CONSOLIDATING FOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS AFTER EACH UNIT BY USING ROLE PLAYS

After having been teaching English at Nong Cong No 3 High School forages, I realise that most of the students are afraid of English skill classes and so aregrammatical problems.. The pro

PART I: INTRODUCTION

I REASONS FOR CHOOSING THE RESEACH

Learning a language is a complex, difficult and long process as anyonewho has tried will surely approve One of the most challenging and frustrating things

is making the transition from the classroom to the 'real' world Speaking anotherlanguage outside the classroom is completely different and often students are lost atsea as soon as they step outside the door Lists of memorized vocabulary aresuddenly useless when ordering in a restaurant Studying English nowadays hasgradually become an essential demand for everyone as English is one of the mostpopular international languages and it is most not only all over the world but also inall aspects of society Therefore, learning and mastering it would greatly bring anumber of oppotunities for the person concerned Although many Vietnamesestudents have graduated with excellent certain qualifications, their ability ofcommunicating in English has always been a hard-to-solve obtacle As a result, theywill easily fail to win their dream jobs Obviously, English is the optimum standardfor applicants to have chances into foreign and state- owned companies

English plays a vital role not only at school but also in examinations at certainstages of the school education system According to the national curriculum, English

is taught base on the aim of communicative approach Now that being able tocommunicate effectively in English is considered as a satisfactory target to achieve For our students, guided practice by teachers is one of the best ways to improve theirskills Nevertheless, in the recent years, teaching English in Vietnam has faced upwith many difficulties such as the lack of teaching aids, teachers’ poor qualifications,students’ weak study motivation or ineffective methods of teaching A large number

of teachers only focus on teaching grammar, reading and writing skills In theprocess of evaluating students’ study result, they concentrate too much on paper-tests They find it very hard to improve communicating comprehension after eachunit in the textbooks From reasons stated above, it is necessary to apply theinnovative methods of teaching English in general and how to use this interestinglanguage in the most effective and natural way

After having been teaching English at Nong Cong No 3 High School forages, I realise that most of the students are afraid of English skill classes and so aregrammatical problems Consequencely, they have a tendency to neglect tasks How

to encourage students to take part in language activities? How to motivate students tobecome eager participants in mini- speaking dialogues? How to raise students’awareness of learning? The problems have become more simple when consolidatingvocabulary and grammar for high school students after each English unit in thetextbooks by using role-plays suitably However, from my experiences of restatingthe content of each lesson,the simple and practical speaking tasks have alwaysbrought specific results to my students

In this writing, I would like to recommend a practical way of consolidating vocabulary and grammar for high school students after each English unit in the textbooks by using role-plays

II AIMS OF THE RESEARCH

On the basis of surveying students’ English ability at Nong Cong No3 HighSchool, I will suggest some feasible solutions in motivating students to use role-playtechniques skillfully as well as improve dramatically speaking skills to systematisethe tasks after each English class From that teaching and learning English at highschool will become a piece of cake and easily approach the teaching and studyingforeign language targets This subject is concerned with using role-play techniqueseffectively and improving students’ communicative ability to consolidate after eachunit in the textbooks

III SCOPES OF THE RESEACH

Researching role-play techniques used in consolidating for high school

students after each English skill lesson helps them be more self-confident in

communcation especially their speaking skill Therefore, students at Nong Cong No3 High School can gradually codify the neccessary knowlegde The research will make students use vocabulary to practise any grammatical tasks more easily

IV RESEACHING METHODS

- The method of collecting and analyzing material for the research: researchfor material concerning about the subject, analyze and get certain knowledge fromprevious researches, finally give the foundation to the research

- The method of talking to students: through talking to students, I have got toknow real situation of students’ achievements after language classes at Nong CongNo3 High School

- The method of surveying through answer sheets

PART II: DEVELOPMENT

I Theoretical background:

My experience initiative is " Consolidating vocabulary and grammar for high

school students after each English unit in the textbooks by using role-plays "

As far as we know, role-plays, or simulations are one of the ways English as aSecond language (ESL) instructors can ease students' transition into using English inreal world situations A simulation is where students act out a real-life situation, forexample checking into at a hotel, but do not act out a different personality Role-plays are where students take on different personalities In a role-play, for example,one student may be asked to take on the role of "an angry neighbor" which is out ofcharacter for the student

The purpose of role playing is to give the students an opportunity to work withothers in determining how an individual or group might behave in response to aparticular situation Role playing is often used primarily to promote classroomdiscussion The use of role playing as a cooperative learning model also includesclass discussion as an essential step, but in this approach the entire class is involved

in preparing and presenting role plays through pair or group activities

* Some principles of using and managing role-plays:

When using role-plays, the more engaging the better Bacause the value ofrole-plays come from students immersing themselves in the material We shouldchoose a topic and stage After each English class, teacher gives students the topic

they have just studied The teacher assigns students positions on the topic(for/against) This will get students out of their personality and into the role wherethey do not have the same inhibitions Preparation is very important to success sothat the teacher has to give students 'personality cards' which sketch out theirpersonal characteristics or scenario and divide students into groups and give themtime to sketch out various scenarios, and go over extra or special vocabulary, askthem to discuss how they will act, think about the character and plan what they willsay For example, what are possible responses/replies for the angry neighbor?

