Multimodal check in
An important approach to multilingual facilitation is to use a variety of modes to communicate in addition to written and spoken language. Making use of drawing, photograph, mime, gesture and music can help people communicate beyond their ‘language level’ and it can help to level the playing field. Warmer activities and games are particularly important in mixed language groups, where some people have lower levels of the lingual franca, because it gets everyone into the space from the beginning and reduces the barriers to participation. This multimodal warmer can be adapted to whichever modes of communication seem most appropriate to the group.
You will need:
pens/pencils/colours
paper
Time: 20 mins
Step-by-step
1 – Participants make a circle – online you can put names in a circle on the whiteboard
2 – Everyone shares a feeling. Instruction: “How are you feeling? Share a feeling in an expert language (not English!). The group will translate using their language resources, guessing from tone etc. The speaker can help by adding a facial expression.” The group interprets after each person shares.
3 – Next round: “Share something you did at the weekend. But no words, only actions. No guessing! Just watch and move on. It’s ok for meaning to remain ambiguous.
4 – Final round: “How are you feeling about our session today? Respond using drawing or photograph.” participants can use pens and paper, scroll through the gallery on their phone, or search for pictures online. The group interprets after each photo.
Tips
You may choose to do the three step check-in or just use one or two rounds.
