English Activation Through Art: Tensions and Rewards

Abstract

This article describes a unit of work framed by a rationale for activating English language learning through arts‐based practices that are suitable for preservice teachers who are nonnative speakers of English (seeking certification for teaching English as a second language). Because teachers of English are expected to use language arts to promote reading and develop their students' critical thinking skills and creativity, it is essential for them to be equipped with a repertoire of linguistic and cultural resources when they prepare to teach. In response to the frequent incongruity of teacher education with classroom reality, the sample unit of instruction offers practical and interactive activities together with prompts that teachers of English can adapt for their own curricular purposes. Vocabulary and linguistic structures are suggested in the unit plan in order to model effective and autonomous arts‐based classroom teaching. This article contributes to the field through practice‐oriented theorising about arts‐based instruction, which can be unified with academic language development to promote creative teaching and meet the standards‐based needs of the classroom.