PEO: its B@KS FOR TEACHERS series editor ALAN MALEYOxford Univesity Press Walton Street, Oxford OX2 6DP Oxford New York Toronto Delhi Bombay Calcuta Madras Korachi Petaling Jaya Singapore Hong Kong Tokvo Naiabs Dares Salaam Cape Ton Melbourne Aucklond tnd associated companies in Belin Thadan Oxford, Oxford English and the Oxford English logo are trade marks of Oxford University Press ISBN 0 19 437095 X © Oxford University Press 1987 First published 1987 Fourth impression 1989 Allright reserved. No part ofthis publication may be reproduced, Stored ina retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any ‘means, electronic, mechanical, Photocopying, recording, of otherwise, ‘without the prior permission of Oxford University Press This book s sold subject to the condition that t ball ot by wa of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired or ochorwise circulated ‘without the publisher's pig consent in any form of binding or cover other thn that in which tis published and without a simular condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchase. Setby Katerprint Typesetting Services Lid, Oxford Printed in Hong KongAcknowledgements I wish to acknowledge the many colleagues, students, and friends who, either consciously or unconsciously, have helped this book to materialize. I owe them a great deal and thank them all. ‘The publishers would like to thank the following for their permission to use copyright material: Citroén Cars Ltd. (for the advertisement of the Citron 2CV); The Daily Telegraph (for ‘Six-week dock strike to go on’, by John Petty); The Guardian (for ‘BL strike goes on as shop stewards join talks’, by John Adrill); The Observer (for ‘Villagers fight for their schoo!’ by Judith Judd 17.5.75, and ‘£900-2-week therapy for the high-life addicts’ by Annabel Ferriman 8.6.86); Speakeasy Publications (for ‘U.S. Jury Awards $10.5 Million for Radioactive Crime’); Times Newspapers Ltd. for ‘Down where the dust doesn’t settle’ by Elizabeth Grice (The Sunday Times 6.6.82), ‘Britons killed on Everest’ (The Sunday Times 6.6.82), ‘Creme tease for energy’ by Anthony Mascarenhas, (The Sunday Times 6.6.82); Time (for “The Puzzling Paisley Case’ and ‘The Cuban Coffee Caper’), Illustrations by Peter Dennis and Peter Joyce Photography by Rob Judges ‘The publishers would like to thank the following for permission to use photographs: BBC Hulton Picture Library Camera Press ‘The Financial Times Oxfordshire County Council and the Department of Transport for their time and assistance.Contents ‘The author and series editor Foreword Introduction How to use this book 1 Preparing the ground Activity 1.1 Famous people 1.2 Roll-a-role 13 What do I look like? What would you say? What would you have said? Both sides of the question Reading the part Listening in role Guided role plays Time Level (minutes) Elementary 20 upwards Elementary 20 upwards Upper 20 elementary upwards Upper elementary upwards Lower intermediate ‘upwards Upper elementary upwards Post- elementary upwards Lower intermediate upwards Elementary to lower intermediate Description A guessing game in which students adopt the roles of famous people. Students use cubes as dice to set up a random role play situation. Students improvise stock situations from prompts given by the teacher. Students try out props and accessories to see how their appearance changes. Students discuss what they would say, or would have said, in embarrassing situations. Students explore the different scenarios that can grow out of a conflictual situation. Students select relevant information from articles. Students select relevant information from a news bulletin Students improvise a conversation by follo a flow-chart with functional labels.-10 Picture role plays -11 Eye-witness accounts Neighbours: may I borrow. . .? Neighbours: would you mind. . .? ‘More functional role plays ‘The scene of the crime ‘The journalist's investigation The panel discussion: are zoos cruel? The phone-in I'm going to write a letter to the newspapers 2.9 Story role plays 2.10 Small talk Upper elementary upwards Upper elementary upwards Upper elementary Lower intermediate upwards Elementary upwards Lower intermediate upwards Intermediate upwards Intermediate upwards Intermed upwards Intermediate upwards Elementary upwards Elementary upwards Students use photographs to help them identify with a specific person. Students fill in a questionnaire, in an interview situation. Neighbours attempt to borrow things they have run out of. Students complain to their neighbours who are disturbing them. These are simple situations which allow students to use specific functions. Students read a short crime article, and relate the event as if they had just witnessed it. Students read about a strike and then imagine they are one of the strikers being interviewed. Students read articles expressing different points of view’ and then adopt the opinions in a panel discussion, Students phone a radio programme to ask for advice, Students talk about their pet hates as if they were going to write a letter to the newspapers. Students role play the characters in a story they have just read. Students improvise in a specific situation, but with no particular purpose.2.11 Partner baiting: the man from Mars 2.12 Partner baiting optimists and. pessimists 2.13 Group improvisation 2.14 Flashbacks 2.15 Role switching 2.16 Hidden emotions 2.17 The party intermediate upwards Intermediate upwards Upper elementary upwards Intermediate to advanced Intermediate to advanced Elementary, upwards One student tries to explain something to another who refuses to understand. Students are given conflicting attitudes to a topic. The whole class improvises a scene. Students improvise contrasted scenes from the present and the past. Students role-play conflictual situations in pairs. Ata signal another student takes over one of the roles and continues. Students role-play scenes in which the hidden emotions must be guessed. Students write their own role cards and improvise a party. 3. Nowtellme... 3.1 The lost property office The Orient Express Getting together Reminiscing The press conference Elementary upwards Lower intermediate upwards Upper elementary upwards Lower intermediate upwards Lower intermediate upwards Students attempt to claim back an object at the lost property office. * ‘Two students are being questioned by the police about a crime that they saw being committed. ‘Two people make an arrangement to meet for Junch, or for dinner. A discusses a town that he or she knew ten years ago, with B who lives there today. Half the class who are parents, give a press conference to the other half, who are journalists.Atragic accident Lower A newspaper article is, intermediate used as a basis of a upwards journalist’s interview. Religious sects Intermediate Students prepare and upwards then role-play part ofa TV programme about an unknown religious sect. ‘Truthis stranger Lower A newspaper story is split than fiction: intermediate between several role cards radioactive crime upwards so that students discover the different elements as they role-play a debate. Truth isstranger Intermediate A spy story is split than fiction: the upwards between several role cards puzzling Paisley so that students discover case the different elements as they role-play a debate. The Cuban coffee Upper A newspaper story is split caper intermediate between several role cards upwards so that students discover the elements as they role- play a debate. ‘The guided tour Upper Students take a new elementary pupil, or a new member upwards of staff on a guided tour of their school or place of, work Room to let Lower Students wish to let their intermediate room, flat, or house. to upper ‘They have put an intermediate advertisement in the newspaper, aid are answering a telephone enquiry. The expert Intermediate A student plays the role upwards of ‘expert’, and talks to the rest of the class ona subject he or she knows something about. 4 Make up your mind 41 Mmmmm Elementary Students role-play upwards agreement, disagreement, etc. through non-verbal ‘means of communication, 4.2. The advertising Upper Students decide ona agency elementary product that they wish to upwards advertise.‘The charity stunt The art gallery ‘What shall we do with the money? How shall we use the land? Cities of the future ‘Which tunnel? ‘The town planners’ meeting Friends of the Earth After the earthquake Upper elementary upwards Upper elementary upwards, Intermediate upwards Intermediate upwards Lower intermediate upwards Intermediate upwards Lower intermedi upwards Lower intermediate upwards Lower intermediate upwards ‘Students are fund-raisers who have to decide on a stunt to raise money for charity. ‘The students are curators of anart gallery with a certain sum of money to spend and must agree on new acquisitions. ‘The students have raised a sum of money for aid to the Third World, and cannot decide which project to devote the funds to, Students are ‘elders’ ina mountain village. They must decide what to do with their land. Students are international advisors who must decide whether to build a city on the moon, in space, or on water. Information on projects taken from the press is presented to the student ‘They must choose which of the options to build. Students dis proposed changes toa town and come toa compromise about what to change and what to keep as itis Students playing conservationists and the arms lobby, decide whether to puta ban on hunting in a country in southern Europe. Asaresult ofan earthquake disaster, the authorities of a Pacific island have decided to relocate the inhabitants. They meet with local opposition.4.12 The Devil’s footprints 4.13 Who needs Turkish Baths anyway? 4.14 The job interview 4.15 A mock election Intermediate upwards Intermediate upwards Lower intermediate upwards Intermediate upwards The class attempts to find the solution to a historic: mystery. A meetingiis held to decide whether to preserve or demolish a ‘Turkish Bath, Students write possible CVs for job advertise- ments for another group torole-play a personnel meeting, Students form political parties, write a party manifesto, elect a party candidate, and finally vote in an election, 5 Simulations 5.1 Supermarket magic ‘The design competition 5.3 Whose turn next? 5.4 ERVLtd. Annotated bibliography advanced Lower intermediate upwards Intermediate upwards Intermediate upwards 2hours 4hours I week 3 months The simulation is a meeting to decide whether to introduce subliminal messages onto taped supermarket music or not, in an attempt to fight shop-lifting, Guidelines for writing or adapting a simulation for or with your students A simulation run during a week-long intensive course in a corhpany. A three-month simulation on running a companyThe author and series editor Gillian Porter Ladousse began teaching at the Davies School of English in London. She now lives in France and for many years ran the Language Department at the Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Pélectronique et de Radioélectricité in Bordeaux, where she taught both adolescents and adults. In 1982 she joined the staff of The British Institute in Paris asa teacher-trainer, and currently runs a course leading to the RSA Diploma. She also works on in-service refresher courses with French school-teachers, and has participated in British Council short courses in Europe and Hong Kong. She is the author of Speaking Personally. Alan Maley worked for The British Council from 1962-1988, serving as English Language Officer in Yugoslavia, Ghana, Italy, France, and China, and as Regional Representative for The British Council in South India (Madras). He is currently Director-General of the Bell Educational Trust, Cambridge. He wrote Quartet (with Francoise Grellet and Wim Welsing, OUP 1982). He has also written Beyond Words, Sounds Interesting, Sounds Intriguing, Words, Variations on a Theme, and Drama Techniques in Language Learning (all with Alan Duff), The Mind’s Eye (with Francoise Grellet and Alan Duff), and Learning to Listen and Poem into Poem (with Sandra Moulding). He is also Series Editor for the Oxford Supplementary Skills Series.Foreword ‘The term ‘role play’ calls to mind the fable of the blind man trying to describe an elephant; the term takes on different meanings for different people. It certainly seems to encompass an extremely varied collection of activities. These range from highly-controlled guided conversations at one end of the scale, to improvised drama activities at the other; from simple rehearsed dialogue performance, to highly complex simulated scenarios. And there are few teachers ‘who would not claim to have used ‘role play” at some time. Itis surprising therefore that this much used (and abused) term, together with the shoal of activities it has spawned, has so rarely been presented as a coherent whole. The author of this book has attempted to do precisely this. The rationale for using role play is fully discussed, and guidance given for its use. An impressive array of techniques is then laid out, in such a way as to make them accessible even to nervous or inexperienced teachers, who might otherwise feel that role play was something too arcane to undertake, The book moves from closely-controlled, teacher-directed role play activities through to fully-fledged simulations devised and written by the students themselves. It brings together into one collection an ‘enormous range of activities for teachers at all levels to draw upon, and, we hope, to build upon too. Alan MaleyIntroduction