Research On The Application Of Drama Activities In Middle School Students' Speaking Class

It is a universal phenomenon that most students who have a limited or normal level in speaking keep a low passion and eagerness in their speaking and they are reticent most of the time in class.This can be found in English speaking class where students are unwilling to speak and avoid taking part in class activities.Students' classroom participation seems to be one of the key issues in the speaking class nowadays.Studies in language learning have addressed the necessity of classroom interaction or students' oral participation in class.However,getting students respond in a foreign language classroom seems a problem that most language teachers face with.Drama activities are believed to be a possible effective way to promote students' language learning,and raise students' participation of class.The objectives of this thesis were to investigate the improvement of middle school students' classroom participation and oral expression ability through drama-oriented activities in speaking class.The experiment which lasts for 30 lessons within 4 weeks is a point of departure for my research.This thesis suggests remedies to language learners' reticence.30 middle school students in grade 11 divided into 2groups randomly(15 students in a group)took part in the research taking different speaking class respectively.There was no significant differencebetween the 2 different groups about the students' oral proficiency and participation.The research instruments used were an English speaking test,a questionnaire measuring students' participation,and students' interview for their feedback.The data was collected both quantitatively and qualitatively form pre and post-tests,pre and post questionnaires,and semi-structured post interview with students.Drama-based speaking course was provided to students in the experimental group to investigate two research questions: whether this treatment can(a)increase students' oral participation in class,and(b)lead to the improvement of students' speaking proficiency.Research result was analyzed after implementing speaking course on the both two groups for 4 weeks.The findings from the oral test and questionnaire indicated that students in experimental group made a significant improvement both in classroom participation and speaking proficiency after attending the class based on dramatic activities.And the students' opinions towards drama activities used in speaking class were highly positive.