USING  DRAMA  TO  IMPROVE  DISCOURSE  IN  THE  CLASSROOM    Phoebe  Lyon  English  Language  Institute,  Kanda  University  of  International  Studies    ABSTRACT    Getting  students  to  use  language  that  facilitates  discussion  is  an  essential  element  in   a   language   learning   classroom.   This   paper   summarizes   a   poster   presentation  given   at   the   2015   Speech   Drama   and   Debate   conference   in   Okinawa,   Japan.   It  highlights   how   student-­‐developed   dialogues   and   the   resulting   filmed   dramatic  performances   in   a   series   of   classroom   lessons   can   be   utilized   to   have   students  recognize,  practice,  and  reflect  on  their  performance.  This  can  help  improve  their  use  of  key  expressions  in  various  situations.  The  focus  was  on  the  appropriate  use  of  the  target  expressions  and  their  functions.  In  addition  to  a  step-­‐by-­‐step  outline  of  the  process  that  was  used,  an  analysis  of  the  lessons  with  regards  to  the  success  of  the  activities  will  be  presented.  
  INTRODUCTION    The  purpose  of  this  paper  is  to  document  the  rationale  and  organization  of  a  series  of  lessons  within   a  Freshman   English   (FE)   course  in   the  English   Language  Institute   (ELI)   program   at  Kanda  University  of  International  Studies  (KUIS)  in  Japan.  It  also  provides  an  analysis  of  the  instructor’s   perception   of   the   success   of   the   activities   which   transpired   over   four   ninety-­‐minute   lessons   over   the   course   of   a   week.   The   original   FE   course   was   developed   and  expanded  between  1996  and  2010  (Johnson,  Selman,  &  Lyddon,  2016),  and  as  stated  by  Ford  and  Torpey  (1998),  its  goals  were  to  produce  a  socially  interactive  environment  in  order  to  promote  discoursal  competence  and  emphasise  communicative  rather  than  analytical  use  of  language.  2011  saw  the  beginning  of  a  renewed  process  to  review,  reimagine  and  redesign  the   FE   syllabus.   The   resulting   process   syllabus   was   designed   to   develop   students’  communicative-­‐sociocognitive  skills  whilst  retaining  the  need  for  learners  to  develop  self-­‐
awareness   and   to   promote   self-­‐directed   learning   (Johnson,   Selman,   &   Lyddon,   2016).   Six  core  processes  were  chosen  to  provide  learners  with  a  variety  of  learning  experiences.  These  processes   are   self-­‐reflection,   audio-­‐visual   analysis,   data   analysis,   extended   interaction,  communication   strategies,   and   problem   solving   (Johnson,   Selman,   &   Lyddon,   2016).   The  three  processes  focused  on  in  this  series  of  lessons  were  communication  strategies,  audio-­‐visual  analysis,  and  self-­‐reflection.      

23METHOD    Rationale  Although  most  students  entering  universities  in  Japan,  even  those  who  will  major  in  English  language   studies,   may   have   had   many   years   of   experience   studying   English   as   a   Foreign  Language  (EFL),  they  often  have  limited  conversational  English  skills  (Osterman,  2014).  With  this   in   mind,   a   focus   in   this   series   of   lessons   was   to   assist   students   in   becoming   more  confident  in  their  ability  to  communicate  orally.  This  complements  the  overall  aims  of  the  FE  course,   which   is   to   facilitate   a   communicative   environment.   Although   this   is   necessary  throughout  the  semester,  it  is  even  more  so  at  the  beginning,  when  even  simple  classroom  language  is  often  a  struggle  for  learners.    
Furthermore,   while   some   freshman   students   may   have   been   exposed   to   role-­‐plays   and  dialogues  while  taking  high-­‐school  English  classes,  they  might  have  had  few  opportunities  to  reflect  on  their  language  use.  From  student  feedback,  this  does  not  seem  to  be  a  common  element   in   Japanese   high-­‐school   English   classes   due   to   the   high   emphasis   on   exam  preparation.   Self-­‐reflection   is   important   because   according   to   Biggs   (1999),   reflection   is  necessary  for  deep  learning,  and  without  it,  only  surface  learning  is  possible.  Drama  is  also  a  way  for  learners  to  engage  more  fully  in  the  process  of  language  learning,  providing  a  reason  to  use  the  language.  While  rehearsing,  students  are  able  to  establish  a  character’s  persona,  injecting   fun   into   the   classroom,   motivating   even   the   most   shy   or   nervous   students   to  participate  (Miccoli,  2003).    
Thus,  with  the  goals  of  the  ELI,  and  more  specifically  the  FE  course  in  mind,  a  series  of  lessons  was  developed  to  offer  learners  support  as  they  navigated  language  choices  to  enhance  their  ability  to  look  beyond  form  to  function  and  also  be  allowed  a  degree  of  creative  freedom.  
