academic outline writing the first subject in Hanoi university

EFFECTIVENESS OF ROLE PLAY IN TEACHING SPEAKING
ENGLISH TO JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS
Table of content
I. Introduction
II. Development
2.1. An overview of role play in speaking
2.1.1. Definition of role play
2.1.2. The importance of teaching speaking
2.1.3. Role play in speaking
2.2. Significance of role play in teaching speaking English to junior
high school students
2.2.1. Characteristics of junior high school students
2.2.2. Benefits of role play in teaching English
2.3. Application of role play in teaching speaking to junior high school
students
2.3.1. How to teach using role play
2.3.2. When (not) to use role play
2.2.3. The elements for role play stimulation
2.2.4. Possible problems, suggested solutions and tips on successful role
play
III. Conclusion
Reference
I. Introduction:
In contemporary life, English has become a compulsory component of
education in many countries and in Vietnam, English is taught at junior high
school as a compulsory subject for students. And the emphasis is not only on
the linguistic competence of the language learner but also on the
development of the communicative ability of the learner. The speaking
ability play an crucial part in assessing their progress in terms of
accomplishments in spoken communication. Though the importance of
speaking ability of English has been recognized, how it is taught can often be

questioned when the classroom is not a natural setting for learning a
language and creative in learning process of speaking. The techniques for
teaching and learning are so various; however, using role play to teach
speaking English seems the most interesting one for junior high students. It
gives students an opportunity to practice communicating, peer learning is
also encouraged. Besides, for the shy learners, for instance, role play helps
them by providing a mask where learners with difficulty in conversation are
liberated. We can also see plenty of other benefits in using role play as a
teaching method.
In this essay, I intend to develop three main sections. To begin with, the
definition of role play, speaking ability and role play in speaking will be
presented. Next, the most important part of the Englissh is significance of rol
play in teaching speaking english will be discussedd. Last but not least, it is
about the application of role play in teaching language to junior high school
students. This study will give some suggestions so thaty teachers can use
role play more effectively.
II. Development
2.1. An overview of role play in speaking
2.1.1. Definition of role play
There are several definitions of role play defined by various researchers.
Role play can be separated into “role” and “play”. “role” refers to “play
a part(either their own or somebody else’s) in a specific situation”. (Grillian,
2002, p.7). “play” represents “the role is taken on in a safe environment in which
students are inventive and playful as possible” (Grillian, 2002, p.5).
In Cambridge International Dictionary of English, role defined as the
person whom an actor represents in a film or play, while role play is a method of
acting out particular ways of behaving or pretending to be other people who deal
with new situations. It is used in training courses language learning and
psychotherapy.
Similarly, Teaching English (BBC) that “Role-play is any speaking

activity when you either put yourself into somebody else’s shoes or when you stay
in your own shoes but put yourself into an imaginary situation.”
Role-Playing is “the act of imitating the character and behavior of a type
of a person who is very different from yourself, either deliberately, for example as
a training exercise, or without knowing it” (Collins Cobuild English Language
Dictionary, 1994:1526). In this sense, the students pretend as someone else in the
real world situation brought into the classroom. As a kind of guided conversation
technique that is essential to the development of the speaking skill, role-playing
provides framework in which the students build their own sentences but they may
decide by themselves what they want to say (Valette and Disick, 1972:231, 235).
As a kind of guided conversation technique that is essential to the development of the
speaking skill, role play provides framework in which the student build their own sentences but
they may decide by themselves that they want to say ( valette & Dsick 1972: 231, 235).
2.1.2. The importance of teaching speaking English:
Speaking is a crucial part of second language learning and teaching.
Mastering the spoken language is not merely mastering its articulation
and forms. The ultimate aim of mastery of spoken language is to communicate.
This means that mastery of rule of speaking and conversational skill is necessary.
In other words, the students must be able to use English for either interactional or
transactional purposes.
Teaching speaking is a very important part of second language learning.
The ability to communicate in a second language clearly and efficiently
contributes to the success of the learner in school and success later in every phase
of life. Therefore, it is essential that language teachers pay great attention to
teaching speaking. Rather than leading students to pure memorization, providing a
rich environment where meaningful communication takes place is desired. With
this aim, various speaking activities such as those listed above can contribute a
great deal to students in developing basic interactive skills necessary for life.
These activities make students more active in the learning process and at the same
time make their learning more meaningful and fun for them.

