This document describes a process drama teaching case study conducted at an Australian secondary school that used drama techniques to teach Chinese language and culture to non-Chinese background students. The drama project involved students writing and performing a play based on the film Kung Fu Panda in Chinese class over several weeks, with teacher guidance. The case study discusses the implementation of the drama activities and lessons learned regarding effective use of drama approaches in secondary school Chinese language education.

1. Process Drama and Chinese
Language Teaching - A Practice at
an Australian Secondary School
Yongyang Wang, Trevor Hay
Melbourne Graduate School of Education (MGSE)
The University of Melbourne, Australia
2012 National Chinese language Conference, Washington DC, April 2012

2. • ARC – Intercultural
Approaches to
Teaching Chinese
• Collingwood College –
project partner
• Perspectives and roles:
principal, Chinese
teachers, drama expert,
background Chinese
learners
• Acknowledgements to
the principal and staff
at Collingwood College
This study is funded by
ARC Linkage grant
(LP100100291)
2012 National Chinese Language Conference, Washington DC, April 2012 2

3. • Process drama/drama in education/creative
drama
• It normally takes place among a class of schoolchildren and their teacher,
not in a theatre but in a classroom or studio within a school. The genre
had its formal beginnings in the mid-1950s in Britain, passed through a
number of formative stages, and was consolidated by the late 1970s into
what is recognisably a stable genre with a shared terminology … (O’Toole,
1992)
Learning Through Drama – drama as a medium for learning/ 教育戏
剧
Learning about theatre – drama as the purpose of learning/ 戏剧教育
Process drama is defined as the negotiation of meanings between
teachers and students, and among students (McGregor, Tate and
Robinson, 1977) - Students as a resource for learning
2012 National Chinese Language Conference, Washington DC, April 2012 3

4. • Types of drama approach:
Language games/role plays/scenarios/improvisation/process
drama
• Dramatic techniques:
dialogue, monologue, tension, costumes, silence,
darkness, props, light, stillness, movements,
music
2012 National Chinese Language Conference, Washington DC, April 2012 4

5. Applications of drama approach in L2
• English as L2
– Drama in the English Classroom (Veidemanis, 1962)
– Drama in English Language Teaching: Two Approaches at the University Level in West
Germany (Hall, 1986)
– The Dol project: The Contributions of Process Drama to Improved Results
in English Oral Communication (Stinson & Freebody, 2006)
• Spanish as L2
– To Speak or Not to Speak?: Drama Techniques, Narration and Other Real-Life Activities
(Ballman, 2006)
• Japanese as L2
– Introducing Creative Language Learning in Japan Through Educational Drama
(Araki-Metcalfe, 2008)
• Italian as L2
– Set the Stage! Teaching Italian through Theater: Theories, Methods, and
Practices （ Marini-Maio & Ryan-Scheutz, 2009)
2012 National Chinese Language Conference, Washington DC, April 2012 5

6. • Chinese as L2
– 试论戏剧化教学法在汉语作为第二语言教学中
的运用 - 以澳大利亚的一个课堂教学为例
( 王永阳 , 2009)
– 台湾国立政治大学华语文中心“演戏学中文”
班教学案例 ( 王克信， 2009)
2012 National Chinese Language Conference, Washington DC, April 2012 6

7. Theoretical foundations of drama
approach:
– Developmental psychology – Bruner, Piaget,
Vygotsky, Dewey
– Communicative approach – Halliday, Hymes
Children tend to have cognitive growth with the
aid of ‘repetitive play’ and ‘pretend play’ in
which child engages in a fictional world …
(Piaget, 1962)
2012 National Chinese Language Conference, Washington DC, April 2012 7

8. • What are the differences of drama approach
compare to conventional pedagogy?
– Role of teacher: from deliverer to
facilitator/coach/director/ ‘loving ally’
– Role of student: from passive recipient to active
participants/the owners of learning
– Classroom: ‘third place’ (Kramsch, 1993) for
intercultural dialogues/communication
2012 National Chinese Language Conference, Washington DC, April 2012 8

