Outdoors, either sitting or standing on the campus lawns, a group of students on the engineering program and in the 1st year of their Master’s degree are taking six weeks’ worth of improvisational theater and storytelling lessons in English. A fun and creative format which will help them to speak out more confidently and develop a whole range of skills.
Purpose of the class
The students are asked to take part in a series of exercises, in English, inspired by improvisational theater. The aim is to learn, in stages, to perform storylines unscripted, alone and in a group, with certain criteria to have to bear in mind. The teacher encourages a few students to try the exercise with her, before getting them working in pairs or small groups. They then give a debriefing, share their observations, analyze any difficulties encountered and strategies adopted and think about how each activity could be applied in business communication situations. The students have to keep a logbook of the exercises done in class, which is assessed.
The aim of this module
These sessions have a range of objectives:
- Gaining awareness of the importance of narratives in private and professional communication situations.
- Encouraging thought to be given to the collective creation process.
- Developing language skills: acquiring tools for writing a story/speech, descriptive and evaluative vocabulary, tools for giving feedback
- Developing soft skills: listening, building self-confidence in speaking in English, adaptability.
- The rest of the lessons feature more in-depth written content.
The year’s projects
Two years ago, we organized a showcase when students on this track* had published, internally, compendia of short stories written collectively. We’d like to do that again this year.
Useful links
