Teaching Shakespeare through Collaborative Writing and Performance in a Norwegian Primary School ESL Classroom: An Interview with Ellen Marie Kvaale

Delilah Bermudez Brataas

doi:10.15845/emco.v7i1.2975

Abstract

This interview outlines the experience of Ellen Marie Kvaale, primary school teacher in Hoberg Primary School, in Stange, Norway. She discusses her innovative three-year project introducing three of William Shakespeare’s plays to 5th, 6th, and 7th -grade ESL students. Her project successfully employed challenging pedagogical methods that resulted in student performances, as well as student publications. The project was designed to develop their written and communicative skills in English with students producing multimodal written texts and collaborating on all levels of scene writing, performance design, and production. Building on her project, Ellen Marie also held workshops at Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences for pre-service teachers in which her primary school students participated. Her experience demonstrates the value and efficacy of using Shakespeare and his texts in ESL Primary School classrooms through active and interactive approaches, including performance, music, and collaborative writing that effectively engaged the four basic language skills.

Highlights

Ellen Marie Kvaale’s effort in the classroom is a powerful example of how one teacher’s passionate interest in Shakespeare leads to achievement in practice
I was teaching English in the 5th, 6th and 7th grades, and the teaching materials that my school provided at the time were, in my opinion, very poor
Many of the students had developed a negative attitude towards studying English, and their oral and written skills were poor

Summary

Introduction

Ellen Marie Kvaale’s effort in the classroom is a powerful example of how one teacher’s passionate interest in Shakespeare leads to achievement in practice. I have introduced three of Shakespeare’s plays using this series: Romeo & Juliet, A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Much Ado About Nothing to my grade 5, 6 and 7 students at Hoberg Primary School. EMK: During the three years of the project (2014-2016), the students read adapted texts of Romeo and Juliet, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Much Ado About Nothing.

Results

Conclusion