Playing in the liminal space: Literacy learning through drama in the adult language classroom

Play is a universal human experience. Often regarded as the unique purview of children, an emerging body research points to importance playfulness in adulthood. This article reports on and observations two teaching artists working Connected, Sydney Theatre Company adult-literacy-through-drama programme. conceptualises drama room liminal space. Through improvisational responses participants engage learning style that promotes playfulness, which subsequently generates sense pleasure joy and, doing so, has intrinsic value beyond specific language outcomes. In this we build Guitard et al.’s (2005) components adults: creativity, curiosity, pleasure, humour spontaneity, order posit our own ideas about conditions necessary for encouraging freedom play adult contexts.