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 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

i


ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This thesis could have not been completed without the help and support from
a number of people.
First and foremost, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my

supervisor, Dr. Huynh Anh Tuan who has patiently and constantly supported me
through the stages of the study, and whose stimulating ideas and suggestions have
inspired me greatly through my growth as an academic researcher.
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.

ii


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.

iii


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
iv


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
v


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

vi


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

vii


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

1


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.

2


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.

3


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 “realtime” 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.

4


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

5


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

6


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

7


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

8

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?
S1: My father
Such genuine exchange of information must surely enhance students‟ motivation to
participate in language learning activities.
Another implication in Vygotsky‟s theory is the internalization of speech
which is also believed to emerge in social interaction. For Vygotsky, thought was
essentially internalized speech which is defined as a kind of social activity which
develops to become mental activities. He put his emphasis on the process of
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
students. Vygotsky believed that the outward, inter-psychological relations become the
9


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):
Text

Motive

Betsy: I‟m so

tired of
writing. And
nothing comes
together right!

Tries to get
some
attention
and
sympathy
from Pat.
Tries to
cheer Betsy
up and give
her
confidence

Pat: Just keep
trying, Betsy.
You‟re bound
to improve

Subtext/
Inner speech

Image

Feeling

Speech

Hate this. No
good at it!

Crumples
paper

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

Oh, now. It‟s
not so bad.
Everyone
improves

Of a
happy and
confident
Betsy

Just keep
trying, Bet.
You‟re bound
to improve

Confidence

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

10


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

11


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

12


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.

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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

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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.

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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
drama techniques.
2.4.1. Narration
Narration is classified into two main types: narration by the teacher and
narration by students. Narration is defined as a type of storytelling which is told
by either the teacher or the students. In the research, I use narration by the
teacher and the whole class. The teacher‟s role is to set up the scene, lead
students to the context, speed up or slow down the events and focus students to
major language. While the students as narrators can also be separated from the
performers or characters in a scene.
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
through make- believe play comes naturally to most children” (2011: 17). By
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