Project title: “The magic of theater: time travel as motivation in learning English for 5th grade students.” Project type: Literary and creative The goal of the project: to create methodological developments for classes, with a selection of exercises that

The magic of theater: time travel as motivation in learning English for 5th grade students.

Author:

Yakovleva Margarita,

Student of grade 9 “A”

St. Petersburg

 2023-2024

Project work passport

Project title: “The magic of theater: time travel as motivation in learning English for 5th grade students.”

Project type: Literary and creative

The goal of the project: to create methodological developments for classes, with a selection of exercises that will allow 5th grade students to learn English more effectively.

Tasks:

 Get acquainted with children's theaters and theatrical productions suitable for learning English in 5th grade

 Create a script for a mini-play to reinforce lexical units

 Compose questionnaires and conduct a survey on the research topic among 5th grade students

 Analyze and draw conclusions based on the results of the survey

 Present the research results in the form of a presentation, mini-performance and methodological recommendations

Problem: How to make learning phrases, words and fixed expressions in English easier for 5th grade students?

Contradiction: Words, phrases, and set expressions play a big role in the English language, but they are difficult to learn.

Stages of work on the project

Self-esteem:

1. Specificity: a clear indication of the purpose of the project to create a methodological development as a product of the project

2. Controllability: the deadlines for completing the work are clearly indicated, as well as who the project is aimed at

3. Realism: the goal contains a specific way to implement the plan

4. Relevance: problems of learning English in 5th grade, interest of younger schoolchildren in children's plays

5. Motivation: everyone wants to improve their English language skills

Content

Introduction………………………………………………………………………p.6

Relevance of the project………………………………………………………... .p.7

Questionnaire of students………………………………………………………. p.8

Chapter 1 History of the formation of theater as an art……………..………… p.12

1.1 Origin of the theater……………………………………………………….. p.12

Chapter 2 History of theatrical art in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland……………………………………………….……………… p. 13

2.1 Globe Theater and William Shakespeare………………………………….. p.13

2.2 Famous theaters of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland…………………………………………………………………………. p.14

2.3 Guide to children's theaters in Great Britain………………………….…… p.15

Chapter 3. HOW TO LEARN ENGLISH FOR JUNIOR SCHOOLCHILDREN WITH THE HELP OF CHILDREN'S PERFORMANCES……………….….. p.18

Chapter 4 Practical part. Scenario for a theatrical performance in English and Russian based on the fairy tale “Little Red Riding Hood” by C. Perrault (for younger schoolchildren)………………………………………………...…….. p. 20

Chapter 5. Creation of methodological recommendations…………………….. p.24

Questionnaire after the performance……………………………………..……. p.24

References………………………………………………………………...…….p.25

INTRODUCTION

Who among us can imagine modern life without knowledge of foreign languages? It's practically impossible. More and more people are striving to learn foreign languages. When learning foreign languages, many, especially younger schoolchildren, encounter difficulties due to the lack of language practice and therefore a foreign language becomes something unattainable for them. But you can learn foreign languages ​​with ease and interest. One of these ways is to watch interesting children's theater productions in English, which are designed for primary schoolchildren. In my work, I decided to explore the most effective ways to learn English through watching children's plays in English. I will tell you about the advantages of this approach, and offer effective techniques for working with them. I believe that learning English through theater productions is interesting and productive.

Research hypothesis: By watching children's performances in English, we can enrich our vocabulary, improve our auditory perception of English speech and develop our pronunciation.

The goal of the project: to create methodological developments for classes, with a selection of exercises that will allow 5th grade students to learn English more effectively.

Tasks:

 Get acquainted with children's theaters and theatrical productions suitable for learning English in 5th grade

 Create a script for a mini-play to reinforce lexical units

 Compose questionnaires and conduct a survey on the research topic among 5th grade students

 Analyze, draw conclusions based on the results of the survey.

 Present the research results in the form of a presentation, mini-performance and methodological recommendations

Research methods:

1. Analysis of information on the topic “Learning English through watching children's plays in English”;

2. Questioning of fifth graders;

3. Processing of research data; Literature review.

Relevance of the project

Each person has his own goal for learning English. Some people need a language to move to another country, some to get a well-paid job, others just to travel or read literature in the original language.

