The contribution of theatre pedagogy to the social and individual development of students in teaching German as a foreign language

The aim of the research presented in this paper was to study the contribution of theatre pedagogy to the social and individual development of students in the teaching of German as a foreign language. The target group included respondents of majority Serbian nationality and minority ethnic Roma. Semi-structured group discussions were used as an interactive data collection technique in qualitative research. The results suggest that directed theatre pedagogy activities contribute to a reduction in the level of social distance in an ethnically heterogeneous group, and that intergroup contacts in this type of activity stimulate peer interaction and a sense of unity regardless of individual differences. Social development has also affected individual development on three levels: conative, cognitive and affective. In view of the fact that supradisciplinary collaboration between theatrology, pedagogy and language teaching methodology is conducive to the creation of a context of active collaborative learning, the concepts of theatre pedagogy should be integrated into curricular and/or extracurricular activities. In this way, students from deprived groups and from the majority population would be motivated to enrich intergroup relationships in the system of formal education with their talents and abilities, which is a precondition for developing intercultural education and awareness of its importance.