9. Advantages of drama approach:
‘Drama can lead the inquirer to moments of direct experience,
transcending mere knowledge, enriching the imagination, possibly
touching the heart and soul.’ – Brian Way (Development through Drama) (cited in
Athiemoolam, 2004)
• Contextualized learning
• Drama as incentive to learning
• Drama as ‘authentic material’ (Kramsch, 1993)
• Students’ engagement in learning
• Fostering aesthetic appreciation and empathy with target culture
• Developing intercultural communicative skills
2012 National Chinese Language Conference, Washington DC, April 2012 9

10. • The pioneer of drama in education
Dorothy Heathcote (1926 – 2011)
• Dorothy Heathcote MBE, who died aged 85 in August
2011, was a world-renowned teacher who revolutionised
the use of Drama in Education through a variety of
pioneering techniques.
• ‘It is difficult to grasp how the 14-year-old girl who
entered a Yorkshire woollen mill to work in 1940 could
become a key international figure in the world of
education and drama and yet by the age of 24 she had
become a lecturer at the Newcastle-upon-Tyne campus of
Durham University, beginning a career that was to span
60 years.’
– ‘Mantle of the expert’ and ‘teacher in role’
http://www.mantleoftheexpert.com
– Dorothy Heathcote - A celebration of life
http://www.dorothyheathcote.org/videos-of-dh-2/
–Gavin Bolton: Drama for Learning (1994)
–Betty Jane Wagner: Dorothy Heathcote: Drama as a
Learning Medium (1999)
2012 National Chinese Language Conference, Washington DC, April 2012 10

11. •
Key Publications
Heathcote, D. (1980). Drama as Context, Huddersfield: National Association for the Teaching of English.
• Heathcote, D., & Bolton, G. (1998). Teaching culture through drama. In M. Byram & M. Fleming (Eds.),
Language Learning in Intercultural Perspective (pp. 158-177): Cambridge University Press.
• Heathcote, D., & Bolton, G. (1995). Drama for Learning : Dorothy Heathcote's Mantle of the Expert
Approach to Education Portmouth, NH Heinemann.
• Heinig, R. B. (1993). Creative Drama for the Classroom Teacher / Ruth Beall Heinig (4th ed. ed.). Englewood
Cliffs, N.J. :: Prentice Hall.
• Byrne, C. (1989). Drama in Education: Words into Action
• Holden, S. (1981). Drama in Language Teaching, Harlow:: Longman.
• Parry, C. (1972). English through drama; A Way of Teaching. Cambridge, [Eng.]: University Press.
• Byram, M., & Fleming, M. (Eds.). (1998). Language Learning in Intercultural Perspective: Approaches Through
Drama and Ethnography Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
• Stern, S. L. (1980). Drama in Second Language Learning from a Psycholinguistic Perspective. Language
Learning Journal, 30(1), 77-100.
• Bräuer, G. (Ed.). (2002). Body and Language: Intercultural Learning through Drama Westport: Ablex
Publishing.
• Hall, A., Guy, I., Stortenbecker, W., & Whitaker, A. (1982). Drama in English-Language Teaching - 2
Approaches At The University Level In West-Germany. [Article]. Applied Linguistics, 3(2), 144-160.
• Wagner, B. J. (1999). Dorothy Heathcote: Drama as a Learning Medium. Portland, Me.: Calendar Islands
Publishers.
• Shimizu, T. (1993). Initial Experiences with Improvised Drama in English Teaching - Working against the
Historical Neglect of Fluency in Language Learning in Japan. In M. Schewe & P. Shaw (Eds.), Towards Drama
as a Method in the Foreign Language Classroom. Berlin: Peter Lang.
• Stinson, M., & Freebody, K. (2006). The Dol project: The contributions of process drama to improved results
in English oral communication. Youth Theatre Journal 20, 27-41.
• Schewe, M., & Shaw, P. (Eds.). (1993). Towards drama as a method in the foreign language classroom
Frankfurt am Main ; New York :: P. Lang.
2012 National Chinese Language Conference, Washington DC, April 2012 11

