Universidad Austral de Chile Facultad de Filosofía y Humanidades Escuela de Pedagogía en Comunicación en Lengua Inglesa
Lead Advisor: M.S. in Ed. Yasna Yilorm Barrientos
Motivating Students of English as a Foreign Language through
Tabletop Role-Playing under the FOCAL SKILLS Approach
Seminario de Tesis para optar al Título de Profesor de Comunicación
en Lengua Inglesa
Stefanie Alexandra Herzberg Soza
Daphne Natalia Paredes Denis
Valdivia – Chile
2013 FOCAL SKILLS APPROACH AND TABLETOP ROLE-PLAYING 2
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank all the people who have encouraged me throughout my process, which is not only from the university until now, but from school onwards. They all have contributed into helping me shape myself into the person I am today.
I would like to acknowledge the people who have not only taught me contents, but about life from the bottom of their hearts. I want to say „thank you‟ to my teachers Cindy Cifuentes, Andrea
Lizasoain, Yasna Yilorm, Eduardo Roldán, Amalia Ortiz de Zárate, Katherina Walper, for helping me in their own way to be able to reach this step. Special thanks to Miss Yasna and Miss Andrea for all their effort, help, and support during this long process.
Finally, I would like to thank my family, Maite, Juan Carlos and Karin, and my boyfriend,
Renato, for supporting me during all this time and giving me the strength to not ever give up or even make the attempt of being lazy. I love you, and I will always be grateful for all you have done for me.
~Stefanie Herzberg
FOCAL SKILLS APPROACH AND TABLETOP ROLE-PLAYING 3
Special thanks to our Lead Advisor, Miss Yasna Yilorm,
for having always been there for us despite her difficult circumstances.
We would not have made it without you!
Huge thanks to my family for their unconditional support.
There will never be enough acknowledgements in the world to
express how lucky I am to have you all. Thank you!
~Daphne Paredes
FOCAL SKILLS APPROACH AND TABLETOP ROLE-PLAYING 4
Abstract
The present didactic unit was designed with the objective of creating an innovative way of teaching the English course for EFL students through the incorporation of TRPGs as a strategy under the FOCAL SKILLS Approach. The scope of this research covered four relevant points.
First, there is an overview of the state of the art regarding English proficiency and the methodologies that are currently in use in Chile. Second, it reflects in the use of the communicative teaching practices, specifically the FOCAL SKILLS Approach and the feasibility of its use in Chilean EFL classrooms. Third, arguments to support the importance of motivation in the EFL teaching-learning process are presented. Fourth, it explains Role-playing in its various definitions. Finally, based on the information gathered during this research, several role-playing related activities and assessment tools were designed within the advanced module of the FOCAL
SKILLS Approach. Throughout the development of the research, it was concluded that role- playing activities are compatible with the FOCAL SKILLS Approach, which indicates they are a valid strategy to be applied under this approach in order to motivate students and achieve a higher amount of input.
Key words: FOCAL SKILLS, Tabletop role-playing, motivation, acquisition, innovation
FOCAL SKILLS APPROACH AND TABLETOP ROLE-PLAYING 5
Table of Contents
Acknowledgements
Abstract
Introduction 9
CHAPTER I: THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK 11
1. State of the Art 11
1.1. Tests of English Proficiency in Chile during the Last Decade 11
1.1.1. Diagnostic Test 11
1.1.2. SIMCE English Test 12
1.1.3. Results of the Tests 12
1.2. Traditional Methodologies in Chile 13
1.2.1. The Grammar-Translation Method 13
1.2.2. The Audiolingual Method 14
1.3. Background of the Research 16
1.3.1. Research Question 16
1.3.2. Hypothesis and Thesis Statement 16
1.3.3. General and Specific Objectives 17
2. Communicative Competence and English as a Foreign Language 17
2.1. Communicative Teaching Practices 17
2.2. The FOCAL SKILLS Approach 19
2.2.1. Origin and Objectives of the FOCAL SKILLS Approach 19
2.2.2. Underlying Theories of the FOCAL SKILLS Approach 20
2.2.2.1. Krashen‟s Hypotheses 20
2.2.2.2. The Natural Approach 22
FOCAL SKILLS APPROACH AND TABLETOP ROLE-PLAYING 6
2.2.2.3. Total Physical Response 24
2.3. General Description of the FOCAL SKILLS Approach 26
2.4. Comparisons between the FOCAL SKILLS Approach and the Standard Model 30
2.5. The FOCAL SKILLS Approach in Chile 31
3. Motivation 31
3.1. Hastings‟ Chain of Acquisition 31
3.2. Definition of Motivation 32
3.3. Types of Motivation 32
3.4. Integrative and Instrumental Orientations 33
3.5. The Role of Students‟ Motivation in the FLA Process 33
3.6. Motivation and Games 35
4. Role-playing 36
4.1.Traditional Role-Playing Games (RPGs) 36
4.1.1. Definition of RPGs 36
4.1.2. Characteristics of RPGs 37
4.2.Tabletop Role-Playing Games (TRPGs) 38
4.2.1. Definition of TRPGs 38
4.2.2. Characteristics of TRPGs 39
4.3. Uses of TRPGs in the EFL Classroom 41
4.4. TRPGs and the FOCAL SKILLS Approach 42
CHAPTER II: DIDACTIC UNIT 45
1. Introduction 45
2. General Planning 51
2.1. Lesson Plan 1 56
FOCAL SKILLS APPROACH AND TABLETOP ROLE-PLAYING 7
2.1.1. Lesson Plan - Learning Outcomes 56
2.1.2. Preparation 58
2.1.3. Lesson 1 Worksheet 59
2.1.4. Character Sheet 60
2.1.5. Lesson 1 Sample Questions – Character Creation 62
2.2. Lesson Plan 2 63
2.2.1. Lesson Plan - Learning Outcomes 63
2.2.2. Preparation 66
2.2.3. Lesson 2 Worksheet 67
2.2.4. Story 1 – Retrieving the Missing Agent 68
2.3. Lesson Plan 3 71
2.3.1. Lesson Plan - Learning Outcomes 71
2.3.2. Preparation 74
2.3.3. Lesson 3 Worksheet 75
2.3.4. Lesson 3 – Listening 1 Script 76
2.3.5. Lesson 3 – Listening 2 Worksheet 77
2.3.6. Lesson 3 – Listening 2 Instructions 78
2.3.7. Experience Points Chart 78
2.4. Lesson Plan 4 79
2.4.1. Lesson Plan - Learning Outcomes 70
2.4.2. Preparation 81
2.4.3. Lesson 4 Worksheet 82
2.5. Lesson Plan 5 83
2.5.1. Lesson Plan - Learning Outcomes 83
FOCAL SKILLS APPROACH AND TABLETOP ROLE-PLAYING 8
2.5.2. Preparation 86
2.5.3. Lesson 5 Worksheet 87
2.5.4. Lesson 5 – Pop Quiz (version 1) 88
2.5.5. Lesson 5 – Pop Quiz (version 2) 90
2.5.6. Lesson 5 – Pop Quiz (version 3) 92
2.5.7. Pop Quiz – Item I Questions 94
2.5.8. Pop Quiz – Dots Instructions 94
2.6. Lesson Plan 6 95
2.6.1. Lesson Plan - Learning Outcomes 95
2.6.2. Preparation 98
2.6.3. Lesson 6 Worksheet 99
2.7. Lesson Plan 7 100
2.7.1. Lesson Plan - Learning Outcomes 100
2.7.2. Preparation 103
2.7.3. Lesson 7 Worksheet 104
2.8. Lesson Plan 8 105
2.8.1. Lesson Plan - Learning Outcomes 105
2.8.2. Lesson 8 – Test 106
2.8.3. Lesson 8 – Test Script Item II 108
2.8.4. Lesson 8 – Test Script Item III 109
2.8.5. Lesson 8 – Test Script Item IV 111
3. Conclusions 112
4. Further Research 113
References 115
FOCAL SKILLS APPROACH AND TABLETOP ROLE-PLAYING 9
Introduction
At a national scale, the level of proficiency of students of English as a Foreign Language
(EFL) is extremely poor. It is known that one of the main problems that currently exist in the area of teaching EFL, and a decisive factor in relation to students‟ results, is related to the use of outdated methodologies. Research indicates that, even though these are successful to some extent, they do not foster the acquisition of English. Their focus is not coherent with what linguists suggest as the natural way to acquire a language. These methodologies are considered as old- fashioned: while they focus on the teacher, new teaching practices have the student as the axis of the teaching-learning process. This is a dilemma of great importance in the area of pedagogy, and must not be left unattended.
As outdated methodologies have proven not to be successful enough, it is time to look at innovative methods and approaches, which have a different perspective on the acquisition process of a language. This change of standpoint, which emerged from the dissatisfaction with previous methodologies, gives way to the appearance of new teaching practices that emphasize communication over structures. The teacher now fills the role of a facilitator and helps students in their learning process, instead of acting as the one who possesses the knowledge. These methodologies offer tools for teachers to make a change in their practices, expecting to generate a positive response from students. This is the main reason that leads to the creation of this research project.
Due to the previously mentioned issues, the present research project aims at creating a didactic unit that will be based on two key elements: the use of the FOCAL SKILLS Approach and
Tabletop Role-playing Games (TRPGs). The former is an innovative approach that seeks to achieve the acquisition of the language by giving great emphasis to each macro skill (listening,
FOCAL SKILLS APPROACH AND TABLETOP ROLE-PLAYING 10 speaking, reading and writing) separately, which is the objective to be accomplished by this unit.
The latter is a narrative game that will string the activities into a series of stories that will maintain the interest and motivation of the students. It is expected that, through the use of these elements, teachers are granted new tools to deal with the previously mentioned problem in our country, and students are able to reach better proficiency levels in the English language.
FOCAL SKILLS APPROACH AND TABLETOP ROLE-PLAYING 11
CHAPTER I: THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
1. State of the Art
1.1 Tests of English Proficiency in Chile during the Last Decade
1.1.1 Diagnostic Test
In the year 2004, a diagnostic test was carried out by the government in unison with the
University of Cambridge. The questionnaire covered three main aspects: socioeconomic group and type of school (public, semi-private, and private), teachers‟ characteristics, and teachers‟ methodologies and strategies. The first aspect exposed the relationship between socioeconomic group and type of educational institution. Students from families from a high socioeconomic status achieved a better performance than the rest of the students. Although, students from those socioeconomic groups who studied in semi-private schools instead of private schools obtained a considerably lower score that the ones from the other types of institutions. The second aspect revealed that almost all students had a teacher of English with a university degree; while only a few of them had a teacher with a postgraduate degree, this indicates that the higher the teacher‟s educational level, the better results those students will have. Moreover, students whose teachers had no degrees in English pedagogy or any further studies in the English language achieved lower results. Finally, the third aspect only considered students with high scores, noting their teachers‟ methodologies and strategies and specifying what students and teachers usually did in their English classes. In regard to this, students spoke in English, created mind maps relating vocabulary, developed pre and post listening and reading comprehension activities, performed in role-plays, spoke in pairs or groups in English; furthermore, teachers spoke in English most of the time, and applied different strategies for assessment (MINEDUC, 2004). Through these results, it
FOCAL SKILLS APPROACH AND TABLETOP ROLE-PLAYING 12 is understood that students from higher socioeconomic groups are more likely to achieve better results in the English course, and that the role of the teacher is essential in students‟ performance, as their knowledge and practices seem to affect importantly in their students‟ attainments.
1.1.2 SIMCE1 English Test
In the year 2010, the Government decided to evaluate the English area in order to check students‟ level of English proficiency2.This kind of test was the first one to be carried out in Latin
America, and its main purpose was to serve as a basis for future evaluations (EducarChile, 2011).
In this opportunity, the test was taken by 220,000 11th grade students throughout the country.
The final results of this test showed that only one out of ten students had reached a „basic‟ level of English; consequently, that only 11 percent of the students was able to understand everyday sentences and short texts, a significant amount of them belonging to private rather than public or semi-private schools (La Nación, 2011, para. 1).
1.1.3 Results of the Tests
If the results of both tests are compared, it can be said that there has not been a significant improvement of the level of English of Chilean students in the last six years. Moreover, neither the first nor the second test assessed students‟ production skills (EducarChile, 2011), which suggests that there is probably much to do to reach real communicative competence. Also, students with more hours of English classes during the week and the ones who started learning
English at a young age had a higher rate of success in this test (ibid.).
1The SIMCE test is the main tool used to evaluate the quality of education in Chile. Its main purpose is to inform about the students‟ performance in some of the subjects that make up the national curriculum, drawing quantifiable results (MINEDUC, 2012).
2The TOEIC Bridge test was used to assess students' level of English proficiency (EducarChile, 2011).
FOCAL SKILLS APPROACH AND TABLETOP ROLE-PLAYING 13
1.2 Traditional Methodologies in Chile
As stated by Ramos and Espinoza (2006), Chilean teachers still use the traditional methodologies as the basis of their teaching practice. These methodologies are mainly the Grammar-Translation
Method and the Audiolingual Method, which are described in the following sections.
1.2.1 The Grammar-Translation Method
The Grammar-Translation Method is one of the most traditional methodologies still being practised in Chile (Ramos & Espinoza, 2006). This method was born in the nineteenth century and it was originally created for teaching Greek and Latin. Since its main objective was to teach dead languages, its focus was on the receptive skills rather than being able to speak the language
(Tetzner, 2004) and, consequently, “little attempt was made to communicate orally in the target language” (Richard-Amato, 2005, p. 17). Additionally, the Grammar-Translation Method was designed for teaching well-educated people who belonged to high society; and when it was decided that it could also be effective for teaching other languages such as English, it was believed that it would work just as effectively on young learners (Tetzner, 2004). Current research on the topic shows that this is not so, since children start the process of acquisition
“without the cognitive maturity or metalinguistic awareness that older second language learners have” (Lightbown & Spada, 2006, p. 30).
As its name suggests, the Grammar-Translation Method gives special emphasis to grammar structures and their use within a sentence, using translation as the means to access this knowledge. As stated by Mukalel (1998), translation is “not a mere technique, it (is) the whole and sole of teaching the textual lesson”. This is because most of the activities, if not all of them, involve translating into L1 in order to learn grammar structures. Additionally, the language is not
FOCAL SKILLS APPROACH AND TABLETOP ROLE-PLAYING 14 presented in a contextualized way, so these grammar structures are introduced in isolation
(Richard-Amato, 2005, p. 17). Furthermore, translation is a constant part of the teaching-learning process, being a technique that remains unchanged from primary to higher education levels of proficiency (Mukalel, 1998). On the one hand, this can be an advantage, since “the structural patterns of the two languages are compared and this comparison makes learning more clear and firm” [sic] (M.E.S., 2004). On the other hand, it is also a drawback in the sense that “a living language such as English when taught as an L2 is required undoubtedly to get established on the mind of the child first of all as a spoken language, not as a system of writing” (Mukalel, 1998). In fact, if theories of language acquisition are to be heeded, it is very unnatural to learn writing before oral skills (M.E.S., 2004).
