The benefits of role-play in Portuguese language and culture classes

Abstract

This article explains and assesses the pedagogy of role-play and its implementation in Portuguese language and culture courses. While elementary and intermediate students of a second language often participate in scripted scenarios or skits provided in their textbooks—shopping, dining out, going to the doctor, etc.— role-play as defined and elaborated by Mark Carnes in Minds on Fire (2014) goes significantly beyond these. Students research and write creatively about historical or contemporary characters interacting in concrete settings and events. The result is the heightened acquisition of both language skills and new cultural knowledge. Role-play involves substantially greater engagement with course materials as well as a good deal of fun. Role-play in culture classes closely parallels the use of role-play in history courses organized around the methods of “Reacting to the Past.” Role-play (as defined by Carnes) in foreign language classes is less widely used to date, but it offers important advantages when compared with and used to supplement more traditional pedagogies. This article also includes (1) sample “mini-games,” drawn from the syllabi of my Portuguese language and culture courses, and (2) qualitative assessments by students evaluating their experiences with role-play.