ventajas profesores y alumnos teatro digital interactivo

Flexible learning methodology, effective and fast customisation, stimulating content, interaction… The potential of new technologies and the new methods of learning English is so great that we could write a book! No, don’t worry. We’re not about to present a thesis for you to read! Based on our experience as theatre and teaching professionals here at Face 2 Face we want to tell you 5 advantages of using Let’s DO IT!

One of the great advantages that forced physical distancing has brought to Face 2 Face Theatre Company is the necessity to expand and take advantage of our educational theatre program to improve the experience of teachers and students. In order to do this we have taken the leap into online theatre thanks to the enormous potential of new technologies.

Let’s DO IT! was born at the beginning of the current school year to adapt to the new educational reality imposed upon us by the Coronavirus and to be able to continue bringing theatre to schools and institutions. Taking four of our classic shows from our repertoire as well as using recorded live theatre we incentivise the learning of English through e-learning using techniques taken from video games and gamification.

Over the past few months Let’s DO IT! has become a real stimulus for positive reinforcement to improve the educational experience of learning English with a multitude of advantages for teachers and students. And today we are going to list some of these advantages that will undoubtedly serve as a key if you want to teach English in a more motivating way leaving aside traditional textbooks for a few days.

1.- Stimulating content through an infinite number of multimedia resources.

At Face 2 Face, apart from educators, we are also actors and what we like most is to perform. We perform theatre in English of course, given that we all come from the United States and the United Kingdom and we have been doing so in schools and theatres for over 20 years, mixing theatrical and didactic techniques adapted to the level of our audiences and students. The coronavirus has prevented us from performing in front of live audiences but that is no excuse for not continuing to enjoy the experience of educational theatre in English.

Let’s DO IT! offers 4 online plays covering all educational stages, from Kindergarten to Baccalaureate: The Frog Prince, Death by Haircut, Treasure Island and Shakespeare in Chicago. In addition to the online show itself, Let’s DO IT! includes a wide range of additional content including information about the show, the author, the historical context of the action, the characters etc. All this content is presented through an infinity of multimedia resources – songs, karaokes, animated games,…- that capture the student’s attention, enriching their learning in a very playful way as well as a varied catalogue of interactive tests used to evaluate aptitudes, which the students carry out as if they were playing a game.

2.- Complementary activities that facilitate the teacher’s job and increases student motivation

Each play is divided into 4 sessions or lesson plans, structured respectively on the 4 scenes into which each play is divided. And each scene includes a multitude of pre and post video activities. These activities are not only based on the additional information from the show but also go deeper into the vocabulary, grammar and linguistic structures used by the actors and which have been previously adapted to the students’ level of English.

The format of these complementary activities applies elements of gamification, including levels, rankings and rewards that increase student motivation, helping students to become immersed in the activity as if it were a video game.

3.- Interactivity to increase English language practice and consolidation.

With no theoretical materials, no exercises that are nothing more than a digitalisation of the paper version, the activities we propose in Let’s DO IT offer teachers the possibility for their students to interact with the contents as if in a game, without knowing the results or guessing what exercise comes next in order to pass the level and obtain the reward.

This gaming mode helps to increase student participation, stimulate teamwork and consolidate English language learning, through the continuous assessment and self-correction involved in using gaming techniques. Students assess themselves and thus check whether they have acquired the necessary knowledge to progress through the activities

4.- Personalising lessons effectively and quickly

With each Let’s DO IT pack, the teacher has a support guide and additional materials with which to adapt the set of multimedia resources to the curriculum of their classes and to the level or needs of their students. All the online packs are accompanied by a Teacher’s Pack with a basic lesson plan, which can be used directly in each of the 4 original lesson plans or sessions. But this same Teacher’s Pack serves as a script/guideline for adding, deleting or modifying activities. The teacher has complete freedom.

In addition, the notes, resources and links to be found in the packs help Let’s DO IT to move out of the English class and “sneak” into the Values, Social Sciences or Natural Sciences classes, within the methodologies of, for example, project-based study. The enormous range of possibilities and the flexibility in methodology offered by these online shows allow them to be effectively integrated into all areas of each educational stage for which they are designed.

5.- Positive reinforcement for students

It’s not a prize but an encouragement. Let’s DO IT is an effective positive reinforcement tool with advantages not only in the school and educational sphere, but also psychologically.  The reward system used following gamification techniques stimulates effort, fosters receptivity, increases self-esteem, awakens enthusiasm for doing things well… all of this, while at the same time consolidating knowledge.

We could go on listing many more advantages since the possibilities of Let’s DO IT, just like those of theatre, involve developing all our artistic and creative skills in order to take advantage of its enormous didactic potential. Try it for yourself by requesting a free trial.

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