H.M.

Patel Institute of Training and Research

Book Review

On

Drama in Language Teaching

By

Susan Holden

Introduction:
The title of the book is ‘Drama in Language Teaching’ written by ‘Susan Holden’. This
book was first published in 1981and the third impression was published in 1982 by
LONGMAN GROUP LIMITED, printed in Singapore by Huntsmen Offset Printing Pte
Ltd. The main subject of the book is what is drama and it also illustrate about drama in
language teaching discusses ways in which dramatic activities can be used to support and
enrich language learning. The format of book was simple and clear but the font size was
small. Black and white pictures were given in the book for better understanding. Simple
language was used by author and give good examples of exercises which are fruitful for
the teachers. The cover page of the book is not that much attractive. The purpose of this
book is to present teachers with a view of the place of drama in language teaching, in the
hope that they will realize its potential for increasing student’s motivation and providing
interesting language practice. In this book author discuss about how drama can help
students to produce language and the various kind of activities will be instructed by the
teacher and student will performed. So, basically this will help teacher to teach English
language in a more effective manner. Particularly this book intended for language
teachers. In current situation we can see that teachers they did not focus on drama for
teaching English language as we can see that the practice of drama in teaching language
are not used by many institute or schools but this book provide us so many supportive
example how drama can enhance learners language. Thus, below listed title from the
book will help to get better idea:

The book is divided into two parts. 1. The theory and 2. Application

Part A: The theory: includes four points:

1. Oral communication: This point includes six sub points such as: motivating the
learner, what is drama? What happens in real life? Spoken prose and real
communication, non-verbal features of language, oral communication and drama.
2. The nature of drama: this topic includes one sub point defining the terms.
3. Drama in the language classroom : this point consisting of three points such as
the role of the teacher, setting it up, aids of drama.
4. Integrating drama into the lesson: This topic includes sub points: a simple
role-play, developing the scene, further development: character and place, playing
yourself or someone else, discussion after exercise, organizing the discussion,
conclusion.
Part B: Application
5. Improvisation: the point consisting of nine sub points: the exercise, procedures,
mime, discussion, the teacher, using the mother tongue, how much and how often?
& exercises for improvisation, extended improvisations.
6. Material for cueing: this topic includes sub points such as setting the scene,
group and individual cueing, some method of cueing.
7. Using texts: it includes major twelve sub points such as the problems, the
benefits, the nature of the text, approaching a text: choice (1), approaching a text:
choice (2), approaching a text: method of work, related exercises, interpreting
simple language, relationships, reactions, playing with sounds, longer texts.
8. Using the course book: it includes five points: a problem and a solution, the
value of course book dialogues, approaching a course book dialogue, further
exploitation, and integrated role-play.

Summary of the content:

The book provide us the detail information about drama .This book is aim to describe
how drama can help students to improve the language. Through the various drama
activities students will be able to enhance their language and these activities are very
useful for the teacher also. Teacher knows that what problems are faced by students and
which are appropriate for them. Which type of drama activity is helpful for the students
and how they are use for students. Susan Holden has written this book using a simple
language.

Evaluation of the content:

To provide better understanding about the book which is divided into two parts below are
the mention brief summary of the chapters will provide better understanding about how
clearly the book is written by the author.

Part A: the theory

1. Oral communication: The students try to learn the English language for different
reason. Someone learning the language as just another subject for the student the
language made more real for them through a number of activities like drama.
Drama can be defined as any activity which asks the student to portray. Drama is
concerned with the world of let’s pretend; project imaginatively into another
situation. He may act in a controlled way, following linguistic and organizational
guidelines laid down by the teacher. Oral interaction involves at least two people a
speaker and a listener. They react and communicate not only through words but
also through facial expression, gesture and non-verbal sound. There are
differences in the real communication and spoken prose. Real communication
include variations in tempo, the use of pause, incomplete sentences etc. the teacher
begin to use dramatic exercise in the classroom. The aim is to bridge the gap
between the classroom and the world outside.
2. The nature of drama: Drama simply means “let’s pretend”, but theatre is a
concerned with presentation also audience is a necessary part of it. Role-play
simply describes a type of activity in which the students are given fairly controlled
scenarios to interpret. Extended role-playing is applied to those activities where
the students are less guided than they are in ordinary role playing. They work in
groups rather than in pairs or threes. While preparing a drama students also face
the problems. There is “problem solving”, activities originated on management
training courses. The teachers keep the record in different form. The teacher use
language game in the classroom to provide opportunities for interaction.
3. Drama in the language classroom: The students will work in pairs or groups
during a drama section with the guideline given by the teacher. The teacher has a
very positive role to play a drama. In drama students will work in group on their
 own interpretation of the exercise by these they will build up their own personal
vocabulary of the language they are learning. A verity of aids can be used by the
teacher so that student can understand the scene perfectly such things as simple
outline, pictures, sound etc. these will help the students to gain an insight into the
way in which people intact.
4. Integrating drama into the lesson: A simple role-play where let us suppose that
a class of middle students have been learning how to give advice, make
suggestions, and accept or refuse those suggestions. For example:
Asking for advice: - Where can I…? / Do you know…?
Giving advice/Making suggestions: - Look, go and…! / What about…ing?
Rejecting advice: - Not now / I don’t think so.
Accepting advice: - What a good idea! / Yes, I will.
In a simple role-play the aim of the students to make up short dialogues using
appropriate language and gestures. Teacher explains to students that they are going
to play themselves but the location of the scene can be anywhere like: in
someone’s house, at school, looking in a shop window & so on. For e.g. the
teacher want two persons where teacher gives a picture card to the student’s
picture can be anything like ring and students makes the suitable dialogue from the
cue card which is related to the appropriate picture and they makes good role-play
activity.
In the developing the scene there is no reason why the scene
should stop there. Once the basic interaction has been ‘plotted’, further
refinements can be added. This may be done in another lesson, for it is unwise to
spend too long at any one time on drama activities. Sometimes fruitful to ask the
students some questions before they work on a scene second time. These serve as
guidelines for the planning stage and as point for discussion after working on the
scene. Such questions include:
- Why does A interrupt him?
- What is the final result?

