Áp dụng các kỹ thuật kịch vào các nhiệm vụ nói trong sách tiếng anh 6 nhằm cải thiện kỹ năng nói cho học sinh

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES TRƯƠNG QUỲNH ANH THE APPLICATION OF DRAMA TECHNIQUES TO SPEAKING

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI

UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES

TRƯƠNG QUỲNH ANH

THE APPLICATION OF DRAMA TECHNIQUES

TO SPEAKING TASKS IN TIENG ANH 6 TO IMPROVE THE STUDENTS’ SPEAKING PERFORMANCE

(Áp dụng các kỹ thuật kịch vào các nhiệm vụ nói trong sách Tiếng Anh 6 để cải

thiện khả năng nói cho học sinh)

M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS

Field: English Teaching Methodology (Applied programme) Code: 8140231.01

Hanoi - 2019

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI

UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES

TRƯƠNG QUỲNH ANH

THE APPLICATION OF DRAMA TECHNIQUES

TO SPEAKING TASKS IN TIENG ANH 6 TO IMPROVE THE STUDENTS’ SPEAKING PERFORMANCE

(Áp dụng các kỹ thuật kịch vào các nhiệm vụ nói trong sách Tiếng Anh 6 để cải

thiện khả năng nói cho học sinh)

M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS

Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 8140231.01

Supervisor: Dr HUỲNH ANH TUẤN

Hanoi - 2019

DECLARATION

I, the undersigned, hereby certify my authority of the study project report

entitled “The application of drama techniques to speaking tasks in Tieng Anh 6

to improve the students’ speaking performance” submitted in partial fulfillment

of the requirements for the degree of Master in English language teaching

I certify that all the material in this study which is not my own work has been identified and acknowledged, and that no material is included for which a degree has already been conferred upon me

Hanoi, 2019

TRUONG QUYNH ANH

A special word of thanks goes to my colleague, Ira, without her support and encouragement it would have never been possible for me to have this thesis accomplished

Last but not least, I am indebted to my mother- in- law, my husband for the sacrifice they have devoted to the fulfillment of this academic work

ABSTRACT

Although the new series of national English course books to Vietnamese pupils at secondary school provide a considerable amount of authentic and interesting tasks, the teaching English speaking skill based on speaking tasks in Tieng Anh 6 seemed not work After having scrutinized a variety of drama techniques used by many researchers in the world as well as in Vietnam, I decided

to employ three common drama techniques to apply to the speaking tasks in Tieng Anh 6 with the aims of improving the students‟ speaking performance in terms of pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar and interaction ability and at the same time enhancing their participation to the classroom activities Before the intervention, a pre-test was used to measure the students‟ speaking performance During the intervention, three major drama techniques (narration, role- play and hot- seating) were applied to the speaking tasks Observation, an informal assessment method, was also employed to assess the participants‟ speaking performance improvement

as well as their opinions of the drama course Furthermore, frequent observation notes and my colleagues‟ advice was taken into careful consideration for the next better teaching plans After the intervention, a variety of assessment tools used to collect the information of the results From the results, keys findings emerged: the participants‟ speaking performance improved dramatically, and they found delighted, comfortable and relaxed in the lesson using drama techniquess They also

hoped for further drama classes in the future

TABLE OF CONTENTS

DECLARATION i

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ii

ABSTRACT iii

TABLE OF CONTENTS iv

LIST OF TABLES vii

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1

1.1 Rationale 1

1.2 Aims and objectives of the study 2

1.3 Research questions 2

1.4 Significance of the study 2

1.5 Scope of the study 3

1.6 Structure of the thesis 3

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 4

2.1 Definition of speaking 4

2.2 Constructs of speaking 5

2.2.1 Pronunciation 5

2.2.2.Vocabulary and grammar 5

2.2.3 Interaction 6

2.3 The development of students‟ s language through Drama 8

2.3.1 Under Vygotsky‟s view 8

2.3.2 Under Moon‟s view 11

2.4 Drama techniques 15

2.4.1 Narration 16

2.4.2 Role- play 16

2.4.3 Hot seating 17

2.4.4 Visualization 18

2.4.5 Improvisation 18

2.4.6 Mime 19

2.5 Stages in a lesson using drama techniques 19

2.6 Review of previous studies 20

2.7 Summary 22

CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY 24

3.1 Research questions 24

3.2 Research approach 24

3.3 The validity and reliability of the action research 25

3.4 Research design 26

3.4.1 Participants of the study 26

3.4.2 The researcher 26

3.4.3 Data collection methods 27

3.5 Data collection procedures 29

3.5.1 Pre- intervention 29

3.5.2 While- intervention 31

3.5.3 Post- intervention 35

3.6 Data analysis procedures 36

3.6.1 Quantitative analysis 36

3.6.2 Qualitative analysis 36

3.7 Summary 37

CHAPTER 4 FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 38

4.1 The improvement in the students‟ speaking performance after the intervention 38

4.1.1 As revealed from the tests 38

4.1.2 As revealed from frequent observation 40

4.2 Participants‟ opinions of the drama course 41

4.2.1 Participants‟ opinions of the drama course 42

4.2.3 Participants overall opinions of the speaking tasks/drama techniques 46

4.3 Summary 47

CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION 49

5.1 Recapitulation 49

5.2 Limitations of the study 51

5.3 Recommendations for further studies 51

5.4 Implication 51

REFERENCES 53 APPENDICES I

LIST OF TABLES

Table 2.1 The communication Process Modeled after Vygotsky (1986): 10 Table 4.1 Paired Samples Statistics 38 Table 4.2 Paired Samples Test 38 Table 4.3 The students‟ mean scores, standard deviations, t- value and level of significance of the study samples in the pre- test and post- test of the students‟ speaking performance 39 Table 4.4 The recommended table for analyzing the effect size level 39 Table 4.5 The effect size of the dramatic speaking course on the students‟ speaking performance 39 Table 4.6 Participants‟ opinions of the drama course 42 Table 4.7 Participants‟ opinions of the improvement in communication and interaction aspects 44 Table 4.8 Participants‟ opinions of the speaking tasks/drama techniques 46

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

In this chapter, the background to the problem, the reasons for choosing this topic, aims and objectives of the study are mentioned In accordance with the aims and objectives, two research questions are addressed In the next section, significance of the study, scope of the study as well as structure of the thesis are stated