What is role play? Iwould like it to be clear from the outset what I mean by role play. Let us look at the words themselves. When students assume a ‘tole’, they play a part (either their own or somebody else's) in a specific situation. ‘Play’ means that the role is taken on in a safe environment in which students are as inventive and playful as possible. A group of students carrying out a successful role play ina classroom has much in common with a group of children playing school, doctors and nurses, or Star Wars. Both are unselfconsciously creating their own reality and, by doing so, are experimenting with their knowledge of the real world and developing their ability to interact with other people. In this, situation there are no spectators and the occasional eavesdropper (a parent or a teacher) may not even be noticed. None of the risks of communication and behaviour in the real world are present. The activity is enjoyable and does not threaten the students’ (or the children’s) personality. This ‘playing’ in role will build up self- confidence rather than damage it I prefer this description of role play in the language classroom to any precise definition, as it demonstrates clearly the kind of activity that I include, and that I do not include, under this heading. It fits the variety of activities in this book, but it does not fit many other activities that go by this name, such as the therapeutic role plays of the psychological professions, or the prepared sketches or improvisations that are acted out for the rest of the class, and which belong to the realm of drama. I do not mean problem-solving case studies in which students are asked to ‘think like’ Mr Smith or Ms Brown. In arole play they are Mr Smith or Ms Brown. In this way they have direct experience of the unpredictable nature of language Itis probably neither possible, nor very profitable, to make fine distinctions between role play and simulations. Clearly however, simulations are complex, lengthy, and relatively inflexible events. ‘They will always include an element of role play, though other types of activity, such as analysis of data, discussion of options, etc. are also involved. Role play, on the other hand, can be a quite simple and brief technique to organize. It is also highly flexible, leaving much more scope for the exercise of individual variation, initiative, and imagination. Whereas role play is included in simulations, itis not by any means confined to them.INTRODUCTION The overall aim of both these types of activi train students to deal with the unpredictable nature of language. ‘Whether they are playing themselves in a highly constraining, situation (as in simulations), or playing imaginary characters in ‘more open-ended situations (as in role plays), they need to think their feet and handle the skein of language as it unravels. For this will matter less whether the activity is a dress rehearsal for ‘real life’, than whether it is close enough to the students’ experience f them to participate meaningfully in it. The degree of imagination wolved will of course differ from person to person. Paradoxically itoften requires less imaginative effort to role-play a well-known ‘TV journalist than it does to role-play their own professional activity, Why use role play? Did you hear the story of the student who had completed level t of his text book dialogue course and went to England to try out what he knew, only to find he never needed those beautifully formulated sentences to ask for half a pound of bananas, as he just helped himself in the supermarket? But he was completely floore at the checkout when the cashier said, with a friendly smile, ‘Got the Sp, have you, dear?” This anecdote underlines the necessity I have already pointed out of training our students to deal with the unpredictable nature of linguistic communication. However, mi other pair work activities, including ordinary conversation, prov an opportunity to do this, and are also dynamic and fun to use in the classroom. What then are the special reasons for using role play? Here is a list of the main on 1 A very wide variety of experience can be brought into the classroom through role play. The range of functions and structus and the areas of vocabulary that can be introduced, go far beyond the limits of other pair or group activities, such as conversation, communication games, or humanistic exercises. Through role pl ‘we can train our students in speaking skills in any situation. 2. Role play puts students in situations in which they are required to use and develop those phatic forms of language which are so necessary in oiling the works of social relationships, but which so often neglected by our language teaching syllabuses. Mar students believe that language is only to do with the transfer of specific information from one person to another. They have very little small talk, and in consequence often appear unnecessarily brusque and abrupt. It is possible to build up these social skills from a very low level through role play. 3. Some people are learning English to prepare for specific roles their lives: people who are going to work or travel in anINTRODUCTION international context. It is helpful for these students to have tried ‘out and experimented with the language they will require in the friendly and safe environment of a classroom. For these students, role play is a very useful dress rehearsal for real life. It enables them not just to acquire set phrases, but to learn how interaction might take place ina variety of situations. 4 Role play helps many shy students by providing them with a mask. Some more reticent members of a group may have a great deal of difficulty participating in conversations about themselves, and in other activities based on their direct experience. These students are liberated by role play-as they no longer feel that their own personality is implicated 5 Perhaps the most important reason for using role play is that it is fun. Once students understand what is expected of them, they thoroughly enjoy letting their imagination rip. Although there does not appear to be any scientific evidence that enjoyment automatically leads to better learning, most language teachers would probably agree that in the case of the vast majority of normal people this is surely so Finally, role play is one of a whole gamitt of communicative techniques which develops fluency in language students, which promotes interaction in the classroom, and which increases motivation, Not only is peer learning encouraged by it, but also the sharing between teacher and student of the responsibility for the learning process. Role play is perhaps the most flexible technique in the range, and teachers who have it at their finger-tips are able to meet an infinite variety of needs with suitable and effective role- play exercis: It wouldn’t work with my class . Teachers come up with a variety of objections to role play. They say: ‘It will create chaos in the classroom.’ ‘It’s just practice - my students won't actually learn anything.’ ‘My students can’t act, they are too shy.’ They claim that their students say: ‘I don’t want to be someone else.” ‘I can’t think of anything to say. ‘These remarks, and the many others like them, reveal three main problem areas that a teacher may come across when starting to use role play. First, common misconceptions about the nature of role play exist, although I hope the preceding paragraphs have helped to clear up some of them. Second, there are aspects of classroom management which need careful consideration and which will be dealt with in the Points to remember section of this introduction, Finally, the concept of learning is often understood in a narrow and limited way. This issue is dealt with in the next section,INTRODUCTION If 1 manage to convince you, as you read this book, of the usefulness of role play, I hope you will start to use it with students. They will follow you in the same lively and enthusiastic way as did those teachers and students who made, initially, the discouraging remarks to be found at the beginning of this section. Students have a great deal of respect for the authority of the teaches and will do anything, within reason, that they are asked to if they sense that the teacher is sure of herself. As for students who claim that they have nothing to say and that they have no imagination, it is not difficult to demonstrate to them that they use their imagination every time they merely wonder whi someone else is doing. Even the most down-to-earth professionals such as scientists or economists, use imagination and the teacher must find ways to tap these less obvious sources. If I do not managay to convince you that role play is a valid and exciting technique to use in the classroom, please do not use it. The activity will fall flat onits face just as you expected it to! Is role play for language learning or language practice? Ifyou are asking yourself this question, itis likely that you view # process of language learning as follows: you present your students with some new items, you drill them with these items, and then ¥ expect your students to be able to use them. However, students have seldom acquired complete mastery of a new set of language items at the end of one lesson. Exactly how and when learning tal place is still a mystery. What is certain is that a variety of mental processes go on before the new language is used spontaneously a naturally. Learning, then, has different phases: presentation phases, phases of half-knowing, and consolidation phases. To see in terms of learning itself and then practice is perhaps only a question of definitions, but these are unfortunate definitions because they do not openly acknowledge a whole area of the complex business of learning which often involves ‘doing’ as mud as ‘thinking’. One aspect of the ‘doing’ of language learning is ‘talking’ Of course what you think learning is, and what your students thi itis, are important matters for consideration. It is essential for ye asa teacher to see the validity of the activities that you are proposing in your own terms, and for you to be able to demonste this validity to your students so that it makes sense to them. One the aims of this book is to show that, however loose-ended and unstructured a role play may appear, it may be stopped at any pa so that the language that the students are using, or could, ot sho be using, can be analysed in terms of structures and functions,INTRODUCTION ° lexical items, etc. Learning should not only take place, but should be seen to be taking place. In absolute terms this may be an impossible task, for no one yet has any set answers to the question “How do people learn languages?” despite many years of research. But from a personal and practical point of view, it should be possible to feel that learning is taking place, and that whatever is, learnt in this way will be meaningful. Language work Role play belongs to that category of language learning techniques sometimes referred to as low input — high output. This means that the teacher-centred presentation phase of the lesson is very short and not atall the same as it would be for a controlled practice drill. After a brief introduction, the students plunge into an activity in which accomplishing the task is more important than using the exact word, in which fluency predominates over accuracy. Obviously, the language the students use does not come out of a top hat at the wave of a magic wand, and must have been acquired at an carlier stage: In fact, there are two ways of looking at language work in role play. Either students manage with the language they know, or they practice structures and functions that have been presented to them atan carlier stage of the lesson or the course, ina free and uncontrolled way. In the first situation, when students just cope as best they can,/the teacher's aim is to bring them to the point of awareness at which the necessity of acquiring certain structures is, evident, as these structures are of immediate relevance. Students can see how they could have put them to good use. They will retain them all the more easily because they are rooted in a mpeaningful context. In the second situation, role play is the active phase of learning and offers an opportunity for students to make personal use of language that has been presented to them formally. Role play can be used in this way right from the start in elementary classes, Suggestions for precise language work are made under the heading Language in each role play, but it will be up to you to decide exactly how you go about this, and how you link it to the rest of your course work. As for the kind of language work to be done, role play lends itself to almost every type: structures, lexis, functions, intonation patterns, and so on. You will find most of the role plays particularly suitable for familiarizing students with register, an aspect of language-learning which is neglected in many coursebooks Ultimately, we want our students to be both fluent and accurate the way they speak |Being accurate does not just mean using structures and vocabulary correctly, but also saying the right thing in the right place, at the right time. The appropriacy of the message to the given social (or professional) situation is a matter of culturalINTRODUCTION context as well as the choice of linguistic items. The more different the students’ culture is, the more difficult it will be to cope with t concept of register. The way formality or informality of social relationships