ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to express my deep gratitude to the head of the research

department of Azad University,Roudehen Branch, Dr.Shahram Vaziri for his

valuable guidance in this study and the head of the department of English,

Mr. Khosraftar for his support in the performance of

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to express my deep gratitude to the head of the research

department of Azad University,Roudehen Branch, Dr.Shahram Vaziri for his

valuable guidance in this study and the head of the department of English,

Mr. Khosraftar for his support in the performance of these plays

in the university premises and also his personal involvement in encouraging

our students to participate in these activities in order to improve their

proficiency in English. I am also very much indebted to Dr. Eftekhari ,

Mr. Nosratinia, Ms. Safavi for their valuable guidance and assistance in this

research. My dear students who were my 'subjects' and who willingly took part

in acting out these plays, do deserve my heartfelt appreciation.

Last but not least, I would like to thank my husband and my children for all

their help and encouragement.

Abstract
The most widely used method for teaching nowadays is the communicative approach
which stresses on teaching language as a means of communication. In Iran, English
is considered as a foreign language but is gaining importance rapidly in the
commercial field and the teaching methods do not cater to the needs of this labor
market which demands fluency in English both in the spoken and written skills.

Recently, there has been a distinctive rush in enrolments in private institutes

for the purpose of learning spoken English and learning it swiftly (hence the
popularity of crash courses) as a means of making up for the inadequate teaching
methods of guidance school teachers which had proved sorely unsuccessful among
adult learners. This is because the method of teaching was universal and not
individualized (not catering to the needs of specific learning styles). The
decision to increase the percentage of university intakes recently, especially in
the private ones, made matters worse as those students right out of high school
(some from the urban areas or towns with a distinctive problem in producing spoken
English) were matched with the 'privileged' ones in Tehran who could master the
language through language institutes and private coaching and thereby creating a
segregated set of students who faced psychological barriers as mentioned by
Schumman . He claims that this is one of the important factors that bring about
unsuccessful attempts in language acquisition.

Moreover, another group of 'disappointed' students who underwent a mixed variety

of language instruction when they changed institutes indiscriminately ,usually
ended up learning a confused mixture of both British and American English .This
confusion in accents and structures- the forms that the school teacher employs as
compared with the ones that the private teachers emphasizes on, hinders the
learners’ progress in language acquisition especially in spoken skills and they
eventually retreat into a cocoon due to a psychological setback created as an
outcome. This of course is of very little help to them as being an incentive to
furthering their education in the English major. On the other hand, there are
others who only abide by their school teachers’ ‘Personalized English’ faithfully
(i.e. the English of non-native speakers who try to imitate either the American
English or the British English).Thus, they often end up lacking the confidence in
speaking the language when the need arises as emphasis on spoken English is rarely
a part of the teaching method in schools. Consequently, when they take up English
as their major in the university, this lack in confidence takes the shape of a
domineering ‘fear’ especially when called upon to speak in front of a class as
they are afraid of making a mistake. This in turn builds an emotional barrier to
further progress in language acquisition and the eventual frustration,
disappointment ending up in drop outs. Furthermore, inappropriate teaching methods
that stress on grammar, without clearly defining the basic differences between the
students’ mother tongue and the foreign language to facilitate recognition and
understanding, have also hindered successful language acquisition here. To be more
specific, we can quote Julia Popiescu who says, "A big problem with foreign
language acquisition is anxiety" These ‘weak’ students of the open universities
were either neglected by some teachers who merely gave them a passing mark out of
sympathy or failed them repeatedly without identifying the root to their problems
or even trying to help them overcome by motivating them to improve. This problem
became too cumbersome for some students forcing them to quit. Others who managed
to get just the ‘passing mark’ faced lack of work due to their inability to speak
in English even though they claimed to possess a degree in the English major.

This research that focuses on a specific mode of instruction called

role-playing or as I call it, 'The Drama Method' could motivate these 'de-
motivated' students to participate freely in language communication activities and
overcome the psychological fears in spoken language. Moreover, it's ultimate
purpose was not only to try to alleviate the inherent fears in spoken English that
hindered language learning but also to see if it could aid them to perform better
in the other subjects related to their courses.

The underlying philosophy is that meaningful and effective learning

transpires when the language to be learned is placed in naturally and culturally
based dialogues and dramas that put the learners at ease and transform them to
another platform of learning experience that eliminates the previous barriers to
language learning. I feel that acting is a profound experience that gives those
involved a taste of humanity and a taste of humility,

Very few resources are needed to make the communicative experience more real for
the students. Perhaps, if teachers think of the drama activities in the
terminology of the popular ELT methodology such as communication games or tasks
they could better comprehend the goals of using them.
 CHAPTER

ONE

INTRODUCTION

I. Title

To prove that dramatization or role-playing in EFL

instruction could help alleviate the psychological ‘anxiety’ (‘anomie’- Durkheim
1897) that exists mainly among Iranian students of English in private universities
culminating in their overcoming the psychological barriers caused mainly due to
the lack of motivation that ‘Schumman’ claims to be one of the important factors
that bring about unsuccessful attempts in language acquisition.

