Reflections on a primary school teacher professional development programme on learning English through Process Drama

Abstract

This article documents the authors’ reflections on a teacher professional development programme conducted in 38 Hong Kong primary schools on teaching English through Process Drama. The authors drew from views of school principals, subject panel head teachers, English teachers, students and parents in focus group interviews to examine learning and teaching experiences at the heart of the Programme. The reflections focus on how Process Drama can enhance second language acquisition by accommodating more affective factors in learning, by stressing creativity and by shifting the didactic discourse in the classroom to one that is more authentic and less threatening and which encourages increased amount of student talk. The authors describe how, based on the focus group interview data, a piece of Verbatim Theatre was created and used as a stimulus to elicit deeper reflective responses to the Programme. They also reflect upon the level of understanding of Process Drama’s complex pedagogy and artistry demonstrated by those teachers new to it and consider what further research might help the long-term implementation of drama in Hong Kong classrooms.