Using Process Drama in Enhancing Students Composition Skills - Research Proposal Example

Action Research: Using Process Drama in Enhancing Composition Skills. Action Research: Using Process Drama in EnhancingStudents’ Composition Skills 1. Research Question Problem identification and description Second language teaching is not merely a collection of lessons and syllabi. In the mastery of language, students need to exercise creativity and reconstruct their experiences purposively. Sadly, English teachers in Hong Kong place too much emphasis on structure. They often focus on grammatical rules at the expense of content. As such, Hong Kong English students produce dull and uninspired compositions. During my teaching practice in year three, I found that I also had a problem in this area. My students’ compositions were not imaginative and even the most proficient speakers struggled to express themselves in this situation. The strategy that I used involved starting with grammatical rules and then using this as a guide for speech; it was clearly ineffective. My students struggled to communicate efficiently when in spontaneous situations. Many of them thought about a grammatical rule and then tried to fit in the right words into that framework. The major problem with such a strategy is that learners rarely had time to plan their sentences. Sometimes it was necessary to provide immediate answers, and those were always laden with grammatical mistakes. Essentially, these children lacked the ability to think on their feet. This is a skill that one can only exhibit if they are imaginative. A gap exists in my teaching approach and the goal of having witty, creative and spontaneous English speakers. Research Question The key research question that will guide this inquiry is “How can Hong Kong English teachers use process drama to develop content-rich speakers?” Since the major problem with my students, and other ESL speakers in my community, is the lack of expressive capability, then I need to introduce a teaching strategy that focuses on spontaneity. Process drama is ideal for this goal, and could yield impressive results. Importance of the research to the students and teacher Imagination is a fundamental aspect of education. It is required in almost all facets of intellectual discourse, especially in communication. Since the English language is relevant in the workplace, unimaginative students will rarely thrive at work. If students are learning English in order to live in another country, then they may not communicate effectively with peers if they are not creative. In order to offer insights into the society that these second language learners will live in, students need to develop independent thinking in the English language. My students are in Hong Kong, where the predominant language is Catonese. Therefore, many of them use their primary language in social interactions. Minimal opportunities exist to practice this language outside the classroom environment (Gan, 2012). If I establish an effective teaching technique for the language, then I will provide a much-needed environment for these students to gain proficiency in the language. It is essential to recreate a classroom setting that mimics real social environments as closely as possible. Most native English speakers rarely struggle with creativity in language because they have to think and express themselves at the mall, in the petrol station, or at different social gatherings. Since my students lack a stimulating environment to speak English, it is the onus of their educator to provide these opportunities to them. Teachers are always in need of new ways of reaching their students. After completing this research, I will have discovered new ways of feeling and seeing. I will become a more reflective teacher who can customise his teaching to students’ needs. In the past, I have placed too much emphasis on phonology, and this has caused my students to become aware of systems in English rather than real-life applications of the same. Second language learners need opportunities to apply practical skills. The didactic and instructional approach to teaching never really enhances confidence in their language skills. This sort of strategy is preferable in Hong Kong because authority and power are revered in this community (Cusack, 2012). It is assumed that teachers must maintain control over their students. As a result, students are denied the opportunity to interact with the educator. Since I have grown in this environment, I also hold such values. My approach to teaching has largely been instructive. This will cost my students dearly as they will not be good at expressing themselves. 2. Literature review Process drama in class Process drama is an improvised form of a performance. It does not consist of rehearsed lines or scripts. Instead, teachers and their students co-create the events that they are studying. The goal of this approach is not to produce a perfect, artistic piece. Its main aim is to foster imagination in the classroom environment. It causes teachers and students to work and learn together. Unlike traditional drama, which places the needs of others before that of the performer, this teaching strategy focuses on creating an experience for the communicator. Students will discover things about themselves that they had not imagined. Furthermore, their speaking and listening skills can grow tremendously. The teacher’s role in this teaching strategy often changes from that of an instructor to a facilitator. As mentioned in the former section of the paper, the key problem with Hong Kong English teachers is their excessive focus on instruction rather than interaction. It is imperative to reorient this strategy in order to rectify content deficiencies among ESL learners. In process drama, a teacher’s job is to foster improvisation. He or she can initiate conversations, but his or her role is never final. Students must have the ultimate say in interpreting these hints. Educators thus offer structure in these settings, but these are not rigidly set. Bowell and Heap (2001) explain some of the key differences between conventional drama and process drama. In conventional drama, parties rely on the work of an expert playwright for their scripts. Conversely, process drama requires teachers and students to compose their own lines. Usually, teachers or persons in authority take up the directorship role. However, this is not true for process drama as both students and teachers can learn from it. Finally both parties are self spectators in process drama as they reflect on their roles and meanings. Such reflections are not necessary in conventional drama as actors simply focus on the external audience. In process drama, it is the internal audience that matters most. One of the most exciting qualities about this teaching method is that it transfers expertise from teachers to their students (O’Mara, 2002). Many of them will get an opportunity to engage with their