Literature Review of Drama, Language Learning and Literacy
“The arts encircle learning with meaning and thereby make comprehension and engagement fundamental for participation” (Heath, 2003).
Opportunity cost
Where is the room for the Arts in this climate of standardized testing? Is there any educational benefit in taking time away from test preparation and paper and pencil work? Studies from the United States Department of Education, through the Arts Education Model Development and Dissemination (AEMDD) program indicate that students in an arts-integrated classroom are more likely than students in a traditional classroom setting to pass the state assessment in language arts. “In fact, being in an arts-integrated classroom increased the odds of students passing the state assessment by 77 percent” (Walker, Tabone, & Weltsek, 2011). The growing number of English language learners (ELLs) in the United States creates additional challenges for educators while the expectations for testing intensify. How can arts integration benefit English language learners? Looking specifically at the use of drama in the classroom, what happens when English learners engage in dramatic activities?
The following literature review discusses the benefits of using drama for the wide range of students found in the classroom. Dramatization includes a range of activities from the formal and scripted to the informal, impromptu methods depending on the learning objectives. It is student-centered and encourages active engagement on the part of the learner. Particular attention is paid to the importance of having a foundation of oral language for the development of literacy and the efficacy of using dramatic activities toward that end. Further benefits point to the transfer of learning, where students who have been taught through incorporating dramatization were found to have better reading comprehension and more in-depth writing as they explore the characters’ unique and divergent perspectives. Suggestions for the implementation of dramatization are found throughout the literature review.
Four for the price of one
English language learning encompasses the four modalities of listening, speaking, reading and writing. Drama is one of the few modes of instruction that can support those four aspects of literacy development (McMaster, 1998). Several supports for the advocacy of drama use in the classroom include: drama motivates and engages, offers multiple opportunities for social interaction, builds listening skills, enhances oral language development, builds experiences that form new connections, develops fluency through repeated rereading, adds knowledge of vocabulary, syntax and discourse. Additionally, drama use is purported to develop meta-cognitive skills such as mental imaging, comprehension monitoring and an understanding of points of view (McMaster, 1998; Rowe, Fitch, & Bass, 2003). Drama can also be used to assess comprehension since a child has to comprehend a text in order to animate it fully.
McMaster (1998) addresses the misconception that using drama is time consuming and has to involve scripts, elaborate sets and costumes. Drama can be simple and improvisational such as a physical demonstration of how the planets move in the solar system. It can take various forms from informal, brief and spontaneous to formal, practiced and scripted. The form taken depends on the goal of instruction. For instance, pantomime can be used to teach verb tenses, role-play can demonstrate reading comprehension and improvisation activities are useful in listening and speaking classes (Dodson, 2002). Kelner & Flynn (2006) differentiate drama as it is used in classrooms for learning purposes, from theatre, stating that it exists for the
benefit of the participants as they focus on the process rather than the product. Theatre, on the other hand, is a disciplined artistic experience in which artists work and rework the same material with the goal of performing it perfectly for an audience. Students and teachers act and create in the moment—improvisationally. They elaborate on specific drama strategies for use in the classroom including story dramatizations, character interviews, tableau (where the actors strike a pose that fits in an individual scene with the option of including dialogue), and human slide show which is a sequence of tableaux presented in chronological order. “Their acting and dialogue are generated spontaneously for their own self-expression and learning. Using no sets and few, if any, costumes and props, drama does not result in a polished production. Drama revolves around the creative process” (Kelner & Flynn, 2006, p.8). While there are many approaches, Peregoy and Boyle (2008) agree that, "Drama activities provide students with a variety of contextualized and scaffolded activities that gradually involve more participation and more oral language proficiency; they are also non-threatening and a lot of fun" (p. 128).
I have seen the power of this approach as my fourth graders approached their Ohio history textbook under compulsion of the curriculum guide. The reading was dry and inaccessible –arduous would not be too extreme a descriptor. The fourth graders really had no connection to the Northwest Ordinance or the process taken towards Ohio’s statehood. However, when they had the chance to read a paragraph or two and reenact it, the history came alive. Native Americans were armed with yardsticks (be careful with this one) and government officials confronted settlers. The students transitioned quickly between reading, discussing, acting and writing a summary. They were excited and pleaded to repeat the process the next day. When this happened, I knew I was on to something, but could it be applied across subjects and English proficiency levels?
