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Neurodrama in ELT- How to Plan a Lesson with the Brain in Mind?
Alicja Gałązka, Poland
Prof.dr hab. Alicja Galazka
Alicja Gałązka is a linguist, psychologist, international coach and trainer. She has been
researching and practicing drama for years. Her main interest is using drama in the ELT
classroom in the neurological and psychological context. She is interested in the
psychological aspects of language learning. A coordinator and participant of many
international projects. An author of publications in Polish and English. The author of Future
Learning System - a method based on using drama and cognitive psychology in ELT. Coordinator of two SIGs in IATEFL Poland: Psychology in ELT and Drama in the ELT
classroom.
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Introduction
Neurological conditions of foreign language acquisition
Neurological dimension of drama
Drama and emotional teaching
Drama Strategies—choosing and using
Some practical examples
References
Introduction
In recent years there has been a considerable growth in our understanding of how the brain
functions and how we learn. Emotion drives consciousness, consciousness drives attention,
and attention drives learning and long-term memory. And it all begins with an innate sense
of self. The human brain prioritizes human relationships and socio-cultural interactions.
Deep within our brain we are wired to survive by empathizing and connecting with each
other through action, movement and language. Our brain is, by nature, dramatic and exists to
resolve conflict and perceived threats.
Nowadays the loss of free play, diminished parenting hours and dehumanized social
networking dominance translates into significantly lower emotional intelligence (EQ),
reduced memory and increased risk of chronic stress among children and today's youth.
However, drama has got the power to make learning a language more effective and “brainfriendly”. Effective learning must encompass emotion to a greater extent, and no matter
what we teach, if we neglect emotions, then the effect will be very poor. Students make
sense of the world around them through acting and reacting to real and imagined
experiences. They verbalize in make-believe worlds, generating, rehearsing and practising
the language required in a safe fictional context. They also experience the emotional thrill of
role play “as if”. Students’ dramatic play stimulates and uses many different parts of the
brain, just as drama stimulates visual, auditory, spatial and motor functions. In drama, there
is a safe and distanced opportunity to recognize and talk about emotions together whilst
developing the target language. When a child is playing a character of their own creation
within a drama class, they have to consider how to react and act as another person. To do
this successfully, they will need to draw on what they know and have actually experienced
emotionally. They will need to link real and imagined emotional experiences in order to
develop a plausible character. Participants in drama are not held personally responsible once
outside the drama, for the actions and feelings of the characters they create and portray
within the drama. Emotional competence has a 'feel-good' factor, which is intrinsically
motivating. Drama involves a significant focus on reading non-verbal messages and
portraying and communicating them through gesture, eye-contact, movement and
positioning. The non-verbal and verbal messages are juxtaposed for greater clarity of
meaning. Verbal behaviours are also better recognised and developed as drama relies on and
develops active listening and response. It supports the understanding of sub-text and the
meaning lying behind spoken and written words.
Neurological conditions of second language acquisition
The brain is the organ directly responsible for controlling human thoughts, emotions and
motivation. From a psychological viewpoint, it may be regarded as a kind of management
centre in charge of consciousness functions, performing both as a reactive and directive
body. Yet, the brain appears as a particular physiological reality, an extraordinary creation in
organization patterns of the nervous system, responsible for perception of the world around
us, adapting to its demands and entering into consequent interactions. It is the nervous
system then that is responsible for conveying information from the surrounding reality,
processing this information and making us respond in an appropriate manner. Understanding
the pathways of consciousness needs careful insight into the peripheral nervous system,
comprising the brain and the spinal cord surrounded by the bony structures. Additional
protection of the brain is ensured by the cerebral fluid, continuously secreted by the brain.
Circulating within and around the brain, the cerebrospinal fluid has an auxiliary role in
elimination of waste by the peripheral nervous system. Along with the bony covering, the
cerebrospinal fluid protects the brain against any injury imposed by external factors, while
the physiological structure shields against internal threats. Blood flow reaching the brain
passes the so-called hemato-cephalic barrier which rejects redundant and noxious
substances.
