ROLE PLAY: A PANACEA IN THE LANGUAGE CLASS
Naginder Kaur
UiTM, Arau Campus
ABSTRACT
Although group
work is highly recommended in the KBSM,
role play has somewhat lost its role in the language class due to lack of
resourcefulness and innovation on the part of some teachers. By employing this profitable pedagogical
device, the benefits to be accrued are aplenty. It is a platform to implicitly infuse and reinforce the moral values
relevant to Malaysian settings and culture.
In line with the increasing prominence given to learner-centred
teaching, role play also serves as a springboard to sculpture self-directed,
empowered and autonomous learners. The
real world is brought into the classroom in an experiential learning process
and this in turn improves communicative competence. Regular use can also enhance self-concept and reinforce learning
style preferences of relational learners.
Role play ought to be more widely used through efforts at all
levels. Teacher preparation programmes
should play their part in raising the consciousness of pre-service
teachers. The classroom culture and
ethos must be revamped to provide avenues to hear the learners’ ‘voices’. Workshops and motivation programmes can be
conducted for students to build confidence and develop conflict resolution
skills, so that they can attain maturity in coping with complex decision-making
processes through the enactment of roles in a multitude of situations.
Introduction
Role play has been in existence, long
before we even gave it a name.
Shakespeare affirmed that “…one man in his time plays many parts…”
Wordsworth too talked of the child as ‘The Little Actor’ who “ fits his tongue
to dialogues of business, love or strife…” In our daily social encounters, we
put on varied roles to fit the contexts / milieu. In the language class, role
play is an imaginative enactment, where learners assume a part (either their
own or somebody else’s) when they take on a role, either prepared or impromptu.
In defining role play, Ladousse (1987) draws an analogy of the seven blind men
trying to describe an elephant. To some
(Bambrough, 1994, Van Ments, 1990),it falls under the wide umbrella set of
simulation and gaming while others, like Jones (1988) oppose the notion because
it is short and episodic. These myriad activities range from highly-controlled
guided conversations to improvised drama activities. Role play is an
educational technique, known togenerate a lot of fun, excitement,joy and
laughter in the language class as‘play’itself connotes a safe environment in
which learners areas inventive and playful as possible (Ladousse,1987).
The Role of
Role Play in the Curriculum
The revised English Syllabus and Curriculum
Specifications (2000) of the Integrated Secondary School Curriculum (KBSM) stress language use in three
areas: Interpersonal, Informational, and the Aesthetic. Specified topics based on selected settings
/ themes for the secondary school form the backdrop to reinforce a learning
unit. In order to enable learners to
acquire the necessary proficiency to carry out their daily interactive
activities, as outlined in the syllabus, learners need to be engaged in a
variety of speaking / oral interactive activities, requiring production of
language. As group work is highly
recommended in the KBSM, role play
fits firmly into the aims of the syllabus:
The syllabus aims to extend learners’ English Language proficiency in
order to meet their need to use English in certain situations in everyday life,
for knowledge acquisition, and for future workplace needs (p.2).
It is also stipulated that the
objectives of the syllabus, among other things is to “form and maintain
relationships through conversations and correspondence; take part in social
interaction; and interact to obtain goods and services”. With the implementation of the KBSM surpassing a decade, the full
potential of role play seems yet unexplored.
In spite of its centrality in communicative language teaching and
learning, role play has somewhat lost its role and declined in prominence. Many recommended textbooks do not adequately
tap this useful resource, leaving teachers to source for further activities on
their own. Several indices denote its
passing over the last decade - fewer articles have appeared on role play in
recent years, no books have been printed lately to promote it and the number of
activities on role play is seen to have declined in recent foreign language
classroom series (Ali Yahya Al-Arishi, 1994).
Why is role play downplayed in our language class? Sadly, group work and the KBSM in general have not fully been
understood. The failure of the KBSM is not in its objectives but in its
practice. Lack of sound understanding
of the philosophy that underlies the KBSM
and lack of exposure of the teachers have also resulted in disinterestedness
to explore and stretch the full potential of the curriculum. Thus, role play needs to be widely mooted,
as the benefits are aplenty.
Infusion of Moral
Values
How can we effectively infuse values
relevant to Malaysian culture and norms?
The answer–role play. Whilst the
focus in the 1970s was on academic development, the curriculum reform of the KBSR and KBSM aspires to a holistic development of the
individual, as manifested in the
National Education Philosophy. As the
curriculum mirrors the dominant ideology of a country (Haris Md. Jadi, 1991),
in Malaysia, it rests on the premise of national integration and holistic
development of the individual, in and beyond the years of formal
education. The curriculum espouses the philosophy of educating learners in the
larger context of life, so that they would grow up to be knowledgeable
citizens, with high moral standards, able to contribute to the betterment
of society and the nation. Language
skills, language content and moral values are to be nurtured integratively,
hence the notion of an integrated curriculum.
