Subject: [IFETS-DISCUSSION:1117] Re: role-play methodology
From: adamson (adamson@mail.sp.myu.ac.jp)
Date: Wed 14 Feb 2001 - 01:30:15 MET
From: "adamson" <adamson@mail.sp.myu.ac.jp> Subject: [IFETS-DISCUSSION:1117] Re: role-play methodology Date: Wed, 14 Feb 2001 09:30:15 +0900
Role play is used extensively in language education, which is my field.
However, Michael Cenkner's methodology differs in one essential point from
the way that may langauge teachers organize the activity. That difference is
that the students prepare in groups rather than doing individual
preparation.
I teach nursing English in a university level school of nursing. For
simplicity's sake, let's say that my goal is to have the students explore
the interactions that take place between a nurse, the patient and the
doctor. I would set the situation as Cenkner does in the configuration
phase, but during the learning phase I would replace the individual
preparation with group preparations. To do this I would random assign the
students to each of the roles. The students would then come together in
three groups: nurses, patients and doctors. The groups would then discuss
the configuration data and decide what paths the conversation might follow,
what things they would need to say or ask,
what things the other two participants might say or ask, and responses they
would need to make to these things. They would do this without consultation
with the other groups.
During the second stage of Cenkner's learning phase, a student is randomly
selected from each role group and they perform the role play with the other
students observing. This is repeat three or four times. Finally there is a
feedback session in which the whole group discusses what happened. Intended
meanings are clarify, the confusions straighten out, and the teacher
supplies additional language or proposes actions that would have been
appropriate but were not introduced by the students during either the role
plays or the feedback session.
Evaluation could consist of any or all of Cenker's categories but would
begin during the student preparation stage and continue through the role
play and the feedback sessions.
While I have never done this using computers in a network, there is no
reason that I can see that would prohibit it.
To change the subject a bit, recently this discussion has focused on what
subject matter is appropriate for role plays. I know of a teacher who taught
machine language computer programming through role plays. The individual
students acted in the role of a bit and could change from 0 to 1. The room
was laid out with chairs to represent registers and the other physical
locations in the computer. The students then moved from place to place,
changing from 0 to 1 as appropriate. This may be the simplest practical role
play, at least in terms of the freedom that is allowed the students.
Charles Adamson, Ph.D.
Professor, Faculty of Nursing
Miyagi University
1 Gakuen, Taiwa-cho, Kurokawa-gun
Miyagi-ken 981-3298, Japan
page <michael-cenkner@home.com>
To: IFETS-Discussion <ifets-discussion@catfish.valdosta.edu>
Sent: Tuesday, February 13, 2001 4:04 PM
Subject: [IFETS-DISCUSSION:1095] role-play methodology
> Hi all,
> Please follow URL for very abriged version of my own methodology for
> role-play. Coming from a language (EFL) background, I've often used
> role-plays in teaching, "You are Madame Blanche, you are buying oranges
> from Monsieur Thibeault..." This method provides learners with an
> application opportunity to accompany "book learning." It has its
> problems though:
> 1. Usually ad-hoc preparation of students.
> 2. Difficulty of sourcing material.
> 3. Difficulty of evaluation.
> I've been exploring how technology can help. I've been developing a
> data-base, interface and e-mail system to make this kind of activity
> more systematic. At the same time, it does promise to be deliverable at
> a distance.
> This page is only a one-page overview, comments
> welcome.
> http://www.ualberta.ca/~mcenkner/michaelCenkner2/solocombo.htm
>
> Michael Cenkner
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