1.1 Rationale

In the context of revolution of English teaching methods, the new series of national English course books to Vietnamese students from Primary school to High School were published to meet the social needs for fostering students‟ communication TIENG ANH 6 is the first of the fourth levels of English textbooks

in lower secondary schools It follows the systematic, cyclical, and theme- based syllabus approved by Ministry of Education and Training in October 2011, which focuses on the use of language (pronunciation, vocabulary, and grammar) to develop the four language skills (listening, speaking, reading and writing)

Among those English skills, the teaching English speaking skill based on speaking tasks in Tieng Anh 6 to the pupils in my school seemed not work During the speaking classes, students often got bored with speaking lessons and found speaking lessons meaningless, their speaking performance scores were the lowest among the four skills I then made a decision to find a solution to tackle those problems The purpose of the study, therefore, is to find a method which can replace speaking tasks in Tieng Anh 6 so as to improve the students‟ speaking performance After looking through the development of two areas of pedagogical development, one of which is the evolution of the language acquisition and the other is the domain of drama in education and how it has melted with the domain of language teaching, I believed that teaching English through Drama method would help me to achieve my aims to some extent Moreover, according to Farmer (2011: 1) “students like to move and to interact with others In drama, we ask them to do

exactly this Rather than sitting still just listening, they are encouraged to move, speak and respond to one another” A point came up my mind and a question was raised concerning whether drama techniques could be applied to speaking tasks in Tieng Anh 6 to improve their students‟ speaking performance I expected that my students would make improvement to their speaking performance

1.2 Aims and objectives of the study

The ultimate aim of the study is to investigate whether applying drama techniques to the tasks related to speaking in Tieng Anh 6 improves the speaking performance in terms of pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar and interaction ability

of grade 6 students in the secondary school where I am working, and to explore their opinions of the drama classes To achieve that aim, the study has to fulfill the following specific objectives:

- Apply drama techniques to some speaking tasks in English 6 and evaluate the improvement in the students‟ speaking performance after the application of drama techniques

- Evaluate the students‟ opinions toward the course employing drama techniques

to improve their speaking performance

1.3 Research questions

In accordance with the aims and objectives specified above, the study

addresses the following research questions:

1 To what extent can the drama techniques applied in speaking tasks improve the students‟ speaking performance?

2 What are the students‟ opinions of the course employing drama techniques to improve their speaking performance?

1.4 Significance of the study

This study plays a crucial role in English language teaching theoretically and practically In theory, it lights up theories about drama techniques In practice, it is a good choice for English language teachers who actually expect to improve their students‟ speaking performance

1.5 Scope of the study

There is a large amount of drama techniques which empower the students to develop their speaking performance like hot- seating, role- play, improvisation, etc

In this study, I employ three popular drama techniques namely narration, role- play

and hot- seating to improve the students‟ speaking performance

1.6 Structure of the thesis

This thesis consists of five chapters:

Chapter 1: Introduction

This chapter aims at describing the research problems, the aims, the significance, the scope and the structures of this research

Chapter 2: Literature review

In this chapter, I attempt to provide some basic theories related to speaking, speaking aspects, stages in a lesson using drama techniques and some drama techniques I also state two major viewpoints of the development of students‟ language through drama as well as mention some previous studies

Chapter 3: Methodology

This chapter provides the description of the two research questions, research approach, the validity and reliability of the action research, research design and data collection procedures and data analysis procedures

Chapter 4: Findings and discussion

In this chapter, the major findings of the two research questions are stated specifically in both qualitative and quantitative approaches

Chapter 5: Conclusion

This chapter consists of recapitulation, limitations, recommendations for further studies and implication of the study

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW

In this chapter, definition of speaking and its constructs are mentioned first Then, the development of student‟s language through Drama under Vygotsky and Moon‟ s view are emphasized Next is some drama techniques, stages in a lesson using drama techniques using drama techniques, and some previous studies related to the application of drama techniques in language teaching

2.1 Definition of speaking

Fulcher (2003: 23) writes: “Speaking is the verbal use of language to communicate with others” He explains that the outward manifestation of speech is found in sound waves Its meaning lies in the structure and meaning of all language Because that speaking is the verbal use, it is less formal in use of vocabulary, uses fewer full sentences, contains repetition and has more conjunctions instead of subordination.(Halliday, 1985:15)

Shin and Crandall (2014: 121) refer speaking as “the language skill that represents the main mode of communication” In light of this point, English language teachers have to consider what kind of oral communication are appropriate activities for learners at certain ages

Speaking is the area where it is very difficult to assess as it is also a “real- time” phenomenon (Bygate, 1987) It has to be planned and processed quickly with considerable speed In addition to that, it contains a number of factors like pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary, fluency and comprehension (Sullivan, 2013: 244) When assessing speaking, Luoma (2011: 9-24) takes pronunciation, spoken grammar, spoken words and interaction into careful considerations

Although there are some features of speech that are endemic, in this chapter, this thesis considers some common typical aspects of speaking such as:

pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar and interaction as contents to be taught

and criterion to assess students‟ speaking performance

Speaking tasks in Tieng Anh 6 in each unit are in forms of dialogues, pronunciation tasks, and speaking tasks In this study, the focus on pronunciation and speaking tasks aims at developing the students‟ spoken interaction and spoken production

2.2 Constructs of speaking

As mentioned above, speaking skill comprises a variety of factors, however,

in this action research, I focused on developing some major factors of speaking performance through drama : pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar and interaction ability

2.2.1 Pronunciation

Fulcher (2003: 25) refers pronunciation as “The outer manifestation is sound The speaker must first decide what to say, then articulate the words, and create the physical sounds that carry meaning” Second language students therefore need a knowledge of the language they wish to speak, an understanding of the phonetic structure of the language at the level of the individual word

Luoma (2011: 10) defines pronunciation as individual sound, pitch, volume, speed, pausing, stress and intonation It is difficult to cover all of those factors, therefore, he then emphasizes some emerging factors like speed, intonation, stress and rhythm

In this research, the emphasis on teaching pronunciation and assessment is

on ability to articulate the sounds, stress and intonation

2.2.2.Vocabulary and grammar

Vocabulary is a core component of competence in a second language Read (2012: 257) refers vocabulary as “independent semantic unit Content words can be treated as meaningful units by themselves to a much greater extent than other linguistic elements like sounds, letters, morphemes, or function words.”

