Krivkova Drama Final PDF

MASARYK UNIVERSITY
Faculty of Education
Department of English Language and Literature
Design of the Workshop:

How to use Drama in an English Language
Class?
Diploma Thesis
Brno 2011
Supervisor:
Written by:
Mgr. rka Dohnalov
Bc. Lenka Kivkov
Masaryk University Faculty of Education

Lenka Kivkov
Brno 2011
Declaration
I declare that I worked on my Diploma thesis on my own and that all the
information sources I used are listed in the bibliography.
I agree with storing my thesis in the library of the Faculty of Education of
Masaryk University in order to make it available for study purposes.
..........................................................
Bc. Lenka Kivkov

Design of the Workshop: How to Use Drama in English Class?
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Acknowledgements
I would like to give my cordial thanks to Mgr. rka Dohnalov for her kind
guidance that she provided me as my supervisor. I particularly appreciate her helpful
advice, insightful comments and most of all her enormous patience.
My cordial thanks also belong to Lic. Jos de Jess Galvn Muoz for his
immeasurable support during the realization of this workshop and during my whole stay
at Universidad Nacional Autnoma de Mxico in Mexico City.
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Contents
1 INTRODUCTION..........................................................................................................5
2 DRAMA EDUCATION IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING.............................7
2.1 English Language Teaching.............................................................................7
2.2 Traditional versus alternative methods............................................................8
2.3 Drama Education.............................................................................................9
2.4 Drama Education in English Language Teaching.........................................10
2.4.1 Motivation..................................................................................11
2.4.2 Meaning in context.....................................................................12
2.4.3 Learning styles and multiple intelligences.................................13
2.4.4 Affective filter............................................................................14
2.4.5 Psychological benefits................................................................15
2.5 Methods and techniques of Drama Education used in English Language
Teaching...............................................................................................................16
3 STRUCTURED DRAMA............................................................................................24
3.1 Concept of structured drama..........................................................................24
3.2 Selection of the motifs for structured drama.................................................25
3.3 Structure of structured drama........................................................................26
3.4 Structured drama in English Language Teaching..........................................28
4 THEORETICAL BACKGROUND OF THE PROJECT.............................................30
4.1 Population of the project................................................................................30
4.2 Methodology of the project............................................................................32
4.2.1 General information about the workshop........................................33
4.1.2 Objectives of the workshop.............................................................33
4.1.3 Contents of the workshop...............................................................34
5 PRACTICAL PART.....................................................................................................37
5.1 Description and realization of the activities of the workshop.......................37
5.2 Feedback and evaluation of the workshop.....................................................97
6 CONCLUSIONS........................................................................................................110
7 RESUME....................................................................................................................111
8 BIBLIOGRAPHY......................................................................................................112
9 APPENDICES............................................................................................................116
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1 INTRODUCTION
During my studies at the Faculty of Education of Masaryk University in Brno I
was given a possibility to study the specialization in Drama Education. It was not only
an immense contribution to my academic education, but especially to my personal life
because these studies brought me an enormous amount of experience, adventures and
better understanding of myself and my possibilities. In respect to my study combination,
which is teaching English and French language and literature, I started to specialize in
the integration of my experience from drama classes and workshops into the foreign
language teaching.
Using Drama Education in teaching, particularly in teaching foreign languages,

provides countless advantages. That is why I decided to share my experience and
knowledge with my colleagues studying the study programme Teaching English at one
of the most prestigious universities in Latin America, Universidad Nacional Autnoma
de Mxico in Mexico City. My target was to design and realize a four-day practical
workshop concerning Drama Education in English Language Teaching called How to
use Drama in an English language class? The main aim of the workshop was to present
to the participants the basic concept of Drama Education and its possible exploitation in
English Language Teaching, with a focus on the contribution to the foreign language
acquisition.
When preparing the workshop I drew inspiration from my own experience of

practical drama courses and workshops I had attended during my studies, particularly of
the semester course Dramatick techniky ve vuce cizch jazyk designed by Mgr.
rka Dohnalov and of the three-day workshop of structured drama led by the British
lecturer Andrew John Kempe.
The thesis is divided into two main parts. The first, theoretical part concerns the
concept of Drama Education in English Language Teaching, particularly exploring the
field of drama methods and techniques and focusing on structured drama. It also
describes the theoretical foundation of the workshop, such as its population and design.
The second part deals with the description of realized activities and evaluation of the
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workshop I created for the teachers who would like to learn more about drama in
English Language Teaching and how to practically use it in their classes.

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2 DRAMA EDUCATION IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING

We live in a global world where the knowledge of a foreign language,
particularly English, is almost a must. English has become a natural part of our
everyday lives, we can encounter it in media, advertising, shopping and it becomes
absolutely inevitable when it comes to travelling and making oneself understood
abroad. The knowledge of a foreign language gives young people considerable
advantage when looking for a job or simply communicating with peers from abroad on
the Internet. That is why students should not learn English just because it is a part of
most curricula, but because they can see its significance in their future lives. And that is
where English teachers should help them and encourage them.
2.1 English Language Teaching

Jeremy Harmer espouses a well-known theory of the second language
acquisition presented by a widely recognized American applied linguist Stephen
Krashen. In 1980s Krashen came up with a theory about two independent systems of
second language performance: the acquired system and the learned system. The
acquired system or acquisition is the product of a subconscious process very similar
to the process children undergo when they acquire their first language (...) Acquisition
requires meaningful interaction in the target language, natural communication, in which
speakers are concerned not with the form of their utterances but with the messages they
are conveying and understanding. (...) The learned system or learning is, on the
contrary, the product of formal instruction and it comprises a conscious process which
results in conscious knowledge about the language. [1]
Taking into consideration the distinction between the subconscious and
anxiety-free acquisition and conscious process where separate items from the language
are studied and practised in turn, Krashen suggested that teachers should concentrate on
acquisition rather than learning and that the role of the language teacher should be to
provide the right kind of language exposure, namely comprehensible input (which is
language that students understand more or less, even if it is a bit above their own level
of production). (Harmer, 2007: 47)

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However, second language learners have much less opportunities to be exposed

to the language they want to learn than children who acquire their first language in a
natural way. That is why Harmer suggests that a rich classroom environment should
not only expose students to language, but also give them opportunities to activate their
language knowledge (...) and to study language and the way it works. (Harmer, 2007:
48) In other words, both acquisition and learning should be provided to language
learners because they both play an important role in the process of the second language
learning and teaching.
2.2 Traditional versus alternative methods

Traditional methods of foreign language teaching, such as frontal teachercentred instruction, are nowadays viewed as a relic. Todays methodology admonishes
to be engaging, to keep the students focused, but let them enjoy, and therefore like, their
education at the same time. As Maley and Duff claim: Much has changed in language
teaching, but it is still true that the conviction that Vocabulary + Essential Structures =
Language lies as the base of nearly every foreign language syllabus. (Maley and Duff:
7)
Although drama is still seen as something rather alternative to the standard, it

has been an essential part of foreign language teaching for centuries. Using drama in the
language class provides students with the best opportunities for active and involved
participation and as Hamilton and McLeod state: The use of drama techniques fits
naturally into the theoretical context of recent studies into the nature of language
learning. (Hamilton and McLeod: 2)
Some language teachers feel rather unwilling to use drama in their classes. They
either do not know how or they do not feel creative or experienced enough to try this
teaching method. Butterfield, though, encourages such teachers to give it a try while
presenting some of the undisputable benefits of drama. Drama as a way of working is
so unlike most other forms of learning that we must explore the nature of the concept
itself. For a great many teachers, not to say students, it is an untried method of
expression rarely used in education although extremely familiar through film, radio,
television and theatre as it is through life itself. But those who have experienced good
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drama teaching can bear witness to its unique quality of integration, of holism, of
communication and of a warm humanity which can elevate the learning of a language
from a series of techniques to an understanding which embraces at once the language,
its cultural setting and the emotions and values of the student. (Butterfield: 2)
Some teachers, on the other side, refuse to use drama because they are afraid of
losing respect as educators and authorities. As Wessels declares: Since the use of
drama involves the formation of relationships and breaking down of barriers between
teacher and students, less confident teachers are understandably reluctant to use it.
(Wessels: 14) However, these teachers should realize that working on the creation of the
positive and supporting atmosphere and environment of mutual trust is one of the
factors contributing most to students motivation and safe learning.
Drama accomplishes many current trends of modern teaching. One of them is to

take away attention from the teacher and give space to the learners instead who can
direct their own learning and learn how to be autonomous. Phillips supports this idea
while saying: Dramatizing is learner-centred so that teacher can use it to contrast with
the more teacher-centred parts of the lesson (Phillips: 8) and thus make the lesson
more active and diverse.
2.3 Drama Education

First of all, what is Drama? Drama is above all doing. (Wessels: 7) We know
it very well from our everyday life. For instance when we spill coffee on our bosss
papers and pretend like nothing happened or when we are late for work and invent some
elaborate excuse. Briefly speaking, drama is something very natural to us that we all
engage in daily when faced with difficult situations. (Wessels: 7)
Drama in education uses the same tools employed by actors in the theatre. But
while in the theatre everything is contrived for the benefit of the audience, in classroom
drama everything is contrived for the benefit of the learners. (Wessels: 8) Drama in
education has a clear pedagogical aim concentrating on the personal and social
development of its participants. It should encourage learners to imagine, act and thus
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reflect on human experience and the process of this social learning is highlighted above
the final product.
Drama Education can be exploited in the instruction in several different ways.

However, the most appropriate form of using Drama Education in the context of foreign
language teaching is to apply it as a method of work. Drama is based on the direct
experience of the participants through acting and that is why it develops the whole
personality of a learner, effecting on creativity, sensibility and sociability of each
individual.
Drama used in education gives participants the chance to submerge into fiction,
take on different roles, explore them, try things on their own, learn through their proper
experience and thus form their positions and attitudes to the surrounding reality. In this
manner, an experienced teacher using drama can link the language-learning experience
with the students own experience in life. Such personalization of the subject matter can
be very motivational and favourable for effective learning.
2.4 Drama Education in English Language Teaching

The relationship between drama and foreign language teaching naturally
flourishes by virtue of all its benefits we can observe in foreign language instruction.
Hamilton and McLeod describe this relationship as follows: It is hard to imagine
anything else that offers to language teachers such as wide variety of types of talks, for
example monologues, paired speaking, role-plays, group discussions, reporting, talking
in response to other stimuli, problem-solving, developing scenarios, acting out, etc.
from explaining, complaining, praising, disagreeing to exhorting, apologising and
requesting there is no language function that drama is not capable of easily
encompassing. (Hamilton and McLeod: 5)
And drama does not have to be used just in order to practise language functions,
grammatical structures or particular vocabulary. It can be easily, and most of all
effectively, exploited in cross-curricular teaching when studying and exploring topics
related to the foreign culture or other school subjects. As Phillips suggests the teacher
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using drama can use topics from other subjects: the children can act out the scene from
history, or the life cycle of a frog; or he or she can work on the ideas and issues that run
through the curriculum, such as sexism, respect for the environment and road safety.
(Philips: 8)
As already mentioned before, drama used in education provides many beneficial

factors, encouraging teachers to take advantage of its methods and techniques. In the
next sub-chapter, I have enumerated just some of the many particularly interesting
benefits of drama for foreign language teaching.
2.4.1 Motivation
Good motivation is one of the factors necessary for efficient learning. Jeremy
Harmer defines motivation as some kind of internal drive which pushes someone to do
things in order to achieve something. (Harmer, 2001: 51) Drama gives students the
chance to learn by doing where students are involved in experimentation in order to
arrive at knowledge (Harmer, 2007: 20), which is much more engaging than just
learning by rote.
When concerning the students motivation, it is often referred to two types:

extrinsic, which may be influenced by a number of external factors such as attitude of
society, family and peers to the subject in question (...), and intrinsic motivation that is
generated by what happens inside the classroom; this could be teachers methods or
activities that students take part in. (Harmer, 2007: 20) Harmer also proposes that if we
involve the students or excite their curiosity and provoke participation, we will help
them to stay interested in the subject. (Harmer, 2007: 20)
The use of drama undoubtedly represents one of the methods of work used by
teachers to provoke intrinsic motivation. Not only does it help to build a good teacherstudent relationship, but it also actively engages all the students and all the time, so in
a sense, motivation is not needed when working through drama, because the enjoyment
comes from imaginative personal involvement. (Maley and Duff: 13) As Maley and
Duff further explain drama activities also help to get rid of the diffidence and boredom
that come from being forced to stay passive most of the time. (Maley and Duff: 13)
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Maley and Duff also mention another motivating factor of drama, which is its
versatility and unpredictability. If drama is motivating and we believe it is the
reason may be that it draws on the entire human resources of the class and that
technique, in its own way, yields a different, unique, result every time it is practiced.
(Maley and Duff: 13)
Drama takes advantage of the concept of learning by doing to the full extent. Not
only is it motivating in terms of the reward of enjoyment when students are asked to get
up and actively explore the world around them through their own experience, but the
active participation also encourages the cognitive processes, such as memory
development and better information retention.
2.4.2
Meaning in context
Appropriate understanding of the context of the discourse is one of the most

important elements for understanding the meaning. As Harmer claims meaning of
language depends on where it occurs within a larger stretch of discourse, and thus the
relationship that the different language elements have with what comes before and after
them. In other words, speakers and writers have to be able to operate with more than
just words and grammar; they have to be able to string utterances together. (Harmer,
2007: 59)
Drama represents an ideal method of work if teachers want to put the meaning
for students into a sizeable context. Unlike in guided practice, students are involved in
real communication while they activate language to communicate real meaning, rather
than just practising language (Harmer, 2007: 270) and thus develop their
communicative competence in a natural way, using body language, making pauses and
interruptions, showing emotions, and creating relationships. Phillips encourages using
drama in second language teaching because it encourages children to speak and gives
them the chance to communicate, even with limited language, using non-verbal
communication, such as body movements and facial expressions. (Phillips: 6)
Moreover, making students focused on the process of the creation of the drama
rather than the final language product provides them with natural and purposeful need
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for speaking, which describe Maley and Duff by stating that the problem of not
wanting to speak or, more often, not knowing what to say is practically resolved
because the activity makes it necessary to talk. (Maley and Duff: 13-14) According to
these educators drama techniques have the singular merit of directly engaging
students feelings and, as a result, often making them aware of the need to be able to
express them appropriately. (Maley and Duff: 11)
2.4.3 Learning styles and multiple intelligences
Jeremy Harmer stems from the theories of the Neuro-Linguistic Programming

and Multiple Intelligences and warns that in any one classroom we have a number of
different individuals with different learning styles and preferences, which means that we
have to offer a wide range of different activity types in our lessons in order to cater for
individual differences and needs. (Harmer, 2007: 16) Such classroom forms a perfect
environment for using drama work which includes all kinds of stimuli and can develop
all types of human intelligences.
The theory of the Neuro-Linguistic Programming introduces to the educational

theories different stimuli that students prefer while learning and that predetermine their
learning style. According to this concept, the learners can be divided between visual
learners, responding the best to the visual stimuli such as pictures, written texts and
diagrams; auditory learners, benefiting most from the auditory input such as traditional
lecturing or music; and kinaesthetic learners who are the most successful when they
are aged with the learning activity. They acquire information fastest when participating
in a science lab, drama presentation, skit, field trip, dance, or other active activity.
Because of the high numbers of kinaesthetic learners, education is shifting toward a
more hands-on approach; manipulatives and other props should be incorporated into
almost every school subject, from physical education to language arts. [2]
Another concept of students individualities in learning that teachers should take

into consideration is the theory of multiple intelligences, first introduced in 1980s by
an acknowledged American psychologist Howard Gardner. His theory claims that each
individual disposes of different types of intelligences defined as abilities to solve
problems that are of consequence in a particular cultural setting or community. The
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problem-solving skill allows one to approach a situation in which a goal is to be

obtained and to locate the appropriate route to that goal. (Gardner: 15) An individual
can demonstrate an extraordinary facility in one of the seven described intelligences:
musical, bodily-kinaesthetic, logical-mathematical, linguistic, spatial, interpersonal and
intrapersonal; but each individual has usually developed several of them. An educators
task is to create a variety of learning activities that would help particular students to
develop their intelligences.
Considering the fact that drama includes all kinds of stimuli, visual, auditory,
and kinaesthetic, and encourages students to develop all the intelligences through active
exploration of reality and problem-solving, its use in education can be regarded as
extremely beneficial.
2.4.4 Affective filter
Stephen Krashens theory of second language acquisition presents five

hypothesis teachers should take into account when teaching a foreign language. The
hypothesis that could encourage teachers most to use drama in their classes is the
hypothesis of Affective filter that embodies Krashen's view that a number of affective
variables play a facilitative role in second language acquisition. These variables
include: motivation, self-confidence and anxiety. Krashen claims that learners with high
motivation, self-confidence, a good self-image, and a low level of anxiety are better
equipped for success in second language acquisition. Low motivation, low self-esteem,
and debilitating anxiety can combine to raise the affective filter and form a mental
block that prevents comprehensible input from being used for acquisition. [1]
Drama helps students to overcome resistance to the foreign language and the
fear of making mistakes. It creates a natural need for speaking because it does not
concentrate on language itself, but on creating drama. Focusing on the creative process
more than on final linguistic output enables students to learn almost unconsciously. As
Maley and Duff opine every student needs periods in which he or she has a chance to
practice what he or she knows without restraint, without fear of being wrong. Students
need the occasional chance to take risks in the language, to try out new ways of
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combining words, and of course, to find out where the gaps are in their knowledge.
(Maley and Duff: 14)
To provide learners with such opportunities for free practice, teachers using
drama in their classes should create a safe and comfortable atmosphere where students
would not be afraid of speaking in the target language. This kind of stress-free, fun
teaching encourages pupils to participate without embarrassment (Hamilton and
McLeod: 4) and it helps them to overcome the psychological barrier from speaking in a
foreign language.
Maley and Duff give a list of categories of language that learners use naturally and
without further thinking during drama activities:
Transactional language - the language needed for getting things done in a group
situation.
Discussion language - used to come to agreement about something, to describe,
comment on, or recall the activity in questions.
Performance language - it is the end product of some of the activities, but it is in
many senses the least important precisely because it involves the most
preparation. Clearly, almost any language function can come into play here,
depending on the nature of the activity. (Maley and Duff: 17)
2.4.5 Psychological benefits
Charlyn Wessels provides the best definition of what drama in education is and
how it benefits students learning and personality development. If a learner of English
asked you What is a blind person?, you might simply reply, A blind person cannot
see, and this would probably satisfy him intellectually. But if you replied, Shut your
eyes and try to find your pen on the desk in front of you, you would be involving him
in the actual experience of being blind, and would thus satisfy him not only
intellectually, but emotionally as well, and possibly inspire in him feelings of empathy
with all blind people. He would be more likely to remember the meaning of the word as
a result of this moment of direct experience. (Wessels: 7)

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As drama gives the direct experience of human reality, students are first getting
to know themselves and then also the others. They naturally develop empathy, by
creating and taking over different social roles and asking questions like What is he or
she thinking? What does he or she feel? How would I feel being in their shoes?, etc.
Hamilton and McLeod describe drama as a process of social learning: Involving
relations with others, it promotes social and adaptive skills which in their turn feed into
the process of learning a foreign language. (...) Learners are encouraged to explore
themselves and their reactions in relation to the outside world in a way which can be
both strengthening and enriching. (Hamilton and McLeod: 5)
Generally speaking, the most important aim of drama used in education is

overall development of a personal and social aspect of learners personality. Drama
stimulates creativity, imagination and also critical thinking as students are often asked
to find solutions to diverse problems. It also improves students self-esteem and selfconfidence as they are capable of performing in front of the audience, although the
audience is only composed of their classmates. At best, using drama in education forms
creative and socially susceptible individuals.
2.5 Methods and techniques of Drama Education used in English

Language Teaching
In general terms, a method represents the way how to achieve a certain goal and
a technique is supposed to constitute the tool helping to accomplish this goal. However,
the majority of the authors in the context of Drama Education does not differentiate too
much between the terms of methods and techniques and, on the contrary, underline their
mutual interference.
As already mentioned above, drama used as a method of instruction allows

students to explore and effectively master the subject. It takes advantage of the basic
theatre methods such as role play, improvisation and interpretation, but it also exploits
traditional methods of other school disciplines such as interview, description or debate.
However, these methods are applied in such a way that they become a part of the drama
and they result in the accomplishment of the set pedagogical, but also dramatic goals.
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Methods and techniques of Drama Education are particularly useful for the foreign
language teaching because they give students the opportunities for natural
communication in a meaningful context.
Jim Scrivener mentions six most commonly used drama activities in English
Languages Teaching classes, stating that by bringing the outside world into the
classroom, we can provide a lot of useful practice and there may also be a freeing from
the constraints of culture and expected behaviour, which can be personally and
linguistically very liberating. (Scrivener: 363) Scrivener describes the most traditional
drama activities as follows:
Role-play students act small scenes using their ideas or from ideas and
information on role cards.
Simulation a large-scale role-play. The intention is to create a much more
complete, complex world, say of a business company, television studio, etc.
Drama games short games that usually involve movement and imagination.
Guided improvisation you improvise a scene and the students join in one by
one in character, until the whole scene (story) takes on a life on its own.
Acting play scripts short written sketches or scenes are acted by the students.
Prepared improvised drama students in small groups invent and rehearse a
short scene or story that they perform for the others. (Scrivener: 362)
It is true that these activities are the most traditionally used in English lessons.
However, in my practical workshop I wanted to show to the future teachers not only the
individual activities that can be simply inserted into the lesson, such as distributing role
cards and acting out the scene from the airport or acting a particular play script, but also
how they can emerge students into a complex fictional story and let them live it and
explore it on their own and thus ensure them a real dramatic experience. That is why I
decided to concentrate first of all on the structured drama and I drew inspiration
especially from the classification of the drama methods and techniques by the British
theatre pedagogues Jonothan Neelands and Tony Goode.
These theatre specialists consolidate the two terms, methods and techniques, into
one - the concept of conventions. In their book Structuring Drama Work they define
conventions as follows: In theatre, meanings, social codes and interactions are
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represented, shaped and crafted through the conventions of dramatic activity.