In this method, the role of the teacher is relatively passive. Since most of the class time is used only on writing activities, it is not a requirement for teachers to be overly creative and resourceful
(M.E.S., 2004). Moreover, as Mukalel (1998) declared, “any average teacher can teach through the grammar translation method”, since the students are the ones that work on their translation exercises leaving the teacher with little to do in the meantime (M.E.S., 2004). Not to mention, the repetitive nature of the activities turns the class into a dull and mechanic routine, in which students are not at all engaged in the learning process (Mukalel, 1998). In conclusion, the role of the teacher is supervising students‟ work, over any other type of contributions.
1.2.2 The Audiolingual Method
The Audiolingual Method was created during the mid-twentieth century (Yule, 2010), and as explained by Richard-Amato (2005), it was developed in order to replace the Grammar-Translation
Method in the United States. Unlike its predecessor, the Audiolingual Method “emphasized spoken
FOCAL SKILLS APPROACH AND TABLETOP ROLE-PLAYING 15 language” (Yule, 2010) since its main objective is to achieve communicative competence rather than just attaining mastery of the language‟s receptive skills (Larsen-Freeman, 2000). To accomplish this goal, the Audiolingual Method uses some of the principles of behaviourism, sustaining that language is a set of habits that can be learned and developed with enough practice on the students‟ part (Yule,
2010). Following this principle, the practitioners of this method thought that “the way to acquire sentence patterns of the target language was through conditioning – helping learners to respond correctly to stimuli through shaping and reinforcement”(Larsen-Freeman, 2000, p. 45). In order to achieve this, some of the activities included in everyday classes were “sentences in substitution activities, mim-mem (mimic and memorize), and other drills [that] were usually related only syntactically (“I go to the store”, “You go to the store”, “He goes to the store”), and they generally had nothing to do with actual events or narrative” (Richard-Amato, 2005, p. 17). In this way, language is expected to be learnt through repetition, and grammar to be learnt implicitly by inducing the grammatical structures present in the drills (Yule, 2010).
In this method, “one of the language teacher‟s major roles is that of a model of the target language. (…) By listening to how it is supposed to sound, students should be able to mimic the model” (Larsen-Freeman, 2000). That is to say that it is the teacher´s duty to provide clear examples of spoken language in order to be a good role model that students can imitate (Richards & Rodgers,
1999). In case this is not possible, tapes containing clear dialogues spoken by model speakers are also effective material, since the role of the students is only to repeat and “follow the teacher‟s directions and respond as accurately and as rapidly as possible” (Larsen-Freeman, 2000).
The Grammar-Translation Method and the Audiolingual Method are outdated methodologies that are still a common practice in Chile (Ramos & Espinoza, 2006). While these methods have proven to be, to some extent, useful for achieving the learning of a foreign language, they do not
FOCAL SKILLS APPROACH AND TABLETOP ROLE-PLAYING 16 aim at acquisition since they do not follow the natural patterns of language acquisition. As Brown
(2007) stated, “we can look back over centuries of foreign language teaching and observe the trends as they came and went” (p. 241). This quotation refers to the fact that if some methodologies were popular from the 40s to the 60s, it does not mean that they are still appropriate for the new generations (Ramos & Espinoza, 2006). This is because, as explained by Ramos and Espinoza
(2006), education used to be teacher-centred, and educators were seen as the only people who possessed knowledge. In this context, a teacher‟s duty was to transfer this knowledge to students, who had to accept it as the absolute truth. Nowadays, however, students are the focus of the teaching-learning process, and teachers are no longer the sole source of knowledge. In this regard,
Krashen (1982) suggests that newer and more updated methodologies yield better results than the older ones, and that the role of the teacher should be “to apply the method and adapt his or her teaching style to make it conform to the method” (Brown as cited in Richards & Renandya, 2002, p.
6).
1.3 Background of the Research
1.3.1 Research Question
How can TRPGs be incorporated as an acquisition strategy in the FOCAL SKILLS Approach in order to enhance student‟s motivation toward the acquisition of the English language?
1.3.2 Hypothesis and Thesis Statement
The creation of a didactic unit based on the FOCAL SKILLS Approach through Tabletop
Role-Playing can provide an innovative tool to enhance students‟ motivation toward the acquisition of the English language. Accordingly, the thesis statement poses that in order to enhance the motivation of 11th graders from public schools toward the learning of the English
FOCAL SKILLS APPROACH AND TABLETOP ROLE-PLAYING 17 language, the creation of a didactic unit based on the FOCAL SKILLS Approach through
Tabletop Role-Playing will provide a valid pedagogical tool that can draw favourable results.
1.3.3 General and Specific Objectives
General objective:
To create a set of innovative activities that motivates students and facilitates the
acquisition of English as a Foreign Language.
Specific objectives:
To evaluate how the use of the FOCAL SKILLS Approach allows the acquisition of the
English language.
To identify ways to promote students‟ willingness to learn English as an FL through
motivation within the framework of the FOCAL SKILLS Approach.
To design Tabletop Role-Playing activities as a motivating tool in the EFL classroom.
2. Communicative Competence and English as a Foreign Language
2.1 Communicative Teaching Practices
The communicative teaching practices emerged during the 1960s because of the
“dissatisfaction with preceding methods” (Hinkel, 2011, p. 542) and the “changing educational realities in Europe” (Richards & Rodgers, 1999, p. 65). The spotlight changed from focusing on structures to focusing on students‟ communicative proficiency, and language learning works as a synonym of learning to communicate (ibid.). The vital principle of these practices is “the teaching of the “communicative value” (i.e. functional aspects) as well as structural and semantic aspects of language” (Hinkel, 2011, p. 545), and for this purpose, contextualization is especially important.
FOCAL SKILLS APPROACH AND TABLETOP ROLE-PLAYING 18
In this approach, teachers fill the role of a facilitator or guide for the students, helping them through creating opportunities to meaningfully use the target language (Ozsevik, 2010; Richards
& Rodgers, 1999). As stated by Ozsevik (2010), “using authentic materials can be helpful for language teachers to expose their students to the target language the way it is used by native speakers” (p. 29). Additionally, they rarely correct students‟ mistakes (ibid.). As this is an innovative methodology, it is student-centered; thus, it is of great importance that teachers get to know learners‟ needs and interests (Ozsevik, 2010; Richards & Rodgers, 1999). Basically, teachers equip students with the necessary tools to develop the wanted competence.
Learners‟ main role in this approach is to use the language. They “avoid using their native language” (Ozsevik, 2010, p. 28) but use the target language in order to develop their communicative competence. According to Richards and Rodgers (1999), “students are expected to interact primarily with each other rather than with the teacher” (p. 77) and to cooperate, which may be unfamiliar for them as it is not stressed in traditional methods (ibid.).
There is a wide variety of activities which can be used for this approach. Their aim is to enable learners to “attain the communicative objectives of the curriculum, engage learners in communication” (Richards & Rodgers, 1999, p. 76), and make students use their communicative proficiency in order to share information, negotiate meaning, and interact with each other
(Richards & Rodgers, 1999; Hinkel, 2011; Ozsevik, 2010). Special activities such as pair work, role play, and group discussions are often carried out with the same purpose (Jin, Singh & Li,
2005). In order to achieve this, different materials or forms are used, such as incomplete charts, which they have to fill in by asking for information; looking at patterns, which they have to describe to other students; and listening to taped material, which they discuss with the rest of the
FOCAL SKILLS APPROACH AND TABLETOP ROLE-PLAYING 19 class (Richards & Rodgers, 1999; Hinkel, 2011). All these different activities can be employed when using this approach.
Among these new teaching practices, there are several new approaches that share similar perspectives in relation to the teaching of a Foreign Language. They are focused on the students instead of the teacher, and are not grammar-based. One of these is known as the FOCAL SKILLS
Approach, which has its basis on natural approaches and makes use of authentic material as comprehensible input (International Center for FOCAL SKILLS, 2012).
2.2 The FOCAL SKILLS Approach
2.2.1 Origin and Objectives of the FOCAL SKILLS Approach
The FOCAL SKILLS Approach (FSA) was developed by Ashley Hastings in 1988. It was carried into effect for the first time at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, where it
“continues to be the flagship programme” (International Center for FOCAL SKILLS, 2012, para.
3). Currently, it is also being implemented in other educative institutions around the U.S.A. as well as in some other countries. As stated by Hastings (1995),“the basic intent of FS is to accelerate the acquisition of intermediate-level language proficiency by maximizing the efficiency of instruction” (p. 29), a goal that the creator of this method aspires to meet by applying the basic principles of some well-known theories of language acquisition that will be reviewed below.
FOCAL SKILLS APPROACH AND TABLETOP ROLE-PLAYING 20
2.2.2 Underlying Theories of the FOCAL SKILLS Approach
2.2.2.1 Krashen‟s Hypotheses
The FOCAL SKILLS‟ Approach is largely based on the theories posed by Krashen, whose most influential theory is the Monitor Model (International Center for FOCAL SKILLS, 2012).
This Model consists of five basic hypotheses that contribute with a possible explanation for
Second Language Acquisition (SLA). The first of these hypotheses, the acquisition-learning hypothesis, makes a distinction between acquisition and learning of a second language (Gass,
1997, p. 80). Acquisition is defined as a process that is very similar to the one in which children develop their first language, and this phenomenon has been explained by different theoretical positions. Nowadays, there is not a definite answer for the question of how children acquire first language, but the process of acquisition implies that a second or foreign language should be attained in much the same way first language is (Lightbown & Spada, 2006).
The Natural Order Hypothesis proposes that certain “elements of language are acquired in a predictable order” (Gas, 1997, p. 81). That is to say that there are certain morphemes that are acquired before others due to their level of difficulty in relation with the cognitive development of the child (Lightbown & Spada, 2006). This natural order exists both in Foreign Language
Acquisition (FLA) and Second Language Acquisition (SLA), though the sequence is different for both. In the case of SLA, it is set “regardless of their [the acquirers‟] first language” (Krashen,
1982, p. 12). Notwithstanding, the succession of morpheme acquisition is not the same for everyone, but it is significantly similar between one another (ibid.).
The monitor hypothesis defends the idea that “the monitor is intended to link the acquired and learned systems in a situation of language use” (Gass, 1997, p. 81). This means that the learned
FOCAL SKILLS APPROACH AND TABLETOP ROLE-PLAYING 21 system, which is the subconscious knowledge about the language that the speaker has, is what makes the person design the utterances, and “is responsible for spontaneous language use”
(Lightbown & Spada, 2006, p. 37). This „monitor‟ also works as a corrective device that polishes the acquired system. It works under three conditions: time, form, and rule knowledge. Time refers to the speaker having the time for the monitor to work and correct. Form is the speaker‟s concern about producing language correctly. Finally, rule knowledge refers to the fact that the acquired system has the relevant rules of the language, so they can be applied. Notwithstanding,
Krashen greatly emphasizes the fact that even if the three conditions are met, the monitor might not necessarily be working (Krashen, 2003).
The input hypothesis, which is closely related to the previously mentioned natural order hypothesis, works under the premise that second languages are acquired “by understanding messages or by receiving comprehensible input” (Krashen, 1985, p. 2). This „comprehensible input‟ is defined as “that bit of language that is heard or read and that contains language slightly ahead of a learner's‟ current state of grammatical knowledge” (Gas, 1997, p. 81), which is also the basis for the i+1 input strategy.
Finally, the Affective Filter Hypothesis works as a barrier which is especially affected by emotional factors such as motivation, attitude, self-confidence or anxiety. When the affective filter is high, input does not get through this barrier and, consequently, there is no acquisition.
On the contrary, when the filter is low input can get through it, resulting in a more effective level of acquisition (Krashen, 1982). The affective filter has also been held responsible for individual variations in language acquisition, since it is a possible reason why different people acquire a language at different rates (Xiaoyan, 2009).
FOCAL SKILLS APPROACH AND TABLETOP ROLE-PLAYING 22
The FOCAL SKILLS Approach has its basis on these five theories, especially emphasizing the importance of comprehensible input and a low affective filter, as they are considered essential for an effective learning (International Center for FOCAL SKILLS [ICFS], 2012). Additionally, it encourages the use of authentic materials for the acquisition of a second language, as they are more interesting and motivating. Authentic material refers to materials which “were created, or at least appear to have been created, for the use and enjoyment of people who are not studying
English as a Second Language” (ibid.). These authentic materials are a tool for creating a learning environment that students can perceive as natural, which is also the main objective of the Natural
Approach.
2.2.2.2 The Natural Approach
The Natural Approach, developed by Stephen Krashen and Tracy Terrell (1977) from the
University of California at Irvine, was originally intended for high school and university levels
(Krashen, 1982). One of its main characteristics is that it emphasizes input over practice, which intends to optimize “emotional preparedness for learning” (Richards & Rodgers, 1999, p. 129).
This approach, as mentioned by Richards and Rodgers (1999), aims at going through communicative situations where the students use the target language without using their native tongue. Regarding its implementation, the teacher makes exclusive use of the target language, due to the fact that its central axis revolves around the achievement of real comprehension
(Krashen, 1982).
In this approach, the role of the learners is to process the comprehensible input that is delivered by the teacher. This input is supposed to be higher than the acquirers‟ current level of competence, but comes with enough tools for them to assign a meaning to it. Thus, it drives them
FOCAL SKILLS APPROACH AND TABLETOP ROLE-PLAYING 23 to enhance their level of competence in the target language. Learners are seen to go through three stages of linguistic development: the pre-production stage, the early-production stage, and the speech-emergent phase. The first one is explained by Krashen and Terrell as the stage when students “participate in the language activity without having to respond in the target language”
(as cited in Richards & Rodgers, 1999, p. 137), but still may respond through physical actions such as pointing, following physical commands, etc. The second one refers to the stage when learners can answer in simple ways, such as using “single words and short phrases, fill in charts, and (…) fixed conversational patterns (e.g., How are you? What's your name?)” (Krashen as cited in Richards & Rodgers, 1999, p. 137), but do not produce complex utterances. The last one is the stage when students participate in different activities which require more advanced language proficiency, such as “role play and games, contribute personal information and opinions, and participate in group problem solving” (Richards & Rodgers, 1999, p. 137).
When making use of this approach, teachers have three main roles. The first one is to be the primary source of optimal comprehensible input, which demands that they give different nonlinguistic clues in order for students to grasp the ideas accurately and understand the input correctly. The second one is to generate an adequate classroom environment, taking into account that the affective filter must be kept low. This atmosphere must be interesting and friendly towards the students. Finally, the third one is to collect and design a “rich mix of classroom activities, involving a variety of group sizes, content, and contexts” (Richards & Rodgers, 1999, p. 138).
As this approach focuses on input, Krashen (1982) stated a list of requirements for it to be considered as „optimal‟: it must be comprehensible, it must be interesting /relevant, it must not be based on grammar, it must be present all the time, it must not play against the affective filter, and
FOCAL SKILLS APPROACH AND TABLETOP ROLE-PLAYING 24 it must provide tools for conversational management. These conditions include the use of realia, pictures, and students‟ knowledge; in addition, it is important that the materials used are related to learners‟ interests and that it stimulates a harmonious classroom environment so students can produce language when they feel ready and comfortable. In relation to the tools for conversational management, this approach makes use “of very short dialogues, designed to help students converse with native speakers on predictable and frequent topics” (Krashen, 1982, p.
