2

Introduction
Throughout the years, students in my school have known and been fond of
the characters in the stories and texts we use in English classes. For the first
time, the characters have come alive to interact with the students. (a primary
English teacher participating in the SCOLAR Drama-in-Education English
Alliance Programme)
My teacher used to stand there like a piece of log. His way of teaching English
made us sleepy.
We seldom laugh in class. The teacher just talked and talked. Then we answered and answered, and wrote and wrote.
Using drama to learn English, it is more life-like.
Now my teacher has become livelier. I found my teacher more attractive.
(primary students participating in the Programme)

I. How this book has come about

The journey of publishing this book started two years ago when the Standing Committee for Language Education and Research (SCOLAR) launched an Alliance Programme
introducing to Hong Kong primary teachers the use of drama as a classroom resource in
teaching English. The aim of the Programme was:
to assist primary schools to promote English drama as a means to arouse students interest in English language learning and to improve their English language skills (Guidelines & Specifications for Submission of Proposals, Dramain-Education English Alliance, 2008).
Hong Kong Art School was engaged as one of SCOLARs programme partners from
2008 to 2010, working with more than 300 teachers from a total of 62 schools, with onefourth of these teachers (from 27 schools) joining the Programme for two consecutive
years. The Alliance teachers participated in teacher development courses to equip themselves with knowledge and skills in Drama-in-Education, and were further given schoolbased support by Hong Kong Art School instructors in co-planning and writing English
lesson plans adopting drama as pedagogy, and implementing the plans with upper primary students in their schools. One of the outcomes of the Alliance Programme was having
each school producing at least one unit plan that had been trialed and proven successful
in local classrooms.

Language Alive: Teaching English through Process Drama

(Hong Kong Art School for the Standing Committee on Language Education and Research)

We conceived the publication of some of these plans with a wish to provide more resources for local English teachers. Although the field of drama education has been rapidly developing in Hong Kong in the last decade, local teaching materials are still a scarcity. We
hope this collection of unit plans will allow us to share the Alliances experiences with
more teachers who wish to enliven their English curriculum with drama.
Owing to limited resources, we can only publish some of the plans. In making the choices, we have endeavoured to balance considerations on:
a. Grade levels including an even number of unit plans from all three grade levels at
Key Stage 2 (although a lot more Primary 5 plans were available as most of the Alliance schools had opted to work with this grade level);
b. S ource materials/pretexts balancing the choice of textbook materials and readers,
the two major sources of texts in the local English curriculum;
c. Themes and topics from exploring classic literature to current social issues, from
subject matters of the personal/moral to those of the social/political etc;
d. Approaches to planning demonstrating different choices of structures, roles and situations, even with the same source materials (thus you can find two different unit plans on
The Kings New Coat which are approaching the same story in quite different ways).
Language Alive is the outcome of a two-year collaborative and reflective experimentation
in which all the participating teachers and students have played a key role. The insights
we gained from the Programme have become useful input as we compile and edit this collection of works insights as related to circumstances teachers face in second language
education within the Hong Kong context, the needs of local students and teachers, and how
drama can help meet their needs. We are indebted to the invaluable contributions of all the
Alliance schools, whether or not their plans have been included in this book.

II. How to Use this Book

This book consists of three main sections. The Introduction lays down the rationales for
using drama in teaching English and provides background understandings of concepts
and terminologies used in the writing of the unit plans. The main body of the book comprises 12 elaborated unit plans with detailed steps, teaching notes and rationales. The final chapter details all the drama strategies used in the book and suggestions on their use,
particularly highlighting how they could benefit second language classrooms with young
children.

A Note about Language

While we have made every effort to polish our writing and avoid grammatical mistakes,

Language Alive: Teaching English through Process Drama

(Hong Kong Art School for the Standing Committee on Language Education and Research)

you may find the English in this book still far from being perfect. We hope you understand that the majority of the authors are non-native English users. Like all the children
taking part in the Alliance Programme, drama has provided us with a meaningful task
and we took on the positive challenge of writing in a language other than our mother
tongue. The desire to communicate and share ideas has out-weighted our fear of making
mistakes, and encouraged us to do our best, all the time acknowledging there is still always room for improvement.

