North American ESL


InterPlay is an active, creative way to unlock the wisdom of the body. 

 Facilitating North American English Fluency 
PLAY IN THE CLASSROOM. Positive emotions resulting from play can produce powerful outcomes.  Risks are taken. Making mistakes becomes tolerable. And memory is enhanced. Here Panamanian English teachers-in-training at the Georgia Tech Language Institute  participate in "Talk More," an InterPlay class, take turns telling embodied  "micro" stories.

 Using the principles and tools of InterPlay, I invite Internationals (nonnative speakers of English) living here in the United States, to "embody" English. After all, to learn a language is to learn a culture. By offering students the opportunity to "play" and engage their "whole" selves while learning, I create opportunities for them to discover new things about themselves and the choices available to them when communicating in English or their own language.

 With an M.S. in Applied Linguistics and ESL, I have close to thirty years teaching at the University level at Auburn University, Georgia State, Georgia Tech, and Emory University. American English fluency is my speciality and working with advanced level internationals to communicate effectively both professionally and personally is my passion. Currently, I am a lecturer at the Georgia Tech Language Institute, where I have taught since 1993 with a slight break to get trained as a Certified InterPlay Leader.

 InterPlay enhances my instruction and serves as the foundation of my teaching methodology.
WALK STOP RUN. This InterPlay form allows students to get out of their seats, to move around the room, and to ask themselves what they feel like doing....Walk? Stop? or Run? By listening to what their "bodies" want during this exercise, Internationals begin to integrate the physical aspect of being here in the United States with their "mouths" as they speak English. Other benefits? Most participants find the movement exuberant and delight in making eye contact with others. Some make choices to dance or follow other students' movements. Discovering "freedom" is part of the pedagogy. This photo was taken at the Istanbul Center Cultural Center Atlanta in 2017.

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