139), which students can use to interact with the teacher when they need help (i.e. “I don‟t understand”, “What does ______mean?”). As shown in the previous example, conversational management can become a way of minimizing the students‟ need to resort to their native language.
2.2.2.3 Total Physical Response
The Total Physical Response, also known as TPR, was developed in the 60s by James Asher as an alternative to the popular Audiolingual Method (Richard-Amato, 2005). This methodology
“attempts to teach language through physical (motor) activity” (Richards & Rodgers, 1999, p.
158), which is why it involves issuing commands stated in the imperative form such as „jump high‟, to which students are meant to react in a physical way. One of the reasons for creating this method is that, as stated by Richard-Amato (2005), “the cognitive process of language acquisition is synchronized with and partially facilitated by the movements of the body” (p. 158). This method also emphasizes comprehension which, as Richards and Rodgers (1999) stated, “has a long tradition in language teaching” (p. 88).
The TPR system is based on three principles that must be followed for its correct development. First, students are not required to produce the language until they have developed
FOCAL SKILLS APPROACH AND TABLETOP ROLE-PLAYING 25 the understanding of spoken language. In other words, the silent period needs to be respected.
Second, the understanding of the spoken language is achieved through the use of imperative utterances produced by the teacher, which means that enough input has to be provided so that this can be accomplished. Finally, after this understanding is achieved, students are expected to show
„readiness‟ to produce the language spontaneously (Krashen, 1982). As a conclusion the TPR system focuses on using imperative instructions while students feel prepared to start producing, a goal that can be reached by following the previously mentioned principles.
The roles of students and teachers in the TPR system are well defined. Learners have two main roles: listeners and performers. Although these are different roles, they are fulfilled simultaneously since students are expected to “listen attentively and respond physically to commands given by the teacher” (Richards & Rodgers, 1999, p. 93). Additionally, the response to the commands issued by the teacher can be either individual or collective. Regarding the teacher‟s role, they are in charge of choosing the contents and controlling most of the elements involved in the process of applying this methodology, which makes it mostly teacher-centered.
Teachers play an important and active role when applying this method. They are the ones who decide on the contents, and select and present the materials. As stated by Richards and Rodgers
(1999), “classroom interaction and turn taking is teacher rather than learner directed” (p. 94), which implies that it is the teacher who acts as the „orchestra conductor‟ in the classroom and takes care of initiating the interactions. The most important part of the role of the teachers is that they are responsible for “providing the best kind of exposure to language so that the learner can internalize the basic rules of the target language” (ibid.).
FOCAL SKILLS APPROACH AND TABLETOP ROLE-PLAYING 26
As the Natural Approach, it also gives emphasis to input, and Krashen (1982) lists the requirements for it to be considered as „optimal‟, which are similar to the ones applied in the previously mentioned methodology. In this case, the requirements are the following: it must be comprehensible, it must be interesting, it must not be focused on grammar, it must be present all the time, and it must help the affective filter to remain low. Making input comprehensible when applying the TPR method is extremely important as it requires a response from the students, which they will not be able to accomplish if understanding is affected. The „interesting‟ feature may be a problem in some cases because, as Krashen (1982) stated, “it may be difficult to remain interesting if one holds to the requirement of producing imperatives 100% of the time” (p. 141).
Keeping the affective filter low is achieved by heeding students‟ silent period; notwithstanding, the need for physical response “may provoke anxiety in some students” (ibid.).
2.3 General Description of the FOCAL SKILLS Approach
The FOCAL SKILLS Approach works on the basis that the four basic language skills – writing, reading, listening and speaking – are permanently interrelated during the process of acquisition of a second language. This means that during this process they rely on each other so that the skills which are more developed can help the ones which are weaker. However, even though the four skills work together most of the time, “at a given stage of development, a skill may be dependent or autonomous” (Hastings, 1995, p. 31). The division is shown in the following figure:
FOCAL SKILLS APPROACH AND TABLETOP ROLE-PLAYING 27
SKILLS
DEPENDENT AUTONOMOUS
FOCAL EMERGENT FOUNDATIONAL INSTRUMENTAL
Figure 1: Functional skill integration
As shown in Figure 1, a skill can be either dependent or autonomous. At the same time, dependent skills can be subdivided into focal and emergent skills; and autonomous skills can be subdivided into foundational and instrumental skills (Hastings, 1995).
On the one hand, dependent skills are defined as weak skills, which “require concentrated input for sustained growth” (Hastings, 1995, p. 32). This kind of skill has a great potential for improvement, but it requires vast amounts of comprehensible input to be provided in order to be developed to its fullest. On the other hand, autonomous skills are those which are sufficiently developed for the learner to able to use them with relative ease in a regular communicative situation. Autonomous skills will keep steadily improving through normal use and, at the same time, they can “contribute to the development of other skills” (ibid., p. 31); in other words, they help dependent skills to be developed.
In order to develop the focal skill, instrumental and foundational skills contribute to the process. Instrumental skills are tools to develop other skills; for example, “listening comprehension is instrumental in the Reading Module of a FS program” [sic] (Hastings, 1995, p.
31) because instructors make use of oral discussions in the target language during their lessons.
FOCAL SKILLS APPROACH AND TABLETOP ROLE-PLAYING 28
Similarly, foundational skills offer a basis to develop and improve other skills. In this sense,
“reading is foundational for writing, because the elements that a person can appropriately produce in writing will generally be a subset of the elements that the person can recognize and understand when reading” (ibid., p. 32). Furthermore, the development of emergent skills depends on the level of their foundational skills. For instance, since listening comprehension
(foundational skill) is needed for the development of oral production (emergent skill), as the learner achieves higher levels of listening proficiency, their spoken language should be expected to also show a significant improvement.
In the case of the FOCAL SKILLS programme, a Focal Skill is considered as a dependent skill, and its development is the objective of the module; as stated by Murphy (1997), each module functions by “isolating the specific skills [Focal Skill] for development” (para. 2). As mentioned by Yu (1998), there can only be one focal skill at a time, which is the reason why in this approach there is a different module for each skill (listening, reading and writing) (ibid., p.
10). The structure of the program for the FOCAL SKILLS Approach is shown in figure 2:
FOCAL SKILLS APPROACH AND TABLETOP ROLE-PLAYING 29
Figure 2: The FOCAL SKILLS program structure (Hastings, 1995).
As the reader might note, there are no specific modules for speaking or grammar since this approach “relies mainly on acquisition rather than the direct instruction for this aspect of language” (Krashen as cited in Hastings, 1995, p. 33). The „Advanced Module‟ is not actually an
FS module, since it was not created with any specific focal skill in mind. It is only a transitional stage for advanced students to go through and work on any linguistic weaknesses that might persist before they leave the programme. If the FOCAL SKILLS Approach is appropriately developed, the speed in which students acquire the target language can increase in a 35%, which makes it a more efficient option in comparison to other methodologies (International Center for
FOCAL SKILLS [ICFS], 2012).
FOCAL SKILLS APPROACH AND TABLETOP ROLE-PLAYING 30
2.4 Comparisons between the FOCAL SKILLS Approach and the Standard Model
Some studies have been developed in relation to the use of the FOCAL SKILLS Approach. In this section, two of them will be summarized: the first one carried out by Ashley Hastings and another one developed by Bai Yu, in her master‟s thesis in 1998. Both researchers compared the effectiveness of the FS program in relation to the Standard Model, where all skills are worked at the same time intensively, and grammar and vocabulary are presented explicitly. Hastings checked different aspects of students‟ performance in the FS program, which are: skill acceleration, emergent skill development, global skill development, TOEFL Gains, and other comparisons; while Yu‟s analysis compared students‟ English proficiency improvements.
Hastings‟ assumptions were proved as follows: skill acceleration is achieved in the focal skill, while “it is possible that the other skills lie dormant while the focal skill is being accelerated”
(Hastings, 1995, p. 37); emergent skills gains and TOEFL gains are similar in both FS program and SM program; FS program students experienced greater gains in global skill development; and the other comparisons, which include vocabulary, speaking and composition, did not show an important difference between both models.
Yu‟s research took students with different proficiencies, who were grouped by their results in the pre-test. In general, students in the FS program improved more in the listening and writing skills in contrast to the comparison group, but were outperformed in the reading skills. In general, students make an important progression in the focal skill that their module highlights and a small improvement in the skill from the next module, but make a small retrogress in the previous focal skill (i.e. if a student is in the reading module, they improve in reading and writing, but not in listening).Both researches reveal that the FS program works effectively in the focal skill being
FOCAL SKILLS APPROACH AND TABLETOP ROLE-PLAYING 31 worked on, as well as emergent skills, though in some cases it does not have a huge difference in relation to the traditional methods.
2.5 The FOCAL SKILLS Approach in Chile
During the second term of 2007 and the first term of 2011, a research which used the FOCAL
SKILLS Approach was implemented in Universidad Austral de Chile. The results from this research showed that students considered the new methodology as “fun, motivating and effective in terms of foreign language acquisition” (Yilorm & Lizasoain, 2012, p. 20). Also, students mostly valued the multi-sensorial authentic material, and the positive attitude that the teacher showed in the classroom, which promoted a comfortable environment for them (ibid.). This means that the methodologies used when applying the FOCAL SKILLS Approach are effective in terms of lowering the affective filter and fostering language acquisition.
3. Motivation
3.1. Hastings’ Chain of Acquisition
When talking about motivation in the context of the teaching of EFL, it is important to highlight the connection that Hastings (2005) makes between motivation and the acquisition of a language. According to this author, "the higher the level of interest, the higher the attention, the higher the intake, the higher the retention, and thus, the higher the acquisition" (Hastings, 2005).
This series of events is what he denominated a „Chain of Acquisition‟, which makes it easier for an individual to acquire a foreign language in an optimal way and at the fastest pace possible. As stated before, the first link of this chain is the „level of interest‟, which is also known as motivation.
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3.2. Definition of Motivation
Motivation is an affective variable related to learners‟ success in language learning and acquisition (Brown, 2007). As stated by Berelson and Steiner, it is understood as “all those inner striving conditions, described as wishes, desires, and urges to inspire the interest of a person in an activity. It is therefore an inner state that stimulates and triggers behavior” (as cited in Gür &
Kandemir, 2009, p. 970). In other words, motivation is what drives a person to develop activities and promotes behaviours.
3.3. Types of Motivation
Motivation can be divided into two types: intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Intrinsic motivation can be found in people who carry out activities without hoping for a reward. As Ryan
& Deci (2000) explain, “when intrinsically motivated a person is moved to act for the fun or challenge entailed rather than because of external prods, pressures, or rewards.”This type of motivation is strongly related to the concept „engagement at work‟. According to the
Psychlopedia (2012), people who are engaged at work are “very energetic, dedicated, and absorbed at work, primarily because they enjoy their role, which ultimately tends to improve their wellbeing”. These qualities also have an influence over people‟s attitude and efficiency when carrying out a given task. Extrinsic motivation is related to an attitude which is “fuelled by the anticipation of a reward from outside and beyond the self” [sic] (Brown, 2007, p. 172). This type of motivation is also present in behaviours which are present exclusively to avoid punishment
(Ryan & Deci, 2000).
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3.4. Integrative and Instrumental Motivation
Learners have two different orientations in relation to language learning and acquisition: integrative and instrumental. On the one hand, integrative orientation is related to learners who wish “to integrate themselves into the culture of the second language group and become involved in social interchange in that group” (Brown. 2007, p. 170). As stated by Falk, usually students with this type of orientation are more successful when learning a second language (as cited in
Norris-Holt, 2001). This situation is usually found in people who have moved to other countries where they need to learn the language in order to survive and interact with other people in the community. On the other hand, learners with an instrumental orientation look for the acquisition of a language “as a mean for attaining instrumental goals: furthering a career, reading technical material, translation, and so forth” (Brown, 2007, p. 170). Notwithstanding, these orientations are usually not exclusive as “most situations involve a mixture of each orientation” (Brown, 2007, p.
171).
3.5. The Role of Students’ Motivation in the FLA Process
In the field of language acquisition, research has shown that success is related to a range of affective variables, in which motivation is included. Krashen (1982) stated that “performers [in this case, students] with high motivation generally do better in second language acquisition” (p.
31). When this variable is present, it promotes different attitudes, which help the learner to go through the acquisition process more easily and with less effort in comparison to a student who is not motivated. The Psychlopedia (2012) lists engagement at work, self efficacy, and unconscious goals as some of these attitudes.
FOCAL SKILLS APPROACH AND TABLETOP ROLE-PLAYING 34
The concept of engagement at work is very important when dealing with learning and acquisition of a foreign language. As stated by Kahn, “engagement refers to the state in which individuals express their entire self (…) in their role” (as cited in Psychlopedia, 2012), which implies that students who are engaged are more dedicated and enthusiastic because they enjoy what they are doing. This engagement is affected by other factors, such as optimism, resilience and self efficacy. In this way, “individuals who perceive themselves positively are more likely to pursue roles that align to their values, called self concordance, which promotes intrinsic motivation (…) and may promote engagement at work” (Psychlopedia, 2012) This means that different psychological characteristics in individuals can affect either positively or negatively on how they are engaged at what they are doing. Moreover, engagement helps people overcome burnout because it makes work and effort meaningful, thus negative feelings are surpassed by positive ones.
Self efficacy is strongly related to persistence and success. It emerged from Bandura‟s social cognitive theory. This concept “reflects the extent to which individuals perceive themselves as capable of implemented the sequences of acts that are needed to fulfil some goal or perform some task effectively” [sic] (Psychlopedia, 2012); that is to say, it is very much related to self esteem and, as mentioned before, to persistence and engagement. Self efficacy depends deeply on the individual‟s successful past experiences, which includes positive feedback; modelling, which is related to the previous act of seeing someone perform the specific task in a successful way, thus they feel they can do the same; the emotional and physiological state, which includes factors such as anxiety, leadership, and sensitivity; and material and social resources, such as persuasion, support and encouragement from equals. As a conclusion, people‟s own concept of self efficacy
FOCAL SKILLS APPROACH AND TABLETOP ROLE-PLAYING 35 is affected by internal and external agents, and must be fostered in order to enhance the individual‟s motivation.
Finally, in an FL classroom in which a methodology such as the FOCAL SKILLS Approach is used, unconscious goals are meant to emerge. This concept is related to the unconscious process of setting specific goals when specific environmental factors are present. As exemplified by the
Psychlopedia (2012, para. 1), “specific contexts, such as a library, can effortlessly, immediately, and inevitably motivate individuals to pursue specific goals, such as to learn information”. If taken to the proposed setting, where the English language is used in a regular basis, students‟ need for understanding will most likely emerge, and it is very possible that it is boosted by the need to communicate effectively.
