Learning English Through Role-Playing Games (C2)

Wen-Hung FangMay 19, 2010
Learning English Through Role-Playing Games (C2)
There are many ways to learn and practice English. One interesting way that helped me immensely is through role-playing games. Today, I will first define and describe role-playing games, and then talk about their benefits for English learners, and finally I will give two examples of role-playing games that I used to play.

So, what are role-playing games?

Role-playing games are games that allow the players to act out various roles in a story and interact with each other within that story.

In a role-playing game, a Game Master is responsible for developing the storyline, while other participants play the story "characters." Within the bounds of certain game rules, the Game Master and the players are free to improvise. Together, their decisions determine the direction and outcome of each game.

And what are the benefits of role-playing games for English learners?

Role-playing games build vocabulary, in all kinds of subject matters ranging from medieval history to modern science, depending on the game genre.

Role-playing games enhance reading abilities, especially if you read all the manuals and novels to bring your story and your characters to life.

Role-playing games sharpen speaking and listening skills. Just like being a speaker in a Table Topics Session, you need to listen carefully to the Game Master, think on your feet, and respond quickly.

Role-playing games hone the art of storytelling, especially for the Game Master. The March 2010 issue of Toastmaster Magazine had an article that mentioned how storytelling skills can be useful for Toastmasters. So, as the logic goes, when you become a better Game Master, you become a better storyteller, and in turn you also become a better Toastmaster.

So, now that we have defined role-playing games and talked about some of their benefits for English learners...

What are some examples of role-playing games?

BattleTech, which I used to play in middle school.

In this science fiction role-playing game, you play the role of a soldier, or perhaps a mercenary, traveling from planet to planet, and fighting in a 10-meter tall war machine, either for money or glory. Perhaps you're helping rebel soldiers to overthrow a tyrant. Or perhaps you're working for that tyrant to put down a rebellion.

Through this fictional world, you can strengthen your vocabulary and knowledge in the areas of military affairs, physics, astronomy, technology, etc. You’ll pick up terms like "autocannons," "nuclear fusion," "interstellar travel," "electroactive polymers," and so on.

Now, let me give you another example. Even a demo. For this second example, I'll need the help of several members of the audience. Guys, could you come up and get ready? Thank you!

Dungeons & Dragons, which I used to play in high school.

In this role-playing game, you and your friends are adventurers in a fantasy world similar to the one in The Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter, where there are many fantastic creatures like elves, goblins, and dwarves. You travel together to seek adventure, or go on quests sent by the King.

In Dungeons & Dragons, the bard characters are usually portrayed as happy-go-lucky traveling poets and singers. Bard players often make up lyrics and sing to the tune of popular songs during the game.

The fighters are often portrayed as simple-minded muscle heads, but that's just a stereotype. You can of course also role-play a fighter in a different way.

The mages or magicians are just the opposite; they are often portrayed as cautious and intelligent powermongers.

Now, we're going to start our demo. Listen carefully. What would you do if you were one of the players? Let's begin.

[SAMPLE GAME]

Game Master (WH): You finally clear the enchanted woods and come to the river. The rushing water looks too dangerous to wade across. There’s a nasty looking troll on a narrow bridge up ahead. What do you want to do?

Fighter (Jack): Kill him!

Mage (Daniel): [TO FIGHTER] Wait, not so hasty! [TO GAME MASTER] Isn’t there another bridge upriver or downriver?

Game Master (WH): Yes, you look at the treasure map in your hand, and there looks to be another bridge about five kilometers downstream; however, it appears to be guarded by a big red dragon.

Bard (Trinity): Dragon? Forget it! Let’s try our chances with this bridge. I just learned a magical lullaby last month. I can try to put the troll to sleep. Then we can walk past safely without having to pay any tolls.

Mage (Daniel): That’s a great idea! Let's hope it works! I'll have my magic spells ready, though, just in case.

Fighter (Jack): But I wanna fight! Charge! [WAVE SWORD IN AIR]

Mage (Daniel) & Bard (Trinity): [TOGETHER] Nooooooooooo!!!!

Game Master (WH): Freeze! Thank you, players! Please return to your seats, and let’s give them a big round of applause. Thank you! Remember, real games are unscripted, so players must improvise and give impromptu responses to problems presented by the Game Master. How would you have resolved the situation?