The spinal cord, formed as a ganglion of nerve fibres, cylindrical in shape and with the
diameter of a little finger, is shielded by the vertebrae and bones constituting the vertebral
column. The nerve fibre ganglions branch into nerves of the peripheral system, like those
leading to the internal organs or upper and lower limbs. One of the major roles of the spinal
cord is to transmit information from distant peripheral nerves to the brain. A two-way
communication of the nervous system is ensured by two types of nerves and neurons: the
receptors and the effectors. The receptors are the receiving structures. Performing within the
nervous system, the receptors receive sensory information (e.g., from the eyes, ears, skin)
from distant nerves of the peripheral system and transmit it to the central system, including
the spinal cord and the brain. The effectors, on the other hand, transmit motor information
(e.g., movements of major and minor muscles) from the central nervous system to the
peripheral one. The effect is an appropriate response to the information received (usually
from the brain). Lower levels of the nervous system hierarchy may respond with no
involvement of the brain.
However, comprehensive interaction with the outer world,
including perception of reality, demands more complex relations. It is the brain which is
responsible for individuals’ integration with the environment. Three major parts may be
distinguished in the brain: the forebrain (prosencephalon), the midbrain (mesencephalon)
and the afterbrain (rhombencephalon). In the course of development, the forebrain takes the
shape of a cap at the top of the mesencephalon and the afterbrain. It contains the cerebral
cortex, the basal ganglia, the limbic system, the thalamus and the hypothalamus. The cortex
plays the major role in thinking and in other mental processes. The limbic system is crucial
for emotions, motivation, memory and learning; thanks to it, we are able to respond flexibly
to the changing environment. Three interrelating cerebral structures within the limbic system
are the amygdaloid nucleus, the septum and the hippocampus. The amygdala plays a role in
anger and aggression, the septum is responsible for the emotions of anger and aggression,
while the hippocampus plays a major part in generating memories and is considered to be
associated with the short-term memory.
Neurological dimension of drama
The human mind appears as a specific personification of the brain, formed through the
unique, dynamic configuration of neural connections, due to experienced events (Greenfield,
2002).
Evolution of such events within the brain space, reflecting the neurodynamic conditions of
the brain, is responsible for mental processes. In recent years there has been a significant
growth of interest in brain functions as well as neurological conditions of learning. A variety
of the emerging learning models focus on ‘brain-friendly’ schemes or teaching based upon
‘brain performance principles’. The more we know about brain functions, the better we
understand how we learn. We can influence our brain, both on the functional level as well as
the level of its structure. Now we know that neurological development does not end during
early adulthood. Neurons and connections within the brain may continue to be formed
throughout our lives. The brain and its structure are highly flexible and change depending
on the experience gained. The richer the learning environment, the stronger the brain
stimulation to create new neural connections. Research indicates that mental situation or
creation of representations (frequently used in drama) activates the neural structures as much
as actual performance of an activity. Drama based upon the use of natural playing skills
appears to be one of the best teaching tools in line with neurological teaching principles.
When taking part in drama, students imagine having certain skills and competences, which
enhance development and belief in their own capabilities. Studies by Kuhl (2003) suggest
that students learning a language in a defined social reality acquire it much more efficiently
than by just listening to their teacher or watching a film. Creating an imaginary world of
fiction and drama ensures a social context, where students cooperate to establish interactions
which will then generate language. Drama provides the opportunity to experiment with
language in a socially significant context, synchronizing the imaginary experience with the
body, mind, image and emotion, whilst at the time stimulating different areas of the brain.
One of the greatest, yet underestimated, discoveries of the late 20th century was made by
Giacomo Rizzolatti (1996) who found that observation of the movements of other people
generates imitative responses in the motor pathways of the observer. It has been recognized
now that they follow a specific motor programme, which codes the observed activities by
gentle stimulation of appropriate neurons, producing however no actual movement in the
observer, and established that this phenomenon is due to the specific system of neurons,
referred to as the mirror ones. The discovery of mirror neurons may bring about a
breakthrough in psychology, as fundamental as the discovery of DNA has been for genetics.