Having such a goal is a very important motivation for effectively learning English or any other language. When there is a goal that you really want to achieve, when you see progress in mastering the language, then there is a huge motivation to move forward, to learn more and more new facets of the language. But children of primary school age, fifth graders, do not yet fully understand why they are learning English. After talking with them, to my question about the purpose of learning a language, I received answers - my parents force me, they teach me at school - so I have to. Only a small number of students told me that they would need the language in the future for their profession, for reading foreign literature.

After analyzing many studies and reading many articles, I came to the conclusion that many of those who speak a foreign language perfectly, without being native speakers, like to watch TV series and performances in the original language. Of the foreigners in the world, residents of Scandinavia and the Netherlands speak English best - almost at the level of native speakers from the UK, USA, Australia and other English-speaking countries. I was very interested in why their English was so good, and it turned out that the reason was not intensive English classes. They just really love watching films, plays and various talk shows in the original language.

Taking into account the psychological characteristics of children of primary school age, I decided that it would be very interesting for them to watch small theatrical productions, with vocabulary accessible to them, based on works that they have already read in translation and know what they are talking about. This will increase students' motivation and develop cognitive interest in further familiarization with children's English theater productions, as well as in learning English.

The more children practice watching mini-performances in English, the better they will know the language, and will gradually be able to move on to reading and watching more serious works and films in English.

Student survey

I knew little about the effectiveness of the use of theatrical performances in a foreign language when fifth-graders are learning a language, so I decided to conduct a survey among fifth-grade students of our lyceum, what they know about performances in English, whether they study them in English lessons and whether these performances help in a foreign language in learning the language itself. Together with my teacher, I compiled a questionnaire and asked students in grades 5a, 5b and 5c to answer the questions. Here's what I got.

48 5th grade students took part in the survey and were asked to answer the following questions.

In the first question, students had to answer whether they had ever watched children's plays in English. I got these results:

Figure 1 - Watching movies and TV series

According to the results of the first survey, 10 students out of 48 students watch children's plays in English, about 20 people do not. There were 18 students who sometimes watched children's plays.

The second question asked students to answer the question of whether they consider this method of learning a foreign language interesting and effective. The students' answers were as follows: 

Figure 2 - Opinion about this method

Based on the results of the second question, it was revealed that 37 out of 48 students believe that this method of learning a language is interesting and effective, 11 students do not think so, and none of the students thought about it.

The third question asked students to think about whether using this method was considered effective for their own language learning. The answers were:

Figure 3 - Application of the method

As a result of the third survey, we found that 35 out of 48 students would use this method to learn languages, 9 people would not use this method, and 4 people do not know whether this method is suitable for them.

Conclusion:

Based on the results of the entire survey, we concluded that:

1. Not many primary schoolchildren watch children's plays in English, preferring English productions of these plays with Russian translation.

2. But they also find this teaching method interesting and effective, compared to simply memorizing phrases and texts from textbooks.

3. More than half of junior schoolchildren would use this method to learn the language themselves, or improve existing knowledge.

Chapter 1 History of the development of theater as an art

1.1 Origin of the theater

From the modern explanatory dictionary, we learned that theater, translated from Greek theatron - a place for spectacles, is a type of art that is a specific means of expressing stage action that arises in the process of an actor playing in front of an audience. [Modern explanatory dictionary]

From the history of theater we learned that European theater arose a long time ago in Ancient Greece in the 6th century BC. As is known from the history of the ancient world, the ancient Greeks worshiped various Gods. Cult rituals were dedicated to all these deities, which gradually developed into real tragedies and comedies. Ritual celebrations turned into real theatrical performances.

The very first theater - the building was an open-air space and consisted of three main parts: an orchestra - where dancers and a choir performed, there was also an auditorium - located around the orchestra and a skena building, where rooms for the artists were located.

Spectators were initially seated on wooden seats. It turns out that theatrical art was so revered in Ancient Greece that the authorities gave money to poor citizens for performances. Married women were prohibited from watching productions. There was no curtain or the usual stage, and all the female roles were played by men. The actors changed their roles several times during one performance, so they had to dance and sing excellently. The appearance of the actors was changed using masks. Next to the building was the temple of Dionysus.

