As suggested by Perone (2011), think of yourself as a guide rather than a director. You’re there to offer support and gently steer the activity when needed. This may look like: ✅ Encouraging students to accept their classmates' ideas ✅ keeping track of time ✅ Noting any interesting language use for debriefing ✅ Offering assistance or prompting the class to help a stuck student

An activity can end naturally when the group feels it has run its course or when the set time is up. In my experience, timed activities work best for learners—they encourage them to keep talking even if they feel stuck and are easier for the teacher to manage. For structured activities like role plays, try starting and ending with fixed scenarios or phrases, leaving the middle open for improvisation. This approach gives students a clear framework while allowing space for creativity. You can learn more about incorporating “structured” improvisation into your classroom here.

Shyness is common—and that’s perfectly okay! In fact, improv has even been used in therapeutic settings to help treat social anxiety disorder (Krueger, Murphy, & Bink, 2019). While you’re not expected to be a psychologist for your students, there are plenty of ways to make improv activities more approachable for shy learners: 1. Start small. Begin with low-pressure activities like “Yes, and let's” or simple role plays like Bus Stop with clear guidelines. 2. Teach exit strategies. Provide students with phrases or actions they can use to gracefully step out of an activity if they feel stuck. Click here for a structured guide - with exit strategies - for incorporating improv in your classroom. 3. Introduce a help signal. Let students use a predetermined gesture—like tapping the desk—if they freeze. This allows a classmate to jump in and keep the activity moving. 4. Shift the focus. Remind students that improv is about fluency, not accuracy. Mistakes are not only okay—they’re a natural and valuable part of learning.

Improv doesn’t have to dominate your lesson plan. In fact, it often works best as a warm-up, icebreaker, or supplemental activity. A quick five to 15 minutes, plus a short debrief, is often enough. Debrief Idea: After the activity, ask students to share what they enjoyed, found challenging, or learned. This reflection reinforces the purpose of the exercise.

Sometimes students dismiss activities as “silly” because they don’t understand the purpose. Be upfront about why you are asking them to do improv exercises. Explain how it builds real-world skills like: 💬 Responding to unexpected questions. 💬 Thinking on their feet in conversations. 💬 Collaborating in group discussions. Use examples relevant to their goals, like job interviews, casual chats, or presentations. Once they see the connection, they’ll approach the exercises with more enthusiasm.

Improv in a large class might feel overwhelming at first, but with the right strategies, it’s not only doable—it can also be incredibly fun and less intimidating for individual students. Here are some practical tips to make it work effectively: 1. Divide Into Small Groups Breaking the class into smaller groups of 4–6 students helps keep activities manageable and ensures everyone participates without feeling overwhelmed. While groups work simultaneously, you can circulate to observe, offer feedback, or jump in as needed. 2. Use Rotational Formats: As Perone (2011) suggests, set up stations or “rotations” where each group practices a different improv activity. Students can choose topics or tasks that interest them most. After a set amount of time, groups rotate to a new station. This keeps energy high and gives everyone a chance to try multiple activities. 3. Focus on Pair Work: Pair work is ideal for large classes. Many improv activities, like simple role plays or games such as “Yes, And,” work perfectly in pairs. Pairing minimizes downtime and maximizes participation while making the tasks less intimidating for quieter students. 4. Leverage Volunteers for Demonstrations: Start an activity by inviting a few volunteers to demonstrate for the class. This approach: Helps clarify instructions for the activity. Reduces anxiety for other students by setting an example. Gives you a chance to model expectations or adapt the activity in real time. 5. Incorporate Whole-Class Improv: Whole-class activities can be a great way to engage everyone at once. For example: One Word Story/Story Chain: Each student adds one word or sentence to create a collaborative story. Guessing Games: One student acts out a scene, while the rest of the class guesses the context, character, or situation. 6. Use Audience Participation Even when some students aren’t performing, they can stay actively involved through audience participation. Here’s how: Jump In With Ideas: If a performer gets stuck, invite the audience to suggest what happens next. For example: “What should they say or do now?” Observation Tasks: Assign the audience specific tasks, such as: Listening for target vocabulary or expressions. Identifying the emotions of characters in the scene. Evaluating how effectively the performers communicate. Guess What’s Happening: When a small group is performing for the whole class, ask the audience to guess what’s happening based on context clues.