I have been meaning for some time to remember to take a photo of my Spoken English class. Much reduced now, down to a rump of four students, but four splendid students, all of whom speak English (though only up to a point.) I am not an English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teacher, and have no strategies to deal with someone who can only say How are you? But what those who do have a reasonable understanding of English need – here, at any rate – is practice in using the language in a variety of contexts. Not learned responses to set questions – How are you? I am fine thank you – which the vast majority here can manage very well, but conversation.
Nor am I practised in teaching particular constructs – the past, the conditional, whatever – except when it might arise in conversation. My friend Sue, who teaches English to Dutch pupils, sent me a wonderful resource collection of lessons. But not only is that not my style, it really does not work with the more than haphazard pattern of lessons here, with students wandering in at different times during the lesson.
Plus, if I am honest, one of the reasons I am a Drama teacher is that I teach with no resources except those in my head. This is not to say that I make it up as I go along (though sometimes I am forced to) because I do spend a good deal of time thinking, planning, etc. (Though to be honest I also rely a good deal on stuff I have done hundreds of times before. After all, it’s new to them, if not to me.)
So, to return to today, I am using some well-worn Drama scenarios to get them to speak English to each other. And today it was master and servant… mistress and servant. Someone once said that all Drama is about status (one of those statements which is both true and meaningless.) So today, I put them into pairs, and got them to choose their role, before improvising a scene based on that. (Yes, I do allow them to rehearse; it is their second – or third, or fourth, language after all.) And then introduced the idea of the worm turning, just to add a bit of dramatic tension. They had fun, I enjoyed it immensely, and they practised their English.)
The rehearsal after school was also very positive, with, almost for the first time, some pace, some energy. It was the interaction between Romeo, Mercutio, Benvolio, and Tybalt. They were all there, which helped a lot. It also included a couple of rap sequences, which were great.
So actually, a very good day.
