Teaching Mythology Through Role Play and Contemporary Music in an EFL Classroom

Abstract

Studies conducted in the last decade of the 20th century demonstrated the efficiency of content-based instruction not only regarding EFL learning and content material retention, but regarding the development of critical thinking skills and overall school success, as well. The present paper aims at determining the benefits of integrating content, in this case Greek and Roman mythology, into EFL teaching, by means of two popular techniques: role play and contemporary songs. The total of 40 high school students at intermediate level of proficiency participated in the study comprising thus an experimental (=20) and control group (=20). The experimental group underwent one-month long instruction about mythology through various role play tasks and modern songs containing relevant mythological information. The control group likewise received lessons about mythology, yet in a more traditional setting with the teacher holding lectures. The results confirmed the initial hypothesis that role play and music activities would be more efficient than traditional teacher-fronted instruction.