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) Tai Lieu Chat Luong Ho Chi Minh City – May 2019 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 i 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 ii 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 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 FinanceBanking, 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 iii 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 postquestionnaire 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 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 iv 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 v 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 INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background to the Study 1.2 Statement of the Problem 1.3 Purposes of the Study 1.4 Research Questions 1.5 Significance of the Study 1.6 Definitions of Terms 1.7 Overview of Thesis Chapters CHAPTER LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Speaking Skills vi 2.1.1 Definition of Speaking Skills 2.1.2 Importance of Speaking Skills 2.1.3 Characteristics of Speaking Performance 2.1.4 Principles in Teaching Speaking 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 vii 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 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 drama activities affect the students’ speaking skills? viii 3.8.2 Research Question 2: What attitudes the second year EFL students have towards drama activities in their speaking class? 51 3.9 Chapter Summary 51 CHAPTER 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 Pretest 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 Posttest 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 ix to deter criminals.” The teacher asks groups to support this idea by giving their reasons and the three other groups are asked to disagree strongly with this idea Some suggestions The argument We mustn‟t refer to criminals as thugs, but as social misfits Suspension of capital punishment: senseless Train robbers: a glorious resistance movement? „Life sentence”: ten years “good conduct” and then freedom to live on the proceeds of crime Killer who murders old lady for savings needs “hospital treatment” The counter-argument We shouldn‟t be blinded by emotional arguments: glorification of criminal on screen is irrelevant This has been proved many times in the past: relaxation of harsh laws has never led to increase in crime Those in favor of capital punishment are motivated only by desire for revenge and retaliation Hanging, electric chairs, garotting, etc., are barbaric practices, unworthy of human beings Crime can only be drastically reduced by the elimination of social injustices – not by creating so-called “deterrents” when the real problems remain unsolved 45 MINUTES Each group works on their script and their performance 30 MINUTES Have each group perform in front of the whole class MINUTES The teacher gives feedbacks on students‟ performance 185 APPENDIX H: LESSON PLAN FOR THE EXPERIMENTAL GROUP Activity Level Time Techniques Objectives Materials Setting Procedures Activity Level Time Techniques Objectives Materials Setting Procedures Hands shaking Intermediate 30 minutes Drama Game To activate group, to develop group sensitivity and empathy, to develop communicative competence (verbal and non-verbal), to develop creativity, to overcome self-consciousness Vocabulary of greetings, introductions, Pictures of greetings in some countries All students stand in two lines, students in pairs MINUTES The teacher asks students to shake hands with their friends across from them and say hello to as many people as possible and reminds students to establish eye contact 10 MINUTES The teacher asks students to work in pair First each group will pick up a picture with the name of one country on it, some phrases of greetings on the back, and the relationship Then they discuss and try to mimic their actions depending on which relationship they are and what country they are from 15 MINUTES Each pair will act it out in front of the whole class and the other groups try to guess what country they come from Portraits Intermediate 20 minutes Role on the Wall, Character study To study the character, to develop communicative competence (verbal) Pictures of some famous celebrities in different countries Students sit in the circle 10 MINUTES Students are given a picture of one celebrity and they study the character in it Groups create an outline for their character to answer the following questions - What‟s her job? - How old you think she is? - Is she at work today? Where is she? Why is she there? - Can you describe what she looks like? How tall/heavy/slim is 186 she? - Which words best describe her personality? Reliable, funny, lazy, practical, clever, confident, serious, hard-working, silly, nervous 10 MINUTES The teacher shows the pictures on the screen and asks each group to describe the picture given to them Activity Level Time Techniques Objectives Materials Setting Procedures Hot seating Intermediate 50 minutes Hot seating To study the character, to develop communicative competence (verbal) Video clips of TV shows Students in groups MINUTES The teacher asks each group to choose the character they really want to play and the names of their favorite talk show on TV and reminds them to introduce the name of their favorite show with a short video clip One student will play the character “the famous person” who will sit on a chair in front of people and greets people like they in his or her country and the others playing the characters “the reporters” will ask questions about him or her 20 MINUTES Students work in groups and try to write down some