subject matter. In this case, it is simply the English language. From their experiences in the play, the students will discuss and debate with one another to the point of becoming effective at their language of choice. In second language teaching, it is always imperative for children to experience the culture that they are studying. As mentioned earlier, Hong Kong students are far removed from English culture. It is thus difficult to engage deeply with the language (Fu, 2003). However, process drama can enable these individuals to understand English culture. They can recreate scenes from an English movie or may even mimic their favourite English sport. This concretizes their experiences of such a far-removed culture. Process drama unlocks classrooms that have found themselves trapped in too much structure. English language experts have often stated that it is more important to know how to appropriate and to engage in the meaning of words rather than to master form or structure (Celce-Murcia, 2012). In other words, content will always triumph over form in these classes. Process drama accords students the opportunity to reverse this learning process, especially in Hong Kong. They can now start with meaning and then work towards mastering form. Usually, this sequence of teaching mimics the world of native speakers. Most individuals will sharpen their grammatical skills after mastering content. It thus makes sense to use this same approach in the classroom. For language learning to work, it needs to have two dimensions; the rational and the intuitive. The latter aspect depends on a person’s creative abilities. Process drama is a strategy that can infuse back this much needed spontaneity into the classroom. One may thus summarise the advantages of engaging in such a teaching practice as follows: It motivates students to participate in the class because it an active form of pedagogy (Ulas, 2008). Additionally, it builds students’ self confidence in their ability to use English spontaneously. This strategy introduces the English culture to ESL learners. It mimics real life and thus fosters meaningful engagement. Process drama encourages them to dwell on the message rather than its form. It also stimulates imagination and development of intellect. Action research for teaching Action research is a form of inquiry in which the investigator focuses on solving a problem by observing and collecting data in a natural setting (McNiff & Whitehead, 2006). The researcher then ponders over the data and makes decisions on the basis of this information. It is particularly useful for educators because they always require new classroom strategies to deal with their students. Sometimes it may be deliberate and planned but in other situations, a teacher may do this informally. What matters is that they are seeking a way of understanding why something is going on in their class and how they can make it better (Parsons and Brown, 2002). Analysts explain that action research may be divided into five phases. The first is selecting the area of interest (Torbert, 2004). Usually, this is a matter that may be troubling the teacher and students for some time. Thereafter, one must collect data while in that scenario. Sometimes it may be necessary to use information from other sources that could offer more insight into the issue. Thirdly, the educator must then organise the findings through statistical methods or otherwise. These must then be analysed and organised into levels of priority for action. The fifth step involves studying literature and comparing it to one’s findings. After selecting the best course of action, one must carry out the final step of action research; this is implementation. Some actions may be long term while others could be short term. Regardless, of the time frame for implementation, educators must reflect over what they did after completion. 3. Action plan and data collection Process description The research will span across a one a half-month period in which I will carry out research in a Hong Kong school. I will work with a classroom of English second language learners of between 16 to 22 years of age. The research will start with an assessment in which the children will write a composition. All classroom members will focus on the same topic. Each of these scripts will be collected and used as a standard against which to measure their progress. After completion of the starter test, students will be immersed in a 6-week long drama process session. Of course, these classes will be combined with other conventional teaching methods. Sometimes the drama session may account for half of the lesson while in other circumstances only fifteen minutes could be dedicated towards the process. As the students communicate and playact, I will observe their speech. I will make a point of noting down any problems or issues that may have been observed. Since this is a participatory form of inquiry, students will also be expected to reflect over their language experience in the session. They should write down these insights in the form of a short paragraph. Usually, learners will note down the areas of communication that troubled them. Each of these notes will be combined and analysed. Finally, the students will do a final test at the end of the six weeks in which they will write a composition. Language will be analysed and compared to their composition in the starter test. If improvements are observed, then these will be attributed to process drama. Action plan implementation The Action plan for the research will be as follows. In the first couple of weeks, students will engage in role play. Here, the educator will let them know about the parameters of their session. For instance the place, objectives and participants in the analysis will be outlined before the performance (Maley and Duff, 2005). The first week will dwell on family scenes. Members will be asked to volunteer for certain roles. Since these are roles that many are already familiar with, then it will be relatively easy to engage with each other. On the second week members will focus on school situations. Here, they may choose to become schools administrators, students or teachers. This will be closely associated with the focal point in the third week where they will do playground scenarios. Some of them may not play sports, so this will be an opportunity to get creative. They will also exercise their language flow skills. During the third week, the class will change some things. Here, they will engage in simulation exercises. Two to five students will each be selected and required to recreate a social environment. On that week, they will pretend to be at an end of year party in an international company. In the fourth week, the students will simulate a day at the marketplace. These persons might need to convince each other about something, argue, negotiate, solve problems and most importantly, they may have to express their opinions (Philips, 2003). The