Selling Shakespeare to non-native English speakers

English professor Richard Adams admits that the thought of taking a Shakespeare course can elicit an “Oh, no!” reaction among students, even English majors. But he is tackling embarked on an even bigger challenge—making the Bard accessible to speakers of English as a second language.

And it is not just a question of language. It is also a difference in cultures.

Adams, who previously taught Shakespeare in his native England, says, “In California we tend to understand the plays from an Anglo viewpoint, but those brought up in other—say Asian or African—countries inevitably find the process of comprehension infinitely more challenging. California has taught me a lot about how cultural differences can impact our reading and understanding of the classics of British literature.”

Adams notes that Shakespeare’s plays were written for performance before live audiences, but that their study has become a distinctly academic discipline. Nevertheless, he says that reading and exploring a play in the classroom enables students to appreciate the richness of the playwright’s language and imagery, which has its own special value and rewards.

He also points out that the plays’ varied material—human relations, human needs, triumphs and follies—provides many vital links between 16th century Shakespeare and today’s students, regardless of their primary language. “Iago is disgruntled because of not being promoted. It is a topic as meaningful today as it was 400 years ago,” Adams says.

Ironically, Adams has found that some of the Shakespearean concepts that often cause problems for British and American students are more readily accepted and appreciated by those from other cultural backgrounds. Lecturing to a group of graduate and undergraduate students at Thailand’s Chulalongkorn University, for example, he observed a much more ready acceptance of Elizabethan and Jacobean notions of hierarchy than he would ever see on this campus.

“Cultural differences can work in fascinating ways. Our students see Shakespeare’s perception of society and relationships within society as being markedly different from their own,” he says. “They recognize and appreciate the egalitarian nature of our contemporary Western way of life. But in Thailand, where age, gender, background and occupation carry considerable weight, hierarchy is by no means a dirty word.”

For all student audiences, technology helps bring Shakespeare’s plays to life. Adams makes liberal use of videotaped performances – both classic and more experimental.

“While a video performance is not as immediate in its impact as a live one. Enactment of any kind helps enormously," he says. "There is, of course, no guarantee that every word spoken is going to be understood, but the impact of the language is heightened considerably by gesture, facial expression and character interaction."

Adams says teaching Shakespeare is greatly rewarding. Regardless of their primary language or their cultural background, he says that students, once they have been exposed to Shakespeare in an effective way, will usually come back for more. “In the case of this particular bug, once you’ve been bitten, it’s difficult to find an antidote.”