The use of words in speech as well as spoken words is very “simple, and ordinary” (Luoma, 2011: 16) The form of spoken words are classified by Luoma as specific and generic words, fix phrases, fillers and hesitation markers Specific and

generic words are very common in speech Specific words are required to make it

clear what is being talked about While generic words like this one/that one, the round thing, move, put, fine and good in some cases may not precise but they are fully comprehensible in the speaking situations Fix phrases such as you see, kind of, sort of , as well as the whole expressions such as That‟s a good question or Now let

me see are also very common in speech and are used for specific purposes in talk

Grammar is another element in speaking to be carefully taken into consideration Luoma (2011: 13) concerns about grammar in planned speech and grammar in unplanned speech The distinction between them is that the former situation requires much more written- like language with more complex grammar whereas the latter situation calls for more oral- like language with strings of short phrases Fulcher (2003: 28) seems to be more specific when he indicates some certain aspects of grammar, namely pronouns, relative clauses, tenses and prepositions The reason why he mentions those grammatical aspects is that the incorrect use of pronouns, relative clauses, tenses and prepositions is extremely common in English, even with advanced learners In light of those points, the grammar structures designed to speaking tasks in the drama course are required to

be simple, short and as common as possible

2.2.3 Interaction

Comeau (1987: 57) defines: “The word interactive derived from the Latin verb agere, which means to do, and the Latin preposition inter, meaning among” Well (1981: 46) in his study, Learning Through Interaction, also notes “linguistics

interaction is a collaborative activities” involving “ the establishment of a triangular relationship between the sender, the receiver and the context of situation”

According to River (1987:4), interaction occurs when students have strong desire to apply language to “convey and receive authentic messages” The process

of exchanging information like sharing knowledge, working in group together, handling objects, drawing and labeling pictures, reading stories and acting out, stimulating students to use their imagination and challenging them to think, making

them want to speak, listening to each other, working out interpretation of meaning through this interaction It is active rather than passive, student- centered rather than language- centered, cognition rather than behaviorism, turns the study into a social activity Before hand, students should be exposed to listening or reading skills as input to“ increase their language store” (River, 1987) as they can create meaning from what they have “The instructor‟s role is to act as a coach to organize, encourage, and guide students to interaction In practical, the instructor prepares and hands out group assignments, then circulates from group to group, listening,

encouraging, and correcting” (Comeau, 1987: 57)

Interaction, in speaking, is indicated as the key to teaching communication because through interaction, students are exposed to language focus or meaningful input and then use all language they have possessed to discuss their ideas, negotiate meaning, solve problems “They thus have experience in creating messages from what they hear, since comprehension is a process of creation, and in creating discourse that conveys their intentions” (River, 1987:4) River (1987) continues to

mention two main types of interaction in speaking: student-to- student interaction and student-to-teacher interaction He also gives a variety of interactive

techniques like using imaginative activities like problem solving, narrative form, or getting students to join interaction among them through dialogue with visual cues, pantomime or interview With the aim of enhancing interaction between students and teacher, choral response is recommended He suggests language teacher should bear in mind that an interactive classroom needs a respect of individual‟s opinion and uniqueness so as to reduce students‟ anxiety and to build up their confidence of expressing themselves Interaction can be in form of oral activities or writing activities, with the latter, students can have chance to express their learning experience and through writing work, teacher can explore their language development as well as their problems

The interactive approach in this study gets students to participate in groups, usually in pairs, small groups or even larger ones in order to increase their language

store and use them to produce language in form of oral speech In this study, I attempt to promote both of the two interaction types, and enhance imaginative activities for the language class

2.3 The development of students’ s language through Drama

Drama education is a powerful teaching and learning tool with profound

positive effects on student‟s cognitive, social interaction, emotional, and physical development The benefits of regular theatre arts instruction spill over into all school subjects and everyday life Creative drama is sound pedagogy that reaches students of multiple intelligences and different learning styles It is a multi- sensory mode of learning that engages mind, body, senses, and emotions to create personal connections to the material that improve comprehension and retention

Scrivener ‟s approach (1998: 69) to teaching speaking regards drama as “an excellent way to get students using the language […] It can be a starting point for speaking work and it can be utilized as a tool to provide practice in specific grammatical, lexical or phonological areas” In a drama class, it requires English language teacher to organize activities in pairs, three and small groups as well as with the class as a whole, therefore, each individual student in the class should be offered much speaking time Vygotsky (1986) and Moon (2000) provide their critical viewpoints of the drama‟s factors which facilitate students‟ language development

2.3.1 Under Vygotsky’s view

In drama, students are encouraged to move, speak and respond to one another,

each student plays a certain role in a “real world” Vygotsky (1986) in Thought and Language emphasized the major role of social interaction within a collaborative

environment in the development of students‟ second language It is believed by Vygotsky that students, in a supportive interactive environment, are able to advance

to higher level of knowledge and performance The space or area where learning occurs during such interaction was labeled by Vygotsky the “Zone of Proximal Development” (ZPD) It is understood as the distance between the students‟ actual

development and the potential development under other higher level person‟s guidance ZPD is believed to occur during conversations Consequently, the learners will make progress when they are offered opportunities to talk with advanced - level learners than with intermediate- level partners partly Through conversations, negotiation will be certain to occur Spada and Lightbown (2013: 165) maintain that negotiation plays a crucial role in leading students to acquire new language forms- the words and the grammatical structures- that carry the meaning they are attending to Negotiation such as request for clarification or confirmation, repetition with a questioning development is accomplished through a variety of modifications that naturally arise in conversations Underneath is example quoted

from How languages are learned by Lightbown and Spada, 2002)

T : How are you doing this morning?

S1: I‟m mad

S2: Why?

T: Oh boy Yeah, why?

S1: Because this morning, my father say (no „s‟ ending) no have job this morning

T: Your father has no more job this morning? Or you have no job?

internalization which is achieved through play Play is based upon needs Plays build

up relationship between a situation in thought and a real situation (1978: 104) Vygotsky‟s analysis of the process whereby thought generates speech drew upon literature and theater, as well as from his own analysis of language acquisition in

inner, intra- psychological mental functions In the context of this idea, the transition from egocentric to inner speech manifests the internalization of an originally communicative function, which becomes an individualized inner mental function

According to Vygotsky, the predominance of sense over meaning, of sentence over word, and of context over sentences are rules of inner speech In other words, inner speech is not an internal aspect of talking It remains thought connected with words In inner speech, two important processes are interwoven: the transition from external communication to inner dialogue and the expression of intimate thought in linguistics forms, thus making them communicative Bill Van Patten (2007: 34) in his study entitled “Theories in Second Language Acquisition” indicates that learners have limited processing capacity and can not pay attention to form and meaning at the same time […] they tend to give priority to meaning, overlooking some features of the language forms As mentioned above, inner speech is understood as connected thought Vygotsky highlighted that thought was not begotten of thought; it was engendered by motivation, needs, interests and emotion So, in understanding speech, we must understand motivation- which leads

to an understanding of thought- which leads to an understanding of the words This

is illustrated by Carkin (2009) through the following table:

Table 2.1 The communication Process Modeled after Vygotsky (1986):

Hate this No good at it!