II. Field of research /back ground.

EFL refers to the use or study of English by speakers with

a different native language. In Iran, though English is taught to students in
Guidance schools, most EFL students, enroll in expensive private English
institutes or have private tutors to compensate for their unsuccessful attempts to
learn the language in schools (the reasons for this would be explained later on).
Proficiency in English is compulsory here as people need it either to pass exams
as a necessary part of their education or for a career progression while working
for an international focus. It is worth noting that the EFL instruction in schools
and institutes differ in the variety of English which is taught here. ‘English’,
is a term than can refer to various dialects, syntax and content, including
British English, American English and others. Obviously, those studying English in
order to fit into a new country they have immigrated to; will learn the variety
spoken there. However, for those who do not intend to change countries and require
proficiency in English for educational or professional purposes, the question
arises of which sort of ‘English’ to learn. In Iran, their choice of the type of
English to learn is made for them by the private language school teachers of the
foreign language or their school teachers. For instance, some private institutes
guarantee to guide their students to master British English to successfully claim
a certificate in FCE, CAE or CPE whereas others promise their students to make
them speak like a native American or pass the Toefl exam with flying colors. Many
of these students, in the process of seeking the best type of EFL instruction,
indiscriminately alternate from the former type of institute to the latter when
disappointed with the outcome with either form. Due to this reason they usually
end up learning a confused mixture of both British and American English .This
confusion in accents and structures- the forms that the school teacher employs as
compared with the ones that the private teachers emphasizes on, hinders the
learners’ progress in language acquisition especially in spoken skills and they
eventually retreat into a cocoon due to a psychological setback created as an
outcome. This of course is of very little help to them as being an incentive to
further their education in the English major. On the other hand, there are others
who only abide by their school teachers’ ‘Personalized English’ faithfully (i.e.
the English of non-native speakers who try to imitate either the American English
or the British English).Thus, they often end up lacking the confidence in speaking
the language as emphasis on spoken English is rarely a part of the teaching method
in schools. Consequently, when they take up English as their major in the
university, this lack in confidence takes the shape of a domineering ‘fear’
especially when called upon to speak in front of a class as they are afraid of
making a mistake. This in turn builds an emotional barrier to further progress in
language acquisition and the eventual frustration, disappointment ending up in
drop outs. Furthermore, inappropriate teaching methods that stress on grammar,
without clearly defining the basic differences between the students’ mother tongue
and the foreign language to facilitate recognition and understanding, have also
hindered successful language acquisition here. To be more specific, we can quote
Julia Popiescu who says, "A big problem with foreign language acquisition is
anxiety". (Removing emotional barriers to EFL- info@ rennet.com, 2007). "Students
get so focused on the grammar that they get nervous and can't speak, so I have to
provide an exercise that eases their tension and gets them to practice their
grammar without concentrating on it too much." Nevertheless, sometimes foreign
language learning barriers could be related to ‘anomie’ (Durkheim 1897).

It reflects the feelings of social uncertainty or dissatisfaction

–as a significant aspect of the relationship between language learning and the
attitude toward the foreign culture.

As the learner is unable to proceed in his language acquisition process

due to confusion in understanding the ‘context’ and ‘culture’ of the newly
acquired language, he/she experiences feelings of chagrin or regret, mixed with
the fearful anticipation of entering into a new group thereby experiencing a
psychological ‘anxiety’ as it becomes a negative experience which interferes with
further language acquisition. These are clearly evident in Iran. We can look back
at foreign language teaching in Iran and in observing the trends of EFL
instruction; we realize that the learners have no or very little familiarity with
the culture of the English- whether British or American, as it was rarely
considered as possessing an important role in teaching methods. These are some
of the reasons why many of them fail to use the language successfully when called
upon, which is highlighted when they attend employment interviews or desire to
take up English as their major in the university.

Thereby, students in the universities [since the university selection methods for
students do not exactly cater to the basic knowledge requirements of a student of
English in the Azad universities] often lack the self-confidence [especially those
who had no previous private coaching or didn’t attend any classes in English
institutes] either in learning the spoken skill as a beginner or even producing
fluent speech as an advanced student. In Tehran, due to the abovementioned
barriers in communicative language learning acquisition, there has been no
reliable teaching method related to it, especially in schools. Thus teachers of
EFL often face the need to find ways to try to help the students of English
overcome these kind of emotional barriers in language acquisition and alleviate
their fears in producing spoken English in the universities.

