role play modified

8/7/2019 ROLE PLAY Modified

1/34


2/34

ROLE PLAY 2011

NRI INSTITUE OF TECHNOLOGY Page 2

ADVANCED ENGLISH COMMUNICATIONS SKILLS

LABMINI PROJECTTITILE: ROLE PLAY

SUBMITTED BY

NAME:

RESEARCH SUPERVISOR:Ass . f.TULASI

NRI INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

(Aff

d to Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, Kakinada)

Visadala road, Perecharla 522009

Guntur District, Andhra Pradesh

Project guide Head ofthe

Department

External examiner


3/34

R LE PL 2011

NRI INSTITUE FTE NOLOGY P 3

ROLE PLAYA Project Report submitte

in partial

ul

illment o

the requirements

or the awar

o

the Degree

In

Bachelor o

Technology

In

(Electronic Communication & Engineering)

By

RAVIPATI SRI

ANTH 08KP1A0453

PINNIBOYINA HAREESH 08KP1A0449

SHEIKH ASHABI 08KP1A0457

PARELLA AMARNADH 08KP1A0444

Under the guidance o

Smt: TULASI,

NRIINSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

(A

iliated to Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, Kakinada)

Visadala road, Perecharla522009

Guntur District, Andhra Pradesh


4/34

ROLE PLAY 2011

NRI INSTITUE OF TECHNOLOGY Page 4

CERTIFICATE

This is to certif y that this dissertation entitled asROLE PLAY is the bonafide work of

1) RAVIPATI.SRIKANTH 2) PINNIBOYINA.HARISH 3) SHAIK. ASHABI and 4)

PERALLA.AMARNADH,

submitted to the Department of Electronic Communication and Engineering, NRI Institute of

Technology, during (2008-2012) in partial fulfillment ofthe requirementsfor the award ofthe Degree in

Bachelor ofTechnology in Electronic Communication and Engineering.

Signature ofHead OfThe Department Signature ofLab In charge


5/34

ROLEPL Y 2011

NRIINSTITUEOFTE NOLOGY P 5

DECLARATION FORM

We, the students o

NRI Institute o

Technology, Gundlapalem, Medikonduru (M), Guntur District,

Andhra Pradesh, herebydeclare that this Project Worktitled as ROLE PLAY, being submitted to

the Department o

Electronic Communication and Engineering o

this Institute, a

iliated to Jawaharlal

Nehru Technological University, Kakinada,

or the award o

the Degree in Bachelor o

Technology in

Information Technology is a record ofbonafideworkdone by us

Signature ofthe Students

1) RAVIPATI SRIKANTH(08KP1A0453)___________________________________________

2) PINNIBOYINA HARISH(08KP1A0449)__________________________________________

3) SHAIK ASHABI(08KP1A0457)________________________________________________

4) PARELLA AMARNADH(08KP1A0444)________________________ ___________________


6/34

ROLEPL Y 2011


INDEX

TOPIC: - PAGE NO:

CHAPTER 1:

1 1 Introduction to role play 71 2 Objectives of role play 9

CHAPTER 2:

2 1 Types ofrole play 11

2 2 Role playing glossary 16

2 3. Uses ofrole play 18

2.4. Howitworks 25

CHAPTER3:

3.1. Conclusion ofrole plays 33

3.2. Bibliography 34


7/34


8/34

ROLEPL Y 2011


Most ofthe time, characters are involved in adventures, adventures ofthe type that are

immortalized in adventure movies and serial novels.In one game, the characters might be a

group ofsecret agents trying to save theworldfrom nuclear destruction.In another, you might

play a rebel force, trying to overthrowan evil star spanning empire. You might play a group of

warriors in eleventh century Europe, or King Arthurs knights, or Superman, or Batman, or an

original character you create, in anyworld you choose.

Whywe choose role play as my project?

