Chapter 8 – The Theatrics of Academic Language
The World of Rhetoric and Debate
When broaching the subject of Academic Language in a theatre classroom, many teachers go the route of Shakespeare. The reason for this? We’re aware that the majority of our students are drawn to the drama classroom to escape the world of desks and writing. Therefore, the easiest justification to incorporate a unit that requires students to participate in an analysis of language and meaning is to study the works of The Bard. However, I think many teachers wish to avoid the trap of turning the drama room into an English class – so often this unit tends to privilege teaching students to understand the meaning behind the language rather than focusing on the academic rhetoric Shakespeare uses to compose his character’s arguments. Also, it is difficult for students to connect to the academic complexity of language that feels so out of date.
After reading Chapter 8, I found myself reflecting on the opening quote: “All teachers are writing teachers” (195). However, I struggled to picture how many of the strategies suggested by the text to scaffold academic writing would be successfully incorporated into a drama perspective. Thinking back to Shakespeare and the importance of rhetoric to the development of his characters and their arguments, I found my inspiration: By having students participate in a performed debate – I would have a unique opportunity to have them explore/practice expository/persuasive writing.
I imagine I would divide the class into two teams, and via a group discussion, a topic would be decided on. At the end of the week, the teams would present their arguments in a friendly debate. Each individual student would be required to “present a main point and support it with evidence” (199) during the live debate performance.
Leading up to the debate, I would design classes that allowed them to practice their pre-writing skills, and would provide any struggling students with the framework they need as an entry point into this style of writing. I might have students participate in more informal activities like writing Pros/Cons with a partner, or have them brainstorm using the Persuasion Scale (Figure 8.3).
I think this activity would be a fun way to incorporate one genre of academic writing into a drama classroom – and I hope to continue to discover more strategies and exercises to provide writing opportunities for my students.