Tips &
Troubleshooting

In a foreign language classroom, it's not uncommon to encounter mixed proficiency levels among students. Rarely do learners fit neatly into CEFR frameworks or broad categories like "low-intermediate" or "high-intermediate." Just like in a L1 context, some students may excel in reading skills while others may struggle. In such cases, we need to make adjustments to accommodate diverse abilities.

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One approach is to encourage less proficient students to select roles that align with their level, requiring less reading or expressive delivery, and incorporating simpler vocabulary. If your script lacks suitable roles, you can use ChatGPT to modify it accordingly. My guide on working with ChatGPT may provide some insights for finding a tailored solution.

Not all students feel comfortable with reading aloud or performing. You may encounter shy students who prefer to avoid the spotlight. In such cases, consider the following strategies:

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a. As Worthy (2005) suggests, you could encourage these students to take on the role of a "narrator." This role requires less expressive reading as they would primarily introduce characters and explain the unfolding events. With lower stakes and fewer opportunities for embarrassment or intimidation, this option may appeal to shy learners.

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b. Make use of a multimodal approach and invite these students to create sound effects or musical accompaniments to enhance the expressive readings of specific passages. This way, they remain engaged with the cognitive tasks associated with the text and performance, albeit in a more comfortable way.

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c. Allow shy students to contribute by writing or creating scripts rather than performing them. They can collaborate with performers, providing guidance on appropriate expression, delivery, and other performance elements.

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d. Although Worthy (2005) also proposes the use of puppets, this may not be suitable for adult students. In this case, you may want to offer students the possibility of wearing or using costumes (although this is not a required for Readers Theater). Similarly, take advantage of a multimodal approach by having students record their scripts and develop short avatar animations. This fosters creativity and helps students interact with the content through diverse media.

Some learners may find it challenging to understand or convey certain emotions or expressions that are unfamiliar to their cultural norms. As teachers, we should be mindful of these differences and provide guidance on cultural interpretations. If a performance entails many emotional scenes, it's worthwhile to have a pre-discussion about emotions and how they may be expressed or perceived differently across cultures before assigning performance groups.

Although Readers Theater is meant to assist with reading skills, L2 learners face the added struggle of pronunciation. After all, expressive reading can be hindered if learners are grappling with the pronunciation of certain words. Therefore, it may be helpful for teachers to address specific pronunciation patterns before beginning a Readers Theater activity. If you’re strictly teaching reading and are not equipped to provide this support, it could be beneficial to collaborate with speaking teachers or pronunciation guides to assist learners who may be struggling.

Depending on the class and their particular pronunciation issues (especially if they share the same L1 and tend to struggle with the same sounds), it may be helpful to start each session with tongue-twisters or pronunciation drills related to the target sounds or patterns.

In some cultures, being soft-spoken and quiet is the norm, and it is seen as disrespectful to be loud in class. The downside of this is that these students rarely participate, or if they do, they are barely audible to the teacher and other students. This is an issue that experienced time and time again in my own classes - here are  some strategies I’ve used address this:

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1. Clarify Cultural Expectations: Be sure to cover the cultural expectations of the country and classroom setting. Make it clear to students that you, as their teacher, do not feel disrespected or offended by "loud" speaking, and that you expect them to project their voices.

2. Demonstrate the Issue: It's one thing to tell students they aren't speaking loudly enough, and another to show them. Consider the following approaches:

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a. Have a student stand in one corner of the room and say a word. Record them from the other side of the room. Let the student listen to the recording and decide how well they can hear their own words.

b. Teach them voice projection techniques using YouTube videos or other resources. Here are some Youtube videos I have used successfully in my own classroom:

• How to project your voice when speaking

• Voice projection exercises

• How to speak louder without yelling

c. After practicing with the videos, play games that allow them to put their new skills to use. One game idea is dividing the group into two teams standing on opposite sides of the room. Each person on a team is given a word or sentence for the other team to transcribe. They can only repeat what they said once. The team that successfully projects their voices for the other side to transcribe wins.

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* To increase the difficulty, you can play ambient noise in the background like this which will require learners to project their voices even more.

With an uneven number of students, such as 17, and a script requiring 4 characters each, you have a few creative options as a class. One group could incorporate an additional character, offering a student a unique role. Alternatively, you might condense a role, having one student take on a slightly smaller part. This situation presents an engaging opportunity to explore how modifying the script impacts the performance. After the show, you can analyze and discuss the differing choices and their effects