The  lessons  encouraged  the  use  of  drama  to  make  students  more  aware  of  their  language  choices  as  a  way  to  facilitate  more  effective  communication.  Upon  completion  of  the  lessons,  the  students  would  be  asked  to  analyze  the  video  and  reflect  on  their  language  use.  This  was  done  to  foster  self-­‐awareness  and  allow  them  discover  room  for  improvement.  The  students  were  also  asked  to  reflect  on  the  video-­‐making  process,  including  the  various  activity  types,  as  another  avenue  for  developing  self-­‐awareness.    
Organization  of  the  Lessons  In  a  series  of  classroom  lessons,  students  were  introduced  to  useful  classroom  expressions  along   with   their   corresponding   functions   and   given   opportunities   to   practice   them.   The  expressions  related  to  the  following  functions:       starting  a  conversation  or  discussion,       asking  for  ideas,     agreeing,     disagreeing,     asking  for  more  information  or  for  an  explanation,  24    checking  a  misunderstanding,  and  saying  something  you  are  unsure  of.    
Students  were  given  a  handout  to  introduce  them  to  common  expressions  and  their  related  functions,   and   time   was   spent   checking   understanding   and   practicing   the   production   of  correct  intonation.  Once  students  were  familiar  with  the  expressions,  a  sample  dialogue  was  distributed  for  the  expressions  to  be  seen  in  context.  In  addition  to  practicing  the  dialogue  as  written,  a  substitution  activity  was  included,  whereby  students  replaced  underlined  parts  of  the  dialogue  with  alternative  expressions  from  the  previous  handout.  Students  repeatedly  changed  roles  as  they  read  the  dialogues,  allowing  them  to  practice  new  expressions  as  they  continued  to  substitute  expressions,  being  mindful  that  new  expressions  were  appropriate  and   did   not   change   the   function/intended   meaning   of   the   dialogue.   Once   they   had  exhausted  all  possibilities  and  practiced  with  multiple  partners,  through  teacher  observation,  it  was  clear  that  they  had  become  more  confident  and  fluent  using  the  target  expressions.    
The  next  step  involved  students  brainstorming  situations  around  campus  where  it  might  be  useful  for  them  to  use  these  expressions.  This  was  done  to  highlight  that  the  classroom  is  not  the  only  place  for  English  use.  They  proposed  many  ideas  that  included:       classroom  discussions,     project  work,       asking  a  teacher  for  information/clarification,       asking  a  learning  advisor  for  help,       talking   to   a   teacher   or   learning   advisor   in   the   ELI   lounge   (a   space   on   campus  where  students  have  access  to  self-­‐study  materials  and  can  talk  to  other  students  and  staff  in  English),  and       talking  to  another  student  in  the  ELI  lounge.      These  were  all  situations  that  they  expressed  they  had  either  already  encountered  or  thought  that   they   might   encounter  and   in   which  they  hoped   to  avoid   using   Japanese.   After  being  placed   in   groups,   students   selected   one   situation   in   which   they   would   like   to   feel   more  confident  with  regards  to  their  English-­‐speaking  ability.  Once  a  situation  had  been  decided  on,  they  worked  together  to  write  a  dialogue  which  necessitated  including  some  of  the  target  expressions.   No   minimum   or   maximum   number   of   expressions   or   functions   was   set.   This  allowed  students  freedom  to  show  what  they  were  capable  of.  It  also  assisted  the  teacher  in  determining  what  further  teaching  might  be  necessary.    
Students   were   then   given   time   to   practice   and   finally   film   their   skits.   They   were   able   to  choose   from   a   selection   of   face   masks   (of  both  teachers  and   learning   advisors)   that   they  might  see  around  campus.  The  reasoning  for  this  was  that  it  might  be  less  intimidating  to  take  on  the  role  of  somebody  other  than  themselves,  especially  if  one  of  the  characters  in  their  designed  skit  happened  to  be  a  teacher  or  learning  advisor.  Furthermore,  by  providing  a  mask,  there  is  an  added  element  of  fun  and  motivation.  From  observation,  students  found  25

this  to  be  a  fun  activity  and  seemed  to  relax.  There  was  laughter  and  smiling  as  the  students  interacted  with  each  other.  Some  feedback  from  making  the  videos  was:  “I  enjoyed  making  a  movie”,  “I  enjoyed  talking  in  English”,  “I  could  know  their  real  characters”,  and  “I  enjoyed  talking  about  the  contents  of  conversation  with  my  friends!”    Once   the   students   were   happy   with   their   performances,   the   videos   were   collected   and  shared.  The  students  were  then  required  to  watch  and  critique  each  group’s  video.  The  video  analysis  task  required  students  to  note  which  expressions  were  used  in  each  dialogue  and  ascertain  the  corresponding  functions.  Through  this  activity,  the  students’  awareness  of  how  many  expressions  their  group  included  was  raised.  Furthermore,  they  were  able  to  compare  their  own  dialogues,  use  of  language,  and  performances  to  those  of  others.  This  helped  them  realize   the   existence   of   further   opportunities   to   extend   and   improve   their   own   group’s  dialogue.    This  could  be  done  by  setting  the  scene  more  carefully,  speaking  more  clearly,  and  adding   more   information,   including   but   not   limited   to,   more   expressions.   The   following  feedback   indicates   that   the   students   enjoyed   watching   other   groups’   performances   and  found  the  self-­‐  and  peer-­‐analysis  tasks  to  be  very  helpful:  “I  learned  some  functions  for  each  conversation”,  “I  learned  how  to  start  a  conversation”,  “These  expressions  are  very  useful”,  and  “I  learned  how  to  use  many  kinds  of  expressions”.    
