Why I do what I do? - Dramatic Language Coaching

My approach is practical, creative, and holistic. I call it "dramatic" because I use actors' tools, incl. relaxation/ breathing, movement, games, and role-plays. Why? Because in real life we do not just sit behind a desk, we speak, listen, move. We multitask. 
 
DISCLAIMER: I don't believe anyone is capable of reading and listening at the same time AND be a 100% present, no matter what my husband says. 
 
With multitasking I mean connecting different parts of the brain, the cerebrum for speaking and the cerebellum for moving. The brainstem controls automatic functions, such as breathing. Conscious breathing exercises are helpful in anxiety provoking situations, such as a language class, as they calm down the automatic nervous system. Instead of fight, flight, or freeze as a response to threat, the system gets the message “All OK” and the thinking brain can function better.
 
For an actor, it's one thing to learn your lines by heart, but another to remember them the first time you rehearse a scene in which you have to interact with others, move and speak at the same time. It’s the same when we come out of a classroom, we are not just sitting at desks and repeat what the teacher just said. 
 
Memorising and learning benefit from repetition, movement, and context. I believe that topics that are important to the learner, raise interest in learning.  Using role-plays, improvisation, and enacting different emotions enable us to understand other perspectives and create various contexts. "Multitasking" in the classroom makes it much easier to communicate in a foreign language in the real world and to improvise if we can’t remember a particular word.
 
Life happens. If I can improvise, I can let it.