Use of Plays in Language Teaching Lecturer Betül ALTAŞ

1. What is the meaning of drama. 2 1. What is the meaning of drama? 2. How does the use of drama contribute to English language teaching?

Drama Drama is a text, based on a story. It is also performed. It is performed through: words actions of actors

Like short stories and novels, it includes terms such as : Characters Plot (can be linear or not) Setting Dialogue Monologue

Soliloquy * a speech that one gives to oneself. * thinking out loud, as it were the audience better understands what is happening to the character internally. The fourth wall On-the stage Off-stage

Cast Lines Script Stage directions Set Costumes Props (realistic items for theatrical use)

Drama versus Prose Drama is more versatile Each performance is different every time Each audience understands and interprets in a different way Everything about drama changes in the moment it is performed. Everything in drama is an open ended process.

History of Drama Ancient Greece (550 B.C.E-220 B.C.E) Performing songs for an annual religious festival Most of the performances were composed of tragedies Tragedies depicted the suffering of an individual such as the king E.g.: Oedipus Rex by Sophocles

The main focus of tragedies is noble people Comedy was concerned with society and mocking at real world experiences eg: Lysistrata by Aristophanes A major distinctive element of early Greek drama is chorus Ancient Greek drama is more like opera

Ancient Rome (240 B.C.E-54 C.E) Based on the traditions of Ancient Greek Drama On-stage, use of violence is seen as dramatic action in tragedy However, most violence occurs in off-stage Plautus, was one of the most famous Roman comedian, made a major development He used characters like stock characters

Middle Ages (476 C.E.-1484 C.E) Next important step in English drama in 14th -15 th centuries Drama based on religious subjects Mystery plays dramatization of the mysteries of the religion based on stories such as : the birth /death of Jesus Adam and Eve Noah

Miracle Plays stories of saints’ lives People in medieval England were illiterate The majority of peasants were not able to understand Latin in mass.

Both genres were associated with Catholic Church After England’s separation from the pope in 1534, everything related to Catholic religion was viewed as suspicion Morality plays: not biblical scenes of man’s weaknesses to temptation characters in morality plays were either good or evil

The English Renaissance (late-15th C.E.- early 17th century C.E) Topics move away from the morally didactic and closer to the secularly entertaining. They are grouped under the category of interludes. William Shakespeare It breaks the classical rules of genre

Tragicomedy Romances Revenge Tragedy (violent and bloody) Closet–drama

Interregnum/Commonwealth (1642 C.E.-1660 CE) 1642 was a time of political and social upheaval in England. It was beginning of the English civil war. Puritanism, a strict form of Protestantism, was on the rise. Theater was seen as sinful Suspension of all theatrical performances

Additional acts were passed under the reign of Oliver Cromwell The country was referred to as a Commonwealth rather than monarchy The period was later known as the Interregnum The theaters were closed until 1660. There was little development in English Theatre.

Restoration 18th Century Lack of diversity in British theatre Much of the drama of the Restoration period is not highly valued by modern critics Plots of tragedies and the comedies involve much intrigue

Tragedies seem funny and comedies absurd Sensationalism was more desirable than rhetorical talent Women took stage for the first time in English theaters. Restoration period saw the first professional female playwright, Aphra Behn

Modern and Contemporary Theater Genre of naturalism The inception is credited to Henrik Ibsen The value of psychological is relatively new Musical theater (this type of drama now on Brodway in New York) Absurdist (conflicts between the world of the characters/ audience’s expectations)

Epic Drama (created by Bertolt Brecht, 1898-1956) is a response to traditional genres as well as naturalism It aims to force the spectator to question everything Alienation is an essential technique. Experimental theater

Teaching Drama Drama is much easier to use than any other literary material It requires active participation of learners Drama is Communicative Communication between characters is the basis of drama

Activities in drama can be an excellent fit Visual Verbal learners Kinesthetic

Drama is not limited with words, it also includes: facial expressions gestures voice intonation pauses manner

Problems to anticipate when using plays in the classroom Cultural referential differences a) pre-teaching the items -regarding the references to concepts- to students Cultural Taboos a) choosing materials that are suitable for students’ level and the cultural climate b) providing background information

Reading something to be performed a) providing visual supplements such as a film version, recording live performance of the play b) getting students involved in performing

During reading Write and perform an abridged version of one act write and perform a new scene at the beginning and in the middle Post Reading Interviews its characters