Crumples

I‟m so tired of writing And nothing comes together right!

Pat: Just keep

trying, Betsy

You‟re bound

to improve

Tries to cheer Betsy

up and give her confidence

Oh, now It‟s not so bad

Everyone improves

Of a happy and confident Betsy

Confidence

Just keep trying, Bet You‟re bound

to improve

(Adapted from Processing Image and Thought in Speech Production by Carkin, 2009)

In conclusion, Vygotsky‟s approach emphasized two functions of social

interaction occurring through drama, motivation and context In light of this, English language teachers should make notice of the context when introducing new language as through context, students will easily understand the meaning as well as the use of that language Moreover, the teachers have to attempt to organize activities in pairs, groups so that students get more opportunities to interact to each other and to help to one another Last but not least, motivation is considered as one

of the most powerful influences on learning It makes students talk, use the language to express their opinions, their thoughts and their intentions

2.3.2 Under Moon’s view

Contexts and children‟s natural abilities are two crucial factors contributing to

an effective second language classroom Both of them have been considering by many authors in the world, like Vygotsky (1986), Bowell and Heap (2013)

Similarly, Moon (2000) in his study, Children learning English, emphasizes the

great contribution of contexts to students‟ learning success In addition to that, he points out some emerging students‟ natural abilities which help educators to choose the most suitable drama techniques to children

A context is usually made up of a time exposure, reasons for learning English, variety of input and meaningful input (Moon, 2000: 3) Moon (2000: 2) represents three different situations for learning English in which the three students are in the eighth grade In the first and the third situations, the students are offered a large amount of time spent on English, reasons for using English, a meaningful input (the meaningful language input through experience of English as a means of communication where the focus is on the meaning not the form of the language) and

a warm and happy atmosphere where they enjoy working with others On the other hand, the student in the second situation is offered a limited amount of time spent

on English, no need or reason for using English, a limited and controlled language input and a formal learning environment with the focus mainly on correctness After one year of observation, he explores that the students in the first and the third

situation know a lot of English and can communicate with their teachers who speak

to them in English, whereas the student in the second situation knows a few words

of English Moon then goes to conclusion that context makes a great contribution to the students‟ learning success

In drama, “the real life contexts” are offered (Bowell and Heap, 2001: 24) Process drama can create an infinite range of meaningful circumstances that provide just such opportunities for different modes of language, both verbal and written, to

be used in context The circumstances in drama are fictional, however, the use of language is real In process drama, students play a range of roles and engage in a variety of reflective out- of- role activities which require students to think beyond their own points of view and consider the topic from multiple perspectives Not only do students explore the dynamics, relationships, and conflict that shape a given situation, but they also acquire factual knowledge related to the topic of the drama (Bowell and Heap, 2001: 34) Furthermore, stepping into some one else allows students to act the characteristic in their own ways so that they can express themselves with no shy or stumbling

At school, the best way to access an infinite variety of contexts for learning is through imagination in action- drama In a drama class, students naturally use dramatic playing as a away of learning about the world in which they live According to O'Neill (1995: 67), imagination plays a crucial role in processing drama as we have to create a world to “live in” with its laws She also suggests that

to imagine something, we have to “transcend the boundaries to reality We must be unwilling to let things stay as they are, to be at home with our realities”(152) The final point to stress is that an extended context in drama plays a major role in enforcing students to practice functions of language such as making suggestions, hypothesizing, following directions, expressing alternatives and disagreement and much more (Wessels, 1987) Bowell and Heap (2001: 27) suggest three steps to choose an appropriate dramatic context: step 1: Decide exactly what you want the class to learn about the theme; step 2: Think of a range of possible dramatic

contexts in which it might be explored; step 3: Choose the one that best suits the students for whom it is intended

Moon also considers drama as a method allowing students to make use of their natural abilities and characteristics which help them to learn a foreign language First of all, drama provide students with opportunities to use English in a more varied ways and create a real need for students to use that language (2000: 4)

In a drama class, students join in a collaborative environment in where require them

to go for meaning, join the action In the foreword of Drama for Learning, Healthcote and Bolton (1995: 8) comment that:

Learning occurs most efficiently within a supportive and collaborative community […] Instead of sterile competitiveness, everyone‟s level of achievement is elevated[ ] Students are required to question, negotiate, compromise, take responsibility, cooperate, and collaborate […] They are active in learning process, not just cognitively but socially and aesthetically They express their understanding in their response to the variety if tasks demanded of them

According to Moon, in that learning environment, young students make use

of their abilities to use language creatively and good instinct for interpreting the sense or meaning of a situation When negotiating to each other, they “can make up

a phrase to express their own meaning by using previous learned language or recombine them in a creative and a new way.” (2000: 4) In addition, through dramatic play, they use their knowledge of everyday life to negotiate the meaning first and tend not to pay much attention to words, it can be explained that their language store may lack some relevant words Therefore, they are normally offered key vocabulary first The ability to „going for meaning” (2000:5) is useful in language learning as it “allows students to work out what is happening in the situation, eg a story, a video, a conversation, and helps them to attach meaning to the words used”(2000: 6) In light of this, students will increase their vocabulary and grammar knowledge as well as linguistic ability

Next, Moon puts his emphasis on problem-posing where students would examine problems through dialogues which facilitate students to use their abilities

to imitate some phrases or short expression of language attentively like “I don‟t know, Knock it off, Come on, goodbye” ( 2000: 6) or pick up from some one else

Moon calls this phenomenon “chunks of language” These chunks of language are useful for students with little foreign language when making communication The ability to pick up phrases is quite important to a child learning English because

“later they may begin to break down the phrases and recombine the words in new

ways For example, in the beginning a child may just use the phrase I don‟t know

Later he/she may begin to realize that this can be combined with other bits of

language; for example, “I don‟t know his name/spelling”(2000: 8) Later he/she may begin to change other parts of the phrase into something like “We don‟t know, They don‟t know” Through speaking process, students try to experiment

and work out the rule of the language in their heads, though they may not be aware of doing this It will be much better if teachers of foreign language should provide opportunities to use English in more varied ways and create a real need for students to use language