12. Chinese Drama Class
• Timeframe: Term 4, 45 minutes per class, 2
classes per week, 6 weeks
• Participants:
– Students:12 yr 8 （ 13-14 yrs old ） , non-background learners
(4 females) – 4 groups
• Text: Kung Fu Panda 1.
• Writing tasks – complement to speaking
2012 National Chinese Language Conference, Washington DC, April 2012 12

13. • Week 1: Selecting text:
– Hua Mulan/ 花木兰 animation
– The Herdsman and The Weaver Maid/ 牛郎织女 animation
– The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor/ 木乃伊 3 ：龙帝之墓 movie
– Kung Fu Panda/ 功夫熊猫 movie
2012 National Chinese Language Conference, Washington DC, April 2012 13

14. • Week 2: Writing up the play
– Wang Laoshi 1st draft
– Group discussion/reading out/modification
– “ 就像乌龟所预言 的，你就是龙战士”，
“ 就像乌龟所说的”。
– “ 你为本村 带来了和平”，
“ 你为我们带来了和平”，
2012 National Chinese Language Conference, Washington DC, April 2012 14

15. • Week 3:
Students study the script
with tutors,
meaning/pronunciation
/cultural elements
2012 National Chinese Language Conference, Washington DC, April 2012 15

16. Week 4: Practising in roles
Week 5: Rehearsal ‘look and speak’
Week 6: Performance (narrators/prompter)
Audience: primary school students

17. 2012 National Chinese Language Conference, Washington DC, April 2012 17

18. 2012 National Chinese Language Conference, Washington DC, April 2012 18

19. Issues related to drama for Chinese
• Selection of text – incentive match with students’ age,
language level, interests
• Teacher’s role – knowledge and drama training
• Students attitudes toward drama approach: anxiety, shy,
reluctance/exciting
• Grouping students: balance gender and different cultural
backgrounds
• Audience: impact on the efficiency of drama approach
• Organizational support: HR, costs of costumes and
props
2012 National Chinese Language Conference, Washington DC, April 2012 19

20. Five key books for drama in
language education
• 1.1 《语言学习中的戏剧技巧 – 语言教师交际活动手册》 (Drama Techniques in
Language Learning – A Resource Book of Communication Activities for Language
Teachers) 。作者 Alan Maley 和 Alan Duff ， 1978 年由剑桥大学出版社首次出版
发行，此后多次再版。
• 1.2 《论戏剧作为外语课堂教学法》 (Towards Drama as a Method in the Foreign
Language Classroom), 1993 出版，编者为 Manfred Schewe and Peter Shaw 。
• 1.3 《从语言到世界 : 通过过程戏剧学习第二语言》 (Words into Worlds: Learning a
Second Language through Process Drama), 1998 出版，作者为 Shin-Mei Kao 和 Cecily
O’Neil 。
• 1.4 《跨文化视角中的语言学习 - 戏剧和人种学的方法》（ Language Learning in
Intercultural Perspective: Approaches through Drama and Ethnography ） , 编著者为
Michael Byram 和 Michael Fleming ， 1998 年由剑桥大学出版社出版。
• 1.5 《身体与语言：通过戏剧的跨文化学习》（ Body and language: Intercultural
Learning through Drama ）， 2002 年出版，由 Gerd Bräuer 编著。
2012 National Chinese Language Conference, Washington DC, April 2012 20

21. 外语 / 二语教学中的戏剧化教学法 – 简介与案
例
Drama-in-Education and Language Education
王永阳
摘要： 本文的主要目的是介绍一种在外语 / 二语教学
中很有发展潜力的创新性教学法 – 戏剧化教学法
（ Drama-in-Education/Process Drama ）。戏剧化教
学法不以学习戏剧本身为目的，而是把戏剧作为一
种教学媒介和手段来进行知识传授和技能培养。这
种视角和方法兴盛于 20 世纪中后期的英国，后被
广泛应用到世界各国的外语 / 二语教学中。笔者以
为，戏剧化教学法形式灵活多样，可操作性强，对
激发学生的学习积极性和提高跨文化交际能力等方
面都有积极的作用，值得进一步推介和研究。本文
从创新语言教学法的角度，对戏剧化教学法的代表
人物和著作进行简介，并具体介绍了两个课堂教学
案例和一个教学模式，包括具体的课堂操作过程和
步骤，希望对广大研究者和外语教师的课堂教学有
所启发。
关键词 ：戏剧、戏剧化教学法、第二语言教学、
外语教学
2012 National Chinese Language Conference, Washington DC, April 2012 21