The teacher, as facilitator of the role-plays must support students in their role,i.g they 'are' " Undersea World"- Unit 9 English 10 The teacher should not doanything to interrupt the pretend environment leave grammar correction to the end ascorrecting students in the middle of an argument interrupts the pretend environment.Exaggeration is good, so we have think about how to encourage students toexaggerate their actions, opinions and movements Exaggeration helps studentsimmerse themselves in the role In order to get a successful result, teacher must stage

a rehearsal first and have students practice their role in small groups with coachingfrom the other students While the role-play or debate is in progress, have otherstudents suggest vocabulary first, and act as backup if they do not know

Role-plays are unpredictable which makes them both a valuable learning tooland at the same time difficult to manage Therefore, the time should be controlledexactly ( in a short stage from 7 to 15 minutes) The teacher has to sketch out thevarious routes the role-play can take from the initial scenario This will give yousome ideas what to expect and avoid any surprises

II Practical background:

I have carried out the survey of real situations of learning four skills ofEnglish in class 10A8 and 11C6 (the school year: 2018- 2019) and I have got thefollowing result:

Before applying innovative techniques

(According to the figures from a four skill test at the beginning of the

III Solutions:

3.1 Steps in carrying out role-plays:

3.1.1 Outside the classroom:

- Choosing the topic, based on the topic of the lesson for the unit in textbook

- Preparing materials, especially role-play cards (Teachers can make up thecards themselves, or search for them on the Internet)

3.1.2 Inside the classroom:

- Providing students with enough language to be used in their role-plays

- Setting up the scene for role-plays ( scenes based on the units in thetextbooks grade 10, 11 and 12)

3.2 Sample lesson plans:

Unit 1: Friendship (English 11)

Finding a Perfect Roommate/Flatmate Role-play

1 Materials:

 Ranking Roommates: Vocabulary Warm-up about adjectives of manner and people's characters

 Room Ads: Listening Reading Comprehension Warm-up

 Rooms for Rent Role Cards

 Friends Looking for Rooms Role Cards

 Students with Rooms for Rent Activity Sheet

 Students with Friends Needing Rooms Activity Sheet

2 Purpose and Audience:

The purpose of these materials is to get the students to practice talking about the qualities of good and bad roommates

3 Target language:

Describing people and their habits

4 Warm up:

a) Group Discussion

 Where do you live?

 Do you live in a dormitory or with your family?

 Who do you live with?

 Are you happy where you live? Why or why not?

b) Pros and Cons Brainstorm

 What do you think about shared accommodation?

 What are the pros and cons of shared accommodation?

+ What kind of person is good to live with? Why?

· 2 groups divided into Pros and Cons then pair up Pro and Con to discuss

When trying to find a compatible

roommate, what qualities are the most

important for you? Circle the qualities of

your ideal roommate Finally, in groups,

rank them below (1 being the most

important and 12 being least important)

Messy (is a slob)

easygoing argumentative/high strung

How are you as a roommate? How many of the above ideal qualities do you have?

In your group, find out who is the most compatible roommate for you:

c) Which would you choose?

In groups of 3, put Shared Accommodation Ads in pile face down Students turn 1

up and explain to the group

This accommodation is in (area)

It’s a ( flat/ house/ town/ house)

There are (number) people living there

It costs $ a week

(other information)

Would you like to live there? Why or why not? – Discuss

After going through all six ads, choose the best one for you and explain why.StudentsLooking for Someone to Share Housing

Dialogue: Finding a Roommate

A: Hi, Steve

B: Hey, Jack What’s up?

A: Do you know anyone who’s looking for a place to live?

One of our roommates is moving out

B: As a matter of fact, I do My friend Sally needs a place How much is the rent?

(Steve asks questions about the room and roommates).

B: I’ll let her know and give her your number.

A: Thanks Steve Oh wait! Is there anything I should know about Sally?

B: Like what?

A: Well, is she a heavy drinker?

