News: Role-Playing to Ignite Student Passion

Hi all, take a look at the MindShift article below which features using Role-Playing Games to ignite students' passions for learning. There are many applications to your language courses regardless of level:

Role Playing Game Ignites Fire in Students

Let us know what you think! Connect with us @C_LaCross

Genuine or Counterfeit?

This is a role play I did with my students in China, and they seemed to have a lot of fun with it. It takes about 40 minutes (10 prep + 20 role-play + 10 reveal) and could be easily adapted for any foreign language classroom.

Cut up the cards below and give one to each student. Make sure to tell them not to show their cards to anyone.

Some of the students will be consumers; it will be your job to try to get the best deal you can on the items on your list. But remember, you don’t want to get tricked into buying counterfeit or shoddy goods. Ask a lot of questions and see how trustworthy the businessperson seems.

Other students will be businesspeople: some legitimate and some dishonest; it will be your job to make as much money as you can in 20 minutes. Good luck!

You are a dishonest businessperson who sells counterfeit goods. Of course, you tell everyone that they are high quality imports from Japan. In reality, your products come from a nearby factory. DVD player = 525 RMB CD player = 375 RMB MP3 player = 450 RMB	You are a dishonest businessperson who sells counterfeit goods. Of course, you tell everyone that they are high quality imports from Korea. In reality, your products come from a nearby factory. CD player = 350 RMB Digital camera = 900 RMB Mobile phone = 650 RMB
You are a legitimate businessperson who sells high-quality goods imported from Japan. Of course, that means your products are more expensive than locally made goods, but you should try to convince the customer that it’s worth paying a little extra for something that won’t break. DVD player = 650 RMB MP 3 player = 500 RMB Video camera = 1,600 RMB Digital camera = 1,200 RMB	You are a legitimate businessperson who sells high-quality goods imported from USA. Of course, that means your products are more expensive than locally made goods, but you should try to convince the customer that it’s worth paying a little extra for something that won’t break. CD player = 450 RMB MP3 player = 625 RMB Mobile phone = 800 RMB Video camera = 1,800 RMB
You are a legitimate businessperson who sells cheap goods made in a nearby factory. They are not as high-quality as imported goods, but you should try to convince the customers that it’s worth it to save a little money and help support the local economy. DVD player = 400 RMB CD player = 275 RMB MP3 player = 350 RMB Mobile phone = 525 RMB	You are a legitimate businessperson who sells cheap goods made in a nearby factory. They are not as high-quality as imported goods, but you should try to convince the customers that it’s worth it to save a little money and help support the local economy. DVD player = 450 RMB MP3 player = 300 RMB Digital camera = 600 RMB Mobile phone = 475 RMB
You are an undercover police officer trying to catch those people who are selling counterfeit goods. Try to get the business people to tell you where their products really came from. Don’t tell them you’re a policeman. Pretend to be a customer looking to spend a lot of money on digital and video cameras. Write down the name of anyone who you suspect of selling fake goods.	You are an undercover police officer trying to catch those people who are selling counterfeit goods. Try to get the business people to tell you where their products really came from. Don’t tell them you’re a policeman. Pretend to be a customer looking to spend a lot of money on CD, DVD and MP3 players. Write down the name of anyone who you suspect of selling fake goods.
You are a customer looking to buy a good DVD player for your home. You do not want to buy a shoddy one. Of course, you also don’t want to spend a lot of money on it. Look for the best deal, but try to make sure the product isn’t of poor quality. Ask lots of questions. Write down the name of the person who you bought the DVD player from.	You are a customer looking to buy a good video camera to take on vacation. You do not want to buy a fake one. Of course, you also don’t want to spend a lot of money on it. Look for the best deal, but try to make sure the product isn’t a fake. Ask lots of questions. Write down the name of the person you bought the video camera player from.
You are a customer looking to buy a good MP3 player. You do not want to buy a shoddy one. Of course, you also don’t want to spend a lot of money on it. Look for the best deal, but try to make sure the product isn’t of poor quality. Ask lots of questions. Write down the name of the person you bought the MP3 player from.	You are a customer looking to buy twelve good mobile phones for your company. You do not want to buy counterfeit ones. Of course, you also don’t want to spend a lot of money on them. Look for the best deal, but try to make sure the product isn’t fake. Ask lots of questions. Write down the name of the person you bought the mobile phones from.