2.1.3. Role play in speaking
Considering how important a teacher should make his or her lesson
classroom activity enjoyable, active, secure, and full of more exposure to
language input and more choice to practice the languages, he or she needs to
develop his or her teaching techniques. One of the techniques to be used in
teaching the speaking skill is role-play. Role play allows students to explore their
inner resources, empathize with others, and use their own experiences as scaffolds
upon which credible action. As a result, students can improve their ability to
produce the target language, acquire many of its nonverbal nuances, improve the
ability to work cooperatively in group situations, and effectively deal with
affective issues. Role play has high appeal for students because it allows them to
be creative and to put themselves in another person’s place for a while (Richard-
Amato, 2003:214, 222).
2.2. Significance of role play in teaching speaking English to junior
high school students
2.2.1. Characteristics of junior high school students
Teaching students needs to take not only their age but also their marurity into
consideration.
Students in grades six through nine are changing physically, socially,
emotionally, and intellectually, together with their tendency to be very active,
causes frequent fatigue in early adolescence .During this time, children are
struggling to define themselves as individuals and in relation to others. At the
same time, they are often concerned about their ability to learn and whether or
not they can meet the expectations of parents and other adults. They seek
associations, relationships, and links with people, things, and new ideas. They are
usually excitable, easily motivated,creative, inquisitive, and eager to explore; but
if not active participants in learning situations, they may easily drift into
daydreams.
Middle school learners are qualitatively different than younger learners.
Using the right instructional strategies to maximize the learning advantages and

address the learning challenges of middle school learners can make all the
difference in their success.
Generally, children who are10 to 15 years of age and in grades six
through nine are qualitatively different than younger learners and they are similar
in the ways they learn. They tend to learn best by doing, experiencing, and using
their senses. They often require concrete models and have a need to make
relevant associations between what they learn and their everyday experiences.
2.2.2. Benefits of role play in teaching English
Comparing to other techniques, role-play seems the most interesting one
for the students. The benefits of Rp as a technique in teaching speaking English
is undeniable , and followings are some main its advantages in teaching speaking.
First, role play can improve learners’speaking skill in any situations
and helps learners interact/ give students chance to practice communicating
Through role play activities the students learn how to express ideas,
opinions, or feeling to others by using words or sounds of articulation ,Larsen
Freeman explained that role plays give learners an opportunity to practice
communicating in different social contexts and different social roles. RP
structured like activity providing information gaps since students can not be
sure( as with most forms of communication) what the other person or people will
not they haave effectively communicatived. Through role play activities the
students learn how to express ideas, opinions, or feeling to others by using words
or sounds of articulation. The purpose of role play is “to improve students” verbal
and nonverbal communication skills and to link and use previously built schemas,
in both structured and improvised situations”. (Maxwell, 1997, p.1). Teachers use
role play as one of the teaching methods to force students to speak in public. The
common weakness of Vietnamese students is their speaking ability. They seldom
have the chance to practice conversation, even in the second language classroom.
Therefore, role play could improve students in verbal or non verbal
communication while they are acting out the roles in the dialogue. Maley and
Duff et al pointed out that “an ideal technique to encourage students to talk the