“The most effective way to teach English to students is to

help them forget about their emotional barriers to learning” says Julia Popiescu
(Removing emotional barriers to EFL- info@ rennet.com, 2007). This study in using
the ‘Drama method’ proposed can help the teacher to alleviate the first fears in
the students in producing spoken language caused especially since English is a
foreign language here and also mainly due to the lack of motivating students in
learning how to speak in English in teaching methods in schools and also due to
facing a variety of ‘English’ culminating in confusion. Furthermore, they seem to
possess a ‘reluctance’ to speak in English may be due to the students’ fear(
especially the older ones) of looking and feeling foolish when they make a mistake
that would make the others ridicule them or even look down on them. This method
proposes to help remove the students’ resistance to learning spoken language by
making them forget their barriers to learning. Yet, countless studies and
experiments in human learning have shown that motivation is a key to learning (H.
Douglas Brown; principles a language learning and teaching). Thus, I would like to
stress here that another important difficulty in language acquisition in Iran is
the lack of the right kind of motivation (esp. prevalent among the university
students in Iran). Consequently, it is fairly easy to note, how, virtually all
aspects of language learning (especially foreign language learning) can be related
to motivation.

‘Motivation, then, is an inner drive or stimulus which can, like self-esteem, be

global, situational, or task oriented learning a foreign language clearly requires
some of the levels of motivation (Ausubel 1968:368-379)’;

1) The need for exploration for seeing “the other side of the mountain”, for
probing the unknown;

2) The need for manipulation, for operating to use ‘Skinner’s’ term- on the
environment and causing change;

3) The need for activity, for movement and exercise, both physical and mental;

4) The need for stimulation, the need to be stimulated by the environment, by

other people or by ideas, thoughts, and feelings;

5) The need for knowledge, the need to process and internalize the results of
exploration, manipulation, activity and stimulation, to resolve contradictions, to
quest for solutions to problems and for self – consistent systems of knowledge.

6) Finally, the need for ego enhancement, for the self to be known and to be
accepted and approved of by others.

However, the ingredients to successful language acquisition are;

- the right kind of motivation. Margie Berns [1984b:15] warned teachers that
textbooks that claim to have a functional base may be sore, inadequate and even
misleading in their representation of language as interaction”. She also says the
‘context’ is the real key to giving meaning to both form and function in
developing a learner’s communicative competence.

- an appropriate method of teaching (namely role-playing) Donahue and Parsons

(1982) examined the use of role – play in ESL classrooms as a means of helping
students to overcome cultural ‘fatigue’; role – play promotes the process of cross
– cultural dialog while at the same time it provides opportunities for oral
communication. Furthermore, Nelson and Jakobovits (1970) cited a number of
instructional, individual, and socio cultural factors that could enhance or deter
motivation in foreign language learning.

We should examine the relation of each of these variables to the basic needs
underlying motivation .Why, for example, do learners lack perseverance in language
learning? Or, how can the beginning learner appeal to his or her needs and enhance
motivation? How can a teacher provide extrinsic motivation where intrinsic
motivation is lacking?

Since Howard Nostrand (1966) recommends the administration and

careful doses of culture shock (differences in culture of learner) in foreign
language classrooms in order to help learners to understand the members of the
foreign culture. This could be implemented by the teaching method proposed.
Furthermore, Stevick (1982) reiterates that;

In teaching an ‘alien’ language cautioned that teachers should be sensitive to the

fragility of students by using techniques that promote cultural understanding.

Numerous techniques and materials- readings, films, simulation

games, role – plays… are available to teachers to assist them in the process of
acculturation in the classroom (Mc Groarty and Galvan 1985).

Furthermore, there are certain characteristics in this

‘Drama method’ of teaching (it must be noted that this method can in no way
replace the general method like the communicative approach used by teachers
through ‘Original texts’ but can be used as a supplementary to their method of
teaching) can assist teachers aid learners to dissolve their initial frustrations
. For one thing, role –playing provides the student with the means of associating
language with feelings, gestures and facial expressions that create a more
personal and natural form of learning. Moreover, while dramatizing, students get
immersed wholeheartedly in their activities( acting) or the make-believe world
they had temporarily constructed that in turn help them gradually emerge out of
these confusions or psychological barriers and eventually conquer the ‘anxiety’
that had previously hindered their language acquisition progress . Drama or role-
playing can also assist the teacher to alleviate the fears her students might
experience when trying to produce spoken language by:

· making the learning of the new language an enjoyable experience

· setting realistic targets for the students to aim for

· a creative sharing real experiences with others to alleviate fears

· linking the language learning experience with the student’s own experience
of life

Furthermore, drama can create in students a need to learn the language by:

· the use of creative tension situations requiring urgent solutions

· putting more responsibility on the learner as opposed to the teacher.

Finally, it should be noted that acting includes nonverbal competence like:

· Body language or Kinