Discussion starters, the result of collaboration between the Indonesian Directorate General of Nonformal Education, Youth, and Sports, and World Education, Inc., are simple learning tools used to generate discussion among community groups involved in nonformal education. Appropriate in and adaptable to a variety of settings, content areas, and…

The purpose of this paper is to account for some of the results from a contrastive study of Spanish and Danish communicative behavior, where the focus of attention has been directed towards the microlevel of discourse in order to find recurrent patterns in the local management of conversation. The use of speaker and hearer references, topic…

A series of short texts focus on German eating habits and types of eating establishments. Vocabulary is glossed in the margin and each text is followed by comprehension questions. Menus from a restaurant, an inn, and a fast-food restaurant; vocabulary exercises; a word search puzzle and its solution; and directions in English for conversational…

This study is based on three sources: (1) an experimental try-out of four oral proficiency testing methods (oral interview, role play, reporting test, and group discussion); (2) an evaluation of the testing methods by a panel of experts; and (3) an analysis of the same testing methods by policy makers. The findings are reported in terms of the…

The games and simulations presented in this monograph represent an appropriate technology for the literacy instructor to use with adult students as a stimulus for discussion and analysis and as a motivational technique. Chapters in this monograph present reasons to use games and simulations, explanations of what games and simulations are,…

These three journals of contemporary cultural, historical, and social interest contain activities designed to enhance the awareness of students of Spanish as a foreign language regarding the entire panorama of daily life in Spain. Number 21 focuses on the role of modern Spanish women; their career status; female authors; and the changing place of…

This British book discusses the value of creative drama for people with learning disabilities, offers some basic principles of working with people with learning disabilities, and describes a variety of approaches to drama. An introduction discusses the optimal size of a creative drama group, the kind of work space needed, equipment, membership,…

The academic world is seen as remote from day-to-day reality. A practicing architect's experiences teaching architecture students at the Saint-Luc School in Brussels are described, in which role playing was used to bring reality to the classroom. (MLW)

Describes a study in which Australian high school learners of Japanese were given the opportunity to practice their communicative skills with native speakers. Students' performances were analyzed before and after a brief period of introspection. Results indicate that learners made few gains in terms of their own output although there was an…

Discusses various class activities conducive to second-language learning. These include working on a legal document, group singing, a presentation on environmental pollution resulting from plastic bags, and listening to a tape on an organization and then posing and answering questions regarding dealings with that group. (CK)

This paper presents the educational method of role taking as a means of teaching communicative competence in a second language. The method calls for encouragement of student "creative work" and "coping with" the learning material. A sample lesson used in South Africa with students (ages 11-13) learning English as a Second…

Discusses an introductory U.S. government course that examines government in a comparative context. Explains that students play the role of U.S. government experts to whom representatives of the republics of the former Soviet Union come for consultation. Reports that students gather information both from textbooks and the popular press. (SG)

Describes an activity in which students gather information on a field trip to South Stradbroke Island in Australia and conduct a symposium on whether it would be suitable to build a resort on the island. Students role-play the viewpoints of various special interest groups that would be involved in the controversy. (Author/WRM)

Summarizes a three-year action research project in a Norwegian upper secondary school, which used drama techniques and role playing to support learning for at risk students. Discusses finding a place for their program in the school context and getting this population of students to learn to trust one another, take risks, and ultimately take…

Discusses the concept of a Virtual Company--a collaborative, distributed learning environment built on the notions of competence-based, constructivist, open learning, and distance education. It features an authentic, role-playing game that is strongly modeled upon the functional structures of real-life companies. Outlines the set-up of a Virtual…