(Neelands and Goode: 3) The conventions of theatre are seen as vehicles for
experiencing and communicating meanings symbolically. (Neelands and Goode: 97)
Particular conventions will, therefore, emphasize different qualities in the theatrical
possibilities of time, space and human presence. (Neelands and Goode: 4)
The classification of the conventions according to Neelands that I had chosen for
my workshop have been developed in response to a certain basic needs required for
participation in dramatic activity:
Need for a clearly defined context theatre presents us with imagined situations
in which a shared understanding of place, time, characters and other contextual
information becomes crucial to the quality of involvement in the experience.
Need to nurture and create an interest in what happens next theatre is defined
as a narrative form, like story and film, in which curiosity about the story line
and a sense of imminent action act as motivation for those acting or spectating in
the dramatic event.
Need to recognize and create a symbolic dimension to the work theatre
provides a means of looking beyond the immediate story or plot through the
symbols and imagery which are capable of crystallizing, projecting and holding
the essence of an experience.
Need to reflect on the meanings and themes which emerge through the
experience theatre provide a mirror for participants to consider themselves
and their relationship to others. (Neelands and Goode: 6-7)
Neelands classification of the theatre methods and techniques used for

structuring drama work facilitated me the preparation and structuring of my workshop
because he also defines in which context and for which purposes the particular
convention can be applied. Since Neelands enumeration of the conventions is very
extensive I will mention only those that I have somehow used in my workshop.
A.
Context-building action - enable a group to create or engage with the
dramatic context: the concrete particulars of the situation, characters or roles which will
inform and drive the action:
Collective Drawing small groups make a collective image to represent a place
or people in the drama.
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Defining Space students learn how to take into account the perception of space
and how to reflect on relationships between context and action.
Diaries, Letters, Messages written in or out of role as a means of reflecting on
experience; or they are introduced into the drama by the teacher as a new
tension, or as evidence; or they are used as a means of reviewing work.
Drama Games rather put into the context of drama; to reveal game structures
in life situations blocking, hiding, deceiving, etc. (Neelands and Goode: 9-93)
Drama games are based on motifs from the real life; they often try to solve the
conflicts arising from the interference of people, their needs and attitudes, and
thus create dramatic actions.
Making Maps used to represent problems diagrammatically and concretize
the environment of the story.
Objects of Character this convention allows for the creation of a character
through consideration of a carefully chosen assemblage of personal belongings.
The selection of the objects should give clues about the character. The items can
be found as a means of introducing a character.
Role on the Wall an important, pivotal role is represented in picture form on
the wall; information is added as the drama progresses and contributes to the
concretization of the character.
Soundtracking realistic or stylized sounds accompany action, or describe an
environment.
Still Image the groups devise an image using their own bodies to crystallize a
moment, idea or theme.
Unfinished Materials an object, article of clothing, letter, or opening to a

story is introduced as a starting point for the development of a drama. The
participants build on the clues and partial information offered in order to
construct a drama, to explore and develop themes and meanings suggested by
the unfinished materials.
B.
Narrative action - used to focus on significant events, incidents or
encounters which will be central to development of the narrative. They allow groups to
test out their hypotheses and speculations about the narrative through their dramatic
involvement.
A Day in a Life this convention works backwards from an important event in
order to fill in the gaps in the history of how the characters have arrived at the
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event. It draws attention to the influences, and exposing the forces, which drive
a character to the moment of conflict or decision.
Hot-seating a character in the role is seated on a chair and is supposed to
answer the questions used by others for highlighting characters motivations and
personality disposition.
Interviews, Interrogations encourage framing appropriate questions and
strategies.
Mantle of the Expert the group become characters endowed with specialist
knowledge that is relevant to the situation: historians, social workers, etc. The
power and responsibility move from teacher to group.
Meetings the group are gathered together within the drama to hear new
information, plan action, make collective decisions and suggest strategies to
solve problems that have arisen.
Reportage gives an interpretation/presentation of events through journalistic
conventions, for example in manner of TV news.
Teacher in the Role the teacher influences the dramatic context by adopting a
suitable role in order to: excite interest, control the action, invite involvement,
provoke tension, create choices and ambiguity, develop the narrative, and create
possibilities for the group to interact in role.
C.
Poetic action - useful as a means of looking beyond the story-line, or
as a means of making a deliberate shift from the realism of narrative conventions to

conventions which heighten awareness of form and which allow for the exploration and
representation of key symbols and images suggested by the work.
Mimed Activities emphasize movement, actions and physical responses rather
then dialogue or thoughts.
Re-enactment an event that has previously occurred is re-enacted in order to
reveal what might have happened.
Small-Group Play-Making small groups plan, prepare and present
improvisations, as a means of representing a hypothesis, or to demonstrate
alternative views/courses of action.
D.
Reflective action used when there is a need to stand aside from the
action and review and comment on the action. These conventions provide a way for the
group to articulate what characters are thinking or to give psychological commentary
affording insight into the physical action.
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Choral Speak the group are asked to prepare a choral reading of a stimulus text
using sound, repetition, emphasis and variety of voices in order to highlight the
essence of the material they are working on.
Giving Witness an individual gives a monologue purporting to be an objective
account of events, but which in effect is a highly subjective re-telling from the
witness point of view.
Group Sculpture an individual (or members of the group) models others in
order to reflect a particular aspect of the theme or issue under scrutiny. This
activity usually produces still images.
Narration can be in or out of the dramatic context. The teacher might provide a
narrative link, atmosphere or commentary, initiate a drama, move the action on,
create tension, etc.
Spectrum of Difference requires group members to place themselves
physically on an imaginary line linking two alternatives, indicating their
preference through their choice of position.
Though-Tracking reveals publicly the private thoughts of participants-in-role
at specific moments in the action so as to develop a reflective attitude towards
the action. Action may be frozen and participants tapped for thoughts, or
thoughts may be prepared to go with the presentation of a Still Image.
(Neelands and Goode: 9-93) In Czech background this technique is better known
under the term of Voices in the Head which will be also used in the workshop.
Voices in the Head a means of reflecting on the complexity of a difficult
choice facing a character in the drama. (Neelands and Goode: 9-93) The main
character walks down the alley formed by the members of group who convey
him their pieces of advice or feelings. In Czech background this technique is
better known under the term of Alley of Opinions which will be also used in the
workshop.
Other methods and techniques that were used in the workshop, though Neelands
and Goode do not mention them, are:
Role play is the fundamental methodical principle of drama. The Oxford
English Dictionary defines it as the changing of ones behaviour to fulfil a
social role. [3] Role play in an English classroom is usually used in its basic
form where students imagine themselves in some specific situation and they act
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in this situation as if they were there. This is the easiest way how to bring
everyday reality to the classroom and how students can, in a certain way,
prepare for these potential situations linguistically. However, role play can
include even more complex levels where students either take on a social role of
someone else and act a typical behaviour of this character or take on not only the
social role but also the individual characteristics of the character he or she is
impersonating. This type of role play already requires a setting of the rich
situational context and emerging students into the fiction which they accept as
real. It also demands a great amount of empathy and psychological maturity of
the performers as it directly leads to the theatrical statement.
Interpretation of dialogues and texts is one of the essential methods of Drama
Education where students explore the literary texts through their own acting and
experience and convey its meanings and artistic contents by means of the
different drama methods and techniques, such as improvisation, role play, still
image, etc.
Improvisation next to the role play, improvisation is the basic method used in
theatre. It gives the opportunity to experiment and explore the given problems
and situations through unplanned spontaneous action to a certain stimulus. It
underlines an immediate acting in order to search for the best solution of the
problem, a thus it contributes to the personal and social development of the
participants.
Narrative Mime teacher narrates the story and students perform the actions
simultaneously as they listen to the story. It is essential that the story contains a
reasonable number of dramatic actions that can be performed by the medium of
mime.
Props, Costumes help students concretize the characters they are suppose to
embody, their physical appearance, movements, gestures and other personal
features. They develop students imagination and creativity when preparing the
costumes and at the same time they afford a sort of protection because shier
students feel safer when wearing a costume behind which they can hide.
Besides the various drama methods and techniques, it is very useful to have in
store an inventory of warm-ups or ice-breakers which help students to tune to the
learning activities, help them relax and thus concentrate better on more demanding
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activities that will follow. They can also be included as a part of the drama as a lead-in
activity, assuring that all participants enter the drama in the same energetic and
emotional tuning. Some warm-ups have the only purpose which is to activate the group,
overcome self-consciousness or develop group sensitivity and cooperation and therefore
improve the relationships in the group and its interaction during learning activities.
What have most warm-ups in common is that mostly all of them use some kind of
physical movement and that is why they are motivational particularly for younger
students who always welcome change from the constant sitting and in majority prefer
kinaesthetic learning style.

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3 STRUCTURED DRAMA
Structured drama is a particular form of a school drama created in the Great
Britain and introduced to the Czech educational background after 1989 through
mediation of the British drama lecturers holding here drama workshops and seminars.
The most acknowledged British drama pedagogues of the present days are Jonothan
Neelands, John Sommers, Warwick Dobson, Tony Goode and others.
3.1 Concept of structured drama

Structured drama is a specific form of drama based on social learning and
learning through experience. The principles of this type of the school drama were first
used by the British educator Peter Slade in 1970s who in his book Child Drama
concentrated especially on the forming of childs personality. In the 1980s the new
movement using dramatic elements in education started to develop in the Great Britain
and it is used there as Drama in Education up to the present day. In the United States we
can encounter the term Process Drama denoting the same dramatic form.
Structured drama is an organized way of active learning based on the experience

and subsequent exploration and understanding of the reality of the real world and even
the player himself. Through role playing the students examine their own attitudes to the
given situation or problem, but also the attitudes of the others. The teacher only offers to
the students the initial situation and they themselves have to examine the problem and
search for the possible solutions. In other words, the teacher gives the students the tools
or the techniques, but the students themselves develop the story and draw conclusions.
The most important and determining element of structured drama is a strong

central theme, such as family, being different, etc. which participants of the drama
explore and which brings them better understanding of the reality, society and their own
personality. This theme is the centre line of the drama, which means that some parts of
the story can be omitted, some narrated by the teacher in the role and some, on the
contrary, can be examined from different angles and points of view several times, using
different techniques, in order to provide the understanding of the meaning of the key
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situations in depth. The task of the teacher is to choose such activities that would best
accomplish this pedagogical goal.
3.2 Selection of the motifs for structured drama

The central theme forms the essence of the structured drama. That is why the
teacher searches for the appropriate motif only when he or she has a clear idea about its
central theme. Nevertheless, consideration of the pedagogical and social goals that the
drama wants to accomplish should precede the contemplation of the convenient theme.
The themes can then either stem from the subject matter the teacher needs to cover or
directly from the specific needs of the group in question. When searching for the right
theme, teacher should also consider the composition of the group, their drama
experience and maturity and if the group is going to be interested in the topic in the first
place. It is important that the chosen motif contains dramatic actions, conflict and
situations that can be divided into several dramatic moments.
Pavlovsk (2004) mentions particular types of motifs suitable for the structured
drama:
Motifs from the real world reflecting the current problems of the society and
individuals.
Motifs from the history.
Literary motifs - particularly suitable seem to be legends, fairy tales,
adventurous fiction or even science fiction. (Pavlovsk, 2004: 23)
Machkov (2004) offers different classification of the motifs based on the source
of the subject:
Authentic, created by the teacher or by the group itself, motifs which stem from
the real life, which appeared in the news or on television, which were inspired
by a particular person, object or memory, etc.
Taken from literature.
Combined, which means using motifs from literature, but in rewritten form so
that they reflect the current needs of the teacher.
Subject-matter implied by the curriculum. (Machkov, 2004: 23)
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There are an inexhaustible number of possible motifs for structured drama.

Teachers can draw not only from the literature, but also from the pieces of music or
imagery. The motifs can originate from the well-founded historical documents, the real
life situations such as conflicts in the family or relationships, but also from the subjectmatter of other school subjects, for instance by means of the projects. If we know the
group for who the structured drama is being prepared we can adapt the theme and motif
to suit exactly the group, to draw on their own experience or, on the other hand, to avoid
the topics they would most probably refuse (for example, the motif of the lovers
romance would not be the most suitable one for the group of 12-year-old teenagers).
Some motifs have the potential to properly combine both teachers pedagogical
goals and goals of the social learning we want to reach in our students. In English
language teaching teachers can use the detective story which is not only highly
motivating as the students are asked to solve the mystery, but the role of the investigator
encourages the natural need for asking and answering questions and thus develops
studentscommunicative competence. When discussing and reflecting historical topics,
drama can draw students attention to interesting problems concerning the whole
society, society and individuals, and it can help empathize with the characters who find
themselves in difficult life situations. Such motifs can also explore the important
decisions in the history and give possibility to polemize about its legitimacy and
worthiness. Structured drama is also extremely suitable for teaching cross-curricular
topics, integrating subject matters of several disciplines into one project/drama.
To conclude, when choosing a motif for structured drama, it is essential to have

in mind the goal of the structured drama, which is to enrich the students for the better
understanding of the world through their own experience, and to consider the way how
to best accomplish this objective.
3.3 Structure of structured drama

Structuring drama work can be seen as a logical order of the steps and activities
that stem from the central theme. Therefore, while choosing appropriate methods and
techniques of drama, teachers should take into consideration not only this theme but
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also the ways how students can make most of it for their learning. Kao and ONeill
define the construction of structured drama as careful sequencing and layering of
dramatic units or episodes, often in a non-linear way, to cumulatively extend and enrich
the fictional context. (Kao and ONeill in Liu: 13) The non-linear way represents the
importance of the key moments of the story that can be explored from several angles
using several different techniques, which is superior to the uninterrupted linearity of the
common narrative.
British drama lecturers Norah Morgan and Julia Saxton (2001) coincide in the
structure of their Well-done play with the classical theatre structure of ancient
Aristotle. They, however, omit the phase of peripetia (falling action), which usually
brings new changes and turnovers, and thus the crisis is directly followed by the
catastrophe and final reflection. Their structure of the structured drama hence consists
of:
Exposition introduces the story, emerges participants into the fiction.
Collision (rising action) teacher introduces activities that reveal relationships
between the characters in the story, the problem is explored from different points
of view through different techniques while respecting the suggestions of the
participants.
Crisis (climax) the climax of the tension that cannot be planned by the teacher.
It arrives at the moment when participants feel the emotional power of the
situation and they desire to solve the conflict.
Catastrophe (dnouement) resolution of the intrigue, it is necessary to take
time for reflection, let the participants understand and intellectually reflect on
their feelings and experience from drama. (Morgan and Saxton: 26-27)
Authors of the book Lessons for the Living (2008) submit the model of five
elements that should not be missing in any structured lesson. According to Warwick
Dobson, British university scholar specialized in theatre, these elements are:
Lure teacher must find the way how to draw students attention to the theme
and motif of the drama and engage them for the story.
Building trust teacher must motivate the participants in such a way so that they
trust the plausibility of the situation and accept to emerge themselves into the
fiction.
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Moving to action teacher encourages participants to explore the story, the

situations and the relations between characters. The students begin to reveal the
plot of the story which does not need to be linear, though.
Development teacher should try to deepen students understanding of the gist
of the situation, reveal the theme of the story, encourage students to explore the
story from different points of view, offering different techniques.
Reflection is usually placed at the end of the drama, but can also take place
after important moments of the story. Students are given a chance to reflect on
what they lived and connect this experience to their own life. (Clark et al.: 122124)
The most important thing to consider if we want to assure the harmony and
complexity of the structured drama is a clear purpose of the drama. In other words, how
this particular drama will enrich the knowledge of the world in its participants. On
account of this reflection, teacher chooses appropriate methods and techniques and thus
defines the form of the drama. Choices about which conventions are used and which
content is explored should respect the teachers purpose need to ensure that the work is
controlled, purposeful and effective. (Neelands and Goode: 98)
3.4 Structured drama in English Language Teaching

Structured drama is not traditionally used for foreign language teaching so far.
Nevertheless, I decided to work with it in my workshop because I wanted to show the
English teachers its huge possibilities for introducing real life situations into the
classroom and help them understand the importance of emerging students into a rich
context of drama that they can create on their own. Not only is the structured drama
very motivating because it requires language to be used in meaningful, authentic
situations, where the focus is on posing questions and seeking answers to those
questions (Kao and ONeill in Liu: 6), but unlike distributing simple role cards and
making students act situations tore out of the context, structured drama gives them
possibility to explore these situations and learn about themselves, each other and the
society and the world around them.

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As states Italian linguist Di Pietro, who emphasizes the complexity of structured

drama used in foreign language classrooms, strategic interaction which creates the
essential basis for structured drama includes the ability of language to create and
engage students in new roles, situations and worlds; dynamic tension; the motivating
and challenging power of the unexpected; the tactical quality of language acquired
under the stress of achieving a goal; the linguistic and psychological ambiguity of
human interaction; the group nature of enterprise; and the significance of context. (Di
Pietro in Liu: 5)
Liu, in addition, stresses the fluency and accuracy necessary to accomplish the
task with both support and challenge of the teacher who is also a participant in the
dramatic world. (Liu: 6) Moreover, participants of drama use English almost
unconsciously because the language in drama has two levels, as describes Jonothan
Neelands: Language is used in theatre as the organizing medium for discussing,
planning and implementing ideas. But language is also used symbolically as a means of
representing a situation or characters speech. (Neelands and Goode: 95)
So we can see that structured drama is enhancing students communicative

competence and their capability to express the reality not only in a practical way, but
also in a symbolic, artistic way. It has undisputable cognitive benefits because learning
by doing has favourable influence on students learning of facts and especially on its
long-term retention. Moreover, it is highly motivational, actively engaging all the
participants, including the teacher who generally takes over some role from the story as
well. And I would also like to point out the social aspect of the students learning
because structured drama is based on students cooperation and interaction, groups
sensitivity and team work, leading to mutual trust and positive relationships in the
classroom.

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4 THEORETICAL BACKGROUND OF THE PROJECT

The theoretical foundation of the project deals with the design of the drama
workshop which should introduce to the participants the basic concept and principles of
Drama Education and possible exploitation of its methods and techniques in English
Language Teaching. The whole workshop concentrates particularly on the concept of
structured drama that emerges students into the world of fiction and thus emphasizes the
importance of setting the drama into a real meaningful context that is essential for
successful and meaningful communication in a foreign language. The following subchapters describe the theoretical frame and guideline for the whole project, the
antecedent defining the target population, the objectives and methodology of the
project, followed by the contents of the workshop.
4.1 Population of the project

The antecedent describes the population and situational context of the institution
where the project was realized and it determines the problem solved by the realization
of the project.
This project was designed for English teachers of all levels, but in particular for
the pre-service and in-service teachers who have already completed or were currently
completing their education in the study programme the Licenciatura en Enseanza de
Ingls (Teaching English) provided by the Facultad de Estudios Superiores Acatln,
which is one of the campuses of the Universidad Nacional Autnoma de Mxico
(UNAM) in Mexico City.
Founded in 1551 under the name of Royal and Pontifical University of Mexico,
the Universidad Nacional Autnoma de Mxico (UNAM) is recognized as the biggest
and the most important teaching and research institution in Mexico and one of the most
prestigious ones in the whole Latin America. At present, it comprises a huge complex of
thirteen faculties and more than 40 research institutes and centres.

