PLAYING THE RIGHT ROLE

Role Play Book
Lesley Painter
English Shop Online, New York, 2000. $34.95

For any ESL or EFL teacher who has had difficulty coming up with engaging and motivating role-plays, this book will not disappoint you.

I have always found that role-plays are an inexhaustible resource in class because by their very nature they offer students fun, real fluency work and clear goals. Lesley Painter's collection of role-plays and activities is no exception. They possess many positive features. The roles are funny, creative, useful and extremely motivating for the learners.

Another important quality of this book can be found in its topics. The author has carefully chosen true to life role-play topics that will not date.

Furthermore, each role-play (thirty in all) is fully photocopiable with clear precise instructions. The author directs not only in the running of the role-play but also in the activities that can frame the role-play within an entire lesson. She also lists the language structures needed in each role-play and the suggested language level of the learners. The role plays have a range of appropriate levels from elementary to advanced. There is also a mixture of group sizing from as few as pairs to as large as 18 in a class. All of the role plays can be adapted to accommodate the groups.

The role play, for example, "Get me on that Plane" provides each student with a role and an aim; students need to persuade the airport administrators to allow them to get on a flight to Rome that is fully booked. Each student has a role and a good reason as to why he or she should get to Rome. For instance, an English teacher who needs to begin a contract, a business person who is negotiating a tricky business deal and a mother who must visit her traveling daughter, who appears to be in trouble with the police.
The role play suggests that you begin the lesson by putting the students into pairs to discuss travel experiences (probably an overbooked flight will be mentioned), lead the students onto how they dealt with the problems/experiences and then deal with the necessary language. A lot of time is spent preparing the students so as to give them time to negotiate the language that they need. I doubt students will say, "I didn't know what to say" or " It was boring" or "What was the point?" The book is clearly signposted and helps the students identify what they are learning. I love to hear students ask "Can we do it again?" when we use this book.

All in all, the clear and easy-to-follow instructions and the ease with which the role plays can be incorporated into any lesson guarantee that every student will have plenty of useful speaking practice.
I highly recommend this book to teachers of all levels because it facilitates the use of role plays in the classroom. More importantly, it motivates students, especially those who are shy to speak. The book is available at the publisher's website at www.englishshoponline.com

Ian Gordon is an ESL teacher at Prep Test, an English language tutoring center in New York City.