How do students perceive the effectiveness of improvisation in language learning

Based on the recent web search, students generally perceive improvisation as an effective and beneficial approach in language learning, particularly in enhancing speaking and communication skills. However, perceptions vary depending on context and implementation.

Positive Perceptions of Improvisation in Language Learning

• Enhancement of speaking skills: Many students believe that improvisation activities like role-play, dramatization, and spontaneous speech exercises improve fluency, pronunciation, confidence, and overall oral communication skills. ^{1, 2, 3}
• Engagement and motivation: Improvisational tasks tend to make language learning more engaging and enjoyable. Students often report that these activities foster creativity, motivation, and active participation, reducing anxiety and increasing their willingness to speak. ^{2, 4}
• Development of cognitive and social skills: Some studies highlight that improvisation supports not only language proficiency but also social-emotional aspects such as confidence and self-expression. ^{5, 6}

Challenges and Critical Views

• Performance anxiety: Despite benefits, some students experience shyness, fear of making mistakes, or anxiety during improvisational activities, which can hinder their perceived effectiveness. ^{3, 4}
• Limited language input and time constraints: Students sometimes feel that improvisation activities may lack sufficient structured language input or may be limited by time, which could impact the perceived learning gains. ⁷

Overall Perception

The prevailing perception among students is that improvisation, especially through engaging activities like role-plays and dramatization, is a valuable pedagogical tool that significantly boosts speaking confidence, fluency, and overall communicative competence. Many students also recognize its potential to make language learning more enjoyable and less intimidating. ^{1, 2}

In summary, students tend to view improvisation positively, citing improvements in fluency and confidence, although some concerns about anxiety and practicality remain. Effectiveness is often linked to how well the activities are scaffolded and tailored to learners’ needs.

References

• Exploring Students’ Perceptions of Role-Playing Activities in Boosting English Speaking Confidence

• Improving Teenagers’ Divergent Thinking With Improvisational Theater

• The Use of Improvisations Technique to Improve the Speaking Ability of EFL Students

• ‘I play, therefore I can’: Using Drama Activities to Reduce the English speaking Anxiety of College Students

• Process drama and foreign language learning: A case study of preservice teachers learning French

• Student teachers’ experience with improvisation activities for spontaneous speech practice in English

• Eleventh-Graders Perceptions of Learning Speaking with Drama Activities: A Case Study

• An Empirical Research on the Effectiveness online and Offline Classes of English Language Learning based on Student’s Perception in Telangana Schools

• On the Application and Significance of Improvisation in Music Teaching Activities

• Quality and effectiveness of online medical education during COVID-19 outbreak: Perception of medical students in Delhi NCR region

• Understanding of Reading among Teachers and Learners: A Descriptive Study of Pre-university English Language Teaching /Learning in Saudi Arabia

• CALL Design (Computer Assisted Language Learning) for the English education in Korea

• Memorization and Improvisation: a Comparison of Two Strategies in the Oral Acquisition of English as a Second Language

• Improving Young Learners with Copilot: The Influence of Large Language Models (LLMs) on Cognitive Load and Self-Efficacy in K-12 Programming Education

• Oral communication in ESL through improvisations, playwriting and rehearsals

• Teenagers Tell Better Stories After Improvisational Theater Courses

• Pedagogy of the possible: Imagination, autonomy, and space

• Teenagers Tell Better Stories After Improvisational Theater Courses

• Improving Teenagers’ Divergent Thinking With Improvisational Theater

• Creativity, challenge and culture in the languages classroom: a response to the Ofsted Curriculum Research Review

• Relationship Between Improvised Instructional Resources and Teaching of Literacy Skills Among Early Childhood Development and Education Learners in Public Institutions

• Towards an Embodied Signature of Improvisation Skills

• Enhancing EFL Learners’ Communicative Skills through Dramatisation of Lessons

• Improvising to Learn/Learning to Improvise: Designing Scaffolded Group Improvisations for the Music Theory Classroom

• Improvisation pedagogy: what can be learned from off-task sounds and the art of the musical heckle?

• Effects of self-regulation strategies on EFL learners’ language learning motivation, willingness to communication, self-efficacy, and creativity