How to bring Shakespeare to life in the classroom

Anna Roslaniec
Anna Roslaniec
A girl holding a pile of books smiling in a room with large sheves of books.

The 23rd of April marks the birth (and death) of William Shakespeare: poet, playwright and pre-eminent dramatist. His poems and plays have been translated into 80 languages, even Esperanto and Klingon.

It is remarkable how Shakespeare¡¯s iconic body of work has withstood the test of time. More than four centuries on, his reflections on the human condition have lost none of their relevance. Contemporary artists and writers continue to draw on his language, imagery and drama for inspiration.

But, despite the breadth and longevity of his appeal, getting students excited about Shakespeare is not always straightforward. The language is challenging, the characters may be unfamiliar and the plots can seem far removed from modern life.

However, with the right methods and resources, there is plenty for teenagers and young adults to engage with. After all, love, desperation, jealousy and anger are feelings we can all relate to, regardless of the age group, culture or century we belong to!
So, how can you bring classic Shakespearean dramas like Hamlet, Othello and Macbeth to life?

There are many ways for your learners to connect with Shakespeare and get excited by his works. Here we¡¯ll show you three classroom activities to do with your students and some indispensable resources to ensure that reading Shakespeare is as accessible and enjoyable as possible!

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Three ideas to shake up Shakespeare

1. The Bard¡¯s epic burns

The very word ¡®Shakespeare¡¯ is enough to strike dread into the hearts of some youngsters. That¡¯s why it¡¯s so important to highlight the lighter, more humorous side of his work from the very beginning. Based on some of Shakespeare¡¯s finest insults, this activity will help transmit a crucial idea: these plays were designed to entertain.

The Bard was renowned for his linguistic creativity; nowhere is this more evident than in his?. Some of them still sound as hard-hitting as they would have done back then. Take these for example:

¡°Thou crusty batch of nature!¡±?(Troilus and Cressida)

¡°Go, prick thy face, and over-red thy fear, thou lily-liver¡¯d boy.¡±?(Macbeth)

¡°I do wish thou were a dog, that I might love thee something.¡±?(Timon of Athens)

Once your students have tried some Shakespearean slurs and enjoyed some gentle verbal sparring, you can draw their attention to important grammatical differences.

For example, in Early Modern English, the language of Shakespeare, there were various ways of saying ¡®you¡¯. As the subject of a sentence, it would be ¡®thou¡¯ (for example, I do wish thou were a dog). As the object of a sentence, they would say ¡®thee¡¯ (e.g. ¡­I might love thee something).

We certainly don¡¯t want to encourage name-calling among students, but if conducted carefully, it¡¯s a great way to give them a feel for the jocular power of Shakespeare¡¯s language.

If that¡¯s not enough, you can let them loose to compile their own Shakespearean burns with this??and?.

2. Use film adaptations

Not only has Shakespeare inspired scores of artists and writers, but many of his plays have also been adapted to film. Showing students a??of one of Shakespeare¡¯s best works is a surefire way of creating interest and promoting an appreciation of the plot. It is not a substitute for a more in-depth text analysis but can be an effective complementary activity.

Video and audio are more familiar formats for many young people. Here are some more recent adaptations that you might consider showing in class:

  • ?¨C This is Kenneth Branagh¡¯s excellent remake of the tragedy about justice and revenge.
  • ?¨C Shakespeare¡¯s classic, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes, is recreated in the hip modern suburb of Verona.
  • ?¨C Directed by Joss Whedon, this is a modern retelling of Shakespeare¡¯s classic comedy about two pairs of lovers with different takes on romance.
  • ?¨C Justin Kurzel¡¯s take on Shakespeare¡¯s tragedy about power, ambition, deceit, and murder.

3. Practice the sounds of Shakespearean English

Another great way to engage your students is to get them performing! It¡¯s easy to forget that most playgoers in Shakespeare¡¯s time would have been illiterate. His words were written not to be read but to be performed and watched.

To begin with, you can present your students with a??or, at least, recorded for the first time in his works. They can put on their actors¡¯ hats and make short sentences with these phrases, pretending they¡¯re on stage at Shakespeare¡¯s famous Globe Theatre.

As their theatrical confidence grows, you can move on to longer texts. Shakespearean dialogues offer an excellent opportunity for pair work. They can practice their lines in pairs before performing in front of the class.

Here are a couple of scenes that lend themselves well to this type of activity:

  • Romeo and Juliet, Act 2 Scene 2
  • Othello, Act 3 Scene 4

Literary resources for your classroom

Engaging and effective classroom activities depend on having quality resources. When it comes to using Shakespeare¡¯s work with learners of English, accessibility is everything.

So, instead of diving into the original text, your students can experience Shakespeare¡¯s iconic plays as?ÃÛÌÒapp English Readers. These are abridged versions of Shakespeare¡¯s finest tragedies and comedies, with carefully-graded language that stays true to Shakespeare¡¯s unique style. Students can develop their language and communication skills by reading, listening and performing these plays.