govern the choice of language can usefully be discussed before or after many of the role plays. One example of a way to help students master the nuances of register is to be found activity 1.5 on page 30, (variation). Activity 2.1 on page 46, which is to do with asking to borrow something from a neighbour, provides a good framework for showing how utteran: according to the criteria of register. For example: 1 Bill isa very good friend of Fred’s. Bill says, ‘Sorry to barge in you, Fred. Got any salt?” 2. Mrs Jones is a nodding acquaintance of Mr Brown's. Mrs Jones says, ‘Hello Mr Brown. I hope I’m not disturbing you, but I’ve n out of salt. I wonder if you could lend me some?” 3. Anew neighbour calls, whose name you do not know. He or sl says, ‘Excuse me, I’m terribly sorry to bother you, but I’m afraid T’ve run out of salt, and was wondering if it would be too much trouble for you to lend me some?” Iisa great help for students to be aware of these choices as soon they have acquired some of the basic forms of the language, in o to enhance their chances of satisfactory communication with nati speakers of English. Asa general rule the more formal the utterance, the longer the sentence, and the more impersonal the sentence pattern. Sometimes the choice of a more or less formal item of vocabulary also has to be made. Is the performance public or private? Role plays that are practised, learnt by heart, and performed for other students are no longer role plays, but have become drama performances. Role play should be concerned with the process of playing a part, rather than the finished product. This must be clear from the start, for many students are self-conscious and shy when they think they are being asked to perform. Moreover, th are often convinced that they are totally lacking in dramatic abili In role play, they are not performing and there is no audience. Ei the teacher must stand back for she may be perceived as an inhibiting presence, ready to pounce every time a mistake is mat (One of the lessons learnt from humanistic tendencies in educa over the past decade is that learning takes place more effectively an atmosphere which is free from tension. There is, then, no poi in introducing stage fright into the classroom. Students should carry out this activity for themselves, with other students who a equally involved.INTRODUCTION n Role plays can be performed for other students, and they can be videoed (see the section on debriefing on page 16). A lot may be learnt from such follow-up, but itis not essential and should only be done when students are well-used to role play, or when they are particularly extrovert. Role play — language learning, not therapy The common association of role play with the therapeutic professions means that some students are reticent because they think they will in some way lose their own identity. It should by now be clear to the reader that role play is far more akin to child’s play than to deeply disturbing psychological experiences. We are teachers, not therapists, and any one of us who ventures into highly charged emotional role plays without suitable training may well cause a great deal of distress. Choosing subjects that are safe — though not boring or trivial — and placing the emphasis on ‘pla rather than ‘role’ will reduce this resistance on the part of anxious students. A related problem is the psychological stress that many people feel when they are asked to be someone else. Paradoxically, other people excel in this very situation. I have often asked a group of students, who have just carried out a role play for the first time, to evaluate their feelings during the activity. They use this five point scale: 1 very embarrassed; 2 slightly embarrassed; 5 3 uneasy 4 natural; 5 very natural (this is how I behave the whole time anyway). ‘The variety of responses never fails to astonish the students who usually imagine that other people react in the same way they themselves do. The more extrovert students often manage to convince the anxious ones that there is nothing to worry about. However, itis a good idea to take into account the fact that students in any class are more or less inhibited during the first few role-play activities. This can be done very simply by providing role plays that are task-based. For example, an information transfer exercise can be placed within the context of a role play. The inhibited students will carry it out just as an information transfer exercise. Then they will start looking around the class and learn from the bustle going on in other groups how they can get more out of the activity.INTRODUCTION Points to remember when setting up a role play No teacher likes an unruly classroom, and role play, like any othe pair or group work activity, can lead to chaos if not properly organized. Here are some hints for classroom management to av‘ this 1 Distinguish between noise and chaos. Noise is only a problem the teacher next door complains. 2. Begin with pair work rather than group work. There is a prac reason for doing this (it is very easy to talk to one person on either side of you, and to the person in front or behind without disturbi the layout of the whole class). There is also a psychological reasog (if people are in direct one-to-one communication with no one looking on they get on with the task better and are less self- conscious). 3 Keep the activity short until students get used to it. 4 Make sure your role play can be used with different numbers students. It is no good going into a classroom with an excellent play for nine students, which will not work with seven, only to that two students are off sick. 5 Make sure the students have understood the situation and w on the role cards before you start. 6 If your class contains a captive audience, such as school-childi and you have done everything you can to motivate them, do not worry too much about the one or two pairs or groups which are participating in the activity, unless they are disturbing the other pupils. During the teacher-centred activities of your lesson, the same pupils were probably sitting at the back reading comic stri or doing the crossword! They did not bother you shen, so do not them do so now. 7 Do not use a role play that is too difficult or too emotionally loaded until your students are used to this activity. If you do, students will probably break into their native language. This is obviously more of a problem in monolingual classes. Do be tol of a minor intrusion of the native language if it is helping the r play along. 8 Ifyour students break into their native language anyway, set the task more progressively. Start with pair work and easy information-gap role plays. If this does not work, you probably have a captive audience and will have to develop motivation to the language whatever you do with them. 9 Always have a follow-up activity up your sleeve for the grou that finish the role play before the others. Ideas for following wy role plays are described after nearly every activity in this book. 10 Seta strict time limit and make every attempt to stick to itINTRODUCTION How can teachers prepare students for role play? In the last six sections I have outlined the major pockets of resistance to role play. None of them have a very strong hold and most give way immediately if students are prepared gradually both for the concept of role, and for this less formal type of classroom activity. The point is so important that I have devoted the whole of the first section of this book to it. Here teachers will be introduced to ways in which they can encourage students to reflect on the roles they play in their lives. Different roles for different students ‘There are several different types of role. For example, there are roles which correspond to a real need in the students’ lives. In this category we can include such roles as doctors dealing with patients, or salesmen travelling abroad. In these cases it is easy to match the role play in the classroom to the essential preoccupations of the students. Ina second type of role, the students play themselves in a variety of situations of which they may or may not have direct experience. A customer complaining, or a passenger asking for information, both fall into this category. They require no specific professional expertise nor any particular personality traits as any ‘one of us could find ourselves in these situations. Most students find this type of role play highly motivating if the situation is relevant. Other roles are of the type that few students will ever experience directly themselves, but which are easy to play because we have such vast indirect experience of them. The television journalist is a good example of this very useful kind of role taken from real life. Finally, there are fantasy roles, which are fictitious, imaginary, and possibly even absurd. Many teachers fee! that students will not see the point of this type of role because it has nothing to do with real life. This sad fact may explain the dull and prosaic nature of most published collections of role plays. However, once students understand what they are trying to do in role, their imagination is often liberated and the fantasy becomes a very enriching and useful linguistic experience. Imagination, which is surely as real as the rest of ourselves, has been banished from the classroom for far too long. ‘The students’ imagination can be helped along for the first few times you carry out a role play with the ‘character identity sheet’ on the next page. Give it out with the role cards and ask the students to fill it in for their own use, after they have read their cards. Encourage them to use their imaginatign as much as possible. They will then have a more tangible impression of the part they are to play.INTRODUCTION Character identity sheet Height Weight: Hair col Main personal ‘You can gradually add other questions to this list, such as: What your favourite colourimusic/book?, etc. to encourage students to thi about their adopted personality. Role cards ‘Teachers often complain that role play has no life in it because students are glued to the role card. This can only be because the information on the card is too complex to grasp rapidly because it has not been made plain to the students, that they shor have mastered the information on the card before they began the activity. Role cards should be concise and contain only essentials) ) linguistic structures are suggested for use they should be ones t the students are already familiar with. When students have read their role card they can either return it to the teacher or turn it o and refer to it only when completely stuck. Then they are free 10) explore the possibilities of the role in a more spontaneous mann Some role cards say things like: ‘You are Mrs Smith. You are angry.’ Imposing emotional states in this way can be very inhibi for students. If you wish them to learn how to express strong emotions, it is much better to ensure that these stem naturally of the situation you have set up. tis often difficult to decide how to distribute the role cards. Y¢ can decide who is who, the students can choose, or the distribu can be done at random. In a class in which the teacher is attemyINTRODUCTION to shift some of the responsibility for learning from her own shoulders to those of the students, the second and third solutions are infinitely better than the first. In the second, the negotiation about who will play which role may well give rise to an opportunity for authentic communication, which is an all too rare occurrence in the classroom. However, it may also mean that a very weak student getsa key role, and the role play falls apart. Teachers soon acquire the necessary judgement as to which is the best solution on each occasion. What to do about mistakes ‘More and more teachers are adhering to the view that mistakes are an integral part of the language-learning process, and that an opportunity to make them in a free phase in any lesson ultimately enhances learning, rather than hinders it. Some mistakes do “fossilize’, but most of them just seem to indicate certain stages in the acquisition of the language. They disappear gradually as the students become more competent and confident. Although you may be convinced of the validity of these recent theories on errors, your students may still worry about the mistakes they make as they carry out a role play. They are likely to question the usefulness of the exercise, or beg you to stay close to them and correct them every time they make a mistake. Itis essential to explain to these students that errors will be dealt with, that you are aware of the ones they are making, and that you will not forget about them. Students at a given level make similar kinds of mistakes in role play as they do with any other teaching material, and you will soon be able to predict which will be the most obvious ones by-considering which functions, structures, and lexical items are likely to crop up in the role play you have chosen. The Language section in each role play in the book suggests areas in which error will probably occur. A second solution, which should be considered as an additional method, rather than as an alternative, is to walk round the classroom listening to the students talking, and noting down the mistakes you would like to deal with. After the role play, you can correct the mistakes immediately by eliciting the correct forms from the students, by writing them on the blackboard, or by providing some kind of remedial exercise that you had predicted