I feel using role play is a great way for students to practice their communication skills
The following link is a 5 min presentation of the pros and cons of using role plays and some best practice guidelines. This was done by a student in the PIDP 3250 Oct 2015 Fariba A (Oct 2015)
https://www.powtoon.com/online-presentation/daIj6D7UesK/role-play-pidp-3250/#/
Safari doesn’t like this link so you might have to cut and paste!