The details ofwhat you need to do depend entirely onwhy you want to include role playing

exercises in your course.

y What topics do youwant the exercise to cover? y Howmuch time do you and your class have toworkon it? y Whatdo you expect ofyour students: research, reports, and presentations? y Do youwant the students role playing separately or together?y Do youwant to include a challenge or conflict element?


9/34


10/34


11/34


12/34


13/34

ROLEPL Y 2011


Next,find a store that sells role-playing games. You canfind them in the yellowpages

under games. Visit the store and tell them you dontknowmuch about role -playing games,

but youd like a game that can play(insert your choice here --detective, Tolkien,whatever). Ask

iftheyknowofany groups that are already playing that type ofgame. Many stores keep a list or

bulletin board ofgamers lookingfor newgamers. Chances are the stores salespeoplewill be

able to help you find justwhat youre lookingfor.

You lookoutforwhen youre playing:

Cecil Adams author ofthe newspaper column, The Straight Dope saidwith regards to

role-playing games: "a lifetime of Parcheesi does not adequately prepare you for this." Hes

right. Your biggest problemwill be breaking out ofthe straightjacket that games like Parcheesi,

Chess, and Poker have put you in. There are no moves in role-playing games,nor are you

confined to any specific actions. You make choices for your character as creatively as ifyou

werewriting a book. You dontneed to beworried aboutwhether or not you are allowed to

do something. The only thing restrictingwhat your character can do is the situation your

character is in.

It is also sometimes easy to get into an adversarial relationshipwith your Editor. Why?

Because you are playing the hero and the Editorwill be portraying all ofthe villains that the

hero meets.It helps sometimes to stop and remember that this is not a competition between

the Players and the Editor. The goal is to have fun, creatively, together. If you want an

adversarial competition, you can always play hockey.

Once you realize that role-playing games have rules you might fall into one of two

rules-lawyer traps. Games have rules that explainwhat happens when, for example, your

character is


14/34

ROLEPL Y 2011


Attacked by a dragon, or what happens when two space vessels race to the same

destination. But these rules are almost always there as guidelines. Theydescribewhatnormallyshould happen,notwhat always must happen. The first rules -lawyer trap is to always insist on

following the rules, evenwhen theres an obvious discrepancy between howall of the Players

including the Editor want the game to proceed, and howa certain game rule says an event

should turn out. The overall game should be more important than any specific rule.

Man y times, gameswill not have a specific rule to cover a rare or odd situation. The

second rules-lawyer trap is to believe that there should always be a rule to cover every situation.

In this case, youwaste time and interrupt the flowofthe story by searching through the rule -

bookfor rules that arent there.

A related trap is to consider the Editor to be some sort ofomnipotent being in relation

to the game, and to consider the gameworld to be the Editorsworld alone. The game is for all

the Players,not just the Editor. The Editor is, however, the final arbiter ofgame disputes and

game questions. Theres no need towaste time arguingwhen you could be playing!


15/34

ROLEPL Y 2011


A ROLE-PLAYINGGLOSARY

Ifyou decide to find a role-playing group to createwith, youll probably run into some

strange terminology. Every group has its own terminology, and gamers are no exception.

Here is a quickguide to the most common jargon in role -playing.

Dice Ill bet you thought you knewwhatdicewere,didnt you? Well, youll never see

so manydifferentkinds ofdice thanwhen you meet upwith role -playing gamers. The kinds of

dice that most people use (for Yahtzee or gambling) are six-sideddice. Theyve got six sides.

There are also four-sideddice, eight-sideddice, ten-sideddice, twelve-sideddice, and twenty-

sideddice. Some companies are even making thirty-sideddice and hundred-sideddice. Dont

worry at first, though. Most games use either six-sideddice (the normal, cube things) or ten-

sideddice. You can borrowthe latter from someone elsewhile youre still new. Someveteran

gamers do the same thing.

