Will Tiley

“Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life”

Pablo Picasso

The idea of incorporating art into language lessons does, at first, seem quite unusual. Why do this? What educational benefits could this possibly offer? This presentation will aim to introduce some reasons behind arts integration in language education – not as decorative filler, but as a tool for building language skills, developing confidence and encouraging creative and critical expression. The first half will look at the theoretical basis for arts integration, including its alignment with existing educational theories and practices and some of the unique opportunities that art can bring to language learning contexts. The second half will then focus on practical methods to incorporate arts activities into your own classes, including creative activities and frameworks to help students engage with works of art effectively. 

Will Tiley is a lecturer at Kyushu Institute of Technology (Iizuka Campus). He has been exploring the role of art in language learning contexts for a few years now, and is continuing this line of inquiry on the DProf TESOL doctorate program at St Andrews University in the UK. His other research interests include language teachers as language learners, and communicative approaches to vocabulary acquisition. He has no painting or drawing skills whatsoever, but occasionally moonlights as a bass guitarist when he needs to let off some steam.