Читать книгу Drama & Improvisation - Ken Wilson - Страница 5

Despite all the innovations which have entered the language teaching profession in the wake of the ‘communicative revolution', it remains true that the vast majority of what happens in classrooms is highly structured and controlled. It tends to be focused on supposedly predictable outcomes to be achieved by concentrated, effortful activities, which can be measured in tests and examinations.

There is, however, abundant evidence that languages are not learned or acquired only in this way. There is an important role for activities which focus on playfulness, on enjoyment, on physical movement, on affective engagement, and which can foster what has been called a ‘flow’ state of effortless effort.

There is, of course, no single way of achieving ‘flow’ but using drama and improvisation is one of the well-attested ways of moving towards it. They build confidence and an ability to handle the very unpredictability which lies at the heart of interactions in the new language. They foster the capacity to deal imaginatively with the unexpected, and the willingness to ‘have a go' – to take risks in the new language. In the absence of this capability, little enduring learning is likely to take place.

The activities in this book are designed specifically to help learners loosen up, to engage creatively with the new language in a context of support and cooperative effort. This is not a course book, yet the chapters do tend to lead from shorter, simpler, less demanding activities towards longer and more complex activities, culminating in a series of ideas for working with a series of original dramatic sketches in English.

The author has distilled his experience of working with teachers and students, and with the actors of the English Teaching Theatre and their audiences, over many years in many different geographical and educational contexts. The activities themselves bear the stamp of authentic experience and proven success. This book is a breath of fresh air and will prove a welcome new bank of activities for the resourceful teacher!

Alan Maley