In the revised syllabus of 2000, to “show an awareness and appreciation of
moral values and love towards the nation” is an integral component of the
curriculum. Role play is the panacea to impart these
values. Situations involving various
experiences drawn from everyday happenings in familiar settings such as the
home, school, the library, supermarket, bus station, the park and pasar malam can integratively reinforce
the intended values.
Autonomy
through a Learner-Centred Approach
Educators are now on the move to promote
self-regulated learning, which creates learner autonomy and role play is one
such platform (Bambrough, 1994), though often rejected as a fad of the
communicative syllabi era. Dwelling on
a student-centred learning approach, it produces self-directed learners,
capable of constructing and regulating their own learning cycle in and beyond
the classroom. The very essence of
education is to make learners self-reliant, able to carry on the process
independently because they have learnt how to use available resources by themselves
(Van Ments, 1990, 1989). A Chinese
proverb describes autonomy and self-reliance as: “Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish,
and you feed him for a lifetime.”
By keeping a learning journal and following procedures for task
completion, learners take charge through self-awareness, self-reflection,
self-evaluation and self-monitoring during and after the process. Empowerment is manifested as learners
experience decision-making for themselves (via role enactments) and take note
of their successes and failures. Such
learning becomes the source of creativity, confidence, flexibility, awareness,
rationality and maturity of emotion as it provides opportunities to handle
unprecedented situations.
Experiential
Process of Language Learning
Kirk’s (1987) Cycle of Experiential
Learning demonstrates a process involving active learning as opposed to passive
teaching. Learning is by doing things in a group, self-review, drawing
conclusions and applying these to their real-life experiences elsewhere through
the overlapping /simultaneous / developmental four-step cycle.
Role play, being an activity
of experiential learning (Joyce,et. al., 1992,
Van Ments, 1990;Kolb,1984;Wolsk, 1975) brings the real world into the
classroom, transforming the artificial and sterile atmosphere. The encounter and experience with reality
and real-life situations provide insights into persistent problems, besides
building upon language proficiency through naturalistic interaction. The focus is on the process of playing a part rather than content or knowledge of
grammatical structures. It is
skills-based, not knowledge-based, drawing from all surrounding phenomena in
its open-ended and cross-curriculum nature.
Since learning is more to do with questions than with answers, it is
only through direct experience that understanding and change comes about. As Van Ments (1990) contends:
Experience is not what happens to you, it is what you
do with what
happens to you. (p. 59)
Students
can discover the ‘how’ of learning is
as important as the ‘what.’ The mere observation of the phenomenon is
inadequate as follow-ups such as testing the dynamics of the reality are
equally important, as suggested by Sharan and Sharan (1976):
… role playing can be used effectively to improve
skills needed for the language process (i.e. how students work together) rather
than simply being a technique for exploring content. (p.182)
Increased
Communicative Competence
Since the beginning of the 1970s, the communicative
wave has swept across the language teaching world. There has been growing
emphasis on communication, in which
tasks focus on meaning more than form.
Learning for communicative competence– the ability to use language appropriately
has gained prominence (e.g. the KBSM) instead of linguistic competence of
knowing grammatical rules. Language
proficiency includes not only knowledge of phonology, syntax, vocabulary and
semantics but the ability to make use of this knowledge appropriately in actual
communication (Canale & Swain, 1980).
In the intimate relationship between
communicative competence and oral activities of role play, language is the
invariable by-product, covertly acquired and implicitly facilitated. Both proficient and less proficient learners
are engaged in negotiating meaning through verification, explanation and
clarification to achieve the common group goal. They strive to comprehend and be comprehended by applying the
relevant language functions in natural, real-life language befitting the speech
community. Through communication, learners
generate the appropriate language variety and contextual style, pertinent to
the context, including conversational ellipses, dialects, slang, colloquialism
or even code-switching and code-mixing (if need be). Interactive active communication is enhanced in simultaneous
student talk of language production and language comprehension. This is especially useful for LEP (low
English proficiency) learners since an increased quantity of communication is
available for intake. Successful completion of communicative tasks does not
necessarily require an accurate use of the structures which emerge naturally as
some require only rudimentary linguistic knowledge, but the intrinsic
combination of verbal, non-verbal and paralanguage features (e.g. gestures,
facial expressions) convey the intended meaning and higher quality
discourse. By giving new information,
repetitions or expansions, linguistic complexity is achieved. Successful enactments can also dismiss
contentions (if any) of the artificiality of the discourse generated. However, when deemed necessary, explicit
forms and functions for various tasks may be incorporated to balance components
and discourse processes, overcoming possible perceptions of the laissez-faire nature
of role play.
