Palechorou, Irene (2011) How can educational drama be used to facilitate the acquisition of Greek as an additional language by ethnic minority pupils in a Cypriot primary classroom? PhD thesis, University of Warwick.

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Abstract

Globalisation along with dramatic increases in immigration, have led to increased
levels of diversification in modern societies. The rapid change of the Cypriot society
to a multicultural and multilingual one has resulted in the presence of a multitude of
additional languages in Cypriot primary classrooms, reinforcing the concern for the
education of pupils whose first language is other than the dominant language of the
country. As a primary school teacher I am concerned in developing an effective
pedagogy that can support these pupils’ additional language learning. Thus, the
specific action research project at the heart of this research examines how
educational drama can be used to facilitate the acquisition of Greek as an additional
language by ethnic minority pupils in a Cypriot primary classroom.
Throughout this thesis language learning is understood as a social construct, a
continual, negotiated exchange of meanings, between the child and the environment,
drawing on social theories of language that stress the overarching importance of
cultural and social interactions for second language learning. Guided by theory, this
research argues for the inter-relationship between social and linguistic processes and
how specific drama strategies enable both one and the other. Evidence from this
research suggests that a dramatic context that reflects the cultural and linguistic
diversity of the classroom has a positive effect in GAL students’ affective variables,
and particularly the socio-cultural factors and the personal variables within oneself,
as well as the affect on L2 learning of the reflection of that self to other people.
Illustrative drama schemes, developed throughout the project, together with concrete
examples of children’s work are provided to represent more clearly how living
contexts and fictitious worlds can be created within which the different functions of
language can be identified and developed. At the same time unconventional and
anxiety-reducing strategies for assessing second language learning are presented.

Item Type:	Thesis or Dissertation (PhD)
Subjects:	L Education > LB Theory and practice of education > LB1501 Primary Education P Language and Literature > PA Classical philology
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH):	Greek language -- Study and teaching (Primary) -- Foreign speakers, Drama in education -- Greece
Official Date:	November 2011
Dates:	Date Event November 2011 Submitted
Institution:	University of Warwick
Theses Department:	Institute of Education
Thesis Type:	PhD
Publication Status:	Unpublished
Supervisor(s)/Advisor:	Winston, Joe, 1953-
Extent:	xii, 418 leaves
Language:	eng

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