LCS Lecture Series - The Aesthetic as Intrinsic Motivation: Teachers’ Use of Drama for Language Education

It is widely accepted that drama provides valid techniques for language learning. This lecture will lay out a theoretical foundation that seeks to define what drama is and what it can do in language teaching. We will then move on to two sets of data. One is drawn from Field Experience in language education. The second is from Dr DeCoursey’s own experience teaching French at the Institute. The lecture will discuss the difficulty of combining aesthetic objectives with language objectives and suggest solutions.

Speaker: Dr. Matthew DeCoursey

Dr Matthew DeCoursey teaches literature and drama for the Department of Literature and Cultural Studies. Originally in Renaissance European literature, he has in recent years been focusing on drama both for itself and as a teaching technique.