3.6. Motivation and Games
As previously explained, motivation is one of the factors that has the biggest influence over the process of acquisition. The challenge is to find appropriate ways of motivating students, since it is a harder task than it was some decades ago (Pastor, 2010). The world has dramatically changed in the last years, and these changes are made faster due to the technological advancements that allow the public to be continually surrounded by information. Students have also changed and adapted to this, but educational institutions have not been subjected to many modifications since they were first created (ibid.), which has rendered them outdated and uninteresting to students that were born in a society in which the school does not provide the same amount of interest and stimulation that can be easily found in more entertaining contexts.
Entertainment - and therefore games - is the most powerful force in contemporary society
(Mas de Xàxas cit. in Pastor, 2010) and it has a potential for motivation that can greatly
FOCAL SKILLS APPROACH AND TABLETOP ROLE-PLAYING 36 contribute to the field of education if correctly used. This is demonstrated by the fact that there are few students who enjoy and willingly engage in activities such as studying or doing homework, but no one has to be forced to watch television or play games (ibid.). This is the reason why introducing games in the classroom to generate interest in students can achieve a higher level of engagement in activities.
4. Role-Playing
4.1. Traditional Role-Playing Games (RPGs)
4.1.1. Definition of RPGs
Traditionally, the concept „role-play‟ has been applied in several contexts, which has resulted in a myriad of different definitions. For most people, role-playing “seems to encompass an extremely varied collection of activities” (Ladousse, 1987, p. 3) that range from improvised sketches to rehearsed dialogues. As Ladousse (1987) explains, this conceptual problem can be solved by looking closely at the words that make up the term. Following this line of thought, it can be said that “when students assume a „role‟, they play a part (…) in a specific situation.
„Play‟ means that the role is taken on in a safe environment in which students are as inventive and playful as possible” (p. 5). That is to say, role-playing games would be similar to the games children play in which they pretend to be a fire-fighter or a doctor, for example. This kind of game can therefore be described as “a formalization of the ancient art of „make-believe‟ that underpins the human imagination” (Morris & Hartas, 2004, p. 6). Here, the use of the term
„make-believe‟ may not be accepted by the people who would believe that this description is better suited for children, but the truth is that role-playing activities can be enjoyable for anyone, no matter the age group (Wohlking & Gill, 1980).
FOCAL SKILLS APPROACH AND TABLETOP ROLE-PLAYING 37
4.1.2. Characteristics of RPGs
According to Ladousse (1987), some of the main characteristics of role-playing games are that, when people are playing, they:
Unselfconsciously creating their own reality and, by doing so, are experimenting with their knowledge of the real world and developing their ability to interact with people. In this situation there are no spectators and the occasional eavesdropper (…) may not even be noticed (p. 5). This is to say, role-playing is not entirely about „pretending‟ to be something or someone, but rather „being‟ that someone or something for a while. This is what children and professional actors and actresses do, and in this way they experience this unselfconscious process. Even though this comparison might lead to thinking that role-playing is equal to drama, the difference is that drama activities do not always entail an „unconscious‟ plunge into the world of fantasy in the same way described above. Additionally, “when students lose themselves in characters, plots and situations, they are more apt to experience low anxiety, increased self-confidence and esteem, and heightened awareness” (Richard-Amato, 2005, p. 230). For this reason, and as discussed in the previous section, there are several types of activities that are often referred to as
„role-playing‟ but, according to Ladousse (1987), activities such as “prepared sketches or improvisations that are acted out for the rest of the class (…) belong to the realm of drama” (p.
5). This differentiation is born from the fact that while body movement is compulsory for drama activities, it is not a requirement for Role-Playing activities.
Throughout the years, the traditional conception of role-playing has evolved to become “one of the major genres of games, represented in non-digital, digital and embodied formats”
(Spierling & Szilas, 2008); formats which relate to Tabletop Role-Playing, console or computer games, and acting out, respectively. In the following section, a specific type of non-digital version will be introduced, that despite being one of the oldest is not the most well-known or the
FOCAL SKILLS APPROACH AND TABLETOP ROLE-PLAYING 38 most used in educational contexts despite having a “a high appeal for students because it allows them to be creative and to put themselves in another person‟s place for a while” (Richard-Amato,
2005, p. 222).
4.2. Tabletop Role-Playing Games (TRPGs)
4.2.1. Definition of TRPGs
Tabletop Role-Playing games were introduced as we know them today in 1974 and they have their origins in miniature war-gaming (Williams, Hendricks, & Winkler, 2006), which are explained by Holmes and Paxson as “historical or hypothetical battles wages using tokens or miniature figures to represent armies” (as cited in Williams et al., 2006, p. 3). The market of the
TRPGs has been steadily growing in time and, as stated by Dancey, “by the year 2000 they comprised a two billion-dollar industry” (as cited in Grouling, 2010, p. 6). TRPGs are planned interactive games which involve at least two people. They are, in general, played with pen and paper, though there are many variations depending on the game being played. Basically, they consist of a number of rules and characteristics by which players can decide what to do, and “by which players engage in role play” (Tresca, 2011, p. 59). The rules of these games are usually set by rulebooks which are specific for each game. The use of imagination and the non-existence of
„winning‟ or „losing‟ are the main characteristics of these pen-and-paper games (Tresca, 2011;
Grouling, 2010).
There are many reasons why people spend time playing role-playing games, and Gary Alan
Fine, American sociologist and author, groups them into four main themes. The first idea is related to the educational components, as players can learn about different cultures and places, because “there are sometimes historical or futuristic elements in role-playing games” (Tresca,
FOCAL SKILLS APPROACH AND TABLETOP ROLE-PLAYING 39
2011, p. 77). The second theme is that these fantasy games can be an escape from social pressure as people have the opportunity to impersonate a character who can be smarter, stronger, taller, or have any features they want; moreover, role-playing sometimes “allows players to break common social conventions and taboos without fear of repercussion” (ibid., p. 78) if the system of the game gives the opportunity to do so. The third and fourth topics are related to having a sense of personal control and using these games as an aid for dealing with people. Social interaction is promoted by TRPGs, as it is a requirement for a successful gaming experience, and this “helps certain players who might otherwise have difficulty socially interacting by finding a peer group they can relate to and pretending to be someone else” (ibid.). This means that role-playing games are a good tool in order to develop ourselves in personal and social aspects, facilitating interaction even for people who are usually shy.
4.2.2. Characteristics of TRPGs
Tabletop Role-Playing games are formed by different elements, which are the characters, the gamemaster, the rules, the character sheets, and other optional elements. As described by Tresca
(2011), characters are “the equivalent of protagonists in a novel” (p. 73). They are fictional individuals that are created under the rules of the game which is being played. They interact with each other through the role-playing of the participants, and work as a team in the development of the story. The Gamemaster (GM), also known as Storyteller or Dungeon Master, depending on the TRPG, is the person in charge of telling the story, developing the setting, the characters that are not played by the players, presenting situations, and asking players “What do you do?” when they need to declare their next action (Grouling, 2010; Tresca, 2011; Williams, et al., 2006).
Stories, settings and additional characters are not necessarily created by the GM, but can be pre- prepared, in which case they can be found in GM books. The rules for each TRPG usually come
FOCAL SKILLS APPROACH AND TABLETOP ROLE-PLAYING 40 in a rulebook which also includes the game mechanics, and these books are “sometimes divided between player books and game master books” (Tresca, 2011, p. 59). Character sheets are the pieces of paper in which players create their characters. In these, they specify their strengths, weaknesses, and all their attributes; these are usually declared by dice (Steinberg, Kehler, &
Cornish, 2010). Finally, some optional elements that TRPGs may include are the use of dice or miniature figures. Most of these games use dice, and their purpose can go from defining characters attributes to deciding if an action is successful or not. Miniature figures are not as common as the use of dice in TRPGs, but they usually involve the use of a board or battle map
(Grouling, 2010; Tresca, 2011; Steinberg, et al., 2010).
There are many characteristics that give shape to TRPGs. They are face-to-face and participatory. Players gather (usually around a table) and interact with each other in order to move forward in the story that is being developed. These types of games make use and take place in the imagination of the participants. Players use it as a tool in order to “take over the role of a fictitious character, which interacts with those of the remaining fellow players” (Steinberg, et al.,
2010, p. 410). These games are episodic, as they can be developed through the years or a short period of time in different sessions or episodes, which let the story continue. An important characteristic of TRPGs is that there is no „winning‟ or „losing‟, “although characters do gain experience points for completing certain challenges, and in an ongoing game, these experience points allow the player to continue building his or her character” (Grouling, 2010, p. 6).This means that, as the game develops, the players can grow and improve themselves, but there is no real „winning‟. The absence of winners or losers is particularly relevant in this context, because it eliminates the competitive element that tends to be the reason of high anxiety among students. In regard to this, Krashen (1982) states that "low anxiety appears to be conducive to second language acquisition, whether measured as personal or classroom anxiety" (p. 31). Finally, the
FOCAL SKILLS APPROACH AND TABLETOP ROLE-PLAYING 41 existence of multiple interactions is what game designer Andrew Rilstone sees as the crucial characteristic of TRPGs, as it is required both among players and between players and the GM
(ibid.). As a conclusion, it can be said that Tabletop Role-Playing is only one of the many formats of Traditional Role-Playing. This implies that most of the characteristics previously explained are true for both concepts, with only one aspect that greatly differentiates both of them: body movement.
4.3. Uses of TRPGs in the EFL Classroom
As mentioned before, body movement is what distinguishes the Traditional Concept of Role-
Playing from Tabletop Role-Playing, and this is the main reason why TRPGs can be helpful in the EFL classroom in a way in which RPGs cannot be. This is because, even though elements of drama can be incorporated into TPRGs, they are not a requirement and so students are not forced to perform physical movements. This element is particularly important since “shy students (…) may feel inhibited about participating in performance-related activities in the classroom”
(Stevens, 2000, p. 5), which can cause some students to be left out of the acquisition process during such activities. In this sense, TRPGs can offer an alternative way of reaching more students in the EFL classroom.
Despite some teachers having acknowledged the usefulness of RPGs in an educative context, there are still many that are not comfortable enough to use these techniques in the classroom
(Dinapoli & Algarra, 2001). This is because role-playing is an activity that requires some flexibility and freedom for improvisation as well as room for the emotional responses that are natural when role-playing a character. Dinapoli and Algarra (2001) explain the teacher‟s reticence to use this strategy by stating that:
FOCAL SKILLS APPROACH AND TABLETOP ROLE-PLAYING 42
One cannot, after all, systematise emotional reactions as easily as one can language functions and syntactic structures. For to do otherwise would call for a classroom pedagogy that focusses not only in planning academic learning and language production, but also in instituting processes that emotionally involve learners [sic] (p. 2). In a similar manner, improvisation can be an obstacle for teachers or students that are “rarely prepared to handle, let alone exploit, unplanned displays of actual communication” (p. 2). This might be the case for people that are extremely logical and like to plan everything to the last detail.
4.4. TRPGs and the FOCAL SKILLS Approach
According to what has been mentioned until now, TRPGs are suitable to be used within the frame of the FOCAL SKILLS approach. This is because most of the elements that are a requirement for this approach to be applied satisfactorily are compatible with TRPGs characteristics.
One of the requirements of the FOCAL SKILLS Approach is motivation which, as stated by
Lile (2002), “is the key to all learning”, and it is essential for acquisition as well. This condition is met through TRPG activities, since “role-playing increases the enjoyment of the learning process while decreasing the risk incurred through real-world experience” (Bowman, 2010, p.
83), which is conductive to motivation. Additionally, and as mentioned in the previous section, players receive rewards in the form of experience or virtual objects such as random items, weapons, armour, or spell books that they might use during the story, which encourages them to participate in order to keep building up their characters. This constitutes a powerful tool for engagement, since “the creative ownership a player feels in their character provides a deep motivation to simply keep them alive and flourishing, a motivation not seen to the same extent in other genres” (Morris & Hartas, 2004, p. 23). This means that players are eager to earn rewards
FOCAL SKILLS APPROACH AND TABLETOP ROLE-PLAYING 43
(even if they are not tangible) for the sake of enhancing their characters which, in this case, would also be alter egos to their personalities.
Another requirement is the contextualization of input. When aiming for acquisition, as mentioned by Krashen (1985), it is important that the input is comprehensible. Through the use of
TRPG, the teacher, who would take the role of the GM or narrator, would fill the role of a creator and interpreter. Tresca (2011) explains this job in the following quote:
As narrator, the game master reads or creates on the fly his own description of the universe. As interpreter, the game master translates the game universe to the player characters. He interprets their senses for them, sharing information and answering players‟ questions so that the characters can interact with the imaginary universe effectively (Tresca, 2011, p. 68). This means that the teacher should not only produce input, but also make it comprehensible for students. Moreover, the instructor must be willing to help students by answering their questions in order for them to completely understand these imaginary places and situations. By doing this, students can feel more comfortable and closer to the narrator.
As mentioned before, in TRPGs improvisation is common, and being able to handle these improvised communications would be part of the teacher‟s role. As previously mentioned, usually students and teachers are not trained to deal with this kind of situation, thus they are probably not set to organize their ideas in a way that can easily lead to placing contents in the appropriate context. Contextualizing input can be reached by using specific vocabulary or structures in the right situations. These situations can be created by the narrator as the story develops, or can emerge in between other meaningful events. By contextualizing contents, communication would flow with more ease and should avoid the chance that it “shifts to a somewhat superficial plane” (ibid., p. 1), making acquisition more difficult for students.
Some important attributes which can be developed by playing TRPGs are listed by Fine, and are the following: decision-making, leadership, and role-playing as a skill. These traits are related
FOCAL SKILLS APPROACH AND TABLETOP ROLE-PLAYING 44 to cross-curricular teaching, as they reach for a “sensitivity towards, and a synthesis of, knowledge, skills and understandings from various subject areas” (Savage as cited in Byrne &
Brodie, 2012, p. 2). As explained before, TRPG requires social interaction and group work, which help improve leadership and decision-making. The skill of role-playing is understood as empathy, which is “the ability to put oneself in another‟s shoes to help understand him or her”
(Tresca, 2011, p. 77). Tresca (2011) also highlights that many professionals such as child psychologists, adult counsellors and business people, use role-playing in order for people to learn to understand each other‟s viewpoints and feelings.
As a conclusion, it can be said that the idea of incorporating TRPGs as a strategy under the
FOCAL SKILLS Approach can be carried out and be beneficial for the acquisition process, though it is a demanding task for both teacher and students. Through the use of both, the approach and the teaching strategy, students can be challenged and motivated in equal measure while they go through the process of foreign language acquisition, making it a better experience for them.
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CHAPTER II: DIDACTIC UNIT
1. Introduction
The following didactic unit was designed using activities based on Tabletop Role-playing as a teaching strategy under the Advanced Module of the FOCAL SKILLS Approach in order to foster the acquisition of English as a foreign language and raise the level of motivation among students. The mechanics of the game through which this goal will be accomplished are presented below, as well as the way in which the game is adapted in order to be compatible with the characteristics of the Chilean EFL classrooms. Additionally, there will be a description of the way in which this strategy fits within the plans and programmes for 11th grade by MINEDUC.
This information is relevant to the potential application of the unit in real classrooms.
TRPGs involve several essential elements, which are: A gamemaster, characters, face-to-face interaction and teamwork, as well as episodes. The gamemaster is the storyteller in the narrative.
