1.2. Benefits of Teaching through Role-Play
Role-playing is an effective teaching technique that has been used for many
years in language classrooms to teach language teaching . Role-play is an interactive
activity that allows students to take on different roles and act out a scenario. It is a
fun and engaging way to teach language teaching , as it encourages students to
communicate with each other in a natural and realistic way. In this article, we will
discuss the benefits of teaching language teaching through role-play.
Role-playing helps students to build confidence in their speaking abilities.
When students are asked to speak in front of the class, they often feel nervous and
self-conscious, which can affect their performance. However, when they are given a
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"Drama and Education: Performance Methodologies for Teaching and Learning" edited by Manon van
de Water and David Montgomery, 2017, p-32
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role to play, they become more relaxed and confident because they are not speaking
as themselves but as someone else.
Role-playing helps students improve their fluency by providing them with
opportunities to practice their language teaching in a realistic context. When
students engage in role-play activities, they must use the language they have learned
in class and apply it to real-life situations. This helps them become more fluent
speakers because they are using the language in a meaningful way. Role-playing
also helps students enhance their vocabulary by exposing them to new words and
phrases. During role-play activities, students are required to use specific vocabulary
related to the scenario they are acting out. This encourages them to learn new words
and phrases that they may not have encountered before
Role-playing is an excellent way for students to develop their communication
skills. During role-play activities, students must listen carefully to what their partner
is saying and respond appropriately. This helps them develop active listening skills
and learn how to communicate effectively with others.
Role-playing encourages creativity by allowing students to be imaginative
and create their own scenarios based on real-life situations or fictional stories. This
helps them develop their creativity and imagination, which is an essential skill for
language learners
Role-playing can also help students build cultural awareness by exposing
them to different cultures and ways of life. When students engage in role-play
activities, they must consider the cultural background of the person they are playing.
This helps them understand and appreciate different cultures and ways of life
Role-playing provides instant feedback to students, which is essential for their
learning process. When students engage in role-play activities, they receive
immediate feedback from their partner or teacher. This helps them identify their
strengths and weaknesses and work on improving their language teaching .
Finally, role-playing makes learning fun by providing students with an
opportunity to use their imagination and creativity while learning a new language. It
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is a fun and engaging way to teach language teaching that keeps students motivated
and interested in learning
In conclusion, teaching language teaching through role-play activities has
many benefits for language learners. It increases confidence, improves fluency,
enhances vocabulary, develops communication skills, encourages creativity, builds
cultural awareness, provides instant feedback, and makes learning fun. Therefore, it
is an excellent teaching technique that should be included in language classrooms to
help students become more effective speakers of the target language.
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As the
preliminary aim of the session is to enhance the language teaching of the learners,
the teachers should try to motivate them whenever they feel nervous or disappointed.
From these sessions, the learners’ language teaching will be developed and with
this motivation, the learners can perform very well in their job interviews, prepare
their own speeches, and even guide their peers. Without any hesitation, one can say
that those who develop their communication skills through these sessions will create
wonders and make miracles in their life. With these sessions, the learners develop
not only their language teaching , but also get a good command over their vocabulary
and grammar. Even though sessions seem to be very short, but they enhance the
learners' confidence, fluency and time management skills. Hence, the English
language teachers are suggested to implement this kind of activities in their
classrooms as a regular practice.
Another important activity that develops the English language learners'
language teaching is an ‘Impromptu Speech’ or ‘Extempore’. Most speeches are
structured, well prepared in advance and prepared with careful planning, revision
and practice. An impromptu speech is a talk that the speaker gives spontaneously
without any preparation. Whatever the topic may be, the speaker is expected to say
something witty, smart and charming. Even the topic for the speech is given on the
spot; the learners will have almost always with some advance knowledge on it. These
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"Interactive Dialogue Sequences in Middle School EFL Classrooms: A Grounded Theory Approach to
Teaching Speaking Through Role-Play" by Sinem Söylemez, 2017,p-80
15
impromptu speeches bring out the inherent talent of the learners as they have to
deliver a speech on the given topic with zero preparation time.
Moreover, the speakers have to understand that their speech has to stand out
and be hailed as the best at the end of the session. In this case, the speakers must be
shrewd, intelligent and smart. These qualities help the speakers influence their
colleagues or peers and leave an indelible impression in the hearts of the audience.
It is the duty of the teachers to teach their learners some important techniques and
ideas to keep in their back pockets. Hence, the teachers should teach the learners
about the familiarity of some mechanics such as the duration of the speech, the way
the session goes on, the theme of the questions and so on.
Then, the teachers should also advise the learners to engage with the audience
by maintaining eye contact, by injecting humour on and off and by creating an
organized speech with a good opening including some related quotations or adages.
Moreover, the teachers have to encourage the learners to be with happy thoughts as
it boosts the learners' confidence. Therefore, the teachers have to motivate the
learners to impress the audience using various styles and techniques mentioned
above. There is no doubt that the English language teachers have freedom to apply
any suitable techniques that develop the communicative competence of the learners,
but they have to implement them sincerely with more commitment to their
profession. The teachers should understand that merely completing the whole
syllabus was the concept of the old generation teachers, but now it is the
responsibility of the present generation teachers to concentrate more on application-
based activities that enhance the learners’ required skills.
Information Gap Activities Another spoken interaction activity that takes
place in the English language classroom is ‘Information Gap Activities’. Harmer
says, “Where two speakers have different parts of information making up a whole,
because they have different information, there is a gap between them”. Gap activities
are the most useful activities to promote a foreign language or second language
acquisition.
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According to Hedge, “These provide negotiation of meaning and the
conversational adjustment which push students to more accurate output”. He further
says, “These involve each learner in pair or group processing information which the
other learners do not have. These activities have requirements for information
exchange”. Information gap activities are useful for various reasons. They provide
an opportunity for speaking practice and real communication. The English language
teachers can motivate the learners to acquire different skills such as clarifying
meaning and rephrasing. There are other typical types of information gap activities
including describe and draw, spot the difference, jigsaw reading and listening and
split dictations
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