Engaging refugees, migrants and their teachers in performative language pedagogy
We seek to explore the connection(s) between flights of imagination, motivation to belong and second language learning, with students from refugee and migrant backgrounds, and their teachers, attending English language classes in Dublin, Ireland.
Improvisation. Voice. Process Drama. Devising. Music-making. Creative Writing. Dance and Movement. These are some of the arts forms we engage with, as practitioners, to facilitate language teaching and learning – taking a performative approach to education.
Motivation to belong. Ethical Imagination. Embodied Methods. These are some of the constructs we explore, as researchers, to investigate language teaching and learning – a performative approach to research.
Our practice is inspired on imagery from the illustrated book Migrations: Open Hearts, Open Borders. In the collection, Shawn Tan writes: “All migration is an act of imagination, a flight of the imagination”. We also believe that learning a new language is a flight of the imagination.
Image Credit: Migrations - Artwork by ISOL in 'Migrations: Open Hearts, Open Borders'
The project aims to support teachers in designing ethically-sound performative practice. Ethical issues are of primary concern when using arts-based activities to facilitate learning. It is a misconception to assume that all games and role-plays are always conducive to learning – more so in vulnerable contexts.
Using the arts without careful consideration when working with youth from refugee backgrounds can reinforce traumatic memories. This can lead to low motivation to speak the language and foreign language anxiety. Conversely, mindful use of performative language teaching can enhance motivation, self-efficacy, and boost language proficiency.
Rather than exploring ‘what was’ – replicating or re-living a past situation through storytelling, we are interested in affirming positive identities that explore a ‘what if’, engaging the imagination to explore issues of identity, belonging and language.
These questions are subject to change, in line with the nature of qualitative research and the Exploratory Practice framework.
Exploratory Practice methodology is a form of qualitative research that integrates research and pedagogy. This research-pedagogy integration is achieved through pockets of classroom activities, known as Potentially Exploitable Pedagogical Activities or PEPAs.
Exploratory Practice practitioners are invited to start with a puzzle. As a research team, our first puzzle was how to effectively investigate abstract concepts (like belonging) with participants that are semi-literate and speak English at beginner’s level.
Some of the embodied research methods (PEPAs) we consider include digital storytelling, mapping, improvisation, movement, creative writing, sculptures made of fabric or clay. We use life drawing sketches to document and capture key moments, alongside recall, interviews and observation.
City of Dublin Education and Training Board (CDETB) youth services:
Erika Piazzoli
Funded by the Irish Research Council (IRC) New Foundations, Engaging Civic Society.