interesting questions to ask a VIP 25 MINUTES Each group is asked to perform in front of the whole class in minutes MINUTES The teacher gives feedbacks on students‟ performance 187 APPENDIX I: LESSON PLAN FOR THE CONTROL GROUP Age: Adults Level: Intermediate Topic: Socializing Time: 100 minutes Aims: To discuss and deal with some of the psychological issues connected with starting conversations with strangers; to teach some useful phrases for starting a conversation and leaving a conversation; to provide practice and feedback of the situation of starting and leaving conversations with strangers Key skills: Speaking: role-plays, discussions in pairs and groups Materials: Copies of the quiz; copies of the reading texts; copies of useful language: Ice-breakers; copies of Ice-breaking role-play Procedure Step 1: Lead-in (5 minutes) Elicit from the class whether anyone has experience of attending an event where almost all the other attendees were strangers, for example: a large conference; a business mixer (i.e a social event where businesspeople from many companies meet up for a meal or drinks, in order to make new contacts); an external training course; a formal party If they have limited experience of such events, elicit some events that they might attend in their future careers Discuss with the class how easy / difficult it was/ would be for them to start conversations with strangers Discuss also how it might be easier or more difficult to this in English Quiz: Breaking the ice (15 minutes) Divide the class into pairs or small groups, and distribute copies of the quiz Elicit the meaning of the phrase breaking the ice, both the literal meaning (i.e breaking through a layer of ice on water in order to allow boats to sail across it) and the metaphorical meaning (i.e breaking the initial barrier between strangers, in order to allow a natural conversation to start) 188 Make sure students realize that the aim of the quiz is to generate discussion rather than find the „correct‟ answers They should therefore discuss each other‟s answers as they work through the quiz (e.g Have you ever been in that situation? Why would you that?) If they agree with none of the answers to a particular question, they should choose the answer that is closest to their own, but also explain their own answer to their partners Allow around 15 minutes for students to work through the quiz, and then discuss their answers with the class, paying attention to any vocabulary problems (e.g to persuade sb to sth, to recognise sb, to join in, a queue, eye contact, to escape, a buffet) Quiz: Breaking the ice You decide to attend an international conference You have never attended such an event before What is your main reason for attending? Choose one option a I‟m going to attend lots of presentations so I can keep up-todate with developments in my industry b I‟m hoping to meet lots of interesting people – maybe some of them will be useful for my future career c I have a target of twenty people that I want to meet, so I can persuade them to buy our products On the first evening, you attend a „welcome party‟ You arrive in a large hall filled with about 500 people They all seem to be talking to each other in groups There‟s nobody that you recognize What you do? a Go up to one of the groups, introduce yourself and ask if you can join them b Go up to one of the groups and listen to the conversation Maybe you can join in later c Find where the food is being served and try to start a conversation with someone in the queue d Walk around the hall, pretending to be looking for someone Avoid eye contact with other people e Turn around and go home At the conference party, which of these problems would be worse for you? a No-one wants to talk to you b A really boring person wants to talk to you … and you can‟t escape from him/her 189 Where is the best place to stand if you want people to talk to you? a In the middle of the hall b By the wall c Outside d By the buffet / bar Which topics of conversation could you use to break the ice with someone? a How much you hate parties like this b The conference c Your work d Sport e The weather f Politics g How bad the food is h Where you‟re from Step 2: Reading (30 minutes) Distribute copies of parts and of the reading text, so that each student has only one text, but each group has at least one person reading each text Students read their texts to find which quiz questions are discussed in their part of the text After about five minutes, students go through the quiz again to discuss which part of the text mentioned each question and what it said about them Finally, discuss with the class whether everyone agrees with all the advice in the text You could also check they understand the following words and phrases from the text, and what was said about each of them: networking, to point sb in the direction of sth, a potential customer, daunting, to pretend to sth, to admit sth, to get involved in sth, polite, to interrupt sb, embarrassed, your own worst enemy, to engage sb in conversation, to make the effort to sth, to deserve sth, to hang around, to strike up a conversation, superficial, engaging, to moan, small talk, patience, to hide 190 Answers According to the text (part 1), the best reason for attending a conference is (b) Part of the text recommends (a) as the best approach, but (b) is also a good strategy Strategy (d) is even worse than (e) Part recommends (c) and repeats that strategy (d) is bad Part of the text says situation (b) is an opportunity, not a problem Part of the text recommends options (c) and (d) Part confirms that (a) is a bad strategy Option (b) is implied in the advice not to hide, at the end of part Part warns against too much selling, but