Milli mála - 01.01.2010, Blaðsíða 172
parts of the original script – they would bring into the play as
long as they dealt with it at some point in the process.
Interestingly, most of them did not work on it in their own time
and ask me for feedback afterwards but preferred working on it
with me in the lesson or in additional face-to-face meetings, and
this did not seem to be related to their level of german. Most of
them commented in their course diary on what they were plan -
ning to do with their text and what they wanted to discuss with
other students and with me.
as a teacher who is always concerned with giving enough
space and stimulation for students’ creativity and realisation of
their own ideas, I wanted to explore whether the option of having
the opportunity to rewrite, shorten or delete parts of the script in
a way they would prefer would make them get more involved
than if changes had been made for them. This involvement seems
to have a positive effect on their learning as it gives the students
more responsibility and power over their play and artistic per-
formance.
Rehearsing and reflecting: working with portfolios
For several years I have been using portfolios in my teaching, and
I keep learning about new and better ways of using them more
effectively. I found Bräuer’s work on the use of portfolios in for-
eign-language learning/teaching very helpful and inspiring.40 In
the rehearsal process portfolios were used to help the students
document and reflect upon their ideas, questions, difficulties, work,
and suggestions. The portfolio they were supposed to submit at the
end of the course consisted of a journal in which they were sup -
posed to regularly make entries and a final reflection on the whole
project. If they wanted, they could also add photos, pictures, and
other relevant documents. One student submitted, along with her
portfolio, her entire manuscript in which she had documented the
revisions she made, using three different languages.
Similar to Shier41, I used portfolios as ‘reflective practice’ in a
theatre project within the foreign-language curriculum that were
CrEaTIng SPaCE
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40 gerd Bräuer, “reflecting the Practice of Foreign Language Learning in Portfolios (1)”, p. 3.
41 Janet Hegman Shier, “The arts and the Foreign-/Second-Language Curriculum”, pp.
187–188.
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