CC BY
149UDC 81-13
EDUCATIONAL VALUE OF DRAMATIZATION APPROACH FOR DEVELOPMENT OF DIALOGUE SPEAKING SKILLS
I.L. Vanina, E.N. Kravtsova
National Research Tomsk State University (Tomsk, Russian Federation).
E-mail: tillindemann@mail.ru
Abstract. This study analyzes dramatization as a methodical approach at the foreign language lessons. Educational value of this approach is very high because it helps first of all to overcome a "language divide" and to improve motivation; also it inspires students of non-language higher education institutions to use a foreign language for solving some problems in their future professional area. The main components of dramatization are communicative situation, social roles and opportunity to use social methods of interaction. The most important types of this approach are pantomime, improvisation, informal and formal dramatization, the usage of which depends on the foreign language level of certain students.
Keywords: Foreign language teaching; methodic approach; language divide; motivation; professional interaction.
Introduction
The modern language teaching methods attend a lot to the methods of justification of students at the lessons. A necessary condition of successful foreign language acquisition is motivation, an interest, a need and wish not only to understand, but also successfully speak foreign languages. The other necessary condition according to educator-linguists tends to be positively colored relations between the partners of speaking [1]. One of the necessary methods of motivation is usage of emotionally sensual sphere of consciousness. Emotional state of students by the foreign language teaching is very important because of the fact according to L.S. Vygotsky [2] that nothing is so good kept in mind as something that in due time was associated with pleasure.
Psychologists have come to the conclusion long ago that everything causing emotional empathy at the lesson is kept in mind and comprehended better than something neutral. So L.S. Vygotsky [Ibid] pointed the necessity of interest in learning process itself: when a person is doing something with pleasure, in the future he also will tend to do the same. In other words an interesting emotional lesson can cause for a student a joy of study, improve his motivation.
That is why a foreign language teacher is to take an active part in emotional atmosphere of the lesson and possibly support the rise by the students of emotional states which are favourable for their learning activity. Beyond question more chances here have nontraditional teaching methods, the usage of which helps along the active involvement of emotional sphere
of consciousness as an unused reserve in development of creative abilities of a person. One of these nontraditional methods is the dramatization approach.
Dramatization approach and its role in foreign language teaching
Foreign language as a subject is specified with its abstract character, so dramatic performances are important and necessary approach in foreign language learning process. Dramatic dialogue in the system of verbal communication takes a specific place on account of the fact that one of its participants is audience. Spoken from the scene words have to influence both the partners of performance and audience. As basic advantages of dramatization approach usage can be named the following ones:
- overcoming of such a serious difficulty as "language divide" by means of creation of positive atmosphere at the lesson;
- review of traditions, customs and other characteristics of target language countries;
- development of social consciousness which is exercised thanks to dramatic performance that is a complex
- general reflection of real action including the most distinctive and typical features of real life [3];
- development of linguistic consciousness;
- monitoring of interests and needs of students;
- motivation of students with different linguistic levels to use a foreign language;
- development of critical and preventative thinking;
- reading habit and skills training;
- improvement of word stock, development of speaking skills;
- improvement of speaking quality in general by means of growth of sentence length, usage of various
- grammatical structures and improvement of word stock;
- improvement of speaking quality phonetically;
- social communication habits training;
- development of communicative, creative and cultural skills set.
Usage of dramatic performance features according to German educator Eni Riegel [4] also has a good psychological effect. All of these necessary conditions of successful foreign language acquisition are fulfilled thanks to the usage of dramatization approach at the lessons.
In methodical literature can be found not only the term "dramatization" but also such terms as "performance", "stage version", "staging", "school theatre", "drama-pedagogic" and others. From viewpoint of N.P. Anikeeva [5] games-dramatizations mean performance of some story-line which script is not so certain as in the play. At the same time according to the definition given by methodologist A.V. Konysheva [6], dramatization is creative usage of written and verbal language on the basis of literary works.
Dramatization as an approach has the following components:
1. Communicative situation including subject matter of interaction (subject, product, result) and conditions of interaction behavior, among other things para- and extra linguistic means of interaction, temporal and space characteristics.
2. Social roles of communicants and system of their personal relations.
3. Opportunity to use social methods of interaction - realizations of social contact situation, certain speech functions, and also interaction methods themselves (beginning of interaction and finishing of conversation, casting and change of communicative roles, holding the conversation on, prove of communication reliability, clarification, correction and self-correction) [Ibid].
