The Benefits of Drama in the Albanian English Language Teaching Classroom: A Case Study (Published)
This study aimed to present the benefits of plays in the English language teaching classroom. Over the last few years, the use of literature as a fundamental component and source of authentic texts in the learning context has grown rapidly all over the world, especially after the introduction of Communicative Language Teaching in 1970s and 1980s. The 1990s brought about a novel approach to language teaching in the Albanian classroom. In 2018, the Ministry of Education in Albania published A Curriculum Manual for Foreign Language Teaching, issuing a guideline for the teaching of foreign languages and aiming to broadly apply the Communicative Language Teaching Method and play activities. Of the literary genres, drama is distinctive in its use in fostering the learning of English as a second language in an ELT classroom. The didactic advantages to the use of a play are as follows: it stimulates the imagination and promotes creative thinking, develops critical thinking skills, promotes language development, heightens effective listening skills, strengthens comprehension and learning retention, increases empathy and awareness of others, fosters peer respect and group cooperation, reinforces positive self-concepts, and provides teachers with a fresh perspective on teaching. Understanding the role of plays in Albanian schools is the key to an effective teaching experience. A quantitative approach was used in this study to examine the results and observe the reliability of the findings. The method used to collect the necessary data was a questionnaire with closed-ended questions.
Keywords: Albania, English language teaching, Literature, communicative language teaching method, plays
Improving Language Proficiency and General Knowledge: A Case for Free Voluntary Reading. (Published)
Free voluntary reading is just as its name states. It is free reading; free in the sense that students chooses what material they want to read, choose to read or not to read and to report in class on the reading they have done or not. It is purely reading with no strings attached. This is a strategy voiced by Stephen Krashen and quite a good number of language educators have decided it is worth a short. Research reports support the assertion that those who read more do better in a wide variety of tests. They become better users of language and have a wider horizon of life. They are also reported to have a greater general knowledge. It is in view of these that this paper recommends FVR as a probable solution to the lamentably poor standard of English in schools and the general poor academic outcomes.
Keywords: Academic Outcomes, English, Free Reading, Language, Literature, Student
Texts, Contexts And Motivational Strategies In Teaching Literature To Saudi Students (Published)
This paper has focused on the three crucial issues of teaching literature among the undergraduate students of Saudi Arabia. First it has explored the selection criteria of the literary texts: which texts are the best at tapping the motivations of the students. This selection is important to create “a highly motivating, amusing and lively lesson” (Hismanoglu, 2005, p. 65). Secondly along with eliciting contexts from the students, the study has reviewed the appropriateness of the major academically established contexts (for example, historical, formal, reader response, postcolonial etc.). It has emphasized that choosing the appropriate context for analysis is vital to avoid Saudi students’ alienation with the “methods and styles which are unorthodox and incomprehensible, when compared to their upbringing” (Springsteen, 2014, p. 11). Since the class room activities are often found “different, sometimes challenging, and often marginalizing” (Shaw, 2009, p. 225), the article has identified some relevant and effective motivational strategies that work in consonance with the students
Keywords: Literary Contexts, Literature, Motivational Strategies, Teaching Literature, language skills
FICTITIOUS CHARACTERS IN THE CLASSROOM- USING LITERARY CHARACTERS IN TEACHING ENGLISH LANGUAGE (Published)
The aim of this study is to explore the ways in which literary characters can be used in teaching English to speakers of other languages. The study is an interpretive qualitative in nature. The findings indicate that there are numerous ways to make use of literary characters in English language lessons. There are a lot of activities that can be used to develop students’ writing, others enhance reading skills. However, all these activities can be utilized to practice and develop listening and speaking as well. So they have to be as interactive as possible. For this reason class work is supposed to be conducted in pairs or groups. Some activities are in a form of interviews, others produce posters or letters. The ones compiled in this article are but prototypes subject to adjustment, modification, simplification or a combination of several ideas, so as to suit different teaching and learning situations. The main recommendation, however, is not to let characters go without being exploited to the maximum for the benefit of the language learner
Keywords: Classroom Activities, Literary Characters, Literature, Teaching English