Looking at the student teacher interactions during drama process

Shin Mei Kao and Cecily O’Neil combine analysis of drama process and SLA into one key study conducted in Taiwan. They looked specifically at the quality of the discourse and the quantity of the discourse in a systematic and empirical way. They conducted a fourteen week communication course using drama with university first year students. They then randomly took four drama process activities – two based on real events and two based on imaginary – and analysed the discourse.

They specifically looked at number of turns in the discourse from the students as compared to the teacher turns and also at the quality of the turns. The quality was measured using Van Lieu’s (1988) notion of taking initiative. This is described in four categories – (1) taking initiative on the topic, (2) taking initiative on self, (3) taking initiative for allocating the turn to another student or teacher, and (4) taking initiative in moving the sequence forward.  Excellent ideas on coding and ways to scientifically validate drama process.

Their key assumptions here are that the drama classroom resembles natural real-life discourse, allowing student to take more turns in the discourse and with a higher quality of turn. They made interesting discussion about the importance of internal tension – both in dynamic tension of the activity format and also tension of the role. They also tested the oral competence of the student before the class and after the class, using a self devised test describing a comic strip. In this test they scored the communication units and the speech clarity and proved that students improved (although not necessarily as a result of drama).

This study has given me ideas on how to measure communicative competence in the drama process and provides a solid way to empirical record the quality and quantity of the student teacher interaction. There is also a theoretical framework which I can follow – van Lier’s idea and categories of learners taking initiative in the classroom. I also liked the idea of teaching a drama process class for a period of time, recording everything with the video and then randomly choosing four episodes to analyse (and thereby eliminating other external factors).

The authors call for more empirical studies which validate drama process in language learning. They also describe a process for designing a language learning course using drama process.  Coming out of this reading I wonder at the possibility of doing a larger scale study in the same format. Or at least using the concept of conducting a program with students and then locating episodes to analyse for the aesthetic moment.

If I can merge Penny Bundy’s concept of the aesthetic experience – namely demonstrations of connection, animation and heightened awareness and Shin-Mei Kao’s theoretical framework and approach to analysis, I think I will be able to further analyse and validate the A-Ha moment.