would be necessary. You can also simply incorporate remedial work into a later lesson, but in this case itis @ good idea to let the students know how and when you intend to do this, as many of them believe correction to bea vital issue. Whatever the procedure you adopt, do not let the consideration of errors stifle the role play while it is in progress. :INTRODUCTION Debriefing Debriefing is the term used to refer to the analytical discussion that may take place after a role play or simulation. The kind of questios that are raised are: - Who participated? . Who did not? . Why not? |. Who was very good? - Who could have done better? In many areas of education where these techniques are used, this, interrogative phase is as important as the main activity. In language- Jearning, intermediate or advanced students who are self-confident and used to role play, will benefit from a debriefing session which, will offer an opportunity for authentic and spontaneous communication. The teacher should insist on evaluation rather 1 criticism, and make sure that the students talk about what went well before they get on to what went badly. This encourages positive thinking about the experience. As students discuss the parts they played, they will probably notice that one or two peopl em to have participated very little. This fact may be a reflection the fairly silent roles that these students play in real life, or it may reveal a lack of self-confidence or linguistic ability in the target language. Whatever the reason, it is important to discuss this iss with understanding, and to make sure the silent students do not f under pressure. I have often noticed that giving a quiet or reticen student a more passive part to play for a while — a listening role. shared role — enables him or her to build up sufficient confidence blossom at a later stage. If the role play or simulation has been filmed, the video can be watched during this phase. The teacher should bé able to select, relevant and significant extracts, for it is very laborious to sit through the whole thing a second time. The group should be encouraged to make comments on the effectiveness of certain rol and to suggest ways in which other roles could have been more convincing. Video is also particularly useful for drawing attenti to specific errors and misunderstandings, for analysing interact and highlighting the use of paralinguistic features. However, it should be used with discernment, for it can be a gruelling experience for students to watch themselves if they have not co with the situation very well. Debriefing is not, however, an absolutely essential part of lang! learning simulation or role play. Putting the performance undeq microscope has a distinctly inhibiting effect on many students, on some seasoned role-players. At a low level, the language ne: to analyse the role play will be much more complex than the language of the role play itself. It js perfectly acceptable to consiINTRODUCTION that the objective of the role play or simulation has been met as the activity itself was carried out, and to move straight on toa completely different phase of the lesson. You will rapidly develop your own judgement as to when a debriefing is, or is not, useful A final word After you have tried out some of the ideas in this book, I hope you will go on to develop your own role plays, and to encourage your students to do the same. Many of the role plays are followed by suggestions on ways of adapting them to particular situations, and of using a certain format with your own ideas. The beginning of Chapter 2, Off the cuff, the end of Chapter 4, Make up your mind, and Chapter 5, Simulations, will be particularly useful in this respect. Role play is not an isolated activity, but an integral part of the lesson in which it is used. Exactly how it is used will depend on the individual teacher. It may be the climax of the lesson, for which the preceding work has built up the necessary skills, or it may be only a small part of the lesson contributing to some other more general aim. Useful structures can be presented before the role play starts, or can be fed in afterwards as remedial work. However you use it, your role during the activity, will be that of organizer and observer: ‘You will be letting your class explore language as it works in the real world. Itis for this reason that, to my mind, role play is a vital part of any language course. Through it students can at last see through the myth that language is a package deal, a terminal performance acquired once and for all, and discover that it is something much richer, which is endlessly shifting and generating new, fresh meaning in every situation The British Council 0009000 0905000 0080000 O8060060 0098200 O€0G0B0 006009 ACLELY:How to use this book ‘This book is meant for two kinds of teachers: first, those who are looking for new ideas for role plays to try out with their classes, and | second, those who are looking for guidance as to how to use this technique. If you are in the first category, you should look on Role Play as a resource book to dip into for activities to use on specific occasions. If you are in the second category, you are probably a less- experienced teacher and can use it both as a resource book, and an instruction manual, as the step-by-step guide to each activity will help you set up the role plays successfully in your classroom. In both cases I hope that, as you browse through the book, you will come across particular ideas to use with particular classes — with that lively class on Tuesday evening, that dull class on Thursday morning, or that new class that you are taking over next week. However, I also hope that, as you put these ideas into practice, you will begin to adapt the activities to your teaching situation, and ultimately find yourself developing ideas and exploring your own new horizons. How the book is organized ‘The main core of the book is divided into five sections, as follows: 1 Preparing the ground This section contains activities which introduce students to the concept of role, and which should make it easier for them to carry out the role plays in the other sections. These are valid and entertaining learning activities for all classes, but they'will be particularly useful in those in which students are self-conscious and reticent about the idea of role play. 2 Off the cuff ‘These improvised role plays are frequently encountered in course books. However, as students often claim that they have nothing to say, this section pays a great deal of attention to making sure that they are not lost for words. 3 Nowtell me. . The role plays in this section are based on an information gap. In other words different students have role cards with different information on them which they are required to exchange. This ensures that there is a good reason for communication to take place, and makes the activities motivating and easy to use. However,HOW TO USE THIS BOOK students sometimes merely swop information and forget to do so in role. For this reason, ideas for prompting students to develop their roles are incorporated into this section. 4 Make up your mind ‘These role plays are based on tasks which involve the students in reaching a group decision, and it is this decision-making process that gives impetus to the activities. Any problems that arise are usually to do with classroom management, as the groups are generally larger and sometimes just alittle unruly to begin with Suggestions as to how to cope with the intrusion of the mother tongue, timing, and discipline in general are to be found in the role plays in this section. 5 Simulations ‘Simulations include role plays and therefore have their place in this book. A more precise definition of what I mean by both terms is to be found in the introduction. It therefore suffices here to say that role play is an activity in the same way as talking or playing are, whereas a simulation is an event which involves the students in a particular type of role play. In this section, besides a short simulation to use, you will find descriptions of experiments by teachers who have adapted simulations to their own teaching environment. These are intended to encourage you to develop yout own if you are teaching groups for which this technique is suitable ‘The classifications above are not hard and fast, and there is a great deal of overlap among the sections. For example, an improvisation may depend on a decision, an information gap activity may requir improvisation, and a simulation will probably include all three. However, highlighting a different aspect in each section is a good Way of getting role play under the magnifying glass, so that we cas take a good look at the different ways in which it motivates students, and at the variety of strategies to be used in the classroog Within each section, the role plays that are easy touse come at the beginning, and those that are more difficult at the end. More experienced teachers will not need to respect this order, and can pick activities at random according to their needs. ‘The contents list at the front of the book will help you choose a suitable activity for your class. In it you will find an indication of the level at which you can use the role play, the time it will proba take, and a description of each activity. The levels and times are approximate because these factors will be governed, to some exte by the enthusiasm and talent of the classes you use them with. As general rule, and perhaps paradoxically, the lower the level of the students, the faster they will get through the activity. The more advanced they are, the more time they will need to delve into thei roles and build them up in a more comp!HOW TO USE THIS BOOK How each activity is organized A brief description at the start of each activity gives a general idea of what is going on during the role play Level Generally an indication of the minimum level at which the activity can be carried out. If the activity is only suitable for low levels, a maximum level is given as well. Time An indication of the time that the actual role play will take. More time will be needed if the students have to read articles, reports, etc, Aim ‘The broader objective of each activity, such as developing self- confidence, learning to improvise, or becoming sensitive to attitudes expressed in language. Language An indication of the language that the students will need during the role play. The suggestions may be structures, functions, different skills, work with register, or intonation patterns, etc. Organization Whether the activity involves pair work or group work and, in the latter case, how big the groups should be. Preparation Anything you need to do before you go into the classroom. Warm-up ‘These ideas are intended to focus the students’ attention and get them interested in the issues. Procedure A step-by-step guide to carrying out the activity. Follow-up These activities may be done by all the students, or only by those members of the class who finish the main activity quickly. They can also be done for homework. Remarks These may be of general interest, or they may be warnings about ifficulties that may occasionally arise in some role plays. Variations Some activities have variations that can be used with different types of classes and at different levels1 Preparing the ground Introduction ‘The purpose of the activities in this section is to demystify role play by exploring the concept in ways that are simple and fun to use in the classroom. Once students are used to the idea of playing a role, they will find the role plays in the rest of the book much easier to carry out. The first four activities aim to help them lose their self-consciousness by introducing the concept of role in a game format, and by encouraging them to play with the language they know. In the fourth activity, students are also asked to reflect on the roles they play in their daily lives. Activities 1.5 to 1.8 have the same objective of relating facets of personality to role play in the classroom. The final three activities in this section are fully developed role plays which are very easy to carry out, either because they are so well prepared, or because they are extremely tightly structured. They facilitate the transition to the more spontaneous role plays in the rest of the book, in which students can experiment more freely with the unpredictability of social and linguistic interaction. Most of the activities in this section elicit a direct and immediate response from students, and for this reason there is no specific warm-up phaseLEVEL TIME AIM LANGUAGE ORGANIZATION PREPARATION PROCEDURE PREPARING THE GROUND 1.1 Famous people ‘A guessing game in which students adopt the role of famous peor Elementary upwards 20 minutes ‘To familiarize students with the idea of role play in an activity in which there is a strong game element. Structures: the interrogative, the past tense, and possibly the present perfect. Functions: talking about events and personal achievements, ‘The whole class (small or large classes). Have a list of suitable famous people ready in case your class are short of ideas. 1 The students each choose a famous person, either alive or dead, according to group concensus. The students keep their choice to themselves, but think about the person they have chosen, makin: sure they can talk about him or her in the first person 2 (Optional) You can demonstrate the game by choosing a famout person, encouraging your students to ask questions, and then responding in the first person. 