Students’ suggestions on the conduction of each type of role-play are elicited from the analyses of students’ answers to questions 33 to 35 in the questionnaire as well as the sub-sample interviews. Question 33 pertains to students’ suggestions for the preparation stage; question 34, for the enactment stage; and question 35, for the debriefing stage.
4.3.1 Type 1 Skeleton Dialogues
Preparation. For the preparation stage, students had two main suggestions for the teacher, concerning grouping and the assistance in vocabulary respectively.
Grouping. Most of the interviewees felt satisfied with grouping. Nevertheless, the two advanced learners and one intermediate learner still expected to choose partners because they believe that they could have better communication and more chemistry with those of their own choice. Other two beginners had no opinions because they could accept different kinds of grouping.
Vocabulary. Table 37 provides the result of the open-ended question number 33 in the questionnaire, regarding students’ expectations of the teacher’s assistance during the preparation. As seen in the table with the top three in gray areas, the assistance that students needed the most was “vocabulary”; eleven said they needed word banks to draw on. Nine indicated that they expected the teacher to brainstorm interesting plots with them. Two to three said they needed help with sentences/translation, pronunciation, worksheets, and grammar. Two suggested that they needed a timer to remind them of the time. One student at the advanced level required the help with body language.
Table 37. Expectations of Teacher’s Assistance during the Type 1 Preparation Teachers’ Assistance Number of Students
Vocabulary 11
Ideas 9
Sentences/translation 3
Pronunciation 2
Worksheets 2
Grammar 2
Timer 2
Body language 1
Enactment. For the enactment stage, the top need was the teacher’s help with prompts.
Prompts. Table 38 demonstrates that the assistance that students expected teachers to offer in the presentation most was “prompts (i.e. cues on what to say),”
followed by “help with pronunciation” from six students and “maintaining class order” from four students, “setting timer,” “providing props,” “providing laughter,”
“giving immediate feedback on body language or the content of the conversation"
respectively from one student. Nevertheless, nine students gave no comments for this question.
Table 38. Expectations of Teacher’s Assistance during the Type 1 Enactment Teachers’ Assistance Number of Students
Give prompts 7
Help with pronunciation 6
Maintain class order 4
Set timer 1
Provide props 1
Provide laughter 1
Give immediate feedback 1
No suggestions 9
Debriefing. Regarding students’ expectations of teachers’ assistance at the debriefing stage (see Table 39), students’ top need was that the teacher pinpointed
merits and shortcomings about presentations.
Pointing out Merits and Shortcomings & Giving Suggestions. Six students hoped the teacher to point out the merits and shortcomings about their presentation.
Other six suggested the teacher to give useful suggestions for improvement. Two students wanted more encouragement. One required the teacher to precisely pinpoint language errors, one for the teacher’s explanation of her feedback on evaluation forms,
one for sharing other classes’ presentations, and one for offering snacks to make a relaxing atmosphere. Still fifteen students had no suggestions for this question.
Table 39. Expectations of Teacher’s Assistance during the Type 1 Debriefing Teachers’ Assistance Number of Students Point out merits and shortcomings about the presentation 6
Give suggestions on improvement 6
Give more encouragement 2
Precisely pinpoint language errors 1
Help with explanation of teachers' evaluation forms 1
Share other classes' presentations 1
Offer snacks 1
No suggestions 15
4.3.2 Type 2 Cued Dialogues
Preparation. Table 40 shows that what assistance students needed the most at the preparation stage of Type 2 was still vocabulary, which was the same as the result of Type 1, followed by the need for ideas from seven students, sentences or translation from five students, worksheets from three, pronunciation from two, and greater autonomy from two. Compared with Type 1, the number of students who needed the help with sentences or translation increased, which means that students in general anticipated more assistance in sentences or translation in Type 2 than in Type 1.
Table 40. Expectations of Teacher’s Assistance during the Type 2 Preparation Teachers’ Assistance Number of Students
Vocabulary 11
Ideas 7
Sentences/translation 5
Worksheets 3
Pronunciation 2
Need for greater autonomy 2
Enactment. Similar to the top 3 results at the enactment stage of Type 1, those in Table 41 also show that twelve students needed help with pronunciation; five students required the teacher to maintain class order; four said they wanted prompts. What is the most remarkable is that the number of students who need help with pronunciation in Type 2 was much more than that in Type 1. Some different suggestions from those of Type 1 were also given. For instance, one suggested that the teacher could play the role as an icebreaker; one wanted the teacher to provide laughter to alleviate some embarrassing moments; and one hoped that the teacher could translate some difficult sentences so that he could be more involved in the dialogues. Still six gave no comments.
Table 41. Expectations of Teacher’s Assistance during the Type 2 Enactment Teachers’ Assistance Number of Students
Help with pronunciation 12
Maintain class order 5
Give prompts 4
Play the role as an icebreaker 1
Provide laughter 1
Translation 1
No suggestions 6
Debriefing. Table 42 shows that ten students hoped the teacher to precisely pinpoint their language errors at the debriefing stage, followed by the need for pointing out merits and shortcomings about the presentation from four students, the
teachers’ suggestions on improvement from four students, and more of the teacher’s encouragement from one student. Again, some new suggestions provided for Type 2 were proffered. For example, one suggested the teacher to provide different ways to express the same meaning; one hoped the teacher could summarize new words at the end of the class; one wanted the teacher to remind the whole class to be more serious when giving evaluation; one suggested the teacher could explain what the presentations talked about; one desired more clues in error picking activities. Six of the participants had no comments about this stage.
