Creative Drama in English Learning
Abstract
This study intended to build a collaborative student-teachers ’ teaching community. Thirty-four junior college students in the Applied Foreign Languages Department at a national university in central Taiwan, who took the course of TESOL methodology, participated in this study. These student-teachers divided into groups and taught dramatic English to elementary school students nearby. They created more innovative materials and lessons, combining with drama plays, for elementary students to develop interests and motivation to learn English. The study was for this student-teachers’ community to create English drama play and introduce the play to elementary school students nearby. The purpose of this performance was for student-teachers to provide models for those elementary students and further motivate them to learn English in a more contextual and meaningful way. During this study, those elementary students experienced the fun of reading storybooks and assuming different roles in role-playing. By integrating theories involved in drama into the curriculum of English teaching, hopefully, it will cultivate ability in terms of elementary students’ interests, creativity, critical thinking, and communication skills to achieve the aim of being a whole person.