Tellers, Makers, and Holders of Stories - A Micro-Analytic Understanding of Students’ Identity Work in Drama-based Adult ESL Classrooms

Oct 15, 2026

Despite strong interest in educational drama for engaging, multimodal L2 learning, adult ESL classrooms still lack detailed interactional evidence on what unfolds during instruction. This study provides bottom-up microanalysis of classroom talk in a Canadian ESL class with over 16 adult learners to examine drama’s real effects on discourse and language learning. Using discourse-analytic and identity-work frameworks, findings show drama-based pedagogy enabling dialogic, democratic classroom interaction and supporting a transformative interpersonal space.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages21

Reading Time53 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Pedagogical rationale for educational drama

Research design and analytical approach

Findings: identity work and classroom discourse

Implications for empowering interpersonal space

Tellers, Makers, and Holders of Stories: A Micro-Analytic Understanding of Students’ Identity Work in Drama-based Adult ESL Classrooms Won Kim University of British Columbia Abstract Despite a wide-spread pedagogical interest and scholarly conviction in the possibilities of educational drama for creating more contextually-situated, engaging, and multi-modal L2 learning experiences (Piazzoli, 2018; Stinson & Winston, 2011), there is scarce empirical evidence concerning what is actually taking place interactionally in L2 classrooms for adults. This article presents a bottom-up microanalysis of classroom interaction in an ESL class in Canada with over 16 adult learners designed to explore the potential and actual impact of educational drama on classroom discourse and students’ L2 learning experiences. Using a discourse analytic approach (Antaki & Widdicombe, 1998; Goffman, 1981), I analyze the dynamic identity work of the class participants. The article presents empirically-grounded research findings that illustrate instances of interaction in and through which drama-based ESL pedagogy contributes to the development of dialogic and democratic classroom discourse and fosters a transformative empowering interpersonal space (Cummins, 2011) . Résumé Sur les plans académique et pédagogique, l’art dramatique est reconnu comme offrant denombreuses possibilités de créer des expériences d’apprentissage stimulantes, multimodaleset appropriées au contexte (Piazzoli, 2018; Stinson & Winston, 2011) . Cependant, peud’études empiriques se sont penchées sur les dynamiques interactionnelles en langue seconde dans des cours pour adultes. Cet article présente donc une microanalyse inductive d’un cours d’anglais langue seconde (ALS) au Canada, dans une classe composée de 16 apprenants adultes. Ce cours visait l’exploration du potentiel et de l’impact réel de l’art dramatique sur les interactions et sur l’expérience d’apprentissage d’une langue seconde. Suivant une approche basée sur l’analyse de discours (Antaki & Widdicombe, 1998; Goffman, 1981), j’analyse le processus dynamique de construction identitaire des participants. Les résultats présentés dans cet article, basés sur des données empiriquesd’interactions en classe, montrent comment une pédagogie de l’ALS fondée sur l’art dramatique contribue au développement d’un discours de classe démocratique et axé sur le dialogue. Une telle pédagogie encourage aussi la création d’un espace interpersonnel transformateur et valorisant (Cummins, 2011) . Canadian Journal of Applied Linguistics: 24, 3 (2021): 186-206 CJAL * RCLA Kim 187 Tellers, Makers, and Holders of Stories: A Micro-Analytic Understanding of Students’Identity Work in Drama-based Adult ESL Classrooms Cummins (2009), an influential educator in Canada, calls for an educational vision among teachers, researchers, and policy makers to transform L2 classrooms into an empowering “interpersonal space where minds and identities meet” and “within which the acquisition of knowledge and formation of identity is negotiated”(p. 45) . In this educational vision echoed by many other scholars (Cummins & Early, 2015; Gibbons, 2004; Lean, 2013; Marshall & Toohey, 2010; Norton, 2013), such an educational space foregrounds the view that L2 learners should not be seen as passive information recipients, but rather as active meaning-makers or language users. Based on this view, numerous scholars recognize aesthetic, creative, and collaborative educational drama as a powerful vehicle for learning across the curriculum (e.g., Booth, 2005; Dunn, 2016; Fels & Belliveau, 2008; Heathcote & Bolton, 1995; O’Neill, 1995; Piccardo & Galante, 2018; Schewe, 2013; Wagner, 1998). Baldwin and Fleming (2003) speak eloquently to the power of educational drama as a learning medium: Drama, as a multisensory medium, can provide an experiential structure for exploring text visually, auditorily, and kinesthetically. Its participatory nature motivates and promotes

FAQs

What gap does the study address about educational drama in adult ESL?

It addresses the scarcity of empirical evidence describing what actually happens interactionally in adult L2 classrooms when educational drama is used.

How is the classroom interaction analyzed in this research?

The study uses a bottom-up microanalytic, discourse-analytic approach to examine participants’ dynamic identity work within classroom interaction.

What outcomes does drama-based adult ESL pedagogy support according to the findings?

It contributes to dialogic and democratic classroom discourse and fosters a transformative, empowering interpersonal space that supports learner engagement and identity formation.

Oct 15, 2026

Upload by Guten tag