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    5 ways to reinspire your students after the summer holidays

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    The new academic year is here and we're getting ready to head back to the English classroom. Yet, after a long and relaxing summer holiday, some students may feel unmotivated to return to the same class routine, especially if they have been learning English for several years. So, how can we reinspire students to keep learning and reconnect with English? By bringing in new resources, learning approaches and targets, we are sure you'll be able to rekindle their love of learning.

    So let's look at five ways to reinspire your English students in the coming academic year.

    1. Set new goals

    Students may lose interest in classes or feel discouraged when they don't have a clear target to work towards. If this is the case with your class, have them write up a list of five new goals they'd like to achieve.?

    These goals must be SMART: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Timely. So rather than just saying "I'd like to learn more vocabulary", have students make it SMART.?

    For example:

    Specific: "I'd like to learn new advanced vocabulary to use in my writing."

    Measurable: "I'll test myself to see if I can define and use 20 new words in sentences."

    Achievable: "I will dedicate 2 hours a week to studying the definitions and writing example sentences in context."

    Relevant: "This will help me get a good score in my??as I struggle with formal academic language."

    Timely: "I will learn 20 new words by the end of September."

    If learners find it difficult to think of goals, ask them to write one for each language skill: listening, reading, writing and speaking. You can also refer to the GSE Teacher Toolkit, which has hundreds of learning objectives organized by age, level, skill type and more.

    The idea is to encourage them to set clear objectives, giving them an exciting new challenge to work towards for the year ahead.

    2. Encourage students to find conversation partners

    Students may lose interest in improving their English if they've only been studying in a classroom. They may see it as something boring and unrelated to their real lives.?

    A great way to tackle this is by encouraging them to talk with English speakers outside of class. By doing this, they'll pick up new vocabulary and expressions, giving them more confidence?in their language abilities.?

    Suggest that they attend a language exchange.??and??are?great platforms to find regular language exchange events in their local area. While this is suitable for intermediate learners and above, it may be a bit daunting for beginners.?

    In this case, the app??may be a suitable alternative. Similar to a language exchange, learners can connect with people from around the world. They can choose people with a similar level as them and either write messages, send short audios, or do video calls, depending on their ability and confidence.?

    Communicating with real people is a fun and encouraging reason for your learners to want to improve.

    3. Introduce interesting new vocabulary

    Students may become disheartened if they've been learning for years but aren't seeing much progress. A simple and effective way to help them improve their level is by encouraging them to?expand their vocabulary.?

    They already have to study a lot of vocabulary from their textbooks, so why not give it a more personal twist and ask for suggestions of topics that interest them??

    Maybe they are gamers and want to learn how to communicate better with other players around the world. Select vocabulary about styles of games, turn-taking, and strategizing that they could use ¨C they can practice in class and be thrilled to be given homework.

    Perhaps some of your students want to study or work abroad. This may be a common topic, but one thing that is not frequently discussed is how to deal with the paperwork of living in another country. For example, getting into more specific language about banking, housing rentals, or setting up wifi will help them feel more confident about their move. Though these things differ between countries, there is a lot of overlapping vocabulary and roleplaying will do wonders to reassure and excite them about their upcoming adventures.

    By allowing your students to take control of their learning, their motivation is naturally higher and you too will enjoy finding out specific language about their interests.

    4. Work on specific problem areas?

    Language learners may become frustrated and lose motivation if they continue to make the same mistakes. It may cause them to feel disheartened in their abilities and want to give up, especially for those who aim to sit exams. You can help them level up by identifying specific problem areas and tailoring your classes to work on these.?

    Tests can help your learners discover their weaknesses and avoid the frustration of sitting and not passing an exam. They'll be able to pinpoint what they need to work on, and you can dedicate your classes to exactly what they need, rather than cover areas they may not have problems with.

    For example, if students are experiencing difficulties with reading comprehension, you could try introducing more varied reading materials. Ask them to bring in blog posts, magazines and news articles on topics that they find interesting. Highlight keywords in the text to enhance their understanding of the piece and create comprehension questions similar to the test format they'll take.?

    By giving a little extra attention to fixing problem areas, learners will soon start to see their progress, encouraging and inspiring them to keep going.

    5. Change your class format?

    Sometimes learners become demotivated simply because they have become too used to the format of the classes. If this is the case, you might want to take a break from the textbook and try more creative language learning methods. For example:

    Use interactive games

    Suitable for all levels, you can use platforms such as??or? to test your learners. They offer a new dimension to the class, encouraging students to have fun with the language. Divide them into teams to add an element of competition ¨C there's nothing like a friendly game to excite students!

    Set project work

    Put your class into small groups and have them work on a project to present to the rest of the group. Choose topics they might cover in their textbooks, such as occupations, travel or cultural traditions. Or even better ¨C let students come up with their own! This activity can be modified to suit all levels and offers a challenge as learners will need to push their language limits.

    Hold class debates?

    More suitable for intermediate learners and above, class debates get everyone talking. You can ask students to brainstorm topics they're interested in. You can offer prompts such as climate change, the advertising of junk food or the impacts of social media. They'll be happy to talk about things that concern them.

    Throw in some unexpected activities to bring students' attention back to class and spark their interest in learning again.