Thirdly, Moon makes notice of kinesthetic experience which includes acting,

puppetry and story- telling, a series of games by which one begin to express one‟s self thought through the body He believes in the relationship between natural abilities like having fun, physical activities with language and vice versus Through physical activities, students are exposed more to input language and get deep understanding of the language use as these activities provide excellent context or situation which is closely related to the meaning of the words they are learning And through the action, students demonstrate how they understand the language It is quite easy to involve students in the action as “students are naturally active and curious They eagerly explore their environment and interact with people in order to construct their understanding of the world they live in (Moon, 2000: 9)” It will be more effective if teachers try to get students to develop their imagination, and allow

students to be actively learning and participating Or students should be facilitated

to get more exposure to the “ready- made bits of language” (2000: 6) by using the song, rhymes, poems, drama so that they can begin to communicate

Games of imagination is the final point in Moon‟s theory system which aims

to help students have fun while learning a foreign language In a drama class, students use their imagination to access contexts Through the context, students‟ language learning takes place and develops through interaction in meaningful circumstances that suit the context in which the language is required This activity will attract students to use the meaningful input Consequently, students have many opportunities to practise that language through games This is explained by Moon as: “Students have capacity to enjoy themselves, they are usually absorbed

by the activity and want to continue with it…If pupils enjoy learning activities, they will be more involved and this may increase their desire to continue”(2000: 7) This is, of course, very important to learn a language as it helps develop more positive opinions of English which results in the building up of their underlying language system

To put it briefly, Moon (2000) provides drama aspects in where students can make use of their natural abilities to learn a foreign language His findings are useful for me to design a lesson using drama techniques, assess the students‟ language development as well as organize learning activities which are suitable with the students learning characteristics One of the implications of Moon‟s view is that students need opportunities to try out and experiment with language, but they also need feedback to confirm or modify their hypotheses It can also be inferred that during the learning process, accuracy, is important, but it can be dealt with later once the students are familiar with the meaning

2.4 Drama techniques

Drama techniques (also known as drama techniques or drama conventions)

are the everyday tools of the drama teachers They help to develop children‟s enquiry skills, foster communication, polish pronunciation, enhance negotiation

Nowadays, there are hundreds of drama techniques with different learning purposes which can be easily applied to suit wide range of age groups, learning styles and

curricular needs Farmer (2011: 3- 4), in his book, Learning through Drama, describes thirty six drama techniques belonging to six main categories: role- play strategies, story- telling strategies, physical strategies, decision making strategy, improvisation and performance strategies Beside this book, he has another drama book called “101 Drama Games and Activities” It is obvious that there is a huge

number of drama techniques to be applied or adapted to an EFL classroom to pursue the teacher‟s teaching aims In the next section, some common drama techniques are stated briefly They are believed to meet the teaching objectives as they are relevant to students‟ natural characteristics to some extent rather than any other

It‟s necessary to stimulate our basic sense- sight, smell, sound, touch and taste […] I feel it‟s more exciting to touch something or taste something besides ink marks and learn the language simultaneously In that way, we can relate to the language in a more natural and ultimate way we might remember new words/expression better (Nunan, 1989:49)

2.4.2 Role- play

Farmer defines role- play as a tool that “allows students to take on the role of

a character to explore an alternative point of view” (2011:17) This point might result from the statement that “the ability to step into another characters‟ shoes

adopting a role, the actors must explore a character‟s ideas and solve the problem that character has to solve, express that character‟s thought, “dealing with emotional, moral and intellectual levels” It is quite easy to play as another people, for example,

“when I put on this scarf I will be Anne Frank, or when I sit in this chair I will be the King” (Farmer, 2011: 6) Role- play is varied as individuals, pairs, groups, whole class or collective role In this thesis, I apply individual role- play with main character and whole class role- play with supporting characters

Wilhelm describes his process of getting his students in role as follows:

First, frame it, he allows his students to choose their roles so as to build up their points of view of the characters they want to play He then tells the students their mission in the upcoming role- play so they will know what to be paid attention in the reading Of course, before giving mission, the drama teacher has to set up micro and macro purposes for each character to meet Next is reading out loud, the teacher should play teacher in role in here to lead the class into the story, the students will pay much attention to their part because they know the section must be used to do their role- play This task is aimed at getting students to expose to the language in the most effective way, and helping them with polishing pronunciation, practising the language, using them in varieties of situations In this part, teacher can provide a new perspective of each role for students to see the story from all perspectives (2002: 63)

Before choosing to step into someone else, students need to comprehend what happened during the shared fiction or explore that character, understand what are going to be expressed and implication for their behaviour in the real world when

“pretending to be someone else” As a result, students are motivated to expose to the material or textbook or work with their partners to work out the meaning and do

everything to acquire the language used, the words or sentences for their role

2.4.3 Hot seating

Hot- seating is another techniques of role- play “The traditional approach is for the person playing the character to sit on a chair in front of the group Pupils are

then invited to ask questions If a student is being hot- seated, it is helpful if the teacher takes on the role of facilitator to guide the questioning in constructive directions” (Farmer, 2011: 29)

The aim of this technique is to help students to deepen their understanding of the stories, the human dimension if various issues and dilemmas It also helps help students get to know deeply or understand differing perspectives on issues as soon

as they explore the “background, behaviour and motivation of a character” Imagination is very important in here as when taking hot- seating, students have to

“live through” or “experience what the character does” so as to flower relevant language Wilhelm believes that Hot seating “provides opportunities to work on

public speaking, interviewing, questioning, and other discussion skills” (2002: 83)

2.4.4 Visualization

This technique aims at enabling students to travel to different places “in their mind‟s eyes” (Farmer, 2011: 52) It helps to create a creative learning environment which helps students focus on the language Visualization is carried out in combination with narration, storytelling, poetry or music Students sit or lie down

on the floor and keep their eyes close The drama teacher employs sensory language

to describe a place, environment, emotions so that pupils can imagine what they see,

smell, hear, touch or taste Music should be utilized in here

2.4.5 Improvisation

Hodgson and Richard (1966: 2) define improvisation as “a spontaneous

response to the unfolding of an unexpected situation” In fact, improvisation can vary according to situations It aims at stimulating students “to be creative, to cooperate, negotiate, speak and listen” (Farmer, 2011: 95) It enables students to share their ideas and views with the group and the rest of the class Meanwhile, Dougill (1989: 19) takes improvisation to develop students‟ language fluency In order to give improvisation to classrooms, it is important to set up a theme first, language focus are highlighted later Improvisation can be done individually, in pairs, groups or as a whole class For those who are beginners to drama, partnership

is a good place to start Working in group requires some initial discussions and negotiations to allocate roles and ensure mutual understanding of the aims However, pupils should be encouraged to actively try out their ideas