22. Rupert in Beijing.
Part One: You Are Here.
Breakfast in the Friendship Hotel, Beijing. Rupert, being an authentic old China hand – Zhonguo tong 中国通 –
decides he will go to the Chinese breakfast room, not that other place swarming with stupid tourists. Yes, he has
made the right decision. There is not another Lao Wai 老外 to be seen in the place. He stops to admire the
Chinese names of the dishes..Kou shui bai rou 口水白肉 , but his culinary Chinese isn’t up to this, so he reads
the translation - ‘White slobber meat’ – and promptly makes his way to the big dining hall with all the tourists.
In fact, the breakfast is only slightly hybrid, and has lots of good Chinese things, plus eggs ‘sunny side up’ or
‘easy over’, which Rupert can hardly bring himself to say. Half hour later, replete with two sunny side ups, youtiao
油条 and baozi 包子 , to mop up the runny egg, baizhou 白粥 to stick to his ribs and foul coffee – just for the
sake of having an interchange with the fuwuyuan 服务员 about the right way to serve coffee to foreigners - he
ventures out of his old haunt with a strong sense of nostalgia…making him feel distinctly superior to all these
ridiculous, ignorant tourists cluttering the place up and spoiling it for genuine waiguo pengyou 外国朋友 and
zhuanjia 专家 like him. When he first came here it was one grand, colossal building with a Friendship Store and
a labyrinth of rooms. Those were the days. Now it is a kind of Las Vegas style entertainment complex, with
numerous buildings linked by corridors – a theme park on the Summer Palace theme. You don’t even need to go
out of the complex to reach another building – ‘lou’ 楼 or dining room, or the Friendship ‘Palace’…’gongdian’ 宫殿
.
However, he is not so confident about what lies outside the Youyi binguan 友谊宾馆 . In his obsessive way, and
remembering past occasions when he had been quite confident he knew his way and then got lost, he studies
the map outside San Dong 三栋 . He finds ‘You are here’, studies the layout intently then moves toward where
the East Gate should be – and the street where he came in last night. But there should be a big garish,
‘American’ spaghetti joint called ‘Friday’s’. He seems to be getting further away from all that..this seems to be
going towards the North gate. He stops at another ‘You are Here’ and checks. How odd, it says he is standing in
front of Building 3, but he just left it behind ten minutes ago. He moves on, finds another sign – this time in front
of what is clearly Building Four 四栋 but the sign says ‘You are Here’ and ‘here’ is supposed to be..Building
Bloody Three again. Ah, he gets it…all the signs are the same, regardless of where they are. You are always
‘here’ in the Friendship Hotel.
(Hay & Wang, draft, work in preparation, A Narrative Resource for Intercultural Learning, April 2012) April 2012
2012 National Chinese Language Conference, Washington DC, 22

23. Thank you.
Emails:
Yongyang Wang: cwan@unimelb.edu.au
Trevor Hay: t.hay@unimelb.edu.au
2012 National Chinese Language Conference, Washington DC, April 2012 23

24. • http://www.dramacpd.org.uk/cpd/index.cfm/cpd-un
http://www.dramacpd.org.uk/cpd/index.cfm/cpd-u
• Puppet show:
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_mN7cpkWAE
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&
2012 National Chinese Language Conference, Washington DC, April 2012 24

25. Some practical advice
• Explanation of drama method to the students
• Be clear how the drama class will be conducted
• What are they expected to do
• Written tasks assistant with speaking
2012 National Chinese Language Conference, Washington DC, April 2012 25