2020-21 | From the Page to the Stage: A Feasibility Study on using theatre to improve EAL children's communicative skills

Project Lead:

Faidra Faitaki   l   Department of Education   l   University of Oxford

Partner Organisations:

Collide Theatre   l   Oxford Playhouse   l   St Barnabas School

The project aimed to explore the effects of using drama on the linguistic, communication and teamwork skills of children with English as an Additional Language (EAL). It took the form of workshops for EAL children in an Oxford school. The children read a story, devised under the guidance of a drama facilitator with the intention of presenting the final piece to an audience.

The project was initially developed in collaboration with the Young Players Festival at Oxford Playhouse in March 2020, and was curtailed due to the pandemic. Read Faidra's reflections on the project here.

In June 2022, D Faitaki presented a paper based on this work at the Early Language Learning and Multilingual Education 2022 Conference. Granada, Spain: "Using theatre to improve English as an Additional Language learners’ communication skills", She also published a book chapter detailing the preliminary findings (Faitiki, F. & Murphy, V.A. (2022). “Using theatre to improve English as an Additional Language learners’ communication skills: A feasibility trial”, in B. Cortina-Pérez, A. Andúgar, A. Álvarez, S. Corral, N. Martínez & A. Otto (Eds.). Addressing Future Challenges in Early Language Learning and Multilingual Education (pp.141-148). Madrid: Dykinson.)