University of Novi Sad

Faculty of Philosophy

Department of English Language and Literature

The Frog Prince

Teaching English to Young Learners

Professor: Students:

Gordana Petricic, PhD Vesna Dejić

Nina Kisin

Vanja Ljubić

Slavica Filipović

Marina Đurđević

Novi Sad, March 2012

SCRIPT: THE FROG PRINCE 2

Characters: Narrator, King, Princess, Frog, Servant

Props: Cardboard puppets placed on sticks, cardboard scene, and sound effects

Setting: forest near the pond; castle

Script: The story portrays, in a humorous way, love between a princess and a frog-to-

become-a prince. It follows their relationship, from princess's denial of the ugly

frog to a sudden realization, which comes as an epiphany. When the curse was

taken off, the fog turned into the handsome prince. The turning point of a story is,

however, under the shadow of the unpredictability: Will the fairy take off the

curse forever? A popular phrase related to this story is, "You have to kiss a lot of

frogs before you find your handsome prince.

Moral of the story: keep your promises because it is a right ting to do; do not judge the

book by its covers

Level: Elementary

Age: 5-7

Time: 10 minutes

Aim: to entertain and amuse children, creating a pleasant atmosphere while learning a

language; to introduce the children to the world of fairytales in English; to help

internalize knowledge of the language by repetition of expressions and phrases

throughout the script of the play.

SCRIPT: THE FROG PRINCE 3

The Frog Prince

Narrator: (enters the scene) Hello, kids. My name is wizard Merlin. Do you know who I

am?

(waits for the audience to answer)

I am a wise wizard from a far away land, and I know every single story, ever told. I like

to share them with nice and smart kids, like you are.

Would you like to hear a story?

(waits for the audience to answer, and then continues)

Once upon a time, there was a beautiful princess. She lived in a big, big palace with her

father, the king. One day, while she was playing with the golden ball she met a strange

frog. This frog changed her life. Would you like to hear how? (waits for the audience to

answer)

(sound effect)

Scene 1- By the pond, the frog sits and observes the princess throwing a ball

Princess: (enters scene, humming) What a wonderful day to go outside to play with my

golden ball! Let’s see how high I can throw! (tosses the ball higher and higher)

Well that’s too easy! (throws the ball even higher and it falls into the pond where the

princess cannot reach it)

Oh, no! My beautiful, golden ball! (starts to cry and stands on the edge of the pond trying

to reach the ball)

(sound effect)

Scene 2- By the pond, the frog speaks to the princess

SCRIPT: THE FROG PRINCE 4

Princess: Alas! If I could only get my ball again, I would give all my fine clothes and

jewels, and everything that I have in the world.

Frog: Excuse me, Princess. I can get your ball for you.

Princess: (looks around to see who is talking) Did you say something to me?

Frog: Yes, I said that I could get your ball for you.

Princess: (arrogantly) I’m not used to talking to ugly frogs!

Frog: Well, then, you shall never see your ball again. (turns away)

Princess: (cries) Wait! Wait! I’m so sorry! Will you please get my golden ball for me?

Frog: I will get your ball only if you give me one small kiss.

Princess: (grudgingly) I will do that!

Frog: (paddles down into the pond, reaches the ball and puts it at the princess’s feet)

Here it is!

Princess: Thank you, good frog! (tossing the ball she turns away)

Frog: Wait! Aren’t you forgetting your promise?

Princess: Oh! You can’t really expect me to kiss you! I’m royalty, I’m beautiful and you

are a warty frog! (runs away towards the palace)

(sound effect)

Scene 3- In the palace, king and princess talking

King: How are you, dear child?

Princess: I’ve been playing with my golden ball all day.

Servant: (enters the scene, bows to the royal family) Excuse me; there is a frog here to

see the princess.

King: (surprised) A what?

SCRIPT: THE FROG PRINCE 5

Servant: A frog. He needs to speak to the princess about the broken promise.

Princess: (angrily) Tell him to go away. I don’t want to see that ugly frog.

King: Let him in.

Servant: (to the frog) You may enter.

King: Do you know this frog?

Frog: I gave the princess her ball back. But she broke her promise to me.

