The pandemic may be over, but its far-reaching effects still reverberate in communities, in families, and in the lives of adult ESL students who are still making sense of how those years changed everything. This Living Through a Pandemic role play pack gives students the language and the space to reflect on what they went through, share their perspectives, and practice talking about an experience that shaped the world they're now living in.

Few events in recent memory touched as many aspects of daily life as the pandemic did. Work, family, health, money, community, and the basic routines that people had taken for granted were all up in the air.

Your students lived through it too, and they have opinions, memories, and feelings about it. For many classes, this theme becomes a hot topic fast. For others, it opens up quieter, more personal conversations. Either way, the discussions are real ones, and that's exactly what makes this a rich topic for role play.

WHAT'S INSIDE the 27-page ROLE PLAY PACK:

Please note that the first “rate it” page and all the scenario cards are original to the 2020 version which got updated in 2023.

• ✅ Teacher pages — a full lesson plan covering introduction, goals, engagement strategies, study sections, previewing, and guidance for using scripts and scenario cards
• ✅ Anticipation guide — statements related to the theme for students to reflect on and rate based on personal agreement (scale 1–5), designed to encourage critical thinking and prompt discussion
• ✅ Idioms/expressions handout — common idioms and proverbs related to the pandemic theme with brief definitions
• ✅ Essential vocabulary handout — relevant words and phrases for discussing the theme, reading scripts, creating role plays, and engaging in discussion; includes blank lines for students to add vocabulary they learn from each other
• ✅ Conversation matching worksheet — students match scrambled lines to build smooth-flowing dialogues; a script version follows the answer key
• ✅ Dialogue prompts — structured prompts that give students ideas for what to say and when without scripting the language for them; shared page format (cut in half for pairs)
• ✅ Scenario cards — 9 sets providing character information for impromptu role plays or script writing, primarily for 2–3 characters
• ✅ Discussion questions — four cards with a total of 13 discussion prompts; can also be used as essay topics
• ✅ Writing prompts page — students write responses to given situations as if they were in that situation, focusing on their own response rather than a full dialogue
• ✅ Script starters — two per page, eight total; each features a line from one character, a response from another, and blank lines for students to continue

THIS IS DESIGNED FOR YOUR ADULT ESL STUDENTS

Every scenario, every script, and every conversation in this pack was written with adult students in mind. That means no childish situations. Students aren't practicing abstract language; they're finding words for experiences they lived through.

This role play activity pack also works well with older secondary students in life skills classes who are building the same practical communication skills. If your students are mature enough to remember the pandemic, they're the right audience for this pack.

This is included in my Adult ESL Role Plays Bundle.