real language is role play” (Maley & Duff, 1982; Marinelli, 1983; Siskin &
Spinelli, 1987; Snyman &De Kock, 1991). No matter whether the dialogue is set
by the teacher or not, students could adapt themselves to the dialogues they learn
in classes and use the conversation in daily lives. Daily conversation includes lots
of unpredictable situations that students might not know how to deal with. “Role
play prepares learners for such unpredictabilities, adding emotion, inventiveness,
and awareness of the listener to language teaching” (Salies, 1995, p.6)
It could increase students’interests and motivation in learning.In
addition, the most important reason for using role play is peer learning in
learning progress. Provided that the RP is well organized operated the participants
in variably enjoy it, becom involved in it and remember it long after they have
forgotten much of the learning which they obtained in other ways. Thr
motivational aspect of RP is the central aspect which all T and other usuers
coment upon. And if you motivate the Ss to learn then half the battle is won. As
Doff (1988) points out, role play increases motivation. Always talking about real
life can become very dull, and the chance to imagine different situations adds
interest to a lesson. In addition, role play gives a chance to use language in new
contexts and for new topics. . it is fun and most learners will agree that enjoyment
leads to better learning.
Role play might help students overcome their shyness when
speaking English on stage. In the first place RP exposes attitudes and feelings in
a way which is both positive and safe because they are acknowledged as a
legitimate area for discussion and analysis and also because the rp itself provides
an opportunity to learn how to. The use of role play brings home to the student
that some aspects of behavior , such as the development of good human relations,
require specific skills in the same sence that these skills can be taught – they are
not something that people are born with, the emphasis in role play is on requiring
students to do and to act , rather than just talk about something. As for the shy
learners, role play helps by providing a mask, where learners with difficulty in
conversation are liberated. We can also see plenty of other benefits in using role

play as a teaching method.
In conclusion, role play is a technique which can develops students’
fluency in target language, promotes students to speak or interact with others in
the classroom, increases motivation and makes the teaching and learning process
more enjoyable.
2.3. Application of role play in teaching speaking to junior high
school students
Because of all the benefits above, I strongly agree that RPs playing an
essential role in teaching speakign, and we should further a movement in using
this method. Although they are widely utilized all over the world, they remain
underexploited in Vietnam.
2.3.2. When to use role play
When applying role play into the teaching practice, what should be
kept in mind is that interaction is an important way of learning. Therefore,
increased oral emphasis should be included in our teaching to give the students as
much speaking time as possible. Role play is often used at the end of the class.
Can be used in any of these three stages: presentation, practice and production
Our task, an English teacher is to think about how to give the
students some practice in our teaching instructions. It means we should give them
chance to practice their English so that, they can express their thought orally.
Everything in role play is well suited for practicing language in realistic
communication situations.
Communicative language teaching is based on reallife situations that
require communication. By using this method in ESL classes, students will have
the opportunity of communicating with each other in the target language. In brief,
ESL teachers should create a classroom environment where students have real-life
communication, authentic activities, and meaningful tasks that promote oral
language. This can occur when students collaborate in groups to achieve a goal or
to complete a task.
2.3.1. How to teach using role play

In order to come up with a good role-playing lesson, the teacher must
have first read extensively on the subject being covered and then “summarize the
information and convert the material into a meaningful story with a setting,
characters, and conflict,” (Morris, 2003, p 44). The next step is for the teacher to
convert the summary of the lesson into objectives and put them up in the form of
questions somewhere in the classroom that is highly visible to the students to
enable the students to see what they should be learning from the lesson (Morris,
2003, p 45).
Morris’s (2003) idea for the actual lesson is to have the students divided
into groups and have them go around to different stations where they participate
in something from the time period they are studying (p 45). By having station
such as these, the students get an idea of what it was like to live during that time
period. They get to learn about the culture as well as the economy within the time
period.
After the students go through the stations they then go back to their seats
and get into another group and answer the lesson objective questions together. By
answering the questions to together they get to discuss and reflect on what they
each have learned and help each other review (Morris, 2003, p 46). Morris (2003)
states “because they have learned both background knowledge and conceptual
tools by acting out history, all students can experience success,” (p. 47).
Finally, the teacher shall evaluate the effectiveness of the role play
activities and check if students have successfully comprehended the meanings of
the vocabulary, sentences and dialogs.
In this study, the researcher implemented 7 (seven) major steps in the
procedure for the role play activities. First, the teacher decides on the teaching
materials. The second step is organizing the group of the students. The third step is
providing the situation and dialogue to be role played. The forth step applied by the
researcher in implementing role-playing technique is explaining the situation in the
cue card as well as the dialogue. The fifth step is having the students practice the
role plays. The sixth step is having students modify the situation and dialogue. The