How do you use the dice? Youll hear lots of strange terminology, like roll a three -

Dee-six, roll a percentile die, or roll Dee-one-hundred. The bestway to deal with this, if

you dont understand, is to lookconfused and say huh? Showme.Gamers (like any other

group) sometimes forget thatnewcomers arent priv y to the jargon they use. However, ifyou

want some idea ofwhats going on, heres the dope:

Three-Dee-six: This iswritten3d6. This means take three 6-siders and roll them. Add

them all up.Ifyou roll 3 on one die, 4 on another, and 1 on the last, thats 3 plus 4 plus 1, or 8.

In general,when someone says roll number Dee another number, theywant you to take a

numberdicewith another number sides, roll them, and add them together. Two-Dee-ten

or 2d10 means roll two ten-sideddice and add them,for example.

Dee-one-hundred: This is a special kind of roll, designed just to confuse people who

thinkthey understand the previous paragraph. When you are asked to roll Dee-one-hundred

writtend100, youll need a ten-sideddie. Roll it, and remember the number. This is the tens.

Then, roll it again. This is the ones.Ifyou rolled a 1 and a5, the result is 15.Ifyou rolled a 6

and a3, the result is 63.Ifyou rolled a 0 and a 2, the result is 2 (02), etc.Ifyou rolled a 0 and a

0, the result is 100. Dont askits tradition. Youwan t anumber from 1 to 100,not 0 to 99.


16/34


17/34

ROLEPL Y 2011


throw, your character died, and you started playing anewcharacter. Nowadays, this sort of

instantdeath is frowned on in games, but saving throws still exist to help your character avoid

other dangers in the game. You might roll a saving throwto avoid your character falling offa

cliffwhen pushed, or to realize that someone has picked your characters pocket.

Howdo you make or fail a saving throw? You roll dice ifthe dice are above or below,

in some games a certain number, you have succeeded, andwhatever dire fate could have

happened has been avoided. Otherwise, you have failed the saving throw, and your character is

subject towhateverwas about to happen.


18/34

ROLEPL Y 2011


USES OF ROLE PLAY:

"There are three si " es to every story:

Yours an" mine an" the col " , har " truth."

- Don Henley("Long Way Home", I Can't Stan" Still, 1982)

The problemw#

$

%

teaching pure, un" ilute " inf& rmation is that af$ '

rwar " s, the stu " ents,

if they pai"

attention,w# ( (

be lef$

ask#

ng "What is it f&r? What

"oes it mean?" Role-playing

enables them to start answ' ring these questions an" to start expan" ing them: "What " oes it

mean to a farmer in Nigeria, to a coal miner in Ohio, to an oakpopulation in the Balkans."

Inf&

rmation, alone, rarely mak'

s people change their min"

s, but personal experience of$ '

n" oes. Role-playing, lik' any goo " inquiry approach, transf& rms the content ofe " ucationfrom

inf& rmation into experience.

Motivating Stu ) ents:

The creative aspect of the ex'rcise w

# ( (

mak'

it seem more lik'

play than lik'w

&rk. The

pressure to solve a problem or to resolve a conf( #

ctf& r their character can motivate a stu " entfar

more than the sort ofpressure that they usuallyface preparingf& r an exam, an" it is far more

typical ofthe pressure thatw# ( (

be on them in real lif' .

Role-playing ex ' rcises are particularly usef0(

in courses f& r non-majors to emphasize the

intersection betw' '

n science an" " aily lif' . Popular geosciences role-playing scenarios generally

"ealw

#

$

%

hazar"s an

"environmental issues that combine natural an

"social sciences.

Augmenting Tra) itional Curricula:

The primary purpose ofrole-playing ex ' rcises is to get stu " ents to lookat the material

they are learning in a newlight. The instructor is persua" ing them to alter their mental maps of

thew&

rl"

instea"

ofjustf

# ( ( #

ng them in( Blatner, 2002 ).

Role-playing ex ' rcises showthew& rl " as a complex placew#

$

%

complicate " problems that can

only rarely be solve " by a simple answ' r that the stu " ent has previously memorize " ( Cage 1997

).


