READERS THEATER: reading as fun and openness to others

One course, two courses, three courses. Enough time for the activity "Readers' Theater" for children from 9 to 12 years has become essential in the children's agenda of the Institute. The gradual increase in the interested public and the know-how of those who stimulate the activity have meant that this course has also had an older brother: “Readers' Theater for Adults”.

Dramatized readings had their great moment when the radio was the queen of entertainment, but for some time now, amateur readings have taken over as part of educational activities.

From the library of the Institute we were looking for a dynamic that would continue the work of storytelling in English for children from 4 to 8 years old. Like Storytelling, we wanted it to encourage interest in reading and a taste for oral narration in a playful and educational way. Indirectly, we hoped to increase the relationship of children of those ages with the IIE library.

We discovered that it is a very common activity in schools and institutes in the United States that is little known in Spain. The idea of ​​promoting a practice that not only had to do with the English language but also with the American culture helped to encourage us to start it.

But above all, the benefits of this activity as a way to improve reading and oral expression skills and also as a means to promote listening and attention of the participant weighed.

We approached the project in such a way that there would be a final "performance" in each session (instead of choosing to divide a single work into parts that would be performed only at the end of the cycle). In this way, each session focused on a different story and there was time at the end so that the children could do a reading open to the public (parents, siblings or companions).

In the sessions, time is left at the beginning to carry out some fun group dynamics that help “break the ice” between the participants. Next, a "cooperative reading" script is carried out, emphasizing unknown vocabulary and the pronunciation of more complex words.

In the activity for adults, the dynamic is similar, but after a general introduction to the work and a first general review of the script, the group is usually divided into two to work on different parts of it (and in pairs). After analyzing and reading the text, a final dramatized reading is carried out for the rest of the fellow participants. In this first cycle, classic works of American theater such as “Arsenic and Old Lace” or “The Iceman Cometh” and other more modern ones such as “The Actor's Nightmare” have been chosen. The facilitators help with archaicisms or difficult expressions.

Both in the version for children and in the version for adults, the playful aspect and openness towards others prevail over learning English, which is more of a communication tool than an objective in itself.

We hope to continue counting on the enthusiasm of the attendees and facilitators so that the activity continues to be a success in terms of participation and results.