Journal of English Language Teaching

Teaching Creative Writing in English: Students’ Performance Assessment as Learning

Anuradha Marwah

Zakir Husain Delhi College, Delhi University.

Keywords: Creative writing, performance assessment, assessment as learning

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Abstract

Indian English drama is often accused of being exclusionary in its impact and addressing only the select few. I analyse three play presentations by my creative writing students to argue that the use of English in a play can be a mode of subaltern resistance. I describe the students as marking their identity in opposition to the adult world, and fostering the English-speaking community of students through their performances in this extraordinary time of Covid. I submit that as English is also the language of intellection and the medium for exchange of ideas among serious-minded students, it was used appropriately against conventional and regressive forces in these plays.

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References

Balme, Christopher, 2011. ‘Indian Drama in English: Transcreation and the Indigenous Performance Tradition’. In Modern Indian Theatre: A Reader edited by Nandi Bhatia, 344-363. New Delhi: OUP.

Neira Dev, Anjana, Anuradha Marwah, Swati Pal, 2009. Creative Writing: A Beginner’s Manual. BA Programme Committee, Delhi University: Pearson Longman.

Schechner, Richard, 2013. Performance Studies: An Introduction. New York: Routledge.