The art of teaching and the power of rapport

Based on my own research, work as a teacher trainer and ongoing reflections on classroom practice, this paper looks beyond mainstream language teaching methodology and enquires how and why teachers can apply a number of principles found in certain other practices and theories and adopt a more multi-disciplinary approach in the classroom. I provide a brief overview of fields such as Flow Theory (Csikszentmihalyi), Politeness and Face Theory (Brown and Levinson; Goffman), Neuro Linguistic Programming (Grinder), Blink Theory (Gladwell), Social Psychology and non-verbal communication (Cuddy) and group and interpersonal communication (Haydn). I then consider how educators working in any sector can practically apply these theories to the craft of teaching, thereby helping them to improve classroom climate, group dynamics and rapport. I suggest that this crucial area could and should be part of any pre- or in-service training programme. The practical application derives directly from actor and improvisation training, drawing extensively from acting and voice practitioners such as Keith Johnstone, Augusto Boal, Constantin Stanislavski, Patsy Rodenburg and Cicely Berry.