Acta Universitatis Sapientiae, Philologica, 4, 2 (2012) 395-408

Creating an Interdisciplinary Space:

Role-Plays in Teaching English for Engineering
Gabriella KOVCS
Sapientia Hungarian University of Transylvania
Department of Applied Social Sciences
[email protected]

Abstract. When the learning process takes place in natural circumstances we usually
learn what we really need, we practice what we will have to do in real life. Comparing the
activities, games and improvisations used in actor training or drama in education and the
role-plays, simulations and drama techniques used in language teaching we can discover
several similarities regarding the main principles, goals and techniques. Communicative
competence and performance can be considered the common ground of acting and language
teaching, this is their overlapping goal. Teaching a foreign language to young professionals
(in our case, engineering students) involves the aim to enable a person to play better his
own role before a social audience. The objectives of this paper are to demonstrate some
of the overlapping goals in actor training and language teaching and show how the ESP
(English for Specific Purposes) classroom can function as an interdisciplinary space, the
meeting point of language pedagogy, actor training / drama in education and engineering
sciences, thus creating a complex learning experience.
Keywords: role-plays, drama techniques, actor training, language teaching,
interdisciplinary space

Introduction
ESP teachers often have to design their own instructional materials instead of
relying on commercially produced ones because in most cases ESP classes deal
with the specific needs of a certain group of students. Commercially available
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materials can be useful, but teachers often feel the need to complement them with
other tasks and activities. In certain areas of ESP, for example in English for
Engineering, the development of speaking skills seems somewhat neglected.
Engineers often complain that while they feel capable of comprehending and
producing written technical texts, they have difficulties in understanding and
producing spoken language. Well-planned role-plays, which correspond with the
specific communicative situations and various roles that engineers can encounter in
their profession, could be helpful to improve their communication skills in the
target language.
The following topics are discussed in this paper: the overlapping goals in
language teaching and drama in education developed mainly from actor training;
the fact that the common characteristics of the activities (games, improvisations,
role-plays and simulations) used in these two domains offer the possibility for
language teachers to adopt ideas and techniques from the other field; and the
possibility for the ESP class to function as an interdisciplinary space, the meeting
point of language pedagogy, drama in education and engineering sciences, thus
creating a complex learning experience. Some of the results of a needs analysis will
be presented as well, which was conducted in order to find out more about the
language learning needs of the target population (engineering students and
engineers), respectively the popularity and usefulness of role plays in ESP. This
study is part of a research project which aims at the development and improvement
of role-plays in ESP.

From actor training to drama in education

Improvisation in actor training is considered to be essential and according to
this there is plentiful specialised literature about the topic covering both its theory
and practice. Some of the actor training theorists and practitioners realised that
their techniques can be used successfully in other domains, and their works are
popular and widely used not only by actor trainers, but also by those who use
improvisation in other fields of training and education.
Viola Spolin (1963), the well-known theatre educator, director and actress,
was convinced that theatre games can be applied in any educational domain which
is able to create ideal circumstances for communication and transformation. Her
mentor and teacher, Neva Boyd had written the following about the potentials of
games in education in her work entitled The Theory of Play:
Playing a game is psychologically different in degree, but not in kind from
dramatic acting. The ability to create a situation imaginatively and to play a
role is a tremendous experience, a sort of vacation from ones everyday self
and the routine of everyday living. We observe that this psychological

