IMPROV GAMES FOR THE ESL CLASSROOM

Charlotte Jones, M.A. TESOL

University of Central Florida, Center for Multilingual Multicultural Studies

WHAT IS IMPROV?

Improvisation has been defined as intuition guiding action in a spontaneous way (Crossan & Sorrenti, 1997).

It is “. . . making the most of what you have and getting the most out of what you make” (Keefe, 2002, p. 6), a conversational skill that, like other social and interactive skills, can be taught.

How is it different from stand up?

It’s not stand up.

SEVEN PRINCIPLES OF IMPROV

1. Trust

2. Acceptance: the “Golden Rule” of improvising

3. Attentive Listening

4. Spontaneity

5. Storytelling

6. Nonverbal communication

7. Warm-ups

BERK & TRIEBER (2009)

“Improvisational techniques derived from the experiences in improvisational theatre can be adapted for the college classroom to leverage the characteristics of the Net Generation, their multiple intelligences and learning styles, and the variety of collaborative learning activities already in place in a learner-centered environment. When improvisation is reformatted as small-group collaborative learning exercises, it can be a powerful teaching tool to promote deep learning.” (Berk & Trieber, 2009, p. 29)

“Effective teaching is not about us; it’s all about the students.” (Berk & Trieber, 2009, p. 29)

PASS THE CLAP

About establishing attentive listening, trust, and spontaneity.

Gather in a circle and pass the clap from person to person.

Rules: Each person must face the other person and clap simultaneously. You must establish eye contact! Notes:

The clap can be reversed.

It can also be sped up.

NAME GAME

Establishing trust and acceptance. Everyone says their name and a gesture, and you pass it

from person to person. Rules:

Every student must come up with a gesture to go along with their name.

As you go around the circle, a student says their name and gesture and all students repeat it chorally.

Finally, you pass the names from person to person.

PATTERNS

Learning objective: classification Rules:

Students stand in a circle. The teacher picks a category under which students must choose a

component of that category, e.g. “Movies” and a student says “Empire Strikes Back”

Works similar to the Name Game in that you pass the movie to the next person

Note: You can have multiple patterns moving through a circle at one time

YES, AND… STORIES

The most classic demonstration of the “Golden Rule” of acceptance combined with storytelling

Rules: The teacher provides a topic and begins the story The next person must say “YES, AND…” and add another sentence to the

story Example: “My fifth birthday was my most memorable childhood moment.”

Yes and I had the most delicious birthday cake ever

You must say “YES, AND…” NO BUTS Notes:

Can be completed as a whole class, as a group, or in partners

Can also use one word or be used in writing

YES, AND… REVIEW GAME

Grammar point: Rules for using articles

REFERENCES

Berk, R. A., & Trieber, R. H. (2009). Whose classroom is it, anyway? Improvisation as a teaching tool. Journal on Excellence in College Teaching, 20 (3), 29-60.

Crossan, M. M., & Sorrenti, M. (1997). Making sense of improvisation. Advances in Strategic Management, 14, 155-180.