Equal Opportunity Engagement
The need for differentiated instruction (where instructional goals and methods are individualized according to the needs of the learner) is particularly acute for ELLs as they arrive with varying levels of English language proficiency, yet will be sitting in the same class with native English speakers. The multiplicity of roles available through drama provides a place for all students to participate meaningfully. As English language teachers strive to deliver comprehensible input (Krashen & Terrell, 1983) in order to facilitate language acquisition, drama can aid in making that input comprehensible. If a student reads a story without being able to comprehend what was read, participating in or observing classmates’ reenactment of the story will help clarify understanding. The Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol (SIOP) method states that, “The ultimate goal is for students to develop independence in self-monitoring and self-regulation through practice with peer-assisted and student-centered strategies" (Echevarria, Vogt, & Short, 2007, p.97). Dramatization affords those opportunities through peer assisted strategies including role-playing, peer tutoring, reciprocal teaching and cooperative learning as well as the student-centered strategies such as repeated readings, mental imagery and summarizing as the students negotiate meaning. All these strategies are designed to support comprehension. The “talking head” method of instruction, where the teacher “delivers” information, does not reach the beginning language learner. ELLs need to be actively involved and require connections to be made between language and meaning. When I am speaking to new language learners I don’t just say something and expect them to comprehend it - I point, draw, or demonstrate what I am saying. Clearly, language learners require the opportunity to use language. If I am doing all the speaking, they’re not, yet they are the ones who are supposed to be learning to speak.
Drama is accessible and supportive to students at all levels of English proficiency as nonreaders and proficient readers can participate verbally and non-verbally (Gregoire & Lupinetti, 2005). Within the scope of possibilities, dramatization incorporates the Total Physical Response (TPR) method which has been shown to support language acquisition particularly in the beginning stages of learning a new language (Asher, 1969; Reig & Paquette, 2009; Singh, 2011). In TPR, the learners move in response to new vocabulary, for example, the teacher would instruct the students to demonstrate various movements such as: jump, fly, frown etc. As beginning ELLs are acquiring English through listening and movement, they are building their oral vocabulary as well. A new ELL can be integrated into the classroom through having an opportunity to participate on a non-verbal level while growing in receptive language ability. I recall a new student from Ghana who participated in the “Boy Who Cried Wolf” as a sheep. He was enthusiastic in his non-speaking role (possibly jumping around and wiggling more than your typical sheep) and completely engaged as he watched the events predictably (we practiced repeatedly) unfold. Perhaps he was anticipating his encounter with the wolf. The predictability and repetition of the language as well as its use in a concrete, observable context helped to increase his receptive vocabulary while he was in his non-verbal period of second language learning.
Can we talk?
The National Literacy Panel on Language-Minority Children and Youth emphasizes the importance of oral language proficiency in the development of literacy. The panel found that while instruction in the key components of reading (phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension) is necessary, it is not sufficient for teaching language-minority students to read and write proficiently. English language learners also require an emphasis on oral English proficiency, which is often overlooked in our instruction (August & Shanahan, 2006). The panel noted that while English language learners (ELLs) achieve parity with native English speakers in word-level skills in literacy—such as decoding, word recognition and spelling, ELLs lag behind native English speakers in text-level skills – reading comprehension and writing. “It is not enough to teach language-minority students reading skills alone. Extensive oral English development must be incorporated into successful literacy instruction” (August & Shanahan, 2006). This extensive oral English language development can be integrated through the use of dramatization in literature classes as well as content area classes much more easily than through a typical teacher-centered approach where the teacher does most of the talking. Improvisation and role-play mirror real-life language use in a more controlled environment where students can receive immediate feedback on their language use.
Differing approaches lend themselves to specific learning goals. A more scripted approach, such as Readers’ Theatre, is appropriate when language forms are the focus. Students can also benefit from creating scripts based on reading or experience. Dramatization that requires rereading and practice provides a perfect opportunity to focus on pronunciation and reading fluency. Articulation, volume, intonation, phrasing and word groups are all aspects of both drama and language learning that require intentional practice in listening, speaking and reading (Dodson, 2002). This aspect of language learning is particularly relevant for ELLs because how you say something is as important as what you say in conveying meaning. A script can provide a model of language use which is reinforced through practice.
The use of dramatization invokes cooperative learning as students are listening and negotiating to clarify meaning. “Once children were comfortable with generating stories by playing with toys and other objects, they often suggested acting out stories written by others as a way of understanding them and enjoying them...frequently children shifted between imagination and reflection. Inside dramatic play, children looked at their developing story worlds through the eyes of the characters they created. But because their dramatic play was social and improvisational, much talk among players occurred outside of their chosen roles. Children challenged each other's ideas about all aspects of the play world: setting, props, characters, who says and does what, to whom, when, where and how” (Rowe, Fitch, & Bass 2003). This type of interaction provides many opportunities for authentic, context-embedded oral language. While there are many approaches, Peregoy and Boyle (2008) agree that, "Drama activities provide students with a variety of contextualized and scaffolded activities that gradually involve more participation and more oral language proficiency; they are also non-threatening and a lot of fun" (p. 128).
