drama techniques and communicative competence: a workshop

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Universidad Austral de Chile Facultad de Filosofía y Humanidades Escuela de Pedagogía en Comunicación en Lengua Inglesa Lead Advisor: PhD. Amalia Ortiz de Zárate Fernández Drama Techniques and Communicative Competence: A Workshop conducted with First Year Students of the ELT Training Programme at Universidad Austral de Chile Seminario de Tesis para optar al Título de Profesor en Comunicación en Lengua Inglesa y al Grado de Licenciado en Educación Consuelo Amanda Avilés Parra Victoria Francisca Martínez Villagra This Teaching Proposal is part of the DID-S-2014-22 Project Verbal and Non-verbal Communication Valdivia Chile 2015

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Page 1: Drama Techniques and Communicative Competence: A Workshop

Universidad Austral de Chile

Facultad de Filosofía y Humanidades

Escuela de Pedagogía en Comunicación en Lengua Inglesa

Lead Advisor:

PhD. Amalia Ortiz de Zárate Fernández

Drama Techniques and Communicative Competence: A Workshop conducted with

First Year Students of the ELT Training Programme at Universidad Austral de

Chile

Seminario de Tesis para optar al Título de Profesor en Comunicación en Lengua Inglesa

y al Grado de Licenciado en Educación

Consuelo Amanda Avilés Parra

Victoria Francisca Martínez Villagra

This Teaching Proposal is part of the DID-S-2014-22 Project Verbal and Non-verbal

Communication

Valdivia – Chile

2015

Page 2: Drama Techniques and Communicative Competence: A Workshop

Acknowledgments

Thanks to all the people who supported us throughout this university process. They

know who they are and we are tremendously grateful.

Love,

Consuelo Avilés and Victoria Martínez

Page 3: Drama Techniques and Communicative Competence: A Workshop

Table of Contents

Abstract i

List of Figures ii

List of Tables iii

Introduction 1

Antecedents 4

Chapter 1: Theoretical Framework 5

1.1 State of the Art 5

1.1.1 The use of Drama Techniques in ELT Training Programmes in

the World

5

1.1.2 The use of Drama Techniques in ELT Training Programmes in

Chile

7

1.2 Drama Techniques 9

1.3 Communication 10

1.3.1 Communicative Competence 10

1.3.1.1 Definition 10

1.3.1.2 Effectiveness 12

1.3.2 Verbal Communication 14

1.3.3 Non-verbal Communication 16

1.3.3.1 Dimensions 17

Chapter 2: Procedures and Methods 21

2.1 Type of Research 21

2.2 Subjects of Study 22

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2.3 Data Collection Methods 23

2.3.1 Observation through video recordings 23

2.3.2 Questionnaires 24

2.3.3 Description of the Workshop 25

2.4 Criteria of Analysis 28

2.5 Ethical Considerations 29

Chapter 3: Corpus 30

3.1 Results per data collection tool 30

3.1.1 Questionnaires 30

3.1.2 Video Recordings 36

3.2 Discussion 40

3.2.1 Body Language and Voice Projection 41

3.2.2 Communicative Competence 44

Conclusions 49

References

Appendices

Informed Consent A

Questionnaire I B

Questionnaire II C

Observation Guideline D

Workshop Planning E

Description of the exercises F

Page 5: Drama Techniques and Communicative Competence: A Workshop

ii

List of Figures

Figure Page

1. How comfortable do you feel when speaking in front of an audience? 31

2. Situations experienced when speaking in front of an audience 32

3. Exercises done before an oral presentation 32

4. Do you know what to improve to reinforce your Communicative Skills? 33

5. How comfortable do you feel when speaking in front of an audience? 34

6. Do you ever experience any of the following situations/conditions when

speaking in front of audience?

35

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iii

List of Tables

Table Page

1. Subject 1 36

2. Subject 2 37

3. Subject 3 39

Page 7: Drama Techniques and Communicative Competence: A Workshop

i

Abstract

In the UACh ELT Training Programme it is very likely to find First Year Students who

struggle with the English Language and are sometimes embarrassed or uncomfortable when

speaking in front of an audience. In the field of Teaching, these difficulties should not exist

if one aims at being a competent and effective communicator. Acknowledging the benefits

of Drama Techniques, the researchers implemented a Workshop on Body Language and

Voice Projection to help these students improve their Communicative Competence through

the use of these Techniques.

In order to carry out the study, the investigators created, adapted and conducted the

Workshop; they recorded two presentations of the students, one before the implementation

of the Workshop, and one after. Along with this, the trainees answered two questionnaires,

also before and after the Workshop. The results evidenced that most of the students felt

they were not completely competent in speaking skills, since they experienced several

difficulties for communicating effectively. In the same fashion, the results of the Workshop

made it clear that they improved in terms of the use of their Non-verbal aspects, which

were extensively worked throughout the sessions. In a nutshell, it can be stated that the use

of Drama Techniques in the Body Language and Voice Projection Workshop helped

trainees overcome difficulties and feel more comfortable when speaking in front of an

audience.

Keywords: Drama Techniques, Communicative Competence, First Year Students, ELT

Training Programme, Body Language, Voice Projection

Page 8: Drama Techniques and Communicative Competence: A Workshop

DRAMA TECHNIQUES AND COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCE 1

Introduction

It is well known that the use of Drama Techniques brings several benefits when applied to the

teaching of English. Most of the success lies on the capacity that these techniques have to create

real situations in which the language has to be used and to provide a secure environment for

developing speech. According to Maley and Duff (2005), Drama Techniques boost self-

awareness, self-esteem and confidence, which can be truly advantageous for students who are

learning a Second or a Foreign Language and tend to feel insecure when communicating orally.

As stated by many authors (Maley and Duff, 1982; Mamdouh, 2000; Bräuer, 2002; Chauhan,

2004; Maley and Duff, 2005; Boudreault, 2010, Zyoud, 2010), these techniques can be used at

all stages in English Teaching; for instance, in Primary, Secondary and even at a University

level. Having said this, it might be possible to establish that Drama Techniques can successfully

be applied in ELT Training Programmes. A clear example of this is the ELT Training

Programme offered by Universidad Austral de Chile. In essence, the nature of this Programme is

to instruct students to become competent teachers who possess a high level of communicative

skills (Perfil de Egreso, Facultad de Filosofía y Humanidades, UACh Website, 2014).

In relation to the Programme, its current curriculum presents four Drama-related elective

courses throughout the eight terms. However, they are not compulsory, meaning that not all

students enrol in these courses. Unfortunately, according to the study carried out by Martin and

Lobos: Drama Techniques in the English as a Foreign Language Teacher Training Programme

at Universidad Austral de Chile: A Perceptional Case Study (2013), most of the ones who

actually take these electives are more skilled in the matter and feel more comfortable with

speaking in front of an audience, and therefore, with Drama Techniques activities. which

suggests that they need them the less. By the same token, students who do not feel capable of

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DRAMA TECHNIQUES AND COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCE 2

working with these techniques tend not to consider these courses within their choices. Hence,

they never get a chance of being involved with Drama Techniques activities, which are proven to

be useful tools to develop both personal and professional aspects of an individual, as well as

speaking skills.

Taking into consideration what was previously stated, it is possible to highlight that little

research has been done in order to show the impact that the offered Drama-related courses can

have on the students of the ELT Training Programme as a whole. Likewise, it has not been

researched how these courses can help trainees achieve a high level of Communicative

Competence, effectiveness, use of appropriate body gestures and voice projection.

In order to carry out this task, the present research project is structured in the following

manner. Chapter 1 shows the Theoretical Framework regarding the use of Drama

Techniques/Drama-related courses in ELT Training Programmes in the World and Chile. In

addition, it exposes the main concepts used in this study: Drama Techniques, Communicative

Competence, Effectiveness, Verbal and Non-verbal Communication. The clarification of these

topics drives the research towards having a theoretical basis on which to construct the Workshop

on Body Language and Voice Projection and subsequently, the analysis of the results obtained

after conducting it.

Chapter 2 talks about the Methodology chosen and applied to this investigation. Here, the

type of research and an explanation of each tool (the Workshop itself, Observation through

Video Recordings and Questionnaires 1 & 2) is given. As well, the subjects of this study are

depicted in their condition of being First Year Students of the ELT Training Programme at

UACh and, therefore, as providers of valuable information regarding the topic under

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DRAMA TECHNIQUES AND COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCE 3

investigation. Finally, a description of the criteria used to analyse the results of the study – Body

Language and Voice Projection and Communicative Competence – are exposed.

Chapter 3 shows the results gathered from the Data Collection Tools and the discussion of all

the relevant outcomes in the light of the Theoretical Framework, the Objectives and the Criteria

chosen for this study. This section critically discusses the main results in contrast with the

researchers’ appreciations of the changes experienced by the subjects throughout the process.

Following, at the end of this research, the major findings are summarised and the conclusion

is developed. In this final section, researchers also comment on the assumptions that emanated

from the previous Chapter. Finally, in the Appendix section, the planning of the Workshop is

provided as well as the description of each exercise used in the sessions and their modifications

to fit the context in which it was conducted.

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DRAMA TECHNIQUES AND COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCE 4

Antecedents

Research Question

The research question this study aims to answer is: What are the changes regarding

Communicative Competence that First Year Students of the UACh ELT Training Programme

show after attending a Workshop on Body Language and Voice Projection?

General Objective

To identify the changes regarding Communicative Competence after the Body Language and

Voice Projection Workshop.

Specific Objectives

1. To identify the main problems students have when speaking in front of an audience.

2. To implement a Body Language and Voice Projection Workshop for Students of First

Year of the UACh ELT Training Programme.

3. To recollect students’ opinions regarding Communicative Competence after the Body

Language and Voice Projection Workshop.

4. To document students’ changes regarding Communicative Competence after attending

the Body Language and Voice Projection Workshop.

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DRAMA TECHNIQUES AND COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCE 5

Chapter 1: Theoretical Framework

This Chapter focused on recollecting information regarding the use of Drama Techniques in

ELT Training Programmes and their existence in the World and in Chile, as well as defining the

Drama Techniques and mentioning their benefits. In addition, the concepts of Communicative

Competence and Effectiveness were defined and Communication was divided into Verbal and

Non-verbal, and in this latter one, Kinesics and Vocalics were the main topics.

1.1 State of the Art

This first section focused on showing the State of the Art regarding Drama Techniques and

their relation to ELT Programmes around the World and in Chile. On the one hand, an

explanation of how Drama Techniques are being used in a Foreign Language context was given.

On the other hand, when talking about Chilean reality, a description of Drama Techniques

related courses was exposed, acknowledging the only University in the country that offers these

types of courses. In this sense, a detailed depiction of these courses was given, focusing on the

benefits that bring for trainees who decide to take them.

1.1.1 The use of Drama Techniques in ELT Training Programmes in the World.

The use of Drama Techniques has become significantly more integrated in the field of SL and

FL Teaching in the past few years. As claimed by Stern (n.d.) “Drama is commonly used in ESL

and foreign language classes for developing communicative competence, especially oral

language skills” (p. 207). Furthermore, this awareness of the features these techniques have as a

tool in education has been proven beneficial not only for students but also for teachers and it can

consequently lead to a stronger development of the intrinsic motivation in an individual.

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DRAMA TECHNIQUES AND COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCE 6

In the field of Language Teaching the role of a teacher is fundamental. Accordingly, one

might infer that ELT Training Programmes should have Drama-related courses available in their

curriculum, or at least courses related to the development of body language and voice to enhance

high levels of Communicative Competence in trainees. Nonetheless, when examining other

worldwide Programmes in detail, one realises that most of the Drama-related courses offered in

Universities are not connected to ELT Training Programmes but to the teaching of Drama or Art.

Taking the example of the United Kingdom; there are 14 universities which offer 19

postgraduate PGCE Drama teaching degrees and 78 universities which offer 233 postgraduate

Drama degrees, but none of them has the two disciplines of Language Teaching and Drama

Techniques together (Postgraduate Search, 2014).

By the same token, it was possible to find only one university which imparts a degree course

on ELT that includes Drama. The University of Warwick offers a course that involves the study

of Drama Techniques applied to Education. On this matter, Dr Steve Mann, Joint Course Leader

claimed that:

Our course combines recent developments in drama education, second language

acquisition and ELT methodology. It provides an innovative approach to teaching drama

as a key way of promoting learning and language acquisition in more creative and

personalised ways. There is a balance between the study and practice of drama and ELT

as academic and practical subjects and you can access the facilities and staff in two

excellent departments. (University of Warwick website, 2014)

Despite the two disciplines are together, this is a postgraduate course, which means that one

should have previous studies on ELT to be eligible to take it. Thus, it was encountered that it

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DRAMA TECHNIQUES AND COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCE 7

does not exist an ELT Training Programme involving the usage of Drama Techniques in their

curriculum.

