If you are working with young children, try to exploit their natural ability to 'play'. Students working in the business world may find it easy to role-play a business meeting with colleagues visiting from abroad. This may involve using some L1 to explain about the local culture or to translate local menus into English for the guest to their country. However, it may be within their schema to imagine they have been asked to help an English speaker who is visiting their own country. It may be hard for students who have little opportunity to travel to imagine they are in 'Ye Olde Tea Shop' in the heart of the English countryside. Try to keep the roles you ask students to play as real to life as possible. Students can even leave the room and make an entrance by knocking on the door. If you are imagining you are at the tourist information office or at the doctor's surgery try to make it as real as you can. As soon as it was placed on their heads they 'became' the pizza chef and acted accordingly. A simple cone of white card with CHEF written on it took a minute to make and I believe it made the whole process more fun and memorable for the class.

A group of my young learners recently played the roles of pizza chef and customer. Realia and props can really bring a role-play to life.

Participant - It is sometimes appropriate to get involved and take part in the role-play yourself.Spectator - The teacher watches the role-play and offers comments and advice at the end.If rehearsal time is appropriate the feeding in of new language should take place at this stage. Facilitator - students may need new language to be 'fed' in by the teacher.At higher levels the students will not need so much support with the language but they will need time to 'get into' the role. When the role-play began the students felt 'armed' with the appropriate language. I recently did a 'lost property office' role-play with elementary adults and we spent time beforehand drilling the structures the students would need to use. Students may need the extra support of having the language on the board. Try to think through the language the students will need and make sure this language has been presented. Role-play is possible at elementary levels providing the students have been thoroughly prepared. Mistakes can be made with no drastic consequences. Real situations can be created and students can benefit from the practice. In addition to these reasons, students who will at some point travel to an English-speaking country are given a chance to rehearse their English in a safe environment. The world of the classroom is broadened to include the outside world - thus offering a much wider range of language opportunities.Quieter students get the chance to express themselves in a more forthright way.Jeremy Harmer advocates the use of role-play for the following reasons: It is widely agreed that learning takes place when activities are engaging and memorable. 'At the restaurant', 'Checking in at the airport', 'Looking for lost property' are all possible role-plays. Imaginary situations - Functional language for a multitude of scenarios can be activated and practised through role-play. 'For and Against' debates can be used and the class can be split into those who are expressing views in favour and those who are against the theme.

the choice is endless! Students can also take on the opinions of someone else. Imaginary people - The joy of role-play is that students can 'become' anyone they like for a short time! The President, the Queen, a millionaire, a pop star РІР‚В¦РІР‚В¦. Role-play is any speaking activity when you either put yourself into somebody else's shoes, or when you stay in your own shoes but put yourself into an imaginary situation! Therefore, if you think positive and have a go, you may be pleasantly surprised! However, if the teacher isn't convinced about the validity of using role-play the activity 'will fall flat on its face just as you expected it to' (Gillian Porter Ladousse 1987). If the teacher believes that the activity will work and the necessary support is provided, it can be very successful. Incorporating role-play into the classroom adds variety, a change of pace and opportunities for a lot of language production and also a lot of fun! It can be an integral part of the class and not a 'one-off' event.

School roleplay online