III. What are the benefits of using drama in the English classroom?
Drama and language are close acquaintances both media require the use of verbal and
non-verbal skills for communicating ideas and expressing meanings. Traditional ways of
teaching often require students to acquire language in cognitive, abstract manners. Drama, by its visible actions and kinesthetic modes of expression, helps students, particularly
young children, turn abstract ideas into concrete experiences, allowing them to understand what they have learned a lot better.
Numerous literatures have been written on how drama enhances second language learning (Kao & ONeill, 1998; Stinson, 2008; Stinson & Freebody, 2006; Wagner, 1998).
In our Alliance Programme, teachers and students also pointed out a range of benefits
that echo these literatures. In focus group interviews conducted as part of the end-ofprogramme evaluation, they shared their observations on many positive student changes
from passive to motivated, from silent to lively, from bored to interested, and from the
impossible to possible.
a. Drama enhances the motivation to learn English
Students and teachers shared that drama made learning more relaxing and enjoyable.
Students were allowed to move about and interact instead of just sitting to listen to
teacher talk. We dont doze off in a drama lesson like we normally do in English lessons! said some students. They also identified the unpredictability of drama lessons
as one of the sources of motivation when students were not required to stick with
the textbooks but allowed to create new episodes in the story or even new endings,
they felt much more engaged.
b. Drama enhances the confidence to speak
When students are engaged in drama activities, they are more willing to take risks as
the fiction provides a safe environment for expressing ideas. The Alliance participants
found that drama had provided more opportunities for the students to speak up in
class. Some students who were usually quiet and unconfident in English classes were
observed to be more willing to try and speak out loudly as they had become less selfconscious when doing drama. The abundance of group tasks in drama also enabled

Language Alive: Teaching English through Process Drama

(Hong Kong Art School for the Standing Committee on Language Education and Research)

more student exchange than teacher talk so there were more chances to practise speaking English.
c. Drama improves writing
The acting out of roles and situations in a drama provides students with more ideas to
write. Process Drama allows for ample space for students to create something of their
own. The students in the Programme appreciated such freedom which had made them
more willing to express themselves. Teachers pointed out that the students became less
anxious of making mistakes as they were no longer pressured to look for model answers.
d. Drama provides a context to use language authentically
Students engaged in dramatic contexts were given (fictional) purposes to communicate authentically, for example, by speaking to characters in the story face-to-face. The
medium of drama itself also encouraged students to communicate more clearly and
expressively because they knew they were doing drama rather than having an ordinary
English lesson.
e. Drama helps students embody learning
Drama employs multiple means of expressions (verbal and non-verbal) which are essential in second language acquisition. Teachers and students found that by communicating with more facial expressions, gestures and non-verbal expressions, students were
able to understand and express ideas much more effectively, and were able to memorise
better what they had learned.
f. Drama caters for individual differences
The weaker students were found to become more engaged in lessons as the drama
strategies provide for differentiation of learning tasks (e.g. weaker students could be
given only one sentence to speak, or help the group in showing ideas with body language). The teachers and students also recalled incidents in which the more capable
students offered help to weaker ones in group works. This not just helped the weaker
students to learn, but also brought about satisfactions in the stronger students.
g. Drama nurtures higher, and more active participation in learning
The participative nature of drama makes way for more interactions amongst students
and their teachers. The students had more chances to do group discussions and got
more even chances to speak. Also, compared with performance-based drama, where
only a few students would get the chance to perform in the play, Process Drama allows
for more even opportunities to perform.
h. Drama improves teacher-student relationship

Language Alive: Teaching English through Process Drama

(Hong Kong Art School for the Standing Committee on Language Education and Research)

The teachers found that they got to know their students better through drama, realising many student potentials unnoticeable in usual lessons. Drama involves teacher and
students to act together, laugh together and share humor together. The students found
their teachers less boring, friendlier, and even more attractive, to quote from one of
the students.
i. Drama improves learning attitudes
Drama was also found to be helpful in nurturing more supportive and appreciative
attitudes amongst students as they were always required to work cooperatively. The
students enjoyed watching each others presentations, and got to appreciate others
creativity which was not often observed in usual English classes.

