USING DRAMA IN TEACHING ENGLISH TO PRIMARY SCHOOL LEARNERS

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.17721/2663-0303.2021.6.03

Abstract

The article deals with a thorough analysis of drama techniques in teaching English to primary school learners. The review of literature on the problem under discussion has enabled the authors to conclude that using drama in the process of teaching English is a powerful teaching tool that promotes the development of creativity in the learners and enhances cognitive interest in learning a foreign language. Theoretically, however, the problem is underinvestigated in the Ukrainian context; so, the topicality of the research is ensured by existing difficulties in using drama in teaching English to primary school learners. The challenges are mainly caused by the lack of specially designed tasks for this purpose. Hence, the goal of this article is to outline the theoretical prerequisites and develop a methodologically grounded system of exercises and tasks to use drama in teaching English to primary school learners. The methodology of the research relies on the analysis of the available literature on the issue under investigation, with age and psychological characteristics of primary school learners considered. The paper discusses the approaches to defining the concept of dramatization and reveals the essential characteristics of dramatization in the process of teaching English to primary school children. The authors provide a detailed analysis of the classroom benefits of using drama techniques in teaching English to primary school learners and illustrate them by offering a lesson designed for primary school learners. The material used for the lesson designing is based on the educational and language capacity of fairy tales. The paper concludes that a positive effect of using drama in the primary school classroom contributes to enhancing both language and cognitive skills of young learners.
Keywords: drama, techniques, dramatization, English language, primary school learners, teaching tool.

Author Biographies

Oksana Mykhailova, Educational and Research Institute of Pedagogics, Ivan Franko Zhytomyr State University

PhD in Pedagogy, Associate Professor, Department of the English Language and Primary ELT Methodology, Educational and Research Institute of Pedagogics, Ivan Franko Zhytomyr State University, Zhytomyr, Ukraine. Her areas of research interests include Oral and Written English, Primary School ELT Methodology, English for Specific Purposes.

Olga Humankova, Educational and Research Institute of Pedagogics, Ivan Franko Zhytomyr State University

Associate Professor, Department of the English Language and Primary ELT Methodology, Educational and Research Institute of Pedagogics, Ivan Franko Zhytomyr State University, Zhytomyr, Ukraine.

Tetiana Grygorieva, Educational and Research Institute of Foreign Philology, Ivan Franko Zhytomyr State University

Associate Professor, Department of the English Language, Educational and Research Institute of Foreign Philology, Ivan Franko Zhytomyr State University, Zhytomyr, Ukraine

Published

2021-06-10

How to Cite

Mykhailova, O., Humankova, O., & Grygorieva, T. (2021). USING DRAMA IN TEACHING ENGLISH TO PRIMARY SCHOOL LEARNERS. Ars Linguodidacticae, (6), 21–28. https://doi.org/10.17721/2663-0303.2021.6.03

Issue

Section

TEACHING FOREIGN LANGUAGES IN SECONDARY AND TERTIARY SCHOOL: SHARING EXPERIENCE