Boosting Language Skills of English Learners Through Dramatization and Movement

Greenfader, C., & Brouillette, L. (2013). Boosting Language Skills of English Learners Through Dramatization and Movement. The Reading Teacher, 67(3), 171-180. Retrieved February 28, 2015, from EBSCO Host.

This article discussed the importance of improving oral language for English Learners through the arts.  To start with, many of our schools are solely focusing on reading; it was found that students were not engaging in interactive dialogue with one another, but responding briefly to the teacher.  About 79% of literacy instruction was found to be focused on reading, leaving little time to develop oral language skills.  Additionally, theater and arts classes, a great place to develop oral language skills, have been cut across the country in recent years.  An inventive way to solve the aforementioned problems: teach oral language through arts instruction in a fun and inclusive environment!

It was found that many English learners were motivated and engaged through participating in arts-focused activities.  Students comprehended the stories, took on roles, and gained confidence in performing these roles.  “Medina and Campano (2006) discovered that ‘through teatro, the students found a safe place to fictionalize reality and enact more empowering individual and collective representations from which others might learn’ (p. 173).”

A great example of this idea of teaching oral language through art is The Teaching Artist Project, which has been implemented in San Diego.  Artists go into classrooms and provide art education (which has been severely cut), and also development to teachers in the area of dramatic language teaching.  Lessons teach arts and ELD standards simultaneously. These TAP lessons were found very beneficial in increasing literacy skills among both English Learners and native English speakers.  The arts-based lessons provide visual, auditory, and kinesthetic input that ultimately benefit students and enhance learning.  The practice also seemed to help students feel more comfortable and confident in the classroom.  Fidelity with implementation was essential, as was correlation to curriculum.