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 you’ll 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 McGovern’s 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 games…and, 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 you’ll 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 McGovern’s 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

This book provides a compilation of theater activities that any language teacher can use with their classes to engage students of any level and promote learning. The book is easy to use and the instructions for each game are clear—listing levels, goals, timing, and material required. Drawing from drama-based language pedagogy as well as their own experience, the authors suggest many ways to adapt the games, including for a virtual context, which is more welcome now than ever. The theater games in this book engage both body and mind and call on teachers’ and learners’ creativity, empowering them both and fostering meaningful communication. —Sylvie Vanbaelen, Butler University, USA.

"The critical drama-based L2 pedagogy that this book promotes offers a practical and engaging tool for fostering critical consciousness. […] This book opens up new horizons for playful and critical imagination in teaching not only English, but also all languages."

—Ryuoko Kubota, University of British Columbia, Canada

"The hope of the authors of the current book fits well with all that can follow when teachers take up the dramatic arts. Such a path will almost always lead to learning and change for teachers and students alike who decide to walk a path that lets them use both feet as well as shape their capacity for learning and remembering."

—Shirley Brice Heath, Stanford University, USA