"My students were so excited to be a part of [theactivity].  They were so engaged. They did more

reading and research than they ever did on traditional assignments.  One student, who graduates this year,

thanked me for doing the activity before he graduated."—Mireille Rachwan, secondary school English

teacher. What type of activities would elicit this type of response from English teachers and students?  What

would make students actively engaged in research and excited about coming to class?  The activity that

Mireille Rachwan was referring to was a simulation.  This is not an isolated incident.  The response of

students and teachers to simulations has been overwhelmingly positive.  Other teachers have found

that simulation increase students' motivation (Moder et al., 2002; Ince, 2002), promote interaction and

engagement (Moder et al., 2002; Knyshevyska & Hill, 2007), increase students' familiarity with and

knowledge of a topic (Moder et al., 2002; Kriz, 2003), and increase vocabulary (Freiermuth, 2007). 

Perhaps after learning about how to design a simulation and reading testimonials of teachers and

students in North Lebanon who have experienced them, other English teachers will follow Mireille's lead and

spice up the practice of the four English skills in their classrooms.

Simulation Design

Simulations are excellent for facilitating the use of all four skills in the language classroom. Within

them, participants create language in a realistic context using authentic texts.  Designing a simulation

consists of four tasks: 

1.      Identifying a problem or issue

2.      Defining the roles and tasks

3.      Facilitating the simulation

4.      Debriefing the participants

Step 1: Identify a problem or issue

        The first step in designing a simulation involves identifying the problem or issue that you wish to

investigate.  These problems and their solutions may competitive as in the simulation of an ADVERTISING

CAMPAIGN in which teams first set up advertising agency then compete against each other to win the bid

for an outside company’s business. The problem to be solved in this simulation is “How can our company win

the bid?”  The educational objective is task-oriented, encouraging students to think creatively and

critically. 

Simulations may also be issue-oriented, such as ACADEMIC INTEGRITY TRIBUNAL, in which participants

present, discuss, and bring cases of academic dishonesty to trial.  The educational objective of

this simulation is content-oriented. The cases in the tribunal were all related to the topic of academic

integrity, which was the theme of the preceding three weeks.

Step 2: Define the roles and tasks

        The next step of simulation design is to orchestrate the communicative event.  In doing this, you will need

to think of all the various elements involved in a communicative event:  who speaks, what do they speak

about, how do they communicate, where do they communicate, and why do they say what they say.  Thus,

in preparing simulations, you will want to identify the setting, the roles, and tasks.

There are endless possibilities concerning the scene for a simulation, but not all possibilities are

appropriate. The simulation designer will want to consider the place where the discussion of the problem

or issue would most likely be discussed.  For example,  an advertising campaign would be planned by an

advertising agency, probably in a conference room in the agency's office.  A tribunal would take place in a

government building, quite likely, a courthouse. For these two simulations, then, the classroom would be

transformed into a conference room and a courtroom, respectively.

        Having isolated the appropriate scene for discussing the focal issue, the simulation designer will need to

plan how to set up the scene for the participant's in the simulation. For scenes that are unfamiliar to the

participants, the designer will need to provide examples or explanations of the tasks and procedures

performed within the scene.  Video recordings of the 'real' scene would be quite useful in building

participants' knowledge of what happens in a specific scene. Some comedies like Who's the Boss give examples

of advertising campaigns being planned and pitched.  Dramas like Law and Order often have scenes of what

happens in the courtroom. Showing the scenes in class will enrich the students’ schema concerning the scene

they are to play.

Another resource that is critical for the simulation is readings. These readings may be practical in

nature, providing information for participants to make well-grounded decisions during the simulation. Before

ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN, the students were given the task of reading and analyzing several advertisements. 

Resources about the language of advertising and vocabulary useful for advertising was made available

to the students while they were organizing their campaigns.  Before the ACADEMIC INTEGRITY TRIBUNAL,

students were given readings about cheating and plagiary, including the school's policy regarding

academic integrity. They were also directed toward several interactive websites that help college

students understand the issues of academic integrity. The role cards are the single-most important element

of the simulation, so the simulation designer will need to take special care in writing them.  There are

two types of role cards. The one that the designer will use will depend on the type of simulation, the

issue being explored, and the scene for exploration. 

In ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN, student s were all assigned the roles of employees of the agency. Their first task

was to think of a name, slogan, and logo for their advertising agency and to design business cards and

inter-office stationery for that company.  Their second task was to put together advertising

campaign for a solar energy company. Their campaign included a new name for the solar energy company, a

logo, a slogan, a brochure, a radio or television commercial, flyers, and an event to launch the

company.  They were given several days to put together their campaign, which was reviewed by the managing

director. In these simulations, teachers took roles as representatives and managing directors for the solar

energy company. 

