Teaching English and Developing Intercultural Communication through Drama

Abstract

This paper proposes the development of intercultural communication through drama. Teaching English through dramatic presentation will help students to learn the skills of the language efficiently in Pakistan. English is argued to be the language of power and opportunities in Pakistan but because of unsuccessful and faulty language policy on the part of successive governments, English has not achieved victorious status in Pakistan. The government run schools, having been affected by the poor language policy, produce the students having poor English language skills whereas compared to the students from private English medium institutions have improved language skills. This paper argues that engaging learners in dramatic performance is an effective approach to both intercultural communication development and foreign language learning. This paper, first, briefly discusses the importance of English in Pakistan; second, it discusses the significance of literature in cultivating intercultural awareness. This paper, then, illustrates approaches to develop intercultural communication through drama. Finally, this paper advocates the use of drama to develop intercultural communication and teach English as foreign language in Pakistani context. It is suggested that, in the given situation, drama can serve as an effective approach for foreign language learning in Pakistan.