A further stage might introduce two new elements: a change of character and of place. Up
to now, the students acted themselves. In these place, it can be anywhere according to the
place student have to take their character like place is given a shop it is kind of large,
modern, boutique, expensive etc. where the student play a character of may be
shopkeeper, employs or customers. Sometimes students begun by playing themselves and
went on to a point where at least one of them was portraying another character. This
sequence may seem logical, moving from the ‘Known’ in terms of character and
relationship towards the ‘unknown’. Playing yourself activity can be especially
productive with a shy student, or in a class where the students come from a wide mixture
of background and cultures and may not wish to reveal their feelings to each other. The
drama exercise are firmly linked with each students own world and personality.

Discussion after the exercise where the students should discuss various points connected
with their scenes after they had worked on them. This discussion serves as an assessment
for the students themselves of what they have done. This should focus on specific points.
Teacher should aim for them to be able to conduct these discussions themselves in
groups, under the guidance of a group leader. The most useful areas for discussion are:

- What happened? (observation)

- Why did it happen like that? (analysis)
- What would you have done? (transfer)

The aim is to encourage the students to judge what they have done or watched and
analyse the way in which various feelings were communicated. Most of the teacher will
have their own ways to organizing discussion groups. A great deal depends on the layout
of one’s classroom, the time available, and enlarge to which the students are familiar with
the activity and able to organize themselves. One or two general points can, however, be
made. ‘Discussion’ is maybe a misleadingly heavy term for something which need often
take no more than five minutes. The above procedure can be adapted to suit a variety of
dramatic exercises in which the students work alone, in pairs or in groups. The general
pattern of exercise is given in the book: presentation of exercise, discussion, experiment,
discussion. In this we should remember that we are teaching language, not drama!