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The Facultad de Estudios Superiores Acatln, a branch of Cuidad Universitaria

of UNAM, is considered one of the most important education centres in the northeast
metropolitan area of Mexico City. Considering the areas of study it offers, it is the most
diverse branch of the university with more than 20,000 people working and studying
there at present. One of the many departments of this faculty is Department of
Humanities, offering among Pedagogy, History and others, also the study programme in
English teaching, the Licenciatura en Enseanza de Ingls (LEI).
The LEI, founded in 1975, was the first compact university study programme in
English Language Teaching in Mexico. The graduates of this programme are given the
academic degree of Licenciado (a four and a half-year Bachelor degree) and they are
considered pedagogues competent in methods of instruction and investigation in
English teaching/learning process, capable of creating and evaluating of study
programmes, using the theories and methods of applied linguistics. This programme
qualifies its graduates for the position of English teachers at all educational levels,
investigators in education and linguistics or alternatively for non-teaching positions
requiring excellent knowledge of English, such as translators or administrative
personnel.
I came to the LEI department as an exchange student in August 2009. The

Department of International Studies of my home Masaryk University selected me
among other candidates and sent me to the Mexican UNAM on the basis of the bilateral
contract between these two institutions. I studied at UNAM for the whole academic
year, which was inestimable experience, especially thanks to the chance I was given to
teach LEI students practical English course for the whole semester (10 60-minute hours
a week for 16 weeks). I also had the possibility to enrich my teaching experience in the
language centre of the university and at other educational institutions. Considering the
difference in the quality of teachers training at UNAM I am really grateful for this
academic contribution to my professional, but also personal development.
The study programme Licenciatura en Enseanza de Ingls (Teaching English)

is really a highly complex programme. Nevertheless, according to the results of my
research on the curriculum of the LEI study programme, I noticed that LEI offers to its
students absolutely no course that would give at least minimal insight into the question
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of using Drama Education in English Language Teaching. Considering this noticeable

curricular deficit, I decided to design and offer to the students of LEI the practical
workshop, which would provide them with the basic information about the whole
concept of Drama Education, particularly in English Language Teaching, and thus
contribute to their academic knowledge and personal experience in teaching/learning
process of English language. The head of the LEI department Mara del Rosario
Hernndez Col who had been observing my work during the whole year offered me to
integrate my workshop to the curriculum of LEI study programme as an inter-semester
optional course. Its participants were granted a certificate confirming their participation
in the workshop (see Appendix 1). The participants were invited to this workshop
through an email sent by the head of the department to all the current students and
graduates of LEI, and they could also react on the invitation poster hanging on the
official LEI notice board. The participants were therefore the enthusiasts who came to
the workshop voluntarily and out their own interest in the topic. The population sample
for the workshop then emerged from the accessible population of the target population
(LEI students).
Although this workshop was designed particularly for LEI students and
graduates, it is appropriate for English teachers of all levels as no previous knowledge
of Drama Education of its participants is required. It could be offered as an option for
the professional development course for English teachers because it helps to develop
many important features in teachers personality, such as their creativity in lesson
planning or establishing good teacher-students relationship.
4.2 Methodology of the project

The project is designed for the teachers with no previous experience in drama.
The course provides the participants with methodology and practical recommendations
and advice that should help teachers who want to start with integrating drama into their
classes, to understand its principles, complexity and planning drama activities. That is
why the work at the workshop was conceived as a work in a real class, which means
that the teachers were treated as regular students, first exploring very easy and simple
activities (that can be introduced into the lesson without any previous preparation or
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context) where teachers became familiar with drama through simple activities with
sounds, space and body, before moving to texts and more complex structures.
After each activity, we reflected on and analysed the dramatic convention used
and talked about its possible further exploitation in English teaching. In structured
drama lessons, however, we left the analysis of the methods and techniques for the final
reflection taking place after the lesson in order to create authentic dramatic experience
and submerge the participants into the fiction and not to interrupt it by analysing each
stage of drama separately.
4.2.1 General information about the workshop
Name of the workshop:
How to use Drama in English language class?
Number of hours:
15 x 60 min. distributed in 4 days.

(First 3 days - 4 hours, last day - 3 hours.)
Break:
15 min. each day (except the last one).
Number of participants:
20
Population for the workshop: Pre-service and in-service English teachers of LEI.
Prerequisite:
Communicative knowledge of English (C1 level),

no previous experience in drama required.
Technical equipment:
Spacious room, CD player, copies, props, real objects, flip

charts, newspapers, string, scotch tape, scarves, mobile
phone, tambourine.
Space adjustment:
All chairs were removed from the classroom,

participants were asked to bring cushions or rugs so that
they could use them when sitting/lying/working on the
floor.
Realization of workshop:
14th 17th June 2010
4.2.2 Objectives of the workshop
General objective:
At the end of this workshop, the participants will experiment individual drama
methods and techniques within the drama structures and analyse the way they were used
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in order to intensify the zest of drama experience as well as the contribution to the
foreign language acquisition.
Specific objectives:
The participants will discuss the basic principles of Drama Education,
particularly in English Language Teaching.
The participants will identify, analyse and discuss the methods and techniques of
Drama Education that can be exploited in English Language Teaching, from the
simple activities that can be simply inserted into English language classroom up
to more complex dramatic structures that can last for several sessions.
The participants will be given chance to express their imagination and develop
their creativity and critical thinking while searching for solutions to given
problems.
The participants will formulate their ideas within the context of a drama
technique.
The participants will examine and estimate their own self, their values and
positions through mutual interaction and communication with other participants.
The participants will elaborate their ability to co-operate and work in teams in
order to accomplish given tasks within a drama technique.
The participants will explore and appraise literary texts displaying various
cultural aspects and will evaluate them from different points of view.
4.2.3 Contents of the workshop
Concerning the content of the workshop, the first day is dedicated to simple
individual activities, graded in order to become familiar with the basic principles of
using drama in foreign language teaching. Other days are devoted to 3 different
structured dramas, underlining the significance of appropriate context for language
learning.
First two days of the workshop are based particularly on two courses, the
semester course Dramatick techniky ve vuce cizch jazyk (can be found in [4])
taught by Mgr. rka Dohnalov, assistant professor at Department of English language
and literature, which I attended in autumn 2007; and workshop of structured drama led
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by British lecturer of University of Reading Andrew John Kempe who visited our
university in spring 2008. A brief description of his course is also posted in the moodlink-a course in [4], created by Mgr. rka Dohnalov who was the official translator of
the whole event. I have used the activities of these experienced lecturers because they
perfectly reflected my needs and pedagogical purposes to explore the activities
gradually, first through sounds, then space, then movements and finally speaking. The
first structured drama is also highly inspired by both fore mentioned courses, though
slightly adapted. The remaining two structured dramas are mine own, although I have
been inspired by other dramas and activities I had experienced during my drama studies.
In my workshop I have also included other activities, which I had either

experienced or read in written sources, whose authors I recognize under each activity.
However, all drama teachers and lecturers in the world are usually accustomed to use
freely all the activities they had once experienced somewhere and they also encourage
their students to do so. Therefore, in most cases, it is practically impossible to identify
the real author of the activity as it appears in several adaptations in various sources.
That is why I always recognize the source where I have learnt given activity, though it
may not be the original one.
In terms of drama methods and techniques, the participants will get familiar with
the definitions, advantages, and possible practical usage of these particular conventions
(according to Jonathan Neelands and Tony Goode: 9-93):
1. Context-Building Action (techniques used to build the situation):
Collective Drawing
Defining Space
Diaries, Letters, Messages
Drama Games
Making Maps
Objects of Character
Role on the Wall
Soundtracking
Still Image
Unfinished Materials
2. Narrative Action (techniques used to evolve the story):
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A Day in a Life
Hot-Seating
Interviews, Interrogations
Mantle of the Expert
Meetings
Reportage
Teacher in the Role
3. Poetic Action (techniques used to provide symbolic content to the story):
Mimed Activities
Re-enactment
Small-Group Play-Making
4. Reflective Action (techniques used to reflect on the story and its situations)
Choral Speak
Giving Witness
Group Sculpture
Narration
Spectrum of Difference
Though-Tracking used as Voices in the Head
Voices in the Head used as Alley of Opinions

In addition to these conventions, the participants will get familiar with following
common methods and techniques that Neelands and Goode do not mention:
Warm-ups, Ice-Breakers, Name Games
Role play
Interpretation of dialogues and texts
Improvisation
Narrative Mime
Props, Costumes

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5 PRACTICAL PART
The practical part of my Diploma thesis is concerned with the description of the
concrete activities included in the workshop. It describes its realization and evaluates
the feedback received from the participants.
5.1 Description and realization of the activities of the workshop

Description of the activities comprises the brief plan of activities for each day
that are subsequently detailed in structured points. These points specify:
Techniques name of the drama technique that is to be explored and analysed
after the activity.
Objectives describe what participants will achieve as a result of the activity,
considering not only drama experience, but also other areas of learning.
Focus - linguistic focus on a language item or skill which can be practised with
the activity in question. Discussion about the language exploitation of the
activity followed after each activity.
Time approximate time needed for activity management, realization and its
evaluation.
Material material needed for the activity.
Setting - specifies the starting position of the participants for the activity. This
point suggests that if the activity is carried on in pairs, the teacher should divide
the students into pairs before the beginning of the activity and explaining its
procedure.
Teacher comments underlining the connection between the activity and
principles of drama. These comments also provide the connecting bridge
between particular activities, ensuring the impression of flow and coherence of
activities.
Procedure describes in points the management and stages of the activity.
Variations provide with suggestions for possible exploitation of the activities.
Notes notes either on the realization of the activity or the solution to possible
anticipated problems that can arise while implementing this activity.

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Acknowledgement recognition of authors and lecturers whose activities I have

used for this workshop, either in the same exact form or somehow adapted.
Realization notes reflecting on the reactions of the participants and the results
of their work or recording the instantaneous changes in the plan according to the
situation.
Not all these points of activity description are always present, only when the
description requires it for better understanding of the context or completing the
situations occurred.
I have also included here the opening introductory part of the workshop, as all
the basic information about the workshop (the objectives, contents and manner of work)
is explained here. For the smoother flow of the reading, I have left the short
introductory part in the first person in the way I presented it to the participants of the
workshop. First, I welcomed the participants and introduced myself. Then, the
participants introduced themselves and told us about their motivation to come to the
workshop. Then, I introduced the goals of the workshop and the discussion about the
drama and Drama Education and its benefits, particularly in the foreign language
teaching, was held. With that, I explained the contents of the workshop and we agreed
on the manner and rules of our work. To conclude the introductory part, we tried several
times the technique called Freeze so that I could use it during the workshop when
necessary.

38

Lenka Kivkov
Brno 2011
Day 1: Introductory part
1) Welcome, Introduction of myself
(5 min)
2) Introduction of participants, their motivation for coming
(20 min)
3) Introduction of the workshop:
(15 min)
Objectives of workshop, potential of drama

Viz. 4.2.2 Objectives of the workshop and 2.4 Drama Education in English
Language Teaching
Realization: When speaking about potential of drama and advantages of using drama
in the language class, the theme was talked over the vivid discussion of
the participants, while I summarized the main points at the end of the
discussion.
Contents of workshop (from simple to complex activities)

Viz. 4.2.3 Contents of the workshop
How shall we work?

There are just two simple rules, so that we can all work and feel at ease:
1. Voluntarism it is totally up to you if you want to participate in the activities or not,
nobody can force you.
2. Observe time limits - try to always be on time, so that we do not have to wait for
anybody, the latecomers do not distract us and we can all enter the drama in the same
tuning.
4) Rule Freeze
Objectives:
To fix the rule, to activate the group, to overcome self-consciousness, to

feel the rhythm
Time:
5 min.
Material:
Tambourine.
Setting:
All students stand.

39

Teacher:
Lenka Kivkov
Brno 2011
You can surely imagine that when you work with drama, the class can get
very noisy. That is why it is useful to set the Freeze rule when your
students simply freeze on the signal when you need to calm them down or
catch their full attention.
Procedure:
1 Students walk around the classroom to the rhythm of the tambourine.

2 When teacher stops playing the instrument and say Freeze, students
stop moving and freeze in exactly the same position they were when
Freeze was pronounced.
Acknowledgement: I have learnt this activity during my very first lesson of drama led
by PaedDr. Marie Pavlovsk, Ph.D. However, this activity is so
commonly used in drama in education that it would be very difficult to
identify its original author.

40

Lenka Kivkov
Brno 2011
Day 1
Plan of the activities:

I.
Name Games
Lazy Lenka + gesture
Change position
Dracula
II.
Soundtracking
Rain
Soundtracking of environments
Ghostly forest
III.
Definition of space
Observation of the room
Death Taco
Guiding a blind person
IV.
Break (15 min) + warm-up (Like versus Dislike)
V.
Miming
Passing imaginary object
Mirrors
Miming actions
Statues
Still image (film scene + famous line)
VI.
Interpretation of texts
To be or Not to be
Interpretation of a dialogue
Interpretation of a text
VII.
Relaxation (with music)

41

I.
Lenka Kivkov
Brno 2011
Name Games
1) Lazy Lenka + gesture

Objectives:
To learn each other's names, to develop communicative competence

(verbal and non-verbal), to develop creativity, to overcome selfconsciousness, to develop drama expression (expressing through body).
Focus:
Adjectives.
Time:
10 min.
Setting:
All students sit in the circle.
Teacher:
As we are going to work with each other for four days, first, we will try to
remember each other's names. If we want to use drama in our classes,
first, we need to create the atmosphere of relaxation, mutual trust and cooperation where students feel confident and happy. (Wessels: 10) That is
why drama works a lot with group dynamics and reinforcing positive
relationships among its participants.
Procedure:
1 Students think of an adjective which begins with the same letter like
their name (for example My name is Lenka, so I need an adjective
beginning with L Lazy Lenka).
2 Students add a gesture characterizing this adjective.
Acknowledgement: I have learnt this activity in the course Dramatick techniky ve

vuce cizch jazyk (can be found in [4]) led by Mgr. rka Dohnalov.
However, later on I have experienced it in many variations and
adaptations.
Realization: Students cooperated immediately; they were not ashamed at all to use
gestures. After the first round, they were all able to remember all the
names from the group.
2) Change position
Objectives:
To fix knowledge of names, to develop group sensitivity, to activate the

group.
Time:
5 min.
Setting:

42

Procedure:
Lenka Kivkov
Brno 2011
1 Students change their position in the circle, but only if they know the
name of the person who challenged them (for example I want to change
my position with Nancy. So I say her name and if she wants to change
position with me, she must say mine. Then, she continues and says the
name of someone who she wants to change the place with).
2 Two or three couples of students start changing their position at the
same time.
3 The game culminates until the moment when all the participants are
changing places at the same time.
Variations:
Change of instructions such as Change positions if you like red colour, if

your name starts with L, if you want to go home, if...
Acknowledgement: Activity included in the workshop of Andrew John Kempe held at

Faculty of Education of Masaryk University in Brno in spring 2008.
Realization: Students understood the principle of the activity immediately. When the
activity started, I let pass a few changes and then I started to change my
place simultaneously with the original couple. The students understood
quickly and without previous explanation they started to change places
spontaneously and the whole activity culminated as it ideally should.
3) Dracula
Techniques: Drama Game.
Objectives:
To fix knowledge of names, to develop social sensitivity.
Time:
5 min.
Setting:
All students stand in the circle, one student inside the circle.
Procedure:
1 The student inside the circle is Dracula who wants to catch a victim.
Dracula chooses his victim and starts to approach her.
2 The victim can save herself by eye contacting someone. When someone
is contacted by a victim and wants to save her, he or she must say her
name. If the name is correct, Dracula starts approaching the savour.
Acknowledgement: Activity included in the workshop of Andrew Kempe held at

II.
Soundtracking
43

Lenka Kivkov
Brno 2011
1) Rain
Techniques: Soundtracking.
Objectives:
To choose drama expression (expression through sound), to develop

social sensitivity, to feel the rhythm.
Focus:
Following the instructions, weather vocabulary.
Time:
5 min.
Setting:
Teacher:
Now we know each other's names, so let's start with the exploration of
the first drama technique soundtracking. We will go gradually. First,
we will explore how we can use sounds, then space, then miming, before
we start working on activities where we need to speak. When we start
using drama in our English teaching, we should also go gradually, from
simple activities to more complex ones. First, we should let students
focus entirely on physical movements to communicate, like eyes, facial
expressions, hands and the whole body. Gradually, students learn how to
coordinate these physical activities with verbal activities, which will help
them with more natural communication in English language.
Procedure:
1 Students listen to the teacher and imitate her actions.

2 Teacher: Imagine that you can see heavy clouds above your heads. It
is surely going to rain. And it has already started. You can hear little
drops bubbling around you (start to rub palms). Now you can hear bigger
drops falling on the ground around you (clap your hands and clap your
thighs). And now hailstones started to fall from the sky (stamp on the
floor). The rain is slowly fading down (decrease the noise according to
the same stages until silence).
Variations:
Soundtracking of wind.
Acknowledgement: Activity taken from the course Dramatick techniky ve vuce

cizch jazyk (can be found in [4]) led by Mgr. rka Dohnalov
Dohnalov in autumn 2007.
Realization: We performed this activity twice. The students said that they had really
felt the rain. For strengthening the feeling and experience I would
recommend to realize the activity with eyes closed.

44

Lenka Kivkov
Brno 2011
2) Soundtracking of environments
Techniques: Soundtracking, Improvisation.
Objectives:
To choose drama expression (expression through sound), to feel the

rhythm, to encourage team work, to develop creativity, to develop
communicative competence (verbal communication and listening to each
other).
Focus:
Discussion language in teams, vocabulary - environment.
Time:
15 min. (preparation time: 5 min)
Material:
Slips with different environments.
Setting:
4 teams of 5
Procedure:
1 Students sound the environment that they select by lot (for example
rain forest, factory, horse race, etc.). During their presentation, they
cannot speak, but they can make all kinds of sounds.
2 Students perform one team by one their environment and the others
guess.
Note:
Presentation: So that the performers do not feel ashamed, the audience

turns their backs to the performers. Students are also encouraged to close
their eyes in order to strengthen the audio effect and enhance
imagination.
Acknowledgement: Activity taken from the course Dramatick techniky ve vuce

cizch jazyk (can be found in [4]) led by Mgr. rka Dohnalov in
autumn 2007.
Realization: One girl who had no previous experience with drama said that at first, she
had felt quite weird, but that the fact that the audience did not see her
really helped her to relax. The realization of the activity itself was very
successful.
3) Ghostly forest
Techniques: Soundtracking, Improvisation.
Objectives:
To choose drama expression (expression through sound), to develop

group sensitivity (not to be afraid of a physical contact, listening to each
other), to develop creativity.
Focus:
Following the instructions, vocabulary forest.

45

Lenka Kivkov
Brno 2011
Time:
15 min.
Setting:
All students stand in the circle.
Procedure:
1 Students close their eyes and imagine that they are in a deep forest and
they can hear all its mysterious sounds. Students imagine all the sounds
they can hear there (trees, animals, etc.).
2 Students start to make the sounds, first silently, then graduating the
volume and then, lessening the sound again.
3 Students start to move like the objects/animals that they sound. If they
are a tree, they imagine and make its branches, if they are an animal, they
start to move like that particular animal.
4 But no forest grows in a regular circle, so the students get closer and
make a huddle of trees and branches. Students connect the movements
with the sound and set the forest in motion.
5 A volunteer can take a walk through the ghostly mysterious forest,
guided by a teacher.
Variations:
Any other environment can be interpreted this way (e.g. the sea, the
jungle, etc.).

Realization: At the beginning, this activity did not go very well because almost
everyone was performing an owl. However, when we came closer
together and made naturally a huddle of trees, the students started to be
much more imaginative. A volunteer who wanted to walk through the
forest had to struggle with the branches and bushes, which evoked
general excitement. The students were not shy at all and did not seem
uncomfortable when they had to touch each other.
III.
Definition of space
1) Observation of the room

Techniques: Definition of Space.
Objectives:
To practice observation and attention to detail, to develop communicative

competence (verbal).
46

Focus:
Lenka Kivkov
Brno 2011
There is/are structure, classroom objects, colours, numbers, shapes,

discussion language.
Time:
5 min.
Setting:
All students stand.
Teacher:
For drama it is always important where it takes place. We need to

perceive the environment. But drama is also contributory for different
learning styles and intelligences. Working with space can be very
valuable for those students who have developed spatial intelligence.
Procedure:
1 Students walk around the room and have a good look at it.
2 (After 2 min) Students close their eyes and answer in their mind these
questions: What colour is the ceiling? What colour is the door? Is the
door open? Is anything written on the board? How many lights are
there?
3 Students open their eyes, share their impressions with the person next
to them and compare their answers.
Variations:
Students can be divided into pairs and be seated back to back. They can
be asked to describe their partner (type of shoes, colour, etc.) without
possibility to look at him or her. Then, they compare their description
with the reality. (I first experienced this activity in a drama lesson led by
Mgr. Miroslav Coufal in 2006.)
Acknowledgement: Adaptation of the activity Observation of the room in Maley and

Duff: 87.
Realization: The students were really successful. They immediately started on the
discussion how this activity could further exploited in English teaching
and they came up with many interesting ideas and contributed with their
own well-tried activities.
2) Death Taco
Techniques: Drama Game, Definition of Space.
Objectives:
To explore and feel the space, to activate the group, to develop group
sensitivity, to overcome self-consciousness.
Focus:
Any particular word can be practised (for example a word with difficult
pronunciation).
47

Time:
5 min.
Setting:
All students stand.
Procedure:
1 Students say what their favourite food is (Tacos).
Lenka Kivkov
Brno 2011
2 Students are all ... (tacos) and they walk around the room with their
eyes closed. The person who the teacher touches is Death taco (he also
walks around with his eyes closed).
3 Once someone walks into somebody else or touches somebody else, he
wants to ensure that it is not Death taco, so he asks Taco? If the person is
not Death taco, he will answer Taco and both move on. However, if the
person is Death taco, he will say Death taco and the original person is
killed. The killed person has to scream very loudly and clear away sit
down around the classroom and watch others play.
Notes:
Teacher must emphasize that students must keep their eyes closed all the
time!

