Achieving creative collaboration between language teachers and artists: An evaluation of a workshop-based approach

Maryam Almohammad, Jane Andrews *

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract / Description of output

Inspired by academic thinking and practice-based work on creativity and education, and creative approaches in language education, this article is based on outcomes of the project ‘Creating Welcoming Learning Environments: Disseminating Arts-Based Approaches to Including All Learners’, funded by the UK Arts & Humanities Research Council. The project brought together creative artists specializing in filmmaking, drama, crafting, poetry and the spoken word, textiles and music with teachers in the south-west of England, who collaborated on integrating arts-based practices into language teaching, learning and assessment. The focus of the project was to generate new ways of teaching a) children developing English as an Additional Language (EAL) in mainstream primary, secondary and special schools and b) all children in schools where there is a commitment to building an ethos of inclusion and diversity in relation to languages and cultures. The article reports on how co-operative, collaborative workshops were used to bring teachers, creative artists and researchers together in a way which valued everyone’s knowledge and expertise. A thematic analysis of data from evaluation interviews undertaken with the participating teachers is provided and the potential for workshop-based professional development opportunities as a way of achieving creative collaboration in schools is discussed.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)30-46
Number of pages16
Journalthe Journal of Multilingual Theories and Practices
Volume5
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 27 Mar 2024

Keywords / Materials (for Non-textual outputs)

  • language
  • education research
  • English as an additional language
  • creativity
  • art-based methods
  • teacher education
  • intercultural communication
  • culture
  • new materialism

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