Principes et processus de l’improvisation théâtrale dans une perspective énactive-performative de l’enseignement-apprentissage de l’anglais à l’université

Florian Rèche

doi:10.33178/scenario.19.1.2

Authors

Florian Rèche University of Bordeaux

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.33178/scenario.19.1.2

Keywords:

theatrical improvisation, enactive-performative pedagogy, Embodied cognition, language anxiety

Abstract

Abstract

This article presents the potential of theatrical improvisation for the teaching and learning of English at university from an enactive-performative perspective (Aden & Eschenauer, 2020a). Considering cognition as an emergent and embodied process, linked to action and interaction, this theoretical framework sheds light on the relevance of the founding principles of improvisation, as developed by Viola Spolin (1906-1994) and Keith Johnstone (1933-2023). The study shows how the process of improvisation, governed by rules such as “Yes, and...” and a focus on a common goal, encourages the development of oral fluency, as well as the contextualised appropriation of grammar, lexicon, phonology and pragmatic skills. It has also been shown that this practice reduces language anxiety by establishing a secure framework (Zondag, 2021), boosts motivation and self-confidence, and develops cross-curricular skills such as creativity and collaboration. Based on classroom observations at the University of Bordeaux, the article uses concrete examples to illustrate how language takes shape in interaction and how constraints can become levers for creativity.

Author Biography

Florian Rèche, University of Bordeaux

Florian Reche est enseignant d'anglais depuis 2012. Il associe sa passion pour le théâtre avec l'enseignement des langues. Il a été formé en conservatoire de théâtre parallèlement à ses études d’anglais et a suivi des cours de jeu d’acteur et d’improvisation théâtrale à Paris. Dans le cadre de son Master de recherche à l’Université de Bordeaux Montaigne, il rédige un mémoire de linguistique anglaise sous la direction du Pr Jean-Rémi Lapaire. Après avoir enseigné en collège et lycée, il rejoint l'enseignement supérieur en 2015, en IUT, à l’Université Gustave Eiffel. En 2020, il intègre le Département Langues, Lettres et Communication de l'Université de Bordeaux, où il enseigne l'éloquence en anglais et met en place des cours d'anglais par le théâtre et l'improvisation théâtrale. Depuis 2024, il prépare un doctorat, sous la direction de Dr Alexandra Reynolds (MCF HDR), axé sur l'utilisation des techniques d'improvisation théâtrale dans l’enseignement-apprentissage de l’anglais auprès d’apprenants de niveau intermédiaire à avancé, étudiants à l’Université de Bordeaux.

Florian Reche has been teaching English since 2012. He combines his passion for theatre with language teaching. He was trained at a drama conservatoire alongside his English studies and took acting and theatrical improvisation courses in Paris. As part of his Master's degree at the University of Bordeaux Montaigne, he wrote a English linguistics dissertation under the supervision of Professor Jean-Rémi Lapaire. After teaching in secondary schools, he joined higher education in 2015, at the Institute of Technology of Gustave Eiffel University. In 2020, he became a teacher in the Languages, Literature and Communication Department of the University of Bordeaux, where he has been teaching eloquence in English and setting up classes in English through drama and theatrical improvisation. Since 2024, he has been working on a PhD under the supervision of Dr Alexandra Reynolds, focusing on the use of theatrical improvisation techniques in the teaching and learning of English to intermediate to advanced learners at the University of Bordeaux.

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