286 FREE Role Playing Games Worksheets
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FREE Role Playing Games

Sometimes the same old exercises and games get a little too boring for your class - and that’s normal. The learning process requires some switching up from time to time. Too much repetition and structure make it much harder for students to absorb and work with a new language - but a relaxed and playful environment lets them know it’s safe to play around with what they’re learning, and use their grammar and vocabulary in new and creative ways.

Some teachers aim to address this problem with games like “hot seat” and “telephone” - and there’s nothing wrong with those games, in and of themselves. But repeating the same games every few days will bore students quickly, and make them feel like even the “fun” aspects of your classroom are still too rigid to really engage them. This is why new ESL teachers often find themselves looking for games and activities that break through those worn-out routines and breathe some fresh air into the class atmosphere.

If that’s where you’re stuck, why not help your students switch up their identities a little? BusyTeacher.org’s 286 free role playing game worksheets will help bring your students out of the everyday, and put them in all kinds of situations that’ll challenge them to use their language skills in unusual ways. Our community of ESL teaching experts has done all the hard work for you - each worksheet provides clear and complete directions on how to set up and manage a role playing activity, so you’ll be ready to go as soon as you print it off.

These 286 worksheets offer role playing activities of every shape and size. Some put the students in various roles to act our common real-life situations - while others invite them to imagine voyages to foreign cities, challenge them to take on different jobs, or even cast them as characters in movies and fictional stories. From everyday dialogues to far-flung adventures, you’ll find a role playing activity for any occasion among the 286 worksheets we have to offer.

What’s more, BusyTeacher.org’s worksheets cover an abundance of ESL levels and topics. Whether you’re practicing basic sentence structure with students around levels two and three, or pushing for fluency with advanced students at level five, we’ve got a worksheet for you. In fact, many of the 286 worksheets you’ll find here can easily be adapted for a variety of levels. And the topics they focus on range from pronunciation to grammar to vocabulary - and beyond.

How can you be sure that these worksheets will work in your classroom? Because every single one of them was created by an ESL teacher like you, and used successfully in a classroom somewhere in the world. All the worksheets on BusyTeacher.org are contributed by our community of hard-working ESL teachers all over the globe - and they’ve made their resources available to you for free. That’s right - you don’t have to pay, or even register, to download, print, use, or duplicate any of the worksheets on this site.

Have a worksheet you’d like to share with our community? Just click the “Submit a worksheet” button below. Or browse the list in thumbnail view until you’ve found a role playing worksheet you can’t wait to use. It’s all easy with BusyTeacher.org!

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Joe is getting married! from the movie: When Harry met Sally

Joe is getting married! from the movie: When Harry met Sally

ANNAMATARO
  This lesson is designed for two sessions of one hour each. It features two scenes from the film "When Harry Met Sally." It includes grammar (a review of defining and non-defining relativ ...
1 Views 19,783 Adv
Solving problems at a business meeting

Solving problems at a business meeting

Jiřina
, , Role Playing Games
  Print the worksheets for pupils to work in pairs. One student reads the problem the second tries to find a solution. Students can take turns to discuss the problems in the worksheet and ...
1 Views 56,668 Pre-IntInt
Workshop Lesson: Restaurants And Menus

Workshop Lesson: Restaurants And Menus

Ivan Iannotta
  In this lesson, students review vocabulary and grammar at A2 level related to the topic of restaurants and menus. Classroom desks are arranged into six "learning islands" where the stude ...
1 Views 59,125 Elem
Everyday Instructions – How do I ask?

Everyday Instructions – How do I ask?

Helen
  This A5 booklet for adult beginners and elementary students is about helping to make appointments or phone emergency numbers. Instructional, it can be used for role-playing, with student ...
1 Views 58,785 BegElemPre-Int
Social English Conversations Speaking Cards

Social English Conversations Speaking Cards

Jiřina
The worksheet contains three types of excersices focusing on Social English conversations. I.Chain conversations - Give each of your students a social topic to talk about and let pupils to prepa ...
1 Views 119,425 Pre-IntInt
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The Square Circle - Simple Questions Activity

The Square Circle - Simple Questions Activity

Kay Boone
» Role Playing Games
P4C lesson offering topics for discussion.This can be used as a P4C lesson where the students are in a circle and choose a random sticky note off the floor. The sticky notes have prompts written o ...
1 Views 70,362 BegElem
Role Plays For ESL Classes

Role Plays For ESL Classes

Isaac Bueso Borràs
This sample worksheet contains six role playing situations from the book “ESL role plays for English teachers: 40 great role plays for ESL classes.” Each role plays presents some usef ...
1 Views 179,488 IntAdvExam
How To Speak To Be Understood - A Funny Conversation Activity

How To Speak To Be Understood - A Funny Conversation Activity

Sylwia
An amusing idea of how to practice intonation and communication. The students are asked to put the missing punctuation marks, make dialogues according to some specific clues, use their imagination ...
1 Views 131,156 Pre-IntInt
Dialogue Vocabulary Sentence Starters and Responses