Realization: Students really liked this activity. Some of them let themselves to be
caught so that they could observe the others.
3) Guiding a blind person in break

Objectives:
To develop empathy, to explore and feel the space, to develop trust

between partners, to develop social sensitivity, to develop communicative
competence (verbal).
Focus:
Precision in giving instructions, following the instructions.
Time:
10 min.
Material:
Scarves.
Setting:
Students in pairs, standing.
Procedure:
1 Students decide in their pairs which one will be the blind person.
2 The blind student closes his eyes (or blindfolds them with a scarf) and
his partner will give him directions in order to leave the room and go to
the place where both want to spend the break. The leaders cannot touch
the blind in order to tell them where to go.
48

Variations:
Lenka Kivkov
Brno 2011
Competition: the obstacles can be placed in the middle of the classroom

and the blind cannot touch anything when fulfilling the instructions of the
leader. Otherwise, the couple is eliminated. (This variation is taken from
the activity Leading the blind in Maley and Duff: 74.)
Acknowledgement: Activity inspired by PaedDr. Marie Pavlovsk, Ph.D. and by

Charlyn Wessels: 7.
Realization: Most of the couples said that it had been an extraordinary, absolutely new
and enriching experience. They said that they had had troubles even in
walking straight. The classroom was situated on the second floor and all
the students finished the activity under the stairs.
IV.
BREAK
(15 min)
Warm-up: Like versus Dislike

Objectives:
To activate the group.
Focus:
Vocabulary, I like structure.
Time:
5 min.
Material:
String.
Setting:
The class is divided by a string. Students stand in the middle of the

classroom.
Procedure:
1 Teacher explains to the students that the right side of the classroom
means I like and the left side I dislike.
2 Teacher gives students a word and they have to run to the right or left
side of the classroom according to their likes. (Show an example:
Chocolate). Students do not think about the word, they act on impulse.
Words: the Moon, Monday morning, yellow, ice, school, Beethoven.
Variations:
1 Students can explain to each other why they like or dislike something.
2 Students can try to persuade the others from the opposite group why
they should like or dislike something.
Acknowledgement: Inspired by the activity The Sun and the Moon in Maley and
Duff: 66 and by the activity led by Mgr. rka Dohnalov in the course
Dramatick techniky ve vuce cizch jazyk (can be found in [4]).
49

V.
Lenka Kivkov
Brno 2011
Miming
1) Passing imaginary object

Techniques: Miming.
Objectives:
To choose drama expression (through body), to develop group sensitivity

(students have to concur), to develop creativity and imagination.
Focus:
Vocabulary - shapes, smells, weight, etc.
Time:
5 min.
Setting:
All students stand in the circle.
Teacher:
Miming helps students to overcome their self-consciousness and students

learn how to use non-verbal communication naturally as a support of
communication.
Procedure:
1 Students pass to each other the object the teacher picks up from the
floor. They try to express by miming what is its shape, if it is heavy, if it
is nice, if it smells good, etc.
2 Students give vent to their imagination and take turns in choosing the
objects they are passing around the circle.
Variation:
For the development of linguistic competence, students can describe

orally the objects they are passing around the circle (in term of weight,
material, colour, etc.)
Acknowledgement: Inspired by the activity Exchanging objects by Maley and Duff:

103. However, I first experienced this activity during the drama
workshop led by drama teacher Pavla Rackov in Studio Racek in 1999.
Realization: Students really surprised me with their creativity and initiative. They
were examining the imaginary objects through all senses. They also
discussed vividly how this activity could be further exploited.
2) Mirrors (
progressive mirrors)
Techniques: Miming, Improvisation.
Objectives:
To develop group sensitivity, to choose drama expression (through

body), to encourage team cooperation, to develop creativity.
Focus:
Daily routine, progressive tenses.
Times:
10 min.
50

Lenka Kivkov
Brno 2011
Setting:
3 teams of 6, pairs within teams.
Procedure:
1 Students face each other in pairs. The pairs in each group stand next to
each other (teacher helps with the setting and shows it on one group).
2 One person is a leader and begins to move. The other person must
imitate her as if she was a mirror reflection. Students will mime the
simple activities like daily routines (for example first, you wake up,
brush your teeth, etc.) Students change roles when the teacher claps
(approximately 2 min. for each turn)
3 (After 8 min) Students link up their miming in their teams so that it
looks fluent. The whole activity works without speaking or visual signals
and that is why students need to be attentive and observe each other
closely. (Teacher gives an example: first pair starts miming waking up
and brushing teeth, then the second pair fluently follows with dressing
up, etc.). Students try not to talk!
Variations:
As a follow-up activity, students can talk about the activities they were
miming and practise appropriate vocabulary and tenses.
Acknowledgement: The activity with mirrors is described in Wessels: 36, the activity
with progressive mirrors is included in Rittenberg and Kreitzer in their
book English through Drama. However, it is again so traditional drama
activity, it would be impossible to recognize its original author.
Realization: Students had already known this activity so it did not cause them any
problems. Unfortunately, we did not have enough time to try the linking
part twice. However, the second team learnt from the mistakes of the first
one and their movement was much more fluent.
3) Miming actions
Techniques: Miming, Improvisation.
Objectives:
To choose drama expression (through body), to develop communicative

competence (non-verbal), to develop creativity.
Focus:
Vocabulary - actions, progressive tenses.
Time:
10 min.
Material:
Slips with actions and adverbs.
Setting:
All students sit in a semi-circle.

51

Procedure:
Lenka Kivkov
Brno 2011
Volunteers select an activity by lot and they mime the activity. The rest
of the group guesses what they are doing. (Teacher shows the example:
blowing out the candles on a birthday cake.)
Variations:
Students can mime some more complex actions; the others guess the
whole situational context, such as time, situation, characters involved,
etc.
Acknowledgement: Inspired by the activity What am I doing? described in Maley and

Duff: 122.
4) Statues
Techniques: Still Image.
Objectives:

competence (non-verbal), to develop creativity.
Focus:
Vocabulary.
Time:
5 min.
Setting:
All students stand.
Procedure:
Students walk around the classroom and they express the word the
teacher says by the medium of their body. (Teacher shows an example:
happiness)
Words: anger, puppy, toy, puma, universe, desert, laughter.
Variations:
Specific vocabulary can be practised, such as adjectives, actions, sports,

phrasal verbs, etc.
Acknowledgement: The technique of still images is as old as theatre itself. However, it

is described for example in Jonothan Neelands and Tony Goode. I have
inspired myself by the activity used in the course Dramatick techniky ve
vuce cizch jazyk (can be found in [4]) led by Mgr. rka Dohnalov,
which I slightly adapted.
5) Still Image (film scene + famous line)

Techniques: Still Image, Animation of Still Image.
Objectives:

competence (verbal and non-verbal), to develop creativity, to develop
group sensitivity, to encourage team work.
52

Lenka Kivkov
Brno 2011
Focus:
Vocabulary, discussion language in teams.
Time:
Material:
Slips with the names of the films.
Setting:
4 teams of 5
Procedure:
1 Students select by lot the name of the film and they make a still image
representing a scene from this film.
2 Each performer also thinks of a famous line of his or her film character.
(For example I am Tarzan and my famous line is Me Tarzan, you
Jane).
3 Each team shows their still image to the others and the others guess the
name of the film.
4 Animation of Still Image: When students guess the film, the performers
will stay in their position and when teacher touches them, they will say
their famous line like their character would say it.
Variations:
The grammar of the famous lines and the topic of films can be further
exploited.
Acknowledgement: The technique of still images and its animation is abundantly used
by all drama teachers. However, it is described for example in Jonothan
Neelands and Tony Goode.
Realization: Very successful and enjoyable activity. Students understood the
technique of animation of still images immediately; all the group
members were performing.
VI.
Interpretation
1) To be or not to be
Techniques: Interpretation of a sentence/text.
Objectives:
To realize the variety of means of expressing the same thing, to choose

drama expression (through body and words), to develop communicative
competence (verbal and non-verbal), to develop creativity.
Focus:
Adverbs.
Time:
5 min.
Material:
Slips with adverbs.

53

Lenka Kivkov
Brno 2011
Setting:
All students sit in a circle.
Procedure:
Each student selects by lot a slip of paper with an adverb and reads the
famous Hamlet's line To be or not to be, that is the question
expressing that particular adverb. Other students guess what adverb is
being expressed.
Notes:
Students can look up difficult adverbs in dictionary.
Acknowledgement: Concerning this activity, I have been inspired by two sources.

First by the activity To be or not to be posted in the mood-link-a course
Dramatick postupy ve vuce anglitiny (can be found in [5]); and
secondly by the activity Miming adverbs by Penny Ur published in her
book Five-Minute Activities.
2) Interpretation of a dialogue
Techniques: Interpretation of a dialogue/text.
Objectives:
To explore a text, to choose drama expression (performance), to develop

communicative competence (verbal and non-verbal), to encourage
communication in team, to develop creativity.
Focus:
General discussion language in pairs.
Time:
Material:
Copies of a dialogue (see Appendix 2)
Setting:
Pairs.
Procedure:
Students receive a short dialogue that they will perform. They think about
the background of the dialogue (who is talking, why, where they are,
etc.). In order to make the situation clear for the rest of the group,
students can add one sentence at the beginning of the dialogue and one
sentence at the end.
Variations:
Students can make a dialogue using only the lines of tongue twisters
(pronunciation practice and drama expression practice (through body).
Acknowledgement: I experienced this activity in the workshop called Dramatick

vchova smrem k divadelnmu tvaru led by the theatre director Ji
Pokorn in spring 2008.
Realization: Students performed very diverse and creative interpretations of a simple
dialogue. After each performance, the rest of the group guessed the type
54

Lenka Kivkov
Brno 2011
of the relationships of the characters and what was happening in the

scene (in most cases the first sentence of the dialogue was the most
important clue).
3) Interpretation of a story
Techniques: Interpretation of a story/text, Improvisation.
Objectives:
To explore a text, to choose drama expression (performance), to develop

communicative competence (verbal and non-verbal), to encourage
communication in team, to develop creativity, to observe time limits.
Focus:
General discussion language in teams, language of the literary text.
Time:
Material:
Copies of the text Little Red Riding Hood [4] (see Appendix 3)
Setting:
4 teams of 5
Procedure:
Students are given the famous fairy tale story Little Red Riding Hood.
They read the text and act it out respecting the form that they select by lot
(soap opera, opera, like robots, thriller, etc.). The story cannot be more
than 2 min long. The performers need not stick to the text precisely.
Notes:
It is important to measure time and subsequently evaluate how students

were able to observe the time limit or not.
Acknowledgement: The idea of performing a well-known story using a particular form

was given to me by the British lecturer Warwick Dobson during his
workshop on structured drama held at the Faculty of Education of
Masaryk University in spring 2008.
Realization: On account of the lack of time, we were obliged to realize this activity at
the end of the third day of the workshop. Students really enjoyed working
on this activity, they were incredibly creative, and they started making
their costumes and props immediately. When I saw how much they
enjoyed the preparations of the activity, I did not insist on observing the
time limit anymore (that could be another phase of the activity). The
theatrical forms the students interpreted were really amusing and original
(for example the representation of the soap opera ended up with the fight
between Little Red Riding Hood and her Grandmother because the
Grandmother found Little Red Riding Hood in bed with the Wolf).
55

VII.
Lenka Kivkov
Brno 2011
Relaxation
Relaxation with music

Objectives:
To relax the group, to develop creativity and imagination, to reflect on

self-image.
Focus:
Discussion language, describing pictures and emotions.
Time:
5 min.
Material:
Music (used from the series Byousoku 5 Centimetres).
Setting:
All students lie on the floor.
Procedure:
1 Students close their eyes and relax. Teacher tells them not to think of
anything and just listen to the music.
2 Students share with the person next to them a picture that the music
evoked in their head the whole group discussion.
Variations:
Students lie on the floor with their eyes closed and the teacher makes
various sounds. Students then draw a picture depicting the sounds they
had heard. (This variation is taken from the workshop of Ji Pokorn
held in spring 2008.)
Acknowledgement: Inspired by the activity described in Charlyn Wessels Drama.

Realization:
Students enjoyed sharing their feelings. One girl said that she
immediately visualized the smile of her father.
Reflection on Day 1
I expected 20 participants, however, only 12 appeared, which gave us much
more time for activities and reflections. The students were really initiative, creative and
they immediately overcame their initial shyness. We created a great working
atmosphere; all the students got involved and actively participated in the discussions
concerning the possible ways how to use the methods and techniques in question in
their classes. They also had very inspiring comments on their own well-tried activities.

56

Lenka Kivkov
Brno 2011
Day 2

I.
Warm-ups
Zip zap
Walking warmers
The seat on my left is free
II.
Structured drama: The Girl's missing

Introduction of the case
Examination of corpus delicti/real objects
Examination of character
Examination of chief witnesses (Lisa's mother and stepfather)
Examination of other witnesses
Alibi
III.
Break (15 min) + warm-up (Molecules)
IV.
Structured drama continuation

Police Broadcast
Mobile on the chair
Text message home
Final reflection
V.
Relaxation (From seed to plant)

57

Lenka Kivkov
Brno 2011
I. Warm-ups
1) Zip zap
Objectives:
To activate the group, to encourage students to pay attention to each

other, to develop group sensitivity.
Time:
5 min.
Setting:
All students stand in a circle.
Procedure:
1 Students send a Zip signal around the circle. Teacher starts, points to
the person on her left and say Zip. This person must as quickly as
possible send the signal to the person on her left saying Zip.
2 (After running a circle) Student can also block somebody by saying
Zap and refusing the signal with his hands (teacher demonstrates).
3 Student can send the signal across the circle by saying Zop.
4 The pace increases.
Acknowledgement: I first experienced this very common warm-up activity during the
workshop of drama teacher Pavla Rackov in Studio Racek in 1999. It is,
however, mentioned in many different drama books.
2) Walking warmers
Techniques: Miming.
Objectives:
To activate the group, to overcome self-consciousness, to choose drama

expression (through body).
Focus:
Following the instructions, vocabulary, and progressive tenses.
Time:
5 min.
Setting:
All students stand.
Procedure:
Students walk around according to the teachers instructions.

Walk as if: you carry a heavy suitcase, you walk on ice, you don't want to
be seen, you walk on a really hot sand, you are 99 years old...
Variations:
Specific vocabulary can be practised (for example actions, phrasal verbs,

etc.)
Acknowledgement: Taken from the book Five-Minute Activities by Penny Ur.
3) The seat on my left is free

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Lenka Kivkov
Brno 2011
Objectives:
To fix names, to activate group.
Focus:
Names, drill of a structure.
Time:
5 min.
Setting:
All students sit in a circle (the place on teachers left is free).
Procedure:
1 Teacher says the phrase The seat on my left is free and I'd like
_(Paco)__ to sit next to me. This student (Paco) will move to the empty
place. The person who now has an empty place on her left will continue
(teacher shows the example).
Acknowledgement: Taken from Maley and Duff: 70.
II. Structured drama: The Girl's missing
1) Introduction of the case

Techniques: Teacher in the Role, Using Prop/Costume, Mantle of the Expert.
Objectives:
To catch students attention, to submerge students into fiction, to create

atmosphere, to make students involved.
Focus:
Careful listening, vocabulary.
Time:
5 min.
Material:
Police cap, bag.
Setting:
Students sit facing the teacher.
Teacher:
I have promised you to see how drama activities can be used in more
complex drama structures. Let's see how we can use drama in context, so
that it submerges students into fiction and creates an authentic dramatic
experience.
Procedure:
1 Teacher explains to students that when she puts on the prop (in this
case a police cap), she becomes a police officer. When she puts it down,
she is the teacher again. (Note: It is not even necessary to explain this to
the pupils as they accept the function of representative props very
naturally.)
2 Teacher in the Role, students listen:
Good afternoon, dear detectives. My name is chief detective Smith.
Thank you very much for coming to our police headquarters so quickly. I
have sent for you because I need your help with the case I cannot solve
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Lenka Kivkov
Brno 2011
myself. Early in the morning at 2 am we received a phone call at our

local police station. A woman announced that her 14-year old daughter
Lisa was not at home. We sent our patrol to the girl's home on MexicoTacuba Street, Metro Colegio Militar and they proclaimed the girl as a
missing person. We started the investigation, but we have not found out
anything yet. That is why I need your help.
Notes:
Vocabulary concerning police investigation may be practised beforehand,

for example by reading a detective story or a newspaper article on a
crime.
Realization: Students accepted the reality of the story immediately and they got
involved in the story.
2) Examination of corpus delicti/real objects

Techniques: Teacher in the Role, Mantle of the Expert, Objects of Character,
Unfinished Materials.
Objectives:
To submerge students into fiction, make them involved, to examine and

describe real objects, to develop communicative competence (verbal), to
develop imagination.
Focus:
Description of objects, discussion language, making speculations.
Time:
15 min.
Material:
Bag containing keys, cigarettes and a lighter, a bill from the shop from
last night, library book Veronica wants to die, a postcard from Lisa's
father from which it is evident she has not seen him for a long time, a
wallet with little money, a metro ticket, etc.
Setting:
Procedure:
1 Teacher in the Role gives instructions to the students:

The only evidence that we have is this bag that was found in Alameda
park next to Bellas Artes. I want each detective to take one thing from the
bag, examine it closely (think what this object says about missing Lisa,
why she had it, etc.)
2 Detectives report to each other the results of their investigation, they
make speculations.

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Lenka Kivkov
Brno 2011
Realization: Students were very resourceful. While presenting the objects, they
immediately started to invent complicated hypotheses (for example that
Lisa probably comes from a well-off family because she had a whole box
of cigarettes, although Mexican teenagers usually buy cigarettes only
piece by piece because of its price). One student suggested interrogating
Lisas parents, which I chose as the next activity (after Role on the Wall
technique).
3) Examination of character
Techniques: Role on the Wall, Teacher in the Role, Mantle of the Expert.
Objectives:
To study character, to distinguish the facts from assumptions, to describe

a physical appearance, to develop communicative competence (verbal),
to develop imagination.
Focus:
Description of a person, facts and assumption, modal verbs.
Time:
10 min.
Setting:
All students sit in a semi-circle facing the board.
Procedure:
Teacher draws on the board an outline of Lisa and students, still as

detectives, say what they know about Lisa about her personality, her
background, her family, and the places she certainly visited last night.
Students also tell the teacher where to write the information - the facts go
inside the figure and the things that they assume outside the outline.
Variations:
Students can go and write the facts on the board themselves (but it takes
much more time).
Realization: After the first suggestion I asked if it was a fact or assumption. With it,
students told me automatically where to write their comments and
suggestions.
4) Examination of chief witnesses (Lisa's mother and stepfather)

Techniques: Role Play, Hot-seating, Interviews and Interrogations, Teacher in the
Role, Mantle of Expert, Role on the Wall.
Objectives:
To get to know more information, to distinguish the facts from

assumptions, to characterize someone, to develop communicative
competence (verbal), to develop imagination.
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Lenka Kivkov
Brno 2011
Focus:
Asking questions.
Time:
15 min.
Material:
Cards for role play.
Setting:
All students sit in a semi-circle facing the board.
Procedure:
1 Teacher picks up two volunteers acting the chief witnesses - Lisa's

mother and stepfather who announced that their daughter had gone
missing. They are given cards describing the situation a little and they act
Lisa's mother and stepfather. They are seated in a witness box on the
chairs in front of the detectives who will ask questions. They can add
their own ideas to the information on the card. The only rule is that they
cannot contradict each other (and that is why they have to listen to each
other very carefully). Teacher in the Role directs the interrogation.
2 (After the interrogation) If students/detectives do not have any more
questions, teacher goes back to the Role on the Wall activity and students
add what they have found out about Lisa (Teacher can help by means of
questions, such as What do you think about Lisa's relationship with her
mother/her father/her stepfather?, etc.).
Variations:
Questions can be restricted in form (for example only yes-no questions,

only wh- questions, only questions about Lisa's family).
Realization: Students played their parts amazingly, they immediately started to

improvise and they did not let themselves distract by unexpected
questions. They managed to move the story forward without
contradicting each other. One student suggested we should interrogate
Lisas friends. That is why I used this idea in the following activity.
5) Examination of other witnesses

Techniques: Role Play, Interviews and Interrogations, Teacher in the Role, Mantle of
Expert, Role on the Wall.
Objectives:
To get to know more information, to develop communicative competence

(verbal), to develop creativity, to choose drama expression (acting).
Focus:
Asking questions.
Time:
20 min.
Setting:
Pairs.
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Procedure:
Lenka Kivkov
Brno 2011
1 Teacher explains to students/detectives that more information about

Lisa is still needed.
2 Students are in pairs. One of them is still a police detective, while the
other is someone who knew Lisa (her neighbour, her teacher, her brother,
her friend, etc.). The detective asks questions about Lisa in order to get to
know her better and predict what could have happened last night, where
she can be now, etc. Detectives have 10 min to investigate.
3 If detectives do not have any more questions, Teacher in the Role can
go back again to the Role on the Wall activity and add what the
detectives had found out about Lisa (again the only rule is that they have
to listen to each other carefully and do not to contradict each other).
Variations:
Again, the questions may be restricted in form (for example students who
act someone who knew Lisa cannot answer yes and no).
Realization: Students marked Lisas biological father as a main suspect. To give

students the chance to explore this possibility I included following
activity.
6) Alibi
Techniques: Role Play, Hot-seating, Interviews and Interrogations, Teacher in the
Role, Mantle of Expert.
Objectives:
To convince detectives of your innocence improvisation, to encourage

team work, to develop communicative competence (verbal), to develop
creativity, to practise information retention, to choose drama expression
(acting), to use discussion language.
Focus:
Note taking, careful listening, asking questions, discussion language.
Time:
Setting:
Pairs.
Procedure:
1 One person in the pair is Lisa's father who is now the main suspect. The
police think he has kidnapped Lisa. Lisas father must prepare his alibi
for last night from 8 pm to midnight and his partner must confirm it. Both
students claim to spend this time together, so they must be able to
account for everything that they did, saw, said, etc.

