Many students seem to think studying Shakespeare is boring, which is why The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) and the University of Warwick have partnered up to produce Teaching Shakespeare – the professional development program which hopes to enrich the experience of studying William Shakespeare’s works for students all over the world.
A one-stop shop online program, Teaching Shakespeare includes over 100 films featuring modelled lessons and interviews with leading RSC directors and practitioners along with academics from the University of Warwick. The aim is to provide teachers with the skills and knowledge to bring drama-based approaches to the classroom. ‘Our humble ambition is to transform how Shakespeare is taught across the world,’ Warwick Business School Professor Jonothan Neelands said. ‘We find that the best way to encourage young people to develop a joy in reading Shakespeare is through getting them up on their feet, moving around, speaking the words and making the choices that actors do.’
This new program was invented after research conducted by the RSC and the British Council found that studying Shakespeare was not the ‘life riching experience it should be’ for many students. ‘The RSC’s research has shown that this approach is more likely to lead to a lifelong love of Shakespeare rather than sitting around in class and reading dusty books,’ Neelands said.
Bringing the program to an international audience is the next step for Neelands, who recently gave a lecture in Australia about the effectiveness of drama-based learning, which he says increases self-confidence and has proven particularly successful in urban schools.
‘Children are often told what Shakespeare means, but this helps children engage with the plays and the ideas and take away the fear and threat,’ Neelands said. ‘Because you have to make decisions on how to act it, it becomes part of you. It brings a playfulness and enjoyment to Shakespeare. We are taking the play back to being a play.’
So far, the program certainly seems to be producing some positive results. Honley High School in Holmfirth, West Yorkshire, has revealed that over 79% of students classified the study of Shakespeare as ‘fun’ after theatre-based teaching was included in the curriculum. Prior to this, over 93% of students were ‘ambivalent or vehement’ that the study of Shakespeare was not fun.
‘After using practical approaches to Shakespeare we found the writing levels of pupils in a highly disadvantaged class had improved considerably: 86 per cent were now on target to achieve level four in their SATs. Before the Shakespeare teaching unit, only 53 per cent were on target,’ a London primary school teacher said.
Eight-year-old Stokeinteignhead Primary School student Ben now thinks studying Shakespeare is one of the most exciting things in the world. ‘My dad said Shakespeare was boring, but he’s got it wrong! I’m gonna tell him about Hamlet. It’s got murders and ghosts and castles and stuff and that’s not boring,’ he said. Teaching Shakespeare is currently available online.
Further information can be found on the website.