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freedom creates a condition in which strain and conflict are dissolved and
potentialities are released in the spontaneous effort to meet the demands of the
situation. (Source: 25/07/2011 http://www.spolin.com/boydplaytheory.htm)
Her principles were further developed by Spolin (1963) who conceived her
own actor training method based on improvisation games. Some of these principles
are the following: the game has its own rules; in games the process is important,
the result is secondary; the correct attitude towards games is the voluntary
acceptance of the rules, spontaneous, imagination-rousing participation; games call
forth instinctive reactions; spontaneity is their main characteristic, which helps the
manifestations of the participants imagination, empathy, understanding of others
and oneself; games protect, and at the same time liberate people from inhibitions;
games stimulate self-expression; they presuppose and at the same time develop
intelligence, fantasy, responsiveness, sensibility and originality; a game is a
pleasant, entertaining experience, which places the individual into a world where
he or she is less constrained by the norms of behaviour established by the rules of
the society; the paradox of games is that they offer freedom and demand discipline
at the same time; social adaptability develops in the new situations created through
games; they influence positively the learning process; games must be chosen
according to the needs and characteristics of the group. Spolin thinks that the
problem-solving quality of games is essential.
Keith Johnstone (1989), the well-known specialist in actor training, was
convinced by his own experience about the importance of improvisation, which in
his opinion cannot exist without spontaneity. Johnstone blames schools, families
and society for encouraging children to become unimaginative and in his book he
gives deterrent examples of how spontaneity can be eliminated and inhibitions
created as a result of education. His training method aims to stop and turn back
this process through improvisation and help people to get rid of the barriers and
constraints created by society and to rediscover their creativity and imagination in a
relaxed atmosphere.
According to Robert Cohen (1992), another acting theorist, the main conditions
for good acting are trust, relaxed atmosphere, lack of inhibition, discipline,
playfulness, freedom, good teamwork and effective interaction. In his opinion these
factors can be useful not only for actors but also for other people in building their
relationships, performing their everyday activities or professional tasks.
In the activities used in actor training a three-stepped structure can be observed:
preparation (physical and mental warm up, trust building and teambuilding phase), a
more complicated task or improvisation followed by evaluation and discussion.
As mentioned before, activities similar to the ones used in actor training can
be adopted in other fields of education as well. The use of drama makes it possible

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for the students to acquire new knowledge and develop different skills through
activity and self-experience. Drama in education is a teaching method which was
developed from the practice of as if games. This method aims to develop
creativity, spontaneity and communicative competence, preparing students to face
real-life situations with less difficulty.
According to Katalin Gabnai (1999), personality development is the main goal
of drama in education, which is done through different situational games or roleplays. There is no audience, but the presence of peers helps students to develop selfconfidence and the ability to work in a team, and prepares them to communicate
more easily in real-life situations. These activities can be considered rehearsals,
where the participants have to speak and perform different tasks in the middle of
attention, practicing through this the readiness and inventiveness necessary in
different social roles and situations of everyday life. Drama games can increase the
self-knowledge and insight into human nature of people working in and for a
community. Dynamic thinking, focussed and well-planned working method, and
clear, coherent, emphatic way of speaking can be developed through them. They can
compensate to a certain extent for the passivity generated by the development and
spreading of mass media. Drama games offer collective experience, through which
the participants can encounter the pleasure of self-expression and recognition and
develop their decision-making and problem-solving skills.
The socialising effects of drama in education can bridge the gap between
institutional education and real life, because they can help the students to acquire
the necessary skills, behaviour and knowledge to improve their performance in
different professions, and their ability to perform certain specific roles.
Gavin Bolton (1993), the internationally recognised drama educator and theorist
of drama in education, developed a method called drama for understanding, which
can be very useful in teaching different subjects. In these activities the participants
work in groups and create an imaginary world, where they play different roles. In
this world they encounter the same kind of problems as in the real world, thus
acquiring real knowledge and experience. According to Dorothy Heathcote (1995),
in drama games and role plays the acts of the participants are deeply influenced by
their previous experience and knowledge. This is a complex pedagogical method
through which the real problems of life can be dealt with in a protective environment,
facilitating learning through experience.
It is important to emphasise that according to Bolton (1993: 86-88) there is a
strong connection between drama and the acquisition and use of language and
communication skills. From several viewpoints drama is the language itself, and
language in drama activities is the means that helps to understand the meaning
of things.

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The interdisciplinarity of language teaching

The interdisciplinarity of language teaching makes it possible for teachers to
benefit from the experience and knowledge accumulated in other fields. The
process of language teaching and language learning is described and researched by
language pedagogy, which can be considered a broad-ranging interdisciplinary

Language pedagogy
Ethnolinguistics
ANTHROPOLOGY
Philosophy of language
PHILOSOPHY
Acoustics
PHYSICS
Language geography
GEOGRAPHY
Linguistic modelling
LOGIC
Communication engineering,
TECHNOLOGY
telecommunication
Pedagogic performing art
ARTS
Applied linguistics
Psycholinguistics
LINGUISTICS
Sociolinguistics
Neurolinguistics
Anatomy
MEDICINE
Psychiatry
Didactics
PEDAGOGY
Pedagogic psychology
Language politics, language rights
POLITICS
Psychometrics
Personalistic psychology
Group psychology
PSYCHOLOGY
Developmental psychology
Ethnographic psychology
Social psychology
History of education
HISTORY

FUNDAMENTAL AND ASSOCIATE SCIENCES

RELATED AND ADJACENT SCIENCES

pedagogy are the following:

Fundamental, associated, related and adjacent sciences of language pedagogy

(Brdos 2000: 35; Brdos 2005: 16-17 translated by the author of this article)

Regarding arts, Brdos mentions only the performing art of pedagogy.