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Lenka Kivkov
Brno 2011
2 One of the couple is seated in a witness box on a chair in front of the

classroom and the detectives interrogate him, while his partner is waiting
outside. The interrogated person will be asked to give account of his
activities from last night and the detectives will take notes.
3 When the interrogation of one person is finished, the second partner
will be called in and will be asked to answer detectives' questions.
Notes:
1 Teacher can direct the interrogation as Teacher in the Role or

students/detectives can take turns in leading the interrogation.
2 Teacher can ask challenging questions during the interrogations, such
as What was the weather like? What is the name of your co-worker?,
etc.
Variations:
Again, the questions can be restricted in form.
Acknowledgement: Used from Maley and Duff: 196.

Realization: Unfortunately, we only had time to interrogate two couples. When
students understood how the activity works, they started asking really
tricky questions. They really enjoyed the activity (particularly when the
statements of the suspects did not match).
III.
BREAK
(15 min)
Warm-up: Molecules
Objectives:
To activate group, to develop group sensitivity, to overcome selfconsciousness.
Focus:
Numbers, vocabulary - body parts.
Time:
5 min.
Material:
Lively music (Cafe Tacuba: Ojala que llueva).
Setting:
All students stand.
Procedure:
Students walk around the classroom. When teacher stops the music and
calls out, for example, Molecule 3 knees, students must create trios
and be connected by knees (teacher shows an example). The numbers and
the body parts will change.

64

Notes:
Lenka Kivkov
Brno 2011
This activity can be used when teacher wants to make groups of a certain
number of students (for example pairs, trios, teams of 6, etc.)
Acknowledgement: This typical childrens game can be found for example in Maley
and Duff: 80 under the name Atom 3!.
Realization: Students enjoyed the most the final instruction Molecules 11
shoulders. When they realized that they all had to touch because they
were exactly 11, they made a line.
IV.
7) Police Broadcast
Techniques: Re-enactment, Reportage, Making Maps, Role Play.
Objectives:
To interpret students ideas and assumptions, to develop communicative

competence, to choose drama expression (acting, improvisation), to
develop creativity, to encourage team work.
Focus:
Discussion language in teams, description of a physical appearance, map

making prepositions, instructions, prepositions, directions, modal verbs,
transactional language (for example Give me the brown marker, Can
you draw it?, etc.).
Time:
Material:
Flip charts.
Setting:
4 teams of 5
Procedure:
1 Students now have more information on Lisa and they have various
ideas about what could have possibly happened to her. Teacher asks
students to work in groups and prepare a police broadcast announcing
Lisa's missing including:
a) Introduction of Lisa as a missing person (the facts about her: hair
colour, age, where and when she was last seen, dress, etc.),
b) Re-enactment of what could have happened last night from 8 pm till
midnight. It can be spoken or mimed, through the technique of Still
Images, etc.
c) Ask the viewing public for help to call the police if they have any
information about Lisa.

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Lenka Kivkov
Brno 2011
2 Students will also present a poster with a map of places where Lisa
certainly and possibly was last night.
Variations:
1 Students can make a character poster with a picture and description of a

physical appearance (Missing, Wanted posters).
2 Students can make an interview publicist with a chief detective.
3 After map making students can confront the real map. Maps can be also
made with students bodies each student represents some place
position in the classroom - and tells the detective which place he
represents and how to get there from the police station.
Realization: Students started to work very enthusiastically and they wanted their
posters to be too elaborate. That is why I had to keep insisting that they
should start working on their improvisations. The reporters looked very
professional and performed brilliantly. The first group interpreted their
story by means of miming; it was very simple and legible. The second
group included speaking as well, which was a bit tedious. In order to
preserve the tension and symbolism of drama, I would recommend using
more artistic forms, such as Still Images.
8) Mobile on the chair

Techniques: Giving Witness.
Objectives:
To interpret students ideas, to develop communicative competence

(verbal), to choose drama expression (acting), to develop creativity, to
develop group sensitivity.
Focus:
Listening carefully, making phone calls (greetings, introducing yourself,

saying your home address. etc.).
Time:
10 min.
Setting:
All students sit in a circle, an empty chair in the middle.
Material:
Mobile phone
Procedure:
A mobile phone is put on the chair. The phone represents the police
station. Anyone of the students can go, pick up the phone and make a
phone call to the police as a witness and give police some piece of
information about Lisa and what happened to her (again, there is a rule
that students cannot contradict each other)
66

Notes:
Lenka Kivkov
Brno 2011
This can be the end of the story as students decide what happened to Lisa
(if she is OK, dead, if she called the police herself, etc.) or it can lead to
other activities. All depends on students (if they want to explore the topic
more or not) and the flexibility and creativity of the teacher.
Realization: When the first student picked up the phone and called the police station,
another student immediately reacted and answered as a police detective.
Therefore the whole activity went on in a dialogue, even without my
previous instructions. Each student wanted to contribute, so almost
everyone took turn in roles of witnesses and detectives. At last, the
neighbour of Lisas boyfriend resolved the mystery and announced that
Lisa was sleeping over her boyfriends flat.
9) Text message home (Calming down activity)

Techniques: Message.
Objectives:
To interpret students ideas, to develop communicative competence

(written and verbal), to choose drama expression (reading and writing), to
develop creativity, to reflect on self.
Focus:
Writing a short message, reduction of language, discussion language.
Time:
15 min.
Material:
Slips of paper.
Setting:
Procedure:
Students imagine that they are Lisa and they saw the police broadcast on
TV. They are writing a text message to their mother. (Question: What
would you write?)
Notes:
1 Another scene can be added if students are interested (for example the
encounter of Lisa with her mother).
2 As a final product activity students/detectives can write a police report
about the case.
Realization: Students calmed down quickly and they concentrated intensively. All of
them wanted to read their message, some of them were quite moving.
Everyone agreed that this structured drama would be a strong theme for
teenagers.

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10) Final reflection
Lenka Kivkov
Brno 2011
(25 min)
Reflection on the theme: What was the story about? What was the story about for you?
What themes we could discuss (the world is dangerous and one needs to be
always careful; although you may not realize it, your family always loves you;
relationships in the family, communication, loneliness, etc.)
What is structured drama: The teacher gives students a starting situation and students
are encouraged to explore it using any means available. The teacher determines
the drama techniques for individual activities, but students are the ones who
determine the content and the conclusions. Thus, students actually create their
own story. You created your own end Lisa was sleeping at her new boyfriends
place (other possible ends could be: Lisa was kidnapped, Lisa escaped from
home and went to see her father, Lisa killed herself, etc.)
Structured drama is a specific form of drama based on social learning and

learning through experience. Structured drama is determined by the central
themes (for example family, being different from the others, value of sacrifice,
etc.) that students explore through their own actions and thus learn to better
understand themselves and human behaviour. It develops empathy, creativity
and imagination, critical thinking and intellect.
Techniques: Focused on fluency, may be focused on forms (for example restricted

forms of questions) and functions as well (how to ask a 3-year old child, 14-year
old, grown-ups with different status, etc.)
Acknowledgement: The whole structured drama was based on two courses. First, on
the course Dramatick techniky ve vuce cizch jazyk (can be found in [4]) led
by Mgr. rka Dohnalov in autumn 2007 (especially the activity Map
making); and secondly, on the workshop of Andrew John Kempe held at
V. Relaxation

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Lenka Kivkov
Brno 2011
From seed to plant

Objectives:
To calm down the group, to develop dramatic expression (through body).
Focus:
Following the instructions, vocabulary.
Time:
5 min.
Material:
Relaxation music (used from the series Byousoku 5 Centimetres).
Setting:
All students stand.
Procedure:
1 Students imagine that they are a seed in the ground and they crouch
into a bobble.
2 When listening to the music, students start to grow very slowly and
spread their hands to the sun until they grow up in an adult plant or tree.
3 With the quieting music, the students go down again and end up in
original position of the seed in the ground.
Acknowledgement: Inspired by the activity From seed to plant in Maley and Duff:
58.
Realization: Unfortunately, we did not have time to realize this calming-down
activity.
Reflection on Day 2
There were 11 participants, which gave us enough time for activities
examination. The atmosphere and working enthusiasm was again very pleasant and
cheerful. Students immediately accepted the concept of the structured drama and they
really appreciated the chance to decide about the story themselves, about what would
happen next, which situations explore and how the drama would end. They assigned the
main themes of the drama as relationships in the family, communication in the family,
empathy, divorce and loneliness.
If I had the chance to change something, I would probably anticipate better the
time for particular activities so that we would still have time to do the last calmingdown activity. However, the participants were enjoying drama so much, I literally did
not have the heart to make them hurry through it or to skip some of its parts.
Nevertheless, in the exit questionnaire, one of the participants mentioned that he was
sorry that not all the ideas could have been sufficiently explored.

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Lenka Kivkov
Brno 2011
Day 3
I.
Warm-ups
Hands shaking
II.
Definition of space
Take your partner to the walk map of Mexico
Continent Machine
III.
Structured drama: Moctezuma

Creation of Tenochtitlan
Demonstration of everyday life + Celebration
IV.
Break (15 min) + warm-up (Horse race)
V.
Structured drama continuation

Meeting
Choral speak
Discussion
Alley of opinions
Position on the Scale/Spectrum of Difference
Final reflection
VI.
Relaxation (Thermometer)

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Lenka Kivkov
Brno 2011
I. Warm-ups
1) Hands shaking
Objectives:
To activate group, to develop group sensitivity and empathy, to develop

communicative competence (verbal and non-verbal), to develop
creativity, to overcome self-consciousness.
Focus:
Greetings, introductions.
Time:
5 min.
Setting:
All students stand.
Procedure:
This is a mingling activity.

1 In 30 seconds, students try to shake hands with and say hello to as
many people as possible. Students establish eye contact.
2 Students imagine they are at a party and they are 100 years old.
(Teacher asks questions: How do you stand? How do you move?, etc.)
3 Students imagine that they are at a VIP party and they are very snooty.
They think the other people there are losers and they just came in order to
be seen.
4 Students imagine that they are three years old and this is their first day
in the kindergarten after the holidays.
Variations:
In order to develop communicative competence students can introduce

themselves.
Acknowledgement: I have found this activity in the mood-link-a course Dramatick

postupy ve vuce anglitiny (3). However, we can find very similar
variation in Maley and Duff as well.
II. Definition of Space
1) Take your partner to the walk map of Mexico

Techniques: Definition of Space, Map Making.
Objectives:
To get to know each other, to develop group sensitivity, to explore the

space, to develop communicative competence (verbal).

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Focus:
Lenka Kivkov
Brno 2011
Past tenses, description of places and events, careful listening, cardinal

points.
Time:
15 min.
Setting:
All students stand in pairs.
Teacher:
Today we will talk about Mexico and a little bit of its history. In order to
tune to the topic, we will work with space and explore Mexico you know.
Procedure:
Students imagine the classroom is the map of Mexico. At the door is the
North, at the windows the South. Students in pairs take turns and take
their partner to a walk to three places in Mexico:
A) where they were born,
B) where they have spent the best holidays,
C) where they have experienced a big surprise.
Students give instructions (for example Let's go to the North-West to the
mountains and canyons of Chihuahua where I spent...).
Variations:
Particular vocabulary can be practised.
Acknowledgement: I was inspired by the workshop of Andrew John Kempe held at

Realization: The activity is highly personalized, which meant that students had really
liked it because they could talk about their own experiences and lives.
Some of the students were born at the same place (particularly in Mexico
City) or they were talking about the same places where they spent
holiday (especially Cancn and Mayan Riviera).
2) Continent Machine
Techniques: Definition of Space, Miming, Still Image, Collective Drawing.
Objectives:
To choose drama expression (through body), to organize collective

drawing, to develop group sensitivity, to develop communicative
competence (verbal and non-verbal), to develop creativity, to encourage
team work.
Focus:
Discussion language in teams (what to draw, who, where), map making

giving directions, instructions.
Time:
25 min.
Setting:
4 teams of 5
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Lenka Kivkov
Brno 2011
Material:
Flip charts, markers.
Teacher:
As you will see drama can be used for learning cross-curricular content
as well. This activity exploits students knowledge of geography, culture
and history and the structured drama we're about to start next explores
the specific historical period of Mexico.
Procedure:
1 Students in teams are given a flip chart and they draw collectively a
map of Mexico where they note several phenomena (natural, cultural,
historical, etc. for example the mummies of Guanajuato). They have to
agree on what to draw/indicate. They have 10 min to prepare.
2 Students in their teams will choose one phenomena and make a
collective still image. When the still image is finished, students will
animate it with a movement and/or a phrase. They have 5 min to prepare
(teacher shows an example).
3 Animation of Still Image: when teacher claps, the whole group will
make the still image. When teacher touches someone, all performers will
animate and make their movements or sounds. The other teams will guess
which phenomenon is being interpreted.
Acknowledgement: I have found this activity in the mood-link-a course Dramatick

postupy ve vuce anglitiny (can be found in [5]).
Realization: My first intention was to make a continent map/machine where each
member of the team would choose different phenomena and the whole
map of Mexico would set into motion. However, because of the lack of
time, I simplified the activity and the whole team gave form to just one
element.
III. Structured drama: Moctezuma
1) Creation of Tenochtitlan
Techniques: Definition of Space, Arts and Craft, Problem Solving.
Objectives:
To find solution to a problem, to develop creativity, to develop

communicative competence (verbal and non-verbal), to encourage team
work, to develop sensory-motor skills.

73

Focus:
Lenka Kivkov
Brno 2011
Discussion language in teams, procedural language (for example Pass

me the scotch tape, cut it here, etc.), presenting the work.
Time:
Material:
String, scotch tape, toilet paper, newspapers.
Setting:
4 teams of 5
Teacher:
The story we will now explore goes back to the huge and powerful Aztec
Empire which was at the top of its fame and growth at the beginning of
16th century. As you all know the centre and the capital of Aztec Empire
was Tenochtitlan, an island in the middle of Lake Texcoco where present
Mexico City is now.
Procedure:
1 Students imagine how Tenochtitlan at the top of its fame looked like
and they try to build its main square. They can create The Great Pyramid
of Tenochtitlan Templo Mayor or any other structure that they will then
present to the others. Students can use whatever material they want
(newspapers, string, chairs, etc.). Teacher should emphasize the time
limit for preparation (only 20 min) and observe it strictly.
2 Students present what they created.
3 Students evaluate the aesthetics and height of the creations.
Notes:
The feedback session could be held (Questions: who was the organizer?,
what was your role in the process?, etc.)
Acknowledgement: The idea of creating an ancient city was given to me by the British
lecturer Warwick Dobson during his workshop on structured drama held
at the Faculty of Education of Masaryk University in spring 2008.
Realization: Students started to work very enthusiastically and they took the
competition really seriously. They built high constructions from chairs
(the pyramids) which they decorated with newspapers, pillows, rugs, etc.
In the final reflection they stated that the fact they had to first build the
city helped them then empathize with the characters who were supposed
to lose it later on in the drama.
2) Demonstration of everyday life + Celebration

Techniques: Definition of Space, Still Image, Animation of Still Image.

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Objectives:
Lenka Kivkov
Brno 2011
To learn about social system and customs of Aztecs, to develop group

sensitivity, to encourage team work, to develop creativity, to develop
communicative competence (verbal and non-verbal) and empathy.
Focus:
Discussion language in teams, listening.
Time:
30 min.
Material:
Aztec music (in the background).
Setting:
The same 4 teams of 5.
Procedure:
1 Students discuss what they know about people living in Tenochtitlan

and their lives. Students think about the professions that people had in
Tenochtitlan.
2 Teacher tells students about the fact people were strictly divided in
castes: Pipiltin nobles, such as king, priests, warriors, administrators
and merchants; and Macehualtin artisans and cultivators.
3 Students choose one profession and prepare a still image clearly
representing it. Students set this still image into their Tenochtitlan.
Students also think of a name for their character and why they chose this
name. They have 3 min to prepare. (For example I am maize grower and
my name is Tatanka, which means She who makes grass gold.)
4 Animation of Still Image: When teacher claps, the whole group will
make a still image. The person the teacher touches will animate and say
her name and why she has this name.
5 Teacher tells the students: But in Tenochtitlan people were not just
working. They also held a lot of rituals, ceremonies and celebrations. The
most important celebration of all was tying of years ceremony at the
end of a 52-year cycle in the Aztec calendar, which was believed to bring
great changes.
6 Students prepare a collective still image in their groups depicting this
ceremony/celebration. They also think of an animation of their still image
by movement or actions and sounds. They have 5 min to prepare (for
example I am drinking pulque, I am already pretty drunk). In the
presentation they animate one after another in order to create a fluently
progressive still image.
Notes:
The social system can be extensively explored (especially the

vocabulary).
75

Realization: Students
impersonated
the
Lenka Kivkov
Brno 2011
characters
immediately
and
they
spontaneously started to create costumes and to look for the props. The
presentation of the celebration went particularly well. The progressive
movement of the animated still images made really strong aesthetic
impression.
IV.
BREAK
(15 min)
Warm-up: Horse race

Objectives:
To activate the group, to develop group sensitivity, to choose drama

expression (through sounds and miming), to feel the rhythm.
Focus:
Time:
5 min.
Setting:
All students stand in a circle.
Procedure:
Students imagine that they are riders preparing themselves for horse race.
Teacher is a horse race commentator and students will ride according to
her instructions.
Notes:
Before actual performing the activity, teacher should practise with

students the horse race instructions and particular movements connected
to them. Horse race situations: riding left and right, obstacle, double
obstacle, wind, water jump, men, women and children audience, Japanese
tourists, home stretch.
Acknowledgement: I have learnt this activity in a semester course Teaching children

held at the Faculty of Education of Masaryk University and taught by
Ivana Hrozkov in spring 2009.
V.
3) Meeting
Techniques: Meeting, Narration, Teacher in the Role, Role Play, Using Prop.
Objectives:
To get students involved.
Focus:
Careful listening, vocabulary.

