The Erasmus+ project, which involved partners Taka Tuka (Slovenia), Moradokmai Home School & Theatre (Thailand) and Tirena Theatre, came about in response to the need to find and disseminate different means of communication among people who do not speak the same language. This offered a lot of challenges. How do you communicate with someone with whom you do not have a common language? How do you communicate with children who do not know sign language? When you are connected by the love of play and theatre, anything can happen!
The aim of the project was to improve the language skills of young people with speech, language, hearing and communication difficulties to enable them to participate successfully in the educational process and in life in general. Throughout the project we worked to develop and promote educational programmes for language learning using drama techniques developed jointly by drama educators and professional staff. Using dramatic exercises and techniques, project participants learned both universal sign language and English, led drama workshops for their peers, participated in exchanges and finally presented what they had learned in their local communities.
The first meeting of the project took place in Zagreb, where the partners started to work together to develop pedagogical tools for language learning through drama techniques. The theatre educators from Tirena led a workshop on drama in education and visited the SUVAG polyclinic together with their partners. After Zagreb, our drama pedagogues Ines Škuflić-Horvat, Maja Sviben and Katarina Šulc, as well as our long-time associate, Professor of Croatian Language and Literature Maja Rimac Jurinović, spent two weeks in Thailand leading workshops for the students of the Thai school Moradokmai and members of the Slovenian organisation TAKA TUKA. The final meeting took place in Ljubljana, where a training course was held to explore the use of dramatic techniques in working with young people with specific communication difficulties. The project was concluded at the 8th International Conference “The Power of Communication”, which took place in Ljubljana and was organised by Taka Tuka. The conference featured lectures, workshops and discussions on educational theatre and theatre pedagogy with a special focus on work with children with disabilities.
As a result of the project, three manuals were produced in three countries. Each of them is different, but they are also similar. Their aim is the same – communication through theatre.
“From Playing to Understanding (Communicating)” is a handbook that contains examples of drama games and exercises to process materials from Croatian language teaching. It is intended for anyone interested in drama pedagogy in regular classes (the field of dramatic expression), regardless of their dramatic experience and the subject they teach. The handbook is free of charge and can be ordered on our website.
Project holder: Taka Tuka (Slovenia)
Partners: Tirena Theatre (Croatia), Moradokmai Home-school and community (Thailand)
Project duration: 2 years
Project funded by: European Union through Erasmus+ programme “Capacity Building in the Field of Youth”
© Sva prava pridržana
