Role Play: The Exclusive Picture

• Time: One hour, including follow-up debate.
• Language: As many speech acts as are possible. "Divergent"approach (see The Internet TESL Journal" for a good article by Patricia K. Tompkins).
• Organization: Small group (in my case, 7).
• Warm-up/Preparation: Each student compiles a fictitious character profile(or merely thinks up a few ideas on what he mightsay in the context).
• Procedure: Teacher asks for volunteers, or appoints them ifthe students are stalling too much.

Background:

The editor of a newspaper, whose sales are not going well at the moment, has just received a very graphic photo of a horrendous accident involving a school-bus and which occurred on a nearby motorway due to heavy fog. In the photo, you can see the injured and dead strewn around the crash scene. The rest is easy to imagine. The problem is whether to publish it or not. The image could shock, all the more so if it is on the front page. Should not the victims be left in peace, and not appear on the cover of a newspaper. Then again, perhaps by publishing this photo, the editor seeks to educate would-be careless drivers, or would-be drink-drivers. Of course, why should these victims be used as free advertising? Also, it is news, and nobody can fault a journalist for airing a story and photo. Moreover, the photo will attract, perhaps, new customers; people have a morbid interest in the misfortunes of others, it is said.

Role players:

• The editor, quite young.
• The photographer who took the shot, single.
• The accountant, married with two children.
• A journalist-relative of one of the victims-in favour ofpublication,
• married (with or without children).
• A second journalist, single, who is against publication.
• More journalists from various sections of the paper.

(The ages and marital status may be altered as you see fit).

Facts on newspaper:

• Employs fifty workers, most with children.
• Is on the verge of closure.
• Serious newspaper.

Follow-up:

Teacher collects main arguments raised and writes them down in order to fully tease out what was said, the validity/logic of same.

A more open " casual" group debate can ensue in the wake of the role play.

Variation:

Instead of a photo, it could be a nasty story about a local hero/personality.

Off-shoot Activity:

• The role of newspapers in society.
• What sells newspaper.
• Why do we buy newspapers.
• Will they disappear in the future?