Readers Theatre: A different approach to English for struggling readers

This article presents a study of the use of Readers Theatre in English lessons with groups of academically-challenged pupils in a Norwegian lower secondary school. The study is based on the teacher’s logs, interviews with the teacher, a questionnaire answered by the pupils, and lesson observations. Readers Theatre, a group reading activity that can be used with a wide range of texts, was successfully incorporated into the curriculum with relatively small ‘fordypning’ (specialisation) groups in English. These pupils had opted for more English lessons instead of learning a second foreign language. Most of them struggled with English as their first foreign language and were struggling readers. However, the majority of the pupils experienced Readers Theatre as both enjoyable and educational. The experience had a positive effect on their confidence and motivation to read. It also helped to improve their reading fluency and accuracy, for example pronunciation, and facilitated growth in vocabulary. The experience of practising and performing as a group was especially satisfying and motivating for the pupils involved. The majority were keen to participate in other Readers Theatre projects