Chapter 2 History of theatrical art in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

2.1 Globe Theater and William Shakespeare

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland includes several diverse countries that are rich not only in history, but also in the culture of their people. So if we look at geography, it turns out that Great Britain is divided into four administrative and political parts (historically national regions): England (39 counties, 6 micro-counties and a special administrative unit - Greater London), Wales (8 counties), Scotland (12 regions: 9 districts and 3 island territories), Northern Ireland (26 districts). The Isle of Man and the Channel Islands are separate administrative units. [From the electronic encyclopedia Cyril and Methodius]

Dramatic art appeared in Great Britain quite a long time ago. It originates from street performances that were held on church holidays, and served as a kind of moral teaching. During the Renaissance, all areas of art become more secular in nature and move away from religious themes. It was at this time that the then revolutionary Globe Theater appeared, where the now world-famous William Shakespeare staged plays.

It turns out that the original Globe building could accommodate up to three thousand people and looked more like a Roman Colosseum than a performance venue. The theater was hugely popular among Londoners - even despite the fact that there was no seating in the theater (except for boxes for the aristocracy).

The Globe Theater owes its popularity largely to the great and enigmatic playwright William Shakespeare. Here he not only staged his famous plays, but also performed the roles himself. Many Shakespearean works were written specifically for production in this theater - hence their unique details.

Today, the Globe still functions as a theater, but you can see famous tragedies and comedies here only in the summer. In winter, the theater is closed, but it offers daily excursions. Next to the theater there is a museum dedicated to the work of William Shakespeare - if you find yourself in London and could not get to the performance, be sure to take a tour of the sanctuary of the famous playwright.

2.2 Famous theaters in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

Until now, London surprises and amazes with its theaters: Almeida Theater Jermyn Street Theater in London, Duchess Theater, Leicester Square Theater, Cambridge Theater, Dominion Theater, Comedy Theater, Coliseum Theater, Queen Theater, Lyric Theater , Criterion Theatre, Lyceum Theatre, London Theatre, Palladium Theatre, New London Theatre, Prince Edward Theatre, Peacock Theatre, Aldwych Theatre, Prince of Wales Theatre.

In England they amaze not only with interesting performances, but also with original architecture, as well as unusual directorial decisions. If you're planning a trip to London, be sure to visit the Piccadilly Theatre. It has existed for more than eight decades and delights connoisseurs of theatrical art not only with modern, but also with traditional classical productions.

One of the oldest theaters in London is the Aldwych Theater, which has been gathering around the entire city elite for more than a century. Such famous actors as Joan Collins, Vivien Leigh, Basil Rathbone and others once performed on its stage. Another architectural monument of Great Britain is Her Majesty's Theater. The theater was created at the beginning of the 18th century, and by the end of the 19th century it moved to a large new building, where it is still located. It is of great historical and cultural value, and the classical repertoire will appeal to all lovers of this art form. This theater is located in London, in the west of Westminster.]

The building of the Grand Opera House in Belfast impresses with its beauty. Built back in the 19th century, it is not only an architectural landmark in the oriental style, but also delights theater fans with a classical repertoire and excellent acoustics.

2.3 Guide to UK children's theaters

Capital and provincial, dramatic and puppet theaters, these theaters in England rightfully bear a worldwide reputation. If you are planning to visit this country with children, going to one of them is a must.

Theater "Polka"

The Polka Theater opened in 1979 and has since gained worldwide fame. It is one of the few theaters in the UK designed exclusively for children aged 0 to 13 years. More than 100,000 spectators attend Polka every year, many for the first time in their lives! The Polka repertoire is extensive; here you can watch performances based on English folk tales, works by Hans Christian Andersen, Robert Louis Stevenson, Lewis Carroll, as well as productions based on modern children's books. During the summer holidays (from mid-July to September), the theater holds children's workshops led by their favorite characters - Charlie and Lola from Lauren Child's book and Anthony Brown's talking gorillas.

www.polkatheatre.com

240 The Broadway, London SW19 1SB

"Soho"

