Reflection

Drama is one of the methods to teach language to young children as it connects

the language learning experience with the learner’s own real life experience. Therefore,

this coursework requires us to stage a play with the knowledge of drama techniques that

we have learned.

We were required to select a story that is suitable for Year 1, 2 or 3 pupils then

prepare a script based on the story. However, my group member and I faced some

difficulties when choosing the story. Firstly, we have no idea which genre of the story

would attract pupils’ attention and which story is pupils’ favourite. We went through

different genre of story such as folktale, fairy tale, animal fantasy and etc. After we have

done some online research, we decided to choose a fairy tale story which entitled “The

Flower Princess”. Fairy tale ignites pupils’ imagination which helps them to relate it to

their real life situation and also develops pupils thought and therefore it motivates them.

Bettelheim (1989) says fairy tales help children to cope with life, as they thematize the

difficulties of growing up, emphasize the hope of a better future and a happy outcome.

Fairy tales help pupils to find the solutions of their problems through the characters in

the story and therefore help young children to cope with their real life and finally motivate

them in handling their problems.

Adaptation of the story is another problem we encountered when we were

preparing the script. The original story “The Flower Princess” consist only three

characters which are the prince, the princess and the witch, so the number of character

is insufficient for us as we have altogether four people. Therefore, my group member

and I have to think of another character which we can blend it into our story. Finally, we

have come out with an idea, which is to add in a newly created character which was the

wizard. The reason we have come out with this decision is to ensure each and everyone

of us has a role to play with. Besides, the characters in the original version did not have

names. Therefore, in order to let the audience to have a clear view of every character,

we have provided names to the characters in the story such as Prince Jack and Princess

Jasmine. By doing so, young children will be able to recognize who is who better by the

characters’ names instead of Prince or Princess. Also, interaction with pupils are very

crucial when comes to staging as we need to make sure our audience are with us.

Therefore, we have decided to add in some extra lines so that we can use it to interact

with our pupils. For example, we have added in line like “Please help me to say no to the

witch, please say no everyone!”

Moreover, my group member and I also discovered some new vocabulary which

we thought it is not common used in our Malaysia context. Therefore, we have decided

to replace and simplify those words into something our pupils are familiar with. By doing

so, it will ease pupils’ understanding about the story and also it is easier for them to read

when they are exposed with the script. Conway (1996) says by simplifying text in terms

of vocabulary load and syntactical complexity, or by augmenting text with additional cues

and supports, children are better able to develop fluency in reading. Therefore, by

changing or replacing the difficult vocabularies will smooth the process of reading and

understanding about the whole story.

We were also given some feedback on the staging of our play by our peers.

There are some strength as well as some weaknesses. The feedback was done under

two categories which are feedback on whole group performance and feedback on

individual performance. As a group, the feedbacks given by our peers are mostly good.

Firstly, our costumes were very nice as it suited all the characters in the story. Jones

(2001) says set and costume designs are not just a collection of images, they are the

expression of mood, the presence that enhances and comments on the performance.

Therefore, costume is one of the crucial elements in staging because it enhances the

role of the character and cause tension in a visual form. Plus, the makeup of the witch

really made the witch looked evil and ugly. Moreover, well and good co-operation and

teamwork can be seen through during our staging. My group member and I have shown

well co-operation and full participation.

Besides, our adaptation of the story is very suitable for young children as the

language is simple and it is easy to be understood by pupils. Besides, one of our

strengths is that we are creative enough to use a flower (relia) to signify the flower

princess when she was turned into a flower by the witch. Also, we have a very

interesting story line and the plot of the story is exciting. There is a flow in our story as

we can see how the princess met the witch and how the witch turned her into a flower

and lastly how she was rescued by her prince. When comes to stage management, most

of the comments are also good as we have a very amazing props arrangement

especially the witch house, for example, we put skull, skeleton and magic potions (test

tube with colouring water) in the witch’s house. It really did show the atmosphere of

being in a witch lair. Plus, we also have a very good and loud voice projection and good

gesture usage.

However, we do have some weaknesses during the staging. One of our

weaknesses is that we did not turn our face towards audience frequently. We were too

focusing on ourselves (between actors) when delivering our lines. Therefore, we should

face our audience more often as it somehow forms a connection between actors and

also audience and it will capture our audience’s attention. Face is where all our emotions

and expression appear and that is the main element to attract and capture our audience.

Alderson (n.d) mentions that the most powerful way to reach an audience is through the

characters’ emotion. For only when we connect with the characters on an emotional

level, does the interaction become deep and meaningful.

Peer feedbacks also given through individual performance. I did have some

strengths as well as weaknesses during the staging. One of my weaknesses is that

some of my pronunciations were not accurate. I have pronounced certain words wrongly.

For example, I missed pronounced word like “pluck”. It is a very terrible mistake as

pupils might just end up learning wrong pronunciation. As Shapiro (1997) said that by

listening to stories they work on many skills such as correct pronunciation, not to

mention listening skills. Therefore, clear and accurate pronunciation is very crucial

because pupils will learn the pronunciation when listening and viewing the play. Missed

pronunciation can really affect pupils’ learning as pupils might imitate the wrong

pronunciation. Therefore, when I pronounce the words wrongly, pupils will tend to follow

the wrong pronunciation as they might think those are correct pronunciation. Pupils

might lose the opportunity to learn the correct and accurate pronunciation As a result;

pupils will end up learning and pronouncing the inaccurate pronunciation. Therefore, to

prevent this flaw from happening again, I will make sure that I look out all the

pronunciation of the words which I am not certain with by referring to dictionary. By doing

so, it might decrease the rate of me pronouncing inaccurate pronunciation.

Despite of all the weaknesses, I did receive some good comments regarding to

my strengths. One of my strengths is my voice. I have a very loud and clear voice

projection and it can be heard by everyone in the microteaching room. Good and clear

voice projection is very important for an actor as we must be able to attract pupils’

attention. Pupils will listen to me when my voice is loud enough. So when pupils are

focusing, it will help to reduce the chances of they chatting with their peers, therefore, it

will reduce the noises creating by them. Besides, a good voice projection can also make

sure that the pupils will be able to listen to each and every word that I spoke. They will

be able to understand the storyline and be aware of what is happening.

In a nutshell, I have gained a lot of new experiences throughout this drama

performance. I have learnt that drama is not just merely performing a play to the

audience but it requires us to adapt and suit ourselves into the character of the story. It

is very crucial and important on how well you can actually attract and drag your

audience’s attention towards the play. Besides, I also learnt that facial expression and

body gestures are key elements to make our play even more interesting. Clear and loud

voice is to assure that each and everyone in the room can clearly hear your voice. Last

but not least, pronunciation is also important for to ensure each and every word is

pronounced accurately.

References

Alderson, M. (n.d). Connecting with audiences through character emotions.

Retrieved from http://www.writersstore.com/connecting-with-audiences-through-

character-emotions/

Bettelheim, B. (1989). The uses of enchantment: The meaning and importance of

fairy tales. New York: Vintage Books.

Conway, R. (1996). Curriculum adaptations. In P.Foreman (Ed.). Integration and

inclusion in action (pp.145-190). Sydney: Harcourt Brace

Jones, L, L. (2001). Classical receptions in late twentieth century drama and

poetry in english: The use of set and costume design in modern productions of

ancient greek drama. Retrieved from

www2.open.ac.uk/ClassicalStudies/GreekPlays

Shapiro, A. (1997). ETNI: Overcoming the obstacles to teaching children how to

read and how to enjoy reading. Retrieved from

http://www.etni.org.il/etnirag/issue3/aviva_shapiro.htm