Table 42. Expectations of Teacher’s Assistance during the Type 2 Debriefing Teachers’ Assistance Number of Students
Precisely pinpoint language errors 10
Point out merits and shortcomings about the presentation 4
Give suggestions on improvement 4
Give more encouragement 1
Provide different ways to express the same meaning 1
Summarize new words 1
Remind the class to be serious about evaluation 1
Explain pair presentations 1
Give clues in error picking activities 1
No suggestions 6
4.3.3 Type 3 Role Instructions
Preparation. Table 43 shows that the assistance in vocabulary was what students need the most at the preparation stage of Type 3. Eight students wanted the teacher to brainstorm interesting ideas with them. Four students said they needed help with sentences or translation. The top three of students’ expectations of teacher’s assistance during the preparation are the same as the results of Type 1 and 2. Still two advanced students wanted the teacher to look through their worksheet first for error correction, followed by the need for more time for practice, pronunciation, and spelling
respectively from one student. Two gave no comments for this question.
Table 43. Expectations of Teacher’s Assistance during the Type 3 Preparation Teachers’ Assistance Number of Students
Vocabulary 12
Ideas 8
Sentences/translation 4
Error correction 2
More time for practice 1
Pronunciation 1
Spelling 1
No suggestions 2
Enactment. Similar to the top three of Type 1 and 2, Table 44 also shows that what assistance students need the most were “pronunciation” from six students,”
giving prompts” from five, and “maintaining class order” from four. Nevertheless, there are four new suggestions for Type 3. For instance, two students of advanced language proficiency suggested the teacher to give praise and a big hand during the presentation; one wanted the teacher to play music for group work; one needed immediate correction about their poor pronunciation; one asked the teacher not to videotape the presentations because it might increase anxiety. Ten students gave no suggestions.
Table 44. Expectations of Teacher’s Assistance during the Type 3 Enactment Teachers’ Assistance Number of Students
Help with pronunciation 6
Give prompts 5
Maintain class order 4
Give praise and a big hand 2
Play music 1
Correct poor pronunciation 1
No videotaping 1
No suggestions 10
Debriefing. Table 45 presents that seven students hoped the teacher to give suggestions on improvement at the debriefing stage; six suggested the teacher to point out merits and shortcomings about the presentation; five required the teacher to precisely pinpoint language errors. Despite the similar top three with Type 2, there are some new suggestions given for Type 3. For example, two students with advanced language proficiency levels said the teacher could write more about their personal performances on the stage; one advanced student expected the teacher to summarize the words that are hard to distinguish; one advanced learner wanted everyone to provide feedback; one beginner suggested the teacher’s feedback written in Chinese.
Still two students gave the same suggestions as the previous type: one for giving clues in error picking activities and one for reminding the class to be serious about evaluation. Five had no comments for this question.
Table 45. Expectations of Teacher’s Assistance during the Type 3 Debriefing Teachers’ Assistance Number of Students
Give suggestions on improvement 7
Point out merits and shortcomings about the presentation 6
Precisely pinpoint language errors 5
Write more about personal performance 2 Summarize the words that are hard to distinguish 1 Ask everyone to give feedback to every group 1
Give feedback in Chinese 1
Give clues in error picking activities 1 Remind the class to be serious about evaluation 1
No suggestions 5
4.3.4 Type 4 Free Role-play
Preparation. Table 46 shows that what assistance students need the most at the preparation stage of Type 4 was still vocabulary, ideas, and sentences/translation, which was consistent with the top 3 of Type 1 to 3, followed by the need for spelling
and error correction respectively from one student. Ten students had no suggestions.
Table 46. Expectations of Teacher’s Assistance during the Type 4 Preparation Teachers’ Assistance Number of Students
Vocabulary 7
Ideas 7
Sentences/translation 4
Spelling 1
Error correction 1
No suggestions 10
Enactment. As Table 47 shows, the students’ top three expectations of the teacher’s assistance at the enactment stage of Type 4 were still giving prompts, helping with pronunciation, and maintaining class order, followed by the need for praise and a big hand, laughter, and more space for presentation respectively from one student. Twelve participants gave no suggestions.
Table 47. Expectations of Teacher’s Assistance during the Type 4 Enactment Teachers’ Assistance Number of Students
Give prompts 11
Help with pronunciation 3
Maintain class order 1
Give praise and a big hand 1
Provide laughter 1
Offer more space for presentation 1
No suggestions 12
Debriefing. Similar to the top three of Type 1 to 3, Table 48 shows that six students hoped the teacher to point out merits and shortcomings about the presentation; five students required the teacher to precisely pinpoint language errors;
three students needed the teacher’s suggestions on improvement. Nevertheless, there are some new suggestions offered for the debriefing stage of Type 4. For example, one student of advanced language proficiency suggested the teacher to provide more detailed feedback about their performance, and another needed a summary table of
common language errors. One student suggested the teacher to implement error correction activities in the form of group work instead of individual work. One intermediate student needed the teacher to take notes about their language errors and correct them in the feedback. Twelve had no comments for this question.
Table 48. Expectations of Teacher’s Assistance during the Type 4 Debriefing
Teachers’ Assistance Number of Students
Point out merits and shortcomings about the presentation 6
Precisely pinpoint language errors 5
Give suggestions on improvement 3
Provide more detailed feedback 1
Summarize common language errors 1
Ask groups to find out language errors together 1 Take notes about language errors and correct them in the feedback 1
No suggestions 12
To summarize, students tended to give similar suggestions on the conduction of different types of role-play. First, in the preparation stage of each type, the assistance that students needed the most was “vocabulary”, followed by “ideas” and
“sentences/translation. Then, in the enactment stage, the top 3 types of assistance included “giving prompts”, “helping with pronunciation”, and “maintaining class order.” Finally, in the debriefing stage, the assistance most desired included “pointing out merits and shortcomings about the presentation”, “giving suggestions on improvement”, and “precisely pinpointing language errors.”