The Effect of Readers Theater on EFL Seventh-Graders’ Reading and Listening Comprehension

While the effect of Readers Theater (RT) on English oral reading fluency has been extensively investigated, research on the effect of RT on adolescents’ English reading and listening comprehension was scant and yielded different results. This research aimed to explore how RT instruction influenced English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students, especially adolescents, in English reading and listening comprehension. This article conducted a 10-week quasi-experimental design involving two intact classes of 68 seventh-grade students from central Taiwan. The instruments included pretests and posttests of English reading and listening comprehension and nine students were interviewed for an in-depth analysis. The results revealed that the experimental group statistically significantly outperformed the control group on reading comprehension, but not on listening comprehension. Consequently, despite the advantages of RT instruction on reading comprehension stated in the article, interaction among learners in terms of listening comprehension is needed to be emphasized in the course when adopting the RT instruction.

The Use of Picture-word Inductive Model and Readers’ Theater to Improve Chinese EFL Learners’ Vocabulary Learning Achievement

Vocabulary, as the fundament of any language, is one of the most crucial aspects of language learning. And it also draws great attention from Chinese learners of English as a foreign language (EFL). This study conducted an experiment to examine the effectiveness of the picture-word inductive model (PWIM) and readers’ theater on Chinese primary EFL learners’ vocabulary learning achievement. The samples were 34 fifth-grade students from a primary school of China. The students received a vocabulary learning treatment with the lesson plans constructed based on the picture-word inductive model and readers’ theater using Chinese Cheng-yu, and an English vocabulary learning achievement test was conducted before and after the treatment. Results of the test showed that the students’ mean scores in the posttest were significantly improved than in the pre-test, and results of the questionnaire showed that the participants were highly satisfied with learning English via picture-word inductive model and readers’ theater. The results indicated that learning English via picture-word inductive model and readers’ theater is an effective way for improving learners’ English vocabulary learning achievement as it provides the visual support and opportunities for learners to engage in vocabulary acquisition.

Our Actions, Our Stories: A Readers Theater

This article presents the script of Our Actions, Our Stories: A Readers Theater that was researched, written, and presented by students in a women’s and gender studies (WGS) class called “Action: Intersections and Coalitions.” Based on qualitative interviews, the script illustrates six respondents’ perspectives on their activism and explores their backgrounds and intersectional identities in relation to these. The readers theater explores how activism and identity intersect and what that means for those engaged in activism. The article concludes with a discussion about the meanings that doing this project in a feminist experiential learning course had for the WGS students involved and how such experiences contribute to growing a much-needed new generation of qualitative researchers dedicated to social justice.

Living Histories, Local Stories, of Race, Place, and Education: A Qualitative Study From the CSRA Oral History Project in Readers Theater

This readers theater presentation of research undertaken through the Central Savannah River Area (CSRA) Oral History Project explores the curricular contours of race and place as articulated through the collected stories of inhabitants of the CSRA who have made educational contributions there, of segregation, desegregation, and their enduring influence. Via heretofore undocumented accounts, we seek to illumine something of the educational necessities and narratives—deferred and hoped-for dreams, accomplishments, and curricular possibilities—their stories articulate. In our manner of presentation, we pursue alternative epistemological frames and forms of expression, embracing a multitude of ways of knowing and coming to know in research and education.