1.1.2 The use of Drama Techniques in ELT Training Programmes in Chile.

In Chile, the use of Drama Techniques in the field of Language Teaching has not yet become

a popular tool. Moreover, the use of these techniques in courses for students of ELT Training

Programmes is almost non-existent. As claimed by Martin and Lobos (2013), “from the 58

Universities that are in the country, at least 35 offer an EFL teacher training programme. Out of

these 35 universities, only two exhibit courses related to [Drama Techniques] or bodily

expression” (p. 10). Despite Drama Techniques have proven to help students develop their use of

body language and mind, the courses offered in Chilean Universities have not yet demonstrated

their importance.

Nevertheless, in the case of students of the ELT Training Programme at Universidad Austral

de Chile, the four elective Drama-related courses are, according to the UACh Website (2014),

ILIN 123 Storytelling, ILIN 109 Telling Stories through the Body, ILIN 223 Teaching English

through Drama, and ILIN 154 Dramatics.

The first course – ILIN 123 Storytelling – is mainly a practical one. As indicated in the

syllabus, it aims at “[developing] students’ skill to understand and to orally express short stories

in English using appropriate linguistic components that are used in real contexts in oral speech”

(Guarda, 2014, p. 1)1. Moreover, it integrates knowledge and techniques to develop trainee

teachers’ use of voice as well as the inclusion of innovative methodologies to teach a language

(Guarda, 2014).

1 “…desarrolla en el estudiante la habilidad para comprender y expresar oralmente historias cortas en inglés

hacienda uso adecuado de los componentes lingüísticos propios del discurso oral en un contexto real” (Guarda,

2014, p. 1)

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DRAMA TECHNIQUES AND COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCE 8

The second course – ILIN 109 Telling Stories through the Body – targets to the same abilities

that the previous one with the difference that students must teach a linguistic content in a

Primary School. In order to do this, trainees must go through a series of assignments in which

they have to be constantly aware of the use of their body and voice. As a final task, they should

be able to present a lesson proposal based on a short story; they must select and adapt a story,

create didactic material and suggest activities to teach a linguistic component using the story as

its foundation (Ortiz de Zárate and Guarda, 2014). The features that this course gives to students

are related to Vocal and Body Language Competence.

The following course – ILIN 223 Teaching English through Drama – is focused on “the

practical application of drama and ludic techniques for the acquisition of a foreign language”

(Ortiz de Zárate and Guarda, 2014, p.1)2. Unlike the previous courses, ILIN 223 Teaching

English through Drama presents a requisite for students to enrol (ILIN 113: Language III). This

requirement exists due to the necessity of having a good and solid level of the English Language

in order to teach a 60-minute lesson in a real classroom in Secondary Schools (Ortíz de Zárate

and Guarda, 2014).

The last course – ILIN 154 Dramatics – presents the opportunity for students to perform a

classical piece of work by Shakespeare. The purpose of this elective is to “[practically apply]

drama techniques in the interpretation of playwrights and the teaching of a foreign language”

(Ortiz de Zárate, 2014, p. 1)3. Like the previous course ILIN 154 Dramatics has prerequisites. It

only allows students who have already passed ILIN 114: Language IV due to the complexity

2 “Aplicación práctica de técnicas dramáticas y lúdicas para la adquisición de una lengua extranjera” (Ortíz de

Zárate and Guarda, 2014, p. 1) 3 “Aplicación práctica de técnicas dramáticas en la interpretación de textos teatrales y la enseñanza de una lengua

extranjera” (Ortíz de Zárate, 2014, p.1)

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DRAMA TECHNIQUES AND COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCE 9

which they have to deal with when adapting and performing an Elizabethan play in its original

language.

These four courses are designed in direct correlation to the students’ development of the

English Language and Communicative Skills, for they are meant to be taken in order from the

third term of the Programme onwards.

1.2 Drama Techniques

This following section focused on explaining what Drama Techniques are and the main

advantages they can provide. As exposed above, Drama has different characteristics which

benefit students and teachers in their learning-teaching process. It was also possible to go beyond

this concept and to remark that Drama subconsciously exists on everyone. In words of Wessels

(1987):

Drama is doing. Drama is being. Drama is such a normal thing. It is something that

we all engage in daily when faced with difficult situations. You get up in the

morning with a bad headache or an attack of depression, yet you face the day and

cope with other people, pretending nothing is wrong. You have an important

meeting or an interview coming up, so you “talk through” the issues with yourself

beforehand and decide how to present a confident, cheerful face, what to wear,

what to do with your hands, and so on (p. 7).

Moreover, it can be inferred that Drama provides the most natural and comfortable environment

when using communication in any situation.

Considering that being a teacher involves having high levels of Communicative Competence,

it can be pointed out that including Drama-related courses in an ELT Training Programme and

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DRAMA TECHNIQUES AND COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCE 10

practice the techniques in the classroom can be of great help for trainees and for their future

students. As established by Maley and Duff (2005):

[drama] integrates verbal and non-verbal aspects of communication, thus bringing

together both mind and body, and restoring the balance between physical and

intellectual aspects of learning (…) it draws upon both cognitive and affective

domains, thus restoring the importance of feeling as well as thinking (p.1).

In other words, Drama in ELT Training Programmes could provide a safe means for becoming

more competent in communicating and engaging trainees in challenging yet relaxing lessons.

Meanwhile, they could develop Linguistic and Social Skills, which will be needed in their future

practice as teachers.

1.3 Communication

This section focused on presenting and defining the term Communicative Competence as well

as relating it to Effectiveness. Additionally, both Verbal and Non-verbal Communication were

displayed as important aspects of competent communicator. Finally, two dimensions of Non-

verbal Communication were presented: Kinesics and Vocalics.

1.3.1 Communicative competence.

Definition.

The term “Communicative Competence” was coined in mid twentieth century by sociolinguist

Dell Hymes (1972) and it became known as a response to the vision of Noam Chomsky at the

time. That is, Hymes criticised the idea of Competence and Performance as separated aspects of

one’s communicative enactment and proposed the idea of Communicative Competence.

Likewise, he defined it “not only as an inherent grammatical competence but also as the ability

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DRAMA TECHNIQUES AND COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCE 11

to use [it] in a variety of communicative situations, thus bringing the sociolinguistic perspective

into Chomsky’s linguistic view of competence” (Bagarić & Djigunović, 2007, p. 2). In other

words, he pointed out that Communicative Competence implicates the combination of

grammatical utterances in contextualised situations and the use of communicative features that a

person blends in order to make itself understood.

Furthermore, one could declare that the notion of Communicative Competence has been in

constant change since its first allusion. Nowadays, Communicative Competence is a valuable

aspect of a person’s ability to communicate effectively in various situations and it includes the

function of several dimensions working as a whole. According to Jin (2008), “[it] involves

principles of appropriateness and a readiness on the part of the learner to use relevant strategies

in coping with certain language situations” (p. 85). Equally important, Morreale et al. (2007)

depicted the concept as “the extent to which people are effective in accomplishing what they

want through communication” (p. 30). That is to say, it aims at how a person can display himself

in a Communicative Act and what elements he uses to express his intention.

As it was noted, Communicative Competence encompasses a series of functions that aid the

act of interaction. Notwithstanding, one cannot overlook the audience to which the message is

being directed. In this sense, “communication and communicators are judged on many

characteristics, such as satisfaction, clarity, attractiveness, efficiency, and emotional warmth.

However, such characteristics matter only to the extent that they contribute to the

appropriateness and effectiveness of the encounter” (Morreale et al. 2007, p. 31). In short, it is

possible to say that there are both linguistic and external factors that make the act understandable

and effective in meaning.

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DRAMA TECHNIQUES AND COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCE 12

Effectiveness.

The main aim of communication is to effectively achieve one’s goals and convey meaning. In

order to do this, the sender interacts with the receiver at many levels. There are several features

that might interfere in this act, and controlling one’s own interaction defines the

communicational environment. According to Morreale et al. (2007), “effectiveness describes the

extent to which communication accomplishes valued outcomes. We all pursue goals, objectives,

intentions, and outcomes in our interactions with others” (p. 30). If a person’s message is

effective, then it means that his/her audience has understood the message due to the sender’s use

of strategies to make them so. The control of the communicator over the mass of audience is a

primary goal in the process. In words of Collins (2009),

Audiences decide whether to accept or reject your message from the moment you enter a

room, gathering impressions about you and your message by observing everything from

body language and facial expressions to eye contact and voice. How you handle these

nonverbal factor (“signal behaviors”) can make or break your performance (p. 11).

Hence, the control of the audience must be one of the aspects to consider from the very

beginning. If this is not achieved, effectiveness can be lost.

More importantly, becoming a better and effective communicator has been established as a

requirement for all types of jobs and professions. Concerning this matter, Chambers (2002)

mentioned that:

The responsibility for communicating well with people of differing functions,

personalities, authority, and influence demands that scientific and technical professionals

continually improve their communication skills – skills that in the past were not

necessarily held in high regard, for yesterday’s successful scientific and technical

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DRAMA TECHNIQUES AND COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCE 13

professionals were not called upon to be beacon of communication. This does not mean

that the responsibility for effective communication lies solely on your shoulders. On the

contrary; everyone has the obligation to increase his or her communication skills (p. 7).

In order to do this, communicators have to start working on the basis of the process of

communication: one self. Kelly and Watson (1989) commented that sometimes people are

ineffective because a certain situation makes them feel nervous and less confident. Hence,

confidence plays an important role in the communicative act and it could lead to a better

exposition of a message, achieving effectiveness and therefore, becoming a competent

communicator. In words of Gabor (2010):

More than 75 percent of adults characterize themselves as “shy” in one or more social

and business situations. In fact, many people are not just shy about public speaking,

but are terrified to enter a roomful of strangers, meet new people, and star

conversations (as cited in the Introduction).

It is then possible to state that confidence can diminish one’s skills and performance in the Act of

Communication.

Furthermore, how a person feels and the attitude he/she presents when facing communication

influences the whole act (Visser, as cited in Pour-Mohammadi, 2012). According to Kelly and

Watson (1989), “if we feel good about ourselves, we are likely to convey that as we speak” (p.

13). Therefore, controlling one’s emotions and thoughts should be a predominant task before

engaging in any interaction. Concerning this point, Gabor (2010) claimed:

You may not realize it, but how you talk to yourself plays a significant role in your level

of shyness. When that little voice inside your head starts planting those old seeds of

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doubt, your nervous reactions are not far behind. This deflating “self-talk” depletes your

confidence and reinforces shy behaviour (no page).

To put it differently, confidence can be shaken by many factors. However, the attitude towards

the self seems to be the most significant one. In order to improve one’s attitude and confidence,

Kelly and Watson (1989) said that “using relaxation, for example, may not only reduce your

apprehension but also improve your attitude. Your attitude may improve because you feel more

relaxed”. In the same fashion, Drama Techniques can be of great help to boost a communicators’

attitude and confidence when speaking in front of an audience. If effectiveness is to be achieved,

communicators have to start building their confidence and Communicative Skills in order to

achieve their communicative goals.

1.3.2 Verbal communication.

It is a truth universally acknowledged that communication is essential to the human existence,

being verbal interaction the most recognised form. It is also important to mention that

communication is a never-ending process which involves several units of language working as a

whole in order to transmit a message and convey meaning. In words of Krauss (2002), “[it]

occurs when signals carry information-bearing messages between a source (or sender) and a

destination (or receiver)” (p.1). Similarly, Sperber and Wilson (1986) consider communication as

“a process involving two information-processing devices. One device modifies the physical

environment of the other. As a result, the second device constructs representations similar to the

representations already stored in the first device” (p. 1). For instance, a teacher says something to

a student, who will ideally receive the message and interpret it in order to understand a similar

notion that the one the teacher meant to convey. Nevertheless, defining communication as a set

of codes, which needs to be constantly encoded and decoded “[does not] do justice to the

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DRAMA TECHNIQUES AND COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCE 15

subtlety of the process [in which people communicate]” (Krauss, 2002, p.5). In other words,

communication should not be seen only as a verbal transfer of messages but as a more complex

system that requires several other features apart from the linguistic aspect.

In addition, verbal messages are said to have “both a denotative meaning, referred to as the

dictionary or literal meaning of a word, and a connotative meaning, referred to as the personal

response to a word” (Myers and Anderson, 2008, p. 186). Thus, language and the effectiveness

of communication depends not only on what is being said (message itself) but also on other

factors such as the intention, how it is delivered and how it is interpreted by the receiver,

etcetera. With regards to what was exposed, it can be stated that language and communication

are complex systems which cannot be taken for granted when effectiveness of speech is

expected. Concerning this process, Krauss (2002) established that:

Close examination of what actually is said in conversations reveals that it is seldom an

orderly process in which participants alternate in the roles of speaker and listener. Rather,

sentences often trail off inconclusively or are left dangling incomplete, listeners interrupt

to ask questions, interject comments and finish sentences, topics change abruptly and

unpredictably, and what is left unsaid may convey more than what is explicitly stated (p.

