Event Date: 6th November 2021

Abstract:

Current research and education tendencies bet on an educational model that boosts multiple intelligences as well as those related to soft skills through which students are engaged in a motivating and meaningful learning process. In this sense, drama-based pedagogy is a very valuable tool as it promotes an integral education. Drama has an interactive and visual nature that engages all kinds of learners. As an alternative method, drama helps them acquire new knowledge by scaffolding previous learning through non-threatening experiences. It also encourages students to use their imagination and think creatively. This, in turn, promotes risk-taking, which is an essential element in effective language learning. Through drama children become responsible for their own learning and teachers can take a more open-ended approach, focusing on the process rather than the product. In this session, the presenter introduces the participants to the world of drama and invite them to take part in the adventure of transforming their teaching experience.

About the Speaker:

Patricia Laura Arbona is a specialist in language teaching and learning based in San Nicolás, Argentina, and holds a postgraduate language and phonology degree from Universidad de Buenos Aires. She has got vast experience in TEFL as a teacher, trainer and drama teacher. She has contributed articles to academic journals and has delivered presentations and workshops in English and Spanish in Argentina and various countries in America, Europe and Asia. Her particular areas of interest are holistic education, discourse analysis and English as a lingua franca. As an independent researcher, she is exploring active learning and paralinguistics, and has done experimental work in Argentina, the USA and Europe. She is the founder and director of LudoDrama, a group of teachers whose main concern is to improve the quality of education.