He gives the background information, the setting. He is also in charge of asking the characters what they will do in order to progress with the story (Grouling, 2010; Tresca, 2011; Williams, et al., 2006). The characters are the protagonists of the story, the ones in charge of advancing in the narrative and taking action in order for this to happen. They are fictional, but interact with each other through the players. Characters use and join their individual abilities to reach specific objectives determined by the gamemaster. Finally, TRPGs are episodic, which means they can be developed in periods of time of different length. This lack of time constrains, the face-to-face interaction and teamwork are some of the most distinctive elements. These essential elements are included in the unit, making it possible to develop TRPG activities.
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In order to adapt the game to be used as a teaching strategy, some of the tools and characteristics of TRPGs that were included to develop the unit are: A character sheet, a narrative, the role of the teacher, and the role of the students. Firstly, a character sheet is designed by each student during the first lesson. This piece of paper will be used each class to develop each story. Secondly, three stories will be narrated in the course of the unit. These stories will have specific objectives for each class, making progress evident for the students as well as for the teacher. Thirdly, the teacher will act as the gamemaster of the story. Accordingly, he/she will have to narrate the story and help students when needed. Finally, students will be the characters of the story, working in their teams. They will use the attributes they first gave to their characters in order to cooperate with each other. Furthermore, students work in different groups and make progress by cooperating with each other. The teacher acts as the only gamemaster of the stories and the students are expected to be the players. These elements, in unison with the activities and classroom management, are some of the characteristics of TRPG games that are present in the didactic unit.
Two types of activities, based on teamwork and decision making, are developed in this unit:
Decisions with limited options, and free decisions made by the students. In the first type of activity, the teacher will first present the situation; second, give each group a specific amount of time for them to decide on an action (options appear in a handout); third, each group leader will report the decision of the group; and finally, the teacher will tell that group the outcome of the event. In the second type of activity, each group will decide what each member will do to accomplish the objective of the mission, and then the leader of the group will hand in a written report of what each member did. These activities contain the basic elements of TRPGs and are applied in all of the lessons of the didactic unit.
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Two main classroom management techniques are used in this unit: Leveling up and achievement points. Regarding leveling up, if students complete an activity and behave properly, they receive experience points. In case they do not behave properly, experience points will be subtracted. Each activity earns them 100 points. Bad behaviour subtracts: 75 experience points for serious misconduct, 50 experience points for regular misconduct, and 25 experience points for slight misconduct (according to every school regulations). Rewards are earned as described in the following chart:
Level Experience points needed Reward 1 0 2 300 3 600 Small 4 900 Big 5 1200 Small 6 1500 7 1800 Small 8 2100 Big Chart 1: When students get the amount of experience points needed, they reach the level indicated in the table. For example, if after completing several tasks they got to 300 experience points, they reach level 2; notwithstanding, if afterwards they behave in an improper way and are taken points off, they go back to level 1. In the case of rewards, they are for the characters. Regarding small rewards, they are extra points they can give to their abilities in their character sheets, while big rewards refer to accessories or clothing. Note that rewards are not removed when going back a level, and are also not given again when leveling back up. In the case of achievement points, they are earned by doing extra optional work. Students (not characters) receive rewards by getting a certain amount of points. Each extra work earns them a specific amount of achievement points, depending on the activity as shown in Chart 2.
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Type of Task Achievement Points Writing 10-30 points (depending on length) Reading 10-30 points (depending on length) Looking for information 30 points Handout (mixed exercises) 40 points Pop quiz 10-70 points (depending on the grade) Chart 2: These extra tasks are designed by the teacher and may be given as homework. Every 80 achievement points that students earn, they receive a reward. These can be positive statements in the class book, stickers, candy, etc. These two classroom management techniques aim at motivating students to improve their characters and receiving positive reinforcement.
As mentioned before, groups are needed to carry out the activities, which are organized in the following way. At the beginning of each class in which a new story will be started (lessons 2, 4, and 6); the teacher will have small pieces of paper in a bag. Each paper will contain a number
(001, 002, 003, 004, 005, 006), with 5 copies each. Groups will be chosen by the matching numbers (6 groups of 5 people in total), and they will have to sit together. This way, groups are formed at random, so students do not work with the same people all the time.
Regarding evaluation, a pop quiz (lesson 5) and a summative test (lesson 8) have been included in the unit. These two assessment tools were developed to fit within the FOCAL
SKILLS Approach and its premise that tests should be designed to be carried out and a natural way and with low levels of anxiety. For this reason, in order to maintain a low affective filter, the teacher should treat these instances as another game to be played. This attitude can be strengthened by the fact that the group work dynamics developed during the unit will continue to be used during the assessment. Furthermore, both tests only contain activities seen in previous classes, so the students do not come across anything unfamiliar to them.
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It is of importance to mention that this didactic unit was designed thinking of some ideal conditions, which are the amount of students per class, equipment required, and teacher‟s English proficiency. This unit is designed for a class with 30 students as a maximum, making 6 groups of
5 people each. It can also be effectively carried out with less than 30 students. Among the required equipment, there must be access to a computer with speakers and a beamer for the videos that are included; a computer with speakers or a radio, for the audios which need to be played; and access to photocopies, for the worksheets needed for every class. Regarding teacher‟s proficiency in the English language, it is important to note the fact that the element of TRPG requires that the gamemaster is able to improvise; thus, it is required that the instructor has at least an intermediate level of dominion of this foreign language. Meeting these requirements should bolster the feasibility of the activities and the unit itself, as well as giving the chance of taking the maximum advantage of the assigned amount of time.
This unit is based on the programme for 11th grade, created by the Ministerio de Educación
(MINEDUC). Different macro and micro functions are included within the content requirements, specifying morphosyntactic and lexical elements. Among the functions, the MINEDUC (2000) listed demonstration, persuasion and comparison as macro functions; along with recognizing and showing personal attitudes, correcting, asking for help or advice, attracting attention, reporting, exemplifying, enumerating and summarizing as micro functions. Prepositional and adverbial phrases, relative phrases, conditionals and modal verbs can be found as morphosyntactic elements (ibid.). Finally, the lexical element includes all the words learned up to 10th grade and some new vocabulary related to the topics the students are expected to go over during the year.
Topics are related to school life, everyday life and hobbies, and workplace situations. This unit
FOCAL SKILLS APPROACH AND TABLETOP ROLE-PLAYING 50 includes a variety of functions, morphosyntactic elements and topics that are required for the programme of 11th grade.
In conclusion, this didactic unit fits within the advanced module of the FOCAL SKILLS
Approach, since it fulfills all the basic requirements needed for this approach to work satisfactorily. This is accomplished through the adaptation of Tabletop Role-playing games, which allows them to be applied as a teaching strategy in EFL classrooms, always taking into account a number of ideal conditions that will add to the unit‟s overall effectiveness. TRPGs also contribute to the development of new classroom management strategies that can be applied throughout the entire unit. Additionally, this didactic unit respects the contents outlined by the
MINEDUC‟s plans and programs for the English subject. All these characteristics make this unit a viable tool for improving students‟ motivation toward the acquisition of English as a foreign language.
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2. General Planning
Lesson 1 Character creation General objectives: - To describe people - To comprehend the choices given Cross-curricular objectives: - To respect differences among people - To be honest and follow established rules Contents: Morphosyntactic: - Present simple Lexical: - Descriptive adjectives Lesson 2 Story 1: In the School - Find where the phone call was received - Find the first clue – Location from the phone call General objectives: - To know vocabulary related to the unit - To analyse information through oral exchange Cross-curricular objectives: - To be honest and follow established rules - To value teamwork Contents: Morphosyntactic: - Present simple - Past simple Lexical: - Fiction (“secret agent”, “kidnapper”, “disappear”, “infiltrate”, “clue”) - School (“school”, “teachers”, “janitor”, “principal”, “classmates”, “classroom”, “office”)
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Lesson 3 Story 1: In the School - Get information from minions. - Find the “kidnapper” and the teacher General objectives: - To recall vocabulary from the unit - To analyse information through oral exchange Cross-curricular objectives: - To be honest and follow established rules - To value teamwork Contents: Morphosyntactic: - Present simple - Past simple - Past continuous - Future simple - Modal verbs (“must”, “mustn‟t”, “ought to”) Lexical: - Fiction (“secret agent”, “kidnapper”, “disappear”, “infiltrate”, “clue”) - School (“school”, “teachers”, “janitor”, “principal”, “classmates”, “classroom”, “office”) - School elements (“building”, “stairs”, “door”) - Other (“persuade”, “charisma”, “threats”, “pity”) Lesson 4 Story 2: At Work – Enterprise - Find a place where to hack the system - Hack the system of the company General objectives: - To comprehend oral messages - To reproduce information Cross-curricular objectives: - To be honest and follow established rules - To value teamwork
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Contents: Morphosyntactic: - Present simple - Past simple - Possessive „s Lexical: - Workplace (“corridors”, “parking lot”, “offices”, “desks”, “computers”, “vending machines”) - Workers (“CEO”, “manager”, “director”, “supervisor”, “secretary”, “janitors”, “vendors”) - Other (“to hack”, “eavesdropping”) Lesson 5 Story 2: At Work – Enterprise - Find information about the illegal actions - Find and retrieve the incriminatory documents Assessment: Pop-quiz General objectives: - To analyse information through oral exchange - To identify required information Cross-curricular objectives: - To be honest and follow established rules - To value teamwork Contents: Morphosyntactic: - Present simple - Present continuous - Past simple - Future simple Lexical: - Workplace (“corridors”, “offices”, “desks”, “computers”) - Workers (“CEO”, “manager”, “director”, “supervisor”, “secretary”) - Other (“to incapacitate”, “to knock out”, “to fake”)
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Lesson 6 Story 3: At a Concert - Secure the perimeter - Investigate the possible suspects General objectives: - To apply vocabulary related to everyday life in contextualized situations - To comprehend conditional sentences Cross-curricular objectives: - To be honest and follow established rules - To value teamwork Contents: Morphosyntactic: - Present simple - Past simple Lexical: - Tragedies and mishaps (“tragedy”, “mishap”, “death”, “danger”, “burned”, “destruction”, “vandalism”, “injuries”, “stab”, “collapse”) - Concerts (“concert”, “tour”, “stage”) - Fiction Lesson 7 Story 3: At a Concert - Interrogate the possible suspects - Stop the enemy General objectives: - To know vocabulary related to free-time - To identify different tenses - To use different tenses Cross-curricular objectives: - To be honest and follow established rules. - To value teamwork
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Contents: Morphosyntactic: - Present simple - Present continuous - Past simple - Future simple Lexical: - Tragedies and mishaps (“tragedy”, “mishap”, “death”, “danger”, “burned”, “destruction”, “vandalism”, “injuries”, “stab”, “collapse”) - Concerts (“concert”, “tour”, “stage”) - Other (“threat”, “tranquilize”, “taser gun”, “incapacitate”) Lesson 8 Summative assessment: Test General objectives: - To know vocabulary related to free-time - To identify the use of different tenses Cross-curricular objectives: - To be honest and follow established rules.
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2.1. Lesson Plan 1
2.1.1. Lesson Plan – Learning Outcomes
Objectives - To describe people - To comprehend the choices given Cross-Curricular Objectives - To respect differences among people - To be honest and follow established rules Time : 45 min
Goal/Aim Skills Content Activities Evaluation Classroom Resources Time Management To understand Listening Morphosyntactic: Present Introduction: Formative: Leveling up Laptop 5 min the mechanics simple, affirmative, Presentation Oral questioning Achievement Beamer of the unit negative, interrogative The students will listen to a points PPT short presentation in which Rules poster Lexical: Previous the teacher will introduce the (Suggested: knowledge topic and explain the - Mouse race Function: Understanding mechanics of the unit - Give me five the mechanics of the unit (character creation, - Ice-cream classroom management, etc). sticks) This will include an example. To apply Listening Morphosyntactic: Present Development: Formative: Character 10 min previously Reading simple, affirmative, Character Creation Formative: sheet learned Speaking negative, interrogative (Part 1) Oral questioning adjectives in Writing The students will provide a The teacher walks Lexical: Descriptive order to describe physical description of the around the room adjectives people in a character they will be using and providing physical way Function: Describing help if needed. during the rest of the unit by people answering questions such as „Are you tall or short?‟ (see sample questions).
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To create a Reading Morphosyntactic: Present Character Creation Formative: Character 10 min graphic Writing simple, affirmative, (Part 2) Checklist with the sheet representation negative, interrogative Based on the physical steps of the of the character description of the character activity Lexical: Descriptive according to the provided in the previous adjectives used adjectives activity, students will draw in the previous Function: Describing the character as they imagine activity people by drawing it, labelling the characteristics they chose as To recognize they do it. different physical characteristics in a picture To appraise the Reading Morphosyntactic: Present Character Creation Formative: Character 15 min usefulness of Writing simple, affirmative, (Part 3) Hand signals: sheet each trait and negative, interrogative The students will be given Students display a make decisions 10 base points that they will designated hand Lexical: Descriptive accordingly have to distribute into 4 signal to indicate adjectives specific psychological traits if they understand Function: Describing (see class materials). The a specific topic or people students will have to decide concept. which trait will have priority Example: over the others and assign - I understand and more points to it. I can explain (thumbs up) - I do not yet understand (Thumbs down) - I'm not sure about it (wave hands) To produce Speaking Morphosyntactic: Present Wrapping Up: Formative: 5 min short descriptive simple, affirmative, My Character The teacher will sentences in negative, interrogative Some students will volunteer listen to the present simple to describe their characters students and Lexical: Descriptive after having made their provide help or adjectives choices. They will mention correction if Function: Describing some of their most important necessary. people characteristics.
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2.1.2. Preparation
Start the class by handing out Lesson 1 Worksheet (see page 59).
Activity Preparation You will need a laptop in which you can insert a CD, and a beamer. Presentation In the CD you will find the PowerPoint presentation (PPT Lesson 1) with which you will explain the unit. You will need one copy of the Character Sheet (see pages 60 and 61) Character Creation (Part 1) per student, and a printed copy of Sample Questions – Character Creation (see page 62). You will need the copies of the Character Sheet and colour pencils or Character Creation (Part 2) crayons. Character Creation (Part 3) You will need the copies of the Character Sheet. My Character No preparation needed
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2.1.3. Lesson 1 Worksheet
CONTENTS
Unit: Mission: Applying Spy Knowledge (M.A.S.K.) Lesson: 01 Objectives: - To describe people - To comprehend the choices given Contents: Morphosyntactic: - Present simple Lexical: - Descriptive adjectives
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2.1.4. Character Sheet3
3 This material was created by the authors of this research project.
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2.1.5. Lesson 1 Sample Questions – Character Creation
Questions for Character Creation (Part 1):
1. How old are you?
2. Are you tall or short?
3. What colour is your hair?
4. What colour are your eyes?
5. What are your clothes like?
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2.2. Lesson Plan 2
2.2.1. Lesson Plan – Learning Outcomes
Objective: - To know vocabulary related to the unit - To analyse information through oral exchange Cross-Curricular Objectives - To be honest and follow established rules - To value teamwork Time : 45 min
Goal/Aim Skills Content Activities Evaluation Classroom Resources Time Management To identify Listening Morphosyntactic: Present Introduction: Formative: Leveling up Laptop 5 min vocabulary Speaking simple, affirmative, Do you Like Action The teacher will Achievement Beamer related to the negative, interrogative Movies? go around the points Speakers unit The students will watch the room and help Rules poster Video Lexical: Previous trailer of Mission-Impossible students‟ (Suggested: knowledge and comment on it in comprehension by - Mouse race Function: Talking about relation to secret agents, providing - Give me five fiction investigating, etc. they could comprehensible - Ice-cream identify visually. input in the form sticks) of explanations or mimics. To recognize Speaking Morphosyntactic: Present Development: Formative: Soft ball 5 min vocabulary simple, affirmative, Bomb Ball Checking answers disguised as a related to the negative, interrogative The students will raise their and pronunciation bomb unit Lexical: Previous hands in order to receive the knowledge Bomb Ball. Once they have Function: Enumerating it, they will name the identified vocabulary vocabulary that they could identify while watching the video, and do it before the bomb explodes!