10).

As a result, it can be said that Verbal Communication is directly related to the search for

meaning by two or more individuals involved in a conversational context. Also, the author

remarked the value of what is “left unsaid” and how this can help the communicative act convey

its meaning through the use of other elements that were not encountered in the concept of Verbal

Communication.

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1.3.3 Non-verbal communication.

As previously exposed, communication works based on several variables. Moreover, it is

mainly conveyed by verbal and non-verbal messages. In words of Burgoon and Saine (1978)

Non-verbal Communication can be defined as “those attributes or actions of humans, other than

the use of words themselves, which have socially shared meaning, are intentionally sent or

interpreted as intentional, are consciously sent or consciously received, and have the potential for

feedback from the receiver” (p. 9). Likewise, regarding the previous definition, Mottet et al.

(2004) said that “verbal messages function to convey the content of the message whereas

nonverbal messages function to establish the relationship” (p. 29). Thus, verbal and non-verbal

interactions are directly connected and both help communication. Despite the fact that verbal and

non-verbal aspects are vital, Verbal Communication is usually seen as the prominent component.

However, non-verbal elements play an important role in the process of communication. In fact,

Samovar et al. (2009) mentioned that “babies start comprehending words at around six months

of age, yet understand nonverbal communication well before that time” (p. 244). This being said,

it is possible to observe that non-verbal elements are present from the very beginning in one’s

life and cannot be separated in the act of communication.

More important is the fact that both types of communication consist of sub-elements. In the

case of non-verbal they can identified as “facial expression, eye contact, tone of voice, physical

touch, appearance, body/posture, proximity, physical gestures – hand and foot movements, head

positions” (Adair, 2009, p. 10). Consequently, one can infer that non-verbal elements are as

essential as the verbal ones, and that the correct intention when using them can trigger

effectiveness of language and meaning.

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Furthermore, the significance of Non-verbal Communication can be seen not only in language

but also in one’s identity and how a person can speak and express himself through this latter

feature. In words of Andersen (1999):

Our sex, clothing style, race, age, ethnicity, stature, body type, and mood all reveal our

physical persona. Right or wrong, receivers of this initial physical information make

attributions about our attractiveness, competence, moral character, personality, social

status, and warmth and friendliness (p. 31).

In other words, non-verbal signs can convey meaning despite its form of expression; be it

language, clothing style, sex, social status, and so on. A similar concept of Non-verbal

Communication was presented by Brown (2011), where non-verbal aspects were attributed to

different functions depending on their intention; “[they can make] first impressions, persuasion,

regulating conversation, and clarifying meaning” (p. 14). Hence, Brown stated that even the lack

of use of non-verbal messages portrays meaning, “laughing, crying, smiling, etc. may also

provide a universal language system because all cultures understand these behaviors” (p. 14).

Hereafter, the prominence of non-verbal elements can expose various functions and meanings

without the necessity of verbal texts. However, it is also essential to remark that in ordinary

situations, it would be much more effective and understandable if they were both used with the

same intention.

Dimensions.

Kinesics.

In the world of Non-verbal Communication, Kinesics is usually seen as a synonym of it.

However, this aspect is just one of the numerous dimensions that are part of an interaction.

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According to Samovar et al (2009), “kinesic cues are those visible body shifts and movements

that can send messages about your attitude toward the other person, your emotional state, and

your desire to control your environment” (p. 255). That is to say, Kinesics represents the portion

of body movements which help communication express its meaning. As stated by Waiflein

(2013), “the word kinesics is derived from the Greek word kinsis, meaning motion. Kinesics

encompasses nonverbal communicatory messages, such as posture, gestures, and facial

expressions, as a method to convey information and emotion” (p. 3). Therefore, the actions of

one’s body could provoke different reactions on the receiver depending on one’s intention.

Accordingly, it was claimed that “through kinesics we display our emotional state, regulate

our interactions with others, emphasize a key idea or point during discussion, adapt to the

situation, or send a message without having to speak” (Ekman & Friesen, 1969, as cited in Myers

and Anderson, 2008, p. 188). As a result, non-verbal messages are powerful elements of

language, which, either conscious or subconscious, could provoke different patterns of

understanding in the act of communication. As said by Poyatos (2002):

Postures of the whole body, of the legs, trunk, hands or eyelids alone, are static (but

moving through a manner), conscious or unconscious, equally ritualized and, as with

manners, less utilized as part of an expressive repertoire, although, as with gestures and

manners, they communicate gender, social status, cultural background, mood, [among

others] (p. 196).

This being said, one could state that not only does Kinesics emphasise one’s intention when

communicating but also one’s body movements can actually communicate emotions, hidden

thoughts and attitudes (Benzer, 2012). With this idea in mind, one can highlight the importance

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of being aware of one’s body movements when developing interaction and interpretation of

someone’s body language.

Vocalics.

As well as the ‘body and its movement’, the ‘voice’ plays an essential part in one’s

communicative intention. This oral feature is in charge of reproducing and sharing the message

that a person wants to convey and, consequently, helps communication happen. Conversely,

Vocalics is more than repetition of words to form an interaction unit. In view of that, ‘Vocalics’

must not be confused with the oral message produced when one speaks, but seen as all the other

vocal properties comprised in the act of language transfer. In words of Brown (2011):

Vocalics or the study of vocal sound that are not language includes accents,

emphasis, pitch, rate of speech, pauses or other vocalizations that add meaning to verbal

communication (Moore, Hickson, & Stacks, 2010). Vocalics also includes [non-verbal]

characteristics such as laughing, sighing, yawning, crying, and vocal segregates such as

“ah,” “uh-huh,” and “um.” (Andersen, 1999). Andersen also claims that [Vocalics] is

important to the accurate interpretation of [Verbal Communication] (p. 18).

Further, Vocalics also contains elements such as tempo, pauses, inflections and even silence

(Argyle, 1999, as cited in Brown, 2011). Indeed, this dimension of communication comes to take

more relevance if referred to the sphere of Language Teaching, due to the requirement of being

in constant use of the voice. Subsequently, a language teacher needs to make use of his voice in

order to create a link between the students and the target language. Put is simply, if students do

not have access to the target language because their teacher does not set the example by using it,

it is not very likely that they will acquire the appropriate pronunciation or intonation.

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Finally, it is vital to remark that one must be aware of the properties of Vocalics; “fluency is

signal behavior that your audience uses, right or wrong, as a measure of your personal

confidence, preparedness, and even competence” (Collins, 2009, p. 19). The awareness of the

vocal elements and the correct use of them could increase one’s performance in the Act of

Communication and, consequently, show the receivers how competent and confident a person is.

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Chapter 2: Procedures and Methods

This Chapter was focused on describing the methodology applied in this project. Firstly, a

description of the type of research was given, followed by a detailed depiction of the subjects

involved in the study. Secondly, the data collection tools were explained exhaustively in order to

clarify doubts about their election, creation and application for this particular investigation. In

addition, an explanation of the Workshop carried out was offered with the purpose of presenting

its process. Finally, the Criteria of Analysis and the Ethical Considerations were exposed at the

end of the Chapter.

2.1 Type of Research

The project was categorised as an applied research according to Kumar (2011), who stated

that it is the kind of research which most of the social sciences use. In relation to the main

characteristics of this type of investigation, the author argued that:

[The] techniques, procedures and methods that form the body of research methodology

are applied to the collection of information about various aspects of a situation, issue,

problem, or phenomenon so that the information gathered can be used in other ways –

such as for policy formulation, administration and the enhancement of understanding a

phenomenon (p. 10).

Furthermore, it is essential to remark that the term applied research was developed from an

application perspective, due to the fact that the researchers implemented a Body language and

Voice Projection Workshop. One can also state that the investigation mainly focused on

qualitative information, given its purpose was “to describe a situation, phenomenon, problem or

event” (Kumar, 2011, p. 13) and document the changes the participants suffered regarding their

Communicative Competence (verbal-nonverbal) after the sessions.

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In addition, one can indicate that the analysis of the information was done from a qualitative

approach, defined by Kothari (2004) as the one which is “concerned with subjective assessment

of attitudes, opinions and behaviour” (p.5). This research analysis was framed into a descriptive

study since its primary essence was to describe the situations students experienced during

speaking circumstances.

2.2 Subjects of Study

The participants selected for the study were Students of First Year of the ELT Training

Programme at Universidad Austral de Chile. They were primarily chosen given their condition of

being new to the Programme and mostly having a basic level of the English language. Besides,

one could expect it had been difficult for them to engage in conversation and establish

communication in a natural way. This situation might have affected their confidence and their

ability to speak in front of an audience. For these reasons, the participation of the subjects in the

Body Language and Voice Projection Workshop was essential to the nature of this research.

The group of students the researchers worked with was taking the course of “ILIN 112

Language” and “ILIN 121 Readings in Literature”, both of them carried out during the second

semester of the First Year of the Programme. As well, the Workshop was developed during the

Drama Unit of the latter course. Likewise, the first step the investigators took was to introduce

the Project to the class. During the first session, they explained the study and described what the

participation of the subjects would consist of. After this, the 30 students of the class were given

an Informed Consent (see Appendix A), in which they were asked for their permission for

recording their presentations in both subjects, and finally using the data gathered with the videos.

Despite 30 students were given this Informed Consent, only 25 accepted to be part of the Project.

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Later, due to the irregular participation of the subjects in the oral presentations in both courses,

only 17 students were recorded in Language II, and 25 subjects in Readings in Literature.

During the implementation of the Body Language and Voice Projection Workshop, 29

students participated actively in the sessions, although not all of them were part of the research.

Also, 17 students answered the 2 questionnaires given at the beginning and at the end of the

Workshop. Lastly, 3 subjects were randomly selected and their videos were individually

analysed, as part of the Results Section. The age average of the participants was 19 years old and

out of the 25 trainees, 16 were women and 9 were men.

2.3 Data Collection Methods

2.3.1 Observation through video recordings.

Throughout the study, the investigators used a structured type of observation. As claimed by

Kothari (2004), this is “characterised by a careful definition of the units to be observed, the style

of recording the observed information, standarised conditions of observation and the selection of

pertinent data” (p. 96). Likewise, an Observation Guideline (see Appendix D) following

Hindmarch and Luff’s instructive (2010) was used to document the information and to analyse

the presentations.

As said, two oral presentations were recorded during the research. The first one was

developed in the course Language II and before the Workshop. It was called “Pecha Kucha” and

it lasted about 6 minutes. Its main characteristic was that the Power Point slides changed

automatically every 20 seconds. Therefore, the presenters did not have to focus on changing the

slides, but on their own communication. The idea of recording this performance helped

researchers to have an overview of the students’ Communicative Competence and their use of

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non-verbal aspects during speaking situations. In this case, the type of observation was non-

participant, since the investigators did not intervene during the process (Kothari, 2004).

The second presentation was done after the Workshop in the “Readings in Literature” course.

It was a Dramatised Poem, which meant that students had to know the poem by heart, and it

lasted up to 1 minute. This performance marked the end of the Drama Unit of this course and it

overlapped with the end of the Workshop, which represented an advantage for students, who

could apply the knowledge of the sessions to perform better. In this case, the participation of the

researchers was more noticeable because they conducted the sessions and were evaluating the

process at the time of the performances.

2.3.2 Questionnaires.

As stated by Burton and Bartlett (2009), “questionnaires are useful in collecting a large

amount of general data and opinions” (p. 76). This tool was suitable for reaching the Specific

Objectives number 1 and 3, since they allowed investigators to gather the subjects’

apprehensions and impressions within a general overview before and after the Workshop was

carried out. Furthermore, Questionnaire 1 (Q1- see Appendix B) was applied during the first

session of the Workshop (at the beginning of November 2014), and its main goal was to collect

the difficulties the subjects had when speaking in front of an audience and what their main

knowledge about Drama Techniques was. Out of the answers obtained, the facilitators re-

organised and improved the planning of the sessions whose exercises finally intended to help

students overcome the difficulties they mentioned in Q1. As well, the types of questions it

contained were varied: ranking questions (1 being the lowest and 5 the highest), multiple

selection, open-ended and even combined questions (multiple selection and open-ended). In

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addition, all 7 questions of the questionnaire were read along with the students in case they had

any doubts before starting, and after that, they had about 15 minutes to finish it.

To continue, once the Workshop process was completed, a final Questionnaire (Q2 - see

Appendix C) was applied to evaluate the effectiveness of the sessions carried out, as well as to

receive feedback and to determine the changes experienced since Q1 had been applied. For this

reason, the questions included in this case were very similar to the ones asked the first time

(ranking, multiple selection, open-ended, etc). What is more, the procedures followed the same

structure: the questionnaire and its 7 questions were read along with the students, doubts were

clarified, and once more they had about 15 minutes to answer. The main role of this tool, apart

from documenting changes in the answers, aimed at knowing the students’ opinions regarding

the performance of the monitors and the contents included in the sessions as well as suggestions

for the implementation of similar Workshops in the future.

