The use of role-play to improve the speaking skill of undergraduate students within an efl communicative classroom context

Abstract

Many studies have reported EFL students’ difficulties when speaking English in the classroom. These difficulties have been attributed to factors such as lack of vocabulary, lack of motivation, or fear of speaking. Role-play is one of the many techniques that have been used in an effort to overcome reticence and improve students’ speaking skill. Based on the support role-play has garnered in past research, the present study attempted to implement it in an EFL university course as a means of improving the speaking skill of 20 students. This mixed-methods study was conducted over approximately eight weeks during 39 one-hour class sessions. The intervention consisted of five lesson plans that included role-play as their main speaking task. Students were assessed with a speaking pre-test to determine their initial speaking skill and a speaking post-test at the end of the intervention to determine the effect of role-play on their speaking skill. The results from both tests were compared through Wilcoxon signed-rank tests and showed an increase in the students’ mean oral proficiency scores. Open-ended questionnaires revealed participants enjoyed speaking and practicing English through the various role-play activities conducted. From the results, it was concluded that role-play had a positive effect on improving the participants’ speaking skill in the university classroom. However, even though students were more confident when performing role-play activities by the end of the intervention, nervousness associated with speaking in public remained a constant factor.