The affective aspect of learning is significant and often overlooked. Krashen & Terrell (1983) discuss the importance of affective variables that support second language acquisition such as having motivation, self-confidence and low anxiety. Having fun is motivating and having the chance to build oral language skills in a supportive environment builds self-confidence. When students are anxious, their ability to acquire language is impeded, therefore it is important that the atmosphere of the class is comfortable and allows for risk-taking. Besides being "fun" learning experiences for children, drama and movement have proven to assist with developing decoding skills, fluency, vocabulary, syntactic knowledge, discourse knowledge and metacognitive thinking. Additional benefits for English language learners include increased motivation and reduced anxiety (Rieg, S.A, & Paquette, K.R. (2009).
Banking on transfer – Could you put that in writing?
Transfer (the ability to apply what is learned to new contexts) must be the aim of all teaching in school (Wiggins & McTighe, 2005). In a massive meta-analysis of 80 studies Podiozny (2000) found a positive relationship between drama and reading achievement, oral language development, and writing achievement as well as evidence of transfer of these abilities to new material. McMaster (1998) cites studies (Dupont, 1992) that compare the reading comprehension of students who were taught through drama to those who were taught using discussion and drawing as a response to reading. These studies showed that the students taught through drama not only had better reading comprehension of the stories, as measured by a written test, they also transferred this comprehension ability to previously unread texts.
Catterall (2002) cites a compendium of studies that give evidence of both cognitive and affective transfer as a result of dramatic activities in the literacy classroom. Transfer is seen in story comprehension (oral and written), character identification and motivation, increased peer interaction, writing proficiency and prolixity, conflict resolution skills, concentrated thought, understanding social relationships, ability to understand complex issues and emotions, engagement, skill with subsequently read unrelated texts, problem solving dispositions/ strategies, and general self-concept.
Using drama enhances oral language which will in turn transfer into the learning of written language (McMaster, 1998). Others have found that drama enhances writing, "While journal and notebook writing was a struggle for some emergent writers in Joanne's class, objects were an easily accessible resource for all, and seemed to provide a new entry point to writing for some of our most reluctant writers,” as their students manipulated toys and puppets in the creation of story (Rowe, Fitch, & Bass, 2003). Dramatization invites the student to experiment with voice as s/he embodies a new character. Students find themselves to be freer with experimenting and risk taking while they are in character (Sperling & Appleman, 2011). These types of experiences provide a source of ideas and background knowledge within the form of a story or other organizational structure such as cause/effect or problem/solution which can then guide the writing process. Once a story has been developed and acted out by the entire class or in small groups, the experience can be used to transfer the ideas to paper as appropriate for each individual’s stage of literacy development (Peregoy & Boyle, 2008). Because the dramatization experience is shared, students can write collaboratively, providing multiple opportunities for meaningful, context-embedded language use in the four modalities of listening, speaking, reading and writing as they revisit the performance and the text throughout the writing process. This communicative, language-rich approach creates a fertile environment for language acquisition for students at various levels of proficiency.
Seek first to understand
The process of “becoming” or “entering” a character allows the student to see from various points of view. This leads to a deeper level of comprehension as there are at least two sides to every story (Shanahan & Shanahan, 1997). “Dramatic play required children to take a character's perspective - to put themselves in the shoes of another person, or at minimum to consider how they would react if faced with the problems and settings proposed in an imagined story world” (Rowe, Fitch, & Bass (2003). This ability to see from another’s perspective is essential in education and in life. A number of studies suggest that dramatization of texts, that is, children's oral reading and enacting of texts in classroom literature study, promotes children's altering of their own perspectives and coming to understand those of others (Sperling & Appleman 2011) and found that this allowed students to interpret literature at a deeper level as they assumed the characters’ perspectives. The ability to empathize or see a differing point of view is a critical higher-order thinking skill that can be fostered in the most beginning ELL as dramatization scaffolds comprehension.
Summing up
There appears to be compelling evidence as to the efficacy of using drama with ELLs. It is an approach that incorporates the four modalities of language. Drama is accessible to all learners within the broad spectrum of second language proficiency and can be used in different ways to accommodate various learning goals. It creates a space for ELLs to engage in oral language development – an area that can be compromised by traditional teacher-dominated classroom dynamics – and to engage more reluctant learners through creating a fun atmosphere. Students have been shown to transfer the gains they make in speaking, reading comprehension and writing to new contexts as well as in the ability to enter into another’s perspective or point of view. What’s not to love about all this?
