Embodied spaces in performative language learning

This article examines how embodied sensory-affective spaces support the emergence of communication in English as a foreign language within a performative, translanguaging approach. Drawing on an enactive perspective, language is understood as a shared, situated and embodied experience, as well as psychosocial and linguistic. It is shaped by the dynamic interplay between bodies, material spaces, imagination, speech and the temporalities of classroom life. The study analyses data from the CELAVIE project, conducted in Grade 4 and 5 classrooms, combining qualitative materials (18 focus groups, 21 semi-structured interviews, and three explanatory teacher interviews) with quantitative measures of autonomous lexical production in pre- and post-tests. The findings show that transforming the classroom into a performative space—through physical openness, sensory comfort, creative exploration and embodied engagement—encourages students to speak more spontaneously, to draw on multiple languages, and to develop empathy, creativity, and confidence. Six interrelated dimensions of sensitive space emerged: sensitive space-time, intimate spaces, material spaces, performance spaces, physical engagement, and spaces for creativity and autonomy. Together, they reveal how performative practice supports the emergence of communicative behaviour by engaging students’ bodies, emotions, perceptions and imaginative capacities. The results highlight the potential of performative pedagogy to create inclusive learning environments where language becomes a lived, relational and creative experience.