IV. How are learning experiences structured in Process Drama?

What is Process Drama?
Process Drama is an approach of work growingly adopted by educators worldwide as
progressive pedagogy. Traditional approaches to drama rely on an end product (a performance or a production) by reading and acting out scripted texts for an external audience. Process Drama, on the contrary, places its emphasis on the process of developing
responses to human situations, usually without a watching audience. Process Drama has a
few characteristics:
1 It is unrehearsed and improvisational in nature, providing opportunities for engagement with imagined roles or situations as if events are being experienced at real lifes
pace. This kind of engagement is quite different from that in rehearsing a piece of
scripted text, where dramatic actions are predicted and dialogues are generally prescribed.
2 It stresses the collective construction of holistic, authentic dramatic contexts for
learning instead of the use of single, deconstextualised theatre games or enactment of
play skits.
3 It employs a range of carefully sequenced drama strategies (also known as drama conventions) rather than relying on script reading and rehearsals only.
4 It often adopts the strategy of Teacher-in-role where the teacher negotiates meaning with students within the dramatic context, engaging in interactive learning and
teaching processes.
Although Process Drama does not put emphasis on an end performance, it does not preclude the possibility of doing so. Process Drama has often been used by drama educators
as an approach for collaborative playbuilding to create performance texts that young
people take ownership of. (See examples in the unit plans where the Process Drama works

Language Alive: Teaching English through Process Drama

(Hong Kong Art School for the Standing Committee on Language Education and Research)

culminate in a playscript or a performance at the end of the units.)

A Framework for Planning

Planning Process Drama is a task that is easy to learn but difficult to master. If you are
new to Process Drama, you will find it hard to start from scratch (and that is why we
are publishing this book). There are many useful books on how to plan good Process
Drama. If you are interested in developing yourself in this area, we recommend that you
read Making Sense of Drama (Neelands, 1984), Planning Process Drama (Bowell & Heap,
2001) and Pretending to Learn (OToole & Dunn, 2002).
While we do not intend to go into details about planning drama in this book, we acknowledge the need for readers to understand how the 12 unit plans in this book have
been conceived and designed. We are therefore showing you the framework for planning
that has been based on in the Alliance Programme. It is a framework our Programme
Team put together by consolidating what we have learned from the three key texts listed
above.

Preliminary Considerations
W h a t p r e t e x t (s o u r c e
material) will help bring
about such learning/explorations/experiences?

(textbook chapter, reader,

other materials)

My Goals
What do I want my students to learn/explore/
experience in the drama? (language goals, drama
goals, themes/topics/issues)

What dramatic contexts

and roles will bring about
such learning /explorations/experiences? (who

will the students be in the

drama? What situations will
the characters encounter?)

Planning the Drama

Deciding on a pretext
Choosing/creating dramatic contexts and roles
(according to your language/other teaching goals)

Choosing the strategies/drama conventions

Deciding on structures

(sequencing of learning tasks; choosing and diversifying class structures

individual, paired, small group or whole class)

Language Alive: Teaching English through Process Drama

(Hong Kong Art School for the Standing Committee on Language Education and Research)

The Three Phases of Process Drama

The steps in the unit plans are organised into three phases: the Initiation Phase, the Experiential Phase and the Reflective Phase. These phases are interconnected yet serve different functions and purposes.

Initiation Phase

(building belief/becoming somebody else in a fictional world)

Establishing/clarifying the basic facts about the story (the people, the place, the
era, the situation, the problems or concerns of the characters etc).
Getting students to step in, explore and create (something of their own) in order
to build belief in roles and situations.
Planting seeds for what will happen later during the Experiential Phase.

Experiential Phase

(Something happens! What now?)

Something happens that requires the roles to make some kind of decision(s).
W hat factors are of concern? (At least some of these shou ld be bui lt
in/planted during the Initiation Phase.) What choices are there? What are
the consequences?
Goes back to the teaching goals for the lesson: What do you want students to
explore and experience?
The experiences ensure that students are not just jumping to a decision/conclusion, but are going through a vigorous process of confronting dilemmas, tackling challenges, dealing with difficulties by means of negotiation/rationalising
within or amongst themselves. This usually requires some good questioning and
prompting on the teachers part.
If the students have been helped to build enough belief earlier on, they should be
making such decisions in role, in context (not just giving the teacher a response
because they think that is what s/he wants).

