The use of drama in teaching EFL speaking skills to second year EFL learners at Ho Chi Minh city of Science

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

HO CHI MINH CITY OPEN UNIVERSITY

----------------------

TRUONG THI HUYNH NHU

THE USE OF DRAMA IN TEACHING EFL SPEAKING

SKILLS TO SECOND YEAR EFL LEARNERS AT HO

CHI MINH UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE

A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate School of HCMC Open University in Partial

Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts (TESOL)

Ho Chi Minh City – May 2019

i

STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP

I hereby certify my authorship of the thesis submitted today entitled, “The use of

Drama in teaching EFL speaking skills to second year EFL learners at Ho Chi Minh University

of Science” as the statement of requirements for theses in Masters’ Programs, issued by the

Higher Degree Committee.

Except where reference is made in the text of the thesis, this thesis does not contain

material published elsewhere, or extracted in whole or in part from a thesis by which I have

qualified for or been awarded another degree or diploma.

No other person’s work has been used without due acknowledgement in the main text

of the thesis.

This thesis has not been submitted for any degree in any other tertiary institution.

Ho Chi Minh City, May 2019

TRUONG THI HUYNH NHU

ii

RETENTION AND USE OF THE THESIS

I hereby state that I, Truong Thi Huynh Nhu, being the candidate for the degree of

Master of TESOL, accept the requirements of the university relating to the retention and use of

Master’s Thesis deposited in the library.

In terms of these conditions, I agree that the original of my thesis deposited in the

library should be accessible for purposes of study and research, in accordance with the normal

conditions established by the library for the care, loan or reproduction of thesis.

Ho Chi Minh City, May 2019

TRUONG THI HUYNH NHU

iii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to take this opportunity to express my heartfelt gratitude to several

individuals who make a valuable contribution to the completion of this dissertation. Without

their great assistance and support, this thesis would not have come into existence.

First of all, I owe my deepest gratitude to my supervisor – Dr. Nguyen Hoang Tuan for

his precious time and enthusiastic and specific guidance on conducting and writing this

dissertation. Due to his patience and constant encouragement, I have maintained and nourished

my motivation during the long process to make this thesis possible.

I would like to offer my sincere thanks to all of my lecturers who provided me with

invaluable lessons and extensive knowledge that laid the foundation for this work. Special

thanks are also sent to the academic staff of the Graduate School, HCMC Open University for

their unconditional support and timely reminders.

I am deeply indebted to my colleagues and students from HCMC University of Science,

who willingly helped me with the data collection. Additionally, my thankfulness goes to MA.

Phan Ngo Hoang – the Head of the Department of English Language, who gave me a chance to

do my experiment with the students of the university. Also, I never forget each of the students

who participated in the study. Without their enthusiasm and efforts, this thesis would have

never been completed.

I am also grateful to Mr. Vu Huu Thanh – the lecturer of the Department of Finance￾Banking, HCMC Open University, who provided TESOL 10 members with practical lessons

about quantitative analysis and readily helped us whenever we had questions related to this

issue. I felt more confident when collecting and analyzing data with statistic knowledge and

skills that I learned from him.

Last but not least, my appreciation goes to my family. Especially, I would like to

express my heartfelt gratitude to my parents and family members for their tacit encouragement

during the process of studying and writing this thesis. I also want to send many thanks to my

parents for their financial support during my studying process.

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ABSTRACT

The purpose of this present study was to investigate about to what extent EFL students’

speaking skills may be improved through the use of drama. Indeed, drama activities are

believed to enhance EFL students’ interest in learning English, and as a result, to improve their

speaking abilities. Additionally, this current study sought to find out the effects of

dramatization on students’ attitude towards drama activities in their speaking class.

To achieve these goals, the present study employed a quasi-experiment following a

pretest-posttest non-equivalent group design. The study is undertaken with participations of

second year EFL students from the Center of Foreign Languages (CFL) at Ho Chi Minh City

University of Science. Accordingly, the participants belong to two different groups: Group 1,

made up of 30 students, and Group 2, composed of 30 students. These two groups were

assigned to the researcher to serve as the experimental group and the control group. Three

measurement instruments were conducted consisting of speaking pre- and post-tests, pre- and

post-questionnaires about students’ attitude towards drama activities and semi-structured

individual interviews. Both groups were tested to evaluate their speaking skills level and the

experimental group was given a pre-questionnaire on motivation for learning speaking skills.

In continuation, the experimental group followed the learner-centered teaching syllabus based

on drama activities; meanwhile the control group followed the current teaching method.

At the end of the experiment, the experimental group was administered a post￾questionnaire to compare their attitude after the intervention and both groups were tested again

to measure the development of their speaking skills. The quantitative data obtained from these

two sources over the period of 5 months (19 weeks) were analyzed using the independent and

paired-samples t-tests.