2.3.3 Description of the Workshop

As said, during the month of November and the first week of December 2014, the Drama

Workshop, focused on Body Language and Voice Projection, was carried out at Universidad

Austral de Chile. It was conducted by the researchers and it was directed to First Year Students

of the Programme, who, as formerly mentioned, took it as part of the course Readings in

Literature. In the following paragraphs, a brief description of the sessions was presented in order

to better understand the objectives of the exercises and their main procedures. (see Appendices E

and F for further detail.)

The Workshop consisted of 9 sessions, which were organised in the subsequent manner: 1

session for explaining the Project, deliver the Informed Consents and apply Q1; 6 sessions to

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work on the body language and voice projection exercises and finally, 2 final sessions for

evaluating participants through the performance of Dramatised Poems and applying Q2. Each of

the sessions lasted 90 minutes and they were developed in both the “Multiexpression Room” of

the CIDFIL Building (Centro Innovación Docente, Facultad de Filosofía y Humanidades), and

the “Humanities Room”, which is also part of the Philosophy and Humanities Campus facilities.

The design of the sessions was different for each room, since the two of them had dissimilar

spaces. To illustrate, the first one was characterised for being a wide, empty and soundproofed

space, which enabled people to move around freely. Humanities Room, on the contrary, was a

regular classroom, with desks, tables, and chairs. Because of these features, the exercises that

were carried out in Multiexpression were more related to the use of space and body language. As

for the ones developed in Humanities, they focused on eye contact and voice projection, mainly.

Since the original planning of the sessions had to be adapted to the characteristics of each space,

it is important to remark that the Workshop proved to be very flexible in its execution.

Regarding its structure, the sessions always presented the same pattern. That is to say, they

started with relaxation and breathing drills, followed by articulation, posture, eye contact, and

finally, communication activities. Some of these procedures were explained in the next

paragraphs. Concerning the repetition of the activities, it was essential to highlight that its main

rationale was attributed to the fact that Drama and its techniques are considered as a long bodily

learning, and they must be constantly practised in order to be acquired.

As mentioned above, all sessions started with relaxation and breathing drills, which mainly

aimed at working out students’ muscles as well as helping them feel more connected with their

own bodies. Following Maley’s proposal (2000), the drill “pushing up the sky”, for example, was

adapted by the facilitators so it would be a more complete exercise. As an explanation, this drill

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consisted of a person being in a balanced position and suddenly going up so his body would try

to “reach the sky”. While doing so, the person would need to have all the muscles tighten,

stretching up as much as possible. After a few seconds, he would progressively hang down loose

his wrists, then elbows, arms and finally start going down, bending very slowly towards the

floor. As he proceeds, his body is no longer tight but completely relaxed. After a few breath-ins

and outs, the person would start going up very slowly until reaching the balanced position again.

This procedure was developed in all 6 sessions and it helped trainees working their muscles,

releasing tensions and focusing on the following tasks. Likewise, other relaxation and

concentration exercises were adaptations of the Semi Supine Position (Maley, 2000), where

students had to sit on a chair comfortably, listening to soft music while the monitor’s voice

guided them towards a bodily scanner from head to toe. Equally important were the breathing

exercises such as “hug yourself tight” or “vacuuming the lungs” (Maley, 2000). This set of

activities lasted about 20 to 25 minutes each time.

Another constant in the Workshop was the presence of articulation procedures. It is not very

common to work out one’s face muscles as they are usually taken for granted. Nonetheless, they

are fundamental in speaking, even more when one is communicating in a language which is not

one’s mother tongue. That is why students carried out activities which involved moving their

jaws in zig-zag motion, make their lips vibrate, and other tongue-related exercises, etc. (Maley,

2000).

Once students were warmed up, the activities that followed were devoted to their body

language, their posture, and the use of eye contact, among others. Equally, one can say that the

exercises chosen for this Workshop were elemental and closely related to the opinion students

gave when asked about their difficulties in speaking in front of an audience. To emphasise, the

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use of eye contact is one of the key aspects when communicating, so in order to improve

students’ comfort, exercises like “Go bananas” or “Eyes up” (Swale, 2009) were developed to

get them used to it (see Appendix F for further detail).

After all, at the end of each session, about 5 students performed an oral activity in which they

could choose between telling a personal anecdote and making up a story. The main aim of this

task was for them to be aware of the use of the verbal and nonverbal aspects of communication,

which had been covered throughout the sessions. In this manner, they would progressively apply

the bodily knowledge in a practical way. As previously stated, the exercises were frequently

repeated because trainees needed to acquire this corporal knowledge in order to be applied in

their future career as teachers of English.

2.4. Criteria of Analysis

The tools for collecting the data were selected and designed in the light of the Theoretical

Framework in Chapter 1, the Methodology, and the General and Specific Objectives.

Consequently, the Criteria of Analysis chosen was the following: Body Language and Voice

Projection, and Communicative Competence. In a more detailed way,

Body Language: this aspect was considered in terms of students’ changes in the use of

eye contact, facial expressions, hand movements, use of space, unnecessary gestures,

among others. As for Voice Projection, it also considers volume, changes in

intonation, pitch, projection, pronunciation, pauses, etc.

Communicative Competence: the overall effectiveness of the presentations of the

subjects was considered in general terms (Body and Voice). That is to say, the aspects

developed in the sessions were analysed taking into consideration the complete

understanding of the Communicative Act.

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2.5 Ethical Considerations

The subjects were consulted before any data collection tool was applied. As stated by Kumar

(2011), “in every discipline it is considered unethical to collect information without the

knowledge of the participants, and their expressed willingness and informed consent” (p.244).

As said in the Subjects Section, during the first session held, the class (30 students) was given an

Informed Consent (see Appendix A) with complete details about what the participation would

consist of, and how the information was going to be analysed, used, and stored. Furthermore,

they were informed of their rights in relation to the Study: e.g. they could leave the investigation

at any moment, their name would be anonymous and protected, and they could get a copy of the

results and their video recordings, and so on. Lastly, if doubts arouse throughout the process,

they could contact the researchers and their Lead Advisor via e-mail or in person, if preferred.

With reference to the Informed Consent itself, it was also possible for the participants to take it

with them, read it as many times as they wished and even consult it with a third person if they

continued to have doubts. All of these benefits were granted to ensure the best and most

comfortable experiences for those who decided to take part in the research project.

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Chapter 3: Corpus

This Chapter was devoted to the presentation of the outcomes of the project following the

order of the data collection tools previously presented, as well as the discussion resultant from

the result. Consequently, these were analysed in the light of the criteria established before and

the Theoretical Framework selected for this study.

3.1 Results per data collection tool

In this section, a selection of the outcomes obtained from Questionnaires 1 and 2 (Q1 & Q2)

and the Video Recordings analysed were exposed in accordance to the tool utilised and its

particular result.

3.1.1 Questionnaires.

Questionnaire 1

As mentioned in Chapter 2, an initial questionnaire (Q1) was applied to the 25 participants

who agreed to be part of the investigation at the beginning of the Workshop sessions. The

objective of this practise was to become acquainted with the difficulties these trainees presented

when speaking in public as well as to discover if they possessed any knowledge about what they

should improve to reinforce their Communicative Skills. In this sense, questions were firstly

directed at finding out how the felt when facing a speaking situation. Here, participants had to

choose the level of comfort they experienced when communicating in front of an audience,

which was represented with numbers from 1 to 5. These options were later assigned to the labels

very uncomfortable (1), uncomfortable (2), more or less comfortable (3), comfortable (4) and

very comfortable (5). As a result, the answers in question 1 (see Appendix B1) showed that 6%

of the subjects felt very uncomfortable, whereas 70% of them felt more or less comfortable, 18%

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were comfortable and 6% of them felt very comfortable. In this case, the option uncomfortable

was not chosen by anybody. The previous outcomes are exposed in the following pie chart.

Figure 1. How comfortable do you feel when speaking in front of an audience?

In question number 2 (see Appendix B1), participants were asked to choose from a list of

situations/conditions they had experienced when speaking in public. As they were allowed to

pick more than one, the results gathered were categorised taking into account the total number of

answers. Consequently, as seen in Figure 2, the most popular situations students chose were

speaking too fast, which gathered 10 selections, followed by mumble with 9. Other answers that

appeared were going blank (7 selections), fidgeting (5 selections), cannot establish eye contact (4

selections), sweating and others with 3 selections each. Within the choice of others, participants

mentioned that they had experienced shivering, shaky voice and inability to make ideas with

sense. These outcomes can be seen in the subsequent figure.

6%

70%

18%

6% very uncomfortable

uncomfortable

more or less comfortable

comfortable

very comfortable

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Figure 2. Situations experienced when speaking in front of an audience

Other types of questions asked were directed at knowing if the trainees did any kind of

preparation or exercises before an oral presentation, for example, taking into account that

teaching in front of a class is similar to a continuous oral performance that usually lasts between

45 to 90 minutes. In relation to the outcomes, the highest number of answers in question 4 (see

Appendix B2) was acknowledged to the choice rehearse the topic (12 choices), followed by

learn the presentation by heart or memorisation (6 choices), and others where students wrote

breathing exercises and practise in front of family and friends. The option relaxation exercises

gathered 2 choices, whereas vocalization was attributed the lowest amount of answers,

corresponding to one choice. Figure 3 displays the results expressed.

Figure 3. Exercises done before an oral presentation

0123456789

10

mumble sweating

going blank fidgeting

cannot establish eye contact speaking too fast

others

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

vocalization relaxation exercise rehearse the topic learn by heart others

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Concerning the participants’ Communicative Competence, in question 6 (see Appendix B2),

subjects were asked to point out if they knew what aspects they had to improve in order to

reinforce their Communicative Skills. If the choice was yes, they were also asked to write down

the aspects they were familiar with. The results showed that the 68% did not know what aspects

to improve. Within the 32% who claimed that knew, answers obtained incorporated working on

volume, body language and speaking skills. These percentages can be seen in the next graphic.

Figure 4. Do you know what to improve to reinforce your Communicative Skills?

Finally, as a last open-ended question in Q1, students had to answer whether they considered

both verbal and non-verbal to be equally important aspects in an oral presentation. Essentially,

94% declared they were vital, justifying that the usage of these features – particularly non-verbal

– could make the message one is trying to convey understandable if verbal language is not

accomplishing this goal. Most of the results also acknowledged the use of non-verbal as a tool to

make presentations more interesting and less boring.

Questionnaire 2

As part of the investigation process, Q2 was taken after the Workshop sessions were finished

as a way to: a) check if participants had suffered any changes concerning their Communicative

Skills, and to: b) recollect students’ perceptions and feedback regarding the work done. At the

32%

68%

YES NO

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beginning, trainees were asked the same first question as in Q1, resulting in a few variations. To

illustrate, in the initial questionnaire (Q1), 6% of the participants had declared that they felt very

uncomfortable when speaking in front of an audience, however in Q2, this same option turned

into a 0%. Also, the 70% of more or less comfortable was lowered to 29% of the subjects. The

big change in Q2, though, was the 65% of the participants who confirmed they felt comfortable,

as opposed to the 18% in Q1. Moreover, in Q2, the options of very comfortable and

uncomfortable, presented a 0% and a 6%, respectively. Changes are exposed in the subsequent

pie chart.

Figure 5. How comfortable do you feel when speaking in front of an audience?

Following, in order to analyse the difference in the results, question 2 (see Appendix C1) was

the same as in Q1. This time, the highest number of answers was recognised to speaking too fast

and going blank (both with 7 choices), followed by sweating (5 choices), mumble (4 choices),

fidgeting (3 choices), and the lowest which was attributed to cannot establish eye contact and

others such as not feeling confident about one’s grammar (2 choices each). Thus, results for this

question were significantly lower than the first time, with the exception of sweating, which went

from 3 choices in Q1 to 5 choices in Q2. The following graphic represents the results

commented.

6%

29%

65%

very uncomfortable

uncomfortable

more or less comfortable

comfortable

very comfortable

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Figure 6. Situations experienced when speaking in front of an audience

In regard to the open-ended question number 4 (see Appendix C2), the answers obtained

displayed that relaxation exercises were the most useful, since students argued that these helped

them feel more confident and relaxed if done before a presentation. Other answers comprised

articulation and eye contact exercises, which, according to the trainees, made them feel more

comfortable.

In question number 6 (see Appendix C2), participants were asked to express if they believed

Drama Techniques should be included during teachers’ training. In consequence, 94% of them

said yes, supporting that these practices help get rid of nervousness and feel more calmed and

confident. Also, they argued that these techniques are an interesting means to catch others’

attention and deliver contents in a better way.

