Research Information System
ELT Research Journal, vol.9, no.2, pp.146-166, 2020 (Peer-Reviewed Journal)
A considerable number of studies have been conducted to explore better ways to foster speaking skills
of EFL learners. Drama has recently been considered as one of those ways to improve speaking skills.
In the light of this information, this research aimed to discover the effects of drama activities on
speaking skills of EFL students and to analyze their perceptions about the use of drama activities in
foreign language learning. Participants in this study included 21 preparatory class students enrolled at
a state university in Turkey during 2018-2019 academic year. Both qualitative and quantitative data
were collected by means of a pre-intermediate level speaking achievement test and an attitude
questionnaire followed by semi-structured interviews regarding students’ perceptions about the use of
drama activities in foreign language classrooms. IBM SPSS Statistics 23.0 and pattern coding were
used to analyze the data. The findings of the study revealed that the integration of drama in speaking
courses had a positive effect on encouraging EFL students’ speaking skills and the students had positive
feelings toward the use of drama activities in foreign language courses. The results of the study are
expected to contribute to curriculum developers, teachers, instructors and teacher educators.