I have seen this type of interaction in my classroom as my students prompt each other, clarify, correct each other and elaborate while attempting to recreate the nuances of a story. ELL students need the opportunities to exercise their oral literacy as a foundation for print literacy. One of the most important aspects of this process is the level of engagement that is aroused by these activities. Students come alive as they are invited to participate and co-create. Students who are engaged are students who are learning.
Questions
There seemed to be more research available on this topic from the 1980s and 1990s. Why is this? Did dramatization go out of “style?” Has the testing emphasis crowded out the space? If my students increase their comprehension ability through dramatization will this transfer to their ability to comprehend new texts? I wonder whether more spontaneous and intermittent (mid-literacy lesson) dramatization is more advantageous than a more structured approach. Perhaps it depends on the level of language proficiency and the learning goals.
Toward the future
“Those within literacy research will best serve the interests of integrity and the future of learning if they attend to those points where the arts and literacy meet. Those points are abundant: drawing in collaboration with writing, creative writing for production or complement to visual arts, and dramatic renderings of children's literature and young adult publications” (Heath, 2004).
REFERENCES
Asher, J. (1969). The Total Physical Response Approach to Second Language Learning. The Modern Language Journal, 53(1), 3-17.
August, D., & Shanahan, T. (Eds.). (2006). Executive Summary. Developing Literacy in Second-Language Learners: Report of the National Literacy Panel on Language-Minority Children and Youth (pp. 1-9). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Bridges, C.V., (2008). Effects of Readers’ Theatre on English Language Learners: A Strategy for Oral Language and Reading Improvement. TNTESOL Journal, 1, 20-29.
Catterall, J. S. (2002). The arts and the transfer of learning. (Deasy, R.J., Ed.) Critical links: Learning in the arts and student academic and social development, 151–157. Arts Education Partnership, Washington D.C.
Dodson, S. L. (2002). The educational potential of drama for ESL. In G. Bräuer (Ed.), Body and language: Intercultural learning through drama (pp. 161–179). Westport, CT: Greenwood Publishing Group.
Dupont, S. (1992). The effectiveness of creative drama as an instructional strategy to enhance the reading comprehension skills of fifth-grade remedial readers. Reading Research and Instruction, 31(3), 41-52.
Echevarria, J. J., Vogt, M. J., & Short, D. J. (2007). Making Content Comprehensible for English Learners: The SIOP Model (3rd ed.). Allyn & Bacon.
Gregoire, M. A., & Lupinetti, J. (2005). Support Diversity through the Arts. Kappa Delta Pi Record, 41(4), 159-163.
Heath, S. B. (1993). Inner City Life Through Drama: Imagining the Language Classroom. TESOL Quarterly, 27(2), 177-192.
Heath, S.B. (2004). Learning language and strategic thinking through the arts. Reading Research Quarterly, 39(3), 338.
Kelner, L.B. & Flynn, R.M., (2006). A Dramatic Approach to Reading Comprehension, Strategies and Activities for Classroom Teachers. Portsmouth, New Hampshire: Heinemann.
Krashen, S. D., & Terrell, T. D. (1983). The Natural Approach: Language Acquisition in the Classroom. The Alemany Press.
McMaster, J. C. (1998). “Doing” Literature: Using Drama to Build Literacy. The Reading Teacher, 51(7), 574-584.
Podlozny, A. (2000). Strengthening Verbal Skills Through the Use of Classroom Drama: A Clear Link. Journal of Aesthetic Education, 34(3-4), 239-276.
Rieg, S.A, & Paquette, K.R. (2009). Using drama and movement to enhance English language learners’ literacy development. Journal of Instructional Psychology, 36(2).
Rowe, D.W., Fitch, J.D. & Bass, A.S. (2003). Toy stories as opportunities for imagination and reflection in writer’s workshop. Language Arts, 80(5), 363.
Shanahan, T., & Shanahan, S. (1997). Character Perspective Charting: Helping Children to Develop a More Complete Conception of Story. The Reading Teacher, 50(8), 668-677.
Singh, J.P. (2011). Effectiveness of Total Physical Response. Academic Voices, 1(1), 20-22.
Sperling, M., & Appleman, D. (2011). Voice in the Context of Literacy Studies. Reading Research Quarterly, 46(1), 70.
Walker, E., Tabone, C., Weltsek, G. (2011). When Achievement Data Meet Drama and Arts Integration. Language Arts, 88(5).
Wiggins, G. P., & McTighe, J. (2005). Understanding by Design. Association for Supervision & Curriculum Development.