a. roles: These, according to Nation (1989: 24) refer to features which govern the
learners’ participation in the activity and affect both the learning goals and the
participation in an activity. The adoption of roles by the students helps them use
language which simulates to ‘real life’ situations while their engagement in realistic
situations increases their motivation. In addition, it creates a new teaching situation as
the traditional teacher-student(s) interaction (lockstep) gives its way to group work
and pair work activities which are multiply beneficial for the students. Long and
Porter (1985: 208) stress that group work increases both the quantity and quality of
talk while Ur (1981: 7) points out that the context of small groups helps students who
are shy express themselves more freely. According to Brown and Yule (1983: 34) in
small groups the speaker’s ‘communicative stress’ decreases and students feel more
comfortable in producing what they have to say. Finally, Fisher (1993:164) stresses
that the interaction between students releases them from the control of the teacher and
allows students use language as a genuine attempt to solve problems rather than a
means to demonstrate their learning.
b. Outcomes: Nation (1989: 25) stresses that a clear outcome: “… can increase
interest in the activity by giving learners a purpose.” Moreover, a purposeful use of
language can help students realize it as a tool for communication. Ur (1980: 5)
stresses that: “One does not speak for the sake of speaking but because one has
something to say.” Finally, an outcome can guarantee that the communication during
the activity has been effective giving valuable feedback both to students and to the
teacher. Littlewood (1981: 90-91) stresses that feedback should focus on
communicative criteria, and “…may be intrinsic to the task: successful completion of
the task is itself an indication that communication has been effective.”
c. Procedure: According to Nation (1989: 26) a procedure: “… divides the speaking
activity into steps. It increases the amount of speaking involved in the activity and in
some cases makes sure that each learner in the group will participate in the activity.”
This is especially useful in the case of monolingual students who have the tendency to
use their first language to communicate during the activity. West (2000, Unit 3: 44)
suggests that a procedure from pairwork activities to whole class