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ROLE PLAYS 23 August, 2004
Role-plays are often
used
- to try to bridge the gap
between reality and the artificialness of the classroom
- to practice language (e.g.
buying tickets in train station)
- to offer students the
opportunity to play a series of roles rather than just that of a
student. In real life we play multiple roles all day, each of which
requires different language skills
- to reduce inhibition by
giving students a mask to hide behind.
Role-plays may stem
from.
- realia,
- written roles on paper
(prepared by teacher or students),
- photos of people (students
imagining they are those people),
- a song,
- a story,
- a cartoon,
- a film clip,
- or simply the teacher
designating half the class as say doctors and the other half as patients
(patients then find the best advice, etc..),
How to improve
role-plays
Role-plays and
simulations can be recorded (good old-fashioned cassette player, digital
voice recorder e.g. Samsung Voice Yepp, or with microphone and computer. Free
programme at www.freecorder.com ) and then listened to or you can write out
the script and analyze it in following classes.
This can boost
motivation, push them to take it a bit more seriously and make them look more
closely at the process, not just the end result. After all, the problem is
often not that they just can't communicate in a given situation, but how they
do it. Having students repeat role-plays after feedback is a good way of
focusing on process.
Another trick to focus
on process is have students do a mock role-play or activity that is so easy
they can do it without speaking almost. Then repeat, with them focusing on
how they approach each other, how they speak (process). Then do the real
role-play.
Culture
How far should we
impose our culture when teaching and encouraging them to do things as say an
American would? I guess the simple answer is we should make them aware of
what is culturally acceptable and then let them choose to use it or not.
A Chinese student may not feel natural acting out a role in a given
"Western" way, they maybe reluctant or find it difficult to let go
of their own identity.
One way round this,
especially with children, is to give the students a mask to hide behind. When
half of a group of 16 year olds were told to act and speak like an English
person, they really went to town. In fact, their over-exaggeration led to a
huge release of inhibitions and an improvement in pronunciation of 100%.
Use can also be made of
the Chinese culture. When tired, students can be revived by completely
changing activity and putting some maths on the board. (e.g.20+68-15=x). It
seems many Chinese have a very analytical and sequence orientated mindset. By
giving them an anchor they are familiar and comfortable with the mind can be
"re-opened."
Similarly, anagrams
written in a square shape can connect students to their vision of seeing a
Chinese character, and its meaning, in a small square-shaped space.
Pragmatics
In role-plays a useful
avenue to explore with students is pragmatics. Essentially, that means what
we say is not always the same as what we mean. When I say, "Waiter,
look! There's a fly in my soup!" I am not inviting him to look! I am
telling him to change the soup.
It can be useful to
make students aware of this, as we do it a lot and, being connected to
culture, there may not be a corresponding Chinese equivalent.
Variations
Role-play in
restaurant. Establish roles with realia. (e.g. waiter is given a towel or
tray.)
Students begin and are given cues from the teacher in the form of flash
cards. (e.g. "Are you ready to order?") Students can follow cues
and improvise too. When the scene is complete the flashcards can be put up on
the wall and all the students can repeat and practice. Flashcards give visual
support and the realia supports your kineasthetic learners.
Students do a
presentation, but before starting, some students are planted with questions
to ask at the end. This pushes the speaker to improvise in unknown
situations. Even CCTV9 use this technique!
Written
role-plays.
Communication doesn't
have to be only spoken. Here a situation can be created from a picture on the
board, e.g. two people at a bus stop, and students in pairs write out their
"speech", passing the paper over to each other after each turn.
Some final dialogues can be written out and put on a OHP. This can be used
for feedback on what is good language or culturally acceptable.
A small group is given
a scenario and act out a scene. (For children it could be: homework,
bullying, drug abuse, problems with parents: For adults: handling children, a
problem at work, peer pressure, etc.)
The others watch and then
offer feedback on how they would do it differently. The original actors can
they be asked to re-enact the scene, but in one of the ways specified by the
audience.
Links
www.vtaide.com/png/ERIC/Creative-Dramatics.htm
(drama in the classroom)
www.farmington.ac.uk/documents/new_reports/TT36.html
(philosophy of Dorothy Heathcote, the pioneer of theatre in education)
http://www.doublemirror.com (a
reflective thesis on drama in education)
http://www.heinemann.com/shared/general/gn_search.asp?cat_id=10&range=2-10&domain=heinemann&search_type=5
(some books from Heinemann on using drama and role plays in the classroom.
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