‘D‘which link to the central topic. Examples for this one could be ‘disaster’,
‘deep water’, ‘driving too fast’, and so on.
11 Homophones. Draw a sketch of (say) a witch, and ask learners for another
word (which) sounding the same as the word represented by the sketch.
Then get learners in groups to take turns doing the same thing. They will
need plenty of thinking time!
12 Scrabble. This commercially available game can be adapted for learners
whose command of language is relatively high. Allow learners to use
electronic spellcheckers, or the spellcheck facilities on computers (or, of
course, dictionaries).26 Role play
Role play, in some form or another, is a part of many contemporary language
courses. Where learners are willing to enter into the spirit of role play, such
activities provide a valuable opportunity for them to use their language resources
creatively in a wide variety of imagined situations. Some people make a
distinction between simulation—where learners are pretending to be themselves,
but in a simulated situation—and role play, where they are pretending to be
someone else. We use the term role play to cover both possibilities—it is up to
you to decide which technique, or which combination of the two, is most
appropriate for your learners. The following suggestions may give you some
ideas upon which to base role play exercises for your learners.
1 Set out to make role play fun. Point out the benefits to learners in terms of
opportunities for language use. Help them to see role play as a challenge,
but not as a threat; don’t come down heavily if they find it hard to be
creative, especially at first. Then, as they get into the swing of things,
discourage any tendencies for them to engage in role play too competitively.
2 Keep role play relatively private. It is best to carry out role play activities
in twos and threes, and only to ask for public displays when you feel sure
learners are ready. Let learners know in advance if you plan to ask some
groups to show their work to the rest of the class, and choose groups who
will be happy to perform.
3 Let learners themselves choose which groups to work in. Some learners
will prefer to do role play activities in the comfort of single gender pairs or
threes, or with their friends in the class. The more relaxed learners are, the
more they will get out of role play activities.
4 Provide clear briefings for planned role play activities. Give details of
the characters and scenarios in written form where appropriate. You can
decide whether you want all the members of each group to know all these
details, or whether you intend to spring some surprises.48 LANGUAGE WORK IN THE CLASSROOM