Drama for dialogue of civilizations: Performance as storytelling in the adult ESOL classroom

Abstract

Prior research points to many affordances of drama and storytelling for language learning, identity exploration, and intercultural dialogue (e.g., Belliveau & Kim, 2013; McGovern, 2017; Schewe, 2013) as well as ethical risks associated with engaging multilingual learners in performative pedagogies (Cañas, 2015; Piazzoli & Kir Cullen, 2021). This ethnographic case study of an adult English as a Second Language (ESL) program in which students devised and performed a play centered on how performative storytelling positioned learners and how its focus on intercultural dialogue around mutual understanding contributed to peacebuilding. Thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006; 2019) illustrated how drama created space for dialogue, positioning students as actors worthy of being heard and competent at telling their stories in ways that reflected a nuanced view of the student-actors. The authors assert that representational ethics must be considered in order for performative pedagogies to work towards peacebuilding rather than towards further marginalization of immigrant and refugee communities.