2.4.6 Mime

Farmer states mime as one of physical movement to imaginatively explore

activities in role or to communicate stories and character (2011: 79) In Dougill‟s view, “mime” is a “non- verbal representation of an idea or story through gestures, bodily movement and expression […] it should be advocated as an aid to language teaching” (1989: 13) At the basic level, mime is simple to do and can provide much enjoyment Mime is often in combination with narration or be engaged in a story Farmer pays attention to its importance in that help students to deepen their identification with the imagined physical world Farmer continues with the flexibility in applying mime in the classroom so as to pursue the teaching aims Not only physical activities are demonstrated by mime, but also it can feature sound effects, music and even speech Mime can be applied in a wide range of curriculum like science, literacy, history, etc

2.5 Stages in a lesson using drama techniques

The eight Building Blocks of Process Drama for the Second Language Classroom is adapted from Process Drama by Bowel and Heap (2013)

1 Big question: With what area of human experience do I wish the learners to

engage ? Or on which specific aspect of this do I wish to focus their reflection?

2 Pre- text: what hook will I use to draw the learners into the drama ?

3 Context: which particular circumstances will be created by the drama for

exploration of the big questions?

4 Roles: who are the learners and the teacher going to be in the drama?

5 Frame: what viewpoints will the roles have in order to create tension in the drama?

6 Signs: What artifacts, personal items, sounds, images, etc are needed in order to

bring significance to the events?

7 Drama conventions: which ways of working will I use? In what order? For what

purpose?

8 Language elements: what unfamiliar grammatical elements and/or vocabulary

do the learners need, to participate fully in the drama? How will this be delivered? 2.6 Review of previous studies

Drama techniques were pioneered a long time ago, and applied widely in EFL

classrooms in the world to stimulate a large number of language learning aspects like motivation, linguistics, skills and performances The underneath are some studies exploring the values of drama techniques in EFL classrooms in Russia,

China and Viet Nam

In Russia, Shraiber and Yaroslavova (2016) conduct a study named “Drama

techniques in teaching English as a second language to university students” for the

purpose of finding the effect of drama techniques on their students‟ learning In doing so, they use some drama techniques in the classroom One of the examples is

“Mock Trial”, a kind of role- play that is annually performed by the teacher in Law Faculty and the students in Foreign Languages Department to enable the students to look at situations from a different perspective through their personal experiences After the course, they utilize observation and questionnaire survey as assessment tools to collect information of students‟ opinions of the drama techniques used The survey results reveals some effects of the use of drama techniques on the students‟ learning The first effect involves in motivation, all the participants admit to being attracted to drama activities Second, more than half of the respondents (54%) confirms drama provides them with opportunities to reveal their creative potential Third, 62 % of the respondents agree not only do drama techniques help them to develop intercultural- communication competence but also enforce them to work in team To put it briefly, according to the research, drama bring two major values to a EFL classroom in terms of linguistics culture and motivation

In China, Sheu Hsiu- Chih (2008) in his study “The value of English picture story book” conducts an investigation into educational values of English picture

story book By applying a semi- structured interview to forty experienced EFL teachers at a primary school in Taiwan, he explores three main educational values

perceived by the teachers: linguistics value, the value of the stories and the values of the pictures First of all, by reading picture books, the students are exposed to the language in a specific situation which helps them to review words and sentences in

a meaningful context Therefore, students have opportunities to practice the language learnt in the textbook in all sorts of situations Second, the stories are useful tools to motivate students to read so as to increase their language store and sustain their reading process The more dramatic the stories are, the longer the students draw their attention to Almost the teachers indicate that the students are especially attracted to the ending of each story, provide that they are dramatic Interestingly, “Because of the use of plots in a picture book, besides learning vocabularies, the students are interested in the story and go on reading sentences without being aware of it” (2008: 50) Sheu‟s final finding involves in the value of pictures Pictures help the pupils to increase comprehension, and stimulate their imagination While imagination is considered as one of the most important things in building contexts which help students further understand the language use; therefore, they can apply to produce the language in the same context or recombine the language learnt in another way

In Viet Nam, Vu (2012) conducts an action research on “Using stories and drama in teaching English to primary students at a primary school” to explore the

students‟ attitude s the use of stories and drama in English lesson In addition, she attempts to assess how effectively the use of stories and drama in teaching English can enhance the students‟ English speaking and listening skill For the purpose of expanding her students‟ vocabulary, improving their grammar knowledge as well as grammatical ability, boosting their interaction and polishing their pronunciation, Vu takes drama and stories into her intervention After her intervention on the students, she utilizes three assessment tools: questionnaire, class observation and teacher journal A questionnaire survey with multiple choices are administered to 80 students of the third class to explore the students‟ perception drama class To obtain more detailed information about the students‟ opinions as well as their

interviews with all the students As a result, students find drama activities entertaining, useful and easy to comprehend the structures In particular, almost the participants (87.5%) love the lessons using stories and drama, whereas a minority of the students (12.5%) had no responses to the drama class Impressively, most of the students (97.5%) agree with the point that using stories and drama make English easier for them to learn Regarding the improvement in the students in term of speaking skill, the facts from observation and interview reveal that the students‟ vocabularies meet the expectation

In summary, it is obvious that drama techniques have been applied widely in the world as well as in Viet Nam because of the huge benefits they bring to EFL classrooms, in terms of linguistics, skills and performances, from primary students

to students of universities Unfortunately, it seems to me that there have been some gaps in those studies need filling First, it has been a lack of specific degree of the students‟ improvement in speaking performance after the drama courses Next, the students‟ opinions of some certain drama techniques like narration, role- play and hot- seating have not been mentioned yet Finally, interaction ability has not appeared in those studies Therefore, I, in this study, wish to find the degree of students‟ improvement in speaking performance after the drama course, and their opinions level drama course in term of improvement in communication and interaction, and drama tasks