19/34

ROLEPL Y 2011


Additionally, the students learn that skills they learn separately (such as quantitative and

communications skills) are often used together in order to accomplish man y real-world tasks

(Bair, 2000 ).

Adding a sympathetic, generally human element to science is often encouraging to

studentswith science and math anxiety. Lessons can use role -playing to emphasize thevalue of

feelings and ofcreativity aswell as ofknowledge dolman.

Exercises emphasizing the importance of people and their viewpoints are important

preparationfor studentswhowill go on in many professions, including business, academia, and

politics.

Real-World Skills:

Students need to understand the needs and perspectives ofthe people around them to

get through life, and to understand themselves.

Role-playing exercises can be used to develop skills important inside and outside of

science: the kind ofskills needed to make learned information useful in the realworld. Many

ofthese areverydifficult to teach using more traditional methods ofinstruction: self -awareness,

problem solving, communication, initiative, teamwork( Blunter).

If an assignment includes research or problem solving, students are more likely to

retainknowledge that they have constructed themselves more than that simply handed to them

in lecture (Havholm, 1998 ; Devein and Solomon, 1994 ).

Bonnet, 2000 tried,with some success, to instill ethics in school children using role -playing.

Accounting students from the University ofIllinois had an easier time finding jobs after

completing a curriculum that included role -playing than they did after the traditional

curriculum (Cage, 1997).


20/34

ROLEPL Y 2011


Use Individual Role-Playing Projects :

Motivating Students:

y Even ifstudents are not excited by the assigned topic, they should be able to understandwhy it is important and towhom it is important.

Augmenting Traditional Curricula:

y Aswith any role-playing exercise, the most important taskis to understand the topic fromnewperspective.

y Among the pressing questions for any science class is: Whatdo people need to knowaboutthe environment in order to live there or about resources in order toworkwith them? Above

all,whatdo people need to knowabout each other?

For example: someone moving to Tacoma, Washington, needs to know about the risk of

Mount Rainier erupting anddestroying their home, possiblykilling their family. So the y have to

find out about the nature ofthe hazard(s) posed by Mount Rainier, the geographic extent, the

likelihood oferuption according to geologic monitors, etc. Do theywant to workand live in

Tacoma at all? Are some parts ofthe city that are safer than others?

Real-World Skills:

y Most ofthewriting and presenting projects the studentwill do after graduationwill not bedone from an objectiveviewpoint. However, an academic role-playing exercise can emphasize

that scholarly journal and magazine articles are vital for researching policy and persuasive

writing. For controversial topics, materials ordinarily considered biased by scientists, such as

editorials, are alsovaluable for research, as they are in the realworld.

y On the average, students need to knowhowtowrite a good letter more than theyneed toknowthe half-lives ofuranium and lead isotopes, but a lesson that has a studentwriting a letter

to the editor of his hometown paper about the problem of nuclear waste can teach both in

context.


21/34

ROLEPL Y 2011


y Public speaking is an important skill in countrieswhere most citizens have free speech andimportant issues to address. Students need to be able to defend their opinions in order to make

good use oftheir rights.

y Given a particular problem, students should be able to decidewhich topics to research inpursuit ofa solution, because this is expected in all but menial jobs. The ability to askthe right

questions and then to independently research them is rarely expected in undergraduates in

introductory courses, but ifthis is the last science class they are likely to take, make it count!


22/34

ROLEPL Y 2011


Use Interactive Role-Playing Projects:

People who use their eru 1 ition to write2

or a learne 1 minority... 1 on't seem to me2

avore 1 by2

ortune but rather to be pitie 1 2

or their contin 3 ous sel2

-torture.