Enhancement in Self-Concept
There is a strong and positive cause and effect
relationship between self-concept and students’ participation in role play
(Naginder Kaur, 1999). Self-concept, a
multi-faceted psychological construct in general terms, represents perceptions
of oneself as derived for self-attributions, interaction with significant
others and other experiential aspects of the social environment (Shavelson et al., 1976). Various dimensions such as the Academic Self-Concept, the Social
Self-Concept, the Emotional Self-Concept and the Physical Self-Concept, each
with further sub-components, supersede in different contexts. The interplay and overlapping of the facets
underpin the general self-concept.In role play, it bears a relationship with
motivation and level of participation as the affective domain grows alongside
the acquisition of knowledge. Learners
develop
a positive self-concept through participation. Conversely, as Thatcher (1990) states:
Poor
self-image is a powerful block to learning and a very powerful block to clear
communication, and it is also a very persistent block which is difficult to
remove once it has developed. (p. 299)
Constant and continued opportunities in role play can
lead to improvement, particularly in the facets of Academic Self-Concept,
Emotional Self-Concept and Social Self-Concept in both weak and proficient
learners (Naginder Kaur, 1999). The
personal growth leads to heightened self-awareness and confidence, owing to supportive
peers and teacher.
Reinforcement
of Preferred Learning Styles
Generally, English as a
Second Language (ESL) learners are a
kinesthetic and tactile learning type (Reid, 1987). The Malay learners, being the kinesthetic type, demonstrate a
high preference for group learning.
This could be attributed to their culture, which emphasises kinship and
collaborative work, such as gotong-royong. In role plays, learners used to
collaborative learning can tap on such kinesthetic learning to reinforce their
preferred learning styles.
Teacher as the
Facilitator
Pedagogical
adjustments by the teacher is necessary–playing an implicit, non-interfering
role as a facilitator rather than knowledge transmitter. Grounded in mutual respect between the
teacher and learners, role play is a low-input high-output process. A short
teacher presentation stage suffices in providing scaffolds to self-directed
learning. Coopersmith & Feldman’s
(1974) suggestions of fostering a positive perception, indicating realistic avenues
for success and investing the learners with responsibility for their own
development are determined by the teacher, who sets the classroom tempo and
climate. Situations ought to be
well-organised and purposeful; tasks be carefully explained, with examples,
before learners engage themselves. Teacher
modelling transmits confidence and learners know what is expected of them and
how they are supposed to go about accomplishing the task.
However, since role play is vulnerable
to participant resistance due to dangers of anxiety, fear and guilt (Jones,
1988), it is imperative the teacher creates a non-threatening and relaxed
ambience so that the shy ones can be drawn out of their ‘cocoons’. Teacher-fronted practice and persistent
demand for class performances (against learners’ will) would only evoke fear,
intimidation, anxiety and non-contribution, rooted in lack of confidence and
poor self-concept. Learners will not experience joy nor language
improvement without the encouragement, positive reinforcement, and warmth
exhibited by the teacher. To battle
trepidations, stress ought to be on the process of communication (not acting
ability). Teacher discretion can determine whether texts / dialogues should be
written or otherwise. Weak learners can
be allowed to write out their contributions in the initial sessions or be
provided with a word-list relevant to the context. This structural approach can provide the crutch of confidence and reduce
self-consciousness, whilst
progressively encouraging spontaneity.
Teacher intervention may be necessary when dealing with challenging
tasks and reticence. Adequate time
ought to be given, depending on the range of proficiency and ability. Situations may also be take-home or holiday
assignments, to be accomplished within a stipulated time. In the process, the teacher can understand
the learners’ self-perceptions and know the reason(s) for their behaviour. Attempts can be made to improve the lacking
or deficient issues in behaviour, through counselling and motivation. By viewing the holistic picture, rash misconceptions
are avoidable. Besides, role play
gauges learners’ participation, hence the value of the experience and the
extent of behavioural changes (i.e. pedagogical objectives) can be probed. As iterated by Dennison and Kirk (1990): “Poor
self-image is a powerful block to learning and a very powerful block to clear
communication, and it is also a very persistent block which is difficult to
remove once it has developed”. (p. 299)
The Role of
Peers
Role play can be seen to rest on the
framework of cooperative learning which has five key elements i.e. positive
interdependence, team formation, accountability, social skills and structuring
and structures. The mechanics of group
work can be explored through the cooperation developed as collaborative work
entails awareness of relationships.