The results of the data analysis reveal that the use of drama resulted in more significant

improvements in EFL students’ speaking skills than the current teaching method as well as a

remarkable increase in their positive attitude towards dramatic activities. These improvements

started immediately after six-week training of the use of drama and remained continuous after

the eight-week practicing in the whole speaking process. In addition, the findings of the present

study showed that it was possible to enhance EFL students’ attitude positively and maintain a

v

rather high level of their speaking abilities by the implementation of the training program

enriched with dramatic activities. Therefore, it was reasonable to conclude that the use of

drama served as a teaching and learning tool brings not only language proficiency but also

knowledge of the subject.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP ...................................................................... i

RETENTION AND USE OF THE THESIS ....................................................... ii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................................................. iii

ABSTRACT........................................................................................................... iv

TABLE OF CONTENTS ..................................................................................... vi

LIST OF CHARTS ............................................................................................. xii

LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................. xiii

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ............................................................................. xv

CHAPTER 1 ........................................................................................................... 1

INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................. 1

1.1 Background to the Study ......................................................................... 1

1.2 Statement of the Problem ........................................................................ 2

1.3 Purposes of the Study ............................................................................... 4

1.4 Research Questions .................................................................................. 5

1.5 Significance of the Study ......................................................................... 5

1.6 Definitions of Terms ................................................................................. 6

1.7 Overview of Thesis Chapters .................................................................. 7

CHAPTER 2 ........................................................................................................... 8

LITERATURE REVIEW ..................................................................................... 8

2.1 Speaking Skills .......................................................................................... 8

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2.1.1 Definition of Speaking Skills ......................................................... 8

2.1.2 Importance of Speaking Skills ...................................................... 8

2.1.3 Characteristics of Speaking Performance ................................... 9

2.1.4 Principles in Teaching Speaking ................................................... 9

2.1.5 Goal of Teaching Speaking .......................................................... 11

2.2 Drama Education ................................................................................... 13

2.3 Drama Techniques ................................................................................. 14

2.3.1 Definition of Drama Techniques ................................................. 14

2.3.2 Characteristics of Drama Activities ........................................... 15

2.3.3 Benefits of Drama Activities ........................................................ 16

2.3.4 Limitations of Drama Techniques .............................................. 17

2.4 Kinds of Drama Activities ..................................................................... 18

2.4.1 Mime ............................................................................................... 18

2.4.2 Role play ........................................................................................ 19

2.4.3 Simulation ..................................................................................... 20

2.4.4 Improvisation ................................................................................ 20

2.5 Principles of Implementing Drama Activities ..................................... 21

2.5.1 Students’ Mistake Treatment ...................................................... 21

2.5.2 Learning Environment Settings Establishment ........................ 21

2.5.3 Student Apprehension Assurance................................................ 23

2.6 Previous Studies ..................................................................................... 23

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2.6.1 Intervention Studies on Drama Strategies for Developing Learners’

Speaking Abilities and Increasing their motivation............................ 23

2.6.2 A discussion for Implications for the Present Study ................. 25

2.6.3 Conceptual Framework for the Present Study .......................... 27

2.7 Chapter Summary .................................................................................. 28

CHAPTER 3 ......................................................................................................... 29

METHODOLOGY............................................................................................... 29

3.1 Research Context ................................................................................... 29

3.2 Participants ............................................................................................. 32

3.3 Research Design ..................................................................................... 33

3.4 Procedure of the Study .......................................................................... 35

3.5 The Training Procedure for the Experimental Group ....................... 36

3.5.1 Training Materials ........................................................................ 36

3.5.2 Training Stages ............................................................................. 39

3.6 Measurement Instruments ..................................................................... 44

3.6.1 Pre- and Post-questionnaires (Appendices A.1 and A.2)........... 44

3.6.2 Pre- and Post-tests (Appendices B.1 and B.2)............................. 45

3.6.3 Semi-structured Interview (Appendix C) .................................. 48

3.7 Data Collection Procedure .................................................................... 48

3.8 Data Analytical Framework .................................................................. 50

3.8.1 Research Question 1: To what extent do drama activities affect the

students’ speaking skills?

ix

3.8.2 Research Question 2: What attitudes do the second year EFL

students have towards drama activities in their speaking class?....... 51

3.9 Chapter Summary .................................................................................. 51

CHAPTER 4 ......................................................................................................... 52

DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION ........................................................... 52

4.1 Data Analysis of the Tests ...................................................................... 52

4.1.1 Normality of the pre-test and post-test........................................ 52

4.1.2 Performance of the Control and Experimental Groups on the Pre￾test ........................................................................................................... 53

4.1.3 Control Group’s Performance on the Pre-test and Post-test.... 55

4.1.4 Experimental Group’s Performance on the Pre-test and Post-test

.................................................................................................................. 56