King: (surprised) Is that true?

Princess: He wanted me to kiss him. I cannot kiss his ugly, green mouth!

King: (strictly) You must kiss him! It is important to keep your promises!

(turns to the audience and asks them)

Dear kids, should the princess kiss him?

(waits for the audience to answer)

Are you sure?

(waits for the audience to answer)

Frog: No, my king. She must do it voluntarily.

Princess: (shouts) Never, never!

(turns to the audience and asks them)

What do you think, dear kids, should I kiss him?

(waits for the audience to answer)

Dear kids, would you do it?

(waits for the audience to answer)

Princess: I don’t want to kiss you, but we can be friends.

SCRIPT: THE FROG PRINCE 6

Narrator: The frog visited the beautiful princess for six months. After some time, the

princess and the frog became best friends.

(sound effect)

Scene 4- Princess and the frog in her room eating apples and playing a game; later on she

kisses the frog

Frog: (in a sweet voice) Hello, my beautiful princess. What are you doing?

Princess: I am eating an apple. Do you want some? (the princess gives the frog a piece)

Frog: Thank you very much, it’s very delicious. (the frog grabs the piece with its warty

hands)

Narrator: After the princess and the frog ate the apples, the princess wished to play a

game.

Princess: Let’s play a friendly game of “Don’t be angry, buddy”.

Frog: I would love to, I love that game!

Narrator: The princess and the frog played this game for hours.

Princess: Oh, my friend, I really like playing games with you, but now I am very tired

and I want to go to sleep. (yawns)

Frog: Oh, let me sing you a song.

There was a little boy and a little girl, who lived in an alley,

Says the little boy to the little girl,

“Shall I, oh, I shall I?”

Frog: (to the audience) Kids, repeat after me.

There was a little boy and a little girl, who lived in an alley,

Says the little boy to the little girl,

SCRIPT: THE FROG PRINCE 7

“Shall I, oh, I shall I?”

Says the little girl to the little boy,

“What shall we do?”

Frog: (to the audience) Kids, repeat after me.

Says the little girl to the little boy,

“What shall we do?”

Says the little boy to the little girl,

“I will kiss you!”

Frog: (to the audience) Kids, repeat after me.

Says the little boy to the little girl,

“I will kiss you!”

Princess: Good night, sweet dreams. (kisses the frog unintentionally)

(sound effect)

Narrator: Suddenly, the warty frog turned into a handsome prince. The princess fell in

love with the prince.

Scene 5 – Prince and the princess go to their castle and the happy ending

Prince: My princess, you saved me! An evil fairy changed me into an ugly frog. Only a

beautiful princess could save me. Would you marry me, my princess?

Princess: (without hesitating) Yes!

Princess: I am so happy to find you, my prince!

Prince: The pleasure is all mine, princess!

Narrator: The air was filled with emotions, as a blue coach was approaching. The coach

looked magnificent.
SCRIPT: THE FROG PRINCE 8

Princess: (to the king) Farewell, father!

King: (to the princess) Farewell!

Prince: (to the king) Farewell, dear king. You are invited to come to my father’s

kingdom and visit us there.

King: Thank you, dear prince. Farewell and take care of my precious.

Prince: (to the king) I will.

(sound effect)

Narrator: The coach drove them straight to the prince’s kingdom. Guess what, dear kids,

the prince and the princess did not know that the breaking of the spell lasted only for

twelve hours. Before the happy ending, the prince will have to visit the bad fairy…

(turns to the audience and asks them)

Will the fairy take off the curse?

(turns to the audience and asks them)

What do you think happened in the end?

(waits for the audience to answer)

Let me tell you a secret. I’ve heard that the fairy was kind and she took off the spell. The

prince and the princess moved to a far away land where they got married, and had a lot of

wonderful children, like you are.

You see kids, as it usually happens in the fairytales, the prince and the princess lived

happily ever after.

