The Role of Drama Techniques in Freeing the Learned Language

DOI: 10.24833/2949–6357.2024.GEO.1  УДК: 81'24

Daria I. Ter-Minasova
PhD in Culture Studies, Senior Lecturer, MGIMO University, Moscow, Russia;
email: d.ter@inno.mgimo.ru

Abstract
The final goal of learning a language is the ability to express oneself clearly and freely. A communicative approach with the focus on creative activities otherwise known as drama seems to meet the goal; yet, students are still limited by their texts. The work questions if creative tasks further the end of freeing the language, highlights what escapes teachers’ attention and suggests ways to improve the situation. Drama is looked at from two per­spectives: exploiting academic course book for dramatic purposes and applying a ‘let’s pretend’ approach in creative tasks. To achieve the aim, Konstantin Stanislavsky’s ‘me in the given circumstances’ and Michael Chekhov’s ‘improvisation’ and ‘the feel of the whole’ are introduced, which means learning both from the book and from action. The study reveals the positive effect of implementing these techniques in the language classroom and proves that stu­dents not only use the language but acquire it.

Keywords: text acquisition, freeing the language, fluency, creative activities, drama techniques.

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