Role Play

ROLE PLAY.

CONCEPT OF ROLE PLAY:

WHAT IS ROLE PLAY?

-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 unprepared, unrehearsed dramatization. By role playing situations the participants are able to “rehearse the future.”

(WHO) FOUNDER OF ROLE PLAY?

-Physician Jacob L. Moreno (1889-1974) in Vienna.

The term "role" comes from the "rolled-up" script actors used to use over two thousand years ago in Ancient Greece.

WHY USE ROLE PLAY?

1. It’s fun and motivating.

2. Quieter students get the chance to express themselves in a more forthright way.

3. The world of the classroom is broadened to include the outside world.

4. Teaching communication skills.

5. Develop students' self-confidence, self-esteem and self-image.

6. Encourage students to take a deep approach to learning.

Principle of role-play

* The student assumes a particular personality of a different person, such as a historical character.

* According to Jones (1982), students “must   accept the duties and responsibilities of their roles and function, and do the best they can in the situation in which they find themselves.”

Roles of teacher.

* Instructor

* Provides accessories for play

* Spectator

* Feedback provider

* Let the student play the role, where the child is comfortable.

* Facilitator 

* Participant

Role of students.

* Active listener.

* Seek guidance from advisors.

* Assume responsibility for your own learning.

* Develop effective interaction with teacher.

* Evaluate and judge your own performance.

* Spectator and provides feedback.

Purpose of Role play.

1. To stimulate interest among the students.

 Children have always enjoyed learning through mimicking and duplicating the actions of others including their parents and peers.

 2. For long term retention (learning by acting).

People enjoy playing, especially young people. If the students are already motivated to play, learning through play would become even easier.

3. For cognitive learning method (critical thinking).

Role playing encourages the use of critical thinking because it involves analyzing and problem solving, therefore role play is a cognitive learning method. 

4. To help students to understand the feeling and attitudes of others.

This is by experiencing the situations rather than just hearing or reading about them.

 5. Role playing teaches many lessons.

Some of the most important lessons. It teaches the lessons that are needed in society, competition, cooperation and empathy.

6. It enhances active participation and decision making.

Participation in role play allows students to make decisions and through the feedback he or she receives, he sees the results of his action and can therefore learn how to adjust his words and actions to produce more likeable results.

7.  For the exchange of knowledge.

Role play allows for the exchange of knowledge between students. The teacher is also able to see the various capabilities of students at the same time. 

8. To develop communication skills and build confidence.

 It provides students with opportunities to develop a range of communication and social interaction skills such as listening, speaking act while they interact with others. It also allows introverted students to speak out.

9. Challenge students to question their aptitude.

Role play enables us to explore our aptitude and it enables us to experience the persons situation by putting on their shoes.

Procedural-steps in enacting the role play.

Warm up group.

 In a role play, a group has to be formed and needs to choose a situation for a role play, in which situation they are going to play and also how they are going to play. 

Select participants.

It has to select the participants for the role play individually about what role they want to take.

For example. If we play a role in situation of animals, then have to select who wants to take a role of a cow, dog, buffalo, tiger etc… 

Set the stage.

Stage needs to be prepared unlike usual ones. Moreover what need to prepare is how the individual roles are going to act and speak according to the particular role that they are taking. 

Prepare the observer.

When the role is going to play there also need to have some public watching the play. And also need to have observer or judge to observe and note down how far the role players can act and speak accordingly and also what mistakes they are committing because they need to improve next time.

Enact.

Here it is playing a role in reality according to the particular roles that the individuals took.

Discuss and evaluate.

Discuss about the positive and negative feedback’s but mainly focuses on the negative points.

 Re-enact.

After making perfections against the mistakes that they made, again they are going to enact the role- play.

Share experience and generalize.

Needs to share about what good experience that they gained after acting such a role-play. Good experiences like working in team/groups, cooperation with friends, confidence and etc… also need to convey the message to the public that, what moral they gained from the roles they took.

Advantages of Role-play Strategy.

- Student interest in the topic is raised.

- Active Participation.

- Long-term retention.

- It enhances communication and interpersonal skills.

- It can be used with individuals or in group situations.

- It teaches empathy and understanding of different perspectives. It helps individuals to - learn to accept both their own feelings and those of others.

- It develops confidence and self-efficacy.

- Provides teacher immediate feedback about the learner’s understanding and ability to apply concepts.

- It develops competence.

- It is useful for a range of topics, including interviewing, counseling skills, personal relationships, and team working.

- They require mental and physical activity e.g. gesturing to put forward a point.

- Reduces discipline problems which often arise from boredom and lack of motivation.

Disadvantages of Role-play Strategy.

 - Role play may awaken previously subdued or suppressed emotions.

- Less effective in large groups (Chaos).

- Teacher must accept her new role where she/he does not dominate the class anymore.

- Embarrassment for some students.

- Can lack focus unless well planned and monitored.

- Can be unpredictable in terms of outcomes.

- Can be time-consuming.