You are a customer looking to buy a good digital camera to take on vacation. You do not want to buy a shoddy one. Of course, you also don’t want to spend a lot of money on it. Look for the best deal, but try to make sure the product isn’t poorly made. Ask lots of questions. Write down the name of the person you bought the digital camera from.	You are a customer looking to buy three good CD players for your office. You do not want to buy counterfeit ones. Of course, you also don’t want to spend a lot of money on them. Look for the best deal, but try to make sure the product isn’t fake. Ask lots of questions. Write down the name of the person you bought the CD players from.
You are a customer looking to buy four good MP3 players to give as gifts to family. You do not want to buy shoddy ones. Of course, you also don’t want to spend a lot of money on it. Look for the best deal, but try to make sure the product isn’t of poor quality. Ask lots of questions. Write down the name of the person you bought the MP3 players from.	You are a customer looking to buy a good mobile phone. You do not want to buy a shoddy one. Of course, you also don’t want to spend a lot of money on it. Look for the best deal, but try to make sure the product isn’t of poor quality. Ask lots of questions. Write down the name of the person you bought the mobile phone from.
You are a customer looking to buy a good MP3 player to give as a gift to your best friend. You do not want to buy a counterfeit one. Of course, you also don’t want to spend a lot of money on it. Look for the best deal, but try to make sure the product isn’t fake. Ask lots of questions. Write down the name of the person you bought the MP3 player from.	You are a customer looking to buy a good digital camera to give as a gift to your boss. You do not want to buy a counterfeit one. Of course, you also don’t want to spend a lot of money on it. Look for the best deal, but try to make sure the product isn’t fake. Ask lots of questions. Write down the name of the person you bought the digital camera from.

You are a dishonest businessperson who sells counterfeit goods. Of course, you tell everyone that they are high quality imports from USA. In reality, your products come from a nearby factory. DVD player = 650 RMB CD player = 375 RMB Video camera = 1,200 RMB Mobile phone = 700 RMB	You are a legitimate businessperson who sells cheap goods made in a nearby factory. They are not as high-quality as imported goods, but you should try to convince the customers that it’s worth it to save a little money and help support the local economy. CD player = 250 RMB Digital camera = 600 RMB MP 3 player = 325 RMB
You are a legitimate businessperson who sells high-quality goods imported from Korea. Of course, that means your products are more expensive than locally-made goods, but try to convince the customer that it’s worth it to pay a little extra for something you know won’t break. DVD player = 475 RMB Digital camera = 800 RMB Mobile phone = 625 RMB	You are a customer looking to buy a good DVD player to give as a gift for your parents. You do not want to buy a shoddy one. Of course, you also don’t want to spend a lot of money on it. Look for the best deal, but try to make sure the product isn’t of poor quality. Ask lots of questions. Write down the name of the person you bought the DVD player from.
You are a customer looking to buy two good video cameras to make commercials for your new business. You do not want to buy a counterfeit one. Of course, you also don’t want to spend a lot of money on it. Look for the best deal, but try to make sure the product isn’t fake. Ask lots of questions. Write down the name of the person you bought the video cameras from.	You are a customer looking to buy a good CD player to take on vacation. You do not want to buy a shoddy one. Of course, you also don’t want to spend a lot of money on it. Look for the best deal, but try to make sure the product isn’t of poor quality. Ask lots of questions. Write down the name of the person you bought the CD player from.

Japanese: Study Abroad Role-Play Information Sheet

Hello all, Junko desu. Here is a supplement to my previous Study Abroad role-play activity. A person who is at the study-abroad booth can take a look at the handout to see the location, number of students, and activities that each school has. Use the handout as a reference and give students some advice!


Role-play Info Sheet

Japanese: Role Play- at study-abroad fair

Hi all, Junko desu. Today I want to share a fun role-play activity. The role play will be placed at a study-abroad job fair. A student comes into a booth, and ask questions. The person at the booth will answer any question that the student has, and give him/her some advice using an information sheet!

•学生(student)

You are thinking about going to study abroad to Japan next year, but you don’t know what to do. Ask a person at a booth about application process, good university to study and which is better home-stay or dorm.

•留学部の人(person at a booth)

You are an expert in study-abroad to Japan. Answer any question that the student has. Ask the student what kind of classes s/he is interested in.

Here is the model conversation:

•あのう、すみません。ちょっとよろしいですか?(anou sumimasen, chotto yoroshii desuka)

•はい、何でしょうか。(hai, nandeshouka)

•日本へ留学したいと思っているので、色々教えていただきたいんですが。(nihone ryuugaku shitaito omotteirunode, iroiro oshiete itadakemasennka)

•はい、いいですよ。どこか行きたい大学はありますか。(hai iidesuyo. dokoka ikitai daigakuwa arimasuka)

•えっと、実は、全然わからないんです。どこかいい所をアドバイスしていただけませんか?(etto , jitsuwa, zenzen wakaranainndesu. dokoka iitokorowo adobaisu shiteitadakemasenka)

....

Alibi

Here is an activity that I like to do with my students after they've had a chance to get to know each other -- maybe right after midterms -- just to throw a little mystery and intrigue into the mix. It also gives them a good chance to work on their Q and A and Inferencing skills in a fun scenario:

A crime has been committed in this class. There are five suspects. The rest of the students are the investigators in charge of determining who committed the crime.

Suspects must leave the class to construct their alibis. They can use each other for their alibis if they wish.

Meanwhile, investigators (in groups of 3-4) must come up with a list of questions they want to ask the suspects about their whereabouts and activities on the day in question (10-15 min).

The teacher should provide some information about the crime to both suspects and investigators, but withhold some information from both. For example, tell the suspects who actually committed the crime. Tell the investigators about a key piece of evidence found at the crime scene.

