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Essay / Using Drama in ESL Classes
Using drama in ESL classes or in play provides many benefits to students. Not only can drama help students improve their academic performance, but it also benefits their development in five areas holistically: physical development, emotional development, intellectual development, social development, and moral development. Here I will focus on how to develop children's language. as well as their aesthetic values using the adapted scenario “The Ogre and the Three Little Goats” through theater. There are many ways the teacher can use drama in the language classroom to help students develop their language as well as their aesthetic values. Drama activities such as storytelling, reader's theater, simulation and role play as well as dramatization of stories can be carried out by the teacher to facilitate students' language learning and encourage aesthetic sense in children. According to Maley (2005), theater integrates language. skills in a natural way. Attentive listening is a key element. Spontaneous verbal expression is an integral part of most activities; and many of them require reading...