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To comprehend Listening Morphosyntactic: Present The Mission Formative: Story 1 5 min the setting of the simple, past simple, The students will listen to Hand signals story affirmative, negative, the teacher as he/she explains the setting of the interrogative To identify story and the current keywords Lexical: Fiction (“secret situation. The students are related to the agent”, “kidnapper”, free to ask questions. story “disappear”, “infiltrate”, “clue”, etc.), school (“school”, “teachers”, “janitor”, “principal”, “classmates”, “classroom”, “office”) Function: Describing a setting To analyse the Listening Morphosyntactic: Present The Next Step Formative: Story 1 10 min information Speaking simple, past simple, When the teacher finishes Oral questioning Lesson 2 given in order to affirmative, negative, with the explanation of the worksheet make a decision setting, students will be interrogative given options of which Lexical: Fiction, school. course of action they would Function: Making like to take. E.g. „Once you decisions as a group infiltrate the school safely, through oral exchange who do you talk to first? a) one of the teachers b) the janitor c) the principal‟ These options will be specified on a handout that will be provided at the beginning of the class. Depending on the students‟ answer, the story will develop in different ways.
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To analyse Listening Morphosyntactic: Present What about now? Formative: Story 1 15 min information Speaking simple, past simple, Once the students have Oral questioning orally in order affirmative, negative, reached the correct answer to make a in order to move on with the interrogative decision as a story, they will be told the group Lexical: Fiction, school next objective (figure out the Function: Asking for help location of the phone call). They will be given some time to decide how to do that as a group. To summarize Speaking Morphosyntactic: Present Wrapping Up: Formative: 5 min the progress Writing simple, past simple, Debriefing Checklist with the achieved by the affirmative, negative, As a group, the students will steps of the group during the write a summary of what activity interrogative class they have done in order to Lexical: Fiction, school report to the headquarters Function: Summarizing (HQ). Only three or four and reporting information sentences should suffice. Students will hand in the report.
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2.2.2. Preparation
At the beginning of the lesson, when students enter the classroom, the teacher will have a bag with 30 small pieces of paper. Each paper will contain a number (001, 002, 003, 004, 005, or
006), with 5 copies each. Groups will be chosen by the matching numbers (6 groups of 5 people in total), and they will have to sit together. In addition, a handout with the date, contents of the class, and the alternatives for the activity “The Next Step” will be given to each student. This piece of paper must be pasted in the students‟ copybooks.
Activity Preparation Do you Like Action You will need the video Mission-Impossible Trailer (1996), which Movies? you can find in the CD. You will need a black soft ball which can be “disguised” as a bomb. Bomb Ball Stick a short piece of rope to the ball. You will need a printed version of Story 1 - Retrieving the Missing The Mission Agent (see page 68). You will need a printed version of Story 1 - Retrieving the Missing The Next Step Agent, and the copies of Lesson 2 Worksheet (see page 67). You will need a printed version of Story 1 - Retrieving the Missing What about Now? Agent (see page 65) Debriefing You will need a stamp to check that reports were done and checked.
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2.2.3. Lesson 2 Worksheet
CONTENTS
Unit: Mission: Applying Spy Knowledge (M.A.S.K.) Lesson: 02 Objectives: - To know vocabulary related to the unit - To analyse information through oral exchange
Contents: Morphosyntactic: - Present simple - Past simple Lexical: - Fiction (“secret agent”, “kidnapper”, “disappear”, “infiltrate”, “clue”, etc.) - School (“school”, “teachers”, “janitor”, “principal”, “classmates”, “classroom”, “office”)
THE NEXT STEP Once you infiltrate into the school safely, who do you talk to first? a) one of the teachers b) the janitor c) the principal
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2.2.4. Story 1 – Retrieving the Missing Agent
Mission Details:
One of our agents working undercover in a prestigious High School has gone MIA (Missing in
Action). We need a new undercover team on site in order to figure out her last known location and get her back if possible.
The target responds to the name Hailey Richards. She had been undercover as the P.E. teacher for 5 months when we lost contact. Her current mission was protecting the son of an important politician who had been receiving threats. Your only objective is to find her, hopefully alive. The son of the politician has been relocated and is no longer an issue. That‟s all, agents.
Once you are safely infiltrated into the school, you can see that this is not an ordinary High
School. The building is huge compared to most normal schools and you can see that it would be easy to get lost. Your team starts by familiarizing itself with the layout of the building, and spend a week asking subtle questions about the missing teacher while trying to melt into the background so you won‟t be noticed. Once you have settled down on your new environment, the team gets together to share what little information they have, arriving at the conclusion that there are three people that might actually be of some help: The principal, the janitor or the music teacher, who seem to have been the closest to Agent Hailey. As a team, you have to decide who you are going to talk to in order to figure out what to do next.
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The janitor seems like a safe option. They are always a good source of gossip and tend to know most of what goes on in the school. You strike a casual conversation with the kind old man, who tells you he liked Mrs. Richards and that he was sorry she was sick enough to call and present a medical leave. This catches your attention and one of you is handed the task of going to the secretary‟s office and tracking the location from which the phone call was made.
Following the signal left by the phone call, your team of agents tracks the target to the abandoned wing of the school building, where you discover a guard, along with the phone from which the call was made in the first place. You realize that the spy is just a mercenary currently being paid by the actual enemy, but with no real loyalty to him. You send the most charismatic member of your team to try and persuade the spy to give away the location of the real objective.
You manage to persuade the spy to give away the real location of the target through charisma, learning the real kidnapper has set a temporary base in a nearby office building. The team gets some backup information directly from HQ, a blueprint of the building and directions of how to reach the hidden room in which the kidnapper is holding the teacher hostage.
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Once you arrive at the scene, you realize there is something wrong. Instead of the undercover teacher being the victim, you find out that the kidnapper was actually a free-lance bodyguard sent by the politician being threatened, because he did not trust the government. Also, the missing teacher is a double-agent sent by the criminal organization that planned the whole assassination attempt. The bodyguard has been trying to get the suspect to confess who she was working for.
Despite your team‟s best efforts, the prisoner manages to get free and lashes out before anyone can do anything, but you are able to contain the threat efficiently, tying her up and deciding to turn her in for experts to deal with.
Mission Accomplished!
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2.3. Lesson Plan 3
2.3.1. Lesson Plan – Learning Outcomes
Objective: - To recall vocabulary from the unit - To analyse information through oral exchange Cross-Curricular Objectives - To be honest and follow established rules - To value teamwork Time : 45 min
Goal/Aim Skills Content Activities Evaluation Classroom Resources Time Management To recall Listening Morphosyntactic: Past Introduction: Formative: Leveling up Lesson 3 6 min vocabulary simple, past continuous, In the Previous Chapter… Checking answers Achievement worksheet related to the affirmative, negative The students will listen to points Listening 1 unit the teacher as he/she narrates Rules poster script Lexical: Fiction (“secret several events that happened (Suggested: To comprehend agent”, “kidnapper”, during the previous class. - Mouse race general ideas of “disappear”, “infiltrate”, These events will not be in - Give me five an oral narration “clue”, etc.), school chronological order, so - Ice-cream (“school”, “teachers”, students will have to sticks) “janitor”, “principal”, comprehend the general idea “classmates”, “classroom”, and order them from first to last. They will do this by “office”) enumerating the Function: Enumerating representative pictures that events will appear (one for each event) in a handout they will be given. To comprehend Listening Morphosyntactic: Present Development: Formative: Story 1 3 min the setting of the simple, past simple, In Enemy Grounds Hand signals story affirmative, negative, Students will start the second part of the story by interrogative To identify being positioned into enemy keywords Lexical: Fiction, school grounds. They will be related to the elements (“building”, infiltrated and looking for FOCAL SKILLS APPROACH AND TABLETOP ROLE-PLAYING 72
story “stairs”, “door”) ways to gather information. Function: Describing a They will listen to the setting teacher as he/she narrates the material resources available and the general layout of the building that is the setting in this opportunity. Students are free to ask questions that might help them to accomplish their objective. To analyse the Listening Morphosyntactic: Present Getting Intel Formative: Story 1 10 min information Speaking simple, past simple, When the teacher finishes Oral questioning Lesson 3 given in order to affirmative, negative, with the explanation of the worksheet make a decision setting, students will be interrogative given options of which Lexical: Fiction, school course of action they would elements, “persuade”, like to take. e.g. „How do “charisma”, “threats”, you obtain the formation? a) “pity” Persuade through charisma Function: Making b) persuade through threats decisions as a group c)Persuade through pity‟. through oral exchange To comprehend Listening Morphosyntactic: Present The Labyrinth Formative: Script 6 min directions in Speaking simple, affirmative, The students will be given a Checking answers Lesson 3 oral form negative, modal verbs map of the building (which listening 2 looks like a maze). They will worksheet Lexical: Previous listen to the teacher read the knowledge, school directions that they have to elements, modal verbs follow in order to find the (“must”, “mustn‟t”, “ought kidnapper and the missing to”), directions (“left”, teacher. The students clear “right”, “up”, “down”) the labyrinth following these Function: Following instructions.
directions
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To comprehend Listening Morphosyntactic: Present Unexpected Outcomes Formative: Story 1 5 min the setting of the simple, past simple, Once the students have Hand signals story affirmative, negative, reached their destination, they will listen as they are interrogative To relate informed of the current keywords Lexical: Fiction, school situation in regards to the related to the elements kidnapper and the missing story Function: Describing a teacher. setting
To infer how to Listening Morphosyntactic: Present Let’s Get him! Formative: Story 1 10min achieve the Speaking simple, past simple, After listening to the new Oral questioning objective with affirmative, negative, turn of events, each member the available of the team will have to interrogative tools decide their next movement Lexical: Fiction, school in order to catch the culprit elements. and save the victim. If they Function: Asking for help accomplish both objectives they will have finished the mission successfully. To summarize Speaking Morphosyntactic: Present Wrapping Up: Formative: 5 min the progress Writing simple, past simple, Debriefing Checklist with the achieved by the affirmative, negative, As a group, the students will steps of the group during the write a summary of what activity interrogative class they have done in order to Lexical: Fiction, school report to HQ. Only three or elements four sentences should Function: Summarizing suffice. and reporting information
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2.3.2. Preparation
A handout with the date, contents of the class, and the alternatives for the activities “In the
Previous Chapter...” and “Getting Intel” will be given to each student. This piece of paper must be pasted in the students‟ notebooks.
Activity Preparation You will need copies of Lesson 3 Worksheet (see page 75), and the In the Previous Chapter... script for Listening 1 (see page 76). You will need a printed version of Story 1 - Retrieving the Missing In Enemy Grounds Agent (see page 68). Getting Intel You will need copies of Lesson 3 Worksheet. You will need the copies of the Lesson 3 Listening 2 Worksheet (see The Labyrinth page 77), and the instructions (see page 78). You will need a printed version of Story 1 - Retrieving the Missing Unexpected Outcomes Agent. Let‟s Get him! No preparation needed You will need a stamp to confirm that reports were done and Debriefing checked.
At the end of the lesson, experience points are awarded to each student, following the
Experience Points Chart (see page 78)
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2.3.3. Lesson 3 Worksheet
CONTENTS
Unit: Mission: Applying Spy Knowledge (M.A.S.K.) Lesson: 03 Objectives: - To recall vocabulary from the unit - To analyse information through oral exchange Contents: Morphosyntactic: - Present simple - Past simple - Past continuous - Future simple - Modal verbs (“must”, “mustn‟t”, “ought to”) Lexical: - Fiction (“secret agent”, “kidnapper”, “disappear”, “infiltrate”, “clue”, etc.) - School (“school”, “teachers”, “janitor”, “principal”, “classmates”, “classroom”, “office”) - School elements (“building”, “stairs”, “door”) - Other (“persuade”, “charisma”, “threats”, “pity”)
IN THE PREVIOUS CHAPTER GETTING INTEL
Order the events as they are mentioned by How do you obtain the information? the gamemaster.Use numbers 1-5 to order them. a) Persuade through charisma …… Talked with the janitor …… Familiarized with the layour of the b) Persuade through threats building c) Persuade through pity …… Discovered that a phone call had been made …… Infiltrated into the school …… Got together and shared information
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2.3.4. Lesson 3 – Listening 1 Script
Once the team was safely infiltrated into the school, they could see that it was not an ordinary
High School. The building was huge compared to most normal schools and they could see that it would be easy to get lost. The group started by familiarizing itself with the layout of the building, and spent a week asking subtle questions about the missing teacher while trying to melt into the background so they wouldn‟t be noticed. Once they had settled down on their new environment, the team got together to share what little information they had, arriving at the conclusion that there were three people that might actually be of some help: The principal, the janitor or the music teacher, who seemed to had been the closest to Agent Hailey. As a team, they had to decide who they were going to talk to in order to figure out what to do next.
The janitor seemed like a safe option. They are always a good source of gossip and tend to know most of what goes on in the school. They stroke a casual conversation with the kind old man, who told them he liked Mrs. Richards and that he was sorry she had been sick enough to call and present a medical leave. That caught their attention and one of them was handed the task of going to the secretary‟s office and tracking the location from which the phone call was made.
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2.3.5. Lesson 3 – Listening 2 Worksheet
Taken from: Boren, S., 2012.
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2.3.6. Lesson 3 – Listening 2 Instructions
You must start by moving up. After that, turn left, then up, left, up, and right.
You ought to turn up, left and down.
Turn left, down, right, and down again.
You must follow the path until it divides into left or down. You mustn‟t turn down.
Then follow the path again until you reach your destination.
