Teaching and learning english literature through dramatization a case study at ho chi minh city open university

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY– HO CHI MINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES FACULTY OF ENGLISH LINGUISTICS AND LITERATURE -000 - TEACHING AND LEARNING ENGLISH LITERATURE THROUGH DRAMATIZATION: A CASE STUDY AT HO CHI MINH CITY OPEN UNIVERSITY A thesis submitted to the Faculty of English Linguistics & Literature in partial fulfillment the Master’s degree in TESOL By PHẠM THỊ MỸ DUYÊN Supervised by Nguyễn Hoàng Tuấn, PhD HO CHI MINH CITY, MAY 2020 ABSTRACT This thesis investigated the integration of drama in English literature teaching at a British literature course for English majors at Ho Chi Minh City Open University It attempted to explore the underlying teaching strategies through dramatization and identify the teachers’ and students’ attitudes towards this alternative teaching technique The primary data was collected through quantitative and qualitative methods including the observation, the questionnaire designed for the students and the semi-structured interview with the teachers The study revealed several significant findings First, dramatization bears some resemblance of to Process Drama (Kao & O’Neill, 1998) in its techniques Therefore, the researcher was able to devise a set of teaching techniques in relevance to dramatization The consolidation of the main phases and steps was proposed to implement dramatization effectively in this English literature class Second, the students’ attitudes towards dramatization were generally positive, and the majority of them saw an improvement in reading comprehension and speaking skill, noticeably pronunciation From the teachers’ perspectives, dramatization provides challenging but stimulating tasks and thus enhances creative and reflective learning The researcher argued that the integration of creative drama into English literature teaching was deemed effective and had the potential in building the learners’ understanding and appreciation of English literature Key words: English literature, dramatization, drama-based activities, Process Drama i Table of Contents Abstract i Table of Contents ii Statement of Candidate v Acknowledgements v List of Tables vii List of Figures viii List of Abbreviations ix List of Appendices x CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background to the study 1.2 Statement of the research problems 1.3 Aims of the study 1.4 Research questions 1.5 Significance of the study 1.6 Scope of the study 1.7 Outline of the study CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Literature in language teaching and learning 2.1.1 Definition of literature 2.1.2 Literature in foreign language education 10 2.2 Literature teaching models and approaches in language education 12 2.2.1 Teaching models of literature 12 2.2.2 Teaching approaches to literature 14 2.2 Definition of drama and dramatization 15 2.3 Benefits of drama in ELT 17 ii 2.3.1 Affective development 17 2.3.2 Literary interpretation 17 2.3.3 Cognitive development 18 2.3.4 Social engagement 18 2.4 Challenges in teaching dramatization 19 2.5 Drama teaching approaches in literature 20 2.6 Technique in implementing drama-based lessons 24 2.6.1 Pre-text in context 25 2.6.2 Asigning roles 25 2.6.3 Tension in extension 26 2.6.4 Boday and language 26 2.6.5 Reflective learning 26 2.7 Conceptual framework 27 2.8 Previous studies on teaching English literature through dramatization 29 CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY 32 3.1 Research questions 32 3.2 Research design 33 3.3 Research site 33 3.4 Research participants 35 3.4.1 The students 35 3.4.2 The teachers 36 3.5 Research instruments 37 3.5.1 Questionnaire 37 3.5.2 Interview 39 3.5.3 Observation 41 3.6 Validity and reliability 42 3.7 Data analysis methods 45 iii CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 47 4.1 Research question 47 4.2 Research question 65 4.2.1 The findings from the interview 65 4.2.2 The findings from the questionnaire 71 4.2.2.1 Learner background 71 4.2.2.2 The usefulness of the teaching techniques 72 4.2.2.3 Evaluation of teaching strategies adapted in dramatization 73 4.2.2.4 Learners’ attitudes towards dramatization 78 4.2.2.5 Thematic outline 82 CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION 89 5.1 Summary of findings 89 5.2 Recommendations 90 5.2.1 Material choice 90 5.2.2 Other approaches in teaching English literature 91 5.2.3 Encouraging learners to read extensively 92 5.2.4 Assigning roles 92 5.3 Limitations of the study and recommendation