EDUC 359 Spring 2015

Silent Skit Reflection Questions and Responses

John Wilkinson
1. What challenges did you face when trying to tell your story in as much detail as
possible?
In my opinion, the fact that we were not allowed to speak while trying to tell our
story made it challenging to set the scene for our skit. In addition, I noticed it was
difficult to convey communication between characters. While preparing our skit, I
also felt that it was difficult to convey who in our group played which character.
We also had to think about how we wanted to represent the sequence of our story
without speaking. This made it difficult for us to indicate transitions between
scenes.
2. What did you do to overcome these challenges?
To overcome the challenges we faced in preparing and presenting our skit, we
implemented visuals and props. Our visuals were presented electronically on the
SMART board. These visuals were sequenced to help convey the setting of each
scene, as well as the progression of events in our story. Our props mainly helped
our audience to identify some of the characters. In addition, our group used
gestures and pretended to talk to one another in order to convey communication,
and emulate the activities throughout the skit.
3. What do you think the main purpose of this activity was?
I believe the main purpose of this activity was to demonstrate the difficulties in
communication for those facing a language barrier. Both the group presenting the
skit as they tried to silently communicate with the audience, and the audience as
they attempted to interpret each silent performance similarly experienced these
challenges. Although our class was laughing and having fun during the

presentations, I am aware that an ELL student would probably have a more

frustrating and isolating experience. While we were told the oral story of each skit
after each performance, an ELL student would not get instant clarification at the
end of an activity.
4. How can you relate this activity to the experience of ELL students in an Englishspeaking classroom?
I believe that this activity relates to an ELL student in an English-speaking
classroom because it demonstrates the challenges that an ELL student could face
in the presence of a language barrier. Just as in our activity, the ELL student could
have great difficulty communicating ideas, sequences, feelings, understanding,
and needs. In addition, the educator and non-ELL students could have great
difficulty communicating thoughts, directions, feelings, and lesson content. These
disconnects between members of the English-speaking classroom, and the ELL
student could easily raise the affective filter of the ELL student. As we know, the
affective filter is raised when a student feels uncomfortable, unsafe, or stressed.
The raise of the affective filter can cause the student to shut down, and further
limit their participation. I noticed that during our skit, our visuals, props, and
gestures helped the audience to distinguish between the different characters. I
believe this is similar to the experience of an ELL student in an English-speaking
classroom as the student would also most likely be able to identify the different
roles people fulfill at school despite the language barrier. The way I thought about
it was that an ELL student might not know how to communicate with others in an
English-speaking classroom, or know the English words to identify the roles that
each person fulfills, but that they would notice what they do. For example, an

ELL student might recognize that a custodian is always cleaning, or a teacher is

always leading the class, while they may not know the English words to describe
what they recognize.