The Theatre in Language Learning (TiLL) Model

Abstract

This article presents an outline of the Theatre in Language Learning (TiLL) model for second language learners, pioneered since 1966 by Vienna’s English Theatre in partnership with the Austrian Bundesministerium für Unterricht, Kunst und Kultur (BMUKK), linking text study, classroom based role play and professional performance with preshow and in-performance student interaction. It offers a reflection on the dramaturgy and practice of the Englisches Theater geht in die Schulen programme and explores how the model may impact upon student motivation in light of Ema Ushioda’s qualitative research in this field. The article is written from the perspective of a professional theatre practitioner reflecting on the context of theatre as pedagogy within an L2 environment. This article presents an outline of the Theatre in Language Learning (TiLL) model for second language learners, pioneered since 1966 by Vienna’s English Theatre in partnership with the Austrian Bundesministerium für Unterricht, Kunst und Kultur (BMUKK), linking text study, classroom based role play and professional performance with preshow and in-performance student interaction. It offers a reflection on the dramaturgy and practice of the Englisches Theater geht in die Schulen programme and explores how the model may impact upon student motivation in light of Ema Ushioda’s qualitative research in this field. The article is written from the perspective of a professional theatre practitioner reflecting on the context of theatre as pedagogy within an L2 environment.