Enlivening Instruction with Drama and Improv

"The authors are experienced language teachers who have thoughtfully considered how to describe the goals and procedures of the games, including ideas for adapting and extending them, even to online environments. In their concern for social justice, the authors advocate using drama in order to provide space for language learners to explore their agency in countering marginalized discourses. Given the times in which we live, I can only applaud such advocacy." --Diane Larsen-Freeman, Professor Emerita, University of Michigan, USA "This book offers a practical and comprehensive resource for teachers looking to expand their classroom toolkit. The authors make an excellent and imminently usable case for the value of movement and an ensemble spirit in the classroom. Each of the over 80 exercises in the book is accompanied by suggestions and variations to help instructors adapt to their individual classroom and student needs. No doubt youll be pulling this book off the shelf for years to come." --Coya Paz Brownrigg, Chair of Theatre Studies, DePaul University, and Artistic Director of Free Street Theater, USA "Cahnmann-Taylor and McGoverns book offers a socially conscious acting up with language approach to the integration of drama/theatre games and performance methods into L2 language instruction and acquisition. Through carefully curated, detailed drama activity descriptions, linked to productive L2 learning skills and tasks, this accessible handbook deftly demonstrates the sociocultural and sociopolitical realities which shape language learning in a range of educational contexts both in-person and virtual. A must-have resource for educators and teaching artists working in the fields of language, literacy, and the arts! --Katie Dawson, The University of Texas at Austin, USA "Readers may at first think that this book provides a useful collection of theater gamesand, it does. However, it succeeds at doing much more. Readers will recognize that the authors are experienced language teachers who have thoughtfully considered how to describe the goals and procedures of the games, including ideas for adapting and extending them, even to online environments. Indeed, it is clear that the authors are committed to the theater and to acting and to the powerful combination of learning with play and fun. But there is a serious side to this volume as well. In their concern for social justice, the authors advocate using drama in order to provide space for language learners to explore their agency in countering marginalized discourses. Given the times in which we live, I can only applaud such advocacy." Diane Larsen-Freeman, Professor Emerita, University of Michigan, USA "This book offers a practical and comprehensive resource for teachers looking to expand their classroom toolkit. While the text focuses on embodied activities to help English language learners at all levels develop their skills, I found myself dreaming of ways to use these exercises in history and writing classrooms as well. The authors make an excellent and imminently usable case for the value of movement and an ensemble spirit in the classroom. Each of the over 80 exercises in the book is accompanied by suggestions and variations to help instructors adapt to their individual classroom and student needs. Whether you are new to facilitating theater exercises in the classroom, or a drama teacher yourself, no doubt youll be pulling this book off the shelf for years to come." Coya Paz Brownrigg, Chair of Theatre Studies, DePaul University, and Artistic Director of Free Street Theater, USA "Cahnmann-Taylor and McGoverns book offers a socially conscious acting up with language approach to the integration of drama/theatre games and performance methods into L2 language instruction and acquisition. Through carefully curated, detailed drama activity descriptions, linked to productive L2 learning ski

Melisa Cahnmann-Taylor is Professor of Language and Literacy Education and Art Education at the University of Georgia, USA. Kathleen R. McGovern has a PhD in TESOL & World Languages from the University of Georgia and serves as a faculty member in Applied Linguistics at the University of Massachusetts, Boston, USA.

Foreword by Ryuko Kubota Acknowledgements: A Personal Note Paying Homage to Our Teachers About the Authors Introduction: Acting Up with Language Chapter 01 Drama Basics Chapter 02 Critical Drama-Based L2 History, Theory, and Practice Chapter 03 Getting to Know You: Creating Classroom Community through Drama. Chapter 04 Warm-up with Little to No Language Chapter 05 Say It Again, Sam! Rehearsing Target Language Words and Phrases Chapter 06 Guessing Games Chapter 07 Improvising with Shorter Stretches of Language Chapter 08 Improvising with Longer Stretches of Language Chapter 09 Theatre for Agency, Activism, and Acting Up with Language Afterword by Shirley Brice Heath Appendix A Theatre Game Adaptations in Virtual and Non-Contact Spaces Appendix B Lesson Planning for Acting Up with Language References