Online RolePlay

FIVE great tips to make online roleplay go with a BANG!

A little while ago, I got a message from a teacher called Elizabeth. She said she loved my post about roleplay (thanks, Elizabeth!) but was struggling to make it work in her online classes. And honestly? I get it.

Roleplays can be fantastic for getting learners talking- bringing real-world language into the classroom in a fun and practical way- but when everyone’s just a tiny square on your screen, it’s easy for the energy to drop. Add breakout rooms into the mix (where you're basically blindfolded as a teacher), and it can all start to feel a bit chaotic and out of your control.

But fear not! I’ve got five simple, tried-and-tested strategies to help make online roleplays more engaging, effective, and- dare I say it- actually fun. Whether you’re working with adults or teens, these tips will help get your learners talking, laughing, and learning.

1. Set the Scene... and Make It Real

You want your learners to feel invested in the roleplay, so pick a scenario that’s relatable... or at least entertaining. Even if it’s not something they’ll experience in real life, there should be some transferability in the language.

A little bit of drama never hurts either! Conflict makes things interesting (in roleplay, not in staff meetings, ideally).

Take this scenario:

The Noisy Neighbour.
Jamie plays loud music at night. Alex is fed up and can’t sleep. Taylor is the poor soul trying to mediate.

It’s simple, familiar, and it sparks opinions... perfect conditions for spontaneous language use.

2. Give Clear Role Cards... with Agendas

Don’t just throw your learners into a breakout room and hope for the best. Give them role cards. Good ones.

Each learner should know who they are, what they want, and maybe even have a little secret to keep things spicy. The clearer their goal, the more confident they’ll be, and the less likely they are to sit there awkwardly waiting for someone else to start.

Not sure where to start? AI tools like ChatGPT can whip up great role cards in seconds. Or save yourself the time and download the free booklet I’ve put together. It’s got full instructions, ready-made role cards, and functional language to go with them. You’ll find it here.

3. Let Them Prep... with Language Support

Before you launch into the roleplay, give students time to prep together. Break them into groups by role (so all the Jamies are in one group, all the Alexes together, etc.), and let them brainstorm what they want to say.

To make it a useful language activity, give them a list of functional phrases to draw from. Phrases like:

• “I understand your point, but…”
• “Could we compromise on…?”
• “From my perspective…”

Have them choose the ones that work for their character and type up full sentences in a shared Google Doc. This not only helps focus their language, but it lets you sneakily monitor and support all groups at once. Sneaky in a good way, of course.

4. Use Time Limits to Keep Things Snappy

Online roleplays can easily drag without structure. So give them a clear timetable. For the Noisy Neighbour situation, for example, you might try:

• 2 minutes per person to explain their perspective
• 3 minutes to negotiate
• 2 minutes to write up their solution

Broadcast the time markers into breakout rooms so they stay on track... and so that Jamie doesn’t monologue for 8 minutes while Taylor sips tea and Alex silently fumes.

5. Repeat It—with a Twist

Once they’ve finished, bring everyone back to the main room and do some delayed error correction. Highlight good language, gently fix mistakes, and celebrate creativity.

Then... send them back in. Yep, again.

This time, shuffle the groups and give them a new goal. Maybe aim for greater accuracy or challenge them to use more of the functional language they prepared (which, let’s be honest, probably went out the window the first time around).

Repetition builds fluency and confidence and it turns a decent roleplay into a really valuable language activity.

So, if you’re anything like Elizabeth and finding online roleplays a bit flat, try adding a bit more structure and support. With a strong setup, some clear language goals and space to reflect and repeat, you can turn those breakout rooms from awkward silences into lively, purposeful conversations.

And if you’d like the full “Noisy Neighbour” setup, including role cards and all the language support, pop over to ELT-Training.com. It’s all there, ready to download and use. Let me know how it goes!

Would you like a downloadable version of this blog post, maybe to send as a newsletter or PDF handout? I’d be happy to format that up for you!