Learning Languages Creatively Through Drama with Dr. Modesto Corderi Novoa
Date: Saturday, 19th July
Time: 14:30- 16:30
Cost: 399RMB, 349RMB for members and early bird till 9th July
This workshop explores the transformative power of drama as a pedagogical tool for teaching language and culture. Traditional methods often prioritize rote memorization, but drama invites learners to embody language through role-play, improvisation, and collaborative storytelling.
Students engage holistically with linguistic structures, idiomatic expressions, and nuanced cultural values by stepping into culturally rich scenarios—from
reenacting historical dialogues to navigating modern social interactions. This approach deepens vocabulary retention and conversational fluency and fosters empathy and intercultural understanding. Drawing on case studies from classrooms and workshops, the session will highlight practical strategies for integrating drama into curricula, such as using theatrical techniques to teach Grammar and Vocabulary or adapting cultural words or concepts into student-led performances.
This is suitable for students, teachers, and researchers. Attendees will leave with actionable insights into how drama can bridge the gap between language acquisition and cultural immersion, creating dynamic, inclusive, and memorable learning experiences for global classrooms.
Suitable for Chinese Native Speakers and foreigners with a minimum HSK 3 Chinese level. Age 12 and older.
Languages: Chinese and English
About the Speaker
.
Modesto Corderi Novoa (1981, Ourense, Spain) is a language teacher, teacher trainer, and researcher in Performative Language Teaching (PLT) applied to teaching Mandarin Chinese, Spanish, and other languages. He holds a PhD cum laude in Language Acquisition in Multilingual Contexts from the University of the Basque Country (UPV-EHU); a Master’s degree in Teaching Chinese for Speakers of Other Languages (MTCSOL) from Beijing Language and Culture University; a Master’s in Spanish as a Foreign Language (ELE) Teaching from Nebrija University in Madrid, Spain; and an Official University Master’s in Teacher Training specializing in English as a Foreign Language from the International University of Valencia (VIU). Dr. Corderi also holds a graduate degree in Chinese language from Beijing Language and Culture University.
Dr. Corderi Novoa’s research focuses on using theatre techniques in the language classroom. Over the last twenty years, Dr. Corderi has published several articles in international and national magazines and authored several books and teaching materials. He has taught teachers from five continents the new language pedagogy, Performative Language Teaching (PLT), applied to learning Chinese, Spanish, and other languages.
He has conducted numerous training workshops for the faculty at the Institute Confucius of Geneva, Switzerland; and the Institute Confucius from Sheffield and Nottingham, United Kingdom, in Singapore; the Confucius Institute in Lisbon, Portugal, the Confucius Institute in Barcelona, León, Granada, Madrid; and the Confucius Classrooms in Andalusia, Spain.
In addition, Dr. Corderi presented Conferences at the University of Princeton, the University of Maryland, the University of Notre Dame, the University of South Carolina in the United States, Trinity College Dublin in Ireland, the University of Zug in Switzerland, the University of Grenoble in France, the University of Padua in Italy, as well as having conducted numerous training workshops for Chinese teachers in Beijing, China, and for teachers of various languages in Galicia and Spain.
Modesto was the first and only foreigner to work as a Mandarin Chinese teacher at Tsinghua University in Beijing, China. He is an A1-level, full-tenure career civil servant teacher at the Xunta de Galicia in Spain. He holds a permanent position in the Chinese department of the Official School of Languages (EOI) in A Coruña. He also teaches Spanish. Dr. Corderi Novoa has worked at various institutions, including the Institute Cervantes of Beijing, the Embassy of Spain in Beijing, the University of Tsinghua, Beijing Foreign Languages University (BFLU), and George Washington University (GWU) in Washington, D.C., United States. He is now a career civil servant who teaches Chinese and Spanish at the Official School of Languages (EOI) in A Coruña, Galicia, Spain.
“Drama in education is the most powerful tool a teacher has to help students learn and enjoy the class” (Modesto Corderi Novoa)
For more information, please contact us.
Email: info@thehutong.com Mobile & Wechat: 15901046127
~~ Follow Us on Wechat ~~ 