Suspects return to the classroom and are assigned individually to a group of investigators for interrogation. After 5 minutes, suspects rotate to a different group for further questioning. Once all of the groups have interrogated each suspect (approx. 25 min), suspects line-up in front of the classroom while investigators confer. Each group of investigators then reveals who they believe has committed the crime and why. Finally, the teacher reveals who actually committed the crime.

Although I've only used this in an ESL/EFL context, I think it could be easily adapted to almost any foreign language classroom. Enjoy!

German: Der Trabant & Wartburg

Hello all, Chris here. Continuing with the East Germany (DDR) theme from the previous post, here are several videos about East Germany's two iconic cars: The Trabant and the Wartburg! Use these to provide your students with a deeper historical and cultural background of East Germany!

As for activities, I have not created any detailed plans for using these videos as of yet, although I am leaning towards a role-play activity. In pairs or in small groups, students would take on the roles of customer and salesperson. This would provide a good opportunity to teach students 'car' and 'vehicle' vocabulary which is typically skipped in most courses. The salesperson would have to have a detailed knowledge of all the parts and features of the vehicles. Such an activity could also be applicable for business German classes. The teachers could also prepare pictures of several different car models which would allow for comparisons to be added to the activity. Questions and comments welcome!

Japanese: Role-Play - at a Japanese Restaurant

I'm pretty sure that every textbook has a chapter on food from the target culture.

This is a good activity using authentic menus.

　　

Your group owns a restaurant, but business is bad.

So some members of the group go to all the other restaurants in the classroom

to see their food and service. One member of the group stays at the restaurant and

waits for customers. When customers come, serve them!

Model conversation:

Waiter: いらっしゃいませ。Welcome to our restaurant!

Customer: ここは 何りょうりですか? What kind of cuisine is here?

W: 〜で ございます。（polite way of あります。）It is ~.

C: そうですか。じゃあ、ここに します。I see. Then I'll decide on here.

W: ごちゅうもんは？What is your oder?

C: 〜に します／〜を おねがいします。I'll have ~.

W: (repeat)ですね。かしこまりました。You will have ~, okay.

French: Role-Plays for Advanced Levels

Hi everyone, Aurore here! Here are very funny role plays that I have designed for my students!! They enjoyed creating crazy situations and the class and I really had fun watching everyone perform them in the end. You have something about the ups and downs when you live with someone, a mother struggling with her teenager, some friends having fun doing camping until they realize they forgot the tent...

Jeux de rôles.

Jeu 1. Jérôme et Sylvia sont mariés depuis 3 ans. Ils n’ont pas d’enfant. Ils vont se disputer parce que Jérôme a encore oublié leur anniversaire de mariage, alors que chaque année il dit qu’il va y penser pour se rattraper. Sylvia en veut à Jérôme car il sort tout le temps au bowling, et qu’elle n’aime pas ses amis. Jérôme en veut à Sylvia car elle sort tout le temps avec ses copines qui sont de vraies pétasses, et elles vont dans un bar où il y a beaucoup de militaires très glamour en uniforme.

Jeu 2. Manon est mère célibataire. Elle élève seule son fils de 13 ans, Marc, qui est en pleine crise d’adolescence. Il est complexé car il a des boutons, que sa voix n’a pas encore mué, et qu’il est très petit par rapport au reste des élèves de sa classe. Du coup il rend à sa mère la vie impossible. Son dernier caprice : il veut la PS6 qui coûte 600E. C’est beaucoup trop cher, et Manon n’a pas les moyens de lui acheter. De son côté, Marc en veut à sa mère car elle est trop stricte.

Jeu 3. Fabien et Ange partent faire du camping tous les deux dans les Alpes. Ils ont acheté une tente et des sacs de couchage, avec le nécessaire pour faire la cuisine (allumettes, réchaud à gaz….). Ange est étourdi et il a oublié la nourriture. Ils se disputent quand ils sont arrivés en haut de la montagne et qu’ils ont faim. Fabien reproche à Ange d’être tête en l’air, et Ange à Fabien qu’il n’avait qu’à s’en occuper.

Jeu 4. Paris Hilton et Nicole Ritchie ont pour mission de travailler dans une ferme, alors que ce n’est pas vraiment leur élément naturel. Imaginez qu’elles doivent traire des chèvres pour faire du fromage. Que peut-il se passer ?

Jeu 5. Michelle et Christophe sont mariés depuis 15 ans. Leurs enfants sont partis de la maison, et ils ont deux chambres disponibles. Ca tombe bien, parce que le père de Christophe est au chômage, et que ses allocations chômage diminuent de mois en mois. Christophe essaye de convaincre Michelle d’accepter son père à la maison, alors que les deux ne s’entendent pas du tout. De plus, à Noël dernier, le père de Christophe a dit à Michelle que sa nouvelle coupe de cheveux était trop moche.

Jeu 6. Vous êtes deux personnalités politiques célèbres. Vous voulez tous/tes les deux devenir président/es de la république. On vous demande de défendre votre programme, et d’expliquer ce que vous aller faire pour les électeurs.