Job Discussion Forums

[7969]

i havent used role play much in the past, usually because i've had huge classes with varied levels of english. recently, i've started doing role plays. a. because i do have quite a few decent students at the moment and b. since my oral english classes range in size from 40-more than 100 students, i'm prepared to focus on only the ones who put forth effort. we all know the scenario.

prior to doing a role play in my classes (2 X 50 minutes), i introduce some new vocabulary, phrases, idioms, have a short discussion, then introduce the scenarios for the role play, usually three different settings or allow the students to create their own based on the topic of the day. for example, this week we're talking about campus life. role plays scenarios were:

a. you're homesick and mom and dad are coming to visit you on-campus and you show them around the place.

b. you're sitting around on friday aft. with your classmates trying to figure out what to do on-campus this weekend.

c. you and another two classmates have discussed the advantages of living off-campus and decided to take an apartment off-campus (not really applicable in china but in the west its common).

i'm curious how much time should be allowed to prepare a role play that should last at least 2-3 minutes in front of the class. i give them perhaps 15 minutes, but i'm not sure if that's too much or not enough. on the one hand, i'd rather give more time to ensure every (most) group(s) has something ready, but then there's less time to re-enact in front of class. on the other hand, allotting less time to prepare allows more time to listen/watch a role play that may or may not be ready.

any ideas on this?

7969

[amandabarrick]

[7969]

[latefordinner]

Good thread, 7969

I don't do a lot of role plays, but I do some. I also assign a segment of the lesson to a group of 4-5 Ss and tell them they have 12 to 15 minutes to teach these 2-3 exercises (do this activity / what have you) to the class. I give them a time frame, but I'm really pretty loose about enforcing it. I pick two groups each week, and tell them this is what you have to do next week, it's up to you to decide who in the group does what and how. That way I lose a lot of the benefit of groupwork, but they get the disorganising done on their time not the class's.
My classes are small enough (Lucky me!) that I can get everyone up to the front at least twice a semester, and that I can grade their performances. With large groups, I'd probably just do what you're doing and choose the volunteers. Unfortunately you can't justify grading their work if you don't get everyone up.

[Drizzt]

First of all, I think role plays are good, because not only does it give the students a chance to be creative, but it also helps with confidence building, because so many students are afraid of speaking in front of many other people.

I'd recommend breaking them into groups and giving each group a different role play card with different characters on each. If your classes are really big and each group has more than 4 people, let them get out of their seats and stand in small circles while planning their role play. This also usually forces the lazy ones to participate as well.

Once my topic was "the workplace" so I made role cards for various places such as a construction site, a hair saloon, massage parlor, supermarket, etc. On each card I would write names of possible characters. For hair saloon I might write, "the boss, 2 or 3 beauticians, Yao Ming, Kobe Bryant. This way they will still be forced to use words that would be found in this setting but at the same time, they really get into it since you add someone famous they know of. With a light-hearted and fun scenario it also allows them to relax which is an important aspect in any oral English class in my opinion.

Oh and one more thing. As you're monitoring their progress while they are preparing, select a group that you think will perform well to go first. I've found that the quality of the first performance usually creates a domino effect -- for better or for worse -- of the following performances.

[latefordinner]

Drizzt:

[7969]

ok thanks a lot..... i think my role plays will improve somewhat.

7969

[Plan B]

Like latefordinner, I am also blessed with small class sizes, and appreciative students. I use roleplays all the time now, where before they would have been much more difficult to introduce - i.e. company classes or children.

The most successful roleplays I have used have come after thoroughly setting the context - this sometimes involves introducing new vocabulary, and always developing interest in the subject. The introduction to a roleplay itself should take at least 45 mins - hour.

As to the subject of the roleplay, you can start with a reading task - I usually choose headway, or you can create the scenerio more creatively.

I can pass on two roleplays that have always been successful - one is largely stolen from the eslmaniac.com website. They both use the same method of context setting.

1. Draw a 3D image of a room. Ask each student to draw various items, such as a table, a bottle of wine, a toilet (for humour), a window. Next, ask a student to draw a DEAD BODY, continue by adding extra items such as footsteps, a crack in the window, etc. Split the class into groups of 4 or 5. Ask them to guess what happened to the man. After they have discussed this, give them some more information - the man is very fat, ugly and rich, and has a beautiful g/f. Put them in groups again. Give more info, and so on, until you have a lover, a neighbour and a policeman. Eventually, you will have 4 or 5 major charactors to start your roleplay. Choose the class clowns to be the murdered person. They become ghosts later, and can provide a lot of humour. Sex-role reversal is also good for kitch value.

2. This one involves the whole class in one role-play. Draw a shape on the board. Ask the students what it is. Eventually, they will tell you it's an island. Ask the students to draw a tree, a tiger, a mountain, a shark in the sea, a monkey in the tree, a tent on the mountain, etc. Explain that you have gone on a school trip, and everyone has died except for the students in your classroom. You can elicit various forms of death for other students or teachers in the school (e.g. can't swim, eaten by the shark / tiger). Ask the students what their job is on the island. Tell them they must select a leader. Tell them they have a box of food at the top of the mountain. One night, they go asleep, wake up, and the food is gone. The leader holds a meeting. The students should be sitting in a circle at this point. Take each student outside of the classroom one-by-one and tell them different information about who they saw leaving the tent. One student stole the food and has framed another student by putting an empty fish-bone in his mouth. Once all the students have been spoken too, the roleplay can begin properly. You should include yourself in the roleplay, to make sure that it is guided in the right direction - i.e. punish the framed person. This worked well at my school, because the students have a choice of watching "Lost" in the nighttime program, which went further to creating the context.