this does not mean you can’t talk about work (c) Part warns against moaning (a, g) and recommends (b) and (h) as good topics of conversation Topics (c), (d) and (e) are fine, but not ideal as conversation openers The text doesn’t mention topic (f), but it is definitely a risky topic to bring up with strangers 191 Reading: Breaking the ice (part 1) Everyone knows that conferences are great for networking Of course, you might also learn some new things at the presentations and workshops, but it‟s what happens during the coffee breaks and the evening events that make conferences such a good use of your time and money Conferences are all about meeting people and, yes, making friends Of course, some of those new contacts may become customers for your company too, but don‟t try to sell to them at the conference unless you really have to Most of the people you meet won‟t want to buy from you – but they might be able to point you in the direction of some potential customers that they know In other words, relax – don‟t try too hard Just be yourself, and allow any business partnerships to appear naturally The most difficult part of networking is always breaking the ice: starting a conversation with a stranger and then keeping it going for those important first five minutes It can be incredibly daunting to walk into a room full of people, all of whom seem to know each other and are involved in deep conversations How on earth you join in? Well, the most important thing to remember is that most of those people are in the same position as you Half the people in the group conversations also don‟t know anybody and are nervously trying to get involved The busy-looking people who are walking around the hall are probably just pretending to be busy so they don‟t have to admit that they‟re alone The best thing to is to try to get involved in one of the conversations It‟s polite to introduce yourself and ask if you can join the group, but there‟s nothing wrong with standing and listening for a few minutes first Don‟t worry that the group are discussing top-secret business deals: they almost certainly aren‟t! And if they are, they should expect people to interrupt them from time to time – it‟s a networking event, after all The worst thing to – apart from standing in the middle of the hall by yourself – is to walk around looking busy This is like holding up a sign saying „Please don‟t talk to me‟ If you really feel too embarrassed to talk to strangers, perhaps you should go home and try to network at the conference tomorrow, where it should be much easier A much better solution, though, is to move slowly around the room, make eye contact with people, smile and say „hello‟ That way, even if you‟re too nervous to start a conversation, other people will understand that they can start a conversation with you Sometimes, we‟re our own worst enemies: we feel bad when no-one wants to talk to us, but then when someone tries to engage us in conversation, we can‟t wait to get away If someone has made the effort to come up to you, they deserve at least five minutes of your time, no matter how boring that person seems Even if you decide at the end of that time that the person is too boring to talk to, perhaps they can introduce you to someone else who you can talk to And if you‟re lucky, perhaps more people will join your conversation group, and suddenly you‟ll find yourself in the middle of the action 192 Reading: Breaking the ice (part 2) I don‟t smoke, and I don‟t intend to start, but I‟ve noticed that smokers seem to have a natural advantage at networking events: they hang around outside, where it‟s quieter, there are fewer people and it‟s easier to talk, and they have an easy way to start a conversation (Do you have a light? It‟s cold out here, isn‟t it?) Of course, you don‟t have to smoke to get these advantages: you could simply step outside for some fresh air and try to strike up a conversation with someone who is standing alone out there You may find that half of the „smokers‟ aren‟t actually smoking, just taking advantage of the natural opportunity to start conversations Another natural place for starting conversations is the buffet or bar, even if the conversations are very superficial: Do you know where I can find the spoons? Could you pass me the milk? Of course, you need to be ready to follow up these ice-breakers with something much more engaging So what can you talk about? The obvious thing to mention is the party itself – but whatever you do, don‟t start moaning about how much you hate parties Nobody likes listening to moaners Why not ask if the other person knows a lot of people at the party, or if they are enjoying the party Another great topic is the conference: did you attend any good presentations today? Are you giving a presentation yourself? Have you travelled a long way to get here? Topics like sport and the weather are fine for keeping a conversation going, but might not be suitable as an opening discussion The same goes for work: by all means find out what the other person does for a living, but perhaps try a little small talk about the party, the conference or the food first Finally, you may think that socializing in a foreign language would be harder than in your first language In fact, in many ways it‟s easier You‟ve got a great topic of conversation which other people will always find interesting: where you‟re from Many people will also treat you with more patience when they know you are a foreigner, and you are having problems with the language Of course, you can‟t just walk up to someone and say “Hi, I‟m from Brazil” It‟s always better to start with a question about the other person, rather than a statement about yourself But by