Case study four: Singapore: Drama and Oral Language: An Investigation of the. impact of process drama on the oral communication of NT4 students.

Transcription

1 Case study four: Singapore: Drama and Oral Language: An Investigation of the impact of process drama on the oral communication of NT4 students. Chief investigator(s) and/or investigation C.I - Madonna Therese Stinson team: Asst.- Kelly Freebody Contact details: Organization : Centre for Research in Pedagogy and Practice National Institute of Education (NIE), Singapore Address: 1, Nanyang Walk, Singapore Country : Singapore Phone : (65) mstinson@nie.edu.sg Website: Aims To investigate the impact of drama strategies on the development of oral language proficiency at Secondary 4 level (Normal Technical Stream). Project outline

2 The project is a design experiment that tests whether the use of drama as a learning process produces better or different results for students in their Sec Four Normal Technical oral results. The participants are students in their tenth year of schooling, about 16 years of age, in the lowest school stream (comparable to D stream). Four schools participated. Each school nominated a class of 40 for intervention and two of the schools nominated another class, of the same level as schooling, as controls. The four intervention groups were taken by test facilitators while the two control groups carried on with usual lessons with their English Language teachers. None of the students from all six classes had prior drama lessons. The test facilitators are trained teachers who are familiar with basic drama teaching methods and have undergone a week-long training programme by the Chief Investigator before going to the schools. The research involved 10 lessons, each lasting an hour. These were planned and implemented as either two lessons per week for 5 weeks or one lesson per week for 10 weeks. Instead of drama games and exercise which promotes oral communication, the format was in contextualized activities within four drama pieces. Students had to work in and out of role, in small and large groups and collaborated to solve tasks that were set. Language activities included interviewing, collaborative creating roles and relationships, explaining, describing, questioning, etc.

3 Data was collected via facilitators journals and interviews with facilitators, regular English teachers and randomly selected students. Pre-test and post-tests were also conducted with randomly selected students. The tests emulated very closely the GCE N level Oral examination. The examiners were teachers whom students were unfamiliar with. The tests involved conversation questions with picture stimulus. Examiners would ask preliminary, descriptive, and interpretive questions to orientate the students to the themes in the picture. Questions were open-ended, addressing issues of personal opinion, experience, and so on. Oral test results from the Intervene groups and Control groups were analysed and compared. The following conclusions were made: - The results for pre-tests, for both intervention and control groups, had similar scores - The results for post tests indicated that the intervention group performed consistently better. - The intervention group showed improvement on ALL assessment measures, not just in one particular area. Interviews with students cited that there was an improvement in self-confidence, awareness that they can speak more fluently and a break down of barriers across ethnic groups.

4 Research methods Case study, interview, reflective journals, tests and narratives Results The profile of drama has been raised significantly as Ministry of Education and Government body have shown greater interests and willingness to accept drama as part of the education process. Main Impact - The ministry is currently looking at incorporating speech and drama into the curriculum. More support has been given to allow further in-depth studies and research to be conducted. - So far, emphasis is placed only in the visual arts and music programmes in primary and secondary curricula. The Ministry is considering incorporating drama into the Secondary English curriculum for The project has definitely had a positive impact on the participating teacher facilitators. - The June 2005, NIE would be offering a several courses in drama studies for trainee teachers and trained teachers to upgrade in this area. For example, a Master s Degree in Drama Education, Advance Diploma for teachers without a degree.

5 - The teachers gave feedbacks that the students who participated in this project displayed significant improvement in their confidence and command of the English language. - Students cited that they recognised- and are more aware- of their development in communication skills. They enjoyed the imaginative learning process via drama and responded that they felt that they have learnt something substantial during the course of this project. - Parents of students who participated in this project commented that their child displayed increased ability and comfort in expressing themselves in English. Main Challenges - Lack of finances, resources and space.