[CONCLUSION]

So, that's role-playing games in a nutshell. It has its benefits, and it’s fun. If anyone wants to go adventuring together, you can find me at the KTV, practicing my magical lullaby, just in case I come across a troll bridge someday.

Mister/Madam Toastmaster.

Leon Wang
Apr., 18, 2006

The Silent Language

There is a language that everyone speaks. It’s not taught in any classrooms and it doesn’t have grammar, spelling or pronunciation. However, it is an extremely important language. This is the language of nonverbal communication- what your body posture, face, eye contact and gestures about you.

Eye contact- In many countries, for example, Muslim countries, direct eye contact is a sign of disrespect. Americans use eye contact to indicate understanding, interest, and confidence. When someone is talking to you, try to maintain good eye contact.

Hand shake- It’s customary to shake hands with an individual you’ve been introduced to or when saying hello. The best hand shake is, “Open your hand, keeping all your fingers together and the thumb open. Grasp the palm firmly, but not crushingly, and give a couple of small shakes. Don’t let your hand go all limp.”

Your voice- The voice is your first tool for communicating information with others. How you say is just as important as what you say.

Smile- The fastest and easiest way to meet people and make friends is to smile! Smiles are very contagious and a great way to start a conversation or a friendship

Personal space- In some countries, it may be acceptable to stand very close to another person, but in USA, people might feel uncomfortable and threatened. Americans usually maintain a space of 2-3 feet around them as their personal space. Unless you are on a crowded bus, try to maintain that distance to make others comfortable with your company.

[Personal experience]

The best method to learn nonverbal skills is to watch how other people interact. Go to the mall, the park, a bookstore or a restaurant and observe how others communicate in verbal and nonverbal ways. You will quickly learn what nonverbal actions Americans see as confident and friendly, and practice them yourself.

Remember, “Silent talks more!”

Toastmasters C2 Speech

“Spanish—Something You Need to Know”

Rebecca Chou 07/19/06

Can you imagine that some day our national song will be sung in Hakka or Taiwanese? According to the news report, the national song of the U.S., Star-Spangled Banner, is going to have Spanish version. Although it still has a long way to go, this tendency comes up for reasons. Based on the estimated U.S. population, the Latinos who have origins of Latin America including Mexico to Central and Southern America are going to be the majority in 2050.

We all know that the majority is Anglo Americans and the second largest group is African Americans. However, in the twenty-first century, the Latinos are more important than before because it is the first time they become the largest minority group. Today, I’d like to suggest you to take your chance to learn Spanish because it is possible to be an official language in the U.S. Besides that, due to the below facts, Spanish is something you need to know.

Fact I: Geographic Dimension
There are over thirty countries speaking Spanish, that is, almost one fifth of the world using the same language. Most of them are in America; however, some are in Europe and Australia. The most surprising one is the United States because more and more Latin Americans moved out of their homeland and go to a better place for living. So far there is approximately one forth of them in the U.S. as so-called the “Latinos”. Observers and Experts think it is possible that they will make this country becoming Spanish-speaking in the future.

Fact II: Population Growth
The Latino population growth is far beyond you can image. Recent years the average birth rate is less than 1.2 children in the world. Most countries are worried of aging population and the only growing area is in Africa, Latin America and some Asian countries. Due to the human movement, more than forty million Latinos, which is almost one time of Taiwan population and becomes the largest minority in 2000. This is the first time that Africans Americans are no longer has the same influence as before. Experts even predict that in 2050 the Latinos will be the majority and the Anglo Americans will be minority. If we can live longer, we can definitely have chance to see a Spanish U.S.A.

For instance, right now in New Mexico state, the 53% of the whole population is Latinos and according to the statistics, over half million of Latinos are gathered in 13 states. They are from right to left New York, New Jersey, North Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Illinois, Texas, New Mexico, Colorado, Arizona, Nevada, Washington and California.

