Improving Communicative Competence through Mime: Bringing Students’ ‘Out-of-School’ Literacy Practices into Japanese University EFL Oral Communication Classes

Abstract

This study uses the Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) approach to emphasize interaction in EFL study to prepare students for real life communication outside of formal language teaching contexts. Using mime drama techniques to show a range of literacy practices, the study seeks to show that establishing creative links between students’ language use and learning inside and outside of the classroom is essential for making formal education more relevant to students’ life experiences and identities. The study examines the benefits and challenges of experimental CLT in a Japanese university EFL oral communication class and concludes that bringing students’ ‘out-of-school’ literacy practices from outside the context of formal education into the EFL classroom acknowledges their investment in classroom language practices, secures student engagement, and yields perceived improvement.