The last open-ended question (see Appendix C2) aimed at receiving trainees’ feedback and

observations about the sessions attended. As a result, the majority of answers were positive

comments, where subjects expressed that, even though the Workshop was helpful and they

appreciated the work done, they considered that the time was limited to really improve their

0123456789

10

mumble sweating going blank

fidgeting cannot establish eye contact speaking too fast

others

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Communicative Skills. Additionally, others pointed out that the Workshop had not been useful

for them since they already knew their classmates so it was not a challenge.

3.1.2 Video Recordings.

The outcomes of the presentations are shown taking into account the subjects’

Communicative Competence. As commented, following the Observation Guideline’s aspects

(see Appendix D) and Hindmarch and Liff’s pattern of video analysis (2010), the researchers

contrasted the two performances of each subject. As a result, a comparison table was created,

where a fragment of their performances was chosen and fully described. Also, a section of

general comments was added in order to have an overview of the effectiveness.

This sub-section of video recording was developed in two parts. Table 1 displays results of

Subject 1 in terms of his first presentation, which occurred before attending the Workshop and

the second presentation, which happened after the Workshop was over.

Table 1. Subject 1

Subject 1

Pecha Kucha Dramatised Poem

Fragment: 03:15 – 03:20

“…that they are taking cover from a

tornado while they are recording”.

… (looking at audience) that they (showing

and looking at image) are taking cover

from a tornado (looks at audience) (soft

laugh) (mini pause) while (bends left arm

towards her body) they (moves left arm

towards the image) are recor- (points) -

ding (looks at audience) (soft laugh).

Fragment: 00:17 – 00:20

“…then she laughs out laughing like

she’s an emperor”.

…then she laughs [runs] (swipes arm) out

laughing (showing hands at chest level)

like (hands towards herself) she’s an (starts

movement raising hands) emperor (hands

up simulating a crown in her head).

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General comments: no use of space (stays

behind desk), flat oral expression, hands are

only used for pointing at the images, no

much eye contact, flat speech (no changes

in intonation), laughs nervously, looks at

her notes too much, repeats “so…”.

General comments: no use of space, hands

accompany speech, eye contact is clearly

defined, intonation (ups and downs).

As it can be seen, in Pecha Kucha, Subject 1 mainly used his hands to point at the images

showed in his slides and not to convey any meaning. In addition, his speech was flat and he

repeated the word “so” as a consequence of the nervousness experienced at that moment. The

fact that he stayed behind the desk and laughed many times were also signs of this. Conversely,

in the analysis of his second presentation (Dramatised poem), a significant change in the

movement of the hands was seen, which were used to convey meaning as he spoke. In the same

manner, the subject made use of intonation to help give emotion to what he was expressing.

Finally, a clearly defined use of eye contact was observed.

Following the previous analysis, Table 2 presents the comparison between the first

presentation versus the final presentation of Subject 2.

Table 2. Subject 2

Subject 2

Pecha Kucha Dramatised Poem

Fragment: 02:43 – 02:50

“…it was nice because you can taste

blueberries very often”.

… (looking at image) it was: nice (left hand

twist) becau:se you can (mini pause) taste

(left hand twist) (mini pause)(looks at

Fragment: 00:50 – 00:54

“..like a large animal deep in sleep and

almost nothing can awaken it”.

…like a (arms going up) large (arms going

down, parallel) animal deep (turns around

and walks)(hands up and down fast, 20 cm

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audience) blueberries (left hand twist)

(mini pause) very often (left hand twist,

twice).

at chest level) in sleep (hands up and down

fast, 20 cm at chest level) (pause) and

(hands up and down fast, 10 cm at waist

level) (turns at audience) almost (starts

movement, left hand going up towards right

shoulder) no- (hand goes down strongly) -

thing can (hands open up and vibrate at

waist level) awa- (hands vibrate) -ken it

(hands close to fists).

General comments: no use of space, flat

oral expression, hands are only used for

pointing at the images, medium eye contact

(looks at the floor and at the presentation

repeatedly), chopped speech, no changes in

intonation.

General comments poem: use of space,

hands are used to convey meaning, eye

contact when possible, use of pauses and

suspense silence (makes speech clearer),

clear changes in intonation.

As in the previous case, here Subject 2 proved to have similar improvements than subject 1 in

the first and second presentation. For instance, in Pecha Kucha, the participant showed no use of

space when telling his anecdote, whereas in the Dramatised Poem, he effectively used the space

provided, walking around with a particular intention, which facilitated the comprehension of the

line he was performing.

On the one hand, during the Pecha Kucha presentations, these two subjects showed certain

patterns of improvement in terms of their use of space, being this very limited. Also, the use of

hand movements to point at the screen was frequent and therefore, they usually lost eye contact

with the audience, among other cases. In the Dramatised Poems, on the other hand, the scenario

changed, since the students used their hands to accompany Verbal Communication. Thus, they

created a link between Verbal and Non-verbal communication. Furthermore, during this

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presentation, there was a visible change in their eye contact and the link with the audience, as

well as the use of vocal elements like variations in intonation, use of pauses and even suspense

silence.

In a different case, the analysis of a third subject presented dissimilar results in terms of the

improvement. To explain, Subject 3 shared many characteristics of the two former subjects in the

first presentation (Pecha Kucha). By the same token, this participant continued to have the same

difficulties in the second presentation (Dramatised Poem), as opposed to the improvements of

subjects 1 and 2. To exemplify, Table 3 displays the analysis of this third subject.

Table 3. Subject 3

Subject 3

Pecha Kucha Dramatised Poem

Fragment: 00:35 – 00:43

“…because it has…ahm… there are

many kinds of animals like penguins,

whales…and ok”

…(long pause – 3 seconds) (looks at

screen) (seems hesitant) because it

has…ahm (turns to the audience)… there

are many (holds hands together briefly)

(looks at the screen slightly and turns to the

audience) kinds of animals like (holds

hands together in a shaky motion)

penguins, (turns eyes to the screen)

whales…and ok”

Fragment: 31:41 – 31:47

“ when a friend calls me from the road

and slows his hor[se] no sorry sorry sorry”

when(bended arms go down) a friend

(bended arms go up) calls me from (bended

arms are held still) the (moves right hand to

the side slowly with the palm up) road and

slows his(arms are bended and held still

again) hor[se](bended arms move forward)

no sorry (drops hands) sorry (with

extended palms, hands are moved in an in-

and-out motion) sorry

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General comments: no use of space, flat

oral expression, hands are not used to point

at images but they are kept at the centre and

they are shaky, not much eye contact, no

changes in intonation (flat).

General comments: no use of space –

stands still in the centre of the stage, flat

oral expression (the subjects recites the

poem very fast with no pauses to avoid

going blank), arms are bended most of the

time and tend to shake, eye contact is

focused on one person, intonation is used to

express a question.

In this final example, it can be noticed that subject 3 did not use the space provided during his

presentation, In relation to this, it is necessary to say that this subject was performing in a smaller

room that the other participants analysed. Still, the subject was not in disadvantage regarding the

two other participants since the use of space was also possible. Following, the use of hand

movements was not appreciated in a meaningful way in both occasions. Similarly, the eye

contact established with the audience was very limited because the subject tended to look at the

screen, as in the first time, or to focus on one person, as in the second time. Lastly, it can be

mentioned that the oral expression was flat or with very little change.

To summarise, the results gathered from Q1, Q2 and the Video Recording provided valuable

information about students’ difficulties, attitudes and improvements, as well as their thoughts

and impressions on the Workshop attended.

3.2 Discussion

The following section discusses the body of literature exposed in the Theoretical Framework.

This information is compared to the results obtained from the data collection tools in the light of

the objectives of this research. These outcomes are examined following the two Criteria of

Analysis explained in the previous Chapter. The first criterion is Body Language and Voice

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Projection, and it is focused on studying and contrasting students’ use of their body to

communicate through hand movements, use of space, facial expressions, and eye contact,

predominantly. As for the Voice Projection portion, it deals with oral expression, articulation and

intonation, which are the main aspects in consideration. The second criterion is Communicative

Competence, which is understood as the overall effectiveness in students’ oral performances. In

essence, this second principle compresses both Body Language and Voice Projection to focus on

having an overview of the presentations of the participants with a more practical perspective.

3.2.1 Body Language and Voice Projection.

This aspect is related to the use students gave to their body and voice when delivering a

speech, presenting a topic or simply participating in a Communicative Act. As established in the

Theoretical Framework, the use of Drama Techniques can trigger several advantages for the

users in the communicative interaction. Moreover, it was indicated that it helps people boost self-

confidence and feel more relaxed in stressful situations such as speaking in front of an audience

(Maley and Duff, 2005). For the majority of the students (70%), exposing a topic in an oral

presentation made them feel more or less comfortable, whereas the 18% of them felt comfortable

and 6% felt very uncomfortable. After the Workshop had ended, however, the results showed

that 29% of the subjects then felt more or less comfortable in an oral speaking situation. Further,

65% felt comfortable, and none of them felt very uncomfortable. These outcomes can be found

displayed in a similar way in the analysis of the videos of Subject 1 and 2, who clearly presented

improvements in their levels of comfort when facing the performance of the Dramatised Poem.

As recognised by some authors in the literary work (Maley and Duff, 2005, Kelly and Watson,

1989, Wessels, 1987), using Drama Techniques and exercises like the ones developed in the

Workshop (breathing and relaxation drills and body and vocal training, among others) can

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tremendously help a person to feel more comfortable. Supporting this idea, Kelly and Watson

mentioned that through these exercises one can achieve feeling more relaxed and calm, and as a

consequence, experience a more understandable oral speaking circumstance for both senders and

receivers.

In contrast, the analysis of Subject 3 shows that not major improvements were made in terms

of his level of comfort. This can be attributed to the fact that Drama Techniques sometimes

(depending on the student) need a long bodily training to be taken seriously and practiced

regularly. In addition, it could be seen that during his second performance, learn by heart was

one of the main strategies he used. However, as it was clearly revealed in Table 3, he forgot a

part of the poem and apologised to the audience three times. His strategy, instead of helping him

recite appropriately, became a difficulty and contributed to his low level of comfort. As learn by

heart was one of the preferred exercises of students in Q1, it is not surprising that he had

continued to do the same exercise before presenting his poem. Some could argue that in order to

recite a poem, one would need to memorise it and it could also be a valid strategy, but

memorisation has to be done not only with the content but also with a defined intention and

taking into account one’s body, as done when rehearsing and performing a theatre play. In

addition, it is worth mentioning that at that point, students were already familiarised with other

types of strategies and exercises that could have helped them overcome difficulties like the one

experienced by Subject 3.

What is more, in Q1, students did not choose relaxation exercises as the main ones to be done

before an oral presentation but most of them picked rehearse the topic and learn by heart. One

can discuss that their first presentations, Pecha Kucha, exemplified the lack of knowledge

regarding the use of Drama techniques to improve their performances. Also, the analysis of the

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video recordings showed that the three subjects shared a tendency to stare at the ppt screen, use

of hands with a meaningless goal, and poor eye contact with the audience, among other

difficulties. Nevertheless, as previously noted, the analysis of the second set of videos, at least

for Subject 1 and 2, demonstrated an improvement in the aspects which were practiced in the

sessions. Hence, they maintained eye contact with the audience, used their hands to accompany

speech, and created a bond between verbal and non-verbal language. Even though the

presentations were developed in different environments and the genres were not the same, the

topics in both occasions could have been communicated and accompanied by the use of Drama

techniques (body language and voice projection). For this reason, the comparisons can be

considered valuable and reliable information in the research.

To continue with the discussion on this criterion, it is possible to establish that the Workshop

helped students become more aware of their own body. As seen in the results of Q1, most of the

subjects were not familiarised with the topic of Drama Techniques or the aspects to be taken into

account if one wanted to reinforce and improve one’s Communicative Competence. By the same

token, outcomes in Q2 showed a difference in this aspect if 94% of the subjects consider Drama

Techniques to be essential and even agree on the fact that they should be included in other

courses. They also mentioned that non-verbal features are believed to be equally important as the

verbal elements, since both help them be more effective communicators. In accordance to the

results of the two questionnaires and the video recordings, and as stated by Maley and Duff

(2005), the exercises of the Workshop raised awareness of the aspects of Body Language and

Voice Projection in students. Despite the few sessions that were carried out, the participants were

able to acknowledge the relevance of the activities such as breathing and relaxation, the

importance of the use of eye contact, articulation, and posture, among others.

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In a nutshell, authors such as Benzer (2012), Collins (2009), Myers and Anderson (2008),

Samovar et al. (2009), Morreale et al. (2007), and many others, have recognised the influence of

Drama Techniques and the possibility they provide to progress in one’s communication if the

exercises are to be done in a current basis. In this case, their proposals and ideas have matched

the results of Subjects 1 and 2, demonstrating that Drama Techniques can actually improve one’s

oral presentations. Unfortunately, 6 sessions of working with Drama have proved not to be

enough for all the participants in this research. As already said, the process of acquiring this type

of knowledge takes time and the little improvement showed by Subject 3 is the evidence to

support that Drama Techniques cannot be fully internalised over a month.