Considering the influence of actor training and drama in education upon language
teaching, I think drama and theatre research would be eligible to be mentioned in
this category.

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The term role-play calls to mind the fable of the blind man trying to
describe an elephant; the term takes on different meanings for different
people. It certainly seems to encompass an extremely varied collection of
activities. These range from highly-controlled guided conversations at one end
of the scale, to improvised drama activities at the other; from simple rehearsed
dialogue performance, to highly complex simulated scenarios (Maley in
Ladousse 2009: 3).
According to Gillian Porter Ladousse (2009) in role-play the term play
means that students can play a part someone elses or their own in a safe
environment, which assures ideal conditions for playfulness and inventiveness.
Students, just like children playing doctors and patients, school or Harry Potter,
unconsciously create their own reality and through this experiment with their
knowledge of the real world they develop their interacting skills with others.
Unlike in a theatre, in the classroom there are no spectators, and they do not feel
threatened by the risks of behaviour and communication, which are present in the
real world. Thus the activity is more enjoyable and playing a role in such a relaxed
atmosphere can help building up self-confidence. The flexibility of role-plays
opens the door to individual ideas, variations and initiatives, and develops
creativity, offering direct experience of the unpredictable nature of the target
language in use.
Ladousse sums up the most important advantages of role-plays emphasising
their benefits and characteristics. A wide range of language structures, functions
and vocabulary can be introduced and practised through role play, offering a large
variety of experience and training in speaking skills in different situations. In roleplays students are required to develop and use the phatic forms of the target
language which are necessary in social relationships, but which are often neglected
in syllabuses. For students who are learning a language to prepare for specific roles
in their professional life (e.g. in ESP) role-play can be a very beneficial rehearsal
for real life tasks. They are offered the possibility to learn how interaction works in
various relationships and situations. Role-plays provide shy students a kind of
mask which helps them to overcome their difficulties in participating in
conversations. Probably the most important factor why teachers like using roleplays in the classroom is that they are entertaining, fun for the students. Role-play
develops fluency, promotes interaction and increases motivation.
The main difference between a role-play in the classroom and a dramatic
performance is that the first is mainly concerned with the process of playing a part
and not the finished product. The students are not performing and there is no stage
or other audience but the other players or colleagues. They carry out the activity for
themselves, in a team where ideally everybody is equally involved. As humanistic
tendencies in education have shown, the learning process can be more efficient in a

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tension-free atmosphere. In task-based language teaching students are encouraged

to solve problems together, which makes exchange of opinions and common
decisions indispensable. In certain cases, when it is considered beneficial, roleplays can be performed for other students, and they can be recorded. The video
might be useful in the follow-up, but only if the students feel comfortable with
such methods.
The follow-up or debriefing is an important part of the activity where the
teacher should insist on evaluation rather than criticism, encouraging positive
thinking about the experience. Errors and misunderstandings can be discussed and
clarified through analysing the interaction and highlighting some of the uses of
paralinguistic features.
Role-plays in language teaching can contain dramatic features and techniques
to different extent. According to Wilga Rivers, the drama approach enables
students to use what they are learning with pragmatic intent, which would be really
difficult to learn only through explanation (Rivers 1983).
Alan Maley and Alan Duff (1991: 6), experts in this field, define dramatic
activities in a language classroom as follows:
They are activities which give the student an opportunity to use his or her own
personality in creating the material on which part of the language class is to be
based. These activities draw on the natural ability of every person to imitate,
mimic and express himself or herself through gesture. They draw too, on the
students imagination and memory, and natural capacity to bring to life parts
of his or her past experience that might never otherwise emerge. They are
dramatic because they arouse our interest, which they do by drawing on the
unpredictable power generated when one person is brought together with
others. Each student brings a different life, a different background into the
class. We would like students to be able to use this when working with others.
According to them, most traditional textbooks give little attention to the skills
we need most when using a language: adaptability, sensitivity to tone, speed of
reaction, insight and anticipation, in one word: appropriateness. This neglected
emotional content can be put back into language through drama, giving more
attention to the real meaning of the structures that are being taught.

Needs Analysis Role-plays in Teaching English for Engineering

A part of the results of a needs analysis are presented hereinafter, which was
conducted with 106 engineering students and engineers regarding their language
learning needs and the popularity and usefulness of role-plays in learning ESP.

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