- Desi 1 eratum Erasmus (Praise o2

Folly, ch.50, 1509)

Motivating Stu 4 ents:

These exercises are generally2

un2

or stu 1 ents, as they contain social, creative and sometimes

competitive elements.

y Properly run, they are student-centered, open-ended, and feel more like real life thanlectures and tests.

y Students perceive interactingwith small groups to be easier thanwritingfor the instructor orpresenting to the whole class. However, poor preparation on advance research will prove

embarrassing and letdown teammates and allies.

Augmenting Traditional Curricula:

y Adistinct role can help a studentfocus an analysis ofboth sides ofa controversy, althoughin this case it is often helpful for an instructor to followup at the end ofthe assignment and ask

the student his or her own, out-of-character, assessment ofthe controversy. Additionally, some

role-playing exerciseswill make time for students to switch sides and try the opposite role from

the one explored previously, an opportunity the realworld can rarely offer.

y Collaborative problem-solving exercises offer an opportunity for informal assessment.Francis and Byrne (1999)found that instructorswere able to identifywhich parts ofthe course

material that students were having trouble with during an interactive role -playing exercise

before giving students a graded test.


23/34

ROLEPL Y 2011


Real-World Skills:

y Teamwork is one of the important social skills that these exercises can teach. Often thestudents must combine information gathered by different groups and apply it. If assigned

research in advance, the team candivide a project up and have each piece be the province ofa

different team member.

y Cooperation and persuasionwill require the students to practice courtesy.In any role -playwith an interactive component, the instructor can (and should) include formal and informal

training in conflict management and consensus-building and the students must of necessity

learn tolerance or at least civility.

y In order to devise win-win solutions or compromises that other characters will accept,they'll need to figure out those other characters' goals. Empathy is key to enlightened self-

interest aswell as avirtue in its own right.

y Adebate, as part of the lesson or as a consequence ofdifferent approaches to problem-solving,will enable the students to develop effective rhetorical techniques , both through

practice and by offering them the opportunity to observe one another's efforts. Effective and

ineffective arguments make a good topic for the follow-up discussion: whatworked andwhat

didn't?

y Even if students are not excited by the assigned topic, they should be able tounderstandwhy it is important and to whom it is important.

y Aswith any role-playing exercise, the most important taskis to understand the topic fromnew perspective.

y Among the pressing questions for any science class is: Whatdo people need to knowaboutthe environment in order to live there or about resources in order toworkwith them? Above

all,whatdo people need to knowabout each other?


24/34

ROLEPL Y 2011


y Most ofthewriting and presenting projects the studentwill do after graduationwill not bedone from an objectiveviewpoint. However, an academic role-playing exercise can emphasize

that scholarly journal and magazine articles are vital for researching policy and persuasive

writing. For controversial topics, materials ordinarily considered biased by scientists, such as

editorials, are alsovaluable for research, as they are in the realworld.

y On the average, students need to knowhowtowrite a good letter more than theyneed toknowthe half-lives ofuranium and lead isotopes, but a lesson that has a studentwriting a letter

to the editor of his hometown paper about the problem of nuclear waste can teach both in

context.

y Public speaking is an important skill in countrieswhere most citizens have free speech andimportant issues to address. Students need to be able to defend their opinions in order to make

good use oftheir rights.

y Given a particular problem, students should be able to decidewhich topics to research inpursuit ofa solution, because this is expected in all but menial jobs. The ability to askthe right

questions and then to independently research them is rarely expected in undergraduates in

introductory courses, but ifthis is the last science class they are likely to take, make it count.

y Ifthe Lecture taught the lesson to the students by using role plays isvery easy to understandthese lessons .the following is given below Role-playing exercises can be hardwork for the

instructor, both in preparation and in execution, but the work tends to pay off in terms of

student motivation and accomplishment. Aswith any big project, it's best to take it one step at a

time:


25/34

ROLEPL Y 2011


y HOWIT WORKS:y Role playing is when a group of people act out roles for a particular scenario. For

instance, you might train sales people by having two people act out a sale -scenario. One

acts as the sales person. The other acts as the customer. This allows trainee sales people

to practice their sales techniques. A trainer and/or other trainees maywatch the role

play and critique it afterwards.

y Team role-playing is similar, except that two or more teams actively participate. Forinstance, a group of10 people and one trainer are divided into two teams offive each.

