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The theatre in language learning

model: Exploring theatre as pedagogy
in the L2 environment
Sean Aita

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Volume 2009 · Issue 1

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The Theatre in Language Learning (TiLL) Model

Exploring Theatre as Pedagogy in the L2 Environment
Sean Aita

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.

1 Introduction
In the words of Antonin Artaud, “To break through language in order to touch
life, is to create or recreate the theatre” (Artaud 1958: 31). I reflect on this
maxim whilst walking into the hall of a rural Hauptschule in the depths of winter.
I am in Austria to watch a performance of my play A Perfect Match (Aita 2008),
a 60 minute comedy drama in English for twelve- to fourteen-year-old school
students. I am greeted by the sight and sound of hundreds of teenagers dragging
the chairs from their classrooms into the hall, which has been transformed for
this occasion into a theatre by the addition of a rostra stage and scenic flats
and props which the actors have brought with them. As I watch the students
form themselves into an audience I am aware that this scene is being repeated
in hundreds of schools and theatres across the world. Annually approximately
one million L2 learners on three continents attend performances by theatre
companies producing plays which support the study of second languages. I
cannot imagine that when he was writing The Theatre and its Double, Artaud
(1958) could have pictured this scenario as he was, of course, referring to
a form of gestural theatre which transcends linguistics. Yet paradoxically, a
theatrical event for students studying a second language, in which the key focus
is the spoken word, also manages to hold Artaud’s vision at the centre of its

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Sean Aita Scenario
The Theatre in Language Learning (TiLL) Model Volume 2009 · Issue 1

methodology. If, as Martin Esslin says, “All dramatic performance is basically

iconic, a direct visual and aural sign of a fictional or otherwise reproduced
reality” (Esslin 1988: 43), then it follows that performing for an audience
within the L2 learning environment where levels of language comprehension
vary will undoubtedly require actors to transcend the medium of language
and communicate directly through the use of inflection, gesture, and facial
expression. The multiplicity of communication tools available to the actor in
live performance is one of the key strengths of a theatrical approach, particularly
with regard to the less able student. Yet in spite of the evident success of this
methodology demonstrated by its continued growth and by the breadth of its
application, and although there is an ample evidence base for the use of theatre,
and drama, as an educational tool, there has been, as yet, comparatively little
published academic research into, or analysis of, this specific model of language
acquisition (see Fitzgibbon 1993; Brackley 1993; Schewe & Shaw 1993) .
In an attempt to redress this balance I will present in this article an outline of
what I will refer to as the Theatre in Language Learning Model (TiLL). This model,
a sub-section of Theatre in Education with a specific focus on second language
learning, was first trialed by Vienna’s English Theatre and its educational partners
in 1966, and has been delivered by them through the Englisches Theater geht
in die Schulen programme since 1970. The TiLL model has subsequently been
adopted and developed by companies such as White Horse Theatre Company,
The American Drama Group Europe, Il Palchetto Stage and the European Theatre
Company. I am neither a linguist nor a teacher but a theatre practitioner with
over twenty five years of experience in acting, writing and directing for L2
students. This article is based on an experiential interpretation of the work I have
undertaken in writing and directing productions for twelve- to fourteen-year-old
Austrian students who study English as a second language. I have applied a
qualitative methodology throughout this paper which “values the subjective
experience, self-determination and interdependency of all participants” (Yotis
2006: 196). I will also attempt to contextualize the theory underpinning the
model’s practice, and reflect on the ways in which it may impact upon L2
student motivation in light of Ema Ushioda’s qualitative research in this field
(Ushioda 2001).