Fact III: Economic Potential
The economic power of Latinos is obvious from the advertising, media channels and remittance amount. No matter the outdoor or press and TV advertisements all have Spanish to attract the Latinos because of their strong buying power. The remittance amount to their homeland is also amazing. Based on the research, scholars found that several Latin American countries depend on this money for survival because it is the prime source of foreign currency. Even the current U.S. President Washington Bush would take actions to limit this money flow out once but failed because nothing can stop it.

The Latinos also build up a new atmosphere. Since 1976 every year in mid September, they will celebrate “Hispanic Heritage Month” because five Latin American countries became independent in this month, for example, Costa Rica, Puerto Rico, Nicaragua, Honduras and Guatemala. They will show their traditions of dances, songs and other cultural ceremonies in the U.S. society. We all heard of words like tango, salsa, samba, bossa nova very often and some would like to learn these kinds of dances in their spare time.

The upcoming Spanish singers and media channels provide us a better answer of this Latin trend. You can watch Latin Grammy Award and several Spanish channels, such as, Telemundo and Vision, the top two national TV channels. The audience rating is even higher than CNN or Discovery. Right now the Latin American soap operas “telenovelas”, novels on TV, are the hottest programs for the Latinos. Meanwhile, Carlos Santana, Christina Aguilera, Jennifer Lopez, Ricky Martin and so on make more money from selling their albums. If you have not noticed this, you had better catch up with it now.

Learning Spanish will never be too late. My university professor had told us her trip in New York and because she could speak Spanish, the waitress in the restaurant gave her better service and more food. After showing your language ability to the Latinos, you will find how it works for reducing the gaps between each other. Want to learn it? Try to attend courses immediately or you will miss it, a whole new Spanish America!

Where Has the Mountain Gone?

I'll tell you a sad story about a mountain that is losing its treasure.
I show you a picture taken by Japanese geologist in 1932. It's Banping Mountain. It looked like being chopped off by half.
When I was a child, I was curious about where the half of the mountain had gone.
My father told me a story about it.
A god sliced off half of the mountain, mixed it with the water of Lotus Lake to make large amounts of free dumpling for the poor people. Finally, the missing half of the mountain had gone to the stomachs of greedy villagers.
When I grew up, I became a student of Tsoying Senior High. I witnessed the changing of the mountain under the rumbles of blasting. The mountain got lower and lower while the city got more and more prosperous. I didn't really know where the half of the mountain had gone, but I certainly knew where the other half has. Part of the other half is composed of limestone. It was not sliced away by the god. It had gone to the kiln and was used for cement and steel making. It played a very important role in the miracle of Taiwan’s economic development. The missing part of Banping Mountain was exchanged for the increasing national income. The greedy people as well as the villagers in the previous legend have destroyed the mountain to satisfy their own needs.
The entire cliff and the limestone layer almost disappeared.
Limestone mining has removed the original vegetation, destroyed the natural habitat, and moreover, has changed the stable geology structure and caused landslide.
Now, I am a teacher of Tsoying High. I always take my students to Banping Mountain to study the plants, fossils, and geology. I'm glad that the limestone mining has ended since 1997. The greens come back to the mountain, and it means the habitat is expanding. Humans and animals also come back. It has recovered from quarries into Nature Park although the grand cliff returns no more. We can see the bright future of the mountain. After the battle between environmental protection and economic growth, it reached a new point of balance.
What do we learn from the missing Mountain?
We have to reconsider the question:
"How can human beings live with Mother Nature harmoniously?"
No doubt, the answer is "Sustainable development".
"Sustainability" means that we have to ensure our economy and society can continue to exist without destroying the natural environment on which we all depend. Achieving sustainable development is no easy task. The decision-making at the highest levels and our day-to-day behavior has to change.
As we look back at the missing Banping Mountain, have we ever changed our attitude toward Mother Nature?
In 2003, the government of Kaohsiung City decided to imitate the stubborn old man who removed mountains, which blocked his way in front of his house in an old Chinese legend. In early 2004, the southern end of the Mountain has gone and become a roadway. It lost the balance once more.
In the near future, the tunnel of the Mass Rapid Transit will do it again. Part of the Mountain will lose as usual. The battle seems endless.
What have we learned from the missing mountain?
Beyond the construction site, at the foot of the mountain, a grass does its best to break through the dried mud and grow strongly. When will the spring come back to Banping Mountain?
(Alan's C2 Speech)