As it turns out, role play is not just for Comic-Con.Dressing up and playing pretend can actually be a. From young students to professionals, role play a great way to prepare students to use English in.Implementing this activity in the classroom can help students or speaking English in general, and clarify any misunderstandings in a safe environment.Also, it’s fun! Role play breaks up the monotony of book work and is a great way to practice or review skills. What better way to see if students really understand how to use those new vocabulary words, verb tenses and sentence structures?If you don’t know where to start, here are some of the most useful and relevant role play topics for ESL students. Time to Eat!Goal: Students will master typical vocabulary and phrases used in a restaurant by understanding and responding appropriately to prompts.Words/Phrases:.
Food-related vocabulary. May I take your order?. I would like. Check, please?. Will you be paying by cash or credit?Description: In this role play, students test their knowledge of food vocabulary and common questions/phrases used at restaurants. For beginners, stick with simple questions like “How can I help you?” and “What would you like to drink?” Vocabulary should also be simple, such as “soup” and “ice cream.” For more advanced classes, you can introduce higher-level vocabulary and vary the questions.In order for students to be successful, it is important to pre-teach some of the more common phrases students might encounter.
Pathways 2 Impact Issues 1 World English 2 Q: Skills for Success 2 Listening. Movies ESL Role Play Activity. This role play is from the ESL Role Plays book. Depending on the teacher's preference, the discussion questions can be. You can view and download a PDF of the Movie Role Play Cards here. The Effectiveness of Role Play Strategy in Teaching Vocabulary Thuraya A. Alabsi Department of Curricula and Instruction, Taibah University, Madinah, Saudi Arabia Abstract—Vocabulary is a key element of students' understanding and communicative ability in any language.
For the actual role play, divide the class into small groups. Students should take turns being the server or guest. Circulate to make sure students are using the phrases correctly and instruct the students when to switch roles.Tip: Add an extra element of practice and creativity by letting students design menus before performing the activity. Taxi!Goal: Students will utilize their knowledge of direction words and polite requests to accurately give oral directions.Words/Phrases:.
Names of locations and local businesses (bank, restaurant, hotel, etc.). Go left/right/straight. Where to?. Take the next right/left.Description: Most people will find themselves in a taxi at some point in their lives. Hopefully, the driver will be much better than the one they’re going to get in this activity! He or she is new and the passenger has to tell them how to get to their desired location!With this ESL role play topic, students have the opportunity to practice giving and clarifying directions.
Again, it can be adapted for different ages and learning levels.Be sure to pre-teach vocabulary and phrases like stating an address in the proper order: first the number, then street name. You may also take time to introduce directions such as “left,” “right” and “straight.”Once students are comfortable with the language, divide students into small groups. Assign the roles of driver and passengers. Students should use the pre-taught phrases to engage in a short dialogue about directions. It is best to give the class a time limit. Once time is up, the students should switch roles so that each student has the chance to be both driver and passenger. Is There a Doctor in the House?Goal: Students utilize appropriate medical phrases and vocabulary used at a doctor’s office or hospital.Words/Phrases:.
Body parts. Physical ailments. How are you feeling?.
Where does it hurt?. I have a. What do you recommend?Description: No one knows when an emergency will arise and they’re in need of medical attention. Let’s make sure students are prepared to express their aches and pains in English.Depending on the age of the students, you can design the pre-taught vocabulary accordingly. For younger students, stick with words like “runny nose” and “cough.”For older students, you might want to include such things as “high blood pressure.” It may also be a good idea to ask the students what medical words they want to know—some of them may have specific words related to their health they want to practice and you can help them find the right translations.For a successful role play, divide students into small groups. Assign students the different roles and set a time limit for them to perform the dialogue.
Make sure you give each student a chance to be the doctor, nurse and patient. If you have time, ask groups to volunteer to present their skit in front of the whole class. Tell them to be super dramatic! Time to TeachGoal: Students practice public speaking by instructing or explaining a chosen topic in detail to the class.Words/Phrases:. Vocabulary needed for topic of choice.
