Reflection

Drama is one of the methods to teach language to young children as it connects

the language learning experience with the learners own real life experience. Therefore,
this coursework requires us to stage a play with the knowledge of drama techniques that
we have learned.
We were required to select a story that is suitable for Year 1, 2 or 3 pupils then
prepare a script based on the story. However, my group member and I faced some
difficulties when choosing the story. Firstly, we have no idea which genre of the story
would attract pupils attention and which story is pupils favourite. We went through
different genre of story such as folktale, fairy tale, animal fantasy and etc. After we have
done some online research, we decided to choose a fairy tale story which entitled The
Flower Princess. Fairy tale ignites pupils imagination which helps them to relate it to
their real life situation and also develops pupils thought and therefore it motivates them.
Bettelheim (1989) says fairy tales help children to cope with life, as they thematize the
difficulties of growing up, emphasize the hope of a better future and a happy outcome.
Fairy tales help pupils to find the solutions of their problems through the characters in
the story and therefore help young children to cope with their real life and finally motivate
them in handling their problems.
Adaptation of the story is another problem we encountered when we were
preparing the script. The original story The Flower Princess consist only three
characters which are the prince, the princess and the witch, so the number of character
is insufficient for us as we have altogether four people. Therefore, my group member
and I have to think of another character which we can blend it into our story. Finally, we
have come out with an idea, which is to add in a newly created character which was the
wizard. The reason we have come out with this decision is to ensure each and everyone
of us has a role to play with. Besides, the characters in the original version did not have
names. Therefore, in order to let the audience to have a clear view of every character,
we have provided names to the characters in the story such as Prince Jack and Princess
Jasmine. By doing so, young children will be able to recognize who is who better by the
characters names instead of Prince or Princess. Also, interaction with pupils are very
crucial when comes to staging as we need to make sure our audience are with us.
Therefore, we have decided to add in some extra lines so that we can use it to interact

with our pupils. For example, we have added in line like Please help me to say no to the
witch, please say no everyone!
Moreover, my group member and I also discovered some new vocabulary which
we thought it is not common used in our Malaysia context. Therefore, we have decided
to replace and simplify those words into something our pupils are familiar with. By doing
so, it will ease pupils understanding about the story and also it is easier for them to read
when they are exposed with the script. Conway (1996) says by simplifying text in terms
of vocabulary load and syntactical complexity, or by augmenting text with additional cues
and supports, children are better able to develop fluency in reading. Therefore, by
changing or replacing the difficult vocabularies will smooth the process of reading and
understanding about the whole story.
We were also given some feedback on the staging of our play by our peers.
There are some strength as well as some weaknesses. The feedback was done under
two categories which are feedback on whole group performance and feedback on
individual performance. As a group, the feedbacks given by our peers are mostly good.
Firstly, our costumes were very nice as it suited all the characters in the story. Jones
(2001) says set and costume designs are not just a collection of images, they are the
expression of mood, the presence that enhances and comments on the performance.
Therefore, costume is one of the crucial elements in staging because it enhances the
role of the character and cause tension in a visual form. Plus, the makeup of the witch
really made the witch looked evil and ugly. Moreover, well and good co-operation and
teamwork can be seen through during our staging. My group member and I have shown
well co-operation and full participation.
Besides, our adaptation of the story is very suitable for young children as the
language is simple and it is easy to be understood by pupils. Besides, one of our
strengths is that we are creative enough to use a flower (relia) to signify the flower
princess when she was turned into a flower by the witch. Also, we have a very
interesting story line and the plot of the story is exciting. There is a flow in our story as
we can see how the princess met the witch and how the witch turned her into a flower
and lastly how she was rescued by her prince. When comes to stage management, most
of the comments are also good as we have a very amazing props arrangement
especially the witch house, for example, we put skull, skeleton and magic potions (test

tube with colouring water) in the witchs house. It really did show the atmosphere of
being in a witch lair. Plus, we also have a very good and loud voice projection and good
gesture usage.
However, we do have some weaknesses during the staging. One of our
weaknesses is that we did not turn our face towards audience frequently. We were too
focusing on ourselves (between actors) when delivering our lines. Therefore, we should
face our audience more often as it somehow forms a connection between actors and
also audience and it will capture our audiences attention. Face is where all our emotions
and expression appear and that is the main element to attract and capture our audience.
Alderson (n.d) mentions that the most powerful way to reach an audience is through the
characters emotion. For only when we connect with the characters on an emotional
level, does the interaction become deep and meaningful.
Peer feedbacks also given through individual performance. I did have some
strengths as well as weaknesses during the staging. One of my weaknesses is that
some of my pronunciations were not accurate. I have pronounced certain words wrongly.
For example, I missed pronounced word like pluck. It is a very terrible mistake as
pupils might just end up learning wrong pronunciation. As Shapiro (1997) said that by
listening to stories they work on many skills such as correct pronunciation, not to
mention listening skills. Therefore, clear and accurate pronunciation is very crucial
because pupils will learn the pronunciation when listening and viewing the play. Missed
pronunciation can really affect pupils learning as pupils might imitate the wrong
pronunciation. Therefore, when I pronounce the words wrongly, pupils will tend to follow
the wrong pronunciation as they might think those are correct pronunciation. Pupils
might lose the opportunity to learn the correct and accurate pronunciation As a result;
pupils will end up learning and pronouncing the inaccurate pronunciation. Therefore, to
prevent this flaw from happening again, I will make sure that I look out all the
pronunciation of the words which I am not certain with by referring to dictionary. By doing
so, it might decrease the rate of me pronouncing inaccurate pronunciation.
Despite of all the weaknesses, I did receive some good comments regarding to
my strengths. One of my strengths is my voice. I have a very loud and clear voice
projection and it can be heard by everyone in the microteaching room. Good and clear
voice projection is very important for an actor as we must be able to attract pupils

attention. Pupils will listen to me when my voice is loud enough. So when pupils are
focusing, it will help to reduce the chances of they chatting with their peers, therefore, it
will reduce the noises creating by them. Besides, a good voice projection can also make
sure that the pupils will be able to listen to each and every word that I spoke. They will
be able to understand the storyline and be aware of what is happening.
In a nutshell, I have gained a lot of new experiences throughout this drama
performance. I have learnt that drama is not just merely performing a play to the
audience but it requires us to adapt and suit ourselves into the character of the story. It is
very crucial and important on how well you can actually attract and drag your audiences
attention towards the play. Besides, I also learnt that facial expression and body
gestures are key elements to make our play even more interesting. Clear and loud voice
is to assure that each and everyone in the room can clearly hear your voice. Last but not
least, pronunciation is also important for to ensure each and every word is pronounced
accurately.

References
Alderson, M. (n.d). Connecting with audiences through character emotions.
Retrieved from http://www.writersstore.com/connecting-with-audiences-throughcharacter-emotions/
Bettelheim, B. (1989). The uses of enchantment: The meaning and importance of
fairy tales. New York: Vintage Books.
Conway, R. (1996). Curriculum adaptations. In P.Foreman (Ed.). Integration and
inclusion in action (pp.145-190). Sydney: Harcourt Brace
Jones, L, L. (2001). Classical receptions in late twentieth century drama and
poetry in english: The use of set and costume design in modern productions of
ancient greek drama. Retrieved from
www2.open.ac.uk/ClassicalStudies/GreekPlays
Shapiro, A. (1997). ETNI: Overcoming the obstacles to teaching children how to
read and how to enjoy reading. Retrieved from
http://www.etni.org.il/etnirag/issue3/aviva_shapiro.htm