
context that will help him go beyond the classroom into the real world. It is a tool that can
blend context with pedagogy to produce high order thinking.
Online Drama
Online drama is an approach that needs to be further explored. According to
Brash & Warnacke (2009) “ Shedding the ego: Drama-based Role play and identity in
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distance language tuition” online drama has been found to be beneficial for language learning
in dramatic role play and simulations but not in rehearsing of plays where face to face
intervention is required (p. 99) . In online dramatic role play students cannot be seen, so age,
appearance, and mannerism, cannot be judged. This may help the learners develop a new
identity that can erase anxieties they may feel over the loss of their first language and the
prospect of an uncertain future in the target language Brash & Warnecke (2009, p. 104). This,
in turn, fosters collaboration and eliminates competition. Online drama, therefore, lends itself
to rehearse realistic situations, for example shopping, talking to a bank teller or prepping for
an interview.
Every approach, though, has its drawbacks, and online drama has several. One of the
problems is that the level of language proficiency can enhance or restrict the class. The silent
spaces can cause confusion as a student may not hear the other person and talk over them.
These silences also may make the student wonder, if the teacher is still there and may make
the teacher wonder, if the student is listening. It also may be may be time consuming and the
lack of a visual cue in the students’ silences may prevent the teacher from intervening when
she is most needed.
Face to Face with Shakespeare
Why would we use Shakespeare in an English Language classroom when these
learners are already facing enough difficulty and anxiety confronting a new language? Porter
(2009) in “Words, Words, Words: Reading Shakespeare with English Language Learners”
states that when an ELL learns this complicated speech he feels a sense of confidence (p.45).
Shakespeare, though, may be difficult not only for the language learner and the native
speaker but often for the teacher as well. It is an approach to language learning the teacher
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must learn. As a literacy coach in a high school in Massachusetts, Porter was able to
implement this approach with the help of a willing English language teacher. As a team, they
were successful in teaching ELLs Shakespeare. Porter begins her classes with an introduction
of the themes in Shakespeare in light of today. For example to introduce “Romeo and Juliet”
she introduces the plot of tragic love with a pre- reading lesson where students learn about the
meaning of the play, how it can relate to their lives, how this theme is still significant today,
and helps students make a connection between Shakespeare and their everyday lives as
teenagers (p.45).
Here are her strategies:
1.
Give a prologue: Make the Text More Accessible (p. 45).
a. Warm-up for Language and Performance; Break a sonnet by lines and give a
sonnet to each student. Repeat the lines written and then read them in context
and discuss (p. 46).
2.
Use Visuals (p. 47).
3.
Experiment with the Language (p. 47).
Using Drama in the English language classroom, states Porter (2009) can change the
curriculum that ELLs and minorities face in school which is mostly “rote, low level,
orientated around memorization of facts in isolation, and dull" (p. 44). By introducing
Shakespeare to an English language learning classroom, the “mundane and mechanical test
prep or other "low-level" curriculum would offer ELLs real and valuable experiences with
English language plus, which motivates them to help develop genuine knowledge” Porter
(2009, p. 44).
VIDEO (Film)
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As we are becoming a more increasingly technologically oriented society, multimedia,
videos, and movies, have taken precedence over books. The power of narratives and storytelling
in a screen is an impact that can change the views of a generation. As an example, the movie
“West Side Story,” brought the theme of struggles between two different cultures in one same
nation to the limelight, and caused an awareness that changed the notions of separatism between
races in the United States. Film empowers the learner to not only understand the target culture
but to learn how to use the target language in specific situations.
In “Designing Video Narratives to Contextualize Content for ESL learners: A Design
Process Case Study,” South, Gabbita & Merrill (2008) state that traditional language learning
approaches focus the learner on the “how”, and in an isolated way, on the “what,” but largely
exclude the “when,” the “why,” and the “what to whom” (p. 246). You cannot separate language
from the situation in which it was produced. Film allows the target culture to come to life
without even setting a foot on the target country. It also introduces a story that deals with
universal topics that every human being can identify with and which, without a movie to narrate
the message, a learner would never otherwise encounter.
The Brigham Young University Technology Assisted Language Learning Group (BYU
TALL Group) South, Gabbita & Merrill created two forty-five minute extended narrative films.
One is a drama called “A Flower from Yesterday” and the other is a comedy called “Fronk.”
The endeavor was tested in a high school in 2008 eliciting an overwhelming response when
coupled with English language instructions to maximize its language usage South, Gabbita
&Merrill (2008, p. 246).
Videos though are very expensive to produce. Using short films is an alternate easy
way to use film in a language classroom. The site “Film English” features short films from
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Vimeo Productions and insightful commercials with complete lesson plans ideal for the
second language acquisition classroom. The creator, Kieran Donaghy, an English language
teacher based in Barcelona, was awarded the 2013 Medea Awards for the best educational
film of 2013. This contest is the most important Media Education Contest in Europe.
Unfortunately the cite features only a couple of films, therefore, the English language teacher
interested in using film as a tool in her classroom, needs more resources.
There is no question film is a powerful and effective tool to incite a new generation of
English language learners.
VISUAL ARTS
The visual arts can be a powerful tool. The language teacher can use photographs of
paintings to elaborate on themes such as color, feelings and subjects such as geography, liberal
arts and history. It is a tool that can enhance literacy and culture. Professor Aixa-Prado in
Florida International University uses a similar approach in her methodology class for her
graduate students. The concept is called “Visible Thinking Routines” and involves activities
with visual aids that provoke authentic language and high order thinking skills. These activities
use either a photograph or a painting. After observing the visuals the students are asked a set of
three questions; “What’s going on? What makes you say that? What do you see that makes you
say that?” The activities allow students to experiment with feelings, sensations and to
understand how perspectives and thoughts vary from individual to individual and from culture
to culture. For example, in Goya’s portrayal of ‘Genesis’ one student mentioned that an angel
was taking someone away, another wondered why the people were so sad and another
questioned why a bird was in the picture. When using visual art in an English Language
Classroom, the educational possibilities for language learning are endless.
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Summary
Drama; online and face to face, videos and visual aids are innovative approaches in an
ELL classroom. Drama, allows the student to imagine he is someone else eliminating his
feeling of insecurity in the target language. Online drama creates a silent space for the learner
to think before speaking. Also, since the student cannot be seen, he cannot be judged
enabling him to experiment with role plays without embarrassment and thus more effectively.
Face to face drama, when used in a language classroom, is especially beneficial with
Shakespeare. Learning a difficult language can prove to be an accomplishment that can lead
to a sense of confidence for the ELL. Videos as a tool for English language learners are
engaging, a great source of narrative dialogue, and an excellent illustration of culture in the
target area, and a motivator especially for teens trying to fit into the target language society.
Unfortunately videos are very expensive to make. An alternate feasible approach is teacher
websites that offer lesson plans geared towards films or feature lesson plans with short films.
Fine arts and visual arts are still uncharted territory but add personal, engaging and
authentic language to any language learning classroom.
The arts in an English language classroom are still in the stages of infancy. Research
into how to use these tools to best teach which language components is needed. Different
methodology and examples of each art approach to facilitate the incorporation of these tools,
is a needed resource for the English language teacher as well. Appropriate teacher training is
needed and close collaboration with mainstream teachers is this area also merits attention.
TESOL teachers and Universities that offer Master programs in this field could help pave the
way for this collaboration.
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To conclude drama, film and visual arts may be the most efficient way to teach a
second language in order to motivate a new technologically oriented generation of English
language learners.
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