3. Ask a volunteer ‘famous person’ to come to the front of the clas 4 You should explain to the rest of the class that they will be askis questions such as: : = What is the most important thing you ever did? — Does your public life affect your private life? ~ Which event in your life toas the most significant? = Did the way you were brought up help you to ackieve so much? ‘The questions will obviously depend on the level of the class. A more advanced class should be prompted to ask complex questior ive the students a few minutes to prepare their questions. 5 While the class are preparing the questions, explain to the first volunteer that he or she must not give the game away immediately but should try to be evasive and give ambiguous answers. For example, the answers given by Pasteur or Fleming, by Mrs Ghan or Margaret Thatcher, and by Katherine Hepburn or Ingrid Bergman could easily be confused in the first place. 6 Start the game with the students asking questions, but insist th the right kind of questions are asked (see step 4 above), and answ given to prevent the activity becoming a simple guessing game. 7 Tell the students that when they have an idea about the identity of the famous person, he or she should write it on a piece of paperREMARK VARIATION 1 _ PREPARING THE GROUND and hand it to you. This ensures that the game does not break down t00 soon. 8 Whena sufficient number of ideas have been handed to you, stop the game and announce who was the first student to guess correctly 9. The game can be repeated with another volunteer ‘famous person’ ‘This can be dealt with in two ways: a, Asa discussion. Write the following on the blackboard and ask your students, in pairs or groups, to discuss them: What made it easy to guess the character? — What made it difficult? Vhat gestures and attitudes could have been added? b. Asa writing exercise. Ask your students to write either a biography of one of the characters chosen, or a scene from one of the characters’ lives. This activity provides an opportunity for precise work on interrogative structures for most of the class, and general fluency practice for the few volunteer ‘famous people’. If you wish the language work to be more evenly distributed among the class, variations 3 and 4 (which follow) can be used. ‘The scope of the original activity can be reduced to provide more controlled use of a particular structure or function. Here are some suggestions with examples of types of questions: 1. Talking about likes and dislikes Who is your favourite painter? Which is the food you prefer most? Is there anyone you dislike intensely? ‘Talking about plans for the future Where would you like to go for a holiday? How would you like to improve the lot of your fellow citizens? — When will you retire from public life? 3. Practising the conditional form An example might be: If you found a wallet on the ground, what would you do? T'd share everything in it among all the people I know. Ifyou had a holiday, what kind of holiday would it be? T'ddo anything except take a walking holiday. If you had farm, what would you grow on it? I'd grow rice, If you went out for the evening, what would you do? Td go to the opera or the circus. If you went toa restaurant , what kind of restaurant would it be? It would bea canteen, with equal portions for everyone.VARIATION 2 VARIATION 3 VARIATION 4 VARIATIONS _ PREPARING THE GROUND If you wrote a book, what would you write? T'd write some more ‘thoughts’ The answer here is Mao Tse-tung. The answers in this variation require the volunteer to interpret character he or she is playing, and consequently call on inventiveness and imagination. “Who am I?” This is a straightforward guessing game in which students ask the volunteer questions to which he or she may onl reply ‘yes’ or ‘no’. You can still encourage the volunteers to ad the gestures and attitudes of the person chosen. The questions should still be asked in the second person ‘Ambassadors’. Arrange the class in sub-groups of between five twelve students. The more sub-groups there are the better this game works. Each group selects a famous person and chooses a member of the group to be the ambassador who will play the rol the famous person. Each ambassador, having adopted the new .g0es off to an alien group to be questioned. If the alien group ‘guesses the identity of the ambassador, they keep him or her. original group must then choose a new ambassador and charact for the next round. The game usually ends with one group bein greatly diminished or eliminated. “Dramatic lives’. This activity can be broken down into two phi amime and a language activity. The guessing game now focuses the mime. If no ideas are forthcoming from the class, you may li to have some slips of paper with the names of people who have dramatic lives, and distribute them to those students who are willing to mime. Some suggestions are: Archimedes, John F. Kennedy, Maria Callas, Mata Hari, Isaac Newton. In the secon phase of the activity, questions are asked as in the original game, as in variation 1. The group then evaluates the performance wit such questions as: What zoas particularly good? What else might h been said?, and so on. Remember that positive evaluation is the ‘most helpful, especially with the more reticent volunteers, and should in any case, always happen before negative evaluation. I this second part of the activity the incentive is no longer the ‘guessing element, but the fact of playing with language. ‘Professions’. All the previous games can be played with profes: rather than famous people. The answers to questions must be gi in the role of an actor, a doctor, a window cleaner, etc. You either ask the students to choose a profession, or you may distri slips of paper to the students with the names of professions on them.LEVEL _ TIME AIM, LANGUAGE ORGANIZATION PREPARATION PREPARING THE GROUND 1.2 Roll-a-role Students use cubes as dice to set up a completely random role play situation. Elementary upwards 20 minutes ‘To develop spontaneity in students through a game-like activity. Varied, but particular structures can be specified, usually to do with stock situations. Pairs, or groups of three or four. You will need to make two cubes in lightweight cardboard, as, shown below. On each side of the first cube write a character, and on each side of the second cube write a place, as shown in these diagrams: ouesine aoctor tae oe ot Cae if ae fers policeman of fice ‘character cube lace’ cube28 PROCEDURE FOLLOW-UP REMARKS LEVEL TIME AIM. LANGUAGE PREPARING TH! OUND The following is a list of suggested characters and places to use the cubes: waiter ina café doctor outside the cinema sales assistant ina shop grandmother at a birthday party clown at the circus singer a bicycle ride in the forest, student outside a prison garage mechanic in an office policeman in the kitchen ten-year-old child at school tis better to have one set of cubes for cach group of students, t the class is too large, it is possible for the groups to use the cube one after the other. 1 Divide the class into pairs, or groups of three or four. 2 One person in each group rolls the ‘place’ cube to determine where the role play will take place. 3 Each student in turn then rolls the ‘character’ cube, to establi which character he or she will play. 4 The groups improvise a conversation with the characters in specified place, and build up a situation One of the improvisations can be written up as a sketch, 1 The list of characters can be much more imaginative with creative classes and contain characters from fiction, folklore, or life. 2 The places may be as precise (at the hotel reception), or as vas (in a town), as you wish. They may reflect work done in class previously, and serve as an opportunity for revision, 3 Some of the situations thrown up in this way may be extreme’ unlikely, but this is part of the game. 1.3 Where am I? Who am I? Students improvise stock situations from prompts given by the teacher. Upper elementary upwards 20 minutes ‘To develop students’ ability to respond spontaneously conversation. Fluency in stock situations.ORGANIZATION _ PREPARATION PROCEDURE _ PREPARING THE GROUND Classes of not more than twenty-five students. You should prepare enough slips of paper for distribution around the class, containing questions such as: — Have you got a double room with a bath? — Is this the only kind of rice you have? ~ Is there a return fight to Karachi on Sunday? — Can T interest you in our new model, madam? — Can you tell me what this knocking sound is under the bonnet? — Could you tell me what the chicken marengo consists of? = Is this the way to the station? 1_ Ask your students to sit in a circle, then nominate one of them to sit in the middle. 2. Distribute the previously prepared slips of paper to everyone, except the student in the middle of the circle. 3 Ask the students to memorize their own questions. 4 Inturn the students should approach the person in the middle and address their question to him or her. 5 The person in the middle should respond appropriately, and the two students attempt to continue the conversation to its natural conclusion, for example: Aisin the middle. B's slip reads: Have you got a medium shirt like this, but with pale blue stripes? A might answer: I’m afraid it only comes in this colour, but I have got this style. B might answer: Yes, but the collar isn’t so attractive. What else have you got in medium? and so on until a purchase is made and the customer leaves the shop. Acknowledgement Tlearnt this activity from Maggie Melville. 1.4 What do | look like? Students try out props and accessories to see how their appearance changes. Upper elementary upwards 10 minutes To help students lose their self-consciousness when thinking about role play.LANGUAGE ORGANIZATION PREPARATION PROCEDURE FOLLOW-UP. REMARKS LANGUAGE PREPARING THE GROUND Functions: describing physical appearance and personality. Groups of not more than twelve. Obtain a few props, such as a white coat, a pair of horn-rimmes glasses, a bowler hat, any other kind of hat, a wig, etc. 1 Ask the students to sit in a circle, in groups of not more than twelve. 2 Ask the students to try on the props and accessories in turn 3 Tell the other students to comment on the changed appearan. You can help them by asking these questions: — Does heishe look morelless serious? = Does heishe look older!younger? = Does helshe look morelless attractive?, etc. Discuss with the students the different items of ‘uniform’ that have in their daily lives. Do they wear special clothes for work. for leisure activities? ‘This discussion usually goes well after the main activity. It taps strong motivation, provokes interest in a lot of language, and is ‘good way of demonstrating to the students that they all do play different roles in their everyday lives. 1.5 What would you say? What would you have said? Students discuss what they would say, or would have said, in embarrassing or difficult situations. : Lower intermediate upwards 15 minutes ‘To help students over the feeling of not knowing what to say wi asked to improvise a role play. To introduce slightly embarrass situations into the classroom, for example, forgetting someone's name. Structures: conditionals would and would have. Functions: talking about hypothetical situations, talking about hypothetical alternatives for past situations.ORGANIZATION _ PREPARATION PROCEDURE FOLLOW-UP 1 FOLLOW-UP 2 FOLLOW-UP 3 FOLLOW-UP 4 VARIATION PROCEDURE PREPARING THEGROUND Pairs or groups of three, then the whole class. Choose a situation in which there is an element of conflict or embarrassment, for example: — You have just driven into the back of a car. — You want to tell your doctor that you want a second opinion. — You have just spilled coffee all over one of your guests. Prepare an explanation of the situation you have chosen for your students. 1 Divide the class into pairs, or groups of three. 2 Explain the situation very simply, and ask each group to work ‘out what they would say to each other in their respective roles. 3 Insist that the students decide how polite, how angry, etc. they would be. 4 After five or ten minutes, compile the main core of the students” suggestions on the blackboard, and point out the appropriacy of the various remarks to the various kinds of situation. ‘The students can now role-play the situation. This is only a good idea with weak or slow groups as the role play will have lost a lot of its spontaneity. Advanced groups are advised to do follow-up 2. ‘The students work out a sketch, using ideas taken from the main activity, or using a completely different situation. They can be asked to act it out for the rest of the class, if you think this is appropriate. One or two active members of the class can be asked to improvise the situation using the expressions that have been written on the blackboard. You can ask your students to compile a short dialogue for homework. Elementary classes will not be able to suggest remarks even for very simple situations, but they may recognize remarks, or be able to work out when they are appropriate. Here is a simple way of presenting language while at the same time familiarizing the students with the concept of role. 1 Divide the class into pairs, or groups of three. 