(role) play's the thing





	This is a report of a session conducted at the IATEFL conference in Harrogate in April 2006 The (role) play’s the thing: A Straightforward talk about roleplays. Lindsay Clandfield Agenda: 1 What is roleplay? 2 Why use roleplay? Why not? 3 How to set up and run a roleplay 4 Using simple props and realia 5 Instant roleplay We tried out a couple of roleplays linked to our being at the conference. Definitions arrived at: Roleplay = learners take on a role: themselves in a different situation, or someone else Brainstorm: Roleplays are ……………… Spoken Have roles with different/conflicting real life objectives Language skill not language practice Call on real-life situations Usually involve role cards Usually mean learners are pretending to be someone else Usually involve some preparation BUT….. roleplays can be ……….. Written (e.g. by email –teenagers like it on paper; organizing a meeting for business people) Don’t always need cards Learners can be themselves in a different situation (realplay/simulation) Can be instant roleplays If conflict can be worked into it, the roleplays last longer. Why roleplay? There are limits to what practice you can do in class Makes learners have to think on their feet Makes learners work together to make communication ‘work’ and is therefore learner-centred Encourages learner responsibility It’s fun – good for classroom dynamics Other tips for roleplays: brainstorm 3rd learner as observer Give preparation time Elicit/revise key words and phrases Competition: beginning of year 30 seconds minimum, then 45 seconds, then a minute etc Clear aims: make these explicit Develop the role Rehearsal (including ‘shadowing’ it in their own language first in a monolingual class – harnessing L1) Recycle and repeat Provide support Give feedback to the task: show learners that the time hasn’t been wasted Feedback should be on how they developed it as well as on language (mis)used Build in a role for less confident/weaker/quieter learner e.g. a 3rd role Do roleplay again – with a different partner. They often say more, and more complex language is used Providing support Input useful language before the roleplay: language which would also be useful in other situations e.g Í’m sorry but I’m afraid…. Props: they often like to hold on to something e.g. a newspaper/mobile phones / hats and sunglasses 9another layer of the ‘mask’)/ OHP of the café/room etc plus appropriate music A macmillan publication Straightforward: A Guide to Roleplays was handed out as a summary of the session.