What does another language do to the individual who learns and uses it? How is the individual's idea of self affected by the other language? This case study deals with these two overarching questions within the context of learning English as a foreign language through drama at a German upper-secondary school in South Tyrol. It investigates how the students see themselves in their roles, how they perceive themselves as users of the foreign language, and how they experience themselves in-role in another language. The results show how powerful drama-based activities can be and what educational impact they have.

Drawing on current theories of additional & foreign language learning this text illustrates through practical case studies how drama can be used to support the four key skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing.

Drama is increasingly being recognised as a valuable pedagogy for language learning as it can harness children‘s imaginations and stimulate their desire to communicate. Second Learning Language through Drama draws on current theories of additional and foreign language learning and illustrates through practical case studies how drama can be used to support the four key skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing. Drawing on the work of an international group of practitioners who are all highly experienced in using drama for the purpose of second language learning, the book clearly explains key drama conventions and strategies and outlines the innovative ways they have been used to create enjoyable and stimulating classroom activities that allow for multiple ways of learning. Throughout the book the emphasis is on making language learning accessible and relevant to children and young people through creative, physically active and playful approaches. The strategies described are all highly flexible and readily adaptable to different teaching contexts. Specific themes include: Using stories and drama to motivate learners at all levels Drama, language learning and identity Assessment opportunities through process drama Issues of language learning and cultural empowerment Digital storytelling Film & drama aesthetics Second Language Learning through Drama will be of great interest to those studying on undergraduate and postgraduate courses and will serve as a highly valuable text to practitioners looking to incorporate the approaches described into their lessons and classroom activities.

Drama pedagogy has been undergoing considerable changes over the last few years. The diversification of dramatic texts and performative practices – both analogue and digital – impacts on foreign language education and requires new forms of literacies for teachers and learners. This volume brings together papers that theorize and investigate current teaching perspectives at the nexus of drama-oriented and performative teaching and foreign language education.

This book explains why and how drama works as an enjoyable, social, and emotionally engaging way for young people and adults to learn and use a second language within imagined worlds and develop their 21st century skills. A flexible teachers' toolbox of drama strategies is offered and guidance on how to start using drama for learning with language students. Each strategy is presented in detail and used within the exemplar lessons. The authors refer to relevant educational, psychological and neurological theories and cite research that helps account for drama's efficacy in motivating talk and supporting second language acquisition, whilst developing important life skills such as communication, collaboration, critical thinking, creativity and resilience.

Drama pedagogy has been undergoing considerable changes over the last few years. The diversification of dramatic texts and performative practices – both analogue and digital – impacts on foreign language education and requires new forms of literacies for teachers and learners. This volume brings together papers that theorize and investigate current teaching perspectives at the nexus of drama-oriented and performative teaching and foreign language education. Christiane Lütge holds the Chair of Teaching English as a Foreign Language at the University of Munich. Her research interests include digital literacy and literary learning as well as inter- and transcultural learning and global citizenship education in EFL. Max von Blanckenburg is postdoctoral researcher at the Chair of Teaching English as a Foreign Language at the University of Munich. His research centres on the role and potential of rhetoric in foreign language education, on literary and performative teaching as well as on digital literacies.

In recent years the contribution of drama to second language learning has grown internationally as a field of interest to both teachers and researchers. The potential for drama to provide strong social contexts for learning, to provide opportunities for the learner to embody the target language and to motivate students’ desire to communicate have been increasingly recognized as fruitful areas of inquiry. This book provides a brief historical perspective on the development of this interest before presenting a range of examples drawn from recent research projects led by those who are themselves experienced as drama and second language teachers. Drawing on a variety of theoretical perspectives and deploying a range of methodological processes, the chapters present evidence as to how and why drama can impact on student learning in a range of classrooms, from the primary school through to undergraduate level. Focusing on issues such as questioning in role, the professional development of second language teachers interested in using drama, and the role of artistry when applying drama as pedagogy for second language learning, they provide an up to date picture of contemporary practices and an acute analysis of both the possibilities and the challenges facing researchers in the field. This book was originally published as a special issue of Research in Drama Education: The Journal of Applied Theatre and Performance.