2 Explain the situation to them. One of the situations suggested in the main activity can be used, for example, you have just bumped into someone's car at the traflic lights.LEVEL TIME AIM LANGUAGE ORGANIZATION PREPARATION PREPARING THE GROUND 3 Explain that the car is driven by one of the people in these pictures. ay 4. Ask the students to choose one of the people in the pictures, identify from the following list which of the remarks could be by the character they have chosen: — Would you mind giving me your name and address, please? = Oh dear! ~ Couldn't you be more careful! = You shouldn’t be allowed on the road! — P’msorry, P’llcall a policeman. ~ What a nuisance! = What shall we do now? — Inisa bit of a nuisance, but the insurance will pay, I suppose. ‘The pictures do not need to show the situation, simply the personality of a character. They can consequently be varied extensively, cut out of magazines and stuck on the walls with Tack. The language items can be chosen to suit the needs of th stage students have reached. 1.6 Both sides of the question Students explore the different scenarios that can grow out of a conflictual situation. Upper elementary upwards 25 minutes To familiarize students with the concept of role, and particulai with the interactive nature of role. Functions: accusing someone, justifying oneself. A study of individual styles of speaking and register. This activity is ideal with between twelve and twenty students} Choose a conflictual situation, such as: an adolescent returning home late at night to find an irate p waiting up for him or her; ‘two parents blaming each other for their child’s bad results school;PROCEDURE FOLLOW-UP PREPARING THE GROUND — a student being told off by a head teacher when he or she has been caught smoking, 1 Ask your students to form a circle. 2. Ask them to write down the initial accusatory and probably irate remark, for example, a parent might say to his or her child: Where have you been tll this time of night? 3. Whenall the students have completed this first remark, ask them to pass the papers to their right. 4 Bach student reads the remark silently and writes an answer. He or she must respect the tone of the remark on the page, which may be completely different from what he or she wrote and passed on earlier 5. Ask the students to pass the sheets of paper back to their left, so that they now have their original remarks in front of them, plus the response. Ask them to continue with their first remark. 6 This process is repeated several times, with each student participating in two different dialogues, and seeing both sides of the question, 7 When you feel that sufficient dialogue has been built up (this will depend on the level of the students), stop the activity. 8 Ask the students to read out their dialogues and the different tones (probably angry, worried, fed up) are compared and discussed. Other situations could be: — A secretary has made a mistake about the time of an important appointment for the boss. When he gets back to the office, he greets her — A child has forgotten to do his or her homework again. The teacher says... — Arugby player has messed up a very important kick.’After the match, the captain takes him to one side . — Addrunken tramp is arrested by a police officer . . — Once again there is no hot water in the hotel. The client complains to the manager 1 Blu-Tack the dialogues to the wall and let the students correct, them themselves, either orally or in writing. Alternatively, you can collect in the dialogues and type them out without putting the names of the students on them, and at the same time noting the chief mistakes. After doing a remedial activity to make the students aware of their mistakes, give out the dialogues again and let them correct their mistakes. 2 These dialogues can, of course, be acted out by the more extrovert students. Acknowledgement ‘This idea was learnt from Mario Rinvolucri.LEVEL TIME aim LANGUAGE ORGANIZATION PREPARATION WARM-UP. PROCEDURE FOLLOW-UP PREPARING THE GROUND 1.7 Reading the part Students select relevant information from articles according to adopted role. Post-elementary upwards, according to the difficulty of the ‘The example given in this activity is intermediate. 30 minutes To familiarize students with the idea that they play roles in thei daily lives. Skills: reading (skimming and scanning). ‘The students work individually or in pairs, and then share their ideas with the whole class. You will need copies of a suitable newspaper article (sce the example opposite). Ask your students if they read newspapers, or listen to the new: ‘When do they do this? Do they discuss the news with anyone? 1 Set the scene. Tell your students that they are having a leisu Sunday morning breakfast when they come across an article al therapy for drug addicts. Ask them to identify with one of the following roles: a rich worried parent of a drug addict; a poor worried parent of a drug addict; a left-wing drug worker from a National Health clinic which j insufficiently financed an ex-drug addict, cured on the National Héalth; a trade union representative who has been trying to get a colleague reinstated in her job after being fired for using dru a right-wing businessman, ‘Make sure that all of these roles are covered. 3 As the students read the article in their adopted roles, they should make notes only on the information that is important to character. Ask them to jot down thoughts, ideas, and feelings t occur to them still in their adopted role. 4 Make sure that when the students read the article, they do n¢ read one word after the other, but skim through to begin with, then scan for the information they need. 5 After reading the article, the impressions of the different ‘characters’ in the class are compared. A ‘subjective’ summary can be written by each ‘character’.REMARKS NEWSPAPER ARTICLE PREPARING THE GROUND Almost any newspaper article may be used in this way, but political suitable, if politics are not taboo in your ‘More reading exercises of this type are to be found in Intermediate Language Skills (Reading) by Frank Heyworth (1982), £900-A-WEEK THERAPY FOR THE HIGH-LIFE ADDICTS Annabel Ferriman, Health Correspondent Addicts of Britain’s most fashionable drug, cocaine, are now being offered a fashion- able ~ and expensive — way to break the habit. For £900 a week, they can sign on for a six-week course in the civilized surroundings of some of the country’s smartest clinics. ‘The Marquis of Blandford, heir to Blenheim Palace and a £50 million fortune, is being treated at such a clinic in Surrey while awaiting trial on drugs charges. The high cost of these clinics which are mushrooming, parti- cularly in the rich South, pro- vokes resentment among some drug workers, who see them as. little “more than finishing schools for spoiled brats. Mrs Sarah Daniels, 2 mem- ber of the Rothschild family whose daughter was an addict and who helps addicts’ fami- lies, said: ‘What relevance has a clinic that charges almost £1,000 a week to most addicts? Every person I know who has been to one has relapsed after a few weeks.” ‘The clinics, however, claim they are very successful: some say 70 per cent of their patients are drug-free a year after treat- ‘ment. The treatment most favoured and which they see as the key to their success is the Minnesota method, which was developed in America and borrows many of the ideas of Alcoholics Anonymous. Some NHS doctors are supporters of the method. Dr Charlotte Feinmann, locum consultant at the University College Hospital drugs clinic id: “I hear nothing but glow- ing reports of it. They do very much better than us in getting people off drugs because they have an evangelistic spirit that you need if you are going to persuade people to change their lives.” One of the leading expo- nents of the Minnesota method is the Charter Clinic in Hamp- stead, north London, which charges £128 a day and treats every type of addict, from junkies to alcoholics and gamblers. In contrast to most NHS clinics, where patients are often prescribed a heroin sub- stitute for a short period andPREPARING THE GROUND then seen weekly as out- or their employer: kick patients, Charter advocates habit or get out. In many « total abstinence and in-patient _ employers pay for treatmer care. it is covered by health in After detoxification, addicts ance. Only about a quarte undertake a packed timetable the patients pay for th of lectures, discussions and selves. therapy from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Most companies turn o They are told addiction is a be very helpful when told disease with no cure but which _employee’s addiction. Lo can be arrested by remaining a 22-year-old heroin ad abstinent a day at a time. who is just finishing a six-w ‘Many of the clinic’s counsel- stint at the clinic, was am lors are ‘recovering’ addicts or when her employers, alcoholics. - everyone is American firm in Lon recovering, because no one is paid for her treatment, cured. They help to give hope though she had resigned b to the patients. starting the course and Patients at the clinic vary in told them that she did not age from 15 to 85, with an to return, average age of 35. Women are A delicate, pale-skinned usually outnumbered by men, lege drop-out, Louise be. though their numbers are addicted at 18 after goinz growing. The proportion of with an addic Cocaine addicts is also increas- Louise is about to leave ing, reflecting increased usage like other patients, is ent outside, particularly among to return each week for wealthy businessmen who can aftercare and is encourag: afford its high price and whose _go weekly to Narcotics Ar lives are often wrecked by it. mous. ‘They have often been given an ultimatum by their partner [The Observer, 8 June 19 1.8 Listening in role ‘Students select relevant information from a news bulletin accor toan adopted role. Lower intermediate upwards. With some lower level classes it bbe necessary for you to record your own simplified news bullet 20 minutes To familiarize students with the idea that they play roles in thei daily lives.LANGUAGE ORGANIZATION PREPARATION PROCEDURE FOLLOW-UP SAMPLE NEWS, BULLETIN PREPARING THE GROU Skills: listening, Students work individually, or in pairs in the classroom, or in a language laboratory. Then ideas are shared with the whole class. Record a live broadcast news bulletin, if possible. If not, record the ‘timeless’ news bulletin below. If you don’t have a tape recorder, you can read the news bulletin to your students. 1 Ask your students to select a role from this list, which you can write up on the blackboard: Housewife Doctor Businessman Engineer Export salesman Social worker University student. — Unemployed person ‘Trade union official Rich socialite ‘This list is not exhaustive and may need to be adapted to the listening material available. At least three roles should be chosen by the class, 2 Ask the students to listen to the news bulletin you are about to play them, Ask them to classify the items according to the importance they have for them in the role they have chosen. 3 Bring the whole class together and set up a discussion comparing the different items the students have chosen, and the reasons for their choice. ‘What are the comments the various characters would make on the news to the people around them? It’s six o’clock on Friday, 6 September. Here is the news. ‘The chief constable of the north eastern police force, Mr Paul Kingston, has said that his force is on the verge of bankruptcy. Mr Kingston, addressing the annual meeting of the police federation, said that the detection rate in the force had ‘dropped abysmally’ because he didn’t have the money to pay for overtime. A man is being questioned by police in Tavistock after a woman of twenty-seven was abducted at gunpoint on Dartmoor and assaulted. She and her husband had stopped to help a motorist whose car had apparently broken down. The motorist got into the couple’s car and ordered the woman to drive off. Later they transferred to another car after the man had threatened two elderly women. Four police cars and a helicopter took part in the subsequent chase. It ended when the police rammed the car near Princetown. An explosive device has gone off in the baggage compartment of a jet at Dallas's Fort Worth airport. It caused a fire, but no injuries, There had been no bomb threats and FBI investigators are trying to discover how the bomb came to be on the plane.LEVEL TIME AIM LANGUAGE PREPARING THE GROUND In Pennsylvania a young woman wearing combat dress went on th rampage with a semi-automatic rifle in a shopping precinct. She killed two people, a two year old boy and a sixty-four year old ma: and injured eight more before she was tackled by a college studen’ ‘The woman apparently has a history of psychological problems. British Rail says one of its guards has foiled a mail train robbery is Buckinghamshire. Three men tried to steal mail bags from an InterCity train on its way from London to Liverpool. The guard managed to pull the communication cord, despite having ammon thrown in his face. The men escaped, but British Rail says that or one mail bag was stolen. The junior transport minister, Mr Peter Stone, has said that railw staff may face tests for alcohol under new powers being considere by the government. Blood or breath tests would be made if there were doubts about whether a railman arriving for work had been drinking, or if alcohol was thought to have played a part in an accident. British Nuclear Fuels has revealed that eleven workers at its Sellafield plant in Cumbria were affected by a leak of plutonium days ago, not two as was thought at first. One man received a dose} of radiation which is regarded by the company as the maximum level for a whole year. He is said to have suffered no ill effects, British Nuclear Fuels is carrying out more tests on the eleven workers. Altogether seventy-one workers were examined. The preliminary findings of an enquiry by the health and safe examiners say the accident was a minor one which was unlikely to have had any effects beyond the plant itself. In the United States the firm that makes the pain-killing drug Nuradex has offered a one thousand dollar reward for informatiot leading to the arrest of whoever laced two bottles of its product wi cyanide. A week ago a young woman in Westchester, just outside New York City, died after taking a capsule of poisoned Nuradex Yesterday another contaminated bottle was found. 