The ACADEMIC INTEGRITY TRIBUNAL had more defined roles.  There were judges to sit on the tribunal,

plaintiffs and defendants.  To give everyone in the simulation a role, other participants were

journalists.   The role of juror was intentionally left out because the presence of multiple judges in a

tribunal makes it unnecessary to have a jury. The role of lawyer was also left out because the simulation

designer wanted the plaintiffs and defendants to plan their own case.  Had it been a courtroom simulation,

these roles of jurors and lawyers would have been included. 

It should be noted that in simulations, participants are not given a script to follow.  Even for clearly

defined, well-developed roles, participants are given a task to perform and must determine what to say and

how to say it on their own. Role cards for well-developed roles will provide explicit explanation

concerning what the participants will want to accomplish in their roles. For roles that the students

develop themselves, whereas their goals within their role may be implicit, the simulation designer will

want to the tasks that the participants should accomplish within the scene to be very explicit.  Thus

 the simulation designer will want to ensure that the ends, or the goals and objectives of the process of

solving the problem and discussing the issue are quite clear to the participants in the simulation.

        In addition to scenes and roles, the simulation designer will also want to make a sketch of the

episodes within the scene that will help the participants prepare their roles.  For some

simulations like ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN, this is a series of tasks and events that the participants will

follow.  For other simulations, like ACADEMIC INTEGRITY TRIBUNAL, the scene breaks down into

smaller, logical segments: cases.  For both types of simulations, the designer will want to prepare a task

sheet that identifies the scene and the decisions to be made, defines the roles and tasks within the role,

and describes the episodes and processes in which those tasks will be carried out.  Appendices A & B

provide examples of the task sheets for ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN and ACADEMIC INTEGRITY TRIBUNAL.

Step 3: Facilitate the Simulation

The third step is to step back and let the students perform their roles within the scene.   As facilitator

of the simulation, the teacher gives direction when the participants don't quite understand their role or

task, evaluates the language that the students' produce, and monitors students attitudes and emotions.

 Generally, it is not advisable for the facilitator to have a role in the simulation.  Other teachers from

outside may be invited to participate, as in ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN, when other teachers played the

role of managing director.  In simulations, students do most, if not all of the

speaking, giving this skill a lot more coverage than in the traditional curriculum. They create language

rather than having a predetermined script to follow.  The danger in this is that the simulation take an

unexpected turn and the participants might make a decision that the teacher does not agree with.  It is

very tempting to break into these situations, but the facilitator should not do this.  Allow the simulation

to run the course set by the participants, then deal with your concerns in the debriefing.

Writing is another skill that is easily and authentically incorporated into the simulation. In the

ACADEMIC TRIBUNAL, each participant had a report to write.  Judges wrote a summary of the cases and the

decisions to the dean. The plaintiffs and defendants wrote thank you notes or petitions to a higher court.

Journalists wrote a news report.   In ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN, participants wrote memos to their boss

describing the campaign they proposed, the client’s evaluation of their campaign, the strengths of other

campaigns, and recommendations for improving the campaign.

Step 4:  Debrief

The most critical aspect of using simulations in the classroom is debriefing.  From an affective

standpoint, debriefing provides a time to diffuse negative emotions (Hill & Lance, 2002; Halleck, 2000).

From a pedagogical standpoint, debriefing is the pinnacle of the activity.   During debriefing,

"transfer of acquired knowledge and skills occurs" (Kriz, 2003, p. 498).  According to Crookall (1995),

debriefing is the reason for doing the simulation.   During the initial stages of debriefing, participants

should sit in a close circle to discuss the simulation. At this time, the participants will step

out of their roles and, thus, may talk about the difficulties they faced within their roles. The

facilitator asks questions about the participants reaction, both emotional and cognitive, to the

simulation.  

Debriefing is the time to stimulate discussions and clarify issues that you think the students

misunderstood or misinterpreted.  This can often be quite effective. For example, when running the

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY TRIBUNAL in a class at UOB, I was concerned that the judges made a poor decision

concerning Case 5 about falsifying data.  When debriefing the students, however, I said nothing about

it. I only asked the question, "Were there any decisions that you disagreed with?"  The first student

to respond, who had been a journalist during the tribunal, said that he disagreed with the decision

regarding Case 5. For the next five or ten minutes, the students debated the issue, and came to the

conclusion that the judges' decision had been wrong. 