Among the major functions of mirror neurons is recognition of the moods, feelings and
thoughts of others. Accordingly, most people can easily read their interlocutors’ facials.
Mirror neurons allow for learning; observing the gestures of another person causes imitation,
which can be observed particularly in children. Observing others, we unknowingly imitate
their facial expressions to activate the corresponding neurons and generate analogous
feelings. The evidence may be contagious laughter. As research has shown, the system of
mirror neurons within the brain, allowing for imitation and modelling of behaviours, ensures
transmission of information and cross-cultural behaviours. Drama and theatre appear to be
excellent tools for conveying the cultural message and an effective way of encouraging
empathetic attitudes. The processes of copying, simulation and imitation have a tremendous
neurological significance: they are the basis for the creation of fictional reality in drama.
Drama and emotional teaching
Drama is closely associated with experience and expression of emotions. Emotions stimulate
consciousness, consciousness stimulates attention and this, in turn, activates long-term
memory and learning.
The human brain is programmed to establish empathetic
interpersonal relations within a social and cultural context, accomplished through activities,
movement and language. By nature, our brain fulfils the dramatic function of solving
problems and avoiding threats. The human mind continues the inner dialogue on fictional
past, present and future experience and visualizes them through a variety of scenes. Drama
associates visual representations with emotions and provokes emotional responses to
different stimuli, integrating the cognitive, affective and aesthetic experience. The brain
receives its information through the senses. It is constantly changing (neuroplasticity)
through experiencing and learning new things and is highly activated by stories. Brains are
socially wired and can synchronise with each other (through mirror neurons).The brain
learns first through imitation and mimicry and through imagined as well as real experiences.
Emotionally charged experiences are more motivating and memorable. Drama has its roots
in multi-sensory social play, which is spontaneous and prevalent before children come to
school.
Teachers may then add structure, offer forms and help scaffold imagined
experiences for the children in drama lessons. They may use drama strategies to support this.
Dramatic play paves the way for learning before education intervenes. Children find
dramatic play enjoyable and compelling. They engage with imagined worlds for long
periods. These imagined experiences link real neurons into new learning pathways and
strengthen existing neural pathways. Learning through dramatic play or drama can be
emotionally charged, vivid and memorable. The brain is also significantly activated by
stories and all drama is story-based. Brains need to interact with each other, not just work in
solitary ways.
They thrive on multi-sensory stimulation and activity rather than just
watching and listening. Drama is based on pretending, which is important for cognitive
development and helps students to get a deeper understanding of their own minds.
Drama strategies - choosing and using
Drama as an art form has its own methodology that brings with it an infinitely adaptable set
of scaffolding tools into the EFL classroom, called strategies or conventions. Each drama
strategy can be seen as an active and often interactive thinking frame, which simultaneously
makes cognitive, affective and aesthetic demands on the pupils. The skilled teacher is an
empathetic facilitator, who selects drama strategies to scaffold and support thinking and
learning a language in and through an established art form. There is a range of well-
established drama strategies which English teachers are familiar with, but very often a lack
of awareness of the flexibility and potential of these drama strategies results in them being
used or misused as single activity ingredients which are not combined in a way that
produces a fine drama “cake.” Drama strategies should be carefully selected according to the
teacher's learning intentions and purpose. The awareness of the ways in which different
children learn best and the ways their brains work most effectively can also influence the
choice and suitability of the strategy. The drama strategies are the teacher's devices that
enable pupil engagement and reflection, holding moments still for feeling, thinking and
learning. ELT teachers selecting strategies must consider many factors such as students’
familiarity with the strategy, the energy level required, language level and the type of
thinking they are trying to develop, amongst others.
Drama
Strategy or
Convention
Captioning
Choral
Speaking
Collective role
Collective
voice
Conscience
Alley
Decision Alley
Thought
Tunnel
Freeze frame
Hot-seating
Brief Description
Main purpose/s
A scene or still image is given one sentence that
encapsulates it. The caption might be presented
verbally or written down (rather like a one sentence
plaque).
More than one person speaking in unison for
dramatic effect (rather like a choir of speech).