Can everyone hear/see me?. Today we are going to learn how to.
Any questions?Description: “Time to Teach” gives you and the students a lot of flexibility. Students prepare a short lesson on a topic of their choosing and get to be the teacher for a few minutes.
You can narrow the parameters by giving specific time limits or giving them a set list of topics.This ESL role play topic allows students to practice instruction and transition words. For example, if a student decides to teach his classmates how to do origami, he might start with “First, fold your piece of paper in half,” followed by “then” and “finally”Not only does this give the teacher a bit of a break, it also results in lots of interesting new information for everyone involved. Let’s Go Shopping!Goal: Students have the opportunity to utilize common vocabulary and phrases that arise when shopping.Words/Phrases:.
Terminology related to grocery stores (aisle, shelf, row, products). How can I help you?. Excuse me, can you tell me where the is?. Did you find everything today?. Would you like the receipt in the bag?Description: It is imperative that students feel comfortable and confident enough to.
This role play topic allows students to utilize their, ask questions and engage in a money-based transaction.Divide the class into small groups or turn the whole classroom into a supermarket. (I recommend setting up the whole classroom.) If you can, set up the desks as aisles and let students bring items from home to use as products in the store.
Create a checkout line and use a desk as a cash register.Employees should circulate and ask customers if they need help. You might encourage the customers to be lost and needy, constantly seeking assistance. The cashier then rings up the items and finalizes the transactions.
Assign them different roles and make sure each student has a chance to act as employee, cashier and customer. You might even have fake money so students can practice counting and using money-related vocabulary. Ace the InterviewGoal: Students practice professional English, proper interview etiquette and responding appropriately to common interview questionsKey Phrases:. Where did you study?.
I graduated from in. What are your strengths?.
One of my strengths is. Why do you want this job?. I want this job because.Description: This particular ESL role play topic may not be. However, it can be extremely beneficial and worthwhile for students, as well as high school and university students. And who does not like talking about themselves?Divide students into pairs and have them take turns being the interviewer and interviewee. The questions can be as detailed as you would like and can be adjusted for different student levels.
Be sure to also use this opportunity to teach students about the importance of body language and interview etiquette! Oh, and One More ThingIf you like teaching English with entertaining activities, then you’re going to absolutely love FluentU.It’s got a huge collection of authentic English videos that people in the English-speaking world actually watch on the regular. These are videos that your students already love watching, so they’ll be beyond excited to interact with them in the classroom.On FluentU, all the videos are sorted by skill level and are carefully annotated for students. Words come with example sentences and definitions. Students will be able to add them to their own vocabulary lists, and even see how the words are used in other videos.Worried that students might be stumped by some of the harder videos? FluentU brings authentic content within reach by providing interactive captions and in-context definitions right on-screen.
For example, if a student taps on the word “brought,” they’ll see this:Plus, these great videos are all accompanied by interactive features and active learning tools for students, like multimedia flashcards and fun games like “fill in the blank.”It’s perfect for in-class activities, group projects and solo homework assignments. Not to mention, it’s guaranteed to get your students excited about English!with your computer or tablet or, better yet, download the FluentU app from or and enjoy FluentU’s innovative features on any of your Android or iOS devices.
When it comes to (or teaching in general), one of the most challenging parts of the job is creating and updating ESL lesson plans. Science ESL Lesson PlansThis group of lesson plans will arm you with current, up-to-date science topics.
These lessons can be tailored to fit any age group and any fluency level. You may have to slightly change some things, such as the hurricane lesson in order to reflect the latest hurricane disaster or you could even make one up in your class as an ongoing activity. If you are looking for a specific topic, one of these plans just may be the right model for you to write your own lesson plan off of.