2 Context: Theatre in Education

The conceptual framework of Theatre in Education (TIE) was established
in Britain by Bertha Waddell in 1937, when she was given permission by
Glasgow’s Director of Education to take performances into primary schools. TIE
was subsequently developed by practitioners such as Brian Way who “stated
formally that the second of the three aims of his company was to assist teachers
in all types of schools with methods of approach to drama in education.” This
approach was strengthened immeasurably in the late 1960’s by the publication
of the Plowden Report for the Central Advisory Council for Education in England,
strongly influenced by the work of developmental theorist Jean Piaget and

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his focus on child-centred learning. The report emphasized new approaches

to learning, and provided the platform for the further development of the
concept of using dramatic performance as an educational tool. This led to
the foundation of the first full-time professional TIE company, at the Belgrade
Theatre Coventry, in 1965. TIE has subsequently spread throughout the world.
The 2000 conference of the International Centre for Theatre-in-Education ICTIE
an initiative of the United Kingdom’s Standing Conference of Young People’s
Theatre, held in Jordan, hosted practitioners from over 23 nations (cf. Attell
2002). Research demonstrates the effectiveness of this practice in teaching and
learning particularly within the field of personal and social health education,
and social exclusion (Blakey et al. 1991; Perry et al. 2002), and there is
also evidence to suggest that TIE “has the potential to, but does not always,
influence young people’s attitudes” (Sykes 2005: 4).

3 Student Motivation
According to John Keller, “motivation is the neglected heart of our understanding
of how to design instruction” (quoted in Thansoulas 2008: 1). One of the most
important objectives of the TiLL model is to increase the motivation of students
to learn, and maintain interest in a second language. This belief is shared by
Peter Griffiths, Artistic Director of White Horse Theatre Company, who asserts
that

[t]he plays boost pupils’ motivation by letting them discover that they
can enjoy an hour of English, and strengthen their confidence as they
experience English as a means of communication rather than as a dry
classroom exercise.

Although it is beyond the scope of this article to present a full literature review
and analysis of the wide range of motivational theories applied to the L2
learning environment, it is important to mention the contributions of social
psychologists Gardner & Lambert (cited in Ushodia 1999: 19f), who shaped
the social- psychological and social-educational theories of student motivation.
Though their studies are described by Ushioda as yielding “few genuinely
useful insights for teachers and learners” (ibid.), their concept of integrative
motivation characterized by a positive attitude towards the speakers and culture
of the target language is important to the TiLL model. Since the 1990s there
has been a radical re-orientation of this approach to motivational study with
an increased emphasis on cognitive and affective models which place greater
emphasis on learning styles. This change in focus was led in 1991 by what
Ushioda refers to as the “call for a more practitioner validated, classroom based,
concept“ (ibid.) causing a wave of academic reaction (for a review see Dörnyei
1998). One of the most important elements to emerge from this reorientation
of approach in relation to the TiLL model is the concept of intrinsic and extrinsic
motivation. Intrinsic motivation is the desire to do something as an end in
itself, whilst extrinsic motivation is doing something for a separable outcome (a

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qualification, or job). Intrinsic motivation is generally considered the “optimal

form” where motivation comes “from within“ (Deci & Flaste 1996, quoted in
Usioda 1999: 21). This form of motivation is “founded in deep-rooted personal
interests and positive attitudes and feelings” (Ushioda 1991: 21), and can be
related to a student’s experience, and appreciation, of other cultures. In one of
the first attempts to create a qualitative research paradigm for the motivational
study of language acquisition, Ushioda identifies eight descriptive dimensions
for the analysis of L2 learner motivation (Ushodia 2001: 102).

1. Academic interest

2. Language related enjoyment/liking

3. Desired levels of L2 competence

4. Personal goals

5. Positive learning history

6. Personal satisfaction

7. Feelings about French speaking countries or people

8. Eternal pressures/ incentives

For the purposes of this article I shall refer to the two dimensions which appear to
have most relevance to the TiLL model: (2.) Language related enjoyment/liking
and (7.) Feelings about (English) speaking countries or people.

4 The TiLL Model

The TiLL model is an applied theatre model which was created by the founder
of Vienna’s English Theatre, Austrian Theatre Director, Dr Franz Shafranek and
his wife, American actress Ruth Brinkmann. In 1970, in partnership with Leo
Leitner, Head of Secondary Schools at the Austrian Ministry of Education and
Culture (BMUKK), they jointly devised a programme of educational theatre
under the title Englisches Theater geht in die Schulen.
The core objective of the model was to produce theatrical productions
supporting the study of English as a foreign language by offering:

• Professional theatre performances, acted by native English speakers;

• The commission of age-appropriate and specifically targeted plays;

• The publication and distribution of the play texts to students prior to

performance;

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• The provision of educational support materials (exercises and questions

based on the productions and texts).

