TexTESOL IV Regional Conference 2020

Is the body an extension of the mind? If so, can movement, gesture and vocalizations aid language learning? Recent research suggests that language learners can benefit from moving their bodies as a way to understand, recall, and practice language. For example, people who gesture when telling a story have better recall than people who don’t, and even watching someone act out a verb can enhance memory (Thornbury, 2013).

The notion that movement can help language learning has its roots in Total Physical Response, an embodied language teaching approach developed by James T. Asher. Likewise, classroom drama activities have been used to enliven lessons and build student confidence and fluency. Both have gained currency lately as teachers seek ways to reinvent the classroom as a dynamic learning environment.
This presentation seeks to update and interweave these whole-body approaches by giving them a focused and practical application: grammar. The presenters have developed a set of kinesthetic grammar activities that can be incorporated into lesson plans as demonstrations or as practice.

The session begins with a micro-overview of the literature, and moves quickly to participatory activities that involve voice, gesture, and movement to clarify and practice target language. For example, pairs can create a series of passive-voice tableaux (freeze frame scenes) with Partner A playing the “active” role, and B playing the “passive” role, e.g., B is scolded by A. B is encouraged by A. B is helped by A.

Other activities include performing a three-headed monster to practice conjunctions, creating an “alley” of advisors for modals of advice, and stepping forward or backward to practice the past perfect. The session ends with an invitation to brainstorm other ways that templates such as tableaux, alleys, and drawing can be used to store grammar in muscle memory.