Drama is a motivating strategy, which uses active teaching and learning activities, to motivate students of all levels, in learning a foreign language, because it provides visual and physical reinforcement, helping students to memorize new words, easily. Warm-up activities are fun, participative and cooperative for learners.
Here are some examples:
• Clap around the circle – students sit in a circle and they clap one at a time, trying to make the impression like one person is clapping. If tried with one’s eyes closed, it becomes much harder; 1-2-3 – is a fun concentration game, which involves pairs of students, counting from one to three, between themselves, over and over. In the next stage, instead of saying the number 1, students have to clap their hand, while still saying the numbers 2 and 3. The next step is to bend one’s knees, instead of saying 3, while still clapping hand for number 1;
• One word at a time – In a circle, the story is started with each person in turn adding one word. It usually starts with ‘Once – upon – a – time’. The idea is to keep your thoughts free flowing, so that you don’t try to guess what is coming or force the story in a particular direction. It is not always easy to maintain a logical flow for the story, although it is always amusing. If the group is too large, break into smaller groups.
• Led by the nose – students have to imagine that they have strings tied to different body parts and move around the class led by those parts ( knees, fingers, elbows, nose, eyes, etc.
• Fashion show – this activity can be very fun, if students are allowed choose the roles they want to play. The preparatory step includes: choosing the name of the show, the music and the roles for both boys and girls, such as: designer, photographer, models, etc. In the following step, the teacher helps students organise the classroom: exit/entrance, catwalk, places for the audience, etc. Then, students dress up and prepare for the show, the audience sit down and the show can begin. • Dramatized story – the teacher chooses an easy story that can be played by students and chooses the actors. Then, students can make their own lines and the teacher can correct their pronunciation and speaking, as they act out.
• Eyes right – the teachers defines a play area and asks students to walk slowly through it and when he/she says ‘freeze’ they have to stay still. Then, the teacher says “eyes right” and each student has to make eye-contact with a peer on the right, calling out his/her name. In the next stage, the teacher says ‘move on’ and students begin to walk around. Then the steps are repeated several times.
• Paddling at the beach – the class is divided into groups of 5 students and the teacher chooses a student to start the activity. Another student asks the first one what he/she is doing and Student 1, doing nothing, says he/she is paddling at the beach. Student 2 starts miming paddling at the beach. A third student asks Student 2 what he/she is doing and Student 2 says a different action, such as swimming or flying a kite. Student 3 mimes that action. The activity continues in groups, until all students mime an action.
• Good morning – the class is divided into two lines, facing each other, at a distance of 5 metres. The teacher calls out 2 related characters, such as cat and dog, principal and student, policeman and thief. The first students in each line play the roles nominated and approach each other saying ‘Good morning’ and join the opposite line in the back. For the next pairs of students the teacher changes the characters.
• Ten second objects – is a good way to reinforce new vocabulary and to make learners pay attention and cooperate in groups. Teachers can organise this quickly and it is very interesting to see what groups may come up with, as they are required to make some objects, for the rest of the class to guess.
• Two truths – One lie – is a great idea to help students know each other better at the beginning of a course or of a school cycle. The activity takes place in pairs and partners have to take turns and share personal information about their family, hobbies, favourite food, etc. Then, the other partner has to guess which one is true and which one is a lie. Students have to tell only one lie.
All in all, while acting out roles, learners use their own language, experience and imagination, each interpretation being unique, due to different personality features, thus they learn English in a pleasant way, without even knowing that they acquire new vocabulary and grammar and practising their previous knowledge.