One person in each group acts out the relevant role in the scenario. The other four act

as coaches providing advice to their actor. The trainer does not take part in eithergroup. Rather she oversees the exercise. To make team role playing more effective, a

secret conflict is introduced from the beginning. Only the trainer is aware of the

conflict. Upon completion ofthe role playing, the trainer leads adiscussion on the role -

play.

y Example: a software compan y learns that customers are unhappy with customersupport and this is causing a loss ofcustomers.In order to improve customer support,

the companydecides to use team role playing. A trainer brings together a group of12

software developers and customer support representatives.

y The trainer introduces the problem and encourages an opendiscussion in order to putall the relevant issues on the table and get participants thinking about the problem in

depth prior to the team role playing.

y While discussion is still relatively lively, the trainer interrupts,divides the participantsinto two groups. Participants should be randomly assigned to groups, such as by having

each person pulling a paper, indicating group membership, out ofa hat.It is important

that the participants do notdivide themselves into groups.Getting people who do not

normallywork together to do so creates newsynergies which should promote greater

creative thinking.

y Group A(playing the role ofa customer support person) receives a cardwhich states:y "This customer is very influential. To lose them would be highly damaging to the

company. You mustdo anythingwithin reason to retain them"

y Group B (playing the role ofthe customer) receives a card stating:


26/34

ROLEPL Y 2011


y "You have seriously overspent your software budget andwhile you are no t unhappywiththe product, you must convince the customer support person to take backthe product

and refund your money. Since you cannot admit the actual situation(as itwould clearly

not be legitimate for a refund), you must find problemswith the software sufficient to

legitimize the return and refund."

y The groups meet separatelyfor five to ten minutes to discuss strategy andwhowill bethe actor. Then the two actors go to the centre ofthe room to perform the role play. At

an y time during the role play, the actors can look to their teams for advice. Likewise

teams can offer unsolicited advice. Normally the teams are physically separated from

their actors. However, each team can call one "time out" to have a private discussion of

strategy.

y In a lively role-play, a team member mayverywell offer advice to the actor ofthe otherteam. There is nothingwrongwith this and the trainer shouldnot prohibit it, although

the teams themselves maydo so.

y Eventually, a solution ofsome sortwill be found.Ifthe conflict is not apparent to bothsides and there is still sufficient enthusiasm in the teams, the trainer may askthe teams

to find another solution.

y Once it is clear no more solutions are to be found, the groups are brought together anddiscuss the role play, their strategies, their solution, relevance to real world situations,

and alternative solutions.

y Optionally, each team candraft a short "lessons learned" paper about the role play. Thepapers can be combined and copies distributed to all role play participants and any

other staffwho might learnfrom the role play.

1. Define Objectives

2. Choose Context & Roles

3.Introducing the Exercise

4. Student Preparation/Research

5. The Role-Play


27/34


28/34

ROLEPL Y 2011


y Ifthere is an inquiry element, suggest a general strategyfor research/problem solving.

Student Preparation/Research:

Even ifthere is no advance research assigned, studentswill need afewmoments to lookover

their characters and get into their roles for the exercise. There may also be additional

questions:

Why they are doing this in character?

Whydid you decide to make this a role -playing exercise?

y Students may have reservations about the character that they have been assigned or abouttheir motives.It is goodfor the instructor to find out about these b efore the actual role-play.It

can beverydifficultfor a student to begin researching an issue from a perspectiveverydifferent

from their own because even apparently objective data tends to be reinterpreted as supportfor

pre-existingworld-views.

y With regards to environmental issues, many environmental groups have well-written,carefully researched, and nicely-engineeredwebsites thatwill provide arguments as well as

information for a student assigned a character to whom protecting the environment is very

important.