to synthesise in words the
meaning portrayed in the
scene or image.

to create aural dramatic
effect

to strengthen the spoken
word through unity
to share ownership of a role
More than one person simultaneously takes on one
role and can speak as the character they are together
portraying.

The class splits into two lines facing each other
(standing about a metre apart). A character passes
between the lines at a moment of indecision or
turmoil in the drama.

As the character passes by each person, they can
speak aloud their advice to the character. Each line
persuasively offers conflicting advice to the
character before he/she makes their decision.
This is when action is halted and a moment in a
scene is held perfectly still, i.e., “as still as a
photograph”. It provides a still image that can be
reflected upon and commented on by the
participants or by those watching. It may be that the
teacher calls out “freeze” to halt the scene
(alternatively the participants agree a moment they
will all freeze the action). The “freeze frame” can
be recreated later (or at the start of the next lesson)
as a still image in order to get back to the same
moment in the drama. Freeze framing is often used
with other dramatic strategies and conventions,


to give opportunity for
everyone to influence a
character’s actions

to model balanced argument
and support persuasive
speech
to hold a moment still in
order to allow thinking time,
e.g., for reflection
to clarify visually a key
moment and help make it
memorable and significant



Hot-seating is a well-established drama strategy, of 
which
many
language
teachers
have
to give a reason for careful,
active listening
to make explicit and public
the pros and cons of a
course of action
some
to create a visual frame that
may be recreated and
returned to for further
exploration and reflection
later
to find out information from
a character
knowledge. It involves having the opportunity to
talk with a character for a short while and ask them
questions. The character usually sits in a particular
chair that is referred to as the 'hot- seat'. The
questioners ask questions as themselves and are not
in role. The character being questioned answers in

to find out a character’s
viewpoint
role. How it can be used in a language classroom? 
You can question, for example, Little Red Riding
to give opportunity to all to
engage with a character
Hood, the granny and the wolf to learn more about
their thoughts, emotions and motives. You can hotseat imaginary characters who are close to the
person they want to find out about instead of talking
to the character himself. For example, we can bring
in and hot -seat step mother's servant or hairdresser
etc.
Improvisation
This involves speaking and acting spontaneously in

role without rehearsal. To do this, a student needs to
know who they are pretending to be, where and
what the drama moment or situation is and then they
seriously engage with the scene, as if it is real and
just make it up “in role” as they go along.

Multi-sensory
imagining
(including
visualisation)
Visualisation is about specifically giving time to

supporting children to see pictures in their minds. It
helps to ask children to close their eyes and then the
teacher can guide the visualisation, e.g., “Now close
your eyes ... Imagine that you are a very special
kite.......have a really good look at yourself.....I don’t
know what you look like but you do.... I wonder what

colour you are... I don’t know, but you do........let
your eyes travel all around yourself.....look carefully
at what you are made of.....and how you are joined
together..... do you have a tail I wonder? .......are
you plain or patterned? ....etc.” This example
leaves the children to create the kite visually in their
minds as the teacher is prompting without telling.
Sometimes a visualisation might give visual,
auditory or kinesthetic information, e.g., say, “Close

to spontaneously generate
dramatic action and words
to encourage and develop
quick thinking and response
in role
to deepen sensory
engagement
to “tag” the moment by
accessing and evoking
memories multi-sensorily
to make the imaginary
setting for the drama more
vivid and real
your eyes and imagine you are sitting in a forest at
night.......there is a bright moon tonight and
everything is bathed in silver and the air is
still......you are tired as you have been working all
day in the fields, cutting down barleylook at that
candlelight ..... and wonder.....” This leads the
children from imagining a scene based on visual
references in the poem towards thinking about what
they are imagining they see. Visualisation implies
just evoking visual images but we can take this
further and make the experience a virtual multisensory experience by asking children to imagine
and contribute suggestions as to the sights, sounds,
tactile experience, smells, tastes that also can be
associated with the drama and can be summoned up
in their imaginations at a particular moment.
Role on the
wall

to enable the children to
access and imagine the
setting through a range of
senses

to support the children to
focus on, tune into and
become sensitive to the
sensory aspects of a place
and/or moment
to give time and space for
sensory reflection and
imagining

Role on the Wall is a simple and visual way of 
gathering together and recording what the drama
participants think or feel about a character in the
drama. The teacher or the students can simply draw
a big outline of a head or body and display it

centrally on the wall or on the floor with pupils
gathered around. The outline can be as simple as a
stick- man on a pre-prepared accurate representation 
of the character's head or body. Characters in books,
films, legendary figures, caricatures, cartoons.
to focus and record what is
know and felt about
characters at different points
in the drama
to generate discussion about
characters
to verify and agree
information about a
character
Through drama strategies, teachers are able to offer different degrees of freedom and
constraint to students at different points in the learning process. Both freedom and constraint
of thought are essential to the creative process of learning a language in a brain-friendly
way. Language teachers need to be sensitive to pupils’ creativity, introducing or adapting the
basic strategies to free them up or support them as necessary. Drama strategies are adaptable
and open to development by teachers. The more experienced and confident teachers become
at using them, the more experimental they can become about playing with them, honing
them to suit their own class and their own teaching purposes. Strategies both encourage and
depend on pupil engagement and cooperation as well as on individual and/or shared thinking
for their success.
There are many drama strategies which can be used in their existing form or adapted to suit
the needs of your language teaching. I would like to present some of them which I have used
and noticed how big their potential in language teaching is. They allow teachers to harness
the power of students’ minds in a very effective way.
Some practical examples
1 Topic: Ageing, generation gap
Strategy used: Role on the wall

As a means of exploring the experience of old age, the group is shown a highly
selective, atmospheric, life-size charcoal and chalk drawing of an old man with a
series of factual statements about his life. Students write some adjectives describing
his appearance and his attitude to life on post-it notes and stick them on the drawing.
The group recreates the man's life. As a follow-up, students can bring a family photo
album with pictures of grandparents.

