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.

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.

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