Simple telephone roleplay
Telephone English is generally uncomplicated and straightforward, there’s a limited set of specific language which needs to be covered, the exception being conference calls which have their own set of challenges.
This activity is designed to give students some very general situations in which to cover some common telephone call scenarios.
Go through some common scenarios e.g., answering the phone, asking for someone, taking a message, putting someone through or on hold, etc.
With the students construct an example of how each dialogue might go on the board.
Put students in pairs and give each pair a roleplay situation. The students should then write how that dialogue might go. Go round and correct student’s work, and then have each pair act out the dialogue in front of the class.
Now, take back the roleplays and redistribute them. This time students should roleplay their new scenarios without a writing phase. Keep swapping the roleplays so that each pair has the chance to roleplay several of the scenarios.
Excellent material