The key pedagogical outcomes of this model were defined as:

• Building cross-cultural understanding;

• Making the study of English “fun”;

• Taking language study out of the classroom context;

• Hearing English spoken by native speakers;

• Providing opportunities for conversations with native speakers.

The TiLL model was, and still remains, based on three key principles: reading,
seeing and hearing.

The script of a selected play is read in the classroom and all its ramifications
are discussed in detail. The students are familiarized with the plot,
characters and the medium of a foreign language. The direct experience
of the scenes is enhanced through understanding, the action in the play
forms a kind of unity between actors and spectators, and theatre becomes
inter-action. (Shafranek 2001: 102)

Students are supplied with a copy of the selected text, (ideally) to be studied in
the classroom prior to a performance of the play. Performances are undertaken
by a team of professional native speaking actors and take place within the
school itself or in a theatre location nearby. The tripartite focus of reading,
seeing and hearing particularly supports three of the distinct learning styles
identified within Fleming’s celebrated VARK model; the visual, the auditory
and the read/write. It also has the potential to contain the kinesthetic within
the reading category, and in audience participation, as will be demonstrated.
Nicholas Allen, Director of Schools Touring at Vienna’s English Theatre
throughout the 1970’s and 1980’s, describes putting teachers at the front of the
formative process in selecting the type of plays to be performed. To begin with,
regular conferences with teachers were held on an informal basis. In 1985,
these led to the formation of a group of approximately thirty teacher-organizers
whose input helped shape the development of the programme’s dramaturgy
and practice. This initial consultation led to the implementation of the first of
the two dramaturgical formats which have dominated the TiLL model since its
inception; the adaptation of classical texts such as Oscar Wilde’s The Canterville
Ghost, and Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn. This format is now less prevalent,
particularly in work created for younger learners, due to changes in thinking
about social and cultural identity within the L2 classroom. The second format
to be developed was based upon the creation of issue-led contemporary drama.

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4.1 Reading
Engagement in the process of reading the plays is potentially both active
and passive. Students can read to themselves at home exploring vocabulary
independently from the class structure, a learning strategy favored by students
who are “shy and introverted” (Ghani 2003: 31) who prefer to learn a second
language through “grammar drills and sentence analysis” (ibid.). In the active
form (reading aloud) students and teachers can identify practical outcomes such
as fluency, pronunciation, and engagement with emotional or social context.
Teachers are encouraged by Vienna’s English Theatre to engage their students in
role-play activities based on characters or situations, and to act out sections of
the text which is sub-divided into short titled scenes for ease of navigation.
In his internet article on the Use of Drama in the Classroom on the Teaching
English website, Robinson cites Maley & Duff (1978) and Wessels (1987) as
authors who have demonstrated the core values of this methodology; in that it
can “overcome the students’ resistance to learning the new language by making
the learning of the new language an enjoyable experience”, a particularly
important outcome in a compulsory learning setting. Robinson also highlights
the research undertaken by Collie & Slater into the positive contributions
made to language learning by the study of literature. Primary texts constitute
“valuable authentic material” which “expose learners to different registers”
(Collie & Slater 1987: 3). There is also strong evidence that reading produces
superior vocabulary retention rates in L2 learners, in comparison with the use
of vocabulary lists (cf. Hermann 2003: 1). Although the intention is for
the process to be linear (for the students to read first then see and hear) the
application of the model is non-prescriptive allowing teachers to apply it in the
way they feel works best for them, or their students.
As they move towards adulthood young people become particularly keen to
engage with and explore social, ethical and moral questions. To reflect this
interest the contemporary drama strand includes relevant contemporary issues
to provide the potential for debate, and impact upon personal experience.
This approach has produced work exploring gender, substance abuse, race,
consumer culture, anorexia, bullying and teenage pregnancy. Plays have
interrogated the effects of new technology, and changes in social behavior
on teenagers. In Hotmail from Helsinki author Judy Upton (2001) questions
the effects of online social networking on inter-personal relationships, whilst
in Virtual Heroes, Clive Duncan (2007) explores the notion of the computer
avatars and their use as transference mechanisms. According to a student
in Perg, “the pupils liked this topic, because using email, chat-rooms and
playing games on the computer are already common ways of communication
and entertainment for them.” As Helene Hirsch, former chair of the Teachers
of English in Austria Association, says in the introduction to Claudia Leaf’s
Little Girl Lies, which tackles teenage sexuality, “this play” (and by implication,
this form of drama) “explores eminently personal and emotional issues [and]
decisions about the future” (Leaf 2008: 2). The interrogation of contemporary
social and cultural issues provides a platform for students to personalize their