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Time:
10 min.
Material:
Text of Moctezumas monologue (see Appendix 4), prop: beads.
Setting:
Procedure:
1 Teacher tells students: Because of the end of Aztec calendar,

everybody knew that some big changes were drawing near. And sure
enough they were. The Aztec king Moctezuma invited all the inhabitants
of Tenochtitlan to an important meeting.
2 Students imagine they are at the meeting. They all came in the
characters they were impersonating in the previous activity. Teacher puts
on the representative prop (beads) and becomes the king Moctezuma.
3 Moctezumas speech (Teacher in the Role):
Dear Aztec people, welcome to this special meeting. I have summoned
you because I wanted to inform you about some very disturbing event
that had happened. I have seen a sign, an omen and I had our greatest
Totonaca wizard Itecupinqui to interpret the sign.
Here is what I saw:
The fishermen in the lagoon caught in their nets a bird, a bird of a
colour and size of a hawk, and that bird had in the middle of its head a
mirror. They have never seen anything like that. So they brought me the
bird into my palace, I was in the hall and it was after noon. I looked at
the bird and at the mirror it had in its head, it was round and glazed, and
looking into the mirror I saw the stars of the sky, the mamalhuaztli, the
stars of the Taurus constellation.
I got really terrified and I turned away in surprise. When I looked back
into the mirror that was in the bird's head I saw people riding strange
animals. Those people were coming in a huge crowd, all with unknown
arms. And when I saw this I got even more frightened. That is why I
summoned my tonapoulques, my astrologers and diviners and I asked
them What was it that appeared to me? and they were all really
puzzled and the bird disappeared and they got all really scared and they
weren't able to say anything. (Meza: 31)
That is why I called the famous Totonaca wizard to interpret the sign and
here is the prophecy he told me.
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4) Choral speak
Techniques: Choral Speak, Interpretation of a text.
Objectives:
To perform choral poetry, to develop group sensitivity, to feel the

rhythm, to encourage team work, to develop communicative competence
(verbal), to develop creativity.
Focus:
Pronunciation, prosody (intonation, rhythm, etc.).
Time:
Material:
Choral reading text (see Appendix 5).
Setting:
2 teams.
Procedure:
1 Teacher gives students the prophecy the wizard predicted. Students are
in two teams and they are supposed to read the prophecy in their team
chorally. Students should agree which parts they will read silently,
loudly, which parts will be stressed, etc. They can even sing.
2 Prophecy:
I wouldnt like Oh King! to alarm your spirit, but the prophecy of
Quetzacatl is about to come true. White and bearded men will come
from the Orient and our cities will be destroyed and ruined, our sons
dead and our gods chased out from the temples. Do not be alarmed any
more because what is going to happen cannot be avoided. Quetzacatl
will return to take the possession of his land. (Meza: 32)
Notes:
The text can be exploited from the point of view of grammar, vocabulary,
etc.
Realization: Students decided on their own that they would stand in a line, each team
facing each other in order to strengthen the resulting dramatic effect of
the dramatized choral reading.
5) Discussion
Techniques: Narration, Teacher in the Role, Role Play, Using Prop.
Objectives:
To discuss the problem, to present the conflict, to develop

communicative competence (verbal), to develop critical thinking.
Focus:
Discussion language, considering pros and cons, defending students

opinions and standpoints, formulating ideas.
Time:
5 min.
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Setting:
Procedure:
1 A new meeting has been summoned. Students are again in the role of
the inhabitants of Tenochtitlan, waiting for the king to come and
wondering why there is another meeting in such a short time.
2 Moctezumas speech (Teacher in the Role):
Dear inhabitants of Tenochtitlan, dear Aztec people. I have some grave
news to inform you about. Some terrible things have happened and a
decision is to be made. As you all know the white men have already got
ashore in the East and more and more are still coming. They want our
land and our treasures. And now the messengers of the white people, the
so called Spaniards, brought the message from their king. Spanish king
says that if we, Aztec people, surrender to the Spaniards, they will spare
our lives. Now it is time for us to decide will we surrender or will we
fight?
3 Students discuss the given problem in their roles.
Notes:
It is possible to use the technique Devils advocate here.
Realization: Students were immediately engaged by the drama and looked up to

Moctezuma with respect. What surprised me most was that during the
discussion they immediately decided to fight. I was forced to use the
technique Devils advocate in order to elicit some discussion. Students
started to explain to me their views and positions; they even mentioned
scientific studies they had read about the topic. The discussion followed
about Mexicans perception of their own identity, their conquest by
Spaniards, mixing cultures, their present attitude to Spain and Spaniards,
etc., which was very enriching for me as a foreigner. All participants
agreed that this topic would be really contributing and suitable for the
pupils of primary schools.
6) Alley of opinions
Techniques: Alley of Opinions.
Objectives:
To give personal standpoint to the problem, to develop empathy, to

develop group sensitivity, to develop communicative competence
(verbal), to develop critical thinking.
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Lenka Kivkov
Brno 2011
Focus:
Should/could, functions: giving advice, suggestions.
Time:
10 min.
Setting:
All students stand in two lines facing each other.
Procedure:
1 Teacher tells students: You have heard the conditions of Spaniards

and you have discussed the possible consequences with your neighbours.
Think what advice would you give to the king? What decision should he
make?
2 Students stand in two lines facing each other and in their roles
formulate a piece of advice to their king Moctezuma. One of the students
is Moctezuma now (teacher hands him over the prop) and this student
will walk very slowly down the alley students had made. He will look at
a student (and establish eye contact) and a student will tell him aloud his
or her advice.
Acknowledgement: As already mentioned before, Neelands convention Voices in the

Head is in the Czech drama background better known as Alley of
opinions. I was first introduced to this technique by PaedDr. Marie
Pavlovsk, Ph.D.
Realization: I handed over the beads (representative prop) to the only man in the
group because of his natural authority. The whole activity was
dramatically and emotionally very powerful. Almost all the participants
admonished Moctezuma to fight.
7) Position on the Scale

Techniques: Position on the Scale/Spectrum of Difference.
Objectives:
To make a final decision, to reflect on drama, to develop critical thinking.
Focus:
Following the instructions.
Time:
10 min.
Material:
String.
Setting:
All students stand, the string is placed in the middle of the classroom.
Procedure:
1 Teacher tells the students: You all gave your piece of advice, which
means that you had made your decision for yourself. Now let's see what
your decision is.

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2 Students imagine that the string is a scale/spectrum. At one end, there is

a decision I would definitely surrender to Spaniards in order to save our
lives, at the opposite end, there is a decision I would definitely fight
Spaniards. Students pose themselves anywhere on the scale according to
their decision (teacher demonstrates).
3 Moctezuma will go last.
Notes:
1 Discussion about why students decided this or that way.

2 This technique is usually used for evaluation (Question: How much did
you like it?)
Acknowledgement: I have got the idea of using this technique for expressing opinion
or decision from Warwick Dobson who held his workshop in Brno in
spring 2008.
Realization: As expected, the entire group decided to fight, including Moctezuma
who, before joining the others, spontaneously gave a brilliant kings
speech where he appreciated the bravery of his people. He said that,
initially, he wanted to vote for peace and salvation of his people and the
city they had to build with so much difficulty, but when he saw the
courage of his people, he finally decided to fight.
8) Final Reflection
(25 min)
End of the story: As you know in the history the Aztec people fought and many of
them lost their lives. Maybe if they hadn't fought, Mexican nation could have
been very different from the present one. (Possible discussion about how they
think their nation would have looked like if Aztec people hadn't fought.)
Reflection on the theme: What was the drama about? What was is about for you? Did
you find it difficult to decide? Why have you decided for fighting/surrendering?
Could you imagine what the life in Tenochtitlan looked like? Did you learn
something new?
Possible exploitation: The historical and geographical texts can be further explored.
Techniques: Focused on fluency, direct experience from drama, empathy, development
of critical thinking (stating ideas, defending them, decision making, etc.).
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Realization: Topic connected to Mexican culture made the participants really involved
in the story. They all agreed it would be really useful as a cross-curricular
project and they pointed out how important is to discuss about their identity,
history and its consequences with younger generation.
VI. Relaxation
Thermometer
Techniques: Position on the Scale/Spectrum of Difference.
Objectives:
To calm down.
Focus:
Following instructions, vocabulary.
Time:
2 min.
Setting:
All students stand.
Procedure:
Students imagine that they are a thermometer and they show how much
they are looking forward to the next day. Up is 30 degrees Celsius and
down is minus 20 (teacher demonstrates an example).
Acknowledgement: I have taken this activity from the Diploma thesis written by
Martina Brtov.
Realization: All students put their hands up; some of them even stood on tiptoes or
jumped high. We all left in a great mood.
Reflection on Day 3
There were 10 students. The theme deeply wedded to the culture of the
participants appeared to be extremely engaging and motivating. A very interesting
debate arose about Mexican identity, their slight inferiority complex when it comes to
the foreigners, their relationship to the Spanish culture, etc. The rather slow building-up
activities such as the construction of students own Tenochtitlan and representation of
Aztecs everyday lives really paid off because they amplified the fellow-feeling towards
the Aztec ancestors and their decisions. In the exit questionnaire many participants
stated that they had liked Moctezumas story best of all workshop.

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Day 4
I.
Warm-ups
Blindfold (group makes circle, square, triangle, line from the tallest to
smallest)
II.
Structured drama: Anne Frank's Diary

Portrait/picture of Anne Frank
Examination of archive material
Introduction of the diary
Jewish restrictions
Hiding
A Day in the Life
Solving the conflict
Final reflection
III.
Relaxation (Giving presents)

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Lenka Kivkov
Brno 2011
I. Warm-ups
1) Blindfold - the group makes circle, square, triangle, line from the tallest to
smallest
Objectives:
To activate the group, to develop group sensitivity, to overcome selfconsciousness.
Focus:
Following the instructions, vocabulary shapes.
Time:
10 min.
Setting:
All students stand.
Procedure:
Students spread around the classroom (in order not stay in the circle) and
close their eyes. They perform instructions of the teacher:
Make a circle. Make a square. Make a triangle. Make a line from the
tallest to smallest.
Notes:
For this activity students should already know each other quite well.
Otherwise, it can feel uncomfortable to touch and be touched by others.
Acknowledgement: I have learnt this activity in the drama lesson led by Mgr. Miroslav
Coufal in autumn 2006.
II. Structured drama: Anne Frank's Diary
1) Portrait of Anne Frank (picture)

Technique:
Role on the Wall, Character study.
Objectives:
To study the character, to develop communicative competence (verbal).
Focus:
Physical description, making assumptions, adjectives, (moods, colours,

etc.)
Time:
10 min.
Material:
Picture of Anne Frank [7] (see Appendix 6).
Setting:
Teacher:
Let's start the very last drama of our course. This drama will show us
how it feels to be different and how we can work with it in our class. It
will also take us to one specific and very important point in the history.

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Procedure:
Lenka Kivkov
Brno 2011
Students are given a picture and they study the character in it. First,
students describe her physically (Questions: How old is she?) and then,
they try to see behind the picture and think of the questions like What
does she like doing? What colour does he like? What kind of person is
she? What nationality is she? When and where was the picture taken?,
etc.
Variations:
1 The character can be performed by a teacher through the technique

Hot-Seating.
2 All the facts and assumptions can be written down as in the Role on the
Wall technique.
Acknowledgement: Creating character according to the picture is very well-known

drama technique. We can find it for example in Maley and Duff: 128 in
the activity called Portraits.
Realization: Students did not know immediately who the person in the picture is,
though they found her familiar. They made assumptions about her Jewish
origin, her age, etc. until one student remembered it is Anne Frank. Then,
all the students who knew her started remembering her life story.
2) Examination of archive material /investigative journalists

Technique:
Mantle of the Expert.
Objectives:
To get to know Anne's background, to investigate material, to select

material, to develop communicative competence (verbal), to encourage
team work.
Focus:
Reading, giving report, careful listening, dates.
Time:
30 min.
Material:
2 boxes containing geographical, historical, and personal material (for

example Annes toy, stocking, earring, her picture, her Jewish star,
summary of her biography, etc.)
Setting:
4 teams of 5
Procedure:
1 If students do not recognize Anne Frank in the picture, teacher will tell
them it's her (Questions: What do you know about her? Does her name
imply you anything?).

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Brno 2011
2 Students imagine that they are contemporary investigative journalists

and their publisher asked them to write a complex article about Anne.
That is why students do not want to find out things just about Anne, but
also about her whole background. There are 2 boxes on the tables
containing different kinds of material that they should investigate
(geographical, historical, and personal). Each team will closely
investigate one box.
3 Students/journalists report to their colleagues what they have found out.
They should concentrate especially on facts, names, dates and events
from Anne's background.
Variations:
1 Again, Role on the Wall technique can be used to summarize the

reports.
2 The editor can be performed by the technique Teacher in the Role.
3 Project can be assigned students research on the Internet about Anne
Frank, they ask their grandparents about World War II, etc.
Acknowledgement: I have found this idea in Charlyn Wessels book Drama.

Realization: Some participants were very interested in the contents of the boxes and
wanted to investigate everything, so in the end, I gave them more time to
investigate all the material they wanted. Then, the natural discussion
arose where the students/journalists mutually reported everything they
had found out or remembered. One student mentioned the diary, which I
introduced in the following activity.
3) Introduction of the diary

Technique:
Work with Diary Entry (reading).
Objectives:
To submerge students into fiction and get them interested in the topic, to
develop imagination.
Focus:
Listening.
Time:
5 min.
Material:
Diary sheets (see Appendix 7).
Setting:
Procedure:
1 Teacher connects the drama and students listen: Now we have learnt a
lot about Anne and about the social and political background she lived in.
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Brno 2011
I have got some terrific news for you some ripped off sheets from her
original diary were found, so we can investigate even this authentic
material. Let me read to you one of her introduction passages where she
writes why she actually started to write a diary
2 Teacher reads the diary entry (see Appendix 7):
SATURDAY, JUNE 20, 1942
Now I'm back to the point that prompted me to keep a diary in the first
place: I don't have a friend. Let me put it more clearly, since no one will
believe that a thirteen year-old girl is completely alone in the world. And
I'm not. I have loving parents and a sixteen-year-old sister, and there are
about thirty people I can call friends. No, on the surface I seem to have
everything, except my one true friend.
This is why I've started the diary.
To enhance the image of this long-awaited friend in my imagination, I
don't want to jot down the facts in this diary the way most people would
do, but I want the diary to be my friend, and I'm going to call this friend
Kitty. (Frank: 10)
Variations:
Students can explore and read from the diary on their own (it is more
effective, but it also takes more time)
Notes:
Teacher should definitely let students see and inspect the diary pages
before reading it.
Realization: Students were passing the diary to each other and each student explored it
and wanted to read it individually. That is why I invited one student to
read the extract aloud, but unfortunately, no one was able to read the
handwriting (as the Mexican use only capital handwriting). That is why I
read the diary to the students myself.
4) Jewish restrictions
Technique:
Work with Diary Entry (reading), Still Image, Animation of Still Image,
Voices in the Head.
Objectives:
To develop empathy, to develop communicative competence (verbal and

non-verbal), to encourage team work, to develop group sensitivity and
creativity.
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Focus:
Lenka Kivkov
Brno 2011
Prohibitions, modals, imperatives, listening, discussion language in

teams.
Time:
Material:
Diary sheets (see Appendix 8).
Setting:
4 teams of 5
Procedure:
1 Teacher connects the drama and tells the students: As your colleagues
have already informed us the Jews during WWII were undergoing many
restrictions before Nazi started to transport them to the concentration
camps. Anne describes some of the restrictions she and all the Jews had
to undergo before she was forced to go into hiding.
2 Teacher asks students to listen very carefully to the restrictions for
Jews and in their teams create a still image representing one of the
restrictions. In the still image, one of the characters will be Anne and the
still image will show how that particular restriction affects her.
3 When a still image is finished, each character will think of a phrase he
or she impersonates. (Teacher gives an example: Jews are not allowed to
use public transport, so Ann walks on the street in the winter. People
from the tram observe her saying: You cannot go here. You filthy Jew. I
am so sorry for you, etc.)
4 Teacher reads the diary entry (see Appendix 8):
SUNDAY, JUNE 21, 1942
Our lives were not without anxiety, since our relatives in Germany were
suffering under Hitler's anti-Jewish laws. After the pogroms in 1938 my
two uncles fled Germany, finding safe refuge in North America. After
May 1940 the good times were few and far between: first there was the
war, then the capitulation of Holland and then the arrival of the
Germans, which is when the trouble started for the Jews. Our freedom
was severely restricted by a series of anti-Jewish decrees: Jews were
required to wear a yellow star; Jews were required to turn in their
bicycles; Jews were forbidden to use street-cars; Jews were forbidden to
ride in cars, even their own; Jews were required to do their shopping
between 3 and 5 P.M.; Jews were forbidden to be out on the streets
between 8 P.M. and 6 A.M.; Jews were forbidden to attend theatres,
movies or any other forms of entertainment; Jews were forbidden to use
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Brno 2011
swimming pools, tennis courts, hockey fields or any other athletic fields;
Jews were forbidden to take part in any athletic activity in public; Jews
were forbidden to sit in their gardens or those of their friends after 8
P.M.; Jews were forbidden to visit Christians in their homes; Jews were
required to attend Jewish schools, etc.
You couldn't do this and you couldn't do that, but life went on. My friend
Jacque always said to me, "I don't dare do anything anymore, 'cause I'm
afraid it's not allowed." (Frank: 11)
5 Animation of Still Image: Once the team is ready, teacher will clap and
the students will do their still image. When teacher touches someone, he
or she will say their phrase.
6 After Animation of the Still Image, anyone from observing students
can stand behind Anne and say what she feels (Question: How would you
feel in her shoes?). Real Anne will express her phrase as the last one.
Notes:
A short discussion about how students felt can follow, teacher should ask
especially the student acting Anne, as it was very emotional for her and
teacher should help her step out of the role and express her feelings.
Acknowledgement: Although Neelands mentions the name of the convention

Thought-Tracking, in Czech drama background it is more common to
call it Voices in the Head. I was first introduced to this technique by
PaedDr. Marie Pavlovsk, Ph.D.
Realization: Very intriguing, dramatically and emotionally powerful activity. All
students performed the inner voice of Anne.
5) Hiding
Technique:
Work with Diary Entry (reading), Narration, and Narrative Mime.
Objectives:
To develop empathy, to agree on rules, to encourage team work, to

develop communicative competence (written and verbal), to develop
creativity, to choose drama expression (through body).
Focus:
Listening, discussion language in teams, acting according to the

instructions, imperatives.
Time:
30 min.
Material:
Diary sheets (see Appendix 9 and 10), sounds of war.

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Brno 2011
Setting:
All students sit in a circle, 4 teams of 5.
Procedure:
1 Teacher connects the drama: The situation became unbearable and

Anne, her family and another family had to go into hiding. There were 8
people hiding in the Secret Annexe placed at the back of the office of
Anne's father's company. These 8 people were completely dependent on
people who were helping them.
But life in hiding is not easy. There is a permanent fear of being
discovered and dragged to the concentration camp. That is why these
people had to be really careful and observe very strict rules. Listen to the
diary.
2 Students listen to the diary entry (see Appendix 9):
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 1943
Dearest Kitty,
We've decided that from now on the stove is going to be lit at seven-thirty
on Sunday mornings instead of five-thirty. I think it's risky. What will the
neighbours think of our smoking chimney?
It's the same with the curtains. Ever since we first went into hiding,
they've been tacked firmly to the windows.
Sometimes one of the ladies or gentlemen can't resist the urge to peek
outside. The result: a storm of reproaches. The response: "Oh, nobody
will notice." That's how every act of carelessness begins and ends. No
one will notice, no one will hear, no one will pay the least bit of
attention. Easy to say, but is it true? (Frank: 127)
3 Students imagine they are people hiding in the Secret Annexe and they
have to write a list of rules everyone has to observe in order not to be
discovered (for example Do not splash the toilet after 6 pm). They have
10 min to prepare their lists.
4 Students present their lists. A small reflection can follow here.
5 Teacher connects the drama: But life in hiding is also difficult because
you are closed in a very small space, war is rearing everywhere around
you and you cannot escape, you cannot do anything.
6 In order to imagine this aspect of Anne's life students listen very
carefully to the diary entry the teacher is going to read and they will
mime everything they hear (for example biting nails with fear).
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Brno 2011

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 10, 1943
Dearest Kitty,
Last night the guns were making so much noise I was shivering, as if I
had a fever, and begged Father to relight the candle. He was adamant:
there was to be no light. Suddenly, we heard a burst of machine-gun fire.
This was followed by a loud boom, which sounded as if a firebomb had
landed beside my bed.
"Lights!
Lights!" I screamed. I was certain our house was ablaze.
The house shook and the bombs kept falling. I was clutching my "escape
bag," more because I wanted to have something to hold on to than
because I wanted to run away. I know we can't leave here, but if we had
to, being seen on the streets would be just as dangerous as getting caught
in an air raid. It was very scary, and the whole time I kept thinking,
"Here it comes, this is it."
I can assure you that when I went to bed at nine, my legs were still
shaking.
We haven't had a good night's rest in ages, and I have bags under my
eyes from lack of sleep. (Frank: 94)
Acknowledgement: The technique called Narrative Mime can be found in many
literary sources, for example in Valentas Metody a techniky dramatick
vchovy. I first experienced this technique during the course Dramatick
techniky ve vuce cizch jazyk (can be found in [4]) led by Mgr. rka
Dohnalov in autumn 2007.
Realization: Some of the rules the students wrote were really strict (for example it is
forbidden to speak or even whisper, one can communicate only through
signs). The natural discussion arose if it is possible to live like this for
two years. The students really empathized with the Frank family. During
the Narrative Mime I realized that there were not so many actions to
mime (all the students were most of the time huddled into a bobble).
However, when discussing how students felt during this activity, they all
said it was extremely emotional to hear all the sounds and explosions of
the war so near them and that they felt really scared. In the exit
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Brno 2011
questionnaire some of the students declared to have liked this activity

most.
6) A Day in the Life

Technique:
Work with Diary Entry (reading), A Day in the Life, Still Image, Sketch.
Objectives:
To understand the relationships empathy, to develop group sensitivity,

to develop creativity, to develop communicative competence (verbal and
non-verbal, written), to choose drama expression (through body, acting),
and to encourage team work.
Focus:
Writing a sketch, discussion language in teams, performance language,

listening, acting according to instructions.
Time:
30 min.
Material:
Diary sheets (see Appendix 11)
Setting:
4 teams of 5
Procedure:
1 Teacher connects the drama saying: Let's see the most disturbing
aspect of living in hiding. Imagine being closed in such a small space
with 7 other people. For a year, two...
2 Students will listen to the extract describing graduating conflicts
appearing among the inhabitants of the Secret Annexe and they make a
still image in their groups while teacher is reading. When the teacher
finishes the extract, the still image is supposed to be ready. Students try
not to communicate verbally (teacher gives an example).
SATURDAY, MAY 1, 1943
Dearest Kitty,
You mustn't get the idea that Dussel's starving. We found bread, cheese,
jam and eggs in his cupboard. It's absolutely disgraceful that Dussel,
whom we've treated with such kindness and whom we took in to save
from destruction, should stuff himself behind our backs and not give us
anything. After all, we've shared all we had with him! (Frank: 91)
4 Teacher connects the drama: As you could see the conflicts were
graduating and here comes the last and the most serious one.

