Abstract

Most students meet Shakespeare in middle or high school, on a page in a book in an English classroom. This first encounter is a disservice to the students themselves and to Shakespeare: Shakespeare’s plays are works of both literature and theatre, and should be taught as such. A performance-based teaching approach not only provides high school students, like me, and middle school students with the richest understanding of Shakespeare’s plays but also offers a wide array of transcendent academic and social benefits. From increased vocabulary to deeper emotional connections, these benefits help middle and high schoolers grow as students and as individuals. Guided by the opinions of teaching artists, I relive my own middle and high school experiences with Shakespeare to demonstrate the merits of the performance-based approach, both under normal circumstances and during the COVID-19 pandemic.

摘要

在英语教室的一本书的一页上，大多数学生在初中或高中都遇到莎士比亚。第一次相遇对学生本身和莎士比亚都是有害的：莎士比亚的戏剧既是文学作品，也是戏剧的作品，应该这样讲。基于表现的教学方法不仅为像我这样的高中生和中学生对莎士比亚的戏剧提供了最丰富的理解，而且还提供了广泛的超越性的学术和社会效益。从增加词汇量到更深层次的情感联系，这些好处都可以帮助中学生和高中生成长为学生和个人。在教学艺术家的指导下，我重温了莎士比亚在中学和高中的经历，以展示基于表演的方法的优点，