roses among thorns?

Drama is introduced in the new KBSM literature component for 2010 for the lower and upper secondary together with new poems and short stories. Rumplelstiltskin by Angela Lanyon is used for the lower secondary while Gulp and Gasp by John Townsend for the upper secondary. Will it be roses or thorns for the teachers as well as the students? It all depends on the teachers approach and the students acceptance. 

Teaching drama should be welcomed with open arms as it involves all four skills and provides a solid context for language learning, personal growth and culture understanding which can eventually enhance the intrapersonal and interpersonal growth. Besides that, it provides a touch of motivation element of joy and fun in the class room which can develop and stimulate students’ creativity and imagination. “Drama activities provide numerous avenues for group work and studies on second language learners show that using drama in the language classroom has increased students’ motivation, self-esteem and spontaneity.” (Edwin, 2004) Thus, it is a good idea to get the students involve in the role play for performance as they can comprehend better and eventually develop their love for literature as the most important concern is not the end product and artistic excellence but the students’ involvement in order that they can develop the cognitive and effective domains and as an amazing learning experience.

“Literary texts and drama activities can be used to teach language skills and also develop the cognitive and affective domains and meet cultural needs of the students. The utilization of drama activities will help bring back some of the important emotional content into the language learning experience which is often lacking in communicative language classrooms.” (Edwin, 2004)

“Tell me and I will forget, Show me and I will remember, Involve me and I will understand” Chinese proverb