<p> This thesis presents findings from a yearlong study of a classroom of adult immigrants studying English as a Second Language (ESL) in the U.S., who collaboratively created and performed plays based on their life experiences. This research is rooted in poststructuralist theories of identity in second language learning (e.g., Norton, 2000; 2013), a view of language pedagogy as a form of liberation (Freire, 1970), and the notion that theater can be used by non-actors to critically engage with issues of relevance to the community (Boal, 1979). The teacher-researcher of the class used ethnographic investigation informed by autoethnography and action research to examine: 1) how students perceived theater as affecting their language development, and 2) how individual students&rsquo; identity development was affected by participation in the class. Data included interviews, field notes, audiovisual recordings, artifacts, and journal entries. Relevant literature in the fields of immigration, second language acquisition, and drama in language teaching is reviewed and discussed. The process of engaging students in playwriting and performing is detailed in the findings section along with a discussion of the nature of theater in the second language classroom. The data analysis exhibits that creating a play had many positive effects on students&rsquo; affective dimensions, second language development, classroom dynamics, and investment in the course, as well as some negative effects including anxiety amongst students at the prospect of performing in English and instances of interpersonal tensions. Classroom implications of the study include the recommendation that teachers frame theater explicitly in a positive light and make expectations of students clear from the beginning of the course.</p>

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Inaug.-diss.--Heidelberg. / Biography: last leaf.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-12-08T16:51:59Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 113137.pdf: 26519000 bytes, checksum: 33c400f28df7da5b028e0eceeea0982d (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-03-07 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / A dissertação intitulada ¿A dramaturgia de Hilda Hilst: Percursos e diálogos entre o dramático e o não dramático¿ é um estudo sobre a escritora Hilda Hilst (1930-2004) e sua obra, com enfoque na sua produção dramatúrgica. No primeiro capítulo desta pesquisa, apresento um panorama da trajetória literária da autora, iniciando por sua poesia até chegar à sua escrita dramatúrgica, destacando as influências formais, estruturais e temáticas que reverberaram em seus textos teatrais, bem como as particularidades deste gênero e sua relação com o contexto sócio histórico em que foi produzido. No segundo capítulo, faço uma apresentação e uma reflexão sobre linguagens teatrais (dramático; simbolismo; absurdo; performativo) com as quais dialoga a produção teatral da escritora. Por fim, no terceiro capítulo, faço uma análise de três peças da autora, sendo elas O rato no muro, Auto da barca de Camiri e As aves da noite, partindo de teorizações sobre a estrutura textual, a construção da figura teatral, a alegorização, o símbolo e as qualidades políticas dos textos teatrais em análise.