In drama looking at the story of a disturbed teenager, the teacher draws a rough
outline of a human figure and sticks it on the wall. The group adds a series of
statements made about the figure by a parent, a grandmother, a friend, a teacher, a
psychologist etc. - these are written beside the figure. Then the students read a few
notes from the character's diary which give them a different picture of the character.
Students write inside the outline of the figure everything they can say about the
teenager after reading his/ her diary. It gives new understanding about the teenager
and stimulates the discussion. It can be further explored through drama.
This strategy gives enormous possibilities to an English teacher. The students can either
write on the Role on the Wall themselves in turn or record what they wish to contribute on
post-it notes, which they then are invited to stick on the Role on the Wall. They can be asked
to justify and explain their contributions, for example, “I have written that the stepmother is
vain because....”. Post-it notes are a very flexible tool when working with Role on the Wall.
Individual or group comments and information about the character can be gathered around a
large outline on Post-its. They can of course be changed and modified if the students change
their minds about the character during the course of the drama. The language teacher may
invite a range of open responses about the character from the pupils by asking questions
such as “What does the character look like?”, “How old is he/she?”, “What does she like
eating?”, or more complex ones such as “What do we think are the positive characteristics of
the character?” and “What might this character be feeling at this particular moment?”. The
teacher can also create a thinking frame around the Role on the Wall or practice some
language functions. There could be columns around the body outline with the headings
“What might he do?”, “What he should do?”, or “What he will do?”. The students can place
their responses in as well as personal records and files.
2. Topic: Pets
Strategy used: hot seating
A group has been reading a story about a family in which the stepdaughter (e.g., Snow
White) asks her father to persuade her stepmother to allow her to keep pets. The step mother
is very determined and takes no notice of the request. The group explores the likely
conversation in pairs. Then the father (this can be the teacher in role or one of the students)
sits in the middle of the circle facing an empty chair with the stepdaughter's shawl draped on
it. He is “hot-seated” by the rest of the group being out of role. Students can ask questions or
give advice on how to persuade the stepmother. Then the stepdaughter or the stepmother can
be hot-seated. The activity can be done simultaneously in small groups when the class is too
big.
Hot-seating allows to highlight a character's motivations and personal disposition,
encouraging interrelationships between attitudes and events. It makes speaking in a foreign
language more meaningful and stimulates conversation. Before bringing in the character, ask
the class to consider in advance what questions they might ask the character when he/she sits
in the hot-seat. This gives opportunity for formulating and considering students' questions
and allows to work on grammar correctness and vocabulary choice. The teacher has to limit
the number of questions that children can ask the character in the hot -seat. It is always
better to leave students curious and wanting to know more about the character than carry on
too long and lose pupils’ attention and interest.
There are many more drama strategies which can be successfully used in the ELT classroom.
They can be used separately in the course of the lesson or as a whole structured drama
lesson. Drama strategies can be adapted according to the topic of the lesson and the
coursebook used. Drama makes teaching a foreign language more creative and effective.
The collective and individual imaginations are stimulated and then fashioned through the use
of drama strategies to produce intrinsic and extrinsic outcomes.
References
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Gałązka A. (2011). Drama as a tool of appreciative inquiry. The New Educational Review.
Gałązka, A. (2000). Drama as a stimulus of intrinsic motivation and communication skills in
EFL classroom. Dedicated space, 2, Bratislava.
Gałązka, A. (2008). Motywacyjna rola dramy w glottodydaktyce. Impuls. Kraków
Gałązka, A. (2010). Constructive drama pedagogy in ELT classroom. In A. Gałązka (ed.),
Drama, learning and creativity. National Drama Publications.UK.
Greenfield, S. (2002). The Private Life of the Brain. Penguin Press Science.
Kesner, R. (2007). Neurobiology of learning and memory. Academic Press.
Krashen, S. (1981). Second Language Acquisition and Second Language Learning. Oxford:
Pergamon.
Kuhl, P. (2003). Born to learn, Language, Reading and the Brain of the Child. Paper
presented at the Colorado Early Learning Summit, Denver. Colorado.
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Schmidt-Rhaesa A. (2007). The Evolution of Organ Systems. Oxford: Oxford University
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Please check the Creative Methodology for the Classroom course at Pilgrims website.
Please check the Drama Techniques for Creative Language Teaching course at
Pilgrims website.