When teachers talk about the challenges they face, the conversation often stays in the realm of ideas — analysing what went wrong, what could have been better, or what strategies might help next time.

But what if, instead of talking about our experiences, we could embody them?

That’s the invitation at the heart of performative pedagogy — to move from analysis to embodiment, from thinking to feeling, from story to shape and sound.

The Power of Embodiment

In my workshops with teachers, we explore how emotion lives not just in our words, but in our gestures, posture, and breath. This isn’t about acting or performance in the theatrical sense. It’s about accessing a different kind of knowing — one that lives in the body and connects us to others on a deeper level.

When we let our bodies speak, they often tell truths our words have learned to censor.

The Circle Turn

One of my favourite activities to begin this process is something I call Circle Turn.

Step 1: Image Version

• Participants stand in a circle and recall a significant emotional moment from their teaching life.
• On the facilitator’s count, everyone turns inward and freezes in a pose that expresses that emotion.
• They observe one another’s images and find others whose postures seem to express something similar.
• Small groups form to share the stories behind those embodied images.

Reflect:

• What did you notice about how your body held that emotion?
• Did someone else’s shape resonate with your own story?
• How did it feel to show rather than say what you felt?

The Sound of Emotion

The activity can then evolve from shape to sound.

• Participants recall the same moment, but this time express it as a sound — using only the breath, not words.
• On a shared count, everyone turns inward and lets that sound emerge.
• The room fills with raw, human resonance — laughter, sighs, hums, even silence.

It’s extraordinary how quickly participants begin to connect. There’s recognition without explanation, empathy without analysis.

Why It Works

These embodied activities work because they bypass our intellectual filters. They allow emotion and meaning to surface from a deeper, more intuitive place. What emerges is not only personal awareness but also collective understanding.

When teachers share space in this way — physically, vocally, emotionally — something powerful happens:

• Trust builds.
• Awareness deepens.
• The group begins to function as a community.

And that’s where transformation begins.

Beyond the Workshop

From these initial activities, we move towards Image Theatre and Community Forums, where individual experiences grow into collective stories of change. Teachers begin to see that they are more than minds managing lessons — they are whole people, with stories that live in their bodies.

When those stories are shared — visually, vocally, and collectively — a new kind of professional development becomes possible. One rooted not just in reflection, but in embodiment.

If this approach resonates with you, I invite you to join our free community Performative ELT — a space where educators explore embodied, creative, and performative ways of teaching and learning.

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