fifth and sixth week of the research will involve the technique of improvisation. Here, students will mimic a certain situation in the confines of the classroom. On the fifth week, they will start with a scenario, in which all class members belong to a workers union. Students will pretend that they are unhappy about their pay and have gone on strike. On the sixth week, students will play the role of parents in a school annual general meeting. They may praise the school for its new achievements or could complain about dilapidated facilities. These choices will be up to the students (Royka, 2002). Time Activity Week 1 family scene Week 2 school situation Week 3 pretend to be at an end of year party Week 4 simulate a day at the marketplace Week 5 workers union strike Week 6 parents in a school annual general meeting Data collection and analysis Once all eight drama sessions are complete, I will analyse the data collected from my personal observations of the playacting as well as the student’s personal journals. Since the class will only have one drama session each week, the class will discuss what went on in the session. Each person will talk about their language misgivings and his or her peers will give recommendations on how to deal with them. I will also contribute by correcting any misadvises or uncertainties (Teemant, 2010). During the analysis process, some key elements on English language composition will be analysed at the time. I will then compare these results with the ones that I had found in the beginning of the analysis. Four parameters of English creative writing will be analysed. I will start with linguistic expression. Here, I will examine how students phrase their ideas. Deficient second language learners often have an idea in mind but their lack of content in language hinders them from properly phrasing their idea. A key culprit is the use of too many words to convey an idea. I will watch out for these instances and compare them to their occurrence before the experiment. A second parameter that will be analysed is their word choice. Proficient writers often demonstrate their mastery of English by not just using impressive words in their articles, but by knowing when and how to use the words (Curtin, 2005). Some of my previous students demonstrated inappropriate use of words. For instance, they once described a flower as cheerful. Additionally, many of them repeated the same adjectives throughout their papers because their vocabulary basket was just not broad enough. It will be interesting to see if these elements improve after the use of process drama in our class. The analysis will also involve an examination of the student’s flow of ideas. Seemingly able-bodied English speakers may have trouble joining two ideas together. Because of an overemphasis on structure, several Hong Kong speakers tend to write their compositions in lists. Sometimes these lists may even be organised in the form of a paragraph. Alternatively, they may write short, choppy sentences that lack cohesion. Students often write in the same way that they speak; therefore, if they exhibit these same problems in process drama then chances are that they will do the same in the composition. Concept confusion is yet another problem that second language English speakers wrestle with. Sometimes they may intend on explaining one thing but may choose to go about it in a totally different way (Nowalk, 2010). For instance, a young lady may want to express her attraction towards a certain gentleman, but instead of using synonyms that convey this idea, the girl may simply say that she likes the boy. Such flaws will be identified and compared to the first composition. It should be noted that since mastery of language is a difficult concept to define, then one can start with what is not acceptable. This was the reason why four parameters that have troubled many Hong Kong students were selected for analysis. The following is a pictorial representation of the action process in my teaching practice 4. Conclusion Process drama is an insightful way in which an English teacher can bridge the gap between form and content. The research problem identified in the paper centred directly on this gap. In teaching practice, I found that my students were not creative in composition writing because of too much emphasis on structure. It was suggested that these students be subjected to a process drama session in which they would simulate, role play and improvise different settings. Throughout the six-week session, students will playact once a week on the basis of certain preselected settings or themes. Some of these include a worker’s strike, a family scene and an end year party. Data will be collected through students’ and my written reflections. Individuals will also discuss their apprehensions over the performances and suggestions made for improvement. Overall, it is likely that this teaching strategy will raise their adaptability and creativity levels. References Bowell, P., & Heap, B. (2001). Planning process drama. New York: Routledge. Celce-Murcia, M. (2012). Teaching English as a second or foreign language. Boston: Heinle & Heinle. Curtin, E. (2005). Teaching Practices for ESL Students. Multicultural Education, 12(3), 22–27. Cusack, M (2012). Understanding Nativeness in the writing of English language learners in Hong Kong. Journal of Undergraduate Research, 14(1), 1-8. Fu, D. (2003). An Island of English: Teaching ESL in Chinatown. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. Gan, Z. (2012). Understanding L2 speaking problems: Implications for ESL curriculum development in a teacher training institution in Hong Kong. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 37(1), 43-61. Maley, A., and Duff, A. (2005). Drama Techniques: A resource book activities for language teachers. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. McNiff, J., & Whitehead, J. (2006). All You Need To Know About Action Research. London: Sage. Nowalk, T. (2010). Solving the English-as-a-second language writers dilemma. Inquiry, 15(1), 53–66. O’Mara, J. (2002). Understanding the complexity of social issues through process drama. Talking Points, 14(1), 27–30. Parsons, R., and Brown, K. (2002). Teacher as Reflective Practitioner and Action Researcher. Belmont, Calif.: Wadsworth/Thomson Learning. Philips ,S. C., (2003). Drama with children. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Royka, J. (2002). Overcoming the Fear of Using Drama in English Language Teaching. The Internet TESL Journal, 8(6), 13. Teemant, A. (2010). ESL Student Perspectives on University Classroom Testing Practices. Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 10(3), 89–105. Torbert, W. (2004). Action Inquiry: The Secret of Timely and Transforming Leadership. New York: Routledge. Ulas, A. (2008). Effects of Creative Educational Drama Activities on Developing Oral Skills in Primary school Children. American Journal of Applied Sciences, 5 (7), 30-35. Read More