Event Report, Shinshu Chapter April 2019

On Suday April 21st, Shinshu JALT was very fortuate to be joined by Yoko Morimoto as she shared her insights into the use of drama in language learning.
Yoko began her presentation by citing research that supports utilising drama in the classroom. Physical activity has proven to be directly linked to enhance learning behavior. The longer students spend sitting in class, the more their circulation diverts to their lower body and less to their brains. Physically this makes them much less active thinkers than students who spend more time moving in class. Yoko suggested at least 20% of class time should be spent not sitting down, and ideally aim for 50%
Yoko also shared an interested quote from neuroscientist Dr Tracey Tokugawa Espinosa who said “Attention and memory are the most important ingredients for learning”. If students aren’t well rested or engaged in the class very little learning can take place. Yoko taught participants several stretching exercises which included ways to loosen up the diaphragm and vocal chords.
With regards to engagement to the content, there were two notable points raised. Tying emotion to language learning can greatly enhance acquisition. Yoko shared an experience of hers how she was thrown in to the deep end of a drama group in Paris and learnt French through the emotion of her lines rather than translating the meaning of the words she was given. The other point for teachers to consider was how debates are effective in tying personal opinions or ideas into language due to the nature of speaking with purpose.
In the second part of the presentation Yoko shared several activity ideas that she uses in class. All the ideas were inspired by the warming up activities she underwent during her time learning drama in France. These activities ranged from gesturing throwing an imaginary ball while speaking, walking around the classroom and portraying different emotions based on segments of the room and acting out the same scene but with different context and emotion added.
The participants of the day were all excited to see new approaches to teaching that can be easily utilized and break up the monotony of chalk and talk that teachers are wont to fall into. Shinshu JALT would like to once again thank Yoko for sharing her time and knowledge with our chapter.
Reported by Publicity Co-Chair – Miguel Mision