Process drama in the Japanese university classroom: Phase Three, The Homelessness Project

The purpose of this paper is to describe the third phase of a process drama project, which focused thematically on the social issue of homelessness. Two classes of the elective English Communication course took part in this project twice weekly for ten weeks, in which the students examined homelessness from the perspectives of Japanese-Americans incarcerated in internment camps during World War II. The goal of the project was for students to develop an understanding of homelessness, while simultaneously losing awareness of English as a dreaded examination subject, and using the target language as a viable communicative tool instead. The techniques used in this project were manifold: tableau, family role-play, class role-play, writing-in-role, reaction-writing, research online in both Japanese and English to examine the nature of propaganda, online class discussions, as well as a guest lecturer session with a refugee speaker1. The trajectory of this discussion moves along a traditional Japanese Noh theater three-part narrative arc, called Jo-Ha-Kyu , “Enticement・Crux・Consolidation”

Process drama in the Japanese university EFL classroom: The Emigration Project

This paper examines the impact of using a process drama project in a Japanese university EFL class focusing on the social issue of emigration from a historical perspective while simultaneously developing English communicative skills. Speaking in English is a skill that many Japanese people find challenging. There are a number of cultural reasons for this, for example the enormous linguistic gap between Japanese and English communicative patterns in terms of explicitness/implicitness, hierarchy, gender, and the role of silence. Therefore, the overt aim was to help students develop English language skills while learning about Japanese historical emigration through the medium of English with Japanese scaffolding. This is in keeping with the needs of the average Japanese university EFL student, who has had six years of accuracy-based study for the short-term target of the university entrance examination and who sees English in terms of mathematical code, rather than as a communicative tool. The narrative arc of the paper follows the Noh theatre JO-HA-KYU, Enticement- Elaboration-Consolidation trajectory to take the reader through the emigration process drama project held in the spring semester of 2009 at the School of Human Welfare Studies (HWS), Kwansei Gakuin University (KGU), Japan. The research approach was a mixed-method one and data was collected through digital recording of role-plays, student self-critical reflection by writing-in-role and writing out-of-role in an online class group, qualitative and quantitative questionnaires and teacher observation. Results indicated that process drama projects can have a positive influence on Japanese university EFL learners from the perspective of both linguistic and intercultural communicative competence

Deconstructing the bully and victim dichotomy

Although steps have been taken to address the issue of ijime or bullying, it remains is a serious social problem within the Japanese educational system. The main focus of this pilot study was to ascertain how beneficial process drama could be in developing oral communicative skills in the target language of English as well as to build social awareness through the deconstruction of the bully and victim dichotomy. Process drama in language acquisition is unique in its aim to fuse language learning and personal development. The average Japanese university student has had six years of compulsory English education, with an emphasis on grammar-translation and accuracy. This means that, while the average student excels at translation and test-taking, s/he has had little experience with communicative English and has no sense of ownership of the language. Because of this lack of oral communicative skills, process drama is an ideal means to build the bridge to communicative competence. This paper is part of a larger tri-semester process drama project and the data accumulated from all three will be used as evidence in a final PhD dissertation. Although steps have been taken to address the issue of ijime or bullying, it remains is a serious social problem within the Japanese educational system. The main focus of this pilot study was to ascertain how beneficial process drama could be in developing oral communicative skills in the target language of English as well as to build social awareness through the deconstruction of the bully and victim dichotomy. Process drama in language acquisition is unique in its aim to fuse language learning and personal development. The average Japanese university student has had six years of compulsory English education, with an emphasis on grammar-translation and accuracy. This means that, while the average student excels at translation and test-taking, s/he has had little experience with communicative English and has no sense of ownership of the language. Because of this lack of oral communicative skills, process drama is an ideal means to build the bridge to communicative competence. This paper is part of a larger tri-semester process drama project and the data accumulated from all three will be used as evidence in a final PhD dissertation

