Learning through theatre.

Foreign language teachers spend most of their time trying to adapt different materials found in text books, the Internet or all kind of material to their students. This is, we are always thinking about how I can use this or that in my classes.

The English Department in our school offers our students the opportunity to attend to an adapted theatre performance. Last year it was the turn of “A CHRISTMAS CHAROL”. This performance is an excuse to read the script and comment it, vocabulary exercises, comprehension exercises and some discussions too. We also learn something about the author and its time, trying to contextualize the learning of the language. As the student level is varied, the activities are also adapted to a beginner level. Of course, the outcome of those activities and the performance itself are a great success. Our students rate them quite high and they are aware that it is an excellent way of learning the language and its culture.

This school year, I suggested my students a representation of “THE STONE SOUP”. First I adapted the script to the number of the students and their level. Then we worked over it, reading, translating, and explaining any difficulties. We started rehearsing the play, first reading aloud and checking pronunciation, then practicing intonation and finally focusing on the performance itself. We did this during three months one day a week, and on our last class we made a performance and taped it. The play turned out to be a very motivating way of putting in practice language and grammar they had learnt during the course.
Furthermore, as students felt more relaxed and even those who are quiet shy felt more comfortable after rehearsing several times the final performance was very successful although not perfect. Pronunciation and intonation need to be improved, of course, but the development of the activity was excellent.
To conclude, theatre plays are an excellent way to learn a language because they give a context and a script, so students have to understand and learn the words, the plot and internalize the feelings but they do not need to produce new dialogues, which is very stressful for beginners. Once they feel comfortable with the script and the situations, the learner can focus on the non-verbal gestures, on pronunciation, and dramatization. When the process finishes they feel more self – secured and ready to perform in new situations and with new vocabulary.

Example

The Stone Soup from teteg662

The Kitchen´s Language in Carnival

The kitchen language basic english from teteg662

Learning a language in later life: are you ever too old?

Learning a language when you retire, as is the case with many people, it is at the beginning an exercise in personal development / effort and improvement, and it is not easy at this age back to to study hard.

The ability to learn is innate because we all have brains ready to learn another language. "It is true that at younger ages it is easier, but age must not be an obstacle to learning languages ​​like English, because adults have experience, they know the grammatical structures and they are more simple lessons ".

The brain can be kept active through exercises / gym. Neurologists agree that the more the brain is used the less frequently are the failures in office. Learning a language is one of the most complete gymnastics, because memory is active and new connections are created when switching from one language to another.

In learning a language's, according to neurologists, the apparition of diseases such as Alzheimer's, etc ... is strengthened even delayed by the ability to concentrate.

Attending the course of English allowed me to cover a number of hours, meet people and "feel that we are never too old to learn."

By José  V.