Personal Tutoring
One-on-one English classes with Louis Wells using improvisational techniques, games, and thinking patterns to benefit English language acquisition
Improvisational techniques are highly effective for teaching ESL (English as a Second Language) students. They encourage direct action in the language in a supportive, fun, and creative environment. In such an environment, language use becomes free and spontaneous, participation increases, and inhibitions and fears dissipate. Louis incorporates many improvisational techniques in your ESL experience, making preparations for text, support for existing classes, and general language acquisition faster and more enjoyable:
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We emphasise collaborative thinking. In such a framework, students feel free to use new language tools without fearing "wrong answers."
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Learn to find and express your humor as a way of collaboration and confidence in speaking.
We introduce many word association games, such as Tryptic, Convergence, First Letter/Last Letter, and many more.
This helps the students to empathise with collaborators and seek new patterns without following old ones.
We teach storytelling as a tool of collaboration, problem solving and communication
Louis Wells
Louis Wells has worked in improvisation for over 25 years. He was a founding member of The Heroes of Comedy in Austin, TX. He has performed in New York City, Paris, and Montreal, among others. For twelve years, he was the Artistic Coordinator of the Theatre Arts and Technology program at the New Jersey Institute of Technology, where he developed a full improvisation curriculum and founded the Center for Applied Improvisation and Theatre at NJIT, collaborating with theatres, schools, and companies. He also created community-based programs like the Newark Improv Festival and the Newark Playwright Festival. He has published and presented at conferences on innovative technology in theater and the use of applied improvisation in the classroom. He has also presented his work at conferences worldwide, including NeMLA, The Conference on College Composition and Communication, and the Applied Improvisation Network.
As an applied improviser and in collaboration with Koppet, Louis has worked with Meta, Havas Health, and Reddit. In addition, he has collaborated with Teach for America, the NJIT ROTC, and several other organizations at NJIT, including the New Jersey Innovation Institute.
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Recently, Louis relocated to Spain and is a board member of the Applied Improvisation Network, an international organization. He has given a TEDx talk on the value of improvisation. In 2018, he received the Innovation in Teaching Award from NJIT and holds an MFA from the Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University.