2.7 Summary

In this chapter, I have attempted to provide a critical review of drama and speaking theory More importantly, I put my emphasis on the effect of drama on improving speaking performance I first defined the term speaking, and further stated its four constructs: pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar and interaction ability Next, I highlighted the development of children‟s language through Drama under Vygotsky and Moon‟s views In particular, Vygotsky‟s approach involves in the major role of social interaction in developing students‟ linguistic cognition while Moon‟s view concerns the conditions that drama provide to reveal students‟

natural abilities The most impressive factors of the two great researchers that facilitate the students‟ learning are context and imagination In addition, I tried to describe some common drama techniques which are easy to be applied to an EFL classroom, especially for children of secondary school Among of them, three techniques are taken into this study are narration, role- play and hot- seating which are used to improve the students‟ speaking performance in forms of pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar and interaction ability I also mentioned the eight stages suggested by Bowell and Heap (2013) to process drama Finally, I summarized some previous studies related to the use of drama as a new English teaching method

in some countries including Viet Nam In the next chapter, I am going to describe

my research methodology

CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY

This chapter includes the research questions, research approach, the validity and reliability of the action research It then describes research design, data collection procedures and data analysis procedures

3.1 Research questions

In order to investigate whether applying drama techniques to speaking tasks

in Tieng Anh 6 improves the speaking performance of grade 6 students in the secondary school where I am working in terms of pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar and interaction ability, and to explore their opinions of the drama course, this study addresses two following research questions:

1 To what extent can the drama techniques applied in speaking tasks improve the students‟ speaking performance?

2 What are the students‟ opinions of the course course employing drama

techniques to improve their speaking performance?

3.2 Research approach

In order to seek answers to the research questions above, I determined to choose action research as the research approach for the present study since the purpose of an action research is to change and improve practice in a certain context

I then applied a seven- step model set out by Sagor (2005:4), it is stated

briefly as follows:

1 Deciding one common problem that you are experiencing

2 Identifying some causes of the problem

3 Brainstorming a range of possible practical solutions to the problems

4 Choosing the most feasible solution to the problem and plan how to put it into practice

5 Identifying some practical criteria that tell you how successful the project has been

6 Putting the plan into action, monitor, adjust and evaluate what is taking place

7 Evaluating the outcomes to see how well it has addressed and solved the problem, reviewing and planning what needs to be done in light of the evaluation

The reason why I choose that action cycle is that it is clear, detailed and easy

to follow

Within general framework of a pedagogical action research, the present research mainly focused on improving the students‟ speaking performance through applying a series of drama techniques

3.3 The validity and reliability of the action research

Validity is defined as “the extent to which a test measures what is supposed to measure and nothing else” (Heaton, 1988: 159) In order to claim that a test is valid,

it should be evaluated from different dimensions Three types of validity are taken into consideration: face validity, content validity and criterion- related validity

● Face validity refers to the extent to which the physical appearance of the test corresponds to what it is supposed to measure

● Content validity refers to the correspondence between the content of the test and the content of the material to be tested This quality is developed through scrutinizing the test specification design

● Criterion- related validity refers to the correspondence between the scores on the newly developed test and those of the criterion test

In this study, pre/post speaking tests are believed to be valid test of speaking

to some extent as each of them has the same format comprising two items of face- to- face paired interaction They were utilized to test the participants‟ language learnt before and after the drama course conducted The contents of the test did not include all the elements of the contents of the material but represented some sample

of the total content And it constituted four criteria that were planned to be assessed

at the beginning of the course

Reliability is another crucial factor of a test It refers to “the extent to which a

test produces consistent scores at different administrations to the same or similar

group of examinees” It can be inferred that, when talking about reliability we refer

to scores and not to the contents or the forms of the tests Therefore, in order to ensure the reliability of the students‟ speaking performance results, I invited Ira, a Filipino teacher who had nothing to do with the drama project as well as with the

students, to take as an examiner during the test session I then re- assessed the results of the students‟ speaking performance through video taping

In short, validity and reliability are two of the most crucial characteristics of a test Both of them are impossible to be exclusive If a test is not valid, even a reliable test is not worth much and vice versus The speaking tests designed in this research are believed to be valid and the results are certain to be consistent to some extent

3.4 Research design

3.4.1 Participants of the study

The drama course is conducted with twenty- six students including six girls and twenty boys in group 6A4 in the secondary school They are at the age of 12 They have been learning English as a foreign language for more than 6 years, and they are of mixes English language levels Normally, in English language lessons, these students get familiar with a teacher- centered classroom, in other words, with one- way interaction Their culturally absorbed ways of learning English are quite passive, for example just listening to the teacher and copying what are presented from the traditional board A few of them seem to be active learners and hard- working, however, the rest are quite chaotic and not interested in English These students admitted having poor English language knowledge They evenly do not have a real need for learning English, they just learn English for marks and for finishing it as a compulsory subject in the school curriculum rather than for a communicative purpose Actually, most of them are in favor of games

in the classroom and prefer learning English through physical activities to just sitting silently at their desks Before the course, they are informed about the drama course in which they are going to learn in a very different way from traditional speaking classes

3.4.2 The researcher

I, the researcher of this study, have been teaching English to secondary students of grade sixth and seventh for nearly five years I love play- acting and leading students into expressive performance I wished to improve the students‟

speaking performance through applying drama techniques to speaking tasks In doing this, I tried to “hook” those students with authentic tasks, funny stories that are appropriate to them I also stimulated students to think differently, or build up their critical thinking

I took the role of drama teacher in that drama classroom Beforehand, I managed to receive the agreement of the students as well as the administrators Throughout the drama course, I planned all the drama teaching plans on

my own to meet the students‟ interest as well as their levels All the stories containing structures and vocabularies which were in agreement with those included in speaking tasks in Tieng Anh 6 had been scrutinized before being applied to the class

3.4.3 Data collection methods

3.4.3.1 Pre- test and post- test (speaking performance)

Pre and post tests, the primary purpose of which is to measure the degree of

the participants‟ speaking performance improvement in terms of pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar and interaction ability after the two- month drama course, are formal tests The results of this type of assessment would be later linked to the results of students‟ self- assessment in combination with an observation so as to have a balanced assessment on their speaking progress The two tests were designed

to have the same format Specifically, each test contains two tasks of face- to - face paired interaction in which the first task is controlled by word cues, while the

second is much freer

Pre- test was conducted before the intervention, the post- test was conducted a

few days after the intervention to see how improvement they have made

Each of the tests lasted about eighty to ninety minutes for the whole class

depending on the participants‟ language competence For objective results, I invited Ira, a Filipino teacher to take the role of examiner She would follow the Cambridge analytical rating scale for A2 level An audio record was also intrusive for me to reconsider to enforce the reliability of the results Before each test, the candidates were made sure to understand the task requirements The students were supported to

perform in a comfortable atmosphere so as to gain the best results (See Appendix A)

