DRAMA-BASED METHODOLOGY FOR DEVELOPING SPEAKING SKILLS IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING
Keywords:
drama-based methodology, speaking skills, communicative competence, foreign-language anxiety, process drama, Embodied Communicative Spiral.Abstract
The communicative aim of contemporary language education stands in sharp contrast to the reality of many English lessons in Uzbek secondary schools, where grammar-translation routines still dominate and spontaneous oral production receives little classroom time. Although national policy aligns learning outcomes with the Common European Framework of Reference and expects demonstrable communicative ability, pupils in grades 7 and 8 commonly accumulate passive knowledge of grammar and vocabulary yet remain hesitant, and often anxious, when required to speak. Drama-based methodology is widely regarded internationally as one of the most effective means of generating purposeful, emotionally engaged speech, but it remains markedly under-used in the Uzbek context. This study aims to develop and theoretically justify a structured, curriculum-integrated drama-based methodology for developing the speaking skills of secondary-school learners, and to propose a design for its empirical validation.
Downloads
References
1. Bora, S. F. (2021). Curtain up! Enhancing L2 spontaneous and authentic speaking opportunities through play scripts and drama-based approaches. RELC Journal, 52(3), 458–473.
2. Galante, A. (2018). Drama for L2 speaking and language anxiety: Evidence from Brazilian EFL learners. RELC Journal, 49(3), 273–289.
3. Galante, A., & Thomson, R. I. (2017). The effectiveness of drama as an instructional approach for the development of second language oral fluency, comprehensibility, and accentedness. TESOL Quarterly, 51(1), 115–142.
4. Horwitz, E. K., Horwitz, M. B., & Cope, J. (1986). Foreign language classroom anxiety. The Modern Language Journal, 70(2), 125–132.
5. Lee, B. K., Patall, E. A., Cawthon, S. W., & Steingut, R. R. (2015). The effect of drama-based pedagogy on PreK–16 outcomes: A meta-analysis of research from 1985 to 2012. Review of Educational Research, 85(1), 3–49.
6. Luo, S., Ismail, L., Ahmad, N. K., & Guo, Q. (2024). Using process drama in EFL education: A systematic literature review. Heliyon, 10(11), e31936.
7. Stinson, M., & Freebody, K. (2006). The DOL project: The contributions of process drama to improved results in English oral communication. Youth Theatre Journal, 20(1), 27–41.
8. Swain, M. (1985). Communicative competence: Some roles of comprehensible input and comprehensible output in its development. In S. Gass & C. Madden (Eds.), Input in second language acquisition (pp. 235–253). Newbury House.
9. Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes. Harvard University Press.
