Email this article A STUDY OF THE EFFECTIVENESS OF USING DRAMA FOR THE ENHANCEMENT OF THE ACCURACY AND FLUENCY IN EFL LEARNERS
Abstract
The need for communicative skills in English has been increasing. Literature is one of the best resources for prompting these conversational skills .Therefore, using drama as a genre of literature has a constructive role to play in EFL classes. Drama-oriented activities require the involvement of learners in the dynamic and interactive process of communication. The use of drama techniques and activities in the classroom provides exciting opportunities for second language learners to use the language in concrete situation. Moody (2009) indicates" the aim of using drama is to bridge a gap between the classroom and outside world". Drama is a useful medium in the communicative language classroom where the focus is placed on the meaning of the language rather than the form. Drama is also a powerful language teaching tool that can foster and maintains students' motivation by providing an atmosphere which is full of fun and entertainment. In so doing, it engages feelings and attention and enriches the learners' experience of the language. This study mainly explores the effects of using drama on improving conversational skills. Conversational skills were analyzed in terms of accuracy and fluency. As a part of an effort to understand the possible effect of drama on intermediate L2 learners' oral performance, two groups (one as a control group and the other as the experimental group) were studied. All teaching situations and procedures were identical except for that the subjects in experimental group were exposed to drama. An interview instrument was used in this study. Data were analyzed by independent t-test. Results obtained from pre and post tests showed that the fluency of performance is strongly affected by drama; using drama led to more fluent language. This can be hypothesized that drama allows l2 learners to focus on form and improve the accuracy of their L2. Therefore, using drama can be proven as an effective methodological procedure in EFL classrooms.
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.24200/mjll.vol5iss2pp57-73
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