THE END
SCRIPT: THE FROG PRINCE 9

Analysis

Different authors deal with the topic of using drama when teaching a foreign language

since this kind of teaching decreases students’ inhibition, increases motivation and

enhances creativity. According to Ellis and Brewster (1990), stories are motivating and

fun and can help develop positive attitudes towards the foreign language (as cited in

Nitinou Loukia, 2006: 3). The ability to be creative is present within each individual, and

the usage of drama helps the student to process that internal ability into an external form

(Lorie, 1992: 5). Mordecai (1985) and Scharengnivel (1970) argued that drama increases

motivation and provides an encouragement to work hard (as cited in Wan Yee Sam,

1990, heading 3.1, para. 3).

Chauhan (2004), claims that teaching a foreign language through drama gives a context

for listening and meaningful language production, forcing the learners to use their

language resources and, thus, enhancing their linguistic abilities (Benefits of Using

Drama in the Language Classroom section, para. 2). When it comes to drama activities,

language is explored, tried out and practised in meaningful situations (Wan Yee Sam,

1990, heading 3.2, para. 1). Furthermore, the use of creative drama is a student focused

process where experiential learning can be fostered and developed. (Lorie, 1992: 3)

Moreover, drama puts language into context. (Davies, 1990: 97)

By giving learners experience of success in real-life situations, drama should arm them

with confidence for tackling the world outside the classroom (Davies, 1990: 97).

Boudreault (2010), says that drama has the potential to empower the students, give them

many opportunities to have pride in their work, it teaches them responsibility, problem

solving, and management (Drama as a Powerful Teaching Tool section, para. 3). Eased
SCRIPT: THE FROG PRINCE 10

into creative drama activities the students can grow and learn how to cope with problems

that arise (Lorie, 1992: 8). It is at this level that confidence becomes instilled in the

student (Lorie, 1992: 8). According to Stern (1980) and Scharengnivel (1970), drama has

a therapeutic effect since it can help solve emotional and behavioral problems (as cited in

Wan Yee Sam, 1990, heading 3.1, para. 5).

All ages and levels of ability should be able to profit from involvement in drama (Davies,

1990: 88). In choosing a script, the teacher should ensure that the language is accessible

to the learners and relevant to their needs and that the topic arouses the students' interest

(Davies, 1990: 93). The criteria for choosing the stories are: appropriate language level,

content, visuals, pronunciation, motivation, language learning potential, and potential in

terms of learning other subjects (Nitinou Loukia, 2006: 4). However, the successful

choice is not enough to ensure the good use of a story in class (Nitinou Loukia, 2006: 3).

As far as our script is concerned, we decided to utilize the story “The Frog Prince”, due

to the fact that most children are familiar with it. It has a plot close to the prototypical

one. It has the introduction of the main characters (the princess and the frog), formulation

of a problem (broken promise), a series of events, and finally it has the resolution of the

problem (princess kisses the frog, thus fulfilling her promise), with the possible surprise

in the end. Namely, in the closing scene we decided to introduce a surprise or a twist.

More precisely, the children have to guess the possible ending of the story. Once they

answer, the narrator will tell them what actually happened to the prince and the princess.

The original story has four characters, but we had to introduce the narrator since there

were five of us. We thought that the narrator is appropriate since he can start and finish
SCRIPT: THE FROG PRINCE 11

the story, thus introducing the children into the world of the fairytale, but also, he can

explain the ending to the children. Children need to be able to enter the imaginative world

that the story creates (Cameron, 2001: 166). This means that they can understand enough

about the characters and their lives to be able to empathize with them. (Cameron, 2001:

166). Thereafter, stories and drama help children to develop aspects of emotional

intelligence (Read, 2008: 6). Moreover, creative drama shows students how to be

emphatic to the need of others (Lorie, 1992:6).Characters in the story “The Frog Prince”

are easily understood. Children can sympathize with the frog, since the princes did not

keep her promise.

The story has a moral, related to keeping the promises. In one part of the script, the king

says to the princes that she has to keep her promise, which she declines. As the story

develops, she fulfils her promise unconsciously, thus falling in love with the prince. This

teaches the children that good things happen to people who keep their promises.

Stories for children often contain strong contrasts between characters (Cameron,

200:164). This is present in the story “The Frog Prince”. Namely, throughout the whole

story the princess is described as beautiful, and wonderful, while the frog is depicted as

warty, and ugly. These characteristics are emphasized through the dialogues in the story.