3.2.2 Communicative Competence.

This criterion is dedicated to discuss the changes of the participants in terms of the overall

effectiveness showed when presenting in the two different opportunities (Pecha Kucha and

Dramatised Poems).

To begin with, it was already established that through the use of Drama Techniques, trainees

became aware of their body and voice and that this helped them overcome difficulties. As a

result, Q1 demonstrated that the subjects experienced several problems such as mumbling,

speaking too fast, and fidgeting, among others. As these First Year Students stated, they felt

more or less comfortable when speaking in front of an audience, a situation that is caused by the

complications previously mentioned. Correspondingly, the analysis of the first set of videos

made these problems clear, since the three subjects tended to stay behind the desk, laugh

nervously and look at the screen to avoid going blank or establishing eye contact with the

audience. As can be expected, these issues made their presentations ineffective in terms of

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Communicative Competence; therefore, they could not deliver their message in an appropriate

way. In view of Kelly and Watson’s proposal (1989), people tend to be ineffective due to some

situations that make them feel nervous and not confident as the ones expressed in Q1 and the

ones observed in the video analysis.

Alternatively, the results in Q2 showed that the previous situations either maintained with the

same amount of answers or lowered, with the exception of sweating, which slightly increased.

Surely, this decrease can be attributed to the use of Drama exercises during the subjects’ oral

presentations, since these techniques acted as communicative strategies to cope with certain

difficulties. Likewise, by knowing how to use them to make one’s speech more understandable,

the first two subjects could improve their Communicative Competence and reinforce their

knowledge (Jin, 2008). Even more, the outcomes on Figure 5 in the Results Section showed that

after the sessions trainees felt comfortable when they had to speak in front of an audience, which

represented a 65% versus the 18% obtained in Q1.

As a matter of fact, it was also appreciated in the analysis of the Dramatised Poems that

Subjects 1and 2 put into practice some of aspects worked in the Workshop. In other words, the

participants seemed more assertive and self-aware of their performance, which had a positive

impact on the audience. Having said this, and in the light of the Theoretical Framework, it can be

confirmed that “[feeling confident] plays an important role in the communicative act and it could

lead to a better exposition of a message, achieving effectiveness and therefore, becoming the

basis of a competent communicator” (Kelly and Watson, 1989). Under these circumstances, and

acknowledging the authors, if a person feels good about himself, it is more likely that meaning

can be conveyed and better understood.

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Despite the first two subjects presented positive changes in their overall effectiveness, this

was not the case of the third participant. As seen in the analysis of his second performance

(Table 3), instead of presenting major improvements, he continued to experience some of the

same problems. To enumerate, he recited the poem too fast, mumbled and went blank, which

forced him to start over again three times. This former situation lowered his level of comfort and,

as a consequence, he was not able to communicate his poem effectively. Undoubtedly, this lack

of improvement can be related to the 6% of participants who felt uncomfortable after the

sessions were over (Q2 – see Appendix C1). In the same fashion, it can be said that there were

some participants who did not feel comfortable with some of the Drama exercises carried out in

the Workshop sessions. It can be inferred that the 6% obtained may relate to this fact and,

consequently, may have affected the performance of the subjects with the same characteristics as

Subject 3. In spite of what the authors (Maley and Duff, 2005; Kelly and Watson, 1989; Jin,

2008, among others) have predicted, the use of Drama Techniques did not imply major benefits

for all the participants of this research, and some of the students – like Subject 3 – might need

more time to achieve positive changes in order to be effective communicators.

To continue, it was observed in the Pecha Kucha performances that the subjects hardly gave

intention and meaning to the ideas they were sharing. At this point, and taking into account the

concept of Communicative Competence, which is “the extent to which people are effective in

accomplishing what they want through communication” (Morreale et al, 2007p. 30), it can be

restated that students were not being completely effective in their desire to communicate the

topic they were presenting. Because of this, one of the main goals of the Workshop was to

deliver the tools to be an effective speaker and this was done through the use of Drama

Techniques exercises, which among other things, taught trainees to be aware of their hand

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movements, posture and the way in which they articulated the sounds. It was believed that if the

participants were able to blend and incorporate all these aspects when speaking publicly, they

would be able to become effective in this task. Additionally, as claimed by Myers and Anderson,

the use of body movements can “regulate our interactions with others, emphasize a key idea or

point during discussion, adapt to the situation, or send a message without having to speak”

(Ekman & Friesen, 1969, as cited in Myers and Anderson, 2008, p. 188).

Due to the complexity of the language of the poem performed, it was expected that the

students would use more non-verbal resources so their audience – their own classmates – could

truly understand what the poems were about. In this second attempt, two of the subjects analysed

did make use of non-verbal properties (kinaesthetic and vocalic) such as pauses, hand

movements, use of space and even intonation in some parts, features that could not be

appreciated in their first performance. Following the idea of Collins (2009) who claimed that the

audience observed everything a person does, including “body language and facial expressions to

eye contact and voice” (p.11), it can be concluded that trainees made use of these characteristics

as a consequence of their awareness, and in this way, their message was clearer, understood and

it helped make their performance.

As mentioned in the first criterion, Subject 3 did not show many changes regarding the

importance of delivering meaning and intention when communicating something that might be

difficult to understand, as the poem was. Furthermore, as seen in Table 3, his oral expression was

flat and, even though he moved his hands in an attempt to convey meaning, these movements

were not linked to the words being said. To illustrate, when he said “when a friend calls me

from the road”, he intended to make the allusion of a path by moving both hands in a forward

motion. However, the movement – which should have been linked to the word road – was

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performed in the subsequent phrase. Thus, this contradiction deprived him from conveying

meaning appropriately.

All things considered, the results obtained from Q1, Q2 and the Video Recordings analysed

under the criteria selected and the Theoretical Framework, have matched the Objectives that

were proposed at the beginning of this study. Moreover, the discussion exposed is the direct

consequence of the reflection made in relation to the Workshop conducted.

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Conclusions

To start with, it can be concluded that the General and the Specific Objectives proposed

at the beginning of the investigation have been achieved. Regarding the Main Objective, it

is possible to observe favourable changes in most of the participants after they attended the

Body Language and Voice Projection Workshop. This achievement is inferred to have been

accomplished due to the fact that the researchers follow the steps set by the Specific

Objectives. First, the difficulties of the trainees are identified thanks to the application of

the Data Collection Tools (Q1, Q2 and Video Recordings), which enable the accurate

selection of the activities carried out in the sessions. Second, the Workshop has been

implemented, thanks to the active participation and attendance of the students of the course

ILIN 121 Readings in Literature. Third, through the application of Questionnaire 2, the

opinions of the trainees concerning their Communicative Competence are recollected and

analysed. Finally, the data gathered through all the practices mentioned above is

documented as a way to examine, compare and display the final changes the subjects

experienced.

It is worth mentioning that, although not all the participants showed consistent advances

in their Communicative Competence, they did realise how essential Body Language

awareness and Voice Projection are and how they can allow the internalisation of the

strategies to perform better. Indeed, the fact that students have been familiarised with the

researchers by the time of their second presentation is fundamental, because it might have

produced a certain sentiment of comfort. On top of that, their performances might have

been more effective due to this closeness and to the improvement of their level of English

(a result of their practice in other courses throughout the semester).

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Overall, the outcomes of this study demonstrate the significance of Verbal and Non-

Verbal aspects in communication. Even more, students admitted that these features are

equally important in an oral performance, and some of them recognised to have used

Drama Techniques exercises before oral tests in other courses, adding that these helped

them improve their results in terms of comfort and confidence. These asseverations are the

evidence to confirm that Drama Techniques exercises need to be part of ELT Training

Programmes.

As the audience of these trainees will mostly be school students who are not likely to

understand English, these future teachers will have to make use of varied strategies to teach

the contents effectively in the target language without having to use Spanish as the main

tool. In the same fashion, these types of Workshops are enormously beneficial for those

who have chosen the teaching of a Foreign Language as their profession because they help

them enhance their speaking skills. Likewise, being a competent teacher and communicator

will directly provide advantages and help school students to better comprehend what their

teachers are expressing. Further, as an additional benefit, Drama Techniques exercises can

be included in the lesson plans of the teachers since these activities also work great with

children and teenagers, and help them feel more confident with themselves and comfortable

towards English.

Taking all into consideration, it is essential to remark that the practice of Drama

Techniques exercises must be a constant process that goes from basic procedures to more

complex ones. In other words, one cannot start vocalization without having trained one’s

breathing first. For instance, teachers’ bad practises with their voice usually trigger health

problems such as dry mouth, diplophonia, aphonia, chronic laryngitis, among others. In this

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sense, it is important to remember that Drama Techniques exercises can help overcome

these problems if done appropriately. Even more, one should take into account that learning

new things with one’s body is a long training process that must be taken seriously for it to

be effectively acquired over time.

Further Research

At the end of this research, investigators could notice the importance of improving and

reproducing the set of activities that conformed most of the sessions. Following, the

researchers believe that these types of Workshops need a considerable amount of time to be

developed and could be implemented during any term of the UACH ELT Training

Programme. However, researchers propose the same Workshop structure to be replicated

with all Third Year Students of the Programme – who are closer to start teaching formally –

and, at the same time, to carry out a longitudinal study as a way to diagnose whether this

Workshop, when applied in a long term and regular basis, can enhance trainees’ ability to

communicate using their body and voice. The purpose of this longitudinal study would be

to document the changes that students may experience, and especially if this kind of

training could help them achieve better results in their Professional Teaching Practice

during the last year of the Programme.

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Sage Aisa

Maley, A. (2000). The Language Teacher’s Voice. Oxford: Macmillan Heinemann English

Language Teaching

Maley, A., Duff, A. (1982). Drama Techniques in Language Learning: A Resource Book of

Communication Activities for Language Teachers. Cambridge: Cambridge University

Press.

Maley, A., Duff, A. (2005). Drama Techniques. A resource book of communication activities for

language teachers. United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press.

Mamdough, E. (2000). Drama as a Teaching Technique. Dialog on Language Instruction.Vol.

14, Nos. 1&2, pp.41-48

Martin, N., Lobos, D. (2013). Drama Techniques in the English as a Foreign Language Teacher

Training Program at Universidad Austral de Chile: A Perceptional Case Study. Valdivia:

Universidad Austral de Chile

Morreale, S., Spitzberg, B., Barge, K. (2007). Human Communication: Motivation, Knowledge,

and Skills, Second Edition. USA: Thomson Wadsworth

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DRAMA TECHNIQUES AND COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCE

Mottet, T., Beebe, S., Raffeld, P., Paulsel, M. (2004). The effects of student verbal and nonverbal

responsiveness on teachers’ liking of students and willingness to comply with student

requests. Communication Quarterly, 52, 27-38.

Myers, S., Anderson, C. (2008). The Fundamentals of Small Group Communication. SAGE.

National Theatre Discover. (2011). Resonance and Vocal Warm up. Retrieved from

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBoOyCLlCcU

Ortíz de Zárate, A. (2014). Programa Curso "ILIN 109 Telling Stories through the body”.

Valdivia: Universidad Austral de Chile.

- - - - (2014). Programa Curso "ILIN 154 Dramatics”. Valdivia: Universidad Austral de Chile.

- - - - (2014). Programa Curso "ILIN 233 Teaching English through Drama". Valdivia: Austral

de Chile.

Postgraduate Search. (2014). PGCE Drama Teaching courses. Retrieved from

http://www.postgraduatesearch.com/pgce/drama-teaching-training/uk/study/postgraduate-

browse.htm

- - - - (2014). Postgraduate Drama degrees. Retrieved from

http://www.postgraduatesearch.com/pgs/pgs_browse.pg_design?search_phrase=drama&p_std

y=study&p_bloc=uk

Pour- Mohamamadi, M. (2012). EFL Students’ Attitudes towards Learning English Language:

The Case of Libyan Secondary School Students. Asian Social Science, 8(2), 119-134.

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DRAMA TECHNIQUES AND COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCE

Poyatos, F. (2002). Nonverbal Communication Across Disciplines: Paralanguage, kinesics,

silence, personal and environmental interaction. John Benjamins Publishing

Samovar, A., Porter, R., McDaniel, E.(2009). Communication between cultures

Sperber, D., & Wilson, D. (1986). Relevance: Communication and cognition. Cambridge, MA:

Harvard University Press

Stern, S. (n.d). Why Drama Works: A Psycholinguistic Perspective. University of California.

Los Angeles.

