Drama: Secondary

Key resources 1 - A social theory of language to underpin drama

To be literate

These notes outline the main concepts of a social theory of language, which emphasises the role that language plays in shaping our private and social lives and worlds. The emphasis here on a social theory of language is in recognition that, in a sense, all drama represents the more or less urgent human need for communication between two or more characters.

Trainees could consider the different ways in which drama might be used to enhance literacy education based in a social and critical theory of language. Sub-groups could take a screen each and suggest ways in which role-play and other forms of enactment might engage pupils’ in a critical exploration and experience of how language communicates

In this definition, following Halliday, dialect refers to the ‘way that we speak’, which is often determined by our position in the social structure – in other words we expect dialect to be linked to class, ethnicity or other sub-cultural variables. Register is determined by function and audience –we say things in different ways according to our purpose and the nature of the social activity we are engaged in. The emphasis on ‘choosing’ and ‘using’ is a reminder that the more dialects and registers that we have access to the more literate and therefore the more powerful we can be in the world. ‘Effectively’ and ‘appropriately’ reminds us that our choices are often constrained by cultural rules, which determine which registers and dialects are appropriate in different modes of communication and cultural locations. ‘Private’ and ‘public’ is an affirmation of the importance of preparing our students to be powerful in public arenas as well as in their intimate moments of loving and sharing within families and local communities. And ‘contexts’ of course reminds us that language is always situational and can only be acquired and developed situationally.