2.3.7. Experience Points Chart
Level Experience points needed Reward 1 0 2 300 3 600 Small 4 900 Big 5 1200 Small 6 1500 7 1800 Small 8 2100 Big
Activity: +100 points 4Bad behaviour: -75 experience points for serious misconduct -50 experience points for regular misconduct -25 experience points for slight misconduct
4 This varies according to every school regulations.
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2.4. Lesson Plan 4
2.4.1. Lesson Plan – Learning Outcomes
Objective: - To comprehend oral messages - To reproduce information Cross-Curricular Objectives - To be honest and follow established rules - To value teamwork Time : 45 minutes
Goal/Aim Skills Content Activities Evaluation Classroom Resources Time Management To reproduce a Listening Morphosyntactic: Present Introduction: Formative: Leveling up Sample 8 min sentence in oral Speaking simple, past simple, The Rumour Mill Oral questioning Achievement sentences form affirmative, negative The students will form a points circle and play a version of Rules poster Lexical: Workplace „The telephone‟ game. First, (Suggested: (“corridors”, “parking lot”, the teacher will tell them the - Mouse race “offices”, “desks”, setting of this story in - Give me five “computers”, “vending general terms, and then the - Ice-cream machines”), workers first student will start the sticks) (“CEO”, “manager”, game by passing a rumour “director”, “supervisor”, about the company in which they are working. The “secretary”, “janitors”, rumour will change as the “vendors”), “hack” students pass it to their Function: Repeating what neighbour. others say To comprehend Listening Morphosyntactic: Present Development: Formative: Story 2 5 min the setting of the simple, past simple, The Objective of the Hand signals story affirmative, negative Mission The students will listen to a Lexical: Workplace, To identify presentation in which they keywords workers, “hack” will be told the new mission related to the Function: Describing a and its objective. story setting FOCAL SKILLS APPROACH AND TABLETOP ROLE-PLAYING 80
To identify Listening Morphosyntactic: Present Eavesdropping Formative: Recording 5 min keywords simple, past simple, Students listen to a Checking answers related to the affirmative, negative, conversation by some people story from the company. They interrogative will eavesdrop on the To infer Lexical: Workplace, conversation in order to information workers, “to hack”, figure out the location of the “eavesdropping” server computer which they Function: Following hints have to hack. To analyse the Listening Morphosyntactic: Present Taking Action Formative: Story 2 10 min information Speaking simple, past simple, Once students get the right Oral questioning Lesson 4 given in order to affirmative, negative, information, they will be worksheet make a decision given options about what interrogative, possessive they would like to do next. Lexical: Workplace, E.g. „Where do you go to workers, “to hack” now? A) the director‟s Function: Making office, b) the bathroom, c) decisions as a group the office of the CEO‟. through oral exchange To produce Reading Morphosyntactic: Present Decoding Formative: Lesson 4 13 min written Writing simple, past simple, The students will be given a Checking answers decoding sentences affirmative, negative, piece of paper with worksheet scrambled words and interrogative sentences which they will Lexical: Workplace, have to put together in order workers, “to hack” to discover the code that will Function: Rewriting allow them to enter the sentences secured office. To summarize Speaking Morphosyntactic: Present Wrapping Up: Formative: Stamp 5 min the progress Writing simple, past simple, Debriefing Checklist with the achieved by the affirmative, negative, As a group, the students will steps of the group during the write a summary of what activity interrogative class they have done in order to Lexical: Fiction, report to HQ. Only three or workplace, workers, “to four sentences should hack” suffice. Function: Summarizing and reporting information
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2.4.2. Preparation
At the beginning of the class, after the groups are formed, the teacher mentions that the new story will be related to the job they all have in a company.
A handout with the date, contents of the class, and the alternatives for the activity “Taking
Action” will be given to each student. This piece of paper must be pasted in the students‟ notebooks.
Activity Preparation The Rumour Mill You will need a copy of the sample sentences. The Objective of the You will need a printed version of Story 2 - Blowing the Cover. Mission Eavesdropping You will need the recording for lesson 4. You will need a printed version of Story 2 - Blowing the Cover and Taking Action copies of the Lesson 4 Worksheet (see page 82), Decoding You will need copies of the Decoding Worksheet. You will need a stamp to confirm that reports were done and Debriefing checked.
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2.4.3. Lesson 4 Worksheet
CONTENTS
Unit: Mission: Applying Spy Knowledge (M.A.S.K.) Lesson: 04 Objectives: - To comprehend oral messages - To reproduce information Contents: Morphosyntactic: - Present simple - Past simple - Possessive „s Lexical: - Workplace (“corridors”, “parking lot”, “offices”, “desks”, “computers”, “vending machines”) - Workers (“CEO”, “manager”, “director”, “supervisor”, “secretary”, “janitors”, “vendors”) - Other (“to hack”, “eavesdropping”)
TAKING ACTION Where do you go to now?
a) The director‟s office b) The bathroom c) The office of the CEO
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2.5. Lesson Plan 5
2.5.1. Lesson Plan – Learning Outcomes
Objective: - To analyse information through oral exchange - To identify required information Cross-Curricular Objectives - To be honest and follow established rules - To value teamwork Time : 45 minutes
Goal/Aim Skills Content Activities Evaluation Classroom Resources Time Management To identify Speaking Morphosyntactic: Present Introduction: Formative: Leveling up Small bag 10 min events simple, past simple, The Sick Agent Oral questioning Achievement Pieces of affirmative, negative One volunteer will choose a points paper with piece of paper from a bag. Rules poster events Lexical: Fiction, workers The piece of paper will (Suggested: (“CEO”, “manager”, contain one of the main - Mouse race “director”, “supervisor”, events in the previous class. - Give me five “secretary”), workplace The student will have to read - Ice-cream (“corridors”, “offices”, it and mime it for the rest of sticks) “desks”, “computers”) the class. The rest of the Function: Naming events students will have to try and guess which the event being described is.
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To discriminate Listening Morphosyntactic: Present Development: Formative: Lesson 5 8 min the relevance of Speaking simple, present continuous, The Countdown Hand signals reading sources of affirmative, negative, Students break the code Oral questioning worksheet information from last lesson and manage Story 2 interrogative a 5 minute window in which Lexical: Fiction, workers, they need to find the data workplace they need. They find several Function: Sharing e-mails that are suspicious, personal opinions but have to choose only the most relevant one because there is no time to get them all. The students will listen as the teacher reads fragments of the e-mails and then decide as a group which one is the most useful. To analyse the Reading Morphosyntactic: Present Drastic Measures Formative: Lesson 5 10 min information Speaking simple, past simple, The students figure out the Oral questioning worksheet given in order to affirmative, negative, location of the incriminating Story 2 make a decision document (the CEO‟s interrogative, possessive office), but they have to find Lexical: Fiction, workers, a way to get their hands on it workplace, “incapacitate”, when the man in question is “knock out”, “to fake” still in the office. Students Function: Making have to decide if they: decisions as a group a) Incapacitate the CEO through oral exchange b) Knock the CEO out c) Fake a fire in the building To summarize Speaking Morphosyntactic: Present Wrapping Up: Formative: 5 min the progress Writing simple, past simple, Debriefing Checklist with the achieved by the affirmative, negative, As a group, the students will steps of the group during the write a summary of what activity interrogative class they have done in order to Lexical: Fiction, school report to the headquarters Function: Summarizing (HQ). Only three or four and reporting information sentences should suffice. Students will hand in the report.
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To comprehend Listening Morphosyntactic: Present Pop Quiz Summative: Quiz 12 min questions simple, affirmative, Item I: Students listen as the The teacher will photocopies negative, interrogative. teacher ask questions such as correct the To identify “What colour is your hair”. activities and Lexical: Descriptive vocabulary They will have a handout assign a mark. adjectives, Directions (up, with a picture that will To comprehend down, left, right, forward, determine the possible directions backward) answer. They will be given Function: different options and will Answering questions have to choose the correct Following directions answer.
Item II: Students will be given a picture with dots. They will listen as the teacher gives instructions in order to join the dots and form a specific figure according to the instructions given.
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2.5.2. Preparation
A handout with the date, contents of the class, and the alternatives for the activity “The
Countdown” will be given to each student. This piece of paper must be pasted in the students‟ notebooks.
Activity Preparation You will need pieces of paper with the events. Tip: You can introduce the activity by saying the following: “You The Sick Agent need to report to your boss, but you just caught the flu and your throat is really sore. However, there is no sympathy for you, so you have to find a way to make yourself understood…” You will need a printed version of Story 2 - Blowing the cover. You The Countdown will need a copy of Lesson 5 Worksheet (see page 87). You will need copies of Lesson 5 Reading Worksheet. Drastic Measures You will need copies of Lesson 5 Worksheet. You will need a printed copy of the Pop quiz (see pages 88-89; 90- Pop Quiz 91; and 92-93) for each student (there are 3 different versions of the quiz). You will also need the audio for the quiz.
At the end of the lesson, experience points are awarded to each student, following the
Experience Points Chart (see page 78)
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2.5.3. Lesson 5 Worksheet
CONTENTS
Unit: Mission: Applying Spy Knowledge (M.A.S.K.) Lesson: 05 Objectives: - To analyse information through oral exchange - To identify required information Contents: Morphosyntactic: - Present simple - Present continuous - Past simple - Future simple Lexical: - Workplace (“corridors”, “offices”, “desks”, “computers”) - Workers (“CEO”, “manager”, “director”, “supervisor”, “secretary”) - Other (“to incapacitate”, “to knock out”, “to fake”)
DRASTIC MEASURES The CEO is still in his office. What measure will you take? a) Incapacitate the CEO b) Knock him out c) Fake a fire in the building
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2.5.4. Lesson 5 – Pop Quiz (version 1)
POP QUIZ
Name: …………………………………………………
Date: ……………………
Score: ………/14 points
I. Listen to the questions and choose the correct answer according to the picture below. (4 points)
1. a) It is curly
b) It is long
c) It is young
2. a) Jeans
b) A dress
c) A t-shirt
3. a) Yes, she is
b) No, she isn‟t
4. a) Yes, she is
b) No, she isn‟t
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II. Look at the following picture. Listen to the recording and follow the instructions in order to join the dots. (10 points)
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2.5.5. Lesson 5 – Pop Quiz (version 2)
POP QUIZ
Name: …………………………………………………
Date: ……………………
Score: ………/14 points
I. Listen to the questions and choose the correct answer according to the picture below. (4 points)
1. a) It is curly
b) It is short
c) It is young
2. a) A suit
b) A dress
c) Glasses
3. a) Yes, he is
b) No, he isn‟t
4. a) Yes, he is
b) No, he isn‟t
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II. Look at the following picture. Listen to the recording and follow the instructions in order to join the dots. (10 points)
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2.5.6. Lesson 5 – Pop Quiz (version 3)
POP QUIZ
Name: …………………………………………………
Date: ……………………
Score: ………/14 points
I. Listen to the questions and choose the correct answer according to the picture below. (4 points)
1. a) It is curly
b) It is long
c) It is young
2. a) Jeans
b) A dress
c) Glasses
3. a) Yes, she is
b) No, she isn‟t
4. a) Yes, she is
b) No, she isn‟t
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II. Look at the following picture. Listen to the recording and follow the instructions in order to join the dots. (10 points)
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2.5.7. Pop Quiz – Item I Questions
1. How is his/her hair?
2. What is she/he wearing?
3. Is he/she tall? - Is he/she young? - Is he/she old?
4. Is he/she fat? - Is he/she short? - Is he/she thin?
2.5.8. Pop Quiz – Dots Instructions5
Move 5 dots up
Move 1 dot to the right
Move 1 dot up
Move 6 dots to the right
Move 2 dots down
Move 4 dots to the left
Move 1 dot down
Move 1 dot to the left
Move 3 dots down
Move 2 dots to the left
5 Points are given per correctly followed instruction
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2.6. Lesson Plan 6
2.6.1. Lesson Plan – Learning Outcomes
Objective: - To apply vocabulary related to everyday life in contextualized situations - To comprehend conditional sentences Cross-Curricular Objectives - To be honest and follow established rules - To value teamwork Time : 45 minutes
Goal/Aim Skills Content Activities Evaluation Classroom Resources Time Management To recognize Listening Morphosyntactic: Present Introduction: Formative: Leveling up Laptop 7 min main events in a simple, past simple, past Video: Top 10 Concerts Oral questioning Achievement Beamer video continuous, past perfect, Tragedies and Mishaps points Speakers The students will watch a Rules poster Video affirmative, negative video about tragedies in (Suggested: Lexical: Tragedies and concerts. Students may take - Mouse race mishaps (“tragedy”, notes if they wish. - Give me five “mishap”, “death”, - Ice-cream “danger”, “burned”, sticks) “destruction”, “vandalism”, “injuries”, “stab”, “collapse”), concerts (“concert”, “tour”, “stage”) Function: Talking about tragedies and mishaps
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To recognize Listening Morphosyntactic: Present Development: Formative: Flashcards 8 min events that simple, past simple, Choose the Flashcard Checking answers Tak appeared in the affirmative, negative, After watching the video, video volunteers will come to the interrogative, front of the class and choose Lexical: Tragedies and one of the flashcards that mishaps, concerts represents one of the Function: Naming accidents shown in the tragedies and mishaps video. They will have to order them from first to last shown. To comprehend Listening Morphosyntactic: Present The Mission Formative: Story 3 5 min the setting of the simple, past simple, Students will listen to the Hand signals story affirmative, negative, teacher as he/she narrates the settings and the objective of interrogative To relate the new mission. keywords Lexical: Fiction (“secret related to the agent”), tragedies and story mishaps, concerts, “threat” Function: Describing a setting To relate Listening Morphosyntactic: Present Securing the Perimeter Formative: Story 3 10 min information Reading simple, past simple, Students will be given a Hand signals Lesson 6 affirmative, negative, handout which contains the Checking answers worksheet To produce possible things that could interrogative conditional happen in relation to what sentences Lexical: Fiction, tragedies the teacher is saying. They and mishaps, concerts, will have to recognize the “threat” most suitable phrase to Function: Talking about complete the sentence. unreal situations Example: The teacher says: “If there were an iron bar on the floor,” They will have to find the best option, which could be: “someone could get hit”.
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To compare Listening Morphosyntactic: Present Identifying Suspects Formative: CD 10 min information Reading simple, past simple, The students will listen to Hand signals Radio from oral and affirmative, negative, the teacher as he/she points Checking answers Lesson 6 written out that the possible suspects listening interrogative statements share some common worksheet Lexical: Fiction, characteristics. Taking this descriptive adjectives, into account, the students concerts, “threat” will be handed a worksheet Function: Correcting with different photos and information some statements containing things related to their past. The people that appear in the photos are several members of the band crew, but they discover that some of the information is not true. They will have to call the agency and ask for the correct information. Over the phone, they will listen to a short description of each person‟s past and mark the option in the handout as true or false. To summarize Speaking Morphosyntactic: Present Wrapping Up: Formative: 5 min the progress Writing simple, past simple, Debriefing Checklist with the achieved by the affirmative, negative, As a group, the students will steps of the group during the write a summary of what activity interrogative class they have done in order to Lexical: Fiction, workers, report to HQ. Only three or workplace four sentences should Function: Summarizing suffice. and reporting information
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2.6.2. Preparation
At the beginning of the class, after the groups are formed, the teacher mentions that the new story will be related to the job they all have in a company.
A handout with the date, contents of the class, and the alternatives for the activity “Securing the Perimeter” will be given to each student. This piece of paper must be pasted in the students‟ copybooks.