4.1.5 Performance of the Control and Experimental Groups on the Post￾test ........................................................................................................... 58

4.2 Data Analysis of the Pre-Questionnaires.............................................. 61

4.2.1 Self-reported Current Speaking Class ....................................... 61

4.2.2 Self-reported Speaking Problems................................................ 63

4.3 Data Analysis of the Post-questionnaire and the Interview ................ 66

4.3.1 Overall Attitudes on Speaking Learning with Drama Activities..

.................................................................................................................. 66

4.3.2 Specific Attitudes on Speaking Learning with Distinct Types of

Drama Activities .................................................................................... 78

4.4 Chapter Summary .................................................................................. 91

x

CHAPTER 5 ......................................................................................................... 92

CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS ........................................................... 92

5.1 Conclusion ............................................................................................... 92

5.2 Implications ............................................................................................. 93

5.3 Limitations .............................................................................................. 95

5.4 Suggestions for further research ........................................................... 95

REFERENCES..................................................................................................... 96

APPENDICES ................................................................................................... 103

APPENDIX A.1 PRE-QUESTIONNAIRE .............................................. 103

APPENDIX A.2 POST-QUESTIONNAIRE ........................................... 104

APPENDIX B.1 PRE-TEST ...................................................................... 106

APPENDIX B.2 POST-TEST ................................................................... 120

APPENDIX C SEMI-STRUCTURED INTERVIEW ............................. 141

APPENDIX D.1 PRE-TEST RESULTS ................................................... 142

APPENDIX D.2 POST-TEST RESULTS ................................................ 144

APPENDIX E.1 TRANSCRIPTS (Vietnamese version) ......................... 146

APPENDIX E.2 TRANSCRIPTS (English version) ................................ 153

APPENDIX F SCORING RUBRIC ......................................................... 159

APPENDIX G CONCRETE DRAMA ACTIVITIES FOR THE

EXPERIMENTAL GROUP....................................................................... 163

APPENDIX H THE LESSON PLAN FOR THE EXPERIMENTAL GROUP

....................................................................................................................... 186

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APPENDIX I THE LESSON PLAN FOR THE CONTROL GROUP .......

....................................................................................................................... 188

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LIST OF CHARTS

Page

Chart 4.1: Participation Level in Drama Activity-based Speaking Classes 67

Chart 4.2: Influence Level of Drama Activities on Speaking Performance 68

Chart 4.3: Effects of Drama Activities on Speaking Performance 70

Chart 4.4: The effects of Drama Activities on Learning Psychology 71

Chart 4.5: Effects of Mime 78

Chart 4.6: Effects of Role play 81

Chart 4.7: Effects of Simulation 85

Chart 4.8: Effects of Improvisation 88

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LIST OF TABLES

Page

Table 3.1: Learning Content for English Courses ...........................................................31

Table 3.2: Summary of Participants’ Information ......................................................... 32

Table 3.3: Procedure of the Study ....................................................................................36

Table 3.4: The Course Content for English 4 ..................................................................37

Table 3.5: Description of the concrete activities for the Experimental Group ................40

Table 3.6: Main Training Stages and Procedures for the Control Group ........................43

Table 3.7: Reliability of the Pre-Questionnaire for Total Items (Items 1-16) .................45

Table 4.1: Shapiro-Wilk Test of normality ......................................................................53

Table 4.2: Group Statistics on the Pre-test of the Experimental and Control Groups .....53

Table 4.3: Independent Samples T-Test on the Pre-test of the Two Groups ...................54

Table 4.4: Paired Samples Statistics of the Pre-test and Post-test Scores of the Control Group

.......................................................................................................................................... 55

Table 4.5: Paired Samples t-test of the Pre-test and Post-test Scores of the Control Group

...........................................................................................................................................56

Table 4.6: Paired Samples Statistics of the Pre-test and Post-test Scores of the Experimental

Group ................................................................................................................................57

Table 4.7: Paired Samples t-test of the Pre-test and Post-test Scores of the Experimental Group

.......................................................................................................................................... 57

Table 4.8: Group Statistics on the Post-test of the Experimental Group and Control Groups

...........................................................................................................................................58

Table 4.9: Independent Samples t-test on the Post-test of the Two Groups ....................59

Table 4.10: Self-reported Current Speaking Classes .......................................................61

Table 4.11: Self-reported Speaking Problems .................................................................64

Table 4.12: Preference Level of Learning Speaking Skill with Drama Activities ..........69

Table 4.13: Overall Benefits of Drama Activities in Speaking Classes ..........................72

Table 4.14: Difficulties in Learning Speaking with Drama Activities ............................75

Table 4.15: Effects of Mime ........................................................................................... 79

Table 4.16: Effects of Role play ......................................................................................82

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Table 4.17: Effects of Simulation ....................................................................................86

Table 4.18: Effects of Improvisation ...............................................................................89