The Sierra Club Homepage (more info) Worldwatches Institute Homepage (more info) Natural Resources Defense Council Homepage (more info)

y Similar websites representing the very commonviewpoint of the worker, property owner,or industrialistwhose future may be in conflictwith environmental interests are hard to find.

One site, Debate Central, has constructed arguments for characters promoting property rights

andwary ofgovernment intervention. Their topic coverage is still limited, however . A poorer

alternative is to send students to thewebsites ofcompanies involved in an issue to read their PR

material.

y Often, the best resource for understanding people is other people. Model UN encouragesparticipants to call the embassy ofthe country they are to representfor advice. The same can


29/34

ROLEPL Y 2011


be done with the PR divisions of mining firms and unions, environmental and taxpayer

protection groups, etc.

y If there is an inquiry component (i.e. student-led research), the students may need helpcoming upwith a research plan andfinding resources.

The Role-Play:

Depending on the assignment, students could be writing papers or participating in a

Model-UN-style summit.For a presentation or interaction, props can liven up the event, but

are notworth a lot of effort as they are usually not important to the educational goals of the

project.

y Potential Challengeswith Interactive ExercisesConcluding Discussion:

Like any inquiry-based exercise, role-playing needs to be followed by a debriefing for the

students to definewhat they have learned and to reinforce it. This can be handled in reflective

essays, or a concluding paragraph at the end ofan individualwritten assignment, or in a class

discussion. The instructor can take this opportunity to ask the students if they learned the

lessons defined before the role -play began.

Assessment:

Generally, grades are givenforwritten projects associatedwith the role-play, but presentations

and even involvement in interactive exercises can be graded. Special considerations for grading

in role-playing exercises include:

y Playing in-charactery Working to further the character's goalsy Making statements that reflect the character's perspectivey In an interactive exercise, being constructive and courteousy For man y assignments, being able to step back and look at the character's situation andstatements from the student's own perspective or from another character's perspective.


30/34

ROLEPL Y 2011


Potential Challengeswith Interactive Exercises

Large Classes:

For large classes, split the group up, or use etiquette like Robert's Rules ofOrder (more

info) to ensure that peoplewho have something to say can say it. A Model UNworkswell for

large groups.

Goodvs. Evil:

The students need to sympathize with their characters, so it is a bad idea to assign

overtly evil ones.It's too much to askofstudents to represent the interests ofgenocidal tyrants.

These exercises are supposed to be fun! Likewise, the instructor should use situationswithout

simple or obvious solutions or situations that are doomed. Because of issues in the students'

own backgrounds, it is also generally good to choose settings and characters that are either

fictitious orwell removedfrom the students in space and time. Asking college students to role-

playwell-known Republican or Democratic politicians can be a recipe for trouble.

Not LettingGo:

One reason that open-ended, problem-solving exercises are fun and somewhat realistic

is that the students, in character,decide the outcome ofthe scenario. This can be damaged if

the instructor decides on the "correct" ending or pushes the students to play characters a certain

way.

LackofSocial Skills:

A chronic problemwith role-playing is that some students don't pay attention to others

and that charismatic students can overwhelm less assertive ones.Ifthe student is violating the

rules you as the instructor have established for the role -play,do not hesitate to remove them

from the exercise immediately. Disciplinary action may be appropriate depending on the

student's behavior. However,within the limits ofthe rules, there will still be minor problems,

which may actually become a useful part of the lesson. Bonnet's (2000) 10-year-old students


31/34

ROLEPL Y 2011


reported that theywere alienated by characters that came across as too angry about issues.

These children maywell recognize that courtesy and calmness arevaluable tools for adebater.