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learning. The content of the material being studied can be related to their own
experience helping inform their understanding of the normative practices and
cultural orthodoxy, or heterodoxy within the target linguistic area. Alongside
the dramaturgical focus on issues there are three other key elements which
have been developed.

• Role models: to encourage personal identification and empathetic

response.

The importance of role identification in the development of personal aspiration

and motivational goals is well known; within the educational arena it can
help the student to “personalize interests, visualize goals, and learn through
experiences” (Arth & Burnett 2001: 1). Vienna’s English Theatre has consciously
applied this by commissioning works in which the central characters are young
people, and often young people who are encountering parental or social
boundaries, managing to navigate their way, generally successfully, through
these negotiations.

• Comedy: to bring the potential for laughter into the classroom and to
build actor / audience rapport during performance.

The majority of feedback received by Vienna’s English Theatre refers specifically

to student appreciation of the comedy elements in the productions (see
appendix, student letters). In her paper The Value of Laughter in the Language
Classroom Bostina-Bratu (2006) cites Provine’s contention that “laughter is not
primarily about humour, but about social relationships.” She believes that it can
also contribute to class unity and learning, and goes on to suggest that “reading
or studying a comedy may please students more than reading a tragedy, or
literature covering other aspects of daily life.” Comedy is widely applied as a
performance technique by directors of companies applying the TiLL model, all
of whom have a conscious or unconscious awareness of its ability to reduce
anxiety in both actor and audience creating a linking social dynamic, and
building a sense of us. In fact the process may even literally make the audience
feel better disposed towards the actors/performance by increasing endorphin
levels within their brains (cf. Berk et al. 2006: 62 ).

• Colloquial phrases: idiomatic expressions and slang words; to assist in the

formation of an independent mental lexicon not subject to translation and
to offer access to a vocabulary which may appeal specifically to younger
people.

Plays commissioned by Vienna’s English Theatre and others applying the TiLL
model have included colloquialisms, idiomatic phrases and slang words such
as pukesville, slimeball, don’t get your knickers in a twist, misery-guts,
ghetto-blaster, local yokel, get out of my face, wicked, sorted and flaky.
Research into the effects of slang on L2 learners in high school and university

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has been undertaken by Charkova, who identified the younger participants

as appreciating the knowledge of slang as “a way of group belonging and
projecting an image of looking cool” (Charkova 2007: 369). Though it is
debatable whether or not arming teenagers with a series of L2 pejoratives is
entirely beneficial, the temptation to acquire genuine teen-speak for young
learners may help in overcoming resistance to compulsory language learning,
and build on motivational factors relating to Ushioda’s descriptor 2. (Ushodia
2001: 102).