Soho was founded in 1972. This is perhaps the most famous theater in Great Britain, located in the heart of London. The basis of its repertoire consists of modern performances for adult audiences (drama, comedy and cabaret), however, there is also something to watch for young viewers. For example, a performance based on the book “The Gruffalo” by Julia Donaldson, during which children can stomp their feet, clap their hands, jump and run around the auditorium. The Gruffalo monster will only approve! And for parents, a trendy bar is open on the ground floor of the theater, where the bohemian public of London gathers.

www. Sohotheatre.com

21 Dean Street, London W1D 3NE

"Unicorn"

Unicorn" was opened back in 1947. In post-war times, it was just a van that traveled around the cities and towns of Great Britain, giving performances in the streets and squares. Many years have passed since then. Today, the Unicorn is located in a large four-story building on London Bridge and consists of two main theaters, several small stages, as well as rooms for interactive performances in which the audience participates. “The Unicorn” is visited by more than 70,000 spectators annually, its audience is children and youth (from 2 to 21). The repertoire is based on plays by contemporary authors.

www.unicorntheatre.com

147 Tooley Street, London SE1 2HZ

Unfortunately there are not many puppet theaters in the UK. The theater in Norwich is one of the best. It opened in 1979, in the beautiful medieval St. James Cathedral, in the very center of the city. The theater troupe does not sit still, the artists tour extensively throughout Europe and the world, presenting puppet shows based on classic and modern works of children's literature to the audience. The theater building houses an art gallery, a theater store and a cafe, as well as classrooms for children's activities. Here you can learn the skills of a puppeteer and puppeteer.

http://puppettheatre.co.uk

St James, Whitefriars, Norwich NR3 1TN

This magical little theater first opened its doors in 1961 in London, at the instigation of the famous South African puppeteer, John Wright. From the very beginning, his main audience was kids. They fell in love with the funny puppet shows, and the theater soon gained worldwide fame. The Little Angel theater campaign tours throughout the UK, visiting theatres, arts centers and festivals. Each season it presents new performances by contemporary playwrights and play productions in which audiences can participate. The most famous projects of “Little Angel” are “Saturday Puppet Club” and “Doll Power”. The theater conducts master classes for children and adults on making dolls.

http://www.littleangeltheatre.com

14 Dagmar Passage, London N1 2DN

Do you go to theaters when you come to a new country?

Chapter 3. HOW TO LEARN ENGLISH FOR JUNIOR SCHOOLCHILDREN WITH THE HELP OF CHILDREN'S PERFORMANCES

Learning English through children's plays is one of the interesting methods for achieving results in linguistics. Firstly, it really works and quickly develops listening skills, and secondly, what could be more enjoyable than learning a language while watching a fun play in class and doing interesting tasks afterwards?

What factors of learning a foreign language from films and TV series can be identified:

1) Education and entertainment at the same time.

Watching the play in the original will be a good motivation. After all, you can watch fascinating videos during a break between monotonous grammar exercises and cramming.

 2) Development of listening skills in English.

Watching videos in English is one of the best ways to improve your listening comprehension of the English language. If at first it is difficult to understand what the characters in the video are saying, then you can stop it and translate it for the students. Thus, learning English from children's plays helps to “accustom” your ears to different accents and intonations of speech.

3) Increasing vocabulary.

While watching, you can significantly expand your vocabulary. You will guess the meaning of many words from the context, remembering in which cases to use new vocabulary. In doing so, you use the best way to learn words and expressions - in context. You see in what situation the characters in the play use certain phrases and words, so later you will know when and how to use the knowledge gained.

4) Studying colloquial forms of words, phrasal verbs and slang expressions.

The characters in the video speak as ordinary native speakers do. They use colloquial shortened forms of words, phrasal verbs and slang words in their speech.

5) Study of natural speech.

While watching the video, you listen to how live, coherent speech sounds, what intonation should be used to speak, where to make logical pauses and emphasis. This information is absorbed in your head, and gradually you will begin to unconsciously copy the speech of native speakers

6) Understanding the humor of native speakers.

Agree, how strange and incomprehensible English humor sometimes seems to us, because a significant part of jokes is based on wordplay. To get to know the British humor better, it is better to watch good, funny and humorous children's performances.

7) Studying the characteristics of another culture.

