Role play and storytelling are much loved by young children — and actually, perhaps by all of us, if we allow it. I certainly found this over six years ago, shortly after first moving to China, when I joined my first Dungeons and Dragons campaign. (As a short introduction if you are not familiar, this is a tabletop role-playing game. You gather together, normally with a group of others, each role-playing a character you have created, usually based on guidelines. You go on an adventure, created by your Dungeon Master — DM — often with models and drawings for characters, creatures, and scenery. Much will be done through real role-playing, led by the characters, but with rules and boundaries for what can be done based on objective abilities, and dice rolling often being used to find outcomes of actions and decisions.)
How is this relevant to teaching, however?
Well, it happened very naturally. I was recently in a class with two twin sisters I have been teaching for just over a year. We began when they were six years old and starting Grade 1 here in China. Now they are in Grade 2. We have had many classes and been through a lot together, including completing two whole course books. We have regularly included games, play, and especially role-play in our classes, fueled by the passion and curiosity of the two girls. Notably, recently, we did an activity involving following a very precise description of a story scene to draw the picture — listening — but with them both then telling their own story of what was happening before and what would happen after the scene — speaking.
Now, in this class, they told me themselves about a game they had played in a German class in the past, involving a mystery that needed to be solved in a zoo. The game involved lots of German practice as the foundation for learning and development there. They informed me with anticipation that they wanted to play a similar game in our next class. I obliged.
The idea played on my subconscious for the next week until our next class. As the time approached, an idea formulated for a rescue-style game. In our classes, we often talk about a fantasy world of cats that the girls have created — indeed, many of the aforementioned stories have been based in this. Initially, it was to be far more structured — simply a series of sequential tasks, each practicing language, but with a story behind them.
However, as I thought a little more during gaps between other classes on the day of the lesson, the idea began to transform into having full role-play elements, my experience with Dungeons and Dragons inspiring me. I quickly put together some sketches — the versions in the pictures below have had some extra pictures, rough notes, and details of what we were doing when we were playing added since.
As we began, I gave the girls the opportunity to draw and create their own character, including written details, which they then introduced in speaking — already both writing and speaking practice.
The plot then began to unfold. We began in the town where they lived. There was news from a stranger of his grandson — who happened to be our two characters’ friend — who had not been seen since two nights before. He led them to a hill, where they met the “Angry Fairy Meow Meow Cat,” who sent them to the forest, saying that there were clues there, and saying that she could come and give them specifically asked-for help — normally with the requirement of passing a challenge first — but would otherwise not be with them.
They set off along the long road to the forest, encountering challenges there, then reaching it and learning some clues inside before setting off for a different location. I have narrated much to them and set the conditions along the way, but there has been much opportunity for role-play.
The full story may be for another time, but to emphasize here are the opportunities for English practice we found throughout, catered to their level. Whenever the characters have encountered a challenge, part of solving it — part of being able to get past an obstacle or perform magic — has been the requirement of language practice. There have been many short reading challenges, even those of the style of an exam they will be taking in the future. On one occasion, to persuade a guard to let them through, they needed to write a note to persuade him — writing. To persuade the wand of the Angry Fairy Meow Meow Cat to perform a required spell, they had to do a persuasive speech to it; this is not only speaking, but a speech — and a functional speech at that — practicing valuable skills even beyond language. In role-play, the character of one of the students asked if the magic wand could create an image — think clairvoyance — of a secret location they wanted to travel to, and as a requirement, they needed to write a description of what they thought it might look like. In addition to these challenges, through the role-play, there was much authentic speaking practice; through listening to the narration and other characters that I played, often purposely with very unclear accents, there was a range of attuned listening practice. Many new words were seen in the story also. Beyond all the English, the role-play and exercise of creativity are beneficial in themselves.
This has been an exciting experience for all of us. What should be taken away? Everything you do should always be limited to the levels, needs, and requirements of the students. However, never forget that games, imagination, storytelling, and creativity of all types really can drive genuine passion, engagement, and learning. Never let yourself be held back here.