Examples of roleplay activities for ESL students

Roleplay activities in English lessons are among the simplest and most engaging methods to encourage students to speak more. 

For role-plays, you can select from a range of topics, scenarios, and ideas — what’s essential is that the themes are appealing and relevant to the students.

In order to give your classes more variation, we'll look at some successful roleplay examples for students in this article.

Role-play activities for students are essential in learning English, as they help students develop a wide range of key skills. 

Role-plays are also highly beneficial for developing speaking skills, as they encourage adults and teenagers to be more open to dialogue, express their thoughts in English more freely, and gradually overcome the fear of making mistakes.

Role-playing exercises also improve English thinking skills. 

By acting out roles, students are prompted to quickly choose the appropriate words and phrases, which helps them build fluency in their speech.

Ordering in a restaurant

Discussing this topic will give students the opportunity to role-play a dialogue where they can practise various phrases related to selecting dishes and making service requests. 

"What would you recommend?" and "Would you care to try our chocolate fondant for dessert?" are examples of phrases that students can utilise. 

They may also use the phrase "I'll have" when placing an order, for example, “I'll have the grilled chicken, please.”

Making a hotel reservation

This roleplay topic helps develop skills in conducting formal conversations, asking questions about booking, confirming room rates, and inquiring about amenities and terms of stay. 

Example phrases:

Pupils can take turns and practise their communication skills, vocabulary, and grammar from earlier lessons.

Shopping at the mall

Students practise their conversational skills by assuming the roles of customers and shop assistants in a shopping centre. 

You can experiment with different scenarios, such as searching for a certain item or asking for a refund or exchange. 

To assist students gain confidence and enhance their ability to communicate in ordinary English, try implementing this roleplaying topic into your session.

Inviting a friend to a party over the phone

In this roleplay scenario, students practise informal conversation skills by acting out a phone call to invite their friends to the party. 

They could say, for instance, "Hey! This Saturday, I'm throwing a party. Would you like to come? It’ll be loads of fun!." 

The other student, acting as the friend, can ask questions like, "What time does it start?." 

This role-playing exercise is ideal for engaging and enjoyable practice of informal communication skills.

Job interview

This roleplay scenario is meant for adult students who want to increase their chances of landing a job. 

They will practise confidently presenting themselves and discussing their experience, professional skills, and achievements.

Sample practice questions:

Doctor's appointment

This is an important roleplay issue because anyone could feel ill in a distant country. 

In this scenario, it is critical to be able to seek help from a doctor and communicate in English in order to be understood. 

This scenario teaches students appropriate language and expressions for discussing symptoms and obtaining medical assistance.

Example phrases to practise:

Before beginning this assignment, it is essential that you thoroughly understand the topic of health, including the relevant vocabulary.

Argument between neighbours

In this role-playing scenario, students portray a neighbourly disagreement. 

One neighbour complains to the other about noise, loud music, a crying infant, or even parking in a spot reserved for another.

Distribute cards depicting various scenarios and have students work in pairs to find a calm solution to the problem at hand.

To summarise, these roleplay exercises provide a comfortable environment for practising spoken language, overcoming language barriers, and building confidence in using English in everyday situations. 

Students learn to apply their knowledge in real-life contexts, thereby seeing the value of what they've learned in previous lessons. 

With regular roleplay practice, students are far less likely to forget vocabulary and grammatical structures once they leave your classroom.