By watching children's performances, you can get acquainted with the customs, holidays, traditions or mentality of native speakers. From the Norwich Theatre's children's Christmas play, Home Alone, we all learned what Christmas means to the people of England. And everything in the play “The Thanksgiving Day” perfectly shows the traditions of celebrating Thanksgiving Day.

Chapter 4 Script for a theatrical performance in English and Russian based on the fairy tale “Little Red Riding Hood” by C. Perrault (for younger schoolchildren)

The mini-play script presented in this development is written in poetic form. All lines of the play were rhymed with the purpose to facilitate the process of memorizing complex structures by junior schoolchildren. It should be noted that while working on the performance, the guys involuntarily remember not only their words, but also their replicas comrades. Thus, this method of teaching children English activates even the most inattentive and inactive children.

When working on a performance, we widely use technology for developing collaboration skills. In this situation, children become more independent, independent, begin to evaluate themselves more accurately and others,

Collaboration technology allows you to qualitatively prepare children to solve everyday problems in communication and interaction, helps to lay the foundations of personal and social competence of children, raise them to be responsive, kind people.

During the work on the play, the method of self-government was used (the child is assigned to the role of “teacher” and assigned with other children - “students” - new words and grammatical structures in various game situations). This method is very effective in working with primary schoolchildren, as the children increase their attentiveness, efficiency, motivation, interest in learning a foreign language, develop communication and social skills, and are educated respect for each other, tension and fear are relieved possible failures.

This performance can be staged during lesson, it can become a separate number of any concert or fairy tale competition, and can also lie down the basis of a children's holiday with an English twist. The scenario presented in the development is recommended for use for primary schoolchildren, as well as for children of senior preschool age.

Preliminary work:

• Conversation on the history of the fairy tale “Little Red Riding Hood”, its content.

• Looking at illustrations, watching the cartoon “Little Red Riding Hood” in English.

• Distribution of roles. Analysis of characters’ characters, “getting into character” using facial expressions and gestures.

• Work on intonation expressiveness of speech. Staging plastic sketches, pantomimic sketches.

• Preparation of costumes and scenery

Vocabulary work: activation of lexical and grammatical structures studied during the school year: children’s ability to greet each other, say “magic” words (good morning, hello, thank you, please), name products (honey, pies, milk, bread) is activated ), family members (mummy, granny, granddaughter), describe nature (beautiful, sun, sky, trees, flowers), name parts of the body (eyes, nose, ears, teeth), etc.

Little Red Riding Hood

Characters:

Mother

Little Red Riding Hood (LRRH) Wolf

Grandmother Woodcutters

I

House of Little Red Riding Hood. Morning. Music is playing. Mom is setting the table. Little Red Riding Hood appears.

LRRH: Hello, dear mummy! How good this morning is!

Mother: Good morning to you, honey! Enjoy your breakfast, please.

LRRH: Thank you, mummy! It is yummy!

Mother: You know your granny doesn’t feel good.

 Visit her, please, and bring her some food.

Take some honey, pies and bread.

Come back before it’s time for bed.

But don’t stop in the forest, dear,

Don’t talk to strangers…

LRRH: Oh, yes, it’s clear!

II

In the forest. Music is playing. Little Red Riding Hood admires the forest nature.

LRRH: Oh, how beautiful the forest is:

the sun, the sky, flowers and trees!

I’ll put some flowers in my bag,

 and my granny will be glad!

(Collects flowers) Music plays. A wolf comes out from behind a tree.

Wolf: Well-well! Who is there in my wood?

 LRRH: Hello! My name is Red Riding Hood.

 Wolf: What are you doing in the forest still?

LRRH: I’m going to my granny, she is ill.

Wolf: Is her house far from here?

LRRH ((points towards grandmother’s house):

No, Mr Wolf, it’s very near.

Wolf (looks into Little Red Riding Hood's basket):

Bread and honey, Milk and pies.

So much to eat! What a surprise!

LRRH: I have to go! It’s getting late.

I am afraid to lose my way.

III

Grandma's house. Music is playing. A wolf comes to grandma's house and knocks on the door.

Wolf (голосом Красной Шапочки):

Hello, granny! I am here!

Grandmother: Come in, come in, granddaughter, dear!

Music is playing. The wolf enters the house and swallows the grandmother.

Wolf (stroking your belly): Oh, my lunch was very good!