1.9 Guided role plays Students improvise a conversation by following a flow-chart with functional labels. Elementary to lower intermediate 5-10 minutes To help students get over the feeling of being tongue-tied. Varied, according to the situation chosen.ORGANIZATION PREPARATION PROCEDURE EXAMPLE 1 EXAMPLE 2 FOLLOW-UP REMARK PREPARING THE GROUND Pairs, or groups of three. Design a functional flow-chart (as in the examples below), on whatever functions you wish your students to use. These will probably be linked to other course work. Make photocopies of the flow-chart for the whole class. 1 Divide the class into pairs, or groups of three. 2 Give out the flow-charts. 3 Ask the students to decide who is A and who is B, and then improvise a conversation. 4 If there are three students in the group, re-run the situation, switching roles. At the railway station ‘Student A-traveller ‘Student B-rallway clerk ask for ticket to London check return or single ? return check 1st or 2nd class ? 2nd class ive ticket exclaim ticket is single apologize, give correct ticket | Atthe pet shop Student A-customer ‘Student B-shopkeeper ‘greet the shopkeeper respond to greeting «sk for price of pet of your choice sive price ‘exclaim how expensive itis explain why expensive ‘agree to buy pet explain how to look aftr it ‘xpress thanks say goodbye Ask your students to write down the dialogue, and then act it out for the rest of the class, ‘This type of guided role play is found in many course books. It ‘sometimes presents a problem because the functional explanations can be a lot more complicated than the dialogue itself. However it is adaptable to any situation and is a useful prop for students in the carly stages.LANGUAGE ORGANIZATION PREPARATION _ PROCEDURE PREPARING THE GROUND 1.10 Picture role plays Students use photographs to help them identify with a specific person in a particular situation. Upper elementary upwards 15 minutes To help students with ideas for role play, and to make them less self-conscious. Structures: the simple past, I could see/hear. Funetion: narrating dramatic events. Pairs or small groups, You will need some photographs which reflect your class’s needs (see the examples below). 1 Group the class according to the number of people in the photograph, (ideally pairs or groups of three) 2. Ask each student in the groups to identify with a different per in the photograph. 3 Ask them to write down an imaginary biography of the perso or she has chosen. 4 Give your students time to think about the person they have chosen, and make sure they all feel confident to talk about what happening in the photograph before you proceed. 5. Ask your students to interview each other in their roles,VARIATION REMARK LEVEL TIME AIM LANGUAGE ORGANIZATION PREPARATION PROCEDURE FOLLOW-UP PREPARING THE GROUND Itis possible to use photographs of crowd scenes in the same way, such as an oil tanker sinking at sea, with a rescue operation going on, or a riot scene. As the focus of this activity is less clear, itis better to use the main activity first. In more advanced groups, prompt the students to ask such questions as: — What were you thinking about? — Were you worried for your own safety?, etc. 1.11 Eye-witness accounts Students fill in a questionnaire, in an interview situation. Upper elementary upwards 20 minutes To help students to improvise by giving them questions to answer. Structures: the interrogative, the past tense Functions: reporting an event, asking questions. Pairs, or groups of three. Make photocopies of one of the questionnaires on pages 42 or 43, or, if you prefer, prepare a questionnaire of your own and make photocopies. 1 Explain the situation you have chosen. Make sure that all your students understand. 2. Divide the students into pairs, or groups of three, A, B, (and C). 3 Give student A the appropriate questionnaire and ask him or her to fil it in by asking student B questions. Insist that he or she formulates the questions correctly, and does not simply show the form to his or her partner. For example, in situation 1, the first question will be: How many people were there? 4 Explain to student B in each group that he or she must invent answers to the questions, and that the answers must be as plausible and coherent as possible. 5 When student A in each group has completed his or her questionnaire, the roles should be changed and another role play undertaken. Ask your students to write up the event they have just role-played for the local newspaper, telling them not to forget the headline.PREPARING THE GROUND REMARKS 1 Itis very important to get the students to sit ‘communicatively’ opposite each other in this activity. Otherwise they will simply fi in the form together. 2 tis possible to get the students to write their own questionnain in the first stage of this activity. 3 Some students will carry out these activities as simple information transfer exercises, whereas others will turn them inte full role plays. 4 To begin with, let the weaker students ask the questions and better students take the lion’s share. 5 In low-level classes, use the first part of the questionnaire only design simpler ones, SITUATION 1 ‘An armed robbery at the local bank is reported to the police. LITTLE HAVEN LOCAL CONSTABULARY Record of criminal events No. of people present __ Type of arms carried —_ Were the arms used to threaten? No. of shots fired No. of victims Means of escape _ Detailed description of gangsters: Height _—_ Build _ Hair Colouring Clothes, _— Distinguishing features Any other comments _PREPARING THE GROUND 8 SITUATION 2 A farmer is reporting the strange disease his or her cows are suffering from to the local veterinary inspector (over the telephone). Veterinary report sheet ‘Type of animal concerned No. of animals concerned Date when symptoms started ‘Type of symptoms: Lack of appetite Listlessness _ —_ Lowering of milk yield — - Signs of discomfort _ = Signs of distress - VARIATIONS The same technique can be used in an interview situation, for example: ‘SITUATION 1 ‘Student A is a house agent taking down particulars about the property that student B requires. The Patmore Estate Agents Particulars of customer's requirements Price range Town or country _ Near bus route or shops _ Near schools = No, of reception rooms | No. of bedrooms ee Now, period, or converted propery Garden: arge or small Other particularsPREPARING THE GROUND SITUATION 2 Student A is a doctor for an insurance company. You are interviewing student B, a prospective client. Medical information Name —_ _ Age eS Height (without shoes) Weight __ Have you ever had any: 1 Physical handicap 2 Psychiatric illness ___ 3 Accidents which needed medical treatment 4 Long absences from work Give details of the following where relevant: 1 Special diet _ = 2 Medicines taken over the past year _ 3 Amount of alcohol consumed each week 4 Quantities of cigarettes/cigars/tobacco smoked per day ___ ‘This person can/cannot be accepted for our normal insurance policy. Signed Chief medical officer NOTE: Youmay make photocopies of thee qustionirs for classroom ase (but plese nse ‘copyright aw dono normally pest maple copying of published mate Other situations involving interviews could be: accidents, incid involving famous people, and market research surveys on speci products.2 Off the cuff Introduction Improvised role plays are extremely useful in that they develop students’ creativity with language. However, they may take a little while to get used to. There are two main difficulties: 1 Students who are not used to role play are stuck for ideas and do not know what to say. 2. Students may know what they want to say, but may not have the necessary language to do so In consequence, when preparing this type of role play, itis very important to bear in mind that students may require help, both with ideas and with language. In this section of the book, ways of stimulating ideas are suggested in the warm-up phase, and on the role cards. Techniques for eliciting students’ own personal experience, photographs, charts and diagrams, functional guides, and reading texts are used. As for the language, it is assumed that the students will have been presented with some relevant structures earlier, and that the role play is the active phase of the learning. Even so, it is often a good idea to elicit certain appropriate structures and vocabulary before the activity begins, and leave these on the blackboard for reference. ‘Some help can be given on the role cards, but these should not be overloaded or the students will be tempted to follow them too closely and simply recite the structures offered, instead of developing their own resources. If the dramatic dimension of the role play is lacking, do not be disappointed, and do not let your students be disappointed. Remember that role play is nota performance, but a process. Your students will have learnt something from the experience even if they remain convinced that they are only third-rate actors and actresses. The British (x e©0¢LANGUAGE, ORGANIZATION PREPARATION wart PROCEDURE FACTSHEET _ OFF THE CUFF 2.1 Neighbours: may I borrow. . Neighbours attempt to borrow things they have run out of. Upper elementary 10 minutes To encourage students to improvise, using certain recently acquired structures repeatedly in a game-like situation which will maintain interest. Structures: May. . .?, some and any. Function: polite requests. Groups of four or six students. ‘Make photocopies of the fact sheet below for each group. Prepare picture cards similar to those opposite. Ask students what they would do on a Sunday evening if they rar. out of something they needed in order to make dinner. Ask wha kind of things they borrow from their neighbours. If your studer. are too young to have real neighbours, ask them to imagine what they might borrow, or to think about what their mothers or fathe: might borrow from their neighbours. 1 Organize the class into groups of four or six students. Explain that while they are doing the role play they will be talking in pair within the group. 2. Distribute the fact sheet to each group, and ask the students to read it. Make sure that they all understand the situation before y goon. 3 Distribute the picture cards. Make sure that the students know the following: what they must try to borrows what they are trying to cook; what they may lend to other students. 4 Ask the students to start the role play. Go round the class mak: sure that they are following the instructions, You are expecting important visitors tonight. You have been cooking for them, but suddenly you find you have run out of a vit ingredient. It is Sunday and the shops are shut. You must borrow from one of your neighbours — the other people in your group. Remember to be polite. Explain why you need the ingredient so urgently (decide what you are cooking). If you cannot find what \ want, you must think of an alternative NOTE: You may make photocopies of thi fact het for lsiom we bu pleasent th ‘copyright lat doesnot normally perms maple coping of publihed aeraOFF THE CUFF You want: g B You have lots of: FOLLOW-UP1 __Ask your students to write the dialogue, either in pairs, or for homework. FOLLOW-UP 2 Ask the students to write the recipe for whatever they were trying to make.LANGUAGE. ORGANIZATION PREPARATION WARM-UP. PROCEDURE OFF THE CUFF 2.2 Neighbours: would you mind. Students complain to their neighbours who are disturbing them, Lower intermediate upwards 5-15 minutes ‘To provide a functional role play with sufficient guidance for the students not to be at a loss for something to say. Functions: polite requests, apologies, suggestions. Pairs, or groups of three students. Prepare enough role cards marked A for half the class, and enow marked B for the other half, See the examples opposite. Read out this extract which deals with attitudes to neighbours in Britain, How does the situation differ for individual students, an. for the situation in general in their country? ‘© Nearly haif those we spoke to rackon to know by name eleven or more of their neighbours. A quarter know 20 or more. ‘© Most of our sample think well oftheir neighbours. Nine in ten say that their neighbourhood is friendly’, while only five per cent complain that the neighbours are ‘nosey’ and three per cent that they are " snobbish’ © 86 per cent of adults have done at least something to help a neighbour in the past year. Most have done several favours of one kine cr another. ‘© Only one in five people say they've had any problgm at all with their neighbours over the past two years. The rest did not have a single ‘complaint. ‘© Three in five people speak to a neighbour atleast once a day. Only cone in ten say that they speak to a neighbour less than once a week, 1 Elicit from your students, and list on the blackboard, any reas they may have to complain to a neighbour — parties, loud radios, and do-it-yourself addicts will probably be suggested, but the students should be encouraged to think of other causes, 2. Divide the class into pairs ~ student A and student B. If there is an odd number in the class, make one group of three, with two students sharing a role. 3 Ask each pair to select one situation from the suggestions on the blackboard.FOLLOW-UP 1 ROLE CARD B. LEVEL s TIME AIM. LANGUAGE ORGANIZATION _ PREPARATION OFF THE CUFF 4 Distribute the role cards—card A to student A, and B to student B—and ask the students to role-play their situation. 