        Debriefing can also take the form of writing. Teachers may ask their students to write what they

thought about the simulation. It is from written surveys and reports that we quote our testimonials.

Testimonials

The UOB teachers’ responses to using simulations in class was very favorable. Nine out of eleven

instructors involved in teaching and designing the simulations course have been interviewed on the

subject of the benefits and concerns of teaching English through simulations. Among the main benefits

the following aspects of simulations were mentioned. They provide a highly interactive environment, and a

vibrant way of learning through doing. Learning English becomes less artificial; simulations provide

naturalistic audience, purpose and form for writing or speaking. The reasons for listening, reading, speaking

and writing are embedded in the task (e.g. simulations easily create the realistic reason for writing

summaries; students no longer read just to answer the comprehension questions after the text, etc.). The

teachers pointed to a significant increase in the students’ motivation to speak; students speak not to

improve their English, or because “This is a classroom and I need to speak,” but because they find themselves

naturally engaged in an act of communication. During the ACADEMIC INTEGRITY TRIBUNAL the students were able

to “visualize” different cases of plagiarism. Therefore, they learned the concept of plagiarism much

faster than in previous semesters; according to one of the teachers, “now every student from my class can

speak for at least 10 minutes giving a reasonable account of possible cases and consequences of

plagiarism.” Simulations create the conditions for  students to work holistically: all the four skills are

being developed. The tasks are relevant to the requirements of other university courses and real-life

career situations. One of the benefits is that students learn to work as a team. One of the most

rewarding aspects of using simulations in class is “it’s a lot of fun for the teachers.”

Teachers also voiced some concerns. “It’s a lot of work for the teachers,” recounted several: a lot of

time is needed for material preparation, task planning and coordinating multiple sections. Under-resourcing

was another concern. On the other hand, there was an agreement on the fact that “once the arsenal is built

up,” time and resource concerns will diminish. The simulation should be very well planned; poorly

prepared simulations might be a frustrating experience for both teachers and students. Some teachers

expressed the desire to research the use of simulations some more to identify how much language

learning is taking place in a simulation classroom, and to be able to decide whether there should be a

semester-long simulation-based course, or whether simulations should be incorporated into traditional

curriculum classes. From the teachers’ observations of their classes, not all students are prepared for this

type of learning. Some students do not associate gaming with learning.

The students showed enthusiasm and accepted simulations as a way of learning. They enjoyed their

roles as judges and advertising agents. They commented on the activities and the atmosphere in class: “We

have more activities than in the previous English course” or “We have a lot of new things to do like

watching a film, writing an writing a report, doing presentations, advertising companies and now writing a

memo.” Another student remarked that he had four hours of English per day in his previous English course

“with a section for grammar, reading and writing,” and now “in one hour we are learning all these parts in a

better way.” Comparing the simulation course to other English courses the students also indicated a higher

level of interest: “This course is not boring at all and encourages us to work.” Another student commented,

“The teacher doesn’t speak a lot, so I don’t get bored to tears like in the previous English class.” 

The students felt that the simulations helped them improve their English skills. Many students commented

on wider opportunities to speak English in general, and in particular “to speak in front of other people,”

“to speak without blushing,” to overcome “the phobia of speaking in front of cameras.”  The students

noticed an improvement in their writing. Besides, their writing was integrated with other skills: “we

are learning to use all our skills [in] writing,” “we need to listen to others to write our reports.” 

Concerning reading skills, the students noted, “we have to read A LOT”. The students also noted that

skills they learned were relevant: “The skills that I’m learning in this course will definitely be useful

in the future.” One student felt that simulations are “a good way to learn, it’s better than the traditional

way, but sometimes I feel we are exceeding our level, we have a lot to do and it’s higher than our level.”  

The replication of the simulation project in Bishmizzine High School by Mireille Rashwan, Balamand

instructor and Bishmizzine High School English courses coordinator, also yielded favorable responses

from the students: “It was great,” “unforgettable,”“amazing,” “we had fun and learned at the same time.”

According to the teacher, the students’ motivation and desire to research the topic for the Holocaust 

Tribunal tripled as compared to the research students were doing for regular English classes. Students took

the activity very seriously, dressed up for the occasion. For them the activity “felt so real.” The

best indication of the students’ interest in the event is the fact that they have placed the photographs of

the Tribunal on their Facebook profiles.         

List of References

Crookall, D. (1995). Debriefing: the key to learning from simulations and games. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Freiermuth, M. (2007). Symposium article: ESP needs washback and the fine tuning of driving instruction.

