Role+Playing

//Post ideas, information, and resources for role playing activities here.//

Role playing is a great way to encourage students to use their Spanish. Not only is it a good way to assess them on their speaking skills, but it motivates them to practice speaking so that when time comes to use Spanish in other situations, it comes easily and naturally. I try to include oral assessments for every unit, and often they are in the form of role plays. At the beginning of the year, we learn basic greetings. As a final assessment, they have to perform a skit in from of the class using those greetings. Attached below is a rubric for how they are graded.

For Spanish 2 this year, the first unit was on School subjects and how to compare them. I had them perform a skit as well. Here is the rubric.

For a less formal assessment, I drew from the BYU Language Fair impromptu conversation list. [|BYU Language Fair] (click on this link and scroll down to the second page) I cut the scenarios out into strips and would randomly draw from that last pile (especially on days when we had extra time) Every student would practice the conversation with a partner, and then we would randomly call on one partnership to perform in front of the class. (However, these conversations were used for Spanish 3, they would need a lot of scaffolding to be used for Spanish 1)

Generally, students complain at the beginning because they say it is hard to speak Spanish and especially in front of the class. I explain to them that the only way to really learn Spanish is to practice speaking and that part of learning a language is getting over the fear of speaking incorrectly in front of others. This helps them to see the purpose and, by the end, most students really get into it and it becomes fun. Most said they preferred this kind of assessment to a written test because they feel more confident in actually being able to use Spanish outside of the classroom. user:skyesmith