Transforming English Through Drama

This unique collection promotes and develops 'drama-in-English’, a hybrid pedagogy combining reader response theory with literacy research and educational drama. Drawing on experienced practitioners' classroom insights, the authors show how embedded drama approaches can be used to revitalise the English/Language Arts curriculum and motivate young people to make personal and critical connections with their learning.

Readers will find eight reader-friendly accounts exploring how drama-inflected approaches support diverse learners across all aspects of English teaching. Contributors discuss engaging with literary texts through spoken, written and multimodal responses; digital storytelling; embodied approaches to creative and informative writing; developing language competency; and preparation for formal examinations. The research-informed content, rooted in real classroom practice, demonstrates sustainable and fully integrated creative approaches applicable to UK and international contexts.

This essential resource benefits all those working in English/Language Arts education: secondary teachers, teacher educators, trainee teachers, and teachers of English as an additional language.

Maggie Pitfield is an experienced English and Drama teacher, is currently a Research and Knowledge Exchange Fellow at Goldsmiths, University of London.

Jane Coles, a former Head of English and Deputy Headteacher, is also an experienced teacher educator and educational researcher, most recently at UCL’s Institute of Education.