Simulation and Gaming 38, pp. 35-47. Hall, J. (2008, Spring).  Sunergy advertising brief.

Handout presented in ENGL 101 classes. University of Balamand, Lebanon.

Halleck, G. (2000).  From ISAGA '94 to AILA '99. Simulation and Gaming 31, pp. 86-92.

Hill, J.  & Lance, C. (2002). Debriefing stress. Simulation & Gaming 33, pp.490-503.

Ince, A. (2002). Motivating students beyond teacher expectations. Simulation & Gaming 33, pp. 481-485.

Knyshevyska, L. & Hill, J. (2007). Using MARRIAGE AND FAMILY as an aid to acculturation. Simulation and

Gaming 38, 323-331. Kriz, W. (2003). Creating effective learning

environments and learning organizations through gaming simulation design. Simulation and Gaming 34, pp.

495-511.

Moder, C. Seig, M. van den Elzen, B. (2002). CIMARRON VALLEY: A simulation-based EAP composition curriculum.

Simulation and Gaming 33, pp. 284-298. 

Appendix A  ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN Task Sheets

Part 1(90 – 100 minutes)

As a team, create a name, logo, and slogan for an advertising agency. Choose a name for the owner of

your agency (not anyone on the team). Design business cards and stationery for your advertising agency.

Part 2 (150-180 minutes)

Review Advertising Brief for Sunergy. Design an advertising campaign for Sunergy.

Part 3 (50-90 minutes)

Present your advertising campaign to the managing director. After interviewing all of the advertising

agencies, the managing director will notify you concerning the best parts of all the campaigns. You

will need to listen and take notes.

Part 4 (3-4 hours)

Write a memo to your boss, describing each element of  the advertising campaign you presented, the managing

director’s evaluation of your campaign, the strengths of the other campaigns, and recommendations for how to

improve your campaign so that you can win the bid.

Advertising Brief for Sunergy

Who are we?

Our company, Sunergy, has been a small player in the Lebanese energy sector, distributing and installing

solar energy systems for water heating and a limited range of solar cells for generating electricity. We

feel that growing concerns about climate change, soaring oil prices and unreliable electricity

provision from Electricité du Liban make the time right for expansion in the use of renewable forms of

energy. We need to rename and rebrand in order to take advantage of this potential expansion.

What do we want?

1.      a new name

2.      a new logo

3.      a new slogan

4.      an advertising campaign that: 
1) enhances our image in the public eye as a clean energy company;
2) creates a brand for our company that will be identifiably Lebanese;
3) strongly associates our company with the task of guaranteeing an environmentally sustainable future for the country

What do you need to do?

1.      Create a name, logo, slogan, and advertising campaign for our company.

2.      Give a presentation persuading us that the name, logo, slogan, and advertising campaign you have

created are the ones that we should use. In your presentation you will need to:

i.      present and describe the different elements of the campaign

ii.     explain how and why they will be effective

Appendix B ACADEMIC INTEGRITY TRIBUNAL

On Friday, March 14, ENGL 102 will host its first Academic Integrity Tribunal. In this tribunal, various

cases will be presented and decisions made concerning its severity. After hearing each case, a panel of

judges will make one of the following decisions: 

Pass to Disciplinary Board

The Disciplinary Board hears serious cases regarding academic dishonesty. They have the authority to expel

a student from the university.  The tribunal cannot punish any of its defendants.  Thus, if a case is

serious and deserves severe punishment, it must be referred to the Academic Disciplinary Board.  

Not Pass with Remediation for Defendant 

The tribunal can suggest remediation. If it seems to the tribunal that the academic dishonesty is a result

of ignorance or carelessness, they may recommend a course of action to educate the offender. (For

example, if a student unintentionally plagiarized, acknowledging sources of his copy-pasted text, the

tribunal might recommend that he conference with his teacher or a tutor in the language center who can show

him how to use his own ideas)

Not Pass with Reprimand for Plaintiff

The tribunal can also veto a petition that is frivolous. If the complaint is not justified (i.e.

there is no plagiarism or offense), the tribunal can dismiss the case. In addition, the tribunal might

require something of the plaintiff who brought such a frivolous case. For example, if a lazy student who

seldom attended class complains that her teacher failed her and the teacher demonstrates that the

student did not complete assignments, the tribunal could request that the student produce all the

assignments within 10 days.