Dialogue Vocabulary Sentence Starters and Responses

Anastasiya Tishchenko
» Role Playing Games
These phrases are useful while organising pair work during the lessons of pre-intermediate students. They can be displayed on the poster in the classroom or printed out and your students will be a ...
1 Views 93,918 Pre-Int
Emergency Services Role Play Cards

Emergency Services Role Play Cards

SI
, , , Role Playing Games
These role play cards are designed for elementary to pre-intermediate learners. There are 6 different scenarios split between the police, ambulance and fire service. Students work in pairs to prep ...
5 Views 122,404 ElemPre-Int
Dialogue and Role Play Exercise (Two Siblings Fight Over a Car)

Dialogue and Role Play Exercise (Two Siblings Fight Over a Car)

» Role Playing Games
This is a dialogue and role play exercise. Two students fight over the car, but then, one of them goes out, and something unexpected happens. The dialogue sets the pattern of talking in English, a ...
6 Views 153,902 Pre-IntIntAdv
Drama World Talent

Drama World Talent

Marta
, , , Role Playing Games
This drama is about a television talent show called World Talent, where contestants from around the world compete to see who is the most talented performer. Each week the contestants perform in fr ...
3 Views 59,075 Pre-Int
Helping People- Charity Events

Helping People- Charity Events

Tajana
, , , Role Playing Games
This worksheet contains four stories, students must choose one story and decide who of the four people they are going to help and then decide how they are going to help them to organize a charity ...
12 Views 74,499 IntAdv
Game, Debates

Game, Debates

Give each students two cards, agree & disagree. Read aloud a controversial statement, and have each students hold up his/her paper stating whether they agree or disagree. Choose one student f ...
28 Views 171,936 Pre-IntIntAdv
The Perks of Advertising

The Perks of Advertising

Caroline Sopelsa
, Role Playing Games
This is a speaking activity. Students must be able to think on their feet in order to sell their products to the "buyers". The idea is to use odd products that wouldn't be easily bought  to s ...
8 Views 49,721 All
Curious

Curious

BusyTeacher Contributor
Role Playing Games,
This is a question-based activity where a student will pick up a card and talk about it with his/her classmates having the opportunity to develop a conversation and be creative. This document cont ...
7 Views 52,638 Pre-Int
Impromptu Speaking in the Classroom: What Would You Do?

Impromptu Speaking in the Classroom: What Would You Do?

ROBERTA VUADEN
Students will be able to develop fluent communication strategies, improve speaking skills, discuss and expose their opinions about controversial issues. Each student will raffle a card that c ...
10 Views 63,535 IntAdv
Movie Worksheet: Brexit

Movie Worksheet: Brexit

hellen haga
After the 23rd of June, I thought about discussing the arguments which led to the referendum result. I've made 2 classes, one for intermediate students and another for upper intermediate/advanced. ...
11 Views 39,132 Int
Face to Face Game

Face to Face Game

Anna Luara
This worksheet provides nine role play cards. They contain information related to work and study, routine, family and hobbies. Students can simply ask each other questions and collect information, ...
16 Views 111,438 ElemPre-Int
Alien Cultures Game

Alien Cultures Game

» Role Playing Games
Based on Susan Verner's article, https://busyteacher.org/17951-how-to-help-esl-students-understand-each-other.html, this is just my approach to the alien cultures game. It is probably my best less ...
5 Views 34,602 Pre-IntIntAdv
The Tale of the Three Brothers by J.K. Rowling

The Tale of the Three Brothers by J.K. Rowling

This is a worksheet about the "Tale of the three brothers" by J.K. Rowling. Page 1 includes the first part of the tale, a vocabulary exercise and a writing activity. Page 2 includes the rest of th ...
35 Views 130,625 IntAdv
Survival Discussion Activity (Plane Crash in Canada)

Survival Discussion Activity (Plane Crash in Canada)

» Role Playing Games
A small group discussion activity that I found on the internet, used in army training for teaching survival. Contains a scenario (plane crash in Canada) and a list of 12 items. The job is to rank ...
14 Views 91,452 Pre-IntIntAdv
United Nations Game (From Graham Dixon's Article)

United Nations Game (From Graham Dixon's Article)

» Role Playing Games
Based on Graham Dixons article, https://busyteacher.org/22185-united-nations-fantastic-esl-negotiation.html, this is a summary of the relevant information, and a set of event cards for use with th ...
7 Views 23,691 Pre-IntIntAdvExam
In a Snack Bar (Roleplay)

In a Snack Bar (Roleplay)

, , , Role Playing Games
This worksheet is suitable for the roleplay. It contains a snack-bar menu and some dialogues which serve as an example. There are also some fill-in-the-blank texts. Besides the worksheet is useful ...
11 Views 68,115 ElemPre-Int
Speaking Tasks for Intermediate Speaking Tests

Speaking Tasks for Intermediate Speaking Tests

kiscsepo
This ppt consists of diverse tasks for practising speaking (e.g. picture descriptions, role plays and a mock debate). It can be used for making B2 (or upper-intermediate) level learners speak. The ...
34 Views 90,942 IntAdv

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