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This paper studies using movement in English language teaching from the perspective of the art of movement, i.e. the art of dance. The author’s approach to teaching English combined with rhythmics and dance teaching, developed and conducted by the author over a period of almost ten years, will be presented. The theory of movement is based on the work of Ana Maletić, a dance pedagogue and a choreographer who combined Rudolph Laban’s theory of movement and analyses of space with the eurhythmics of Jacques Dalcroze. In the field of language teaching, the theoretical foundation may be found in James J. Asher’s Total Physical Response and Petar Guberina’s Verbotonal Method and SGAV. As an illustration, in body movements stimulations (Verbotonal Method) movement is used for achieving perception and the provocation of speech activity in hearing and speech impaired children. Combining elements of dance teaching methodology with language teaching methodology may facilitate the process of language learning by bringing it closer to the young learner’s level of development. Movement can be employed in fostering the development of listening comprehension as a precondition for language learning allowing children to demonstrate understanding without production, in achieving correct pronunciation and fluency, in encouraging creative and artistic expression, as well as in promoting the learner’s active involvement in the learning process and in developing a positive attitude towards learning. Different ways of using sound, rhythm, intonation, movement, music, and dance in language teaching will be examined, as well as how this approach provides children with a holistic experience of learning a language. The positive effects of this approach, not only regarding language learning, but also a child’s complete development, will be presented through a description of the author’s observations, the results of questionnaires for parents, and interviews with children, conducted at regular intervals during a school year with one generation of learners. |