Activity Preparation Video: Top 10 Concerts You will need the video Top 10 Concerts Tragedies and Mishaps Tragedies and Mishaps (check CD). You will need flashcards related to tragedies and mishaps, and Choose the Flashcard concerts. The Mission You may need a printed version of Story 3. Securing the Perimeter You will need the copies of Lesson 6 Worksheet (see page 99). Identifying Suspects You will need the recording for lesson 6. You will need a stamp to confirm that reports were done and Debriefing checked.
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2.6.3. Lesson 6 Worksheet
CONTENTS
Unit: Mission: Applying Spy Knowledge (M.A.S.K.) Lesson: 06 Objectives: - To apply vocabulary related to everyday life in contextualized situations - To comprehend conditional sentences Contents: Morphosyntactic: - Present simple - Past simple Lexical: - Tragedies and mishaps (“tragedy”, “mishap”, “death”, “danger”, “burned”, “destruction”, “vandalism”, “injuries”, “stab”, “collapse”) - Concerts (“concert”, “tour”, “stage”) - Fiction - Other (“threat”)
SECURING THE PERIMETER
1. If there were an iron 2. If the emergency exits 3. If there were flares bar on the floor… were closed… during the concert… a) the floor could break. a) people could get out a) someone could get easily. burned. b) some could trip over it. b) people got out easily. b) someone got burned c) someone had tripped c) people could not get out c) they would be safe to over it. in an emergency. use.
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2.7. Lesson Plan 7
2.7.1. Lesson Plan – Learning Outcomes
Objective: - To know vocabulary related to free-time - To identify different tenses - To use different tenses Cross-Curricular Objectives - To be honest and follow established rules. - To value teamwork. Time : 45 min
Goal/Aim Skills Content Activities Evaluation Classroom Resources Time Management To identify Listening Morphosyntactic: Present Introduction: Formative: Leveling up Lesson 7 7 min vocabulary simple, affirmative, Guess the Word Oral questioning Achievement worksheet related to negative The students will listen as Checking answers points tragedies and the teacher gives them short Rules poster Lexical: Tragedies and concerts definition of the words seen (Suggested: mishaps (“tragedy”, in the previous class. - Mouse race “mishap”, “death”, Students have to guess the - Give me five “danger”, “burned”, words as they listen and - Ice-cream “destruction”, choose the alternative in sticks) “vandalism”, “injuries”, their worksheets. E.g. “The “stab”, “collapse”), person who works with an artist and organizes their concerts (“concert”, time and appointments” “tour”, “stage”) Function: Listing vocabulary
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To recognize Listening Morphosyntactic: Present Development: Formative: Lesson 6 7 min characteristics Reading simple, affirmative Narrowing it Down Checking answers worksheet Lexical: Descriptive Students will listen as the teacher lists some adjectives, characteristics. They will Function: Describing have to check (in Lesson 6 people worksheet) which of the possible suspects have those specific characteristics. To understand Listening Morphosyntactic: Present Interrogation Formative: Lesson 7 10 min information in Reading simple, past simple, The students will have to Oral questioning listening oral form affirmative, negative, listen to a recording in Checking answers worksheet which different suspects will interrogative To discriminate answer a list of questions. information in Lexical: Tragedies and They will have to match the oral form mishaps, concerts answers (that appears in the Function: Matching handout they will be given) information with the correct speaker. To comprehend Listening Morphosyntactic: Present What Happens Next Formative: Story 3 6 min the setting of the simple, present continuous, The students will listen as Hand signals story affirmative, negative the teacher narrates the turn of the events. Lexical: Tragedies and To recall keywords mishaps, concerts related to the Function: Describing story events
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To analyse the Listening Morphosyntactic: Present Crazy Fan Girl! Formative: Story 3 10 min information Speaking simple, present continuous, Once students know about Oral questioning Lesson 7 given in order to affirmative, negative the situation at hand, the worksheet make a decision team must decide what to do Lexical: Tragedies and in order to neutralize the mishaps, concerts, threat. “threat”, “tranquilize”, a) To tranquilize the crazy “taser gun”, “incapacitate” fan girl with a taser gun. Function: Making b) To turn off the lights and decisions as a group take the singer off stage through oral exchange c) To use the on-stage smoke curtain as a diversion and incapacitate the crazy fan girl. To summarize Speaking Morphosyntactic: Present Wrapping Up: Formative: 5 min the progress Writing simple, past simple, Debriefing Checklist with the achieved by the affirmative, negative, As a group, the students will steps of the group during the write a summary of what activity interrogative class they have done in order to . Lexical: Fiction, school report to HQ. Only three or elements four sentences should Function: Summarizing suffice. and reporting information
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2.7.2. Preparation
A handout with the date, contents of the class, and the alternatives for the activity “Crazy Fan
Girl!” will be given to each student. This piece of paper must be pasted in the students‟ copybooks.
Activity Preparation Guess the Word You will need copies of Lesson 7 Worksheet (see page 104). Narrowing it down You will need a list of characteristics to mention. Interrogation You will need copies of Lesson 7 Worksheet. What happens Next You will need a printed version of Story 3. You may need a printed version of Story 3, and copies of Lesson 7 Crazy Fan Girl! Worksheet You will need a stamp to confirm that reports were done and Debriefing checked.
At the end of the lesson, experience points are awarded to each student, following the
Experience Points Chart (see page 78)
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2.7.3. Lesson 7 Worksheet
CONTENTS
Unit: Mission: Applying Spy Knowledge (M.A.S.K.) Lesson: 07 Objectives: - To know vocabulary related to free-time - To identify different tenses - To use different tenses Contents: Morphosyntactic: - Present simple - Present continuous - Past simple - Future simple Lexical: - Tragedies and mishaps (“tragedy”, “mishap”, “death”, “danger”, “burned”, “destruction”, “vandalism”, “injuries”, “stab”, “collapse”) - Concerts (“concert”, “tour”, “stage”) - Other (“threat”, “tranquilize”, “taser gun”, “incapacitate”)
CRAZY FAN GIRL! What do you do in order to neutralize the threat?
a) To tranquilize the b) To turn off the lights c) To use the on-stage smoke crazy fan girl with a and take the singer off curtain as a diversion and taser gun stage incapacitate the crazy fan girl
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2.8. Lesson Plan 8
2.8.1. Lesson Plan – Learning Outcomes
Objective: - To know vocabulary related to free-time - To identify the use of different tenses Cross-Curricular Objectives - To be honest and follow established rules. Time : 45 min
Goal/Aim Skills Content Activities Evaluation Classroom Resources Time Management To recognize Listening Morphosyntactic: Present Test Summative: Leveling up Test 45 min vocabulary Simple: Item I: The students will The teacher will Achievement photocopies related to Affirmative, negative, have to match different check students‟ points physical pictures with the correct answers and Rules poster interrogative. descriptions description provided in the assign a suitable (Suggested: Lexical: Descriptive test. mark - Mouse race adjectives, To understand Item II: The students will - Give me five information in Function: - Ice-cream listen to three different oral form sticks) Describing people, events, speakers and check if the
and places. statements in the test are true To discriminate or false. information in oral form Item III: The students will have to listen to three To infer conversations. They will information have to discriminate where from an oral the conversations are taking conversation place. Item IV: The students will To distinguish listen to a recording and information in order the statements oral form provided in the test from 1 to 5 as they are mentioned by the speaker. FOCAL SKILLS APPROACH AND TABLETOP ROLE-PLAYING 106
2.8.2. Lesson 8 – Test
TEST
Name: ………………………………………………… Date: …………………… Score: ………/21 points
I. Match the following pictures with the corresponding descriptions. (3 points)
Picture 1 Picture 2 Picture 3 Picture 4
a) She is tall, young, and blonde. She is wearing a pair of jeans, a shirt and a belt. Answer: …………………… b) She is tall, young, and has short hair. She is wearing a pair of jeans and a shirt. Answer: …………………… c) She is tall, young, and has short hair. She is wearing a pair of trousers, a jacket and a shirt. Answer: ……………………
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II. You will listen to three different speakers. Check if the following statements are true or false for them. Put a T next to the statement if it is true or an F if it is false. (9 points) Speaker 1 1. ……… He was at a café yesterday. 2. ……… He saw a crazy girl with a gun on stage. 3. ……… When the smoke faded, the lead singer of the band was tied up in the floor. Speaker 2 1. ……… She said that there usually aren‟t many gossips going around the company. 2. ……… She heard that the CEO was a hacker. 3. ……… Some of her colleagues saw a group of people escaping from the CEO‟s office window.
Speaker 3 1. ……… He said he was paid to clean a building. 2. ……… He gave important information to some kids. 3. ……… He knew he was going to get paid, and stayed in the building.
III. Listen to the conversations and identify which places they are talking about (a school, an office, or a stage). (3 points) Conversation 1: ………………………… Conversation 2: ………………………… Conversation 3: …………………………
IV. You will listen to a recording. Order the following statements with numbers from 1-6 in the order they are mentioned by the speaker. (6 points) ……… The man forced her to call the school to say she was sick ……… She attempted to escape ……… Infiltrated into the school ……… Got careless and was knocked out by a stranger ……… She was interrogated for several days ……… Waited before making her move
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2.8.3. Lesson 8 – Test Script Item II
Speaker 1 (a boy)
You know, I was at a concert yesterday. It was cool; there were all these lights, smoke, and people screaming and singing along with the band. I was having a great time there. But, suddenly, a fan tried to get on stage and the guards hold him. While that happened, a crazy fan girl appeared out of nowhere with a knife! And she was running towards the lead singer when the smoke from the stage came out and created a smokescreen. We all were really confused and scared. I mean, that kind of thing doesn‟t happen all the time! Then, when the smoke faded, there was the crazy girl, tied up in the floor, and the singer was nowhere to be seen. It was some crazy night!
Speaker 2 (a woman)
I‟ve been working at a cell phone enterprise for a year now. There usually are many gossips going around the company. They can be about anything: The CEO having a lover, a worker watching inappropriate things in the computers of the building, etc. The last one I heard was about the CEO selling illegal stuff to other companies. They say that some incriminating documents were found in his office, and that they were found by a hacker that infiltrated into the server computer of the corporation! Though it is crazy to imagine, it makes sense as the other day there was a fake fire alarm in the building, and some of my colleagues claim they saw a group of people escaping from the CEO‟s office window!
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Speaker 3 (a man)
I work as a mercenary. I remember once that an old man paid some money for me to keep guard in an abandoned building in a school. That was very very boring. I ended up counting the spiders I saw crawling on the walls once in a while, and the amount of flies that flew to their webs. This changed when a group of kids came into the building and started chatting with me. I liked them, and I was bored, so I told them where some people inside a room, doing who-knows- what. As soon as they left my sight, I went back to counting spiders, until I heard some stuff crush and people scream. That was the moment I knew I wasn‟t going to get paid, and left the place silently.
2.8.4. Lesson 8 – Test Script Item III
Conversation 1
Speaker A: Hi. Have you gone to talk to the principal?
Speaker B: Yes, but he was not in his office.
Speaker A: He never is when you need him. Maybe you should try and talk to the secretary instead.
Speaker B: Good idea. She should know what to about those tests I‟ve missed.
Speaker A: And if she doesn‟t, she could at least let the principal know that you are looking for him.
Speaker B: You‟re right, thanks for the advice!
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Conversation 2
Speaker A: Have you tested the lights yet?
Speaker B: Yes, they shouldn‟t give us any trouble tonight.
Speaker A: Nice. Last time something like that happened, the boss was furious.
Speaker B: That wasn‟t pretty, but it won‟t happen again. We‟re all set for tonight‟s show
Conversation 3:
Speaker A: You‟re late!
Speaker B: I‟m sorry, it won‟t happen again.
Speaker A: I hope so, we have a lot to do and we need everyone to be in their offices on time.
Speaker B: Yes, I know that. Please don‟t tell the boss!
Speaker A: I‟ll cover your back this time, just go before he notices!
Speaker B: Thank you!
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2.8.5. Lesson 8 – Test Script Item IV
Once Agent Hailey Richards was given the details of her mission, she left to infiltrate into the
High school in which she was going to be working in for the following months. Since she was operating as double-agent, she knew she wouldn‟t have any obstacles to get to the politician‟s son; after all, there was no one else supposed to be guarding the kid. Still, she needed to be careful if she wanted to keep her cover, so she waited for several months before making her move. She was about to put her plan into actions when suddenly, a stranger appeared out of nowhere and knocked her out with some kind of drug. Apparently, she had been too careless.
When Agent Richards woke up again, she discovered she was tied to a chair and the man was watching her carefully. The man held a phone to her ear and forced her to call the school and declare herself sick, so her disappearance wouldn‟t cause immediate suspicion. After that, she was interrogated for several days, but she wasn‟t sure how much time had passed. The stranger wanted to know about the organization that had hired her to harm the politician‟s son. She pretended to be weak and cooperative, but she was secretly gathering her strength in order to escape. When she had finally managed to break free of her ties and confront her captor, they heard noises outside and, suddenly, the tiny room was full of people. She knew her last chance at escape was gone when she saw that they had discovered she was a double agent. She wasn‟t going to get out of this one…
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3. Conclusions
This didactic unit designed under the principles of the FOCAL SKILLS Approach strives to provide teachers with an innovative tool that can help raise the levels of motivation among the students, using TRPGs as a specific strategy in order to accomplish this goal. Additionally, it was created following the contents and topics suggested by the programme for 11thgrade by the
MINEDUC. Skills such as summarizing facts, analyzing information and enumerating elements are treated through this approach in a natural way, contextualizing the contents and making it an engaging experience for students. This makes it an optional tool for treating the same contents that would be seen in a more traditional unit while applying an innovative strategy that has not been tried in our local context so far.
There are not any antecedents that indicate the existence of a didactic unit with similar characteristics. For this reason, there were a number of difficulties and obstacles that had to be sorted in order to reach the final result. Some of these difficulties were directly related to issues such as discipline, the number of students per classroom and the contents and type of activities to be included within the unit. While these issues have been addressed accordingly, the reader should take into consideration that further complications might arise during the application of the unit in a real EFL classroom.
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4. Further Research
As it has been mentioned in previous sections, it is significant that teachers take a step forward toward the implementation of innovative methodologies that have been successful in other contexts. Taking this into account, all the research that can be directed toward the implementation of the FOCAL SKILLS Approach in our country will be a great contribution to our field of study, and carrying out the present proposed unit would be one way to cooperate with this process. Due to the fact that this unit is placed within the advanced module of the FOCAL SKILLS Approach, it is strongly recommended that other units are developed as complements for the other three modules (listening, reading, and writing). The creation of these complementary units would be the ideal way to develop the FSA in our country while taking into account the particular characteristics of our educational system.
Additionally, the didactic unit presented in this opportunity has the advantage of being flexible, which leaves room for improvement and adaptation when required. Teachers can use this unit to create similar activities aiming at acquisition and motivation with other contents or for other age groups, which can be accomplished by changing the level of difficulty accordingly. It is of importance that any new adaptations or new activities are developed while considering their objectives and consequences respectively, so that the end result will enrich our students‟ acquisition process.
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