for further research 93 References 96 Appendices 107 iv Statement of Candidate I certify that the work in this thesis entitled “Teaching and learning English literature through dramatization: A case study at Ho Chi Minh City Open University” has not been previously submitted for a degree nor has it been submitted as part of requirements for a degree to any other university or institution Furthermore, I certify that all information sources and literature used are indicated in the thesis ……………………………………… Pham Thi My Duyen May 2020 v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First and foremost, a profound debt of gratitude is owed to my advisor, Dr Nguyen Hoang Tuan for his permanent support and suggestions on various drafts of this thesis He has been dedicatedly advising, commenting and guiding me throughout the journey I would also like to acknowledge the support provided by Mr Le Quang Truc for giving me the chance to learn dramatization from him He had lent patient encouragement and a steadying hand at every stage of the study I have never met such a more passionate teacher than him His wonderfully expressive voice and profound knowledge in English literature and theater education make him a distinguished lecturer The study would not have been completed without the support of British literature Class (Semester II/ 2018), who had participated in the study and the teachers who were involved in the study: Mr Le Quang Truc and Ms Duong Doan Hoang Truc I am also indebted to Mr Nguyen Thanh Long whose encouragement has motivated me to aspire to those goals My warmest thanks are also to Mr Nguyen Van Thanh and Mr Nguyen Minh Triet at Ton Duc Thang University for their friendly collaboration and support I would like to express my deepest appreciation to all my friends in the Master class, notably Bao, Vy, Chau, Phuc, Ha , Diem, Hien, Duong for motivating me to continue this research Finally, I am grateful to my family, who have supported, encouraged and tolerated me throughout this process I could not have done it without all of you Many thanks! vi List of Tables Table 2.1 Three categories of creative drama in language development 22 Table 2.2 Types of drama-based activities in literature teaching 23 Table 3.1 Specification of the questionnaire items 38 Table 4.1 Data derived from class observations 48 vii List of Figures Figure 2.1 Conceptual framework of the study 29 Figure 3.1 Exploratory case study research design 46 Figure 4.1 Years of experience in English learning 71 Figure 4.2 Students’ evaluation of small group-work 74 Figure 4.3 Students’ evaluation of lectures 75 Figure 4.4 Students’ evaluation of whole-class discussion 75 Figure 4.5 Students’ evaluation of student-led activities 76 Figure 4.6 Students’ evaluation of individualized reading 77 Figure 4.7 Students’ evaluation of dramatization .77 Figure 4.8 Thematic outline of the study .88 Figure 5.1 Structure of a drama-based literature lesson .90 viii List of Abbreviations EFL: English as a foreign language ELT: English language teaching ESL: English as a Second Language L1: First language L2: Second language MOET: Ministry of Education and Training TL: Target language ix drama My specialization is not drama Obviously, I am just an English teacher My major is English language and so I mainly teach English language Therefore, the part of speaking characters’ lines did not cause much difficulty because I can correct them on Problems: learners’ pronunciation I can help them with that However, in acting, reluctance to instructing them gestures, facial expressions is sometimes participate in the task challenging for me So, I have to try hard and learn from experienced & the teacher’s being teachers and directors, one of whom T.1 had introduced to me is unconfident in her director Khanh Hoang Gradually, I can accumulate new knowledge expertise Another problem is that they have difficulty finding the appropriate costumes or properties for the play To be honest, sometimes, I felt awkward to give them the answers and I have to think upon these However, by learning from other teachers, directors, I have tried my best to teach and explain to them to the best of my knowledge 15 R: About your students and especially those who didn’t fulfill the tasks you had given, how can you maintain the enjoyable experience of learners with effective learning? 