Drama and basic skills are words you might not expect to find in the same sentence, but this month, we met with three tutors and visited their classes to see how they are using drama as a vehicle to teach basic skills.

City Lit, London, has recently developed courses for ESOL learners which combine language and drama as a pilot for developing a full programme of embedded basic skills courses. Drama seemed an ideal starting point to support the development of students self-confidence and persona skills.

Teaching the same group of students, drama instructor Tim Taylor and ESOL teacher Mary Chinthala, work in partnership, sometimes overlapping and at other times delivering separate sessions. The course they teach offers students the chance to develop language skills in an ESOL session which are then vivified through role play, discussion, warm-up exercises etc in a drama-based session.

Most students in Tim and Mary’s class have just done the level 1 exam and are moving on to level 2. At the end of the course, the students will sit the level 2 exam and give a presentation on a subject of their choice, for example, a ceremony.

Mary teaches the grammar component of the class and Tim presents practical exercises through drama. Mary and Tim coordinate their lessons each week so that the grammar Mary covers supports the drama exercise Tim has planned and vice versa.

Tim with his students

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