Responsibility for the group grows and participants learn to evaluate
the performance of the group as well as of themselves. In group tasks, the role of peers, who are
the significant others is instrumental in boosting the Social Self-Concept
through acceptance, lending of confidence and cooperation. Hurt et
al. (1978) adduce that affinity is often the desired outcome of
communication between people, as there is an inner need among learners to
foster warm relationships. This
favourable atmosphere in turn enhances participation–willingness to
participate, optimising potential and striving to play the role assigned
appropriately, since fear and consciousness of limited language proficiency and
mistakes are allayed. Positive
reactions during multilateral interactions emerge as a result of the renewed
confidence and support received. A
non-threatening atmosphere of group / pair work would alleviate anxiety which
may be otherwise experienced (Di Pietro, 1987). Non-vocal and submissive learners benefit too as their learning
style, upbringing and socio-cultural values (of conformity and emphasising
harmony) could be the contributors to their apparent silence. Sometimes, familiarity among group members
may be an (initial) problem, which can be overcome through efforts of
adaptability to diverse personality types.
As familiarity evokes a sense of belonging and ownership with the group,
it yields positive responses. Lack of cooperation (if any) could indeed be a
catalyst to some, who may consciously strive harder to cope. Innate personality is equally important in
establishing adaptability to peers and the environment as learners who are more
optimistic are inherently more active and vice versa.
How to
Promote the Use of Role Play
Teacher Preparation Programmes
Teacher preparation programmes can
play a key role in ensuring the ultimate accomplishment of the National
Educational Philosophy and the KBSM. Firstly, student teachers should internalise
the underlying philosophy of the KBSM
and the education ideology. It is felt
that some teachers perform in the classroom without adequate understanding of
the ‘what’ and ‘why’. Since the
nurturing of the teacher begins at this level, prospective teachers can be
taught the different ways group work can be explored, despite the
looming constraints. Teachers should be
drilled not to resign to their fate but to seek innovation by making the best
of the learning situations at hand.
Teachers may also not be using role play because they simply do not know
how to tap into it meaningfully or realise the benefits. Student teachers should be taught how to utilise role play purposefully and effectively. Many a time, teachers assign the situations
and expect the learners to perform, assuming that they know just what to
do. Training and ingraining must
include subscribing to the principles of learning so that role play is not a
mere ad-hoc filler but meets specific pedagogical goals.
Classsroom Culture
There
is also a dire need to reform our classroom culture if we are seeking
autonomous learners, capable of taking control of their own learning. As stated earlier, group work needs to be
more widely used so that learners can break free of the humdrum of the
widely-used lecture-format. The rote
learning skills imparted by the curriculum and the hidden curriculum are deeply
rooted as learners need to fulfill the expectations of our fundamentally,
meritocratic society. Learners are
frequently measured by their cognitive ability (i.e. performance in
examinations) while other aspects of development such as the psychomotor and
affective states are often trivialised.
As a result, they are not adequately exposed to experiential
communicative activities and this spillover effect of reticence and
passiveness can be
witnessed at the post-secondary level where learners incessantly recline
on writing dialogues as a crutch.
To revamp
the classroom ethos, learners must be given more opportunities to verbalise
their thoughts freely. Empowerment to
be in-charge of their own learning must begin at initial schooling, i.e. by
identifying their learning preferences and tapping into the relevant resources
to promote learning. This means,
perceiving learners not as a featureless mass but as resource and whole beings,
whose ‘voices’ are to be heard.
Teachers, being at the grassroots should make that change in the
classrooms as pointed out by Tedick and Walker (1994): “It is the responsibility
of individuals working as a collective network to confront their beliefs and to
be willing to embrace the challenges and begin to work toward substantive,
lasting change”. (p.309)
Learners in the West are vocal and
assertive due to the learning atmosphere and culture which encourage
expressions of thoughts. Teachers
should be more accommodating to accept challenges from learners. Such reformation would slowly encourage them
to participate more readily with high self-esteem. An important consideration when working with role play is that
learners (especially LEP and non-assertive ones) be allowed to pick their own
partners and group members as the leeway would work for the success in the
lesson. Teacher’s interference in
assigning group members can prove detrimental and frustrating. The teacher, thus, shoulders the
responsibility for creating a win-win situation and may only intervene if,
there are dominators in a particular group, ensuring the presence of mediators
to reduce the possible negative effects faced by introverts.
