Role plays: five mini activities

Role plays are great ways for students to practise functional language.

Remember: When you do role plays, it is much easier for students to find their role if they have some props or a costume. It doesn’t have to be much: a hat, a badge, a bag, a pencil and notebook or an apron. And try to rearrange the furniture so that you are no longer in the classroom, but at the airport, at the police station, in the shop, in the restaurant or at the hotel. Wherever you want the action to take place.

Give students plenty of time to prepare what they want to say to each other. But allow for an element of surprise.

1 At airport security.
A security guard and a passenger.

There is something unexpected in the passenger’s bag. The passenger must explain why it is there.

2 At the police station.
A police officer and a tourist.

The tourist wants to report a theft. The police officer has to ask a lot of questions and the tourist needs to describe the thief and the stolen article.

3 In a shop.
A customer and a shop assistant.

The customer wants to buy something. The shopkeeper does not have it in stock and suggests alternatives; there must be a good reason for each alternative.

4 In a restaurant.
Customers and a waiter.

The waiter suggests different dishes and the customers have to give a reason why they cannot eat that food.

5 At the hotel.
A hotelkeeper and a guest.

The guest complains about the room or the service (for example the size of the bed, the cold water in the swimming pool, the view from the room). The hotelkeeper has to think of a suitable solution for each problem.