Forum Didactics -

Role-playing as a technique to help students with excessive reflectiveness/caution.

Role-playing activities help students develop fluency in speaking. Students are set to adopt a
role and communicate accordingly. It requires learners to focus on the communication
aspect of learning, to use their imagination, to practice empathy, and to make adjustments
on the go to fit the situation. The balance between the expected and the unexpected in a
role-play activity might serve as a great scaffold to help students who struggle with
excessive reflectiveness or caution. They can be given a few moments to plan their main
ideas to develop their role, but they will still need to make sense of their classmate’s input on
the dialogue to keep the conversation going. As the focus is on communication, a role-play
activity can be carried out without making a big deal out of mistakes on a first stance,
allowing learners to enter a state of flow while learning and enjoy themselves in the process.