Empowering English Language Learners through Performing Arts: An Educator’s Experience

High school musical season presents both challenges and victories for all involved. For the second year in a row, English language learners performed a musical show for an audience in a foreign language. And they did it syllable by syllable. This success story transcends the show itself.

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When you direct high school play productions, it is a three month, all-in effort. The emotional and physical highs and lows sometimes feel extreme. Everyone involved has to buy into the effort whole-heartedly.

It was a beautiful reimagining of The Little Mermaid tale. Not the Disney version, but the original Hans Christian Anderson one. The show is presented from a Caribbean storytelling perspective, where all the actors take on different roles to move the story forward. Our district has a large Caribbean and Latin majority, so I felt the show might connect with our community.

Last year, I wrote a post called Translanguaging in Arts Education. It followed my story about our production of CHICAGO: Teen Edition and how I taught kids with limited English skills to perform in a musical show. In it, I wrote the following:

No matter what language they speak,
they are just kids trying to learn.
It is up to us to give them the space and tools to do just that.

I keep this in the forefront of my mind whenever I face a group of students who struggle with English.

These are the challenges

A year ago, the road to opening night was tough. Thankfully, that experience prepared me for even greater challenges this year. 

Since the Covid years, casting theatrical shows has become increasingly more difficult in our school. Here are some of the reasons why the casting pool is more limited:

• English is not the primary language spoken for a large majority of our students. Our English Language Learners (ELLs) are in various phases of English language acquisition. I wrote about that a few years ago in Teaching ELLs.
• Culturally speaking, many of our kids have little connection with American musical and dramatic theater.
• Many students are involved with sports, jobs, or home responsibilities after school that coincide with our rehearsal times. It’s hard for them to commit to 5 days a week after school. Some kids spend the afternoon off-site and return an hour into rehearsal time.
• Some kids have religious beliefs that prevent them from performing anything that is not worship-oriented. Many of our talented kids fall into that category.
• Even more kids are painfully shy and wouldn’t dream of being so vulnerable as to perform in front of others.
• With each passing year, we have fewer veteran performers to teach the newbies the ropes. Much of the time is spent teaching stagecraft basics as they learn the show’s content.

Needless to say, recruiting, developing and maintaining a performer base in my school is not easy.

Translanguaging is our new normal

In our recruitment efforts, we must translate everything into at least two other languages. Sometimes three. Even if we do, many of our kids don’t have any contextual experience to be enticed to try out. They understand TV, movies and YouTube, but not performing onstage live.

Through an extended audition process, I had to personally recruit kids to extend themselves beyond their comfort zone. In the end, I had 12 actors, most of which were bilingual and/or in different phases of their English language acquisition. Most had at least a working knowledge, and could understand a good portion of what was said. The next step of reading, reciting and interpreting lines from a script was a whole other level of demand.

Let’s just say, we had to go back to the fundamentals of language education.

Introducing James

One student spoke and understood no English, only Spanish. Literally, he could barely even pronounce English words.

This student, I’ll call him James, came with a friend to the first meeting about the musical. I thought that was nice, but I never count my eggs before they hatch. For all I knew, he was giving his friend some moral support.

Interestingly, James came to the dance audition. I was impressed: he moved with fluidity, remembered the dance steps, and had great performance energy. He was also a sweet young man: friendly, respectful, and seemed eager to learn. I kept watching him, wondering how was it that a young man who seemed so out of place here, was such a natural on the studio floor. It was wonderful to witness and gave me hope. 

That day, I also learned that James was in the English Language Learners program. He didn’t understand anything we said to the group. Everything he learned was through observation and whatever was translated to him. Even so, I could see his desire to learn as he sought clarity on everything we did.

Teaching lines while teaching English

For James and some of his peers, this show was a literal crash course in acquiring English language skills. One of their biggest hurdles was learning how to correctly pronounce English words. James had a thick Latin accent, and had a difficult time forming certain sounds inherent to American English. 

Spanish has pronunciation rules that are fairly organized and consistent. Once you learn those, you can figure out how to say any Spanish word, even if you have no idea of the meaning of what you’re saying. On the other hand, the rules of the English language (particularly for vowel sounds) are all over the place and very confusing. 

The following discusses the strategies we used to help James and his other castmates to work through a Broadway musical script and score. I’ll say ahead in advance, it was a massive time and energy-consuming effort that added an extra step to every layer of the process.

STRATEGY #1: Phonetic repetition and mimicry

Teaching James how to deliver dialogue and lyrics was a complex effort. In our first read through, he wasn’t able to speak his lines just by reading them. He couldn’t decode the words in English. It was there that I realized just how much work it would take to help him learn. For the read through, I wound up reading his lines, just so he could hear what he’d have to perform.

In the early rehearsals, I would start by breaking down every line by the syllable, demonstrating how to articulate each one. While it was time-consuming, he paid close attention and I knew he was taking those lessons home and practicing them. Every time we rehearsed each scene, his pronunciation and fluidity improved. He was definitely doing the work. He just needed more time to get it done.

Navigating differences between English and Spanish

Every language has different phonemes. The vowel sounds in Spanish are very different than those in English. Comparatively, the rules for English seem more disorganized than in Spanish and often have to be learned on a case-by-case basis. 