Part B: Application

5. Improvisation: In the drama the exercises they show how a very simple idea can
be built up through individual mime, question and answer and group discussion
into an improvisation involving a number of people. Teacher should work their
way through all varies types of exercises. These exercises are best thought of us
opportunities for the students to try out the language they have already learnt and
test its appropriacy to a variety of permutations of place, mood, character and
relationships. Now, in the procedures each set of exercise in which the students
work alone. From there, they progress to working in pairs or threes and then,
possibly in larger groups. Mime is exercise is done without words. This is in order
to emphasis the paralinguistic features of communication such as facial
expression, gesture, movement and non-verbal sound. The purpose of mime is not
to replace the verbal features of communication but enrich them. Discussion is an
integral part of these drama exercises. In this the students are using English for a
real purpose and the teachers first task is to convince himself that ‘doing drama’ is
neither alarming nor disruptive. In fact, the exercises described here are simple to
set up and carry out, and do not require elaborate preparation or facilities. Thus, as
with any kind of group work, drama activities inevitably lead to a teacher
dominated activity. The usual in a teacher must weigh up the advantages and
disadvantages. The teacher second task is to present the activity in such a way that
the students will be interested in it. During the work on the exercises and the
discussions, the teacher should behave as in any type of group work; nothing
problems, helping when asked, encouraging and correcting if necessary. Using the
mother tongue an activity may often be more quickly understood if it is explained
by the teacher in the students own language, provided the class is a monolingual
one. The use of the students own language for the discussion stage of the activities
may be more controversial & yet it can have a certain value.
Indeed, it has been suggested that there is a value in doing the
activities in the mother tongue with beginner students as a kind of orientation
towards the nature of oral communication, making them aware what is in any
piece of interaction and thus more receptive towards communicative language
learning. In the one point it should be stressed that drama is only one aid to
learning, and that it should not be used too often or to the exclusion of other aids.
If this happens, it will lose its effectiveness. Fifteen minutes once in a week is for
more effective than a full hour at sporadic intervals.
“In the next point exercises for improvisation the eight sets of exercises which
follow, the instructions which the teacher gives directly to the students have been
printed in normal type.
1. Set one- objects
Aim: exploration of extend to which paralinguistic feature can convey meaning.
Means: individual mime, pair work; question and answer.
Focus: an imaginary object.
2. Set two- accepting and refusing
Aim: exploration of relationship between action and feeling.
Means: mime in small groups; improvisation.
Focus: an object represented by a small stick.
3. Set three- television
Aim: exploration of effect of relationship and feeling on interaction.
Means: mime; question and answer, improvisation in small group.
 Focus: an imaginary television program and imagined character.
4. Set four- relationships
Aim: exploration of personal relationships.
Means: mime and improvisation in pairs and small groups.
Focus: meeting, introductions, leave takings.
5. Set five- waiting
Aim: exploration of the effect of emotion in interaction.
Means: mime and improvisation in pairs and small groups.
Focus: waiting for people and things.
6. Set six- persuasion
Aim: exploration of the effect of social status on interaction.
Means: improvisation in pairs and small groups.
Focus: persuading people to do things.
The scenes in seven and eight where the principle behind them, is the students
should discuss the characters and the situation, experiment with the various parts
of each scene, and then slowly work at putting together the final version like a
movie”.
7. Set seven- the train
8. Set eight- the party

6. Material for cueing :

It is important to ‘set the scene’ clearly in any drama activity. The teacher may
choose to set the scene from the point of view of the character, while at others it
may be better to concentrate on a particular emotion or a physical setting. It will
give us greater clarity to the scene if the focus is on one particular area. In some
activities, all the students involved in a scene are given the some basic information
before they start. This provision of cues or information which is available to only
one participant in an activity might be termed individual cueing as opposed to
group cueing where everyone has the some information.
Some method of cueing perhaps the most common aids to scene setting, or
providing a context or starting point for a piece of communication practice, are
pictures, sound and verbal or written information. Picture cues where picture can
be used to suggest the environment in which a scene takes place. This can be
useful where there are cultural differences which may be important. Pictures are
an excellent way of establishing character. It can be used for ‘talking through’ as
well as scene setting. A picture which is visible to only one student can provoke
meaningful questioning at quite a simple level. Picture sequence are a useful way
 of providing ‘frame’ in a scenario and sequence can also be taken from those in
picture composition books. The advantage of cartoons is that they are often drown
in a style which the students find it easy to relate to and which stimulates their
imagination. In the newspaper and magazine cartoons if there is dialogue
indicated, this can be ‘whited out’ so that the students are guided by the pictures
alone.
Sound cues where the sound, like pictures, can be used
effectively suggested a location or atmosphere. For example, as typewriters,
clocks, footsteps or door closing can all be very effective scene setters which can
establish both environment and mood. Sequences of sound can be used to build up
‘sound picture’ which are, in effect, scenarios foe which the students can be asked
to provide appropriate words & action. Some students find working with sound
very stimulating, and in this case students encouraging themselves to build up and
record their own sound and picture.
Written cues can be used for both group and individual
cueing. These are the kind of cues most teachers will already be familiar with. The
simplest kind of group cue is a short description of a situation, which the students
then enact.
7. Using texts:
When using texts the problems come out because interpreting a text is much more
difficult than improvising a scene because one has to understand the thought
process of both the writer and the character one is interpreting before one can find
a satisfactory interpretation of the words one is given. There is also tendency,
when we are working with the text that time we focus on the meaning of the text
and forget about the tone of voice, gesture and facial expression. I the book also
discuss the benefits from the text it “increase awareness of the extent to which
words and gestures are closely linked and provide a focus for variations in register
and the interplay of character and personal relationships”. The nature of a text in
these the students begun with an idea and then found suitable ways of expressing
it. This will have involved the use of words, but at others it will have been just as
effective to communicate that idea using other means and students also became
aware of the extremely close relationship between the various means we have of
expressing our idea and feelings and communicating them to other people.
“In the approaching a text there are two main types of dramatic text one might
consider using those written specifically for foreign language students and those
written for non-ELT students or actors. The second approaching a text where once
one has decided that any text must be short in order to be manageable, then one
 can proceed to find or adopt a suitable one. Generally students will find it easier to
handle scenes between two people then between several. The small number of
characters in each scene or mini-scene may well be one of the criteria when
selecting a suitable text. In the book author give example on conversation of Flora
and Edward”. Approaching a text: method of work in these the students start by
simply reading the scene to themselves and then discussing the characters in small
groups. They can be provided with signpost questions by the teacher; these will be
direct them to the important elements of scene, but will not stop the discussion of
the other points which may interest or puzzle. For e.g. what are the two people
doing at the beginning of the scene? What is the relationship between them? Do
they answer each other’s questions? Etc. related exercises the scenes reproduced
below are intended to give an idea of the kind of things one might choose to focus
on and of the types of exercise one might add to them.
Interpreting simple language where the students should
concentrate on finding the best vocal interpretation of the words. Relationships in
these the students will find easier if the scene is broken down into mini-scene as
indicated. Reactions in the scene contain one character who is present all the time,
but who does not speak anything until the end and at the last speak. This scene is
more complex than the other two because it includes many characters, so it should
be divided into mini-scenes. Playing with sounds scene focuses on the relationship
between two people, but does so in a light-hearted way. The students can
concentrate on producing appropriate sighs, and on making the two characters take
an increasing interest in each other. In the longer texts it may be useful to work on
a longer text from time to time. Several groups can work on the same scene after
that at the end the play can be put together with each scene being done by the
group which has interpreted it most clearly. When writing a text, the main points
to be decided are: number of characters in each scene, age of characters, sex of
characters theme, length of each scene, level of language
8. Using the course book:
It is difficult for students to relate the world in their books to real people with real
feeling in real situations. Sometimes it is easier to first of all practice the kind of
exercise described in earlier chapters and then ask them to bring the same
considerations of personality and behavior patterns to the interpretation of a course
book dialogue. Approaching a course book dialogue there are three stages are
given in the book the first is to copy out the dialogue onto two cue cards. It will be
noted that the dialogue has been shortened and simplified. This is so that the
students can concentrate fully on the ‘chain’ conversation. In this the students
should work in pair and give them the cue cards and tell them to read that part. In
stage two, which may well take place in a later lesson, is to present the students
with cards on which a very simpler dialogue has been written. Finally in stage
three, the students are given cue cards in which the original dialogue is represented
by cue rather than actual language. This is an excellent way of ‘recycling’
dialogues from the course book. As with so many dramatic activities, this one can
accommodation the varying levels and temperaments which one finds in the
average class. The value of the exercise is that it encourages the students to listen,
think and experiment within a fairly safe framework. Also we can say that students
make a similar conversation between two people. Integrated role-play where many
modern course books have characters linked to a storyline or, at least, with
recognizable characteristics and personalities. These can be used to advantage by
asking the students to ‘role-play’ the various characters when they are taking part
in a discussion. The students increase their awareness of how different people
react to a common situation.

