The Educational Potential of Drama for ESL.

Author: Dodson, Sarah L.
Published: Westport, Connecticut & London, 2002
Source: Gerd Bräuer (Ed.): Body and Language. Intercultural Learning Through Drama.
Publisher: Ablex Publishing

Abstract

Sarah L. Dodson recounts her experience working with six students who were learning English as a foreign language. They took part in drama classes in which plays were read and discussed, some of the scenes were acted out and the students improvised others. At the end of the course the students performed a play they had rewritten. The author recommends working with drama as an effective means of acquiring second language skills.

Dodson, Sarah L.

Sarah Dodson teaches French at Colorado State University. Her research interests include drama in language teaching, computer-assisted language learning, translation theory, and the connections between reading and writing. She has published articles on using theatre techniques in French and ESL classrooms; she especially likes producing plays with her language students.