Swale, J. (2009). Drama Games for Classrooms and Workshops. Great Britain: Ashford Colour

Press

The University of Warwick (2014). Social Sciences. Centre for Education Studies. MA Drama

Education and English Language Teaching (ELT). Retrieved from

http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/ces/prospective/postgraduate/taught/dramaelt/

Waiflein, M. (2013). The Progression of the Field of Kinesics. Illinois State University: Senior

Theses - Anthropology. Paper 3. http://ir.library.illinoisstate.edu/sta/3

Wessels, C. (1987). Drama. UK: Oxford University Press.

Zyoud, M. (2010). Using Drama Activities and Techniques to Foster Teaching English as a

Foreign Language: a Theoretical Perspective. Retrieved from

http://www.qou.edu/english/conferences/firstNationalConference/pdfFiles/munther

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Appendix A: Informed Consent

INVITATION FOR FIRST YEAR STUDENTS OF THE ELT TRAINING PROGRAMME

Introduction: We invite you to participate in the Thesis Project called “Drama Techniques and Communicative

Competence: First Year Students of the ELT Training Programme”.

General Objective: To identify the changes regarding Communicative Competence after the Body Language

and Voice Projection Workshop.

Specific Objectives:

1. To identify the main problems students have when giving speaking in front of an audience.

2. To implement a Body Language and Voice Projection Workshop for Students of First Year of the UACh

ELT Training Programme.

3. To recollect students’ opinions regarding Communicative Competence after the Body Language and

Voice Projection Workshop.

4. To document students’ changes regarding Competence after attending the Body Language and Voice

Projection Workshop.

Participant Selection: We invite you to participate in this project because you can provide us with valuable

information on how the Teaching Programme is incorporating and teaching communicative skills in first year.

Description of the participation: We require your consent for, firstly, observing your oral performances in the

courses of Language II (via a camera recording) and Readings in Literature, secondly, for answering two

questionnaires (2) and thirdly, for participating in a Body Language and Voice Projection Workshop, comprised

of six sessions (90 min. each), in November 2014.

The data collected will be exclusively used for this research only. The results and findings will be confidential

for your name is going to be protected by a pseudonym.

Rights: Every person who wants to participate in this research has the right to revise the inform consent

document with another person if needed. In addition, once the study is finished, the person has the right to

receive the final document in digital format with the obtained results. Every person who is invited to participate

in the study has the right to decline or conclude its participation at any moment with no further consequences.

Likewise, participants have the right to ask all the questions they consider worth asking and to obtain answers

from the responsible researchers.

Confidentiality: The information will be treated anonymously, which will assure its confidentiality.

Others: In case of any inquiry regarding the investigation, you may contact our Lead Advisor PhD. Amalia

Ortiz de Zárate F. ([email protected]) in the Linguistic and Literature Department, Philosophy and

Humanities Faculty, Austral University of Chile, Campus Isla Teja n/n.

We appreciate your participation in this Project,

Victoria Martínez V. Consuelo Avilés P.

[email protected] [email protected]

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INFORMED CONSENT FOR FIRST YEAR STUDENTS TO PARTICIPATE IN THE RESEARCH

In this document, given by the researchers Consuelo Avilés and Victoria Martínez, I was invited to participate

in the thesis project: “Drama Techniques and Communicative Competence: First Year Students of the ELT

Training Programme”. This informed consent provided me with the necessary information to freely decide if I

want to be part of the research project. This investigation aims at identifying the main problems students have

when communicating orally and the positive changes they might experiment in their oral performance after

attending the Body Language and Voice Projection Workshop. I was informed that I was chosen because I am a

first year student of the ELT Training Programme.

As for the information collected, I was informed that my identity will be known by the researchers only and,

therefore, I agree with the confidentiality treatment the researchers will give to my data and opinions. In

addition, I was assured the opportunity to revise this document with other people.

I know I can decline my participation in the project or leave it at any moment I consider appropriate with no

further consequences, and that I have the right to know the findings of the study if I consider it necessary.

If I was not satisfied with the information received, I could directly contact PhD. Amalia Ortiz de Zárate F.

([email protected]) in the Linguistic and Literature Department, Philosophy and Humanities Faculty,

Austral University of Chile, Campus Isla Teja n/n.

Considering the previous information, I _________________________________________ ID N°

____________________ have been invited by the researchers Consuelo Avilés and Victoria Martínez to

participate in this investigation. Finally, with my signature I assure my interest in being part of the project called

“Drama Techniques and Communicative Competence: First Year Students of the ELT Training Programme”.

___________________________ _________________________

Signature Date

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Appendix B: Questionnaire I - November 03rd, 2014

1. From 1 to 5 (1 being the lowest and 5 the highest), how comfortable do you feel

when you have to speak in front of an audience? Circle your answer.

1 2 3 4 5

2. Have you ever experienced any of the following situations/conditions when speaking

in the EFL classroom? Circle your answers.

a) Mumble

b) Sweating

c) Going blank

d) Fidgeting

e) Cannot establish eye contact

f) Speaking too fast

g) Other _______________________________

3. Please rank the following situations (5 being the one that makes you nervous the

most):

Talking about a topic

__ with a stranger

__ in the classroom

__ other (specify)___________________

Speaking in front of your classmates

__ in an oral test

__ speaking in front of your EFL classmates

__ other (specify)___________________

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4. Which of the following exercises do you do before an oral presentation?

a) Vocalization

b) Relaxation exercises

c) Rehearse the topic

d) Learn your presentation by heart (memorise)

e) Other (specify) _________________________

5. Have you ever considered reinforcing your Communicative skills?

Yes No

You feel you lack…

a) Communicative Competence

b) Linguistic Competence

c) Sociolinguistic Competence

d) None

6. Do you know the aspects you should improve in order to reinforce your

Communicative skills?

Yes No

If yes, which ones?

7. Do you believe Verbal and Nonverbal Communication are equally important in an

oral presentation? Why? Why not?

Thank you!

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Appendix C: Questionnaire II – December 01st, 2014

1. From 1 to 5 (1 being the lowest and 5 the highest), how comfortable do you feel

when you have to speak in front of an audience? Circle your answer.

1 2 3 4 5

2. Do you ever experience any of the following situations/conditions when speaking in

the EFL classroom? Circle your answers.

a) Mumble

b) Sweating

c) Going blank

d) Fidgeting

e) Cannot establish eye contact

f) Speaking too fast

g) Other _______________________________

3. From 1 to 5, which of these aspects are the most important for being an effective

speaker? (1 being the least important one, and 5 being the most important one)

__ voice projection

__ gestures

__ eye contact

__ posture

__ use of space

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4. Which exercises (developed in the workshops) do you think are the most useful to

do before an oral presentation?

5. Do you think you need to reinforce your Communicative skills? Circle your

answer.

Yes No

6. Do you think Drama Techniques should be included during teachers’ training?

Why? Why not?

7. Please, leave any additional comments regarding the workshops you attended.

Were the exercises useful? Did they help you improve your Communicative skills?

Why? Why not?

Thank you!

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Appendix D: Observation Guideline

Entrega Oral

Dicción-Articulación

Proyección-Volumen

Entonación

Entrega Física

Expresión Facial (Cinésica)

Gestos (Cinésica)

Contacto Visual (Cinésica)

Posicionamiento (Proxémica)

Mov. Innecesarios Faciales

(Prox. & Kin.)

Mov. Innecesarios Corporales

(Prox. & Kin.)

Nivel de Energía

**This Observation Guideline was adapted by Ortiz de Zárate and Walper (2009) for the

FONDECYT Project N°11090198

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Appendix E: Workshop Planning. Session 1 – Monday 3rd, November 2014

Time Activities Objectives

20 min

Introduction of the Project

The researchers introduce themselves

to the class and explain the overall

Thesis Project to the students

(objectives, subjects’ participation,

procedures, etc).

-To explain the Project to the students

20 min

Informed Consents

Students receive an informed consent

which explains the degree of

participation they would have in the

Project if they decide to be part of it.

- To gather students to be part of the

research as well as ask them for

permission to use their data.

20 min

Questionnaires

Students receive the first questionnaire

related to their general knowledge

about Drama Techniques and their

Communicative Competence. The

researchers read the questionnaire

along with the students and clarify

doubts. Students then have 15 minutes

to answer.

- To recollect initial data of students’

difficulties and opinions to elaborate the

activities of the Workshop.

10 min PPT about Drama Techniques (by

the researchers)

- To introduce Drama Techniques.

10 min Closure

- What is Drama to you?

- What do you expect from the

Workshop?

- Do you know any Drama Techniques

exercises?

- To recollect students’ opinion

regarding the Project

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Apendix E: Workshop Planning. Session 2 – Wednesday 5th, November 2014

Time Activities Objectives

5 min

10 min

20 min

Pushing up the sky (1)

Stretching exercises

Semi-Supine position (5)

- To clean mind and body.

- To release tensions.

10 min Statues in the Park (2)

- To control one’s body movements.

- To work and connect with a partner.

10 min

5 min

Articulation (3)

Vocal warm-up (13)

- To relax facial muscles.

- To practice articulation.

10 min Tom’s Depressed (4) - To control one’s body movements.

- To perform different emotions.

10 min Introducing yourself (19) - To communicate a short presentation.

10 min Closure

- What is Drama to you?

- How did you feel in this workshop?

- What did you expect

- To clarify doubts.

- To recollect students’ opinions on the

first session.

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Appendix E: Workshop Planning. Session 3 – Monday 10th, November 2014

Time Activities Objectives

10 min

15 min

Pushing up the sky (1)

Semi-supine position (5)

- To clean mind and body.

- To release tensions.

5 min

5 min

5 min

10 min

5 min

Breathe in and out several times

Hug yourself tight (6)

Vacuuming the lungs (7)

Pushing against each other (8)

Resonance (9)

- To release tensions.

5 min

5 min

Articulation (3)

Vocal warm-up (13)

- To relax facial muscles.

-To practice articulation.

5 min The monkey (10) - To better the posture

15 min Introducing yourself (19)

- To communicate a short presentation.

5 min Closure

- To clarify doubts.

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Appendix E: Workshop Planning. Session 4 – Wednesday 12th, November 2014

Time Activities Objectives

10 min Pushing up the sky (1) - To clean mind and body.

- To release tensions.

10 min

Breathe in and out several times.

Blowing out candles (11)

- To release tensions.

- To control one’s body (air flowing).

10 min

Articulation (3) - To relax facial muscles.

- To practice articulation.

15 min Pushing against each other (8) - To control one’s body movements.

- To work and connect with a partner.

10 min Tongue Twisters (20)

- To practice articulation and voice

projection.

15 min Chunking and mood swings (12) - To control one’s emotions.

- To perform a short story with different

intentions.

15 min Introducing yourself (19) - To communicate a short presentation.

5 min Closure - To clarify doubts.

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Appendix E: Workshop Planning. Session 5 – Monday 17th, November 2014

Time Activities Objectives

5 min

10 min

Pushing up the sky (1)

Semi-supine position (5)

- To clean mind and body.

- To release tensions.

- To concentrate.

5 min

Breathe in and out several times.

Blowing out candles (11)

To release tensions.

To control one’s body (air flowing).

10 min

Articulation (3)

Vocal warm-up (13)

- To relax facial muscles.

- To practice articulation.

5 min

15 min

5 min

The monkey (10)

Walk with intention (14)

As you like it… (variation of 14)

- To control one’s body movements.

- To align one’s body (correct position).

- To breathe properly.

10 min Tongue twisters (20) To practice articulation and voice

projection.

10 min Chunking and mood swings (12)

-To control one’s emotions.

10 min Introducing yourself (19)

- To communicate a short presentation.

5 min Closure

- To clarify doubts.

- To ask for feedback.

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Appendix E: Workshop Planning. Session 6 – Wednesday 19th, November 2014

Time Activities Objectives

5 min

Pushing up the sky (1)

- To clean mind and body.

- To release tensions.

- To concentrate.

5 min

Breathe in and out several times.

Blowing out candles (11)

- To release tensions.

- To control one’s body (air flowing).

5 min

5 min

Articulation (3)

Vocal warm-up (13)

- To relax facial muscles.

- To practice articulation.

10 min Concentration (15)

- To concentrate.

- To control one’s own body

10 min Eyes up! (16) - To control one’s body movements.

- To concentrate.

- To become comfortable with using

eye contact.

10 min Go bananas (17) - To concentrate.

- To control one’s body.

10 min Tongue twisters (20)

- To practice articulation and voice

projection.

10 min Chunking and mood swings (12)

-To control one’s emotions.

15 min Introducing yourself (19) - To communicate a short presentation.

5 min Closure

- To clarify doubts.

- To ask for feedback.

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Appendix E: Workshop Planning. Session 7 – Monday 24th, November 2014

Time Activities Objectives

5 min

15 min

Pushing up the sky (1)

Semi-supine position (5)

- To clean mind and body.

- To release tensions.

- To concentrate.