Possibly  due   to   a   competitive   element,  students   were   quite   vocal  about   wanting   to   make  improvements  to  their  first  dramatic  performances.  Although  not  in  the  original  plan  for  this  set  of  lessons,  the  teacher  decided  to  take  advantage  of  the  students’  motivation  to  improve  and   allowed   a   second   round   of   videos.  Students   were   given   the   opportunity   to   edit   their  scripts  and  re-­‐record  them.  They  were  highly  motivated  to  do  this  the  second  time  and  were  quite  competitive.  Upon  completion,  students  were  once  again  asked  to  record  all  instances  of  target  language  and  identify  the  correct  functions.  Motivation  continued  to  be  high  for  this  task  due  to  the  students’  competitive  nature.    
DISCUSSION    In  the   second  set   of   videos,   it   was   rewarding   to  discover  that  every   group   extended  their  dialogue  with  relevant  content,  which  included  additional  expressions  and  functions.  In  the  follow-­‐up  videos,  the  dialogues  displayed  more  examples  of  asking  for  more  ideas,  asking  for  more  clarification,  agreeing,  and  disagreeing.  This  resulted  in  the  edited  dialogues  sounding  more  natural  than  the  first  attempts  and  showed  that  the  students  were  able  to  make  more  enlightened  decisions.  By  seeing  their  original  works  and  being  able  to  compare  with  others,  they  were  ideally  going  beyond  simply  inserting  expressions  for  the  sole  purpose  of  checking  off  a  box  to  complete  a  task.  Students  watched  all  of  the  new  role-­‐play  videos  and  appeared  excited  to  see  the  improvements.    
Overall,  having  students  complete  these  activities  to  help  them  identify,  practice,  use,  and  reflect  upon  practical  classroom  language  appeared  to  be  a  success.  Having  the  students  not  26

only   act   out   the   role-­‐plays   but   also   film   them   in   the   setting   where   the   conversation   was  taking  place  involved  more  skills  than  the  simple  reading  of  a  dialogue.  In  addition,  having  a  visual  to  view  and  reflect  on  made  them  more  acutely  aware  of  how  a  person’s  whole  body  is  involved  in   language   use.   Filming   required   them   to  think   about  posture,  volume,   and   eye  contact  in  a  way  that  they  might  otherwise  have  not  fully  noticed  had  they  just  been  sitting  at  a  desk  reading  aloud.  By  doing  this  series  of  activities,  students  became  familiar  with  the  target  expressions  and  more  comfortable  using  them.  The  students  enjoyed  being  writers,  actors  and  critics  during  the  ongoing  lesson  activities  and  gave  positive  feedback  about  their  experiences.    
CONCLUSION    Taking  a  simple  dialogue  and  transitioning  it  into  a  creative  role-­‐play  activity  was  a  successful  way  of  raising  students’  awareness  of  classroom  language,  their  use  of  it  and  how  they  could  more   fully   utilize   its   use.   Adding   a   drama   element   into   the   classroom   increased   student  motivation  by  injecting  fun  and  imagination  into  the  activity.  Student  feedback  and  teacher  flexibility   allowed   for   a   modification   of   the   initial   plan.   Taking   advantage   of   heightened  student   motivation   led   to   increased   productivity,   resulting   in   an   even   more   positive   and  satisfying   product.   Use   of   two   of   the   six   core   processes,   notably   the   video   analysis   and  reflection,  which  are  a  key  component  in  the  FE  curriculum,  led  to  a  strengthened  awareness  of  the  target  language.  This  in  turn  promoted  communicative  competence,  yet  another  core  process.   Students   and   teacher   alike   were   impressed   by   the   end   results,   which   were  entertaining  as  well  as  practical.  
    REFERENCES    Biggs,  J.  (1999).  Teaching  for  quality  learning  at  university.  Buckingham,  UK:  Open  University  Press.      Ford,   K.,   &   Torpey,   M.   (1998).   Principles   and   practice   of   materials   design   for   promoting  interaction  and   interdependence   in   the  EFL  classroom.  The   Journal  of  Kanda   University  of  International  Studies,  10,  397-­‐436.    
Johnson,   N.   H.,   Selman,   A.,   &   Lyddon,   P.   A.   (2016).   Redesigning   the   freshman   English  syllabus:   A   pedagogy   of   process   and   transformation.   The   Journal   of   Kanda   University   of  International  Studies,  28,  355-­‐376.  
  Miccoli,  L.  (2003).  English  through  drama  for  oral  skills  development,  ELT  Journal,  57(2),  122–129.      
27Osterman,   G.   L.   (2014).   Experiences  of   Japanese   university   students’  willingness   to  speak  English  in  class:  A  multiple  case  study.  SAGE  Open,  4(3),  1–13.  

28