Melissa Simmermeyer, Senior Lecturer of Romance Studies
I thought it was important to remark on my experience as a Playful Pedagogy Fellow, 2025. I have always really enjoyed improv, and so admire the players on Whose Line Is It Anyway, for example. I always knew that when these players participated in improv, that they were learning together, and making meaning together. I love to see that happen, and I often laugh out loud, way louder than I should. It makes me happy to suspend my disbelief, and I am able to “buy in” to whatever the premise is, no questions asked. I learn so much, especially that we can imagine other realities and other relationships, that there is no reason that things have to be the way we think they are. And the externalizing of perspectives helps me take distance, and not take everything so personally.
I assumed that improv could only ever really be successful if it was peopled with extroverted performers who were supernaturally talented, and experienced in their craft. It wasn’t until I met Nan and started attending her workshops that I became convinced that improv can be applied, and that with applied improv EVERYONE can explore something new, or explore something old in a new way.
Under Nan’s skilled guidance, and because I trust her and her vision, I began to believe that I could ask my students to try things out, to approach collaboration, creation, and communication as a series of experiments, which when all is said and done, is how we learn, and especially how we learn languages. A valuable takeaway is the practice of normalizing risk-taking, failure, and mistakes. In a classroom community, students gain confidence, and begin to worry less about “looking bad” in front of the professor or their classmates. They see that the world does not end if you have an agreement mistake or forget the best vocabulary word when you are communicating content. It is such a relief to be told, “Don’t be afraid to say something silly, stupid, or boring”! Knowing that not all our utterances in another language will rival the great works written in that language, really takes the pressure off! Just try it out!
IMAGE CREDIT: Melissa Simmermeyer
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Melissa Simmermeyer