3.4.3.2 Questionnaire survey

At the end of the drama course, I used a questionnaire survey to explore the opinions of the 26 pupils engaging in the drama class with the hope that almost the participants would be in favor of of drama tasks The questionnaire consists of fourteen questions of mixed types (Yes/no, multiple choices and open- ended questions) All the items are grouped into three categories with the aims of

exploring the students‟ opinions of three aspects of the drama class: drama course, the improvement in communication and interaction aspects, and drama tasks All of

them are translated into the respondents‟ mother tongue by a teacher of English language in the school Each participant was then delivered of copy of questionnaire and was instructed carefully to choose their own answers For reliable information,

there is no need for them to write down their names on the survey form (See Appendix B)

3.4.3.3 Interview

Interview is another instrument to explore the pupils‟ opinions of the drama course It is also a useful tool for the students to self- assess their improvement in communication and interaction aspects after the two- month drama course

Interview, in this research, is a semi-structured interview which was estimated to last 50 minutes Group interview is chosen in here for its structured overall framework and its flexibility, for example the flexibility in changing the order of questions and extensive follow- up of responses

There were thirteen questions from controlled questions to open-ended questions They are grouped into three categories:

* opinions of the whole course

* opinions of the improvement in communication and interaction aspects

* opinions of the three drama tasks

All the items are translated into Vietnamese to prevent any misunderstanding

from the pupils at quite low English levels.(see Appendix C)

During the interview, audio- record was intrusive to record data, the students

must be sure to answer the questions in a comfortable atmosphere In doing this, I

tried to be as friendly with the students as possible and encouraged them to be as

much honest as they could

3.4.3.4 Observation

This type of assessment aims to assess the improvement in students‟ English knowledge and interaction ability, at the same time, explore the participants‟ opinions of the drama course Moon (2000:13) provides two ways of observation: observation notebook and videotaping For objective results, I employed both of them I also invited Ira, a Filipino teacher, to play as the observer in each lesson and took notes according to the checklist as follows:

(1) How well do the students organize themselves outside and around the drama? (abilities to organize work, self- correct, pick up relevant vocabulary and structure to the conversation)

(2) Are the students able to maintain positive attitudes and a co- operative

working climate?

(3) How effectively can the students interact with others using dramatic role- taking and simulation within the drama itself? (Their abilities to maintain dramatic convention, negotiate with other participants to shape the action, exploit the dramatic potential of a given situation to initiate ideas, etc)

(4) What effective learning have the students gained as a result of their participation in the drama? (their abilities to demonstrate developing insights into aspects of roles, relationships and situations, etc)

(adapted from Step into the role of someone else by Murphy, 1988)

3.5 Data collection procedures

3.5.1 Pre- intervention

3.5.1.1 Decide one common problem

Among the four English skills taught at school, the teaching English speaking skill based on speaking tasks in Tieng Anh 6 to the pupils in my school poses a serious problem In particular, the participants‟ scores for speaking performance were the lowest among the four skills taught at school According to my observation, they lacked major appropriate vocabulary related to the topic Not only did they

confuse with articulating the words, for example ending sounds, but they also used the wrong tenses of verbs when reporting Besides, their interaction ability was quite limited, a lot of them did not respond to the speaking tasks It was obvious that those students got trouble with a lack of linguistic knowledge, and linguistic ability (the ability to raise language learnt into speaking performance)

3.5.1.2 Identify some causes of the problem

It seems to me that there are two principal causes of the problem above The first one may be related to the students‟ linguistic cognition It means that students may not understand how to use the language or even if some good students understand how to use the language, they do not know in what situations the language learnt will be used Another cause may concern about psychology,

it means that the students are not motivated to join in speaking activities in speaking classes It might be that speaking tasks in Tieng Anh 6 are not interesting enough to motivate students to join in the activities A lack of much speaking practice, of course, leads students to the lack of linguistic knowledge as well as linguistic ability

3.5.1.3 Brainstorm a range of possible practical solutions to the problem and decide one of the best solutions to the problem

In order to deal with the problem mentioned above, doing projects suggested

in Tieng Anh 6 and replacing speaking tasks in Tieng Anh 6 are recommended The first solution is to get students to join in authentic tasks, hence, they will be offered many opportunities to practise the language It also helps to improve the students‟ speaking performance However, projects in Tieng Anh 6 are often assigned as homework which requires the students‟ much time to accomplish, however, these students often give their extra learning outside the school priority over home assignments Drama techniques may be a better choice in this case as in a drama class, the length of time spent on the work is much shorter than that in doing projects Moreover, students are offered many opportunities to be exposed to the meaningful input as well as motivated to take a lot of speaking practice

3.5.1.4 Identify some success criteria of the solution which are believed to work to solve the problem

Drama tasks might be one of the best solutions that can meet the requirements Because that the nature of a child is like to move and to interact with others In drama, they are required to do exactly this Rather than sitting and listening they are encouraged to move, speak and respond to one another During the interactive process, students are believed to pick up relevant vocabularies and structures to their conversations.This will help them not only increase their language store but also develop such skills as communication, cooperation, discussion, negotiation More importantly, drama activities are fun- making learning both enjoyable and memorable Narration, role- play and hot- seating are most suitable with the age

of the students and the criterion of the assessment Therefore, during the learning process, students are believed to be able to maintain a positive and co- operative working climate

Finally, story narration helps students reinforce their vocabularies and grammar; role- play helps them interact to one another, foster their communication; hot- seating helps them to deepen their understanding of the character, enhance students‟ competence of language Hence, they will be able to maintain dramatic conventions, negotiate with other participants to shape the action, exploit the dramatic potential of a given situation to initiate ideas

3.5.2 While- intervention

3.5.2.1 Put the plan into action, monitor, adjust and evaluate what is taking place

The syllabus of the drama course consists of eight lessons, each which contains a story tale Each story is scrutinized before being applied to speaking tasks in terms of its contents, language, pronunciation, and context (see Appendix E)

The intervention started from December 31, 2018, to February 28, 2019 As the first stage of drama speaking course, the administrators and the students in class 6A4 in the participating classes were informed about the research process, which could be also considered as the first contact meeting for me to establish the first contact with the class The students were informed that the aim of the research was