Workshops for
Students
Several forms of workshops can be conducted at all
levels of learning to instill confidence during oral presentations. By creating awareness of their varied
potentials, the students would be more receptive towards role play. Teachers can identify learners who suffer
low self-esteem, are passive and demonstrate withdrawal during lessons and give
them regular refreshment courses. They
must be made to realise the unexplored potential in them, and that they are not
as backward as they perceive themselves.
These workshops must be conducted at various stages and progress must be
monitored, to assess improvements.
Another workshop is the conflict resolution workshop, targeted at
identifying leaders and problem solvers.
Since dominators are inevitable,mediators are necessary in such events
to bridge the gap of communication.
Participants can learn how to balance harmony as well as boost
confidence and social relations.
Conclusion
Evidently, the role of role play in the language
classroom is crucial. It is a
profitable pedagogical strategy since many learners (particularly Malay
learners) are relational learners who like collaborative work in accomplishing
classroom tasks. So, why marginalise
role play? Efforts ought to be
initiated at all levels to revive this evergreen pedagogical technique. Language learning is a process; hence,
do ‘play’ all the time with role play
and re-inject fun in the English Language class. It is the aspiration of our education system to churn out
scholars who are self-directed and able to contribute to the progress of the
country to realise Vision 2020. The key
to high language proficiency is practice, practice and practice. Role play provides avenues for students to
practise everyday language use (in and outside class) through social
communicative style and information communicative style. So, let us bring back the seemingly outmoded
language activity of role play into our classes to introduce fun into learning
and bring smiles to our learners’
faces.
References
Al-Arishi, A. Y. 1994. Role-play, real play, and
surreal-play in the ESOL classroom.
English
Language Teaching Journal,
48(4):337-346.
Bambrough, P. 1994. Simulations in English Teaching.
Buckingham: Open University
Press.
Canale, M. & Swain, M. 1980. Approaches to Communicative Competence.
Singapore:
SEAMEO Regional Language Centre.
Coopersmith, S. & Feldman, R. 1974. Fostering a Positive Self-Concept High
Self-Esteem
in the Classroom. In R.H. Cop & K. White (eds). Psychological Concepts in the
Classroom. New York: Harper &
Row.
Dennison, B. & Kirk, R. 1990. Do, Review, Learn , Apply: A Simple Guide to
Experiential
Learning. Oxford: Basil Blackwell.
Di Pietro, R. J. 1987. Strategic Interaction. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Haris Md. Jadi 1992. Reformasi
Kurikulum di Malaysia: Satu
pandangan ke atas proses
perancangan, pembinaan dan
perlaksanaanya. Jurnal Pendidik dan
Pendidikan, 11: 1-14.
Hurt, H. T., Scott, M. D.
& McCroskey, J. C. 1978. Communication in the Classroom. West
Virginia: Addison-Wesley Publishing Company.
Joyce, B., Weil,
M. & Showers, B. 1992. Models of Teaching. (4th edn). Boston:Allyn and
Bacon.
Jones, K. 1988. Interactive Learning Events: A Guide for
facilitators. London: Kogan Page.
Kementerian Pendidikan Malaysia: 2000.Pusat Perkembangan Kurikulum Kementerian
Pendidikan Malaysia.
Kirk, R. 1987. Learning in Action -
Activities for Personal and Group
Development.
Oxford: Basil Blackwell Limited.
Kolb, D. A. 1984. Experiential
Learning: Experience as the Source of Learning and
Development. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice Hall.
Ladousse, G. P. 1987. Role Play. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Naginder Kaur 1999. Role Play: The relationship between
self-concept and
learner participation in
an experiential learning
process. Unpublished Masters of
Education (M.Ed.) Dissertation. USM Malaysia.
Reid, J. 1987. The learning style preferences of ESL
students. TESOL Quarterly,
21(1): 87-
106.
Sharan,S. &
Sharan, Y. 1976. Small-Group
Teaching. Educational Technology Publications
Shavelson, R. J.,
Hubner, J. J. & Stanton, G.
C. 1976. Self-Concept: validation of construct
interpretations. Review of Educational Research,
46:407-441.
Tedick, D. J. & Walker, C. L. 1994. Second
language teacher education: The problems
that plague us. The
Modern Language Journal, 78(3):300-312.
Thatcher, D. 1990.
Experience as Learning:
Implications for training and
operation. Simulations
/Games for Learning, 20 (3): 276-302.
Van Ments, M. 1989. The Effective Use of Role Play. (Revised edn). London:
Kogan
Page.
Van Ments, M. 1990. Active Talk. London: Kogan Page.
Wolsk, D. 1975. An Experience-Centred Curriculum.
France: The Unesco Press.