A Study Of The Application Of Drama In Education In Primary Oral English Teaching

In recent years,traditional English teaching methods and teaching philosophy have endured constant criticism because their focus is mostly on imparting knowledge and language skills training in class.Accordingly,upgrading the current teaching model became a huge challenge as a major research topic for teachers of English.To improve on the current boring single English teaching model,some English teachers began integrating drama elements into their teaching in an effort to develop a better more efficient model that can motivate students into taking the initiative in English learning,and in particular,improve their Oral English skills.With regular and consistent application,the concept of Drama in Education brought new ideas to primary English teaching,especially in the teaching of Oral English.Drama in Education is a teaching method which has education as the main focus,but has the character of drama.The application of this teaching method is in integrating some dramatic elements such as creative situations,drama games,and role play into teaching in the classroom;and,by providing as many opportunities as possible,enable the building of a guided,interactive,experiential learning environment for students to develop their abilities in creativity,expression,and imagination;and through an enhanced enthusiasm for study strengthen the teaching effect.Through a series of teaching exercises based on her many years of teaching experience in primary school,the author introduced the philosophy of Drama in Education to her teaching and applied the four typical Drama in Education methods of singing,improvisation,situational dialogue,and short play into Grade two Oral English teaching.By employing the standard research methods of observation,testing,and teaching practices to study the effect of applying Drama in Education the author achieved some very positive results.She applied the teaching methods of Drama in Education to classes G2 A and G2 B at Clifford School for one semester as an experiment.After collating,analyzing and summarizing the data collected during the teaching exercises she found that the Drama in Education method greatly arousedthe students' interest in Oral English learning.As is well known,grade two students in the younger age bracket of elementary school,are highly active,strongly curious,and always eager to participate.The teaching forms of Drama in Education,being flexible and fun,fit perfectly with the personality type of the grade two students and encourage their ready involvement in class activities.Overall,this teaching practice has proven the application of Drama in Education in grade two Oral English teaching can create a truly student-oriented,teacher-directed atmosphere in the classroom.It can greatly improve student enthusiasm,motivate learning initiatives,and foster efficiently the students' ability to communicate with people in English by flexible use of spoken strategies.