Team Role Play:

Team role playing is an excellent exercise for

y Analyzing problems fromvarious perspectivesy Implementing brainstorming methodology in simulations ofreal casesy Tryingvarious solutions in a case scenarioy Developing team-work, co-operation and creative problem solving in groupsy Exercising creative techniques in a risk-free environment


32/34

ROLEPL Y 2011


Effective use ofrole playing in learning anddevelopment

Role playing has been around as a learning tool for a long time. Withoutdefining it as

such, many ofus use role play as a basic tool oflife. Wheneverwe project into the future in a

kind of 'what if' scenario we are indulging in a role play of some sort,we are projecting

ourselves into an imaginary situationwhere, though we cannot control the outcome,we can

anticipate some or all of the conditions and 'rehearse' our performance in order to influence

the outcome. Much of the time we are better for it. Byway of example, you mightwish to

speakto your garage to raise the fact that they have still not cured the oil leak. Before doing so

you mightwell rehearse to yourselfwhat you intend to say. Thiswould be a mini role play -we

do it all the time because it helps.

In a learning environment role play can be averyflexible and effective tool. The tenet'I

hear andI forgetI see andI remember,Ido andI understand' isvery applicable here. Role

play is often used as away ofmaking sense ofthe theory, ofgathering together concepts into a

practical experience. And yet, it often goeswrong,why? Because like so many thingswhich are

simple on concept, it can become awfully complicated, ifused badly in a training environment

the role play tool can be ineffective and sometimes even damaging. One of the main

complicatingfactors surrounding role play is the attitude or emotional state ofthe people taking

part. Quite frankly, many people are nervous, even terrified, at the prospect ofparticipating in a

role play; not surprisingwhen you hear about some people's unfortunate role play experiences.

For the purpose ofthis article, role play is defined as an experience around a specific

situationwhich contains two or more differentviewpoints or perspectives. The situation is

usuallywritten as a prepared brief and the different perspectives on the same situation are

handed out to the different peoplewhowill come together to discuss the situation. Each person

will have a particular objective, or objectives theywant to fulfill which maywell be in conflict

with their fellowrole player or role players.It is howeach role player handles the situation that

forms the basis ofskills practice, assessment anddevelopment. The situationswill be realistic

and relevant to the role players and the most successful oneswill be focused ondeveloping a

particular skill or skill set. .


33/34

ROLEPL Y 2011


CONCLUSION:

y Role playing briefs should contain enough information for both parties to engage in abelievable and relevant conversation,which should be in linewith the objectives.Give as much

detail as is necessary- too little and therewon't be enough to sustain a conversation, too much

and peoplewill be swampedwith information, most ofwhich they either won'tneed orwon't

remember.

y Avoid giving people the taskofrole playing attitudes alone.Ifyouwant somebody to roleplay an angry customer give them something to be angry about. Behavior, like acting, is all

about specifics.Ifyou are angrywith your garage about a specific oil leakand their inability to

cure it, therewill have been a specific chain ofevents that has led to your picking the phone up

and complaining.It is not a general anger at everything. Role players canforget this in the heat

ofthe moment ifgiven open license to just 'be angry'; there needs to be a reasonfor it. Awell

written briefwill help to keep the role playfocused and on track.

y Adequate preparation time may seem obvious, but it is often overlooked in the beliefthat itis best to get onwith it. People can be encouraged to share what they are trying to achievewith

observers, so it becomes a shared,facilitative exercise rather than a battle - thiswill also defuse

fear and tension. Again, sharing objectiveswill help andnot'spoil' the role play. y Indevelopmental role play, the option can be given to press the pause buttonwhere peoplefeel they are getting into difficulty. Although building up aflowin a role play has advantages, it

is not a scene from TV soap, it is a rehearsal tool. And in rehearsals, people stop and start. No-

one should be expected to give a 'performance'. Emphasizing this too will dissipate people's

fear and concern.


34/34

ROLEPL Y 2011

BIBLOGRAPHY:

y http://www.authorstream.comy http://www.cartoonstock.comy http://www.slideworld.org

Discussions: Advanced Role Play for English as a

Foreign Language by - FRANK HEYWORTH

role play modified

Documents