In the book author has clearly able to provide the intention behind writing the
book such as how teachers of English language can use innovative and creative
drama activities to provide active learning surrounding for enhancing the process
of language learning of the learners at every stage. As a reader while reading this
book I have came across some most important points which are: integrating drama
into the lesson and material for cueing. For example: in material for cueing where
some methods are given like picture cue, sound cue and written cue. A different
kind of pictures can help to understand the scene of the drama. The word
‘policeman ‘, for example, may evoke very different images to different people. It
also give a frame in a scenario, some give a picture composition books. Sound
cues also suggest a location or atmosphere. From the sound cues students get idea
about the scene. Written cues also helpful to the students like A and B interact
with each other in writing and communicating. In integrating drama into the lesson
where the author give a role-play activity in this how students will developed their
language through pictures and make the dialogues. After that they discuss the
exercise to others and the character and place was appropriate or not, it will relate
to scene etc. I also experience that while I am reading the drama that time I forgot
the voice tone and gesture of the dialogues I am just concentrate on the meaning
and I saw many people who also do this things. The second thing which I
experience is that drama is only use sometime in the classes and teachers use these
because it comes in our syllabus so teachers did not use these for purpose of
language teaching. So, I like best things about the book was the book have very
small pages so everyone can read it because it is not lengthy and the language
which author used in the book was very simple language so people are easily
understand. The activities are given in the book is very much clear and it’s also
give examples. Some of the examples are given through pictures also.
Conclusion:
Drama in Language Teaching the aim of the book is simply give activities and
some information about drama. Through drama teachers can also teach the English
language and how it will useful for the teachers and students. It book discusses
ways in which dramatic activities can be used to support and enrich the language
learning. The first part of the book discusses the relationship between drama and
language learning, while the second part describes a range of activities on which
teachers can base more specific exercises for their own teaching situations. All the
activities which are given in the book they do not require a great amount of time
and they offer the possibility of enlarge language practice to make full use of the
students’ imagination and encourage them to associate the language they are
learning with real people operating in the context of real feeling and opinions. I
recommended this book to another person especially to the beginner teacher so it
will give idea to them how the drama can help to teaching language.