What’s art got to do with it?

Contemplations on art, language, and embodiment

Abstract

This article focuses on the meaning of art in embodied language learning. It tackles questions about how art works, what art is good for or—as the heading states— What's art got to do with it?​ The connection between language and embodiment has been established, and the role of art in enhancing learning in various ways has been discussed widely. While this article acknowledges the claims on the educational power of art in existing literature, the guiding question of how art works—especially in educational situations related to language learning—is deliberately open regarding assessable (language) learning outcomes. The article begins by discussing the author’s methodological approach that draws from the notions of sense, sensing, and seeing. This discussion is followed by sections on language, including (trans)languaging, art, and arts education. The author then moves towards practice and, within it, the notion of ‘glowing’ moments, in which she leans on her earlier work related to ‘physical expressive space’​ and the methodological approach and theoretical concepts presented earlier. She takes a closer look at a videotaped excerpt from an art pedagogical project, in which she attends to its material, sensory, and affective elements. Through this inquiry, the author proposes that the notion of (trans)languaging is pivotal to understanding and articulating how art works in educational situations related to language learning and beyond. In closing the article, the author asserts that artistic practice is (trans)languaging and further, that arts education is language education.