5 Circulate around the class making sure that the students are doing the activity, but being careful not to interrupt or inhibit them. 6 When one situation has been exhausted, the pairs may choose another situation and change roles. Bring the whole class together, and ask for a list of rules for good neighbours, e.g. what people should and should not do. Write the list on the blackboard and initiate a discussion. Ask your students to write a letter of complaint to their neighbour after a week or so, when the situation has not improved. Complain politely. Give reasons why itis very important that you should not be disturbed, for example, you need to sleep as you have to get up early in the morning; you are feeling unwell; you cannot hear your own music, etc. Remain polite and friendly, even if your neighbour is not very helpful. Apologize for disturbing your neighbour. Explain why it is impossible to stop whatever it is you are doing. Make suggestions tohelp your neighbour, for example, earplugs, soundproofing, ask him or her to come to the party, suggest he or she changes their routine. Remain polite and friendly, but do not agree to change your habits. 2.3 More functional role plays ‘These are simple situations based on activity 2.2 on page 48, which allow students to use specific functions. Elementary upwards 5-15 minutes To develop students’ responses in simple situations. Varied, according to the situation. Pairs, or groups of three students. ‘You will need to prepare role cards with matching functions, and include an element of confit Se example ole carson pages 50 None. These activities will probably be related to other class work.PROCEDURE ROLE CARD A ROLE CARD B VARIATION 1 VARIATION 2 VARIATION 3 ROLE CARD A ROLE CARD B. OFF THE CUFF 1 Divide the students into pairs, or groups of three if there is am odd number in the class. 2 Explain the situation. Use photographs where possible as af oon the activity. Check that the students understand the situation before you go on, 3 Distribute the role cards to each pair and begin the role play. 4. Afier a predetermined time ask each pair to come to some agreement or compromise. If you wish, you can ask the student swop roles and do the role play again. ‘The following are examples of situations you can use. Prepare role cards as for activity 2.2. Complaining or apologizing You are a student. You are complaining to your course tutor th you have been put in the wrong group as a result of your placen test, and that the lessons are too easy or too difficult. You want change groups. You are a course tutor. You listen toa complaint from one of y students who wants to change groups. You apologize, but expla that there is no room in any other group for the moment. Atthe dry cleaners: you say that the cleaners have ruined a dres pair of trousers that you left for cleaning, and you want a refund ‘The cleaner is apologetic, but says itis not his or her fault. At the reception desk of a hotel: the client is complaining that hi her room is not what was booked. He or she insists on another room. The receptionist is apologetic, but explains that no other rooms are available for the moment. At the travel agents: the client is complaining about a holi ‘was not as good as the description in the travel brochure. He or wants a refund. The travel agent is apologetic, but can only offe reduction on another holiday Asking for or offering information You are trying to book a room in a hotel over the telephone. Yor are asking about the different rooms that are available, for exa price, situation, size, facilities, etc. None of them is what you wi You are a hotel receptionist. You are on the telephone. You are describing the various rooms available at your hotel to a prospe client who is rather difficult. You should remain polite and hel You should try to secure a booking.VARIATION 1 VARIATION 2 ROLE CARD A ROLE CARD B VARIATION 1 VARIATION 2 REMARKS ROLECARDA ROLE CARD B ROLE CARD A ROLE CARD B OFF THE CUFF Buying a car: a customer is finding out about different models of cars, none of which satisfies his or her needs. The car salesman keeps suggesting different models in order to persuade the customer to buy one. At the railway station: a traveller is finding out about the times of trains he or she wants to take, but none of them seems to suit him or her. The railway clerk should remain polite and helpful, and should keep making new suggestions of train times. Persuading or reacting to persuasion You are a customer in a clothes shop. You are trying to geta reduction from the shop assistant on a dress or pair of trousers which is slightly imperfect. You are a shop assistant, A customer is trying to geta reduction on an imperfect dress or pair of trousers. At first you must refuse, then compromise on a small reduction. ‘Two friends talking: friend A is trying to persuade friend B to go with him or her to a restaurant, cinema, or party, but friend B does not seem too enthusiastic. Friend B must make excuses for not going. Friend A keeps persuading until friend B agrees to go. At the lost property office: you are trying to persuade the lost property clerk to give you back your lost handbag or briefcase, but he or she will not do so unless you can prove that itis yours. Very simple short role plays of this type can be used with beginners, for example: Shopping You are a customer in a cake shop. You want a birthday cake for a friend. He or she is very fond of chocolate. You are a shop assistant in a cake shop. You have many kinds of cake, but not chocolate cake. Ata hotel You are a client. You are talking to the hotel receptionist. You want aroom with a bath. You are a hotel receptionist. You have no rooms with baths at the moment. ‘These types of role plays are common in textbooks and easy to use, once the students get used to them,se LEVEL TIME AIM LANGUAGE ORGANIZATION PREPARATION WARM-UP. PROCEDU! OFF THE CUFF 2.4 The scene of the crime Students read a short crime article, and relate the event as if the had just witnessed it Lower intermediate upwards 20-30 minutes To encourage students to improvise, using information they has read in short articles. Structure: the past tense. Function: narrating dramatic events. Pairs, or groups of three students. Make enough photocopies of the short, dramatic articles on pag 53 and 54, for the pairs of students. If you wish, you can make your own short stories to suit your particular students. Ask your students if they have any stories they can tell of acrin that they may have witnessed. If they are reticent, you should provide a story from your own experience. The stories can be tr hearsay, or well-known events. 1 Write the following article on the blackboard and ask the wh class to read it silently: Raiders made away with £200 from an Indian take-away, but now police are hot on their trail. For owner, Jayanta Patel, th steaming hot vindaloo curry over them. Police in Oxford said yesterday: ‘We are looking for someone smelling very curry. 2. When the students have had time to digest the story, wipe the blackboard clean, and ask them, in turn, to recount the episode! they were eye-witnesses. The suggestions will vary according to| level of the class. A lower intermediate class will probably just contribute sentences in the past tense, but an upper intermediat. class might want to make the following type of suggestions, for dramatic effect: You'll never believe this, but . I couldn't believe my eves. Out came the owner after them 3 Divide the clas isan odd number. 4 Distribute the stories, and ask the students to read one of the articles silently. Make sure that each member of the pair or gro\ reads a different story. into pairs (A and B), or a group of three, if tREMARKS. VARIATION 1 VARIATION 2 NEWSPAPER ARTICLE A OFF THE CUFF 5 Ask each student, in turn, to recount the story he or she has just. read to the other member(s) of the pair or group, as if the event has just happened. Tell them that they may ask each other questions, and may invent details if they wish to. 1 During step 5 of the activity, when the students are telling their story, encourage them to have in mind who they are talking to— their families, their friends, their colleagues — for this will influence the way they tell the story. 2 Make sure that the students have put the original article away before they begin the role play. ‘You can use short accounts of accidents, demonstrations, or strange or spectacular events in the same way. Photographs can be used, for example, a burglary, a bank robbery, etc. as prompts for the same kind of eye-witness accounts. To give the activity more focus you can ask the students to concentrate on how they felt at the time of the event Imagine you were one of the customers in the pub. Pub b into the pub to get some lunch. u ANS Tie landlord took one look at my hair and said that I must leave without being served.” irl [told him I was a respect- a gir able person with a job and a mortgage, but he said it made no difference.” Samantha, of _ Stanwood wi th red Road, Bicton, said: ‘I only changed my hair to red 10 brighten up the dull January 5 days.” h air She was refused service by Bill Goose, general manager of the pub and restaurant, when she walked in with her 19-year- A pretty girl has been barred old brother, Timothy from a town centre pub - Mr Goose said: ‘The gicl’s because she dyed her hair red. hair was red and very bright. Samantha Thomas, 24, was She stuck out like a_ sore shown the door when she pop- thumb among the pensioners ped into the Tudor pub in here drinking Guinness. I Shrewsbury, Shropshire. She asked her politely to leave but said yesterday: ‘I had just gone she got a bit naughty.”NEWSPAPER ARTICLE B NEWSPAPER ARTICLE C OFF THE CUFF Imagine you were a passing motorist. WOMAN WAS SHOT AFTER CAR ‘A man will appear in court today charged with murdering a woman shot yesterday as she got out of a car following a crash. She was named a: Debbie Clark, 28 Greenfield near Hull, a ger in a Ford driven year-old garage me John Smith, which with a Mini in Woodfield, Mr — Smith, also Greenfield, was in a condition in hospital last with shot-gun injuries face and hands sustained incident at breakfast ti Police said a man ar near the scene was bei at Newtown police where he would be before appearing at W magistrates court. Imagine you were one of the policemen. Police raided a High Street bank yesterday ... to free four Mrs Mopps trapped in a lift. ‘The officers and firemen had to smash a window and break in because the stranded ladies had bolted the door behind them. And afterwards, one police- man said: ‘We've never been called on to raid a bank before, but there was no alte The ladies were very see us. They were despe: 20 to the toilet.” whe cleaners spent hours in the jammed lift the husband of one re them missing. Detectives raced National branch in stock, fearing the wom Davies, said: ‘Very the ladies had bolted the from the inside when th went home, but it me: couldn’t use our keys to and free them. We're grateful that one of thei bands phoned the police one could hear them sh for help.’ NOTE: You may make phrocopie ofthese articles fr laeraom wie (bu pleare note ha. lees doesnot arn permit lil copying of published material,LEVEL TIME AIM. LANGUAGE ORGANIZATION PREPARATION WARM-UP, PROCEDURE OFF THECUFF 3s 2.5 The journalist’s investigation Students read about a strike and then imagine they are one of the strikers being interviewed by a journalist. Intermediate upwards 30-45 minutes ‘To encourage students to improvise using the information they have gathered from a reading text, and on which they have taken notes. Functions Vocabulary isking questions, expressing claims. work and strikes, Pairs, or groups of three students. You will need copies of three different newspaper articles (see the ‘examples on pages 56-58), Ina brainstorming session with the whole class, elicit some of the reasons why people go on strike. List the reasons on the blackboard for the students to refer to later in the main activity. 1 Divide the class into pairs, or groups of three. 2 Distribute the newspaper articles to each student. Make sure that cach pair has a different article, i.e. one has article A and the other has article B. If there are three students in a group, make sure he or she has article C. 3. Ask each student to read his or her article, and make notes on This can be done for homework, if you wish. 4 (Optional). Suggest or elicit from the group the type of questions, and answers they will need during the activity, for example: ‘The journalist = How long is the strike going to last? = What are your demands? ~ Is there a'minimum you are prepared to accept? ‘The striker: — What we wants. . = We can’t accept... = We'll have to wait till after the meeting 5 Ask the students, in turn, to role-play a character involved in the strike that they have read about. The other student(s) role-plays the journalist(s) who is getting the story, and finding out why the strike is taking place.