Not Pass with Remediation for Plaintiff

The tribunal may also order remediation for the plaintiff. If the defendant demonstrates that the

plaintiff is the actual offender, the tribunal may order remediation for the plaintiff. For example, if a

student complains that she failed a course and the teacher demonstrates that the failure was due to

plagiary, the tribunal could recommend that the student repeat the course. If the plagiary seems

intentional, the tribunal may pass the plaintiff to the Disciplinary Board.   

In this tribunal, you, students in ENGL 102, will be assigned one of these roles: judge in the tribunal,

plaintiff, defendant, case worker, journalist, or anthropologist. Before the tribunal, your teacher will

give you a task sheet to use for taking notes. These notes will be taken up by the teacher after the

tribunal, then returned to you during EXAM 1 so that you can write a report about the tribunal.  The

reports will vary according to your role in the tribunal.

Sample Role Cards for TRIBUNAL

Judge on the Tribunal

Your job is to hear four cases and to decide whether they are important enough to pass on to the UOB

Academic Disciplinary Board.  The tribunal will call the cases one by one. For each one you will have 7

minutes:  

•       1 or 2 minutes to listen to the plaintiff’s petition

•       1 or 2 minutes to listen to the defendant’s position

•       1 or 2 minutes to discuss the case with the other judges and come to a decision

•       1 minute to notify the tribunal of your decision 

You will need to take notes so that you can write a report to the dean summarizing the plaintiff's and

defendant's arguments, the discussion of the tribunal, and the final decision.

Case 1: Plaintiff

You are a teacher. You have caught your student plagiarizing. (See Exhibit A: the student's paper). 

During the Tribunal, you will be called to present your case. You will have two minutes.  Afterwards,

your student will have two minutes to present a defense.  You will remain with the judges while they

discuss your case. After they give their recommendations, you should return to your seat. 

You have two tasks:

•       Before the tribunal, briefly outline your arguments for why this paper is plagiarized. 

•       After the tribunal, write a report about the case.

What was the Tribunal's response to your petition? Do you agree with this recommendation?  Explain

Case 1: Defendant

You are a student who has been accused of plagiarizing. You acknowledged all of your sources and

listed them all on your reference page. During the Tribunal, your case will be called. First, your

teacher will have two minutes to present the accusation. Afterwards, you will have two minutes to

defend yourself. The judges will discuss your case, then tell you their decision. After they have given

their recommendations, return to your seat.

You have two tasks:

•       Before the tribunal, outline your arguments for why this paper is not plagiarized. 

•       After the tribunal, write a report about the case. What was the Tribunal's response to your case? Do you

agree with this recommendation?  Explain

Case 5: Plaintiff

You are a lab assistant in the science lab. A few days ago, you noticed that one of the jars of flies that

freshmen classes use for genetics research is not quite as full as the others. You check the lab reports

and all but one is consistent with what is in the jars.  That lab report states that 25 green eyed flies

and 20 blue eyed flies are in the jar. However, you counted 25 blue-eyed flies and no green-eyed flies.

During the Tribunal, you will be called to present your case. You will have two minutes to convince the

court that the student falsified data.  Afterwards, your student will have two minutes to present a

defense.  You will remain with the judges while they discuss your case. After they give their

recommendations, you should return to your seat. 

•       Before the Tribunal, outline an explanation about the students' wrongdoing. 

•       After the tribunal, write a report about the case. What was the Tribunal's response to your case? Do you

agree with this recommendation?  Explain

 Case 5: Defendant

Last week in your science lab, while you were counting flies, some escaped. For the past few weeks, when you

and a classmate have compared data, your results have been the same. He had 20 blue-eyed flies and 25

green-eyed flies. After all, if some of the flies had not escaped, that is what you would have had. During

the Tribunal, your case will be called. First, your teacher will have two minutes to present the

accusation. Afterwards, you will have two minutes to defend yourself. The judges will discuss your case,

then tell you their decision. After they have given their recommendations, return to your seat.

•       Before the Tribunal, briefly outline your arguments to justify your actions.

•       After the tribunal, write a report about the case.

What was the Tribunal's response to your case? Do you agree with this recommendation?  Explain

Journalist

You are a journalist for the 102 Tribunal Herald. During the Tribunal, you will take notes. You may also

take photographs and record any of the proceedings to review later. After the Tribunal Proceedings, you

will need to interview at least one person and write a news report. Your news report will need to include the following

information:

•       When was the Tribunal? 

•       Where did the Tribunal take place?  Note any details.

•       Who was involved in the Tribunal?  Note special details about your classmates.

•       What happened? What cases were tried? What was the outcome?

•       Who have you been assigned to interview? What was their role?