The Taiwan Ministry of Education has tried different ways
to make learning English as a Foreign Language (EFL) more viable for students
and teachers. Many studies show how Readers' Theater is effective in
encouraging early beginners and low achievers to use their new language
skills. RT was originally meant for classroom practice because it could
improve students’ English listening, speaking, reading and writing. However,
because of a lack of training by the Ministry of Education, most EFL
teacher do not use Readers' Theater in class. Some schools have decided to turn
RT into a inter-school competition. Because the competition was so
fierce, many schools have shied away from joining contests. The schools
that play to win need professional advice. That is where I come in.
I am a consultant
for one of Taiwan's three textbook publishing companies in the Taichung area
the past few years. As a favor to schools that use the publisher's textbooks, I
am sent to give workshops with students in English-language contests such as
choral singing, spelling bee, and RT if they request coaching; I am also a
judge at these competitions, though there has been no conflict of interest, so
far.
A few weeks ago
I was asked to do three two-hour Readers' Theater workshops at Guang Jung
Middle School. The skit Guang Jung chose was "A Quiet Noise;"
more accessible than the "Frog King" Shuang Wen Middle School asked
me to observe a month earlier. The children at Guang Jung were not constricted
by their teachers' interference. At the first of three dates the school asked
my publisher to arrange, I saw that the skit was simple, funny, and the
students were typecast correctly. I was proud that, last year, the workshops I
gave helped the school troupe win third place in the Taichung English Readers'
Theater Contest. I am confident they will win again.
Readers' Theater is
a form of drama that focuses on reading. It is a method of adding fun to oral
reading activities and helps stimulate interest in reading. RT can be used to
teach mainstream and ESL/EFL students. It generally involves two or more
readers reading aloud; in Taiwan, the rules are not more than seven players for
a six-minute skit. Students use their voices, facial expressions and gestures
to interpret a story. It is not frightening since readers have a script and get
to practice before performing.
For this workshop
appointment, the publishing company sent a van to pick me up unlike last
readers' theater workshop when we had to take a taxi to Shuang Wen. At Guang
Jung, the staff prepared refreshments for us, also unlike the Shuang Wen
experience the month before.
In the rehearsal
room, seven bright-eyed students and a few teachers were already assembled and
practicing. The children were a bit nervous; it would be the first time they
would be showing their skit to an English-speaking foreign teacher.
There would be three workshops with this theater troupe, I planned
to make suggestions one step at a time. First, I would listen to the students
practice making notes of their loudness, intonation, and pronunciation. I sat
with my copy of the script drawing stars around questionable lines and checks
near those well done. I drew intonation lines over sentences, vowel signs over
wrongly pronounced words, and accent marks where they were needed. But I didn't
speak with the children about their performances yet; I told them how well they
had done and predicted that they had a good chance to win the contest this
year. The feasibility of the script was the predominant review on this first
workshop date. It had to be fun and comprehendable or the audience and judges
would balk at hearing it. Only those lines by students I felt would need
three sessions to correct were mentioned before I left the two hour workshop.
For example, I mentioned if a child wasn't speaking up loudly enough. Most
importantly, I made suggestions to tighten the script and delete any
distraction lines unnecessary to the gist of the play. The children ended the
quality time with a second reading. There was already improvement over the
first.
At the second
workshop session, after another reading by the troupe, I concentrated on body
language and stage presence. Every part of the performance would be essential
to winning, from how the children walked onto the stage to how they bowed at
the end before they exited the stage. I updated my notes and honed in on each
student's performance. I spent quality time with the children and they
paid heed to my suggestions on intonation and streamlining the script; remove
'hallelujah' and add 'ah-mi-tow-fo' to the script with Buddhist overtones.
"A Quiet Noise" had the hapless Mr. Lin going to a Taoist priest for
advice on adding animals to quiet a noisy house in addition by subtraction.
Before I
returned to Guang Jung for the last workshop, I was asked to return to Shuang
Wen Middle School to be the reader at a school-wide spelling bee. I had been
the reader at a few spelling school-wide spelling bees the past few years but
this was the first this season, it was also the smallest with only a hundred or
son students participating.
Spelling bees are
another way English teachers in Taiwan encourage their students to learn. It is
counterproductive. Instead of concentrating on comprehension and phonics, it
forces the students to memorize without any residual purpose.
The spelling bee works
like this: The students sit down with a white board on their laps. I read
a word and a sentence using the word. I then repeat the word again and say
"Time starts now," at which time the official running the bee sets a
timer for ten seconds. Assistants then rove around the contestants and
eliminate the students who have spelled incorrectly. It is sad to see that over
75% of the contestants are eliminated before I reach the third word! In
exasperation, the Taiwan teachers scramble to find easier words to extend the
contest. I wait as they re-number the words I am to read and return the list to
me.
On October 22, I
returned to Guang Jung Middle School for the third of three readers' theater
workshops. It was the last public school gig I would be doing for readers'
theater this season. The students had really improved. They added body
language, shortened the script, and improved their loudness, intonation, and
accent. Most importantly, unlike the children at the Shuang Wen readers'
theater workshop, these children were having fun. The teachers were loving and
not condescending to them. My reward is knowing that the children are
enjoying learning English but it a small percentage of students who benefit and
for the school's glory; it is a shame more teachers do not do readers' theater
regularly within the class instead of wasting time doing grammar worksheets and
'cloze' exercises.
Since 2000, English
has been a required foreign language in Taiwan beginning in the second grade.
Because of the cognitive grammar-based approach, students are relegated to
learning and not acquiring English language skills. The Natural Approach
should be used instead . Taiwan students still cannot read, write, or
communicate in English (Taiwan Assessment of Student Achievement,
2005). Most children give up on learning English before they enter high school
(Liao, 2006). Going to after-school bushibans that mimic the methodology of
public schools is not the solution though the smaller class size could help at
least give the child more opportunity to participate; a main barrier to
acquiring English language skills is the large class size; the Ministry of
Education requires at least 30 students of varying proficiency in a class.
Through Readers'
Theater in the classroom, students develop a more positive outlook, perceive
themselves to improve in pronunciation and reading fluency, and develop better
relationship with their peers. As a contest, RT has minimal use for most
students learning EFL. Spelling bees, too, may encourage children to spell
better only if they are based on a phonics program in the classroom.
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