An Introduction to Readers Theatre

Abstract

It is common in Japanese university English classrooms to meet students across the spectrum of English levels who lack the confidence and ability to speak fluently. Additionally, many of them have great difficulty in understanding spoken English. Students arenʼt introduced to the rules and conventions of English pronunciation in a way that enables them to assimilate and use this knowledge, and this precludes many learners from speaking smoothly or understanding naturally spoken English. Readers Theatre is a performance-based group activity in which participants read aloud from a script. In English as a foreign language education Readers Theatre may be an effective approach to enable students to achieve greater language fluency and due to its structured nature, build their confidence to speak English. What follows is an introduction to how Readers Theatre can be implemented in the Japanese university classroom with the aim of helping students to develop better English communication skills in relation to pronunciation, fluency, listening skills and confidence.