Local Twist To Shakespeare

The Star, Sunday 30 January 2011 stated that a school is showcasing its adaptation of old English plays with the objective of promoting an appreciation of literature. This news interest me where I as a TESL student will have to put myself interested in it in order to get my students to do so.

We know that literature was initially read and valued only by those enthusiasts and elites who excel in the areas of arts and language studies has gradually paved its way to become a more dynamic resource in other areas such as in second or foreign language teaching and learning, Mathematic and Geography to name a few. In the case of second and foreign language teaching and learning, for example, literature has been widely accepted as motivating materials, an access to other cultural background, a resource for language acquisitions and a medium to expand learners’ language awareness. At the same time, literature has also gained reputation to have a wider educational function that may trigger critical abilities increase emotional awareness that would assist in educating a person as a whole ( Lazar, 1999 ).

In relations to this, students from Ipoh International School’s (IIS) A-Level programme are on a mission: to share their love for Shakespeare with others. The 52 members of the school’s Shakespearean Theatre Club have been visiting schools around Ipoh, Perak to showcase their adaptation of Shakespearean plays, including Macbeth, The Tempest and Julius Caesar. This is a very good programmed to me where it can help to reawaken interest in the classics and to promote an appreciation of literature in English.

So why wait! Give them a call and help your students to get interested in Shakespearean text that had been remolded into a modern context language.