16 T.2: As I told you before, points could be a motivation It can push them and encourage them to complete the tasks, but they just that to earn the points, not for their interest in this course But as you asked me how to make them like learning literature, it is more difficult 17 R: I mean an enjoyable learning experience they could feel 18 T.2: Of course apart from points, I tried to remind them in a subtle way, and I noticed that naturally when it came to the end of the Offering rewards and course, and they were able to perform on stage, especially the group grades who dramatized successfully, they immediately realize that the Success in tasks activity of dramatization was actually really fun and they became reconfirm learners’ interested in it In other words, at first, they didn’t like dramatization effort because they didn’t know how to it, but then, they realized this is how it goes As might be expected, there are still some who are not keen on dramatization 19 R: So the process of dramatization was challenging, but when they saw their product, they changed their thinking towards that course, right? 20 T.2: Exactly 122 21 R: I have more Can you tell me what your overall opinion of teaching English literature through dramatization is? 22 T.2: Teaching English literature through dramatization is great, fun and interesting It is very helpful for their skills especially speaking, listening, public speaking, teamwork, problem solving, time management, and leading skill In general, the course has equipped them a lot of skills Therefore, I believe that it is very rewarding Besides gaining knowledge of English literature and through group work which was quite challenging, there remained some memories when they study and work together, but this activity was arduous for teacher like me because apart from the teachers’ English language competence, they need to have an education of theatre to avoid some problematic situations such as staging a play, or choosing costumes Cooperative learning Moreover, teacher is required to constantly follow learners’ progress Equip learners with and remind them of their tasks Learners may feel discouraged 21st century’s skills because of the strenuous process so I need to encourage them to continue their work During their performance on stage, I need to request an additional room for them and watch out their stuffs, and costumes I was also afraid that they may cause noise and distraction for other classes or they may damage the classroom’s equipment, which is why I have to keep reminding them of these issues Even the practice of speaking English is so hard for me because students sometimes make mistakes in their pronunciation, but when we meet again in the next session, they still forget my feedback and make the same mistakes again In general, there is no doubt that this activity is interesting, fun and good for learners, but for teachers, this is such arduous and we have to spend great amount of time and efforts for it 23 R: Thank you for your sharing, so before we come to the end of the interview, is there anything you would like to say before we end the interview? 24 T.2: That’s all 25 R: Thank you for coming to the interview today with informative and helpful sharing about dramatization 123 Appendix F Standardized Cronbach's alpha reliability estimated for Items 6-12 in relation to activities in drama-based lessons Items through 11 Cronbach's Alpha No of Items 0.867 Scale Variance if Item Corrected Item-Total Deleted Correlation Cronbach's Alpha if Item Deleted Small-group work 11.840 0.762 0.834 Lecture 11.513 0.482 0.884 8.Whole-class discussion 11.275 0.635 0.849 Student-led 10.626 0.835 0.814 10 Individualized reading 10.621 0.744 0.829 11 Dramatization 11.978 0.613 0.853 124 Appendix G Standardized Cronbach's alpha reliability estimated for Items 13-31 in relation to the learners’ attitudes towards dramatization Cronbach's alpha No of Items 0.751 19 Scale Cronbach's Scale Mean Variance if Corrected Alpha if if Item Item Item-Total Item Deleted Deleted Correlation Deleted Items 13 though 31 13 In general, the activities in dramatization were rewarding 73.2333 103.771 728 908 14 I enjoyed doing activities such as role plays and dramatization 73.5000 104.810 531 912 15 In general, the activities in dramatization were difficult 73.8333 104.971 406 917 16 In general, the activities in dramatization were interesting 73.7000 104.079 503 913 17 In general, the activities in dramatization were timewasting 73.9000 115.472 039 928 18 In general, the activities in dramatization have helped improve my language skills 73.4333 101.495 617 910 19 The activities in dramatization have helped improve my listening skill 73.5000 103.500 668 909 20 The activities in dramatization have helped improve my speaking skill 73.3333 101.402 774 906 125 21 The activities in