Language Alive: Teaching English through Process Drama

(Hong Kong Art School for the Standing Committee on Language Education and Research)

Reflective Phase

(What have been learned from the experiences?)

Experiences are processed to make meaning; implicit feelings and tacit understandings are turned into explicit knowledge.
At the end of the unit, it is important to set aside time for reflection. The students have been getting more and more into the fictional world and roles; they
need to step back out and see (feel) how things relate to their world and themselves.
Throughout the lessons, the students will also step in and out of role at different
times and take opportunities for reflection.
Opportunities for extension work, especially writing tasks.

Some Last Notes on the Use of Space

The class structures and suggested use of space have been specified for each step in all
the unit plans in this book. Good management of space is one of the keys to conducting
successful drama lessons. Yet it is also one of the biggest challenges we face in the limited
space of Hong Kong classrooms working with large class sizes.
The unit plans in this book had been variedly implemented in the activity room, the
school hall or ordinary classrooms.
The activity room is the ideal space for drama, as it is spacious enough for students to
move about, and is also contained enough to keep students focused. It also provides flexibility for accommodating different ways of grouping the students.

Students doing drama in an activity room

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Language Alive: Teaching English through Process Drama

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A teacher using partitions in a school hall to confine activity space

The school hall is another spacious

place that the school can employ
for drama activities. Depending on
physical and acoustic design, some
school halls may be too big to keep
students focused. You may find it
easier to confine the childrens activities in one part of the hall. If
you have got a stage large enough to
accommodate the whole class, you
may also conduct your drama lesson on the stage with the curtain
closed.

Sometimes when activity rooms and school halls are difficult to book, or when class time
is too limited for students to travel from their classroom to other places, the classroom can
still be effectively managed and transformed into a useful space for drama. Below are a few
examples of classroom configurations that teachers in the Alliance Programme have used:

Desk
Chair
Teacher or Teacher-in-role
Student
Teachers Desk

Students working as a whole class

with space in the middle for presentations or activities that require
students to move about

Language Alive: Teaching English through Process Drama

(Hong Kong Art School for the Standing Committee on Language Education and Research)

Another configuration for students

working as a whole class

Small groups in their own space,

with empty space in the middle

Some drama strategies required specific space arrangements, and needs more thoughtful
considerations when the class size is big, for example, Conscience Alley:

Conscience Alley with a small class

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Language Alive: Teaching English through Process Drama

(Hong Kong Art School for the Standing Committee on Language Education and Research)

Conscience Alley with 40 students,

with students working in pairs

Of course the examples are by no means exhaustive and there are bound to be infinite
possibilities when you let your imagination flow!
We hope you will find this book useful in bringing your English classrooms to life!
Chan Yuk-Lan Phoebe & Lam Yin Krissy

References
Bowell, P., & Heap, B. S. (2001). Planning Process Drama. London: David Fulton Publishers.
Kao, S. M., & ONeill, C. (1998). Words into Worlds: Learning a Second Language through Process
Drama. London: Ablex.
Neelands, J. (1984). Making Sense of Drama: A Guide to Classroom Practice. Oxford: Heinemann
Educational Books.
OToole, J., & Dunn, J. (2002). Pretending to Learn: Helping Children Learn through Drama. Frenchs
Forest: Pearson.
Stinson, M. (2008). Process Drama and Teaching English to Speakers of Other Lang uages.In
M. Anderson, J. Hughes & J. Manuel (Eds.),Drama and English Teaching: Imagination, Action and
Engagement (pp. 193-212). Oxford University Press.
Stinson, M., & Freebody, K. (2006). The DOL Project: An Investigation into the Contribution of
Process Drama to Improved Results in English Oral Communication. Youth Theatre Journal, 20,
p. 27-41.
Wagner, B. J. (1998). Educational Drama and Language Arts: What Research Shows. Portsmouth:
Heinemann.