4.2 Seeing, Hearing, and Interaction

That a play is a blueprint for performance is self-evident. As Sosulski (2008)
points out, such texts “only blossom into their full range of meaning when
realized upon the stage by actors in flesh and blood.” There is a wide range of
available research into the semiotics, phenomenology and reception of dramatic
performance (States 1985; Esslin 1988; Pavis and Williams 2003; Bennett
1997) exploring the way in which theatrical events can produce “powerful
effects upon our lives, our thinking, our behaviour” (Esslin 1988: 2), and
investigating the complex nature of the interaction between the iconic, deictic,
symbolic, intentional and un-intentional signs produced by the actors in the
presentation of a play and their ultimate reception and interpretation by an
audience. The complexity of interpretation relating to making and viewing
theatre is potentially increased by the TiLL model within this context. It seeks
to present a cross-cultural representation of English life to an audience which
does not share an L1 background with the actors. In reference to performances
which “originate in or somehow reflect a culture other than one’s own” (Bennett
1997: viii), Bennett contends that it is “through such performances we can learn
about our engagement, or not, with another’s culture.” That the actor is at the
centre of the performance process is axiomatic, and actors are often, by nature
of their profession, outgoing people who can easily fascinate learners who often
experience their every day learning environment as rather constraining. As Jon
Whitmore says:

[e]very performer is unique: each possesses a personal style, charisma

or élan. This special almost indefinable quality is heightened when a
person transforms herself into a performer on stage before a live audience.
(Whitmore 1994: 67)

Their potential influence on the provision of a positive experience of British

culture and people, supporting Ushioda’s (2001) motivational descriptor 7.
for students attending performances using the TiLL model, cannot be over-
estimated. The Englisches Theater geht in die Schulen progamme has attempted
to enhance this perceived effect by using:

• Preshow interaction: Personal contact with students and actors through

conversation, framing process prior to performance;

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• In performance interaction: The opportunity for some or all students to

perform in, or otherwise engage kinesthetically with the performance.

Both activities were pioneered in the early 1970’s by Director of Schools Touring
Nicholas Allen and have undergone a series of changes and refinements ever
since. Preshow interaction requires the actors to enter the audience space and
speak directly to audience members as individuals, or in small groups either
in-role, or as themselves. This has taken a number of forms in recent years.
Actors either speak as themselves, or as part of what Esslin might refer to as ‘a
frame’ using character-led interaction. Before performances of The Canterville
Ghost (Wilde & Allen 1995) the audience were welcomed into the theatre space,
and treated as visitors by Lord Canterville to the Canterville Chase. They were
then accosted by actors playing the younger members of the Otis family who
were supposedly joining the tour with them. The inclusion of the audience
within the theatrical scenario, implicit within this form of engagement, was
described by Elinor Fuchs (1996) in her discussion of theatre as “shopping”, as
producing a “familiarization effect” which arises when the audience member is
metaphorically “taken out of the theatre and invited to make herself at home”
(cited in Kattwinkle 2003: 4). Vienna’s English Theatre has applied a wide
range of approaches to directing performance interaction since its inception as
a practical methodology in 1983 when Nicholas Allen, drawing on influences
from the music hall, vaudeville and folk music traditions included songs and
musical scores within the play text. The students were subsequently taught
these songs in class and invited to sing along with the actors during the
performance. The popularity of this approach with teachers and pupils led to
the development of a second modified form, drawing on British pantomime
practice, in which members of the audience were invited onto the stage for
formally devised interactive segments.
In performances of the play Bananas!, an exploration of consumer culture
and diversity issues, Allen & Aita (1999) included lines which were assigned to
student performers who responded to their cues and acted within the context of
the narrative. Writer Clive Duncan (2007) used translation skills as a focus for
interaction in Virtual Heroes asking students to help the characters within the
play to resolve a problem by coming onstage to translate a letter from German
into English. Although not entirely conforming to Augusto Boal’s concept of
the ‘spect-actor’(Boal & Jackson 2002: 30), the direct engagement of students
as participants on stage as part of the performance could instead be viewed as
an example of pseudo-transgressive behaviour.. Victoria Turner discusses the
effects of pseudo-transgressive behaviour on audiences in her paper theorizing
British pantomime tradition Oh no it isn’t! Audience participation and community
identity stating that,

[. . . ] transgression within the safety of defined boundaries leads to

normative communitas, the audience is returned to life having experienced
a transformation for a limited time and place, within safe boundaries.
(quoted in Taylor 2008: 1)

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The Theatre in Language Learning (TiLL) Model Volume 2009 · Issue 1

It also appears that those who do not physically cross the boundary from
auditorium to stage can also share in the thrill of this validated form of
transgressive behaviour. The belief that direct engagement with the audience
is essential to the TiLL model is not only held by Vienna’s English Theatre. Paul
Stebbings, Artistic Director of TNT theatre, a company working in partnership
with the American Drama Group Europe, refers to the importance of an
“audiencentric” approach.
The relationship essential in our theatre is not between actor and text, or
actor and actor, or actor and director, or even designer and director but actor
and audience.’