The princess always emphasizes how beautiful she is, and she always describes the frog

as ugly. Placing ideas in such clear opposition will help children’s understanding of the

story as a whole (Cameron, 2001:164).

The script had to be adapted for children to be able to understand it. Sentences and

vocabulary were made simple, and there is repetition of expressions and phrases
SCRIPT: THE FROG PRINCE 12

throughout the script, which “provides a natural support for language learning”

(Cameron, 2001: 163). While listening to the story, the children will pick up words that

they like, and in this way, the stories will provide space for the growth in vocabulary

(Cameron, 2001: 163). Learning of new words correlates significantly with the number of

occurrences of a word in the story (Cameron, 2001, p.164). The aim of this story is to

teach adjectives of beauty such as wonderful, beautiful. We have incorporated these in

the story as much as possible, in order for the children to internalize them.

In order to keep the children interested and concentrated, we had our characters talking to

them, asking for their advice. In this way the children can hear question and they have to

answer. This enables the learning process to occur.

In the middle of the fairytale, we have decided to incorporate a nursery rhyme, “There

Was a Little Boy and a Little Girl”. Namely, the princess wants to go to sleep. The frog

decides to sing her a nursery rhyme, which eventually leads to the kiss. The rhyme fits

perfectly into the fairytale, since in it the kiss is also mentioned. While the frog is

singing, he continually asks the audience to sing together with him. Songs can also help

to improve listening skills, because songs enable students to practice listening of different

forms of intonation and rhythm. (Millington, 2011: 135)

For this story we have cardboard puppets. We did not want to use just cardboard, so we

included some materials. For the narrator puppet, I have used blue and golden material,

since the narrator is imagined as a wizard, taking the learners into the fairytale world.

Puppets are a great way of presenting a play, since they keep young learners interested in

the play (Davies, 1990: 10). Apart from the puppets we have made a cardboard scene.
SCRIPT: THE FROG PRINCE 13

In this story, some sound effects are incorporated as well. We have one sound effect for

the transitions of scenes. Moreover, we have used a sound effect, when the frog

transforms into a handsome prince, in order to represent this act as a magical one.

Furthermore, we have one sound effect when the prince and the princess leave in their

carriage. It all serves a purpose of making the fairytale interesting, so that children can

enjoy.

To conclude, it can be said that drama activities provide opportunities to understand the

thoughts and feelings of the students as they express themselves in the drama activities

(Wan Yee Sam, 1990, heading 3.1, para. 7). From the constant feedback provided by the

activities, the teacher can plan better strategies for more effective learning and teaching

(Wan Yee Sam, 1990, heading 3.1, para. 7).

SCRIPT: THE FROG PRINCE 14

References

Boudreault, C. (2010). The benefits of using drama in the ESL/EFL classroom. The

internet TESL journal, Vol. XVI, No. 1. Retrieved from

http://iteslj.org/Articles/Boudreault-Drama.html

Cameron, L. 2001. Teaching English to young learners. Cambridge: Cambridge

University Press.

Chahuan, V. (2004). Drama techniques for teaching English. The internet TESL journal,

Vol. X, No. 10. Retrieved from http://iteslj.org/Techniques/Chauhan-Drama.html

Ellis, G. & Brewster, J., (1991), The Storytelling Handbook for Primary Teachers.

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Lorie, A. A. (1992). Creative drama in the classroom. (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved

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Loukia, N. (2006). Teaching young learners through stories: the development of a handy

parallel syllabus. The Reading Matrix, Vol. 6, No.1. Retrieved from

http://www.readingmatrix.com

Millington, N. T. (2011). Using songs effectively to teach English to young learners.

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Mordecai, J. (1985). Drama and second language learning. Spoken English, 18:2, 12-15.

Peters, A. (2001). The everything fairytales book. USA: Adams Media Corporation.

Read, C. (2008). Scaffolding children’s learning through story and drama. IATEFL young

learners publication 2008-2. Retrieved from http://carolread.com /

SCRIPT: THE FROG PRINCE 15

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