Why does this topic interest me?

I've been conducting role-plays throughout my career as an ESL instructor and a TESOL teacher trainer.  Role-plays have been a favorite activity for me as both a teacher/trainer and a foreign language student as it allows me to utilize my creativity as well as observe the creativity of students.  After observing role-plays in several different countries, I realized significant cultural differences in how the role-plays were interpreted and carried out.  It seemed to me that I opened a treasure chest of new information.  After seeking out previous research, I discovered very little answers to my questions.  It was upon this discovery that I decided to initiate research into role-plays.

Why do I want to research this topic?

I am interested in the use of role-plays and simulations in the context of task-based instruction.  My interest in research is two-tiered: 1) noticing a decline on role-play research since the humanitarian language teaching approaches of the 1970s and 2) noticing an increasing interest in the use of task-based instruction in TESOL.  Personally I have found role-plays and simulations to be quite successful in my classrooms as an EFL teacher and as an EFL teacher trainer.  As I conduct research, I propose to use research on task-based learning as my foundation.  Click here for my proposed research questions.

Curriculum Theory

I am also interested in developing a model for using role-plays and simulations in task-based learning classrooms that include one or more of the following components:

• Critical thinking
• Intercultural communication
• Cooperative learning (a given)
• Experiential learning
• Intensive & extensive reading
• Multiple intelligences
• Creative writing

Although I enjoy using role-plays and simulations in my classes, I do not advocate the sole use of activities to the exclusion of others.  I believe that various tasks should be used in a task-based learning environment, and my research and development seek to improve the practice of these specific tasks.

Links to useful websites for research and developing role-plays

Recommended scholarly reading

 Simulation & Gaming - an interdisciplinary journal of theory, practice, and research

 Simulation, Gaming, and Language Learning by David Crookall & Rebecca Oxford, published by Newbury House in 1990.

Simulations in Language Teaching by Ken Jones, published by Cambridge University Press in 1982.