Language learning depends on establishing a familiar context. Once learners can identify with the context, they can build on known words and language structures.

Mime It / Talk About It is one way to do this. This learning strategy is useful for building vocabulary and language structures in a known language or in an additional language. Here’s how it works:

1. Mime a daily activity with a twist. For example:
   • Take a drink of water … that tastes awful
   • Open a door and walk in … and trip over something
   • Begin to tear a piece of paper … but it won’t tear
   • Read a book … and laugh uproariously
   • Stir a pot of soup … that suddenly becomes too thick to stir
2.  Talk about it: Encourage students to talk about what they observed in the mime.
3. Revisit the mime in short “episodes”: For each episode, highlight vocabulary most useful to the group. Contrast new words with known language and record their learning in a personal thesaurus. To support understanding and memory, encourage students to add illustrations.
4. Invite students to mime. Provide opportunities for students to create and act out scenarios, then share both their known and new language.

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Beyond the Apple Discussion Guide with Alignment to Culturally Responsive Pedagogy (CPR) and Universal Design for Learning (UDL):

The Power of Mime 

PURPOSE

Goal: Explore how familiar, physical context supports vocabulary development, language structures, and confidence.

UDL Alignment:

• Multiple means of representation: Using gestures, visuals, and physical activities to make meaning concrete.
• Multiple means of engagement: Encouraging active participation and choice.

CRP Alignment:

• Leveraging learners’ cultural and linguistic backgrounds: Builds on students’ prior knowledge and experiences.
• Fostering relevance and identity: Honors multilingual learners’ home languages and cultural perspectives.

OPENING

After reading the blog, begin the discussion:

Discussion Prompts:

• How does context support comprehension and confidence for language learners?

Key Idea: Context gives meaning before vocabulary. Experience comes first; language follows.

UDL Alignment:

• Provides multiple ways to access content by connecting new ideas to prior knowledge.
• Encourages self-reflection as a way to engage learners.

CRP Alignment:

• Validates students’ identities and experiences as resources for learning.

EXPERIENCE THE STRATEGY

Activity:

1. Facilitator mimes the daily activities in the blog (or culturally relevant actions).
2. Participants describe what they observed using any language or mix of languages.

Reflection Questions:

• How did gestures support understanding?
• How did your prior experiences or cultural background help you interpret the mime?

UDL Alignment:

• Multiple means of representation: Mime provides a visual/kinesthetic model of language.
• Multiple means of action and expression: Students can respond verbally, in writing, or by acting.

CRP Alignment:

• Encourages learners to draw on prior knowledge and cultural context.
• Honours students’ lived experiences as valid entry points for language learning.

WHY IT WORKS

Guiding Questions:

• Which language skills are practiced? (listening, speaking, vocabulary, grammar)
• How does breaking the mime into short “episodes” support comprehension?
• Why allow learners to begin in their language of choice?

Key Takeaways:

• Builds from known language to new language.
• Lowers risk and encourages participation.
• Makes abstract vocabulary concrete and memorable.

UDL Alignment:

• Scaffolding: Episodic learning and gradual introduction of new vocabulary.
• Multiple means of engagement: Safe, low-risk participation encourages experimentation with language.
• Multiple means of representation: Uses visual, auditory, and kinesthetic modes to convey meaning.

CRP Alignment:

• Recognizes funds of knowledge: learners’ home language and cultural experiences.
• Supports identity-safe learning environments where all learners’ contributions are valued.

CLASSROOM APPLICATIONS

Discussion Prompts:

• Where could mime fit naturally in your classroom or subject area?
• How might this be adapted for:
  • Older students vs. younger students
  • Beginners vs. advanced learners
  • Content areas (science, math, social studies)

UDL Alignment:

• Encourages choice and personalisation in lesson design.
• Promotes collaborative learning, supporting multiple ways for students to demonstrate understanding.

CRP Alignment:

• Encourages students to bring examples from their own culture and experiences.
• Supports multilingual collaboration, allowing learners to interpret and share using home languages.

Closing Thought:

• When students understand the experience first, the language has somewhere to land.
• By valuing students’ cultures, languages, and lived experiences, we create spaces where language learning is meaningful, engaging, and accessible for all learners.