Learn English with Lego Serious Play

You learn a language primarily by doing—as CLIC instructor David Hopkins demonstrates in his course “Improve Your Speaking Skills.” The course is designed for students with a C1 level of English who want to expand their vocabulary and oral communication skills for everyday life, their studies, and their careers.

David Hopkins, who has been teaching as an adjunct instructor at RWU since 2011, relies on practical and creative teaching methods. In one of his lessons, for example, he uses the “Lego Serious Play” method to make the process of communication tangible in the truest sense of the word.

The “Lego Serious Play” method is a guided process in which participants are led through a series of questions that help them delve deeper and deeper into the topic. In response to the trainer’s questions, each participant builds their own 3D Lego model using Lego bricks. These 3D models serve as the basis for group discussions and the exchange of knowledge.

“Thinking with Your Hands”

During a classroom observation, Natalia De Pascale Speck, director of the CLIC Language Center, was able to witness this approach firsthand: Working in groups, the students used LEGO bricks to build models. By the end of the class, they had recreated the RWU campus in great detail. At the same time, they discussed the project and gathered ideas for the campus’s future development. In this way, students were introduced to specialized language content in a playful manner through authentic communication situations. The method led to visible learning success and was clearly enjoyed by the course participants.

  “The students’ Lego activities follow the principles of Lego Serious Play,” explains David Hopkins. “A question or challenge is posed to the group; the students ‘think with their hands’ and build a Lego model as their answer. In this way, the invisible becomes visible, and a great deal of interaction and discussion ensues.” The language course “Improve Your Speaking Skills” demonstrates how communication skills in English can be improved in a practical setting.