5 Conclusion
That the TiLL model has survived so long, and not only survived but prospered
and spread, is evidence that its perceived value within the L2 learning
environment is high. Teachers, schools, and educational institutions have all
supported this practice over the past forty years by offering financial subsidy,
continuing to book performances, and by studying the plays produced by the
companies in the classroom. It is interesting therefore to reflect on the fact that
this paper is the first attempt to formally recognize, and name, the TiLL model.
I believe that I have demonstrated evidence to support the contention that
this model affects the motivational factors (2. and 7.) identified in Ushioda’s
research, which may be an important factor in explaining why the model has
been disseminated so widely.
Considering the levels of participation and the longevity of this methodology,
it seems surprising that so little interrogation of the practice has been undertaken
academically thus far. Nonetheless, whilst writing this article, I realize that
my colleagues and I have actually been engaged in a thirty year programme of
action research, constantly ensuring that the model does not remain static but
evolves to reflect changes in society, culture and linguistics. We had just never
recognized that we were doing it.
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Aita, Sean / Allen, Nicholas (2000): Bananas! Vienna: Vienna’s English

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Artaud, Antonin (1958): The Theatre and Its Double. New York: Grove Press

Bennett, Susan (1997): Theatre Audiences: A Theory of Production and

Reception. London: Routledge

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Blakey, Virginia / Pullen, Elaine (1991): You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me:
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MI: University of Michigan Press

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Perry, Cheryl / Zauner, Marguerite / Oakes, Michael J / Taylor Gretchen /

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Twain, Mark / Aita, Sean (adaptor) (1997): The Adventures of Huckleberry

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/ BMUKK

Ushioda, Ema (1999): Motivation and Good Language Learners. In: Griffiths,
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Arth, Tona / Burnett Melissa (2001): The Importance of Role Models in

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40.pdf. Accessed 30/11/08

Attel, Lina (2002): The Utilization of Theatre in Education for Social Development
Changes. Lecture. Children and the City Conference. Jordan. 11/10/
02. Araburban. Available at: http://www.araburban.org/ChildCity/
Papers/English/LinaAttel.pd. Accessed: 1/12/08

Berk, Lee Tan / Stanley, Bittmann Barry / Westengard, James (2006): Modula-
tion of Neuroimmune Parameters during the Eustress of Humor associated
Mirthful Laughter. Available at: http://www.worldlaughtertour.
com/pdfs/Lee\%20Berk-\%20Alt-Ther\%20Vol\%207-2.pdf. Accessed
28/11/08

Bostina-Bratu, Simona (2006): The Value of Laughter in the Language

Classroom. Available at: http://www.armyacademy.ro/biblioteca/
anuare/2007/a30.pd. Accessed 30/11/08

Charkova, Krassimira: A Language without Borders: English Slang and

Bulgarian Learners of English , 369-416) Ingenta Connect. Avail-
able at: http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/bpl/lang/2007/
00000057/00000003/art0000. Accessed 19/10/08

European Theatre Company website (no date) Available at: http://www.

europeantheatre.co.u. Accessed 30/11/08

Fleming, Neil (no date): VARK: A Guide to Learning Styles. Available at:
http://www.vark-learn.com/english/index.asp. Accessed 23/11/08

Hermann, Frank (2003): Differential Effects of Reading and Memorization of

Paired Associates on Vocabulary Acquisition in Adult Learners of English
as a Second Language. In: TESL-EJ Teaching English as a Second or Foreign
Language 7/1. Available from http://tesl-ej.org/ej25/a1.htm.
Accessed 4/11/08

Il Palchetto Stage website (no date). Available at: http://www.palchetto.