There were some phonemes that literally confused James. He didn’t know how to form certain speech sounds. Like the “th” in the word “with.” I’d model sticking my tongue in-between my teeth and blowing through it to form the sound. Then he’d try it, over and over again. He started saying “weet,” which eventually morphed into a more Americanized pronunciation. With repetition, it became more of a habit.

Whenever he got stuck, I’d literally point to my mouth and have him watch and copy how to articulate each syllable. I also had to eliminate extra sounds, like the “e” sound at the beginning of certain words. For example, he’d say “estop” for “stop.” That was a tough one, which didn’t completely resolve itself, but he was more aware of the difference and tried his best.

Because he did the work, James eventually smoothed out more of the English sounds. Just like a child learning to utter the first word, he needed time to practice performing specific articulation patterns to develop the neurological pathways to make his English speech fluid.

Think about rolling your “r.” If you weren’t trained to do so as a child, your brain doesn’t know how to produce that sound. When I was starting to learn my broken Spanish, I couldn’t do it. It just wasn’t part of my tongue’s skill set. Over time and with practice, I figured it out, and now I roll my R’s like a champ. But, it took a long time to become habitual.

James only had three months to learn how to form the words to say his lines in front of an audience. Since his lines were an integral part of telling the story, we had to put the work into the basics of speech.

Copying gives context

I also modeled how I wanted him to act while he said each line. Since learning through observation was once of his superpowers, I figured he would absorb the contextual clues from body language and emphasis. I was right. While most actors don’t appreciate a director giving a line reading, my students really appreciated the effort.

That was especially true for James. I started to notice him inserting the body language that I showed him as he started to memorize his lines. Then, he’d add more emphasis and depth to his performance. Slowly, James became an actor.

STRATEGY #2: Support from his friends and castmates 

I have always believed that a tight-knit community is the key to successful learning. When bolstered by others, you can take on the greatest challenges.

I was amazed by the immediate support this cast had for each other. They were a small and cohesive group. I saw friendships form in real time. Shy kids opened up to each other. They had a deep respect for each other’s vulnerability. There were no egos, only reinforcement. Whenever one was struggling, another stepped in for assistance with no prodding. This was especially true when James struggled.

With patience and perseverance, they would sit with him and drill the challenging words. The bilingual students were especially helpful, because they understood the differences between each language. They could help explain what words meant to give context to him in his own language.

Peer-teaching is a powerful tool. James had multiple teachers when he sought help. I loved it when he’d come to me with the script, point to a word with that questioning look on his face. I’d explain and model what he needed to practice. Sometimes he’d bring his phone and point to a line he needed to be recorded so he could practice. His castmates would help reinforce what he needed to learn. When he’d smile big and nod enthusiastically, and I knew the light bulb had turned on. His gratitude was palpable.

Those epiphanies were immensely satisfying to witness.

STRATEGY #3: Translation for context

I always tell students that if there is something they don’t understand, they should ask about it or look it up. This holds exponentially true for an entire story that’s written in a language you don’t understand. Every word and turn of phrase is foreign.

Understanding why

Even more satisfying than the epiphanies were the moments when James said his lines with proper emphasis for dramatic effect. In the last few weeks of the production, the fruits of our labor started to ripen. Once he knew how to say the words, he started to lock into the context. He understood why he was using those words at that moment. Then, his performance blossomed.

The bottom line

In order to deliver lines and songs, you have to understand each word as it relates to the story being told. Idiomatic expressions need to be explained. I did my best to contribute in my simple Spanish, but his bilingual peers were the ones who explained everything in a way he could fully understand. Their support made all the difference.

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Proof that arts education improves lives

The process of learning to perform in a musical gives every student the vehicle in which they build many life skills. They learn new forms of communication and language, form friendships, utilize their resources and discover more of their superpowers. They learn what it means to work in an ensemble, and how every person’s effort affects the whole.

Through the production process, James used all of his superpowers to become an actor.

James’ performance improved with every show. Every time he walked onstage, he did so with more confidence and pride. There was a lilt in his step and a puffing out of his chest. He became the characters assigned to him and performed with passion. Once he locked in, he never missed a cue.

On closing night, James made sure to thank me for this opportunity (in Spanish). His face beamed with gratitude, joy and a touch of awe. The taste of victory was sweet.

I pray he will continue his upward climb, perhaps in the arts. No matter what, I know that this experience of telling the story of Once On This Island will stay with both of us, forever.

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Each of my student performers, like James, showed up strong. They had all overcome significant personal challenges and broke through deep-seated vulnerabilities. In the end, despite the exhaustion from the rigors of the production process, they were sad to bring this experience to closure. It had impacted their lives. They saw themselves in a new light. They had been changed for the better, like thousands of students before them.

Take a look 👀

I’ve written a lot about my teaching experience over the years. These are just a few highlights that you might enjoy looking into.

• Changed for the Better: the value of arts in education. I wrote this two years ago, emphasizing the importance of hands-on arts experience in a child’s educational process.
• Check out the Changed For The Better YouTube channel to see enlightening conversations with my alumni from the past three decades. They’ll tell you exactly why their arts education made their lives better.
• My musings about teaching are all here. Subscribe to my blog for notifications whenever I post new thoughts!