5 min

5 min

5 min

Breathe in and out several times.

Blowing out candles (11)

Hug yourself tight (6)

- To release tensions.

- To control one’s body (air flowing).

5 min

5 min

Articulation (3)

Vocal warm-up (13)

- To relax facial muscles.

- To practice articulation.

5 min

10 min

5 min

The monkey (10)

Walk with intention (14)

As you like it…(variation of 14)

- To control one’s body movements.

- To align one’s body (correct position).

- To breathe properly.

5 min

5 min

Concentration (15)

Cyclops (18)

- To concentrate.

- To control one’s own body

10 min Introducing yourself (19) - To communicate a short presentation.

5 min Closure - To clarify doubts.

- To ask for feedback.

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Appendix E: Workshop Planning. Session 8 – Wednesday 26th, November 2014

Time Activities Objectives

10 min

5 min

Pushing up the sky (1)

Breathe in and out several times

- To clean mind and body.

- To release tensions.

- To concentrate.

70 min

Dramatised Poems

Students perform a 1-minute poem in

the Multiexpression Room. They can

make use of props.

- To communicate intentions and

feelings through a poem.

5 min Closure - To receive feedback about the

presentations given.

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Appendix E: Workshop Planning. Session 9 – Monday 01st, December 2014

Time Activities Objectives

10 min

5 min

Pushing up the sky (1)

Breathe in and out several times

- To clean mind and body.

- To release tensions.

- To concentrate.

70 min

Dramatised Poems

The students perform a 1-minute poem

in the Multiexpression Room. At the

end of the presentations, they answer

Q2 as the final task of the Workshop.

- To communicate intentions and

feelings through a poem.

5 min Closure - To receive feedback about the

presentations given.

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Appendix F: Description of exercises performed in the Workshop Body Language and

Voice Projection – Universidad Austral de Chile, November – December 2014

Name of the

exercise

Author Time Extra Material

1. Pushing up the

sky

Maley, 2000 5-7 minutes No

2. Statues in the

park

Wessels, 1987 10 minutes No

3. Articulation Maley, 2000 5-7 minutes No

4. Tom’s depressed Wessels, 1987 10 minutes No

5. Semi-supine

position

Maley, 2000 15-20 minutes Relaxing music

6. Hug yourself

tight

Maley, 2000 5 minutes No

7. Vacumming the

lungs

Maley, 2000 5 minutes No

8. Pushing against

each other

Boal, 1992 7-10 minutes No

9. Resonance National Theatre

trainer, 2011

5 minutes No

10. The monkey Maley, 2000 7-10 minutes No

11. Blowing out

candles

Maley, 2000 3-5 minutes No

12. Chunking and

mood swings

Maley, 2000 10 minutes A short story

13. Vocal warm-up National Theatre

trainer, 2011

5 minutes No

14. Walk with

intention

Boal, 1992 10 minutes No

15. Concentration Wessels, 1987 10 minutes No

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16. Eyes up! Swale, 2009 7-10 minutes No

17. Go bananas Swale, 2009 10-12 minutes No

18. Cyclops Swale, 2009 10-12 minutes A piece of cloth to

blindfold students, a

chair, and objects

19. Introducing

yourself

Avilés and

Martínez, 2014

3-5 minutes (each

person)

20. Tongue Twisters 10 minutes Different tongue

twisters

The following is a detailed description of the exercises used in the Workshop conducted

in this Research Project. Each activity is fully described in its original execution and then,

in its variation to fit the purposes of this study, if required. It is important to mention that

all the exercises displayed can be modified to the convenience of the facilitators of any

Workshop.

1. “Pushing up the sky” (Maley, 2000)

According to the author, this exercise asks a person to stand in a balanced position, then,

extend his hands and arms above head level with the palm facing upwards. Next, the person

takes a “deep breath and release it in one long smooth out-breath as [he pushes] upward in a

number of small movements of [his] arm and hand” (p.5).

Variation: The previous exercise was combined with “Unwinding the spine” (Maley,

2000). In this opportunity, facilitators asked students to stand in a balanced position and

breathe in and out several times. Then, they had to extend their bodies towards the ceiling

to try to reach the sky, stretching all of their muscles as much as possible. After this,

trainees were instructed to hang the hands loose, followed by their elbows and arms to

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finally start going down by slowly bending their bodies from the waist down. Once they

reached the floor, they had to take deep breaths and start going up very slowly until

reaching the balanced position again. In this exercise, it is very important to control that the

head is the last thing that hangs when going down and the last thing that comes up when

returning to the initial position.

2. “Statues in the park” (Wessels, 1987)

This exercise is developed in pairs (the statue and the sculptor). The sculptors shape

their statues into famous pieces of art (Statue of Liberty, Michelangelo’s David, etc) by

moving their bodies. When the statues are ready, all the sculptors walk around the statues

and try to guess what they represent.

Variation: This activity was played in pairs, but in this case, they had to make the statues

represent actions such as thinking, playing tennis, dancing, boxing, etc. The sculptors could

not touch their statues so they only gave verbal instructions for the statues to move by

themselves. Again, once they were finished, the sculptors had to walk around the class and

guess what the statues were doing. If their guess was right, the statues could move again. If

not, they had to remain still. After a while, the roles were reversed. *The representation of

the statues can be adapted to display famous statues or characters, specific actions (sports,

dances, attitudes and feelings, etc), and so on.

3. Articulation (Maley, 2000)

This exercise comprises workouts of the face muscles, jaw, lips, tongue, and soft palate.

To begin with, the author suggests that a person should raise his eyebrows up and down,

“wrinkle [his] nose up as high as possible; clench [his] whole face as tightly as [he] can;

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pull [his] cheeks sideways in an exaggerated grimace; tense the tendons that connect [his]

chin to [his] throat; stretch [his] face laterally” (p. 12), among other procedures. As for the

jaws, one should make circular chewing movements and massage it at ear level, let the jaw

drop and stop the muscles from holding it up. Some other exercises to work out one’s

articulation relate to one’s lips and tongue. In this case, the author mentions that to work

them out, a person should “make a –brrrr and a –prrrr sound by expelling air through your

lips to make them vibrate” (p. 13). With the tongue, one should stick it as far as possible,

curl the tip of it and star going backwards until reaching one’s soft palate. This procedure

should be repeated about 5 times.

Variation: For this set of activities of articulation, the monitors maintain the exercises but

they also slightly changed the face muscles portion, by asking students to try to move all of

their muscles freely, making ugly faces, for example. As for jaws, they were asked to move

them in zig-zag motion. The exercises of lips and tongue remained the same in this case.

4. “Tom’s depressed” (Wessels, 1987)

In this game, one student is Tom, who sits in the centre of the classroom. In groups, the

students come up with a list of things that would cheer Tom up. Then, Tom chooses the

best list and the winning group acts out the first three things they listed.

Variation: One student played the role of Tom, who is miserable and completely

depressed. He sat in the centre of the classroom while the class was divided into two teams.

Each team had to come up with a list of performances that they think can make Tom laugh.

After this, each team has to select a participant to perform to Tom and try to make him

laugh. The team that makes Tom laugh wins the game.

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5. “Semi-Supine Position” (Maley, 2000)

This position consists of a person who lies down on the floor. Knees are raised and arms

loosely at the side and if one wishes, soft music can be played during this exercise. The

idea is that the person can feel his body spreading on the floor. After several breaths, the

person closes his eyes and visualise his body by parts, starting at the toes. The author states

that this position helps the person relax and lengthen the spine, among other benefits.

Variation: The facilitators developed this exercise and adapted the position to fit the room

it was being developed in. Instead of having students lie down on the floor, they would sit

comfortably in their chairs. The rest of the procedure is done as explained.

6. “Hug yourself tight” (Maley, 2000)

As the author mentions, the person has to stand in the balanced position. The right hand

goes under the left armpit and “the left arm around your right upper arm” (p. 8). The person

has to hug himself tight and take several breaths “drawing the air in as deep as [he] can” (p.

8). Then, in the same position his body loses down and drops towards the floor. Following,

the person has to take several breaths to open the lower back of his body. Finally, the

author suggests coming up slowly while breathing in.

7. “Vacuuming the lungs” (Maley, 2000)

In this drill, the person starts in the balanced position and takes a deep breath. Then, he

“breaths out completely, empting [his] lungs” (p. 10). When the person is empty, it closes

his nostrils with his hands so he cannot take any air in. After this, the rib cage has to be

expanded as when breathing. The person cannot take any air in, just the muscles simulate

the action. When at maximum expansion, the persons lets go of his nostrils.

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8. “Pushing against each other” (Augusto Boal, 1992, p. 65-66)

According the author, this activity is done in pairs. They position themselves facing each

other and holding each other’s shoulders. There is an imaginary line between them. Next,

“when one person feels that her adversary is weaker, she eases off so as not to cross the

line, so as not to win. There are several variations of this exercise: back to back, bottom to

bottom, and others.

9. “Resonance” (National Theatre trainer, 2011)

In this set of exercises, participants are asked to “hmmmm” as the slightly hit their chest,

ribs and back to feel the vibration of the voice.

10. “The monkey” (Maley, 2000)

The starting position is with the spine erect and aliened, crouched down and feet

shoulder-with apart. First the person goes down until his hands can reach the ground. Then,

his buttocks go down almost touching the ground. Next, the person has to start going up

while breathing in.

*It can be difficult to maintain the positions. If needed, feet can be more apart to help the

person’s balance.

11. “Blowing out candles” (Maley, 2000, p. 9).

In the balanced position, the person visualises 12 candles in a row in front of him. Then,

he takes a breath and starts blowing out the candles one by one.

*It can be done several times until the person controls the continuous flowing of his

exhales.

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12. “Chunking and mood swings” (Maley, 2000)

For this exercise, it is needed to have a short story to read. The person first decides how

he is reading the story; where to make pauses, intonation, mood, intention, etc. Later, he

reads it again but with different mood and intention.

Variation: The person receives a short story and has to start reading it with a certain

emotion or mood (e.g. sad). After a few lines, the monitor tells him a different emotion

(happy, excited, angry, nostalgic, nervous, etc). The emotions are switched until the person

finishes the story.

13. Vocal articulation (National Theatre trainer, 2011)

This set of exercises consists of making the facial muscle working. Participants can

make funny faces, stick out the tongue, move it around inside the mouth, point it and flatten

it. Some other exercises include doing sounds such as “ta”, “rrr” “ayaya” and “yoya”

several times as a warm-up.

14. Walk with intention (Boal, 1992)

In this exercise, students are asked to walk in different ways; monkey, all fours, camel

walk, elephant walk, as you like it (they could choose).

15. “Concentracion” (Wessels, 1987)

This game is played seated in circles. Each of the students is given a number and there is

one who conducts the activity, called “Jack”. The author mentions that the exercise is done

to four beats (slapping both hands on the thighs, clapping the hands once, snapping fingers

of each hand in turn). In this case, the beat is slap, clap, snap, and snap. Following, on the

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first snap, the monitor says “Jack”, then, on the second snap, any number. The students

who has the number, then says his number on the first snap and then another number on the

second one. The game continues this way until someone breaks the beat, and then the

numbers are distributed again.

Variation: This activity can be played with students in different position if the room

requires it. Also, the structure of the beat can be modified if preferred.

16. “Eyes up!” (Swale, 2009)

In this game, all students are standing in a circle, looking down to the ground. They are

told they have to choose someone in the circle, but without telling. The monitor counts to 3

and says “up”. This is the code word for students to look up, where they have to stare at the

person they had chosen. Also, they cannot stop staring at the person until the monitor says

so. Players lose lives when they are both staring at each other. The idea of this game is to

get used to using eye contact and be comfortable with it.

17. “Go bananas” (Swale, 2009)

This simple game consists of a person standing in the middle of a circle and being asked

questions. Every time that person is asked a question, he or she must answer ‘bananas’,

without laughing. The aim is to “gain enough control to avoid laughing. This can be linked

to […] the importance of focus in performance” (p.65).

18. “Cyclops” (Swale, 2009)

In this activity, all students make a big circle. One students is chosen to be a Cyclops; he

is blindfolded and sitting on a chair in the middle of the circle. After, place a set of keys or

another sounding element underneath the chair. Once all of this is done, choose one student

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to be the intruder and to try to get the keys without being heard by the Cyclops. The

environment in this game must be relaxed and calm, since the Cyclops needs to hear if

anybody is trying to approach is ‘cave’. The aim of this activity is to get students focused

and relaxed.

19. Introducing yourself (Avilés and Martínez, 2014)

Students tell a personal anecdote, a happy, sad, or embarrassing moment for 3 to 5

minutes. It could be a real story or they can also make it up. The idea is that they have to be

aware of their body while telling the story in order to include Drama techniques exercises.

20. Tongue Twisters

For this activity, students are presented with a series of tongue twisters for them to

practice all together. This is great for training the tongue and the concentration.