Now I’ll wait for Red Riding Hood.

Music is playing. Little Red Riding Hood approaches Grandma's house and knocks on the door.

LRRH: Hello, granny! I am here!

Wolf (in grandma's voice): Come in, come in, granddaughter, dear!

Little Red Riding Hood enters the house.

LRRH (pointing to the basket):

Look, granny, I’ve brought you some food.

Wolf: Thank you! Come closer, Red Riding Hood!

Little Red Riding Hood approaches the wolf and sits down next to him.

LRRH (seeing the eyes of a wolf):

Oh! Granny, what big eyes you have got!

Wolf: The better to see you,

And the food you’ve brought.

LRRH (seeing the wolf's nose): Oh! Granny, you’ve got such a big nose! Why

Wolf : The better to smell you, And that sweet pie.

LRRH (seeing wolf ears):

But why have you got so big ears?

Wolf: Just to hear you better, granddaughter, dear.

LRRH (seeing the wolf's teeth, he exclaims in horror):

Oh! Granny, what big teeth you’ve got!!!

Wolf (attacks Little Red Riding Hood):

The better to eat you,

And all the food you’ve brought!!!

LRRH (screams): Help!!! Somebody, help me, please!

Woodcutters (surprised): Oh! Who is crying behind the trees?

Music is playing. Lumberjacks come to the rescue. They drive away the wolf. Grandma appears.

LRRH (hugging grandma): I was so scared, granny, dear!

And I am glad you are back here.

I’ll never stop in the forest to play,

And talk to strangers on my way.

Music is playing. All the fairy tale characters come out to bow.

Chapter 5. Creating guidelines

Links to performances in English for viewing and creating manuals

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yMoscxw00Q4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGRUKdiUrfU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B46Mdf8dO0k

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wv1DiJzbu8g

Website with scripts for creating methodological development

https://vzmakh.com/docs/teachers/trusova/anglijskij-teatr/anglijskij-teatr-scenarii-spektaklej/

Theater production Bremen Town Musicians

https://www.teacherjournal.ru/categories/13/articles/2565

Questionnaire after the performance

After the performance, we conducted a survey of the participants in the performance and the students who watched the performance. Questions were asked:

You can see the results on the slide. And we conclude that the majority liked this work.

Second question:

- What benefits do you think comes from participating in performances in English?

Bibliography

1. Bocharov N.L. Games in English lessons at primary and secondary levels of education // Foreign languages ​​at school. - 1966. - No. 3. - pp. 50-58

2. Burdina M.I. Evening of fairy tales in English // Foreign languages ​​at school. - 1996. - No. 3. - P. 45-50

3. Vygotsky L.S. Play and its role in the psychological development of a child: transcript of lectures given in 1933. at Leningrad State Pedagogical Institute named after. A.I. Herzen // Questions of psychology. - 1966. - No. 6. - pp. 62-76

4. Krivobokova I.Ya., Lotareva T.V. Some techniques for teaching English at the initial stage // Foreign languages ​​at school. - 1989. - No. 1. - pp. 52-54

5. Leontiev A.A. Psychological prerequisites for early acquisition of a foreign language // Foreign languages ​​at school. - 1985. - No. 5. - pp. 24-29

6. Negnevitskaya E.I., Shakhnovich A.M. Language and children. - M.: Education, 1981

7. Nikitenko Z.N. Technology of teaching vocabulary in the English language course for children in secondary school // Foreign languages ​​at school. - 1991. - No. 4. - pp. 52-59, 71

8. Samusenko Y.A. “Theater in English” // Publishing house “First of September”. Supplement "English Language", No. 3-7, 2007.

9. Fedotova N. Drama in use. Reflections on the topic // English. Supplement to the newspaper “First of September”. - 2004. - No. 4. - P. 3-4

10. Diment A.L. Theme evenings in English. M.: Education, 1988.

11. Fedotova N. Drama in use. Reflections on the topic // English. Supplement to the newspaper “First of September”. – 2004, No. 4.

12. T.O.Trubnikova, Yu.S.Shevarikhina. Scenarios for theme evenings and subject weeks of the English language in grades 5,6,7. – Rostov-on-Don, “Phoenix”, 2002