ABSTRACT
Flexible seating is a pedagogical method in which the general principle is simple: Arrange the learning space with different seat options (pillows, couches, stability balls, wobble stools, etc.) to allow learners to find the position that will bring them the most comfort and concentration depending on the activity they carry out. For the past ten years or so, several researchers have argued that classroom layout must be flexible to take into account the diversity of students’ needs as well as their development. This chapter focuses on three language classrooms in a French secondary school to analyze how flexible seating gives the students’ body a much-needed freedom (to move in the classroom and to find coziness) in the long day that they spend at school sitting still on hard uncomfortable chairs. Our data consist of video-taped lessons using flexible seating and oral interviews with teachers and learners. Our analysis is based on classroom observations and analysis of content of the interviews to address how flexible seating redefines the place of the body in the language classroom. We will also discuss the benefits that teachers have noticed for learners as well as the feelings of the students regarding this specific pedagogy.
