My drama experience

[Ana Mª García Fernández]

I love working with skits, short plays or role plays in class; I heve working with them for 5 or six years, especially in Bachillerato in Oral Skills (Ampliación de Inglés), althiugh when you use dram with younger students they also love it!

The main problem I find to work with ESO students is the lack of time, as our subject has only three hours a week in non-bilingual schools.

When I make up my mind to work with a group using drama, I consider three options:

- using a written skit or short play the students have to learn

- prepare a set of cards with different roles and a general objective for the activity

- write the beginning of a play and let students finish it, adding characters  and situations

My choice is goingn to depend basiccaly on the students I am going to work with; for those with a higher level, you can use any of them, but for younger or less confident studnts, I think the first option is the best.

Whenever I have use dram in the class, I think is really rewarding becuase it means a change in our daily routine and they realize they can communicate in English. We must remeber that English is not only a subject, is a tool they are going to need in thier future.