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5 Students in their teams make a short sketch of the most serious conflict
beginning by the phrase Don't! The sketch will end in its climax, the
tensest moment (for example the old Mr Dussel is approaching Anne and
wants to strangle her conflict not solved (reconciled). It will start in the
still image, and then students will perform their sketch and finish again in
a still image. The sketch can be a dialogue of only two people or more
people can participate.
Acknowledgement: The technique A day in the life can be found in many literary
sources, for example in Valentas Metody a techniky dramatick vchovy
or in Neelands and Goode. I first experienced this technique during the
course Dramatick techniky ve vuce cizch jazyk (can be found in [4])
led by Mgr. rka Dohnalov in autumn 2007. The activity of writing a
sketch beginning with the phrase Dont! can be found in Wessels: 85.
Realization: Students managed to accomplish the first task of the activity very well
because when I stopped reading, they were all standing in Freeze
position. All the students participated in the sketch, both teams
interpreted the same conflict (the first team interpreted Dussel stealing
the food; in the second team not only did he steal food, but also read
Annes diary).
7) Solving the conflict

Technique:
Group Sculpture.
Objectives:
To solve problem, to develop empathy, to develop group sensitivity

(touch), to develop creativity and intellect.
Focus:
Following the instructions.
Time:
10 min.
Setting:
The same 4 teams of 5.
Procedure:
Teacher points out that all sketches finished in the tensest moment, so
now it is the time to calm things down and make a truce. Students create
the final still image again and any one from the other team can come and
sculpt the statues in such position so that the conflict could be solved and
reconciled (what the characters need to do to reconcile).

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Variations:
Lenka Kivkov
Brno 2011
The sculptor can give just oral instructions to the statues in order to
practise the communicative competence.
Realization: Students immediately understood the task and they started to shape their
colleagues without feeling awkward or ashamed. The reflection was an
important part of activity, so that we could speak about the things the
characters needed in order to reconcile (empathy, patience, wisdom, etc.).
8) Reflection
(10 min)
Reflection on themes: What was the drama about? What was is about for you? Were
you able to empathize with Anne Frank and her family? Did you learn
something new? Possible themes to discuss: being different, relationships,
compromises, pacifying conflicts, observing rules, overcoming fear, etc.
Possible exploitation:
1 Students can write an article about Anne to the

newspapers (as original investigative journalists).
2 Students can write a diary entry.
3 Students can write a letter to Anne.
4 Students can write a letter to the man who denounced
them in hiding.
Techniques: Focused on fluency, direct experience from drama, empathy, crosscurricular content.
III. Relaxation
Giving presents
Objectives:
To award each participant/to thank each other, to calm down and relax, to
express feelings and emotions.
Focus:
Time:
5 min.
Material:
Relaxation music, slips of paper.
Setting:
All students lie on the floor in a circle.

94

Teacher:
Lenka Kivkov
Brno 2011
We have spent some wonderful four days together and I would like to
thank you for everything we have experienced. In order to thank the
others a little bit for their kindness, sensibility and creativity, we will give
each other a present.
Procedure:
1 Students lie down, relax and think of a present they would like to give
to the person on their left. They can also give some present to one more
person, whoever they want.
2 When everyone has their present in mind, they write the present on a
piece of paper, get up and hand over the present with an explanation what
it is and why.
Notes:
This activity was led in this way in order to show the participants how
they can use it with their pupils. In every class there will be pupils who
would receive 10 gifts and also the ones who would not receive anything.
That is why the instruction Give a present to the person on your left
was given and then students got the chance to be spontaneous and choose
one more person they wanted to gift.
Acknowledgement: I was inspired for this activity by a drama lesson led by Mgr.
Miroslav Coufal in autumn 2006.
Realization: Although we ran out of time, all students wanted to stay for final
relaxation activity which they really liked. Some of the students gave
presents to just one person; some of them gave presents to everybody. I
received four presents but all the participants came to say goodbye in
person and thanked me for the course. (We stayed and talked for more
than three hours after the end of the workshop).
Reflection on Day 4
There were 10 students. The atmosphere was great again. The drama of the
fourth day evoked really powerful dramatic and aesthetical experiences in all
participants. Students really liked examining the materials and gradual learning about
Anne through the diary. In the exit questionnaire many attendants said that they
appreciated the drama about such powerful and most of all real and authentic topic and
that they really found themselves empathizing with the characters. In the final
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Lenka Kivkov
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reflection, we had quite an interesting discussion about holocaust, concentration camps

and the Second World War in general because I was interested in how much Mexicans
know about these historical realities that had happened in Europe. As I expected it was
revealed to me that Mexican educational system almost does not cover these topics at all
(at least not on the European continent), which was one of the main reasons why I had
chosen this theme for my workshop in the first place. I believe that this workshop could
be used in Mexican primary schools in order to get their pupils better familiarized with
the European history.

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Lenka Kivkov
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5.2 Feedback and evaluation of the workshop

All the participants were asked to fill in the entry and exit questionnaire
(Appendix 12 and 13) in order to verify to which extent they had gained some insight
into the methods and techniques of Drama Education that can be used in English
Language Teaching. The questionnaires consisted of close questions, where participants
were supposed to tick off the items that held for their answer or opinion, open questions,
where they were supposed to specify or amplify their answer/opinion, and semi-closed
questions which were the combination of both types. The questionnaires were
anonymous.
The entry questionnaire was distributed the first day of the workshop and the
participants filled it in even before the introductory part of the workshop. It consisted of
8 questions. The exit questionnaires were filled the last day of the workshop at the very
end and they contained 12 questions. Both questionnaires were divided into
introductory part containing identical questions, serving only for obtaining the basic
information about the participants such as sex and level of their studies; and detecting
part which provided data for the evaluation of the workshop. One of the detecting
questions asked the same information both in the entry and exit questionnaires. This
particular question observed changes in participants knowledge and familiarity with the
drama methods and techniques, which the workshop pursued.
Data obtained by means of the questionnaires are quantitative and the

information is interpreted as follows: the closed questions are presented in tables, the
open questions are interpreted by presenting the most frequent or interesting statements
and the semi-closed questions are recorded as a combination of both. Considering the
fact that some participants could not attend the last day of the workshop, they sent me
the filled questionnaire via email so that I could evaluate the information from all the
attendants.
The introductory part (identical for both the entry and exit questionnaire):
1) Sex:
male
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Lenka Kivkov
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female
Sex
Number of participants
Male
4
Female
8
12
Total
Table 1: Sex of the participants.
2) Which semester at LEI have you just completed?

second
fourth
sixth
eighth
I have already finished the Major
other.................................................................................................................................
Semester completed
second
6
fourth
0
sixth
3
eighth
1
2
Table 2: Semester completed at LEI study programme.
The majority of the participants had just finished their first year in the LEI study
programme. There was only one participant who was finishing her studies and other two
who had already been working.
Entry questionnaire
3) What was your motivation to come to this workshop?
I was interested in the topic
to learn something new
to learn more about drama
I want to use drama in my own English teaching
to develop my communicative competence (in English, in general)
to develop my creativity and imagination
to meet new people
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Lenka Kivkov
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to have fun
other................................................................................................................................
Note: Participants had the possibility to tick off as many items as held for their answer.
My motivation to come
4
5
1
4
to develop my communicative competence (in English, in
general)
3
3
to meet new people
0
to have fun
1
Table 3: Participants motivation to come to the workshop.
All the participants came with intention to learn something. They either sought
to learn something about using drama or to improve their communicative competence in
English. Some did not have very clear idea about what they were going to learn, but all
the attendants seemed very positively motivated in a pro-learning way.
4) What do you expect from this workshop?

Almost all the respondents stated that they wanted to learn some new techniques
that they could use in their own teaching. They expected to get to know some new,
creative, useful and meaningful ideas about how to teach English.
5) Do you have any experience with drama/theatre?

yes
no
If yes, please specify what:.............................................................................................
4
yes
7
no
Table 4: Drama experience of the participants.

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Lenka Kivkov
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Most of the participants did not have any previous experience with drama. Two
respondents stated that they had taken a semester course of theatre which was not
practical at all and they did not like it. The other student attended three months of
unspecified theatre classes and the last one performed in three short school plays.
6) Do you have any teaching experience?

yes
no
If yes, please specify where and for how long: .................................................................
3
yes
9
no
Table 5: Teaching experience of the participants.
Most of the participants did not have any teaching experience. However, one of
the participants passed a two-semester teaching practice at the faculty where the
workshop took place, another one had a five-month teaching experience at primary
school and the third respondent had been teaching in a well-known Mexican language
school for 16 years.
7) Do you use any these most common methods and techniques of drama in your
own English teaching?
yes
no
If yes, which one:
drama games
role play
dramatized reading
interpretation of dialogues and texts
miming activities
improvisation
interviews/interrogations
still images/tableaux
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Lenka Kivkov
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soundtracking
definition of space
making maps
props, costumes, masks
diaries, letters, messages
other...............................................................................................................
5
yes
7
no
Table 6: Participants usage of common drama methods and techniques in practice.
Methods and techniques

drama games
0
role play
4
dramatized reading
1
3
miming activities
0
improvisation
3
0
1
soundtracking
0
definition of space
0
making maps
1
0
Table 7: Usage of particular drama methods and techniques.
Most of the participants did not use any of the most common drama methods and
techniques in their own teaching or teachers training. However, according to those
respondents who sometimes used them, the most used are certainly the most common
ones - role plays, interpretations of texts and improvisations.
Exit questionnaire
3) Did this workshop fulfil your expectations?
yes, completely
yes, except for a few imperfections
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Lenka Kivkov
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partially
only little
not at all
yes, completely
12
0
partially
0
only little
0
not at all
0
Table 8: Satisfaction with the fulfilment of participants expectations.
4) Do you think that this workshop was useful for you, that you gained some profit
from it?
yes
no
Please specify why: ...............................................................................
12
yes
0
no
Table 9: Participants view on the utility of the workshop.
All the participants stated they had really liked the workshop and that they
would definitely find the way how to somehow use it in their own teaching. They all
appreciated they had learnt some new ways of teaching, especially in a dynamic and
attractive way. One respondent wrote It brought me different resources to work
creatively, meaningfully and in a funny way in the target language. It also helped me to
relate topics to the classroom and to develop consciousness in my students. Another
student said that she had learnt how to experience English through drama. In the
group there was also one psychologist who stated I can apply this experience in many
ways in my profession, for example to make people understand the situation they are
living.
6) Which methods and techniques of drama do you see as particularly valuable for
teaching English?
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Lenka Kivkov
Brno 2011
drama games
role play
dramatized reading
miming activities
improvisation
making maps
soundtracking
definition of space
role on the wall
teacher in the role
mantle of the expert
a day in the life
hot-seating
voices in the head
alley of opinions
position on the scale
structured drama
other......................................................................................................................

drama games
role play
dramatized reading
miming activities
improvisation
making maps
Number of respondents
8
10
9
9
8
8
9
6
6
6

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Lenka Kivkov
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8
soundtracking
5
definition of space
4
role on the wall
5
teacher in the role
6
3
a day in the life
9
hot-seating
7
voices in the head
5
alley of opinions
7
5
structured drama
8
Table 10: Participants view on the utility of particular methods and techniques.
The vast majority of participants stated they thought all the methods and
techniques given were very useful for English Language Teaching. However, we can
observe a certain preference for the most commonly used conventions such as role play,
interpretations of texts, dramatised reading or improvisations. The course attendants
also highlighted the value of interviews and interrogations, particularly useful for
teaching foreign languages because they provide the natural need for asking and
answering questions, the usage of authentic written materials such as diaries, letters and
messages, structured drama which motivates students by emerging them into the
meaningful context, and technique A day in the life, which was particularly successful
when performed by the participants during the last day of the workshop.
7) Do you think you will use some of the methods and techniques of drama
presented in this workshop in your own English teaching?
yes
no
If yes, please specify which ones:
drama games
role play
dramatized reading
miming activities
improvisation
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Lenka Kivkov
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making maps
soundtracking
definition of space
role on the wall
teacher in the role
a day in the life
hot-seating
voices in the head
alley of opinions
structured drama
other..............................................................................................
12
yes
0
no
Table 11: Participants who will use the information from the workshop in practice.
All the respondents declared that would use some of the drama methods and
techniques presented in the workshop, which was the main objective I had wished to
achieve when preparing this workshop. Several participants stated they would like to try
to use all the conventions that they had experienced. The others pronounced these
preferences:

drama games
role play
dramatized reading
Number of respondents
9
9
8
9

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Lenka Kivkov
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miming activities
10
improvisation
9
9
9
making maps
8
7
7
soundtracking
7
definition of space
8
role on the wall
6
teacher in the role
9
4
a day in the life
8
hot-seating
6
voices in the head
5
alley of opinions
8
6
structured drama
7
Table 12: Particular methods and techniques participants will use in practice.
Again, the most commonly used drama methods and techniques in the repertoire
of the participants of this workshop will probably be the best-known ones. Nevertheless,
the respondents also expressed the wish to use techniques like still images, teacher in
the role, definition of space, alley of opinions and miming activities. In general, all the
participants stated they really appreciated the practical aspect of the workshop and that
they had found its content very inspiring for their future teaching carrier.
8) During your work on this workshop, what did you like most and why?
The answers to this question varied considerably. Almost each participant liked
something different. The majority of them liked most structured dramas because they
were set into a realistic or even historical context. The attendants liked especially
building the scenario in the story of missing Lisa, creating their own Tenochtitlan and
Anne Franks diary because, as one respondent wrote, it deals with the real issue, it
makes me feel part of it, understand feelings of others and at the same time we had
opportunity to talk in English and create. Other students liked still images and role
plays, also the nice atmosphere and kind guiding and experience of getting to know
each other during the drama work. One student highlighted the final reflections on
topics about which she had never thought before. Another girl liked the fact they could
106

Lenka Kivkov
Brno 2011
participate and live the experience by themselves and they could see an application of
drama in the English class.
9) What did you like least and why?

Almost all participants responded that they liked the whole workshop very much
so that they did not have an answer to this question. Two respondents wrote that acting
out was difficult because they were shy and they had problems to be spontaneous. One
of them, however, appreciated the fact that she had to overcome her shyness and that
she gained more self-confidence. One student complained about working on the floor,
although she understood why I had led the workshop this way.
10) What did you find the most difficult and why?
A few respondents stated they had problems with coming up with ideas quickly
because they did not feel that creative and spontaneous. Some of them again mentioned
miming and acting out because of the shyness with which they had to struggle. Two
participants mentioned they had difficulties to get into agreement with other members
of the team because they all had too many ideas and sometimes because of the level of
English that was not corresponding to the anticipated knowledge. This problem clearly
points to the significance of the ability to work in teams, which should be by means of
drama supported in every class.
11) What would you like to change in this workshop?

The large majority of the respondents answered that they would not change
anything. They stated that this workshop provided them with a very nice way to practise
English; one student said Perfect, I learnt while I was having a great time. One
participant suggested using more music and interceded for not skipping the relaxation
parts (which we were skipping only because of the lack of time).
12) How do you think you will use this experience in your own English teaching?
All the participants responded they would use the experience somehow. Some
enumerated the specific activities such as warm-ups; the others would use the activities
to practise speaking skills, to provide communicative activities and to establish good
relationships in the classroom and nice working atmosphere. Three respondents also
107

Lenka Kivkov
Brno 2011
stated they got inspired by my guiding and that they would start working on themselves
to become more creative and cheerful teachers.
In both entry and exit questionnaire I included one identical question which is an
important indicator of participants acquiring of some knowledge and familiarity with
uncommon drama methods and techniques used in English Language Teaching. It
concerns the question number 8 from the entry questionnaire and question number 5
from the exit questionnaire.
Do you know these methods and techniques of drama (how they work, how they
are used)?
yes
no
If yes, which one:
soundtracking
definition of space
role on the wall
teacher in the role
still image
a day in the life
hot-seating
voices in the head
alley of opinions
structured drama
Entry questionnaire Exit questionnaire

3
12
yes
9
0
no
Table 13: Participants knowledge of the drama methods and techniques.
The inquiry shows that before the workshop the large majority of the
participants were not familiar with most of the less commonly used methods and
108

Lenka Kivkov
Brno 2011
techniques of drama that can be exploited in English Language Teaching, which,

however, changed at the end of the workshop where all participants demonstrated
considerable advancement in their knowledge of given dramatic conventions.

Entry questionnaire Exit questionnaire
soundtracking
2
9
definition of space
0
9
role on the wall
1
8
teacher in the role
0
10
still image
1
11
0
5
a day in the life
1
9
hot-seating
0
8
voices in the head
1
7
alley of opinions
0
10
0
9
structured drama
0
8
Table 14: Participants knowledge of particular drama methods and techniques.
The main objective of this workshop was to present the participants the methods
and techniques of Drama Education in English Language Teaching. In this inquiry
question I concentrated on less commonly used conventions and from the answers we
can see the significant change in respondents knowledge and familiarity of given
conventions, their description, use and function in instruction. That is why I consider
my principle goal of the workshop as accomplished.
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
10
11
10
Entry questionnaire
Exit questionnaire
2
0
so
de und
f in tra
c
iti
on kin
g
ro of s
le
pa
ce
tea o n
ch the
er
wa
in
ll
th
er
m
ol
an
s
tle till e
of im a
g
th
ad ee e
ay xp e
rt
in
th
e
lif
vo hot
ice -se e
ati
si
ng
n
th
all
eh
e
y
po
ea
sit of
op d
io
n
on inio
str the ns
uc
tu scal
re
e
d
dr
am
a
Advancement of Knowledge
Graph 1: Advancement in participants knowledge of given dramatic conventions.

109

Lenka Kivkov
Brno 2011
6 CONCLUSIONS
The ambition of this Diploma thesis was to study all the theoretical information
about Drama Education I had gained during my studies and try to apply it in practice.
During my studies I have realized several drama lessons with my colleagues and
cooperated on several drama projects. This final project, however, gave me the
possibility to prepare the whole four-day workshop on my own, from the initial ideas,
through preparation of all the activities and materials, organization of participants,
communication with the institution (Universidad Nacional Autnoma de Mxico),
provision of equipment and space, to the longed-for realization.
In my eyes, the realization of the workshop fulfilled all my expectations as well

as the expectations of the participants (which results from the exit questionnaires).
Moreover, the participants were creative and initiative beyond my expectation and we
succeeded in creating a really nice atmosphere and in having a really good time
together. The objectives of the workshop were accomplished as well because
participants were introduced to the concept of Drama Education in English Language
Teaching and its methods and techniques and learnt how to use them in teaching
through their own experience. Thus they understood one of the basic principles of
Drama Education, which is learning by doing. Probably the most valuable parts of my
thesis concern two final structured dramas which I prepared on my own, from the initial
searching for appropriate themes, through looking for corresponding motifs to the final
realization with the target group. The best feedback on my work I have been given were
emails from several participants of the workshop writing me about their own experience
and experimenting with my activities in their English classes, describing me their
success and asking me for further tips.
The preparation and the realization of the workshop itself provided me with a
priceless academic, working, but most of all personal experience for which I feel really
grateful. This experience, which gave me opportunity to successfully represent my
university at such prestigious institution as Universidad Nacional Autnoma de Mxico,
definitely stimulated me to continue on this path and to further integrate Drama
Education into the foreign languages I teach.
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Lenka Kivkov
Brno 2011
7 RESUME
This Diploma thesis deals with the use of Drama Education in foreign language
teaching. It is divided into two main parts. The first, theoretical part is concerned with
the concept of Drama Education in English Language Teaching and concentrates on its
particular methods and techniques, especially in structured drama. It is also concerned
with the theoretical background of the project introduced in the practical part. The
second, practical part describes the project of the four-day practical drama workshop
called How to use Drama in an English language class?, realized with the students of
Training in teaching English at Universidad Nacional Autnoma de Mxico in Mexico
City. The considerable part of the workshop is based on the practical drama courses led
by Mgr. rka Dohnalov and Andrew John Kempe.

