One of the main features of simulations is that they provide rich communicative environment closely related to real life situations. As such they are an optimal language teaching method for preparing students for mobility. The topics can be selected according to the sequence of events as they occur in the actual mobility process, covering situations where students are most likely to be confronted with a problem eg: lost baggage during the travel, finding different places in the host town (accommodation, language school, host company, medical help etc.), first contact/ interview with the host mentor, complaints regarding the work placement, losing a personal document or reporting a theft ( loss of money/credit card, document) – at the police station, emotional problems emerging from homesickness, cultural differences, socializing etc .
During the linguistic preparation the situations above can well be simulated and the classroom adapted to the student’s future environment- his/her host country (e.g. posters, notices, city maps, photos, links to websites, information about stereotypes…). While doing the simulations the students have the opportunity to check their skills needed in such situations and identify the gaps in their language and/or intercultural skills which might slow down the communication and even make solving the problem very difficult or impossible.
The feedback from such simulations can serve as a basis for creating additional supporting materials to fill the gaps and improve the communication skills thus preparing the students to face problem situations with self-confidence.
For more support you can download the Simulations manual from :
languageteachingmethods 