Upper Intermediate Level >> Flashcards and Role Play Materials >> A role play is set up in which students, directors, teachers and parents must decide how best to spend extra money available for an English language school.
Arundel School: Role Play
Upper Intermediate
The language school at which you learn English has recently announced it has made a good profit in the last year and would to add something extra to the school.
It has called a meeting where it will be decided what the extra money will be spent on.
At the meeting will be the following people:
- the director of the school
- teachers from the school
- some of the students' parents
- low level students
- higher level examination students
- the director of studies
The following is a list of the possible additions to the school. There is enough money for two of the following.
- More books, newspapers and videos purchased for the school for student use.
- New furniture for the school: tables, chairs, pictures, etc.
- A 5% increase in all teacher wages
- A brand new listening lab for all levels
- all high level external exam fees to be paid by the school.
- more free services such as internet, books and videos and revision lessons.
- New resource books for all the teachers.
- Three new computers for the computer room
- all prices cut by 10% next year for all students at all levels.
- A trip abroad for a group of students in the summer.
Choose two of the options - and remember to argue both the plus points of your choice and the negative points of other people's choices.
Here are the role cards to be divided among all the students:
| You are one of the parents of a student at the school. You would like to see the services at the school (that you currently have to pay for) become free next year. Services such as internet use and borrowing videos. | You are a parent of one of the students in the school. You would like to see the money spent to sent a small group of students to (Australia) where they can improve their English. The trip can be used as an end-of-year prize. |
| You are a low level student and would like to see a few new computers bought for the school. The existing two computers are both old and slow and if you had new ones, lessons would be fun. | You are the director and you would like to see the money used to buy new tables and chairs for the three classrooms. This is a benefit that will last for many years. |
| You are one of the teachers and would like to see the money spent on a new listening lab - as all the students complained this year about the acoustics in the existing classes. | You are one of the teachers at the school and would like to get a little bit more money. If the teachers aren't happy, the school will not be a happy place. And you deserve it! |
| You are an intermediate student and you would like to see the money used to buy more books and videos for the school. You don't mind paying a little for this service but the choice is too small. | You are the Director of Studies and you would like to see more resource books bought for the teachers' room. The teacher are, after all, the heart of any school. |
| You are one of the parents of a student at the school. You would like to see the money used to reduce prices for next year's courses. That way, the money is divided equally among all the students. | You are a student who will be taking the TOEFL exam next year. Normally students have to pay for these external exams and you would like them to be free. You think you pay enough for the courses as it is. |
Good variant: Explain the situation to the students and get them to write the role cards - what they would choose to buy and why. Then collect all the role cards in, mix them up and redistribute them. Then proceed as normal. It does make the whole thing a little more personal and gives writing practice too.
