Drama in the foreign language classroom: A paradigm of creatively approaching English literature

 Drama in the foreign language classroom: A paradigm of creatively approaching English literature

Athens, 24/11/2018

Alexandra Simou, doctor of English Language and Literature, teacher of English (Art School of Heraklion)

Workshop 2,5 hours 
Part of the 2018 ATHENS GREECE INTERNATIONAL THEATRE/DRAMA & EDUCATION CONFERENCE
organised by the Hellenic Theatre/Drama & Education Network (TENet-Gr)

Language: Greek 

In this workshop we will focus on the way English literature can be creatively approached through Drama in Education (DiE). In more detail, in this workshop we will try to experiment with some popular drama techniques and see how these can be applied to literature teaching. We will use extracts from English readers from the Ministry-approved catalogue of books for the English class in senior high school and work on them through DiE. Participants will have the opportunity to experience the drama activities themselves and see how drama can offer an immersive and deeper understanding of the literary themes and characters. Participants will also be able to see how DiE can be used as a preparatory stage of a performance, leading to the emergence of scenes to be rehearsed and presented to an audience. At this final stage of the workshop participants will engage in theatrical exercises and familiarize themselves with the process and the steps of creating a short performance. The workshop is aimed, besides English and other foreign language teachers, to Literature teachers as well as to those interested in creative processing, dramatization and theatrical representation of literary texts. The workshop assumes a basic knowledge of English since the text to be processed will be in English.

Alexandra Simou received her bachelor degree from the English Department of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in 2004. She proceeded with postgraduate studies in the UK and holds an MA in English Language Teaching Studies. In 2013 she completed her Ph.D. in Theatre Pedagogy in the English Department of Aristotle University. Her academic interests include drama/theatre in education, cultural studies and recently postdramatic forms of theatre. She has attended a three-year course in acting, numerous seminars on acting and drama/theatre in education. She has taken part in theatre performances as an actress and director/ drama facilitator, has presented papers in theatre conferences and delivered lectures and workshops in theatre seminars. She works as a teacher of English in secondary education and is a member of Hellenic Drama/Theatre Education Network.