choosing the topic, you‟re making it much easier for the other person to follow up with a question about you: “And what about you?” So don‟t hide, don‟t walk around looking busy, and don‟t try to escape from the first boring person who tries to talk to you If you make an effort, you‟ll find the experience a lot more enjoyable – and successful for your professional career 193 Step 3: Useful language: Ice-breakers (15 minutes) Print enough copies of the worksheet for each group of – students to have a separate copy, which you should cut into slips of paper and for each student to have their own copy, which you can distribute later Students work in their groups to match the beginnings with the endings to make phrases for starting conversations Note that many of the phrases are taken from the reading text The first group to finish is the winner While early-finishers are waiting for the other groups to finish, give each student a complete copy of the worksheet (i.e not cut up) to repeat the matching activity on paper without looking back at the slips of paper Finally, go through the answers with the class and discuss which of the phrases/strategies your students would choose to use in an international conference As a follow-up, students can test each other in pairs by folding their worksheets along the horizontal central line and reading the beginning of a phrase in order to elicit the ending from their partner Useful language: Ice-breakers Excuse me Do you … a … a long way to get here? Hello My name’s XXX Is it … b … for a living? Are you here alone … c … good presentations today? And what about you? … d … have a light? It’s cold out … e … have you tried it? I just came out for some fresh air – … f … here, isn’t it? Sorry, you … g … I can find the spoons? Are you giving a … h … me the milk? This salad’s delicious – … i … mind if I join you? 10 Do you know many … j … morning’s lecture? 11 Are you enjoying … k … OK if I join your group? 12 It’s a great … l … or with a group? 194 13 Is this your first … m … party, isn’t it? 14 Did you attend any … n … people here tonight? 15 Do you know where … o … presentation at the conference? 16 Did you enjoy this … p … round here? 17 Have you travelled … q … the party? 18 What you … r … there are too many people in there 19 Are you from … s … time at the conference? 20 Could you pass … t … Where are you from? Answers 1d 2k 3l 4t 5f 6r 7i 8o 9e 10n 11q 12m 13s 14c 15g 16j 17a 18b 19p 20h Step 4: Leaving a conversation (20 minutes) Elicit from the class some strategies for leaving a conversation (i.e is it better to lie about your reason for leaving? Is it acceptable to simply walk away?) Distribute the worksheet so that each student has a copy Students then work alone to complete the three short speeches using the words from the box at the side They compare their answers in pairs before feeding back to the class Discuss with the class which of the three speeches – or which combination of the sentences from the speeches – they would use You could ask some volunteers to cover their worksheets and give a short leaving-a-conversation speech from memory 195 Leaving a conversation card chance couple email excuse free have hopefully later mine need nice Well, I‟ve just someone that I need to speak to It was very meeting you Let me give you my I‟ll you when I get back home, so we can stay in Maybe we can have a in the conference See you talk later I‟m really had an , but I‟ve just SMS from my husband, so I need to go and call him we‟ll have a to talk later Right, so if you‟ll me, I to go and talk to a other people Do you a business card thanks And here‟s me Well, it was a Enjoy the Feel you? … Great, to email meeting you of the conference Answers Spotted; urgently; nice; card; email; touch; proper; later Sorry; urgent; outside; hopefully Excuse; need; couple; have; on; mine; free; pleasure; rest 196 on outside pleasure proper rest sorry spotted touch urgent urgently Step 5: Ice-breaking role-play (25 minutes) Cut up the slips of paper and distribute them so that each student has six slips They should write their name, job title and company name on each slip This could be real information or, if your students are very creative, they could make up the information about themselves Go through the rules of the role-play very carefully with the class: There is a strict time limit of 25 minutes – but students should not look at the clock or their watches all the time During that time, students should pretend they are strangers at a conference They should start conversations with the other people in the class, exchange business cards at an appropriate time, and leave the conversation politely in order to continue meeting people The aim is to talk to five different people and to collect exactly five different business cards from the people they have spoken to If they collect too many business cards, it means they are going too fast If they don‟t collect enough, it means they are too slow They can use the information on the business cards to help make conversation The maximum group size is three people If a fourth person joins, one member of the group needs to make an excuse and leave They should try to make their conversations as natural as possible, and not simply treat it as a game Monitor carefully both for accuracy of language and for the effectiveness of students‟ ice-breaking skills At the end of the time limit, stop the role-play and ask how many business cards each student has collected Give an elicit feedback on their performance 197 Ice-breaking role-play Name: Name: Job title: Job title: Company: Company: Name: Name: Job title: Job title: Company: Company: Name: Name: Job title: Job title: Company: Company: 198 199