it/ipod/index.html. Accessed 30/11/08

Kelly, Curtis (no date) A Review of Traditional and Current Theories of

Motivation in ESL. Available from http://www.osaka-gu.ac.jp/php/
kelly/papers/motivation.html. Accessed 02/01/09

Perg HS website (no date) Virtual Heroes. Available at: http://hs2.perg.at/

index.aspx?url=http://hs2.perg.at/beitraege/zeigeBeitragEinzeln.
aspx?beitragNr=2008216103324971. Accessed 2/12/08

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Peterson, Elizabeth / Coltrane, Bronwyn (2003): Culture in Second Language

Teaching. In CAL Digest. 12/03. Available at: http://www.cal.org/
resources/Digest/0309peterson.htm. Accessed 30/11/08

Robinson, Henry (no date): Teaching English. Using Drama Texts in the
Classroom. Available at: http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/think/
articles/using-drama-texts-classroo. Accessed 14/04/09

Sosulski, Michael J. (2008) Workshop in German Drama: Using Period Acting

Techniques to Enhance Second Language Acquisition. In: Scenario:
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1/08. Available at: http://epu.ucc.ie/scenario/2008/01/sosulski/
02/e. Accessed: 10/11/08

St. Paul SG website (no date). Available at: www.stiftsgym-stpaul.

at/projekte/englisch/virtualheroes_2008/virtualheroes.htm. Ac-
cessed 30/11/08

Stebbings, Paul (no date) Amercian Drama Group Europe. Available at:
http://www.adg-europe.co. Accessed 28/11/08

Sykes, Susie (2005) Review of Literature Relating to Theatre in Education

as a Tool in Alcohol Education. Report for the Alcohol Education and
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Taylor, Millie: (2008) Oh No It Isn’t: Audience Participation and Community

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englishtheatre.at. Accessed: 1/12/08

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//www.whitehorse.de. Accessed 10/11/08

[SCAppendix] Student Letters

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The Theatre in Language Learning (TiLL) Model Volume 2009 · Issue 1

Table 1: Sample of (un-edited) letters from 12-14 year old students sent in response
to tour of Virtual Heroes by Clive Duncan. Vienna’s English Theatre 2007.

a. Dear actors I think your act Virtual Heroes was very funny, you played the story
very well. I hope you will come next year too. The contests was very easy to
understand. I think the man who played Aaron was the funniest. (Patrick)

b. The play was very funny and lots of actions. It is the best that I have ever seen.
My favorites player in Kevin Millar (Killer Miller). The songs that they sings are
very funny. It was really good making. (David)

c. Kevin is the funniest player because he always make jokes. Rita are also good,
she is a swot. Aaron was a very good and funny player. Sharon was made
jokes and she is very funny. (no name)

d. I think it’s funny. I think it shoes very good who is the normal live of two
teenagers. In a normal school. (Aaron)

e. I found that the Sapphire’s stone song was really good, end exciting. I found it
very exiting that Sandra must on the stage. It was very funny. (Melissa)

f. The play was good and funny. It was the best play that I ever see. The players
were very good. Kevin Millar were good at all scene. He was funny! (Stefan)

g. I find the story was really good. Sapphire sings very beautiful. Sapphire’s dress
is nice and sexy. (Rabia)

h. I liked the theatre very much. It was very good performed and the actors played
very good too. Once they said to two of the audience they should come onto
the stage, that was very funny: ) Before the theatre began George talked to us.
The could sing very good, but our version is better. haha. Rescue me and I’ll
rescue you – sing. (Carina)

i. I liked the theatre very much it was very funny, the actors played good and they
were very friendly. I liked that George was talking to us. He is a funny man. I
like you :) They could sing very good. Nice nice nice. ( Laura)

j. Hello! My name is Vera. In your play I laughed the whole time because it was
so funny All things passed together and the set was great. The performance is
perfect. The song from Sapphire was really good. All in all it was always
interesting, exciting and I could understand all. (Vera)
k. The theatre was very funny and I laughed very much. The stage was very small
but you made it very good. I hope you will be performancing theatres like this
on again. So that all the people can see such a funny theatre. You made it
super. (Alex)

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