dramatization have helped improve my reading skill 73.3667 102.171 778 907 22 The activities in dramatization have helped improve my writing skill 74.0667 103.720 513 913 23 The activities in dramatization have helped me understand more about English literature 73.5333 101.499 768 907 24 The activities in dramatization have helped me understand more about the cultural values 73.4333 100.875 800 906 25 The activities in dramatization have helped me understand more about the humanity values 73.3000 100.838 892 904 26 The activities in dramatization helped me understand the texts better 73.2333 103.082 775 907 27 I love the creativity aspects in the dramatization activities 73.1667 104.489 845 907 28 I needed more help from the teacher to complete the activities 73.6333 109.551 374 915 29 In general, the activities in dramatization were rewarding 73.2000 106.028 663 910 30 The activities in dramatization helped me gain more confidence in communication 73.3667 104.378 678 909 31 More activities should be included in the course besides the dramatization 74.0667 106.064 333 920 126 Appendix H Descriptive statistics of Items 13 through 31 Mean Standard Deviation 13 In general, the activities in dramatization were rewarding 4.37 76 14 I enjoyed doing activities such as role plays and dramatization 4.10 92 15 In general, the activities in dramatization were difficult 3.77 1.14 16 In general, the activities in dramatization were interesting 3.90 1.03 17 In general, the activities in dramatization were time-wasting 3.70 1.06 18 In general, the activities in dramatization have helped improve my language skills 4.17 1.05 19 The activities in dramatization have helped improve my listening skill 4.10 84 20 The activities in dramatization have helped improve my speaking skill 4.27 87 21 The activities in dramatization have helped improve my reading skill 4.23 82 22 The activities in dramatization have helped improve my writing skill 3.53 1.04 23 The activities in dramatization have helped me understand more about English literature 4.07 87 24 The activities in dramatization have helped me understand more about the cultural values 4.17 87 25 The activities in dramatization have helped me understand more about the humanity values 4.30 79 26 The activities in dramatization helped me understand the texts better 4.37 76 27 I love the creativity aspects in the dramatization activities 4.43 63 28 I needed more help from the teacher to complete the activities 3.97 72 29 The activities in dramatization helped me improve my teamwork skill 4.40 67 30 The activities in dramatization helped me gain more confidence in communication 4.23 77 31 More activities should be included in the course besides the dramatization 3.53 1.20 Items 13 through 31 127 Appendix I Photos of the British literature course Photo 1: The venue of the event Photo 2: Group photo of the teachers and the cast of “The Wuthering Heights” 128 Photo 3: A scene from the play “The Wuthering Heights” Photo 4: A scene from the play “The Happy Prince” 129 Photo 4: A learner making a property for the play Photo 5: “The Happy Prince” group practicing acting with a director 130 Photo 6: Reading time Photo 7: Behind the scene of the play “Agnes Grey” 131 Photo 8: A view from the audience Photo 9: Writing messages to the book receivers 132 Photo 9: A student practicing speaking character lines with her teacher Photo 10: The teacher showing his learners how to stage the play 133 Appendix J OBSERVATION SCHEDULE Session Date Main lesson 16/03/2018 Introduction & text analysis 23/03/2018 Discussion of works and authors 30/03/2018 Drama speech 06/04/2018 Drama speech 13/04/2018 Drama speech and acting 20/04/2018 Stage plan and acting 27/04/2018 Rehearsal 04/05/2018 Rehearsal and performance in class X 11-18/05/2018 Rehearsal at the theater Day 19/05/2018 The premiere of The Happy Prince Day 26/05/2018 The premiere of Agnes Grey Day 02/06/2018 The premiere of Wuthering Heights 134 Appendix K OBSERVATIONAL FIELD NOTES 135 136 ... literature teaching methods and approaches, dramatization, and related studies to dramatization 2.1 Literature in language teaching and learning 2.1.1 Definition of literature The term literature. .. 24 compatibility to literature teaching, drama teaching and language teaching, Drama Process allows the exploration of teaching and learning English literature through dramatization in a comprehensible... English literature education in Vietnam and the background of the study regarding dramatization as an alternative English literature teaching approach at Ho Chi Minh City Open University In addition,