last step is having the students perform the dialogue in front of the class.
2.2.3. The elements for role play stimulation
McDaniel (2000) says there are four basic elements that are essential for
the success of any role-playing activity (p 357). The first element is that the
activity builds on knowledge the students already possess about a particular
historical context (McDaniel, 2000, p 357). A teacher cannot expect students to
role-play about something they have no prior knowledge of. The second element
is to design the roles yourself to maximize student involvement and student
conflict. Having conflicting perspectives is a must (McDaniel, 2000, p 358). The
third element is to set up a specific situation. Do not let the students go without
giving them a focal point for debate (McDaniel, 2000, p 359). The last element is
the instructor’s limited involvement and willingness to be flexible. The instructor
needs to guide the students along, but not overbear the conversation and let the
students take their own path to understanding (McDaniel, 2000, p 360).
2.2.4. Possible problems, suggested solutions and tips on successful role
play
Problem: it is very likely that the implementation of role play in
teaching speaking will encounter a number of obstacles.
- Traditional methods are still popular and favored in many of our high schools.
- Due to our strict syllabus, time restrictions make it hard to use role ply to their full
capacity as well as vary the communicative activities in speaking classes. both
teachers and students have to suffer the great pressure of catching up with the
schedule or falling behind, let alone spending time practicing speaking.
- As Kumar (1992) mentions, large class size might make interaction and
involvement difficult. It is obvious that in Vietnam’s language teaching context, a
classroom often houses approximately 40 students. That is to say, a teacher has to
monitor at the same time lots of pairs and groups. As a result, he or she will not be
able to equally give help and advice to groups’ role-play.
Obstacles include the limited amount of time for speaking period,
the students’ unfamiliarity with working in role playing, and their inexperience in

dividing equal responsibilities among partners in pairs or members in groups.
Most respondents consider the insufficient amount of time as the biggest problem,
as it receives the highest percentage of agreement from both teachers and students
5.2 Suggestions
Based on the finding strengths, and the weaknesses of this technique, ,
the English teachers should consider some aspects in implementing the technique.
- it is expected that teachers have much more time and opportunities to get familiar
with pair work and group work in teaching speaking
First, the English teachers should set the time as effective as possible by
considering the length of time allowed in every activity. Second, the English
teachers should deliver the explanation using clear voice, not too slowly and not
too quickly. Third, the English teachers should use Vietnamese language if the
students find it hard to understand the explanation. Fourth, the English teachers
should distribute high achiever students in each group that they can help their low
achiever friends in their group. Sixth, the English teachers should approach and
guide students when they role play on their tasks. And seven, the English teachers
should be patient since this technique employs a lot of time and activities at every
stage.
Conclusion:
Role-play is a recognized face-to-face teaching method for teaching
speaking. As stated above, role play has been shown to be effective in teaching
speaking English to junior high school students. And should be used to help
actively engage students in their learning.
Now many linguistics and English as second language (ESL) teachers
agree on that students learn to speak in the second language by "interacting".
Communicative language teaching and collaborative learning serve best for this
aim. Communicative language teaching is based on real life situations that require
communication. By using this method in ESL classes, students will have the
opportunity of communicating with each other in the target language. In brief,
ESL teachers should create a classroom environment where students have real-life

communication, authentic activities, and meaningful tasks that promote oral
language. This can occur when students collaborate in groups to achieve a goal or
to complete a task.