Our last roommate got drunk all the time and caused a lot of problems

(Jack asks questions about the potential roommate Sally)

A: That’s all I need to know I’ll talk it over with my roommates

Thanks again Steve See you later

B: See you Jack

Unit 6: Competitions (English 11) Reported speech role play

Level: Intermediate

Teacher's notes:

1 After you have taught reported speech, put the students into groups of three 2 Explain that one person in the three is a rich actress/actor, one is his/her

niece/nephew and the last person is the butler

3 The actor/actress is hearing impaired and dying

4 She is going to decide what to do with her money and house after her death 5 Set

up the class so that the actors/actresses are on one side of the room, the

nieces/nephews on the other and the butlers in the middle

6 The butlers need to give messages from the nieces/nephews to the actor/actress

7 The aim is for the butler and the nephew/niece to be nice so that the actor/actress will give them her money

8 As they are doing this the butler will use reported speech e.g She said that you arelazy and never visited her He said he was busy and didn't have time He said that he was helping animals

You are the niece/nephew of a very rich, famous hearing impaired actress.

You know that she hasn't got long to live So, for the moment you are trying tobecome her favorite relative in order to obtain her millions after she is dead You know that she loves animals and children You also know that her dog is her closest friend What do you think will make her give you some money?

You are the butler to a rich, famous hearing impaired actress

Actually she hasn't got long to live and so you are being very nice to her at themoment, you think you have a good chance of being left her millions in her will You have always helped her and you have looked after her cats and dogs with care You think you should at least get the house which you have cleaned for nearly 40 years! You don't like her niece/nephew who has suddenly made an appearance

You always have to act as a go between for the niece/nephew and aunt because the aunt can never hear her relative

You are a rich, famous, hearing impaired actress

You know that you haven't got long for this world but you don't mind because you have had a good life You also know that your niece/nephew wants something but you're not sure what

You have already written your will but you are prepared to change it

Your will: $ 2 million to be left to the animal rescue league (you love cats)

Your house will go to your dog It has been a faithful companion animal and you want it to have a home when you're gone

Your jewelry will be sold at auction in order to raise money for the children's

hospital near your house You haven't decided about the rest, a sum total of

$150,000 Your butler has always been good to you Your niece/nephew is also sweet You are waiting to hear what they have to say You feel that if they can show you how good they really are you will give the money to either one of them

Unit 10: Conservation (English 10)

ROLE PLAY:

A discussion between different parties interested in global warming

Team up with classmates who have been assigned the same role to develop your roles and discuss ideas and “strategies” before the role play begins Introduce

yourself to the other role players Discuss your roles after the role play ends

Role A – Penguin leader

You live in Antarctica You need global warming to stop Temperatures must

actually get cooler Your species is at great risk of extinction Your habitat, the ice, ismelting and your sources of food are disappearing The world must act to save you The day the last penguin dies is the start of the end of the Earth

Role B – Dessert dweller

You like the recent effects of global warming It has brought a lot of unexpected rain

to your land For the first time you can grow things You have bumper harvests You have lots of water to drink You think global warming is simply a matter or winners and losers You think global warming or cooling has always happened

Role C – Worried Martian

Billions of years ago, Mars, your planet, looked like Earth Life was everywhere However, greedy Martians controlled the energy sources and the Mars climate

changed, killing all life – except you The greedy Martians paid leaders to pretend nothing was happening and that alternative energies would arise It was all too late Advise the Earthlings and the penguins of the dangers of climate change

Role D – U.S President

You are terrified of taking measures to control global warming because you might lose your power You believe scientists can build a huge machine to re-freeze the icecaps You think keeping American jobs is more important than penguin food You know better than the world’s climate experts You don’t believe in aliens

Unit 10: Conservation (English 10) Role play activity: The Environment - Disposing of Car Waste

This is your chance to discuss some of the issues that the European Parliament

makes decisions about The characters involved in your role-plays are:

 Tony Fallon, Environmental campaigner

 Trevor Grey, MEP

 Sally Whiting, Car owner

 Simone Taylor, Resident of Chippingham Estate

 Grace Pemberton, Spokesperson for Viva UK (a car manufacturer)

These characters are fictional (this means they are not real people) but there are people like them who have similar opinions

Your discussion question is: Should car owners be responsible for disposing of

their worn out cars?

Your character is: Tony- Environmental campaigner

You are pleased that the European Parliament is making an effort to minimise the damage to the environment that results from car waste as you are concerned that, up

to now, all the petrol and oil has been left to seep into our earth However, you

believe that this does nothing to deter people from buying new cars or to stop the ever-increasing level of car usage and consequent pollution You want the European Parliament to put the environment first, not the interests of greedy car manufacturers.You can’t understand why the European Parliament doesn’t put pressure on car manufacturers to design cars that last for longer

Your character is: Trevor Grey, MEP

You and your colleagues in the European Parliament have worked hard to come up with a solution to the problem of vehicle waste and you are confident that this will make people responsible for disposing of their vehicle with the environment in mind.You believe that the European Parliament has balanced the interest of consumers and

manufacturers whilst putting the environment first.

Your character is: Sally, Car owner