Testing the waters: Drama in the Japanese university EFL classroom

This paper explores the rationale for including drama-based pedagogy into the curriculum of the Department of English at Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University (APU) in Japan. Traditional Japanese teaching practices are explained, followed by an outline of the parallels between drama-based pedagogy and teaching practices of the Japanese elementary school. Contrary to popular expectation, drama-based pedagogy is compatible with existing traditional and cultural systems of education in Japan. Therefore, drama-based pedagogy was included in the Fundamental English language course at APU to provide the students a bridge to move from teacher-led styles of junior high and senior high schools to return to the more learner-centered styles of education of the elementary educational system. This would seem a reasonable way in which to facilitate more cooperative, rather than competitive, styles of learning. Secondly, within the course subject matter of “Intercultural Communication”, drama-based pedagogy could be employed through role plays and self-reflection inside the classroom to allow the students to experience awareness of differing communicative styles when engaged in social interaction with the international students outside of the classroom. Likewise, the process of self-reflection in drama and theatre practices is a complex mix of introspective interrogation and affective engagement, which forms the catalyst for dramatic communication. The purpose of this paper is to present one specific case where drama-based pedagogy was incorporated into the English language curriculum of a rather unique Japanese university

序破急 Jo-Ha-Kyu: enticement - crux - consolidation. From study to learning: Process drama projects in the Japanese English language university classroom

This dissertation investigates how social issues can be explored through process drama projects in the Japanese university English as a Foreign Language classroom context. The trajectory of this dissertation moves along a traditional Noh three part macro-continuum, called Jo-Ha-Kyu, interpreted as enticement, crux and consolidation. Within these three parts, there are six further divisions. Part I consists of three sections: Section I, the introduction, sets the backdrop for the entire dissertation, that of Japan, and aims to draw the reader into its culturally unique and specific world. This section outlines the rationale for placing the ethnographer at the centre of the research, and presents Japan through the eyes of the writer. Section II outlines relevant Japanese cultural norms, mores and values, the English educational landscape of Japan and an overview of theatre in Japan and its possible influences on the Japanese university student today. Section III provides three literature reviews: second language acquisition, drama in education to process drama, and Content Language Integrated Learning. In Part 2, Sections IV and V respectively consist of the research methodology and the action research at the core of this dissertation. Section IV describes the case of Kwansei Gakuin University, then explains the design of the process drama curricula. Section V details the three-process drama projects based around the three social issues at the centre of this dissertation. There is also a description of an extra project that of the guest lecturer project. The ultimate goals of all four projects were to change motivation through English in a CLIL context, to develop linguistic spontaneity and to deepen emotional engagement with the themes. Part 3 serves to reflect upon the viability of using process drama in the Japanese university curriculum, and to critically self-reflect on the project as a whole

Overcoming shyness: Promoting leadership and communication through English drama camp in Japan

The purpose of this paper is to describe how drama-based pedagogies can meet Japanese university EFL students learner-needs within a short time-frame. It first describes the cultural and educational contexts of Second Language Acquisition (SLA) in Japan in general terms, before specifically outlining the aims and methodology of the 2014 and 2015 summer drama camps. The paper then moves into the crux, that of the aims, student profiles, methodology and results of the 2016 summer drama camp, which focused on the theme of homelessness. The paper concludes by arguing the validity for the more widespread adoption of drama-based pedagogies in the Japanese university EFL context

Building Intercultural Communicative Competence: From Controlled Role-plays to Real-life Interviews in Hiroshima Peace Park

Many teachers of English at the university level in Japan appreciate the value of drama-based pedagogy in secondlanguage acquisition (SLA), while simultaneously disregarding it as a viable teaching tool due to variousconstraints: students’ level, Japanese cultural tendency towards shyness and the fundamental difference betweenthe high-context, implicit nature of Japanese and the more explicit, low-context language of English. Some thinkthat drama-based pedagogy in SLA is for use only by qualified drama practitioners to be rendered only in optimalteaching circumstances. This paper examines how the use of controlled to semi-controlled role-plays were animportant stepping-stone to real-life interviews with tourists for students at an engineering university inHiroshima with little or no exposure to the performing arts, and very low levels of English