Navigating the Labyrinth: A Study of Engagement and Artistry in Process Drama for Additional Language Teaching and Learning
Author(s)
Primary Supervisor
Dunn, Julie
Other Supervisors
Kennedy, Claire
Year published
2013
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
In this reflective practitioner research I investigate process drama for additional language teaching and learning (AL/process drama). In particular, I examine two constructs relevant to AL/process drama aesthetics: ‘learner engagement’ and ‘teacher artistry’.
To explore these constructs I draw on three case studies, developed within two adult schools of Italian (AL) and a university, in Milan, Italy. As teacher/researcher, I designed and facilitated a series of process drama workshops for each context, resulting in 45 hours of video-recorded material. I kept a reflective journal (written in English) and a logbook (written ...
View more >In this reflective practitioner research I investigate process drama for additional language teaching and learning (AL/process drama). In particular, I examine two constructs relevant to AL/process drama aesthetics: ‘learner engagement’ and ‘teacher artistry’. To explore these constructs I draw on three case studies, developed within two adult schools of Italian (AL) and a university, in Milan, Italy. As teacher/researcher, I designed and facilitated a series of process drama workshops for each context, resulting in 45 hours of video-recorded material. I kept a reflective journal (written in English) and a logbook (written in Italian) where I recorded my reflection-in-action and reflection-on-action. As a translingual researcher, I deliberately switched between languages, in an attempt to capture different nuances and better understand my attitudes and beliefs towards AL/process drama teaching. Within each case, I worked with a group of up to 16 international students of Italian (AL) at an intermediate level of proficiency (student-participants) and up to seven teachers (teacher-participants) who observed the workshops and took notes on the learners’ engagement. Both students and teacher-participants took part in individual and focus group interviews. At the end of each workshop, student-participants were invited to choose a specific moment from the drama and self-evaluate their engagement. These moments informed the selection of video extracts that were later used within video-stimulated recall interviews. The ‘learner engagement’ construct was explored through the Vygotskyan lens of ‘felt-experience’ (perezhivanie) in which individuals perceive, feel, interpret, internalise, and re-create meaning through a cognitive, affective and social investment. I analysed the nature of engagement from a sociocultural perspective, across three domains: Second Language Acquisition (SLA), Intercultural Education and Aesthetic Learning. The analysis revealed that the nature of learner engagement in the SLA domain seems to appear and manifest as a cycle of ‘perception-in-action’.
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View more >In this reflective practitioner research I investigate process drama for additional language teaching and learning (AL/process drama). In particular, I examine two constructs relevant to AL/process drama aesthetics: ‘learner engagement’ and ‘teacher artistry’. To explore these constructs I draw on three case studies, developed within two adult schools of Italian (AL) and a university, in Milan, Italy. As teacher/researcher, I designed and facilitated a series of process drama workshops for each context, resulting in 45 hours of video-recorded material. I kept a reflective journal (written in English) and a logbook (written in Italian) where I recorded my reflection-in-action and reflection-on-action. As a translingual researcher, I deliberately switched between languages, in an attempt to capture different nuances and better understand my attitudes and beliefs towards AL/process drama teaching. Within each case, I worked with a group of up to 16 international students of Italian (AL) at an intermediate level of proficiency (student-participants) and up to seven teachers (teacher-participants) who observed the workshops and took notes on the learners’ engagement. Both students and teacher-participants took part in individual and focus group interviews. At the end of each workshop, student-participants were invited to choose a specific moment from the drama and self-evaluate their engagement. These moments informed the selection of video extracts that were later used within video-stimulated recall interviews. The ‘learner engagement’ construct was explored through the Vygotskyan lens of ‘felt-experience’ (perezhivanie) in which individuals perceive, feel, interpret, internalise, and re-create meaning through a cognitive, affective and social investment. I analysed the nature of engagement from a sociocultural perspective, across three domains: Second Language Acquisition (SLA), Intercultural Education and Aesthetic Learning. The analysis revealed that the nature of learner engagement in the SLA domain seems to appear and manifest as a cycle of ‘perception-in-action’.
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Thesis Type
Thesis (PhD Doctorate)
Degree Program
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
School
School of Education and Professional Studies
Copyright Statement
The author owns the copyright in this thesis, unless stated otherwise.
Item Access Status
Public
Subject
Additional language process drama
Drama teaching