DRAMA AS A TECHNIQUE  OF TEACHING LANGUAGE AND COMMUNICATION SKILLS

Қ.Ж.ҚҰРМАНБЕКОВА

DRAMA AS A TECHNIQUE  OF TEACHING LANGUAGE AND COMMUNICATION SKILLS

АВТОРЛЫҚ БАҒАДАРЛАМА

“Drama is doing. Drama is being.
Drama is such a normal thing.”

1. Maley

The topicality of research on the developing pronunciation, communication and language skills with students of schools by using the drama activities method is clearly determined by the urgent need to find the most effective ways of teaching English, due to the policy of trilingualism in the Republic of Kazakhstan that was proclaimed in the “Strategy Kazakhstan- 2050” by the president N.Nazarbayev. Our president emphasized the importance of learning English language by stating: “Being able to communicate in the language of the modern world will reveal new and unlimited opportunities for each citizen of our country.” [1]

Relying on the research findings of well-known foreign scholars (Maley and Duff; Philips; Gez [2;3;4]) as well as domestic innovative teachers (Zhangaliyeva G.M.; Leplyaev V.A. [5;6]) who have studied the problems of using drama activities method in foreign languages learning, we can summarize that drama can develop language skills such as speaking, reading, listening, writing by creating a suitable context. Drama is a powerful language teaching tool that involves all students interactively. Drama can also provide the means for connecting students’ emotions and cognition as it enables students to take risks with language and experience the connection between thought and action. Through drama, students practice and integrate reading, writing, speaking and listening. Drama also fosters and maintains students’ motivation, by providing an atmosphere which is full of fun and entertainment. In so doing, it engages feelings and attention and enriches the learners’ experience of the language. Drama activities can promote interesting ways of motivating language learners and teachers.

There a lot of supporters of the using drama activities method in teaching English. Brumpfit [7]; Cornett, Claudia E. and Katharine L. Smithrim [8]; Konysheva A.V. [9] describe the benefits of drama in foreign language learning in their studying.

Drama activities method can be easily used in the classroom. The evidence of that is a resource book written by Alan Maley and Alan Duff, who  suggesteda lot of amusing and entertaining drama activities that can be used at any stage of the lesson. [2]

Fleming also confirmed the using drama as real communication, particularly in public contexts with strangers, may be full of subtexts, innuendo and self-consciousness which can become under more conscious control in drama. [10 p.155] M. Anderson and J. Dunn illustrate that drama focuses on a considerable and growing body of literature thus operating within the learning contexts. [11 p.20]

Aldavero posed that drama activities help students to communicate in the foreign language including those with limited vocabulary [12 p.40]; Desiatova outlined some of  the areas where drama is very useful to language learners and teachers [13 p.33]; Fleming stated that drama is inevitably learner-centered because it can only operate through active cooperation [14, p.25]; Gavin Bolton emphasized that drama is a unique tool, vital for language development as it simulates reality and develops self-expression [15, p.122];

Due to the huge potential for using drama activities method in the classroom, we can assume that this is a highly promising area of study. Our research is focused on the theoretical aspects of the use of drama activities method in teaching English as well as practical implementation of this method based on the staging 2 plays “Sherlock Holmes and the Mystery of the Aquilla Diamond” and “Snow White and Her Friends” with 7^th and 9^th grade students respectively. We analyze the whole process of the staging a play describing differences between the work on the play with 7^th and 9^th grades. We also suppose that drama activities method can be also used for adult learners and prove it by analyzing the similar work with Students of senior classes who took part in the staging a play “The Show Must Go On”.

The aim of investigation: to investigate the effectiveness of the use of drama activities method in the English language teaching as a second language with students of schools.

The object of investigation: the impact of the drama activities method on the English language teaching as a second language.

The subject of investigation: the role of staging the drama plays in the English language teaching as a second language.

The tasks of investigation:

1.to analyze theoretical and methodological resources of domestic and foreign scholars on the subject of research;

2.to reveal the most effective ways of using drama activities methods in the English language teaching;

3.to determine the effectiveness of the use of the drama activities method.

Hypothesis of investigation: we suppose that the use of drama activities method provides for the students the possibilities to learn English language in authentic context, to overcome the language barrier and evokes students’ interest, thus making the process of English language learning more effective.

Method of investigation is complex one combining:

1.descriptive method

2.analytical method

3.comparative method

4. statistical method

The theoretical value of researchis to investigate the experience gained in the study of the use of drama activities method in teaching English in schools.
The practical value of research is to develop methodological recommendations for using the drama activities method in teaching English.
The research paper consists of Introduction, two Chapters, Bibliography list consisting of  67    titles (totals      pp.)