Language learning through drama and cultural heritage

This chapter provides an overview of ways in which drama activities can be used to enhance language learning and develop awareness of cultural heritage. The use of drama in the language classroom ranges from the enactment of simple role plays to the staging of dramatic texts. What all examples of such performative approaches have in common is that they promote linguistic, affective and cultural goals: students work collaboratively in the target language in order to achieve specific learning objectives in a non-threatening and inclusive learning environment, from the creation of a tableau vivant to the adaptation of a novel for the stage. When working towards a theatrical performance, students engage actively with assets such as literary texts, while in approaches such as Process Drama, where there is no external audience, cultural heritage assets can provide a starting point from which learners can create their own stories. Whatever the context, the chapter argues that by stepping into some else’s shoes and taking on a role, learners are challenged to look at cultural heritage from different perspectives: this is particularly true with a multilingual and multicultural group of learners, who are given the opportunity to share and (re)create their own cultural heritage.