To the main types of dramatization belong:
- pantomime. Usage of nonverbal means of interaction in communication process takes a considerable part, so that facial gesture, gestures and movement help to show senses, mood, events etc.;
- improvisation. Communication itself is unprepared, so people need to improvise in the process of interaction. This type of dramatization can and has to be practiced at the lessons. But there is a need to remember about the fact that students don't have time to prepare, their roles and situations are given to them immediately before the play and planning for teacher is cut to minimum - it's necessary to think of situations. Improvisation is realized spontaneous at the lesson, usually at its final stage. As information for improvisation are taken well-known for students literary works, also works or chapters of the works which are recently read. Students have free range of linguistic means for realization of chosen role; only the plot of the work is kept. When casting the roles you need to look that students land a new role every time. Improvisation can be held both in pairs and in groups. Also different stage property and sound effects can be used which improves motivation and inspires students to use imagination;
- informal dramatization is considered to be the easiest but at the same time the least predictable as for action of students. This type of dramatization is marked by the high level of spontaneity and possibility to develop problem teaching strategies; that is why it is used for uncompleted short novels and episodes. As long as informal dramatization doesn't involve reading and memorizing of dialogues, students are free to choose linguistic means and so have opportunity to develop skills of unprepared speaking;
- formal dramatization alternatively to informal is very structured. Students either read a written dialogue or tell a learnt by heart dialogue. But you have to remember that memorizing of prepared speech is connected with a lot of difficulties because some people like memorizing roles, but for the others it takes a lot of time and is very tiring, so it lowers their motivation. Not all of the methodologists consider this approach efficient and effective for foreign language learning. However it is unquestionable that such train-
ing of memorizing in prepared situations helps to learn and train correct foreign pronunciation, certain set expressions are memorized and grammatical structures are much clearer.
Conclusion
In conclusion we bring into focus that dramatization approach is an interaction mean in emotionally sensual sphere and improves in this way motivation to foreign language learning. This methodical approach has a lot of positive characteristics and can be successfully used for profession-based teaching which gives students an opportunity to play any given role in simulate situation of professional interaction. In other words it helps easily to overcome so called "linguistic divide" and for students to banish fear of speaking.
At different grade levels of language learning can be used different types of dramatization depending on the level of foreign language learning. So following M.E. Fedotova [7] we think that at the beginner level of teaching is preferable improvisation with maximum of nonverbal means of interaction that is pantomime. At the advanced level proportion of verbal components considerably increases and here is preferable improvisation, formal and informal dramatization.
Such methodical approach is also important for a creatively working foreign language teacher of non-language higher education institutes, it helps to choose information for different types of dramatization taking into account work programme and editorial calendar of certain professional area. Time spending for searching of such information will be compensated with improving of teaching quality and creating of stable motivation to such subject as foreign language by the students of non-linguistic higher education institutes.
References
1. KRAVCHENKO, N.G., 1994. Game training situations (a case study of English at musical
higher educational institute): Author's abstract of Cand. Sc. {Education}. Novosibirsk.
2. VYGOTSKY, L.S., 2008. Pedagogical psychology. Moscow: AST Astrel' Khranitel.
3. MASLYKO, E.A., 1977. About dramatic performances as dynamic use of visual methods
by organising of verbal foreign language speaking. Problems of active method by teaching of foreign languages. Minsk: Vysheyshaya shkola, pp. 26-39.
4. RIEGEL, E., 2004. Schule kann gelingen. Wie unsere Kinder wirklich fürs Leben lernen.
Frankfurt am Main: Fischer Verlag, 215 p.
5. ANIKEEVA, N.P., 1987. Upbringing by game. Teacher's book. Moscow: Prosveshenye,
144 p.
6. KONYSHEVA, A.V., 2006. Gaming technology by teaching offoreign language. Saint-
Petersburg: KARO, 192 p.
7. FEDOTOVA, M.E., 2011. Integration of features of drama-pedagogics by teaching process
of foreign languages. Foreign languages: linguistic and methodical aspects. Interacadem-ic collection of scientific papers, 12, pp. 47-57.
ОБУЧАЮЩИЙ ПОТЕНЦИАЛ ПРИЕМА ДРАМАТИЗАЦИИ В ФОРМИРОВАНИИ НАВЫКОВ ДИАЛОГИЧЕСКОГО ГОВОРЕНИЯ Ванина И.Л., Кравцова Е.Н Национальный исследовательский Томский государственный университет (Томск, Россия). E-mail: tillindemann@mail.ru
Аннотация. В этой статье проводится анализ драматизации как методического приема на уроках иностранного языка. Образовательный потенциал этого подхода очень высок, потому что он помогает, прежде всего, преодолеть «языковой барьер» и повысить мотивацию; также он стимулирует студентов использовать иностранный язык для решения определенных проблем в их будущей профессиональной сфере. Основными компонентами драматизации являются коммуникативная ситуация, социальные роли и возможность использования социальных методов взаимодействия. Наиболее важными видами этого подхода считаются пантомима, импровизация, неформальная и формальная драматизация, выбор которых зависит от уровня владения иностранным языком определенных студентов.
Ключевые слова: обучение иностранным языкам; метод драматизации; навыки диалогового общения.