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2, 2007. English Made in Brazil. March 30, 2011. <http://www.sk.com.br/skkrash.html>.
[2] FARWELL, T. Visual, Auditory, Kinethetic Learners. 2011. Pearson Education,
Inc. March 30, 2011. <http://school.familyeducation.com/intelligence/teachingmethods/38519.html>.
[3] Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. March 23, 2011. Wikimedia Foundations,
Inc. March 30, 2011. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Role_play>.
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[4] AJ DTVJ Dramatick techniky ve vuce cizch jazyk. April 17, 2011. Moodlink-a. 29 April, 2010. <http://moodlinka.ped.muni.cz/course/view.php?id=1166>.
[5] Dramatick postupy ve vuce anglitiny. April 17, 2011. Mood-link-a. 29 April,
2010. <http://moodlinka.ped.muni.cz/course/view.php?id=821>.
[6] Dotdismus.com. 2011. Dotdismus.com Ltd. April 20, 2010.
<http://www.dotdismus.com>.
[7] Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. April 14, 2011. Wikimedia Foundations,
Inc. April 30, 2010. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anne_Frank>.
Other Internet sources:
1. Dramatick vchova. 2010. Sdruen pro tvoivou dramatiku. March 30, 2011.
<http://www.drama.cz/osnovy_a_programy/osnovy_obecna_skola.html>.
2. About UNAM. 2009. Universidad Nacional Autnoma de Mxico. February 21,
2011. <http://www.unam.mx/acercaunam/en/>.
3. Portal de Estadsticas Universitarias. 2011. Universidad Nacional Autnoma de
Mxico. February 21, 2011. <http://www.estadistica.unam.mx/numeralia/>.
4. About Us (Acatln). 2011. Universidad Nacional Autnoma de Mxico.
February 21, 2011. <http://www.acatlan.unam.mx/campus-en/1210/>.
5. Enseanza de Ingls. 2011. Universidad Nacional Autnoma de Mxico.
February 21, 2011. <http://www.acatlan.unam.mx/licenciaturas/205/>.
6. Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. March 26, 2011. Wikimedia Foundations,
Inc. April 30, 2010. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moctezuma_II>.
7. Barter Theatre Diary of Anne Frank. April 18, 2011. Sunrise Theatre
Marketing. April 30, 2010. <http://www.royalinnbeach.com/2010/08/15/bartertheatre-the-diary-of-ann-frank/>.

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9 APPENDICES
Appendix 1: Certificate confirming the realization of the course
Appendix 2: Copy of a dialogue
Appendix 3: Copy of the text Little Red Riding Hood
Appendix 4: Moctezumas monologue
Appendix 5: Choral reading text
Appendix 6: Picture of Anne Frank
Appendix 7: Diary entry 1
Appendix 12: Entry questionnaire
Appendix 13: Exit questionnaire
Appendix 14: Photo documentation

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Brno 2011
Appendix 1: Certificate confirming the realization of the course

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Brno 2011
Appendix 2: Copy of a dialogue
A: Yes.
B: Why yes?
A: Because yes.
B: And if I say no?
A: Why no?
B: Because no.
A: No?
B: No.
Appendix 3: Copy of the text Little Red Riding Hood
Little Red Riding Hood

NARRATOR Once upon a time there was a little girl who lived in a village near a
wood. When she went out, she always wore a red cloak with a red hood,
so everyone called her Little Red Riding Hood.
One day, her mother said to her:
MOTHER
Your granny is ill. Please will you take these cakes to her?
NARRATOR Little Red Riding Hood was reminded by her mother not to stop at all on
the way. She must go straight to her grandmothers house and not talk to
any strangers. So she promised to be careful, waved goodbye to her
mother and skipped off through the woods. It was a lovely sunny day and
Little Red Riding Hood saw some beautiful flowers growing. The
flowers were so pretty that she forgot her promise to her mother, knelt
down and began to pick some. But someone was lurking behind the trees.
It was a crafty, hungry wolf.
NARRATOR Mr Wolf walked up to Little Red Riding Hood and spoke to her in a nice,
friendly voice.
MR WOLF
What is your name little girl?
LITTLE RRH Im Little Red Riding Hood.

MR WOLF
And where are you going?
LITTLE RRH To my grannys house down there in the woods.

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Lenka Kivkov
Brno 2011
NARRATOR Mr Wolf thought that Little Red Riding Hood looked very tasty and he
cooked up a cunning plan. Off he ran as fast as he could to Grannys
house. He knocked on the door. Granny sat up in bed.
GRANNY
Who is it?
NARRATOR Mr Wolf put on the sweetest voice he could.

MR WOLF
Its me, Little Red Riding Hood.
GRANNY
Come in, come in!
NARRATOR Mr Wolf let himself in. He went over to Granny, opened up his mouth
and gobbled her up whole. He let out a large burp!
MR WOLF
(Rubbing tummy) A bit tough!
NARRATOR Mr Wolf put on one of Grannys nightgowns, one of her frilly sleeping
caps and her glasses. Then he got into Grannys bed and waited for Little
Red Riding Hood to arrive. A short time later there was a knock at the
door. Mr Wolf spoke in his friendly, sweet voice again.
MR WOLF
Who is it?
LITTLE RRH Its me, Little Red Riding Hood.

MR WOLF
Come in my dear.
NARRATOR But when Little Red Riding Hood went into the cottage, she thought her
Granny looked very, very odd.
NARRATOR Little Red Riding Hood looked carefully at Granny.
LITTLE RRH Oh Granny, what big ears you have!
MR WOLF
All the better to hear you with.
LITTLE RRH But Granny, what big eyes you have!

MR WOLF
All the better to see you with.
LITTLE RRH But Granny, what big teeth you have!

MR WOLF
All the better to eat you with and Im going to eat you up!!
NARRATOR Mr Wolf leapt out of bed and began to chase Little Red Riding Hood.
She ran round the room with the wolf behind her, screaming loudly. A
woodcutter, chopping logs nearby, heard the screams and ran quickly to
the cottage. He bonked the wolf on the head and slit him down the
middle with his axe. Out popped Granny.
GRANNY
(Looking startled) Oh my goodness!
NARRATOR Then Little Red Riding Hood, Granny and the woodcutter filled the
wolfs tummy with stones. They sewed him up and took him deep into
119

Lenka Kivkov
Brno 2011
the woods. Mr Wolf had a very bad tummy ache when he woke up.
Everyone felt very relieved.
LITTLE RRH From now on, I will always do as mother asks and never speak to
strangers.
NARRATOR Granny, the woodcutter and Little Red Riding Hood sat down together to
have tea and cakes and were never bothered by that wicked Mr Wolf
again. [4]
Appendix 4: Moctezumas monologue
Dear Aztec people, welcome to this special meeting. I have summoned you
because I wanted to inform you about some very disturbing event that has happened. I
have seen a sign, an omen and I had our greatest Totonaca wizard Itecupinqui to
interpret the sign. Here is what I saw:
The fishermen in the lagoon caught in their nets a bird, a bird of a colour and
size of a hawk, and that bird had in the middle of its head a mirror. They have never
seen anything like that. So they brought me the bird into my palace, I was in the hall
and it was after noon. I looked at the bird and at the mirror it had in its head, it was
round and glazed, and looking into the mirror I saw the stars of the sky, the
mamalhuaztli, the stars of the Taurus constellation.
I got really terrified and I turned away in surprise. When I looked back into the
mirror that was in the bird's head I saw people riding strange animals. Those people
were coming in a huge crowd, all with unknown arms. And when I saw this I got even
more frightened. That is why I summoned my tonapoulques, my astrologers and diviners
and I asked them What was it that appeared to me? and they were all really puzzled
and the bird disappeared and they got all really scared and they weren't able to say
anything. (Meza: 31)
That is why I called the famous Totonaca wizard to interpret the sign and here is
the prophecy he told me.
Appendix 5: Choral reading text
I wouldnt like Oh King! to alarm your spirit, but the prophecy of Quetzacatl
is about to come true. White and bearded men will come from the Orient and our cities
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Lenka Kivkov
Brno 2011
will be destroyed and ruined, our sons dead and our gods chased out from the temples.
Do not be alarmed any more because what is going to happen cannot be avoided.
Quetzacatl will return to take the possession of his land. (Meza: 32)
Appendix 6: Picture of Anne Frank
[7]
Picture 1: Picture of Anne Frank
SATURDAY, JUNE 20, 1942

Now I'm back to the point that prompted me to keep a diary in the first place: I
don't have a friend. Let me put it more clearly, since no one will believe that a thirteen
year-old girl is completely alone in the world. And I'm not. I have loving parents and a
sixteen-year-old sister, and there are about thirty people I can call friends. No, on the
surface I seem to have everything, except my one true friend. This is why I've started the
diary.

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Lenka Kivkov
Brno 2011
To enhance the image of this long-awaited friend in my imagination, I don't

want to jot down the facts in this diary the way most people would do, but I want the
diary to be my friend, and I'm going to call this friend Kitty. (Frank: 10)
SUNDAY, JUNE 21, 1942

Our lives were not without anxiety, since our relatives in Germany were
suffering under Hitler's anti-Jewish laws. After the pogroms in 1938 my two uncles fled
Germany, finding safe refuge in North America. After May 1940 the good times were
few and far between: first there was the war, then the capitulation of Holland and then
the arrival of the Germans, which is when the trouble started for the Jews. Our freedom
was severely restricted by a series of anti-Jewish decrees: Jews were required to wear a
yellow star; Jews were required to turn in their bicycles; Jews were forbidden to use
street-cars; Jews were forbidden to ride in cars, even their own; Jews were required to
do their shopping between 3 and 5 P.M.; Jews were forbidden to be out on the streets
between 8 P.M. and 6 A.M.; Jews were forbidden to attend theatres, movies or any
other forms of entertainment; Jews were forbidden to use swimming pools, tennis
courts, hockey fields or any other athletic fields; Jews were forbidden to take part in
any athletic activity in public; Jews were forbidden to sit in their gardens or those of
their friends after 8 P.M.; Jews were forbidden to visit Christians in their homes; Jews
were required to attend Jewish schools, etc.
You couldn't do this and you couldn't do that, but life went on. My friend Jacque
always said to me, "I don't dare do anything anymore, 'cause I'm afraid it's not
allowed." (Frank: 11)
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 1943

Dearest Kitty,
We've decided that from now on the stove is going to be lit at seven-thirty on
Sunday mornings instead of five-thirty. I think it's risky. What will the neighbours think
of our smoking chimney?
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Lenka Kivkov
Brno 2011
It's the same with the curtains. Ever since we first went into hiding, they've been
tacked firmly to the windows.
Sometimes one of the ladies or gentlemen can't resist the urge to peek outside.
The result: a storm of reproaches. The response: "Oh, nobody will notice." That's how
every act of carelessness begins and ends. No one will notice, no one will hear, no one
will pay the least bit of attention. Easy to say, but is it true? (Frank: 127)
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 10, 1943

Dearest Kitty,
Last night the guns were making so much noise I was shivering, as if I had a
fever, and begged Father to relight the candle. He was adamant: there was to be no
light. Suddenly we heard a burst of machine-gun fire. This was followed by a loud
boom, which sounded as if a firebomb had landed beside my bed.
"Lights! Lights!" I screamed. I was certain our house was ablaze.
The house shook and the bombs kept falling. I was clutching my "escape bag,"
more because I wanted to have something to hold on to than because I wanted to run
away. I know we can't leave here, but if we had to, being seen on the streets would be
just as dangerous as getting caught in an air raid. It was very scary, and the whole time
I kept thinking, "Here it comes, this is it."
I can assure you that when I went to bed at nine, my legs were still shaking.
We haven't had a good night's rest in ages, and I have bags under my eyes from
lack of sleep. (Frank: 94)
SATURDAY, MAY 1, 1943

Dearest Kitty,
You mustn't get the idea that Dussel's starving. We found bread, cheese, jam and
eggs in his cupboard. It's absolutely disgraceful that Dussel, whom we've treated with
such kindness and whom we took in to save from destruction, should stuff himself
behind our backs and not give us anything. After all, we've shared all we had with him!
(Frank: 91)
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Lenka Kivkov
Brno 2011
Appendix 12: Entry questionnaire
Entry Questionnaire
Hello,
I would like to ask you to fill in this short entry questionnaire which serves to detect the
information concerning the workshop How to Use Drama in English Class? held
from June 14th to June 17th 2010 at LEI, FES Acatln, UNAM, Mexico. The
questionnaire consists of close questions, where you are supposed to tick off the items
that hold for your answer or opinion, and open questions, where you are supposed to
specify or amplify your answer/opinion. This questionnaire is anonymous and it will
serve only to the purposes of my Diploma thesis and the final project of the
specialization of Drama Education.
Thank you very much for your time!
Lenka Kivkov, student of the Faculty of Education, Masaryk University in Brno,

Czech Republic.
1) Sex:
male
female

second
fourth
sixth
eighth
other.............................................................................................................................
3) What was your motivation to come to this workshop?

124

Lenka Kivkov
Brno 2011

to develop my communicative competence (in English, in general)
to meet new people
to have fun
other................................................................................................................................
............................................................................................................................................
4) What do you expect from this workshop?

.............................................................................................................................................
.............................................................................................................................................
.............................................................................................................................................
5) Do you have any experience with drama/theatre?

yes
no
If yes, please specify what:
.............................................................................................................................................
.............................................................................................................................................
.............................................................................................................................................
6) Do you have any teaching experience?

yes
no
If yes, please specify where and for how long:
.............................................................................................................................................
.............................................................................................................................................
.............................................................................................................................................
7) Do you use any methods and techniques of drama in your own English teaching?
yes
no
If yes, which one:
drama games
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Lenka Kivkov
Brno 2011
role play
dramatized reading
miming activities
improvisation
soundtracking
definition of space
making maps
other................................................................................................................................
.............................................................................................................................................
.............................................................................................................................................
8) Do you know these methods and techniques of drama (how they work, how they are
used)?
yes
no
If yes, which one:
soundtracking
definition of space
role on the wall
teacher in the role
still image
a day in the life
hot-seating
voices in the head
alley of opinions
structured drama
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Lenka Kivkov
Brno 2011
Appendix 13: Exit questionnaire

Exit Questionnaire
Hello,
I would like to ask you to fill in this exit questionnaire which serves to detect the
information concerning the workshop How to Use Drama in English Class? held
from June 14th to June 17th 2010 at LEI, FES Acatln, UNAM, Mexico. The
questionnaire consists of close questions, where you are supposed to tick off the items
that hold for your answer or opinion, and open questions, where you are supposed to
specify or amplify your answer/opinion. This questionnaire is anonymous and it will
serve only to the purposes of my Diploma thesis and the final project of the
Specialization of Drama Education.
Thank you very much for your time!
Lenka Kivkov, student of the Faculty of Education, Masaryk University in Brno,

Czech Republic.
1) Sex:
male
female

second
fourth
sixth
eighth
other...............................................................................................................................
3) Did this workshop fulfil your expectations?

yes, completely
partially
127

Lenka Kivkov
Brno 2011
only little
not at all
4) Do you think that this workshop was useful for you, that you gained some profit from
it?
yes
no
Please specify why:
.............................................................................................................................................
.............................................................................................................................................
.............................................................................................................................................
5) Do you know these methods and techniques of drama (how they work, how they are
used)?
yes
no
If yes, which one:
soundtracking
definition of space
role on the wall
teacher in the role
still image
a day in the life
hot-seating
voices in the head
structured drama
alley of opinions
6) Which methods and techniques of drama do you see as particularly valuable for
teaching English?
drama games
role play
128

Lenka Kivkov
Brno 2011
dramatized reading
miming activities
improvisation
making maps
soundtracking
definition of space
role on the wall
teacher in the role
a day in the life
hot-seating
voices in the head
alley of opinions
structured drama
other.................................................................................................................................
7) Do you think you will use some of the methods and techniques of drama presented in
this workshop in your own English teaching?
yes
no
If yes, please specify which ones:
drama games
role play
dramatized reading
miming activities
improvisation
129

Lenka Kivkov
Brno 2011
making maps
soundtracking
definition of space
role on the wall
teacher in the role
a day in the life
hot-seating
voices in the head
alley of opinions
structured drama
other.............................................................................................................................
8) During your work on this workshop, what did you like most and why?
.............................................................................................................................................
.............................................................................................................................................
.............................................................................................................................................
.............................................................................................................................................
9) What did you like least and why?

.............................................................................................................................................
.............................................................................................................................................
.............................................................................................................................................
.............................................................................................................................................
10) What did you find the most difficult and why?
.............................................................................................................................................
.............................................................................................................................................
.............................................................................................................................................
.............................................................................................................................................
130

Lenka Kivkov
Brno 2011
11) What would you like change in this workshop?

.............................................................................................................................................
.............................................................................................................................................
.............................................................................................................................................
.............................................................................................................................................
12) How do you think you will use this experience in your own English teaching?
.............................................................................................................................................
.............................................................................................................................................
.............................................................................................................................................
.............................................................................................................................................

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Lenka Kivkov
Brno 2011
Appendix 14: Photo documentation
Photo 1: Guiding the blind.
Photo 2: Progressive mirrors.

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Brno 2011
Photo 3: Still image (film scene + famous line) Romeo and Juliet
Photo 4: Still image (film scene + famous line) Terminator

133

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Brno 2011
Photo 5: Police broadcast creation of the poster and map making
Photo 6: Police broadcast presentation of the poster

134

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Brno 2011
Photo 7: Continent machine mummies of Guanajuato
Photo 8: Continent machine map

135

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Brno 2011
Photo 9: King Moctezuma on the meeting in Tenochtitlan
Photo 10: Choral Speak Aztecs in Tenochtitlan

136

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Brno 2011
Photo 11: Moctezuma in the Alley of opinions
Photo 12: Thermometer

137

Lenka Kivkov
Brno 2011
Photo 13: Investigative journalists examine Anne Franks personal objects

138

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MASARYK UNIVERSITY

Design of the Workshop:

Mgr. rka Dohnalov

Bc. Lenka Kivkov

Masaryk University Faculty of Education

Bc. Lenka Kivkov

Masaryk University Faculty of Education

Masaryk University Faculty of Education

Masaryk University Faculty of Education

Using Drama Education in teaching, particularly in teaching foreign languages,

When preparing the workshop I drew inspiration from my own experience of

Masaryk University Faculty of Education

Design of the Workshop: How to Use Drama in English Class?

Masaryk University Faculty of Education

2 DRAMA EDUCATION IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING

2.1 English Language Teaching

Design of the Workshop: How to Use Drama in English Class?

Masaryk University Faculty of Education

However, second language learners have much less opportunities to be exposed

2.2 Traditional versus alternative methods

Although drama is still seen as something rather alternative to the standard, it

Masaryk University Faculty of Education

Drama accomplishes many current trends of modern teaching. One of them is to

2.3 Drama Education

Masaryk University Faculty of Education

Drama Education can be exploited in the instruction in several different ways.

2.4 Drama Education in English Language Teaching

Masaryk University Faculty of Education

As already mentioned before, drama used in education provides many beneficial

When concerning the students motivation, it is often referred to two types:

Masaryk University Faculty of Education

Appropriate understanding of the context of the discourse is one of the most

Masaryk University Faculty of Education

2.4.3 Learning styles and multiple intelligences

Jeremy Harmer stems from the theories of the Neuro-Linguistic Programming

The theory of the Neuro-Linguistic Programming introduces to the educational

Another concept of students individualities in learning that teachers should take

Masaryk University Faculty of Education

problem-solving skill allows one to approach a situation in which a goal is to be

2.4.4 Affective filter

Stephen Krashens theory of second language acquisition presents five

Masaryk University Faculty of Education

2.4.5 Psychological benefits

Design of the Workshop: How to Use Drama in English Class?

Masaryk University Faculty of Education

Generally speaking, the most important aim of drama used in education is

2.5 Methods and techniques of Drama Education used in English

As already mentioned above, drama used as a method of instruction allows

Masaryk University Faculty of Education

Masaryk University Faculty of Education

represented, shaped and crafted through the conventions of dramatic activity.

Neelands classification of the theatre methods and techniques used for

Context-building action - enable a group to create or engage with the

Masaryk University Faculty of Education

Unfinished Materials an object, article of clothing, letter, or opening to a

Narrative action - used to focus on significant events, incidents or

Masaryk University Faculty of Education

Poetic action - useful as a means of looking beyond the story-line, or

as a means of making a deliberate shift from the realism of narrative conventions to

Masaryk University Faculty of Education

Masaryk University Faculty of Education

Masaryk University Faculty of Education