Improvisation in Teaching (WizIQ class, Matt Purland – 31.07.12) Improvising = making the most of what you have got Why Improvise? 10 11 It’s fun! You can react to live problems that your students have You can improve your skills – you learn where the hidden notes are You will grow in confidence and develop as a teacher Students love to see you enthused – and they become inspired in their turn If you know the route and every turn in the road your journey will be routine – run-ofthe-mill Nothing would have been invented or achieved if people hadn’t wondered: “What if ?” Students are not predictable; they are not fixed points on a graph; you can’t treat them like known quantities Life is not scripted – it’s natural for there to be mistakes and rough edges If we lose the element of surprise/chance, we lose the vital spark Seeing the list of activities in the course book that must be covered in the lesson time is demotivating for learner and teacher, who tick them off one by one Learning should be an adventure How can I improvise? • • • • • • • • • • • • Aim for “planned spontaneity”! Form and content: form is fixed, content is free Know the destination but not the exact route, yet have the skills to get there Be less target-driven Be less time-driven Allow time for smelling the roses; for messing about Focus on core skills Don’t be afraid of repetition – it’s powerful Cover topics and material that is interesting and relevant to you and the group Prepare your own material – reduce dependency on other people’s ideas Have the courage to try something new and fail Improvise to muted film or create your own DVD commentary Follow You Are The Course Book method – Mode Lesson Analogies: • • • • • • • Swimming lanes, or splashing about and having fun – or both? Drive straight there, or go the scenic route with detours and a picnic Lecture or workshop? Do a crossword puzzle or Sudoku (fixed answer) or sketch a picture – or both (We need to cater for different learner styles.) Receptive/passive skills (reading and listening) vs productive/active skills (speaking and writing) Shopping: go straight for the item or go window shopping Follow a recipe to the letter, or throw away the recipe book and experiment? FORM CONTENT fixed safety free scary experimental spontaneity – being in the moment 260 scripted drama sport (thrilling because the ending is unknown, but the form/framework – is fixed) The “Too Helpful” Course Book: The course book and teacher’s book create a disturbing tension in the teacher between what they want to and what they feel they “should” Imagine if there was a course book to help us get efficiently through every moment of every day: Exercise 1: Waking Up a) Wake up at 7.10 am and switch off your alarm clock You may have a maximum of two snoozes b) Have a warm shower (5 mins) Use 10ml shampoo c) Make a cup of tea (mug not cup) and drink it fairly quickly (5 mins) Exercise 42: At the train station a) Wait for the train (15 mins) b) When the train arrives, get on (after others have got off) and sit towards the middle of the carriage c) Listen to music on your headphones (Beethoven) (20 mins) d) Look at the weather What is it like today? Discuss with a partner (5 mins) Exercise 534: In the canteen – lunch queue a) Have the sausage and onion casserole with a bread roll and butter b) Sit in the centre of the room (under the window) with a partner c) Eat your lunch while glancing at this morning’s paper (15 mins) d) Go for a brisk walk (10 mins) The Alien Game: Aim: to practise fluency, thinking on your feet, and improvisation roles: - alien understands English, but doesn’t know anything about this planet; could be forgetful too – as in forgets straightaway what has already been explained; speaks little; asks questions like, Why, How, What, etc and says “I don’t understand”, “What is ?” and “Can you explain that to me please?” etc Their role is facilitator to the actor - normal person (actor) - writer Whole Group Version: SS suggest topics, then watch as alien and normal person chat; writer writes keywords on the board, and SS write the keywords in their notebooks in alphabetical order – while correcting wrong spellings The alien tries to keep the conversation going for three minutes (or two, or one, etc depending on the level) At this point different students take the roles You could look at the keywords on the board, e.g spelling, pronunciation, sentence building, etc 261 Small Group Version: SS work in groups of The topics could be pre-decided by the whole group, or the teacher, or the small group think of some topics Play the game as above, with a time limit The writer writes on the board Then SS some vocab exercises with the words that result from the chat Note: this could lead into Stage of YATCB Mode – as a way of finding the discussion words randomly Twist to make it harder: SS choose 10 random keywords without the alien knowing and the person has to say them all, without the alien guessing them! The alien tries to guess them all Matt Purland 31.07.12 info@englishbanana.com 262