Do you consider yourself an actor/actress? Have you ever been taught some basic performance skills? Make your class more exciting and understandable by implementing some of these basic performance strategies.
In comparison, speaking another language is not a performance, but it does require adopting voice and gestures that do not come natural to you. This correlates with Guiora’s Language Ego – a kind of identity a person develops in relation to the language that he or she speaks. Speaking another language can at times feel very strange; as if you betrayed yourself by becoming this “new person” who is of another culture. Teaching students basic acting skills may allow them to be set free from the fear that can so easily hinder fluency.
Therefore, practicing various theatre skills in class may help students increase their confidence, improve their fluency skills and develop the flexibility to deal with the unexpected. It can break barriers that have hindered students from fully participating. Most importantly, it is super fun and always produces a big laugh!
ESL Instructor