Bravo to Kelly Kingsbury Brunetto on the release of her book “Performing the Art of Language Learning: Deepening the Learning Experience through Theatre and Drama” a narrative nonfiction that reveals college students’ experiences of participating in foreign language plays, telling their stories in their own words.
The students describe how rehearsing and performing in a second language helped them move from intimidation about their proficiency to confidence rooted in the strength of the group’s social bonds. They report how finding creative solutions to production challenges helped deepen their learning and drive their progress.
Additionally, this book examines how theatre infuses carnivalesque elements into the learning environment: disruption of hierarchy, a greater focus on embodiment, humor, and playfulness, and the use of costumes and disguises. The students vividly express how this more relaxed atmosphere allowed them to lower their inhibitions and enter more fully into their roles, the world of the play and the target language.
This volume’s unique focus yields many valuable insights for language professionals interested in exploring theatre’s potential to enhance their students’ language learning experience and their program’s curriculum offerings.
