Learning English through drama

Education is once again in the spotlight. Education Minister Evarist Bartolo recently highlighted “a lack of sufficient knowledge of the English language” as one of the major hurdles holding our students back from excelling in other academic subjects. This is where developmental drama can help.

Tell me and I will forget. Show me and I will remember. Involve me… and I will understand- Aristotle

I am often invited, as principal of the Helen O’Grady Academy, to give drama lessons in English to a class of Maltese-speaking students. I always kick off by asking whether there is anyone who doesn’t speak the language. Inevitably a few hands go up.

I then proceed to ask their name, age, where they live and what their favourite TV programme is, and once they’ve all replied, I point out to them that they’ve just had an entire conversation in English.

This fear of making a mistake often holds students back. It keeps them from actively parti-cipating in class, and lack of involvement will likely develop into lack of interest and ultimately, to distraction.

Because group participation without pressure is key to developmental drama, it can go a long way in eradicating this sense of apprehension which is so prevalent with schoolchildren today. In a world of make-believe, there is no right or wrong choice – every decision is a valid one, and the experience can prove empowering and enlightening for young students.

As teachers of drama we understand that a lesson learned through fun is never forgotten. And, because drama is so practical, one can adopt Aristotle’s wisdom: “Tell me and I will forget. Show me and I will remember. Involve me… and I will understand.” Students grasp the language, because they work the language in a way that words on a whiteboard don’t allow.

Another box that is clearly ticked by the Helen O’Grady Academy is that of communication. Like it or not, we live in a world where the word ‘interactive’ has found its home within the technological world of computer games rather than in the interaction of friends and peers.

But, because self-expression and self-exploration are at the very heart of our curriculum, we provide students with an outlet for emotions, thoughts and dreams that they might not otherwise have means to express. And all these are being expressed. Clearly. In English.

The good news gets better; studies carried out by Matt Buchanan of Harvard University show that drama may even reinforce the rest of the school curriculum.

Since communication and empathy are central to drama, a student will be better able to understand and discuss problems. The link between drama and subjects such as English, History, Social Studies, and related areas is obvious. The study of literature would be impossible without drama.

As though all that wasn’t enough, by its very nature, drama stimulates creativity. It challenges students’ perceptions about their world and about themselves. Students may, in the course of a drama lesson, become someone else, explore a new role, try out and experiment with various personal choices and solutions to very real problems – even problems from their own life. It prepares young students to live and work in a world that is increasingly team-oriented.

Confidence is everything. Students attending drama sessions are more likely to excel in public speaking, presentations and viva voce examinations, since they will not only have learned the requisite techniques but, through the safety of drama exercises and activities, they will have developed a heightened sense of empathy which will allow them to be more persuasive in their communications, whether written or oral.

The Helen O’Grady Academy is the only school of its kind to follow a prepared curriculum that has been created over the years by teachers, parents and child psychologists to ensure the healthy development of children in an energetic and fun-filled environment without any anxiety.

The approach is totally holistic, and there are no end-of-term examinations because we believe children have enough academic pressure as it is. With no exams, there can be no failures – only an uplifting sense of achievement, because students will have started and finished something wholesome each week.

I would like to conclude with a comment received from a head of school who wrote: “All students, irrespective of academic levels, thoroughly enjoy their sessions. It’s amazing how children who have difficulties in the English language not only manage to overcome them by speaking clearly, but also to integrate with their peers, holding their head up high as equals, sharing weaknesses which in turn become strengths, to the benefit of all.”

Alan Montanaro is principal of the Helen O’Grady Academy in Malta.

www.helenogradymalta.com