It was an honour to present on Thursday, and I sincerely appreciate everyone who took the time to join us. Here are some key takeaways from my presentation “Setting the Scene: From Classroom to the Real World”. First, when practicing the script, remind students not to rush their speech, it’s better to speak slowly than to rush. We also discussed how some students may not want to participate in the role-play. To address this, I demonstrate the role-play in full character. For example, I played the customer at the grocery store. I left the classroom dressed professionally and re-entered, wearing a toque and scarf, while playing music from my Spotify account. My demeanour was very laid-back and a little goofy. I started singing to the music, then I picked up my grocery bag and started to shop in the makeshift store. Best part is they weren’t expecting this, so I got a lot of laughs. Doing this, helped them bring their own personality into the skit and they got excited about it. It reassures them that there’s nothing to be embarrassed about, especially if the teacher embarrasses themselves first. Another point we touched upon in the presentation was the teacher’s role as an observer. Once I had demonstrated the role-play a few times, I let them take it on. I’ve noticed that when the teacher steps back, students can sometimes become so engaged in the activity that they seem to forget the teacher is there. They will immerse themselves in the role and into the atmosphere of the scene. If they forget you are in the room, they won’t feel the teacher is judging them, and they may feel more comfortable being themselves. Another topic we covered is how to make the scripts suitable for higher level learners. For example, when going to the bank teller, the script could focus on asking about a mortgage or applying for a credit card rather than simply making a cheque deposit. For the grocery store skit you could incorporate idioms, the first saying that came to mind was, “to kill two birds with one stone” and I gave the example of needing milk and eggs because milk and eggs were next to each other in the dairy department. I used the saying to highlight how easy the grocery shopping was since I didn’t have to wander around the store looking for my items. And my last suggestion, I’m not sure if I mentioned it in the webinar or not, to just take note what people say to you when you are out in public. For example, going to the grocery store, the bank, the movie theatre etc. How do they greet you? What kinds of questions do they ask? What words do they use in their phrases? Are they using long phrases or short phrases? And does the message get across either way? And notice if there are similar words that are used in each phrase. If you start to observe commonalities, you can incorporate them into your script, and it becomes more like the real world. Also, take note how you respond, if they understand you respond with a longer phrase or shorter phrase. So, observing the real world is a useful way to develop realistic role-plays.
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