Reading ESL Lesson PlansThe ability to read is a cornerstone of English fluency and one of the most complicated things to teach as an ESL teacher. Many students will enter the classroom with little to no previous knowledge of phonetics, comprehension, or vocabulary and it’s up to you to take them from recognizing letters to forming sounds.
These reading ESL lesson plans will help you craft lessons for various age groups and can be adapted to suit different levels.Please note that these lessons will be easier if your students have a bit of English instruction under the belts – if not, scroll down to the lessons for beginners. Pronunciation ESL Lesson PlansPronunciation is a particularly difficult talent to teach as a student’s native language often interferes with the process.
It’s also an extremely valuable skill as it can improve the students’ placement in future classes, the ability to get a job, and self-confidence when conversing with other English speakers.Without getting too deep into how to teach phonetics, it can be advantageous for teachers to incorporate some basic pronunciation ESL lesson plans into their classes if only to familiarize their students with the methods. Consider beginning with how to form each sound and moving into evaluating entire words and phrases. Business ESL Lesson PlansTeaching business can be a challenging endeavor for a teacher – not only are the topics often advanced compared to reading and comprehension, they may often be made up of material that falls outside of your expertise. For example, if you are tasked with teaching marketing, it’s likely you will learn a lot along the way as well unless you’ve been a marketer!Business ESL lessons plans can plan an invaluable role in this situation – not only do they provide a solid foundation for your classes, they also provide a template through which you can easily familiarize yourself with the material.
Beginners ESL Lesson PlansTeaching beginners can be as fun as it diverse. Beginner classes are often filled with younger students full of energy and excitement which makes lessons a lot of fun to teach. However, new teachers are often overwhelmed with where to start when it comes to new learners because they need to learn everything from ABCs to introductions. This is where a good beginner lesson plan comes in, and even more importantly, a good curriculum.These lessons can be adjusted to fit students of any age and serve as a great ESL template for teachers looking for ways to improve their other classes. Adults ESL Lesson PlansI’ve found that when it comes to teaching adults, there is a tremendous benefit to introducing vocabulary and reinforcing it with real world examples.
To accommodate this teaching style, these ESL lesson plans for adults are almost all based around role play but can be amended to focus more on the vocabulary or grammar part of the class.One of the things I loved about teaching adults was the ability to engage in discussions that might escape the comprehension of lower levels. Use this to your advantage and push your classes to discuss topics that will challenge their ability to learn as well as think. Listening ESL Lesson PlansA student’s ability to listen and understand even basic English is paramount for a good classroom experience – not only are they able to better comprehend instructions, they will have an easier time interacting with their fellow students. Luckily, a solid ESL listening lesson plan begins with the teacher and you can make the overall process much easier just by speaking slowly and clearly, facing the class, and engaging in warm up activities that promote both listening and speaking.Depending on your students’ ability you may also want to incorporate role play, movies, and even TV shows into your classroom material and homework. Vocabulary ESL Lesson PlansNo matter what your students’ ages or abilities, learning vocabulary never really goes away.
New lessons beget new words and it’s important to teach them in a consistent and effective way. While using repetition, context, and games are all beneficial tactics, how you structure your vocab into your ESL teaching template is also something that can make or break a lesson.Your mileage may vary, but I’ve seen the most success introducing and reinforcing vocabulary at the beginning of each lesson and then working the rest of the class around it. Writing ESL Lesson PlansWriting is one of the things that frustrated my students the most – they may have been able to understand and speak basic English but the writing was a constant struggle. It’s also one of the most valuable skills for non-native speakers and one that can make the difference between getting a job or not, or placing into a higher level English class.
With this in mind, I believe that it’s never too early to introduce writing into your classes through ESL lesson plans.The how is obviously dependent on your students’ level, but even just practicing ABCs on the board (make a game out of it!) will be invaluable as they progress into bigger words and even sentences. If your students are well beyond the basics, make sure you are having them write regularly as it really is a muscle that needs to be exercised.