The Role Of Drama In Teaching English: Towards The Enhancement Of Students’ Communicative Skills At The University Of Namibia

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study was to explore the role of drama in teaching English to enhance students’ communicative skills at the University of Namibia. The discussions of the research focused on assessing the benefits of using drama in the teaching of English to increase students’ motivation and self-confidence, as well as meeting the aims of integrating drama activities in the teaching of the English Access Course at the University of Namibia or in any other English language teaching elsewhere.

The mixed method of qualitative and quantitative research methods were used for this study. This was a classroom based research involving a class of 45 students enrolled for the English Access Course (EAC) at the University of Namibia. To collect data, the researcher employed entry and exit questionnaires, focus group interviews, researcher’s reflective notes and participants’ portfolios that comprised of participants’ views, thoughts, feelings, attitudes, beliefs, values and perceptions towards English learning and teaching. Furthermore, the data was collected during teaching hours because the researcher was simultaneously the English Access course lecturer. The researcher with the help of the participants integrated drama activities in the English Access Course curriculum with the purpose of enhancing students’ communicative skills for the whole second semester in 2014.

Data obtained through the entry and exit questionnaires was analyzed using descriptive statistics of percentages while the data from the participants’ portfolios,

researchers’ reflective notes and interviews were transcribed, organized, and coded according to the steps of qualitative data content analysis listed in Creswell (2003).

Research findings revealed the effectiveness of drama oriented English lessons to the benefit of students’ speaking skills, motivation, self-esteem and confidence in their abilities to communicate in English. In addition, the findings revealed that drama activities aided students develop a community and foster group cohesiveness, which helped in building students’ confidence when speaking English in front of their classmates. Moreover, the results repeatedly revealed that motivation is linked to self-confidence as the drama activities accorded students the opportunity to use the target language in real life situations.

Based on the research findings it could be concluded that drama plays a crucial role in enhancing ESL students’ communicative skills. The findings are conclusive, in that drama activities can be successfully implemented in the English Access lessons and coordinated to reinforce the regular curriculum. Finally, these research findings provide an opportunity for the English Access Course (EAC) and English courses curriculum designers in the Language Center at the University of Namibia and elsewhere to gain insights of the possibilities to incorporate drama activities in ESL lessons with the aim of enhancing the students’ communicative skills.