Sixth International Conference on Immersion and Dual Language Education: Connecting Research and Practice Across Contexts

Paper/Best Practice Session (1 hour)

Multiple

One-Way Second/Foreign Language Immersion
Two-Way Bilingual Immersion

Pre-K
Elementary (K-5)
Middle School/Junior High
High School
Post-Secondary

In this workshop, we explore how movement can mediate language acquisition with students from varying linguistic backgrounds. Facilitated by a researcher and experienced immersion teacher, the workshop will share best practices for integrating improv activities that target content-based language skills for a range of home languages and proficiency levels. 

Nonverbal modes of communication are integral for students learning a language (Canagarajah & Wurr, 2011). In this workshop, we explore how movement can mediate language acquisition with students from varying linguistic backgrounds. Facilitated by a researcher and experienced immersion teacher, the workshop will share best practices for integrating improv activities that target content-based language skills for a range of home languages and proficiency levels. Immersion teachers are encouraged to target language objectives for learners through multimodal scaffolds that expand linguistic repertoires. Immersion teachers are encouraged to target language objectives for learners through multimodal scaffolds that expand linguistic repertoires.

While including movement in your instruction is fun for students, it also can increase comprehension and student learning by tapping into student interests and learning profiles (Tomlinson, 2010). Teachers interested in implementing language-focused differentiated instruction have found improv to be a helpful strategy for expanding the communicative modes in their classrooms. Strategies will target increasing linguistic functional complexity through adapted improv warm up activities, games, and role plays. This interactive and dynamic workshop shares and expands upon best practices for the use of multimodality in the immersion classroom to foster language growth among linguistically diverse language learners.