STUDENTS INTEGRATED SKILLS THROUGH DRAMA PERFORMANCES
Higher School of Foreign Language Teknokrat
This study elaborates how students learn all English skills through drama performances. In drama analysis class, the students were asked to learn how to read drama script, to watch the drama performances, to write an adapted drama scripts, then to performe the drama based on that scripts. Moreover, students would also develop their critical thinking of having widely discussion toward the issues developed inside the drama by making a presentation paper as the first project before they had the performance. Through drama analysis, they also learned how to scrutinize their integrated English skills of reading, listening, writing and speaking and having more knowledge of some issues brought inside the drama. In drama analysis I, students developed their English reading and listening by reading the drama script and watching the drama performance. They would then begin to dig up more their critical thinking by making a presentation paper relating to the topic choosen for discussion. Then, at drama analysis II, they would continue their analysis of the drama through the performances. At the end of the class, students’ performance were administered in some English skills and literary contents in drama.
Key words: integrated skills, drama analysis, literary analysis
There are various ways to learn all of English skills; listening, reading, speaking and writing. In the classroom, teachers play a big role in shaping student’s ability through those skills. Teachers can integrate it toward the materials they have. Moreover, they will also learn to have deeper critical thinking in understanding the literary work.
Drama is one of media that can help English Literature students develop their english skills because it deploys story through language and action in doing communication. Patel and Jain stated that when the teacher works with drama, the students got impressed very much. They learn by acting and acting id good technique of conducting oral work. It touches the heart of student and develops the oral quality perfectly (2008:107). Drama requires all english skills in deliberating the contents because it needs to be interpreted and performed. Drama is literature equipped with arms, legs, tears, laughs, whispers, shouts, and gestures that are alive and immediate (Meyer, 1990:929).
Drama provides us so many techniques in grasping the idea inside. It would not be enough by only reading the script of drama itself because students should overlook toward all the literary dimensions inside. Meyer voiced more that perhaps it is just like reading a recipe without having access to the ingredients and a kitchen (1990:929). Therefore, it would be more enjoyable to learn drama from reading the its drama script, playing a role as a spectator who watch a performance, to be more active as a ctitic toward it and finally practice to act as one of the character which means conducting a drama performances.
Drama has been so long become a part of English Literature. It contains a huge productions of words and acts. These uniqueness brings so much benefit for those who wants to learn english more. It help english students to cultivate and maintaining their english skills better by having such reading the script, listening the words produced by the original performances, writing the adapted script made by student itself and performing that script which means practicing the speaking as well.
Everyone in class is involved in drama activity, and there is no external audience. While engaging in a role in the event, the lecturer will be able to diagnose the student’s language skills and understanding, support their communicative efforts, model appropiriate behaviors and linguistic expressions within the situation, question their thinking, and extend and challenge their responses in the entire process (Liu, 2002:4). It means that in understanding drama, students can start it from reading the script, interpreting the meaning of whole parts inside until performing it in front of the audiences.
Here, the writer would like to discuss about the drama performances in Drama Analysis I & Drama Analysis II of English Literature class in STBA Teknokrat Bandar Lampung. Drama performances is used as the technique to help both students and teachers to develop more the English skills. It will also enrich the student’s experiences in aknowledging drama based on their interests.
The Drama Analysis I (Drama Analysis the first) for the second year students (those who study in the fourth semester) and Drama Analysis II (Drama Analysis The Second) for the third year students (those who study in the fifth semester). Each of classroom highlight each core target related to the purpose of its subject and the integrated skilss in teaching English as a second Language for English Literature Students as well.
The focus of Drama Analysis I is on the reading script of the drama they have already choosen. The drama can be included range from ancient tragedy to the modern musical, from those that are concerned with morality to those that dramatize the absurdity of man’s condition, from classic to avante garde and so forth. Students can define clearly their own interests of it but mostly they choose the modern ones from nineteenth and twentieth centuries. This kinds of drama often dealt with man’s need to be free from the restraining forces of society,..(Marshal & Castady, 1993:249). One of the example students often choose is Arthur Miller’s The Death of Salesman. Later, the research will be focus on this drama as the example in the findings.
After choosing the drama, students will continue to watch its drama performance and try to listen carefully in all words produced inside so that they can interpret and comprehend the contents correctly and clearly. Most of people argue that writing is one of the most difficult activities in both academic and non-academic concerns. It perhaps correct because writing could not be done shortly and easily. Writing skill is a productive skill (Harmer, 2001). At last, there will be a wide discussion toward the drama in the class regarding to the issues, moral values, and the conceptual theme that may include inside. Each of student will deliver it by forming a paper presentation one by one regarding to their understanding toward the script of the drama and its perfomances. Haggman and Almekinders said that the classroom is an ideal learning ground, where one can practice alternatives ways of dealing with people. This is done through the students’ activities, for example group work discussion, presentation, doing project based learning, and so on (2003). Therefore, if the students is equipped by the continuously writing experiences they will have more structured written text. There are several components that should be taken into account in writing activity are diction or vocabulary, structure or language use, mechanics, organization, readers, and the purpose of writing (Gebhard, 2000:221).
In the Drama Analysis II serves the techniques which invite students to rewrites the script of the drama into such an adapted script they make themselves. Lastly, students would perform it in front of the class along group performances. In this part, the students learn to communicate the target languange well so that the drama would be more meaningful.
RESULT AND DISCUSSION
At the beginning, Drama Analysis I students started by reading the script of the drama itself. In the research, the writer gives the example from Arthur Miller’s The Death of Salesman. The students reading the script. Here, they study about some new vocabularies and also grabbing new knowledge through certain issue highlighted from the points they found inside the drama. Meyer said that as a reader you become a play’s director; you construct an interpretation based on the playwright’s use of language, development of character, arrangement of incidents, description of settings, and directions for staging. Keeping track of the playwright’s handling of these elements will help you to organize your response to the play. You may experience, fear, horror, sympathy, or humor, but whatever experience a play evokes, ask yourself why you respond to it as you do (1990:930). Then, students will watch the drama performance downloaded from internet and try to cultivate more some current issue more than what they have from having reading the script. All the data they gathered would be developed in the form paper presentation. Now, students will start to write such scientific paper to be presented in the classroom discussion. Moreover, they will increase their critical thinking and having such wide notions toward worldwide view contained through the drama they analyzed.
In the next level of Drama Analysis II, students will be more focus on having good writing because they will produce such an adapted script for their own drama performance such as Arthur Miller’s The Death of Salesman. They will improve their ability of writing as well as speaking because they communicate the target language along the performance.
The drama performances could give an integrated skills for English Learners. By having step by step an anlysis toward certain drama, students would improver their reading, listening, speaking and writing as well. Moreover, drama could enlighten students knowledge toward worldwide view. Discussing some new topics and debating more issues regarding to modern life can add their experience in facing life wisely. Pleasurable methods would hepl students to learn english more relax and with new nuances always. The only suggestion for further research is undergoing teacher role in giving more various methods in teaching English as a second language.
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Haggman, Jurgen and Conny Almekinders et al. 2003.Developing Soft Skills in Higher Education. Retrieved April 23rd 2011 from http://www.planotos.org/documents/plan_04804.pdf.
Harmer, J. 2001. The Practice of English Language Teaching (3rd Ed.). London:Longman.
Liu, Jun. 2002. “Process Drama in Second-and Foreign Language Classroom”, Gerard Brauer (ed.).Body and Language; Intercultural Learning Through Drama.London: Westport.
Meyer, Michael. 1990. The Bedford Introduction to Literature. USA:ST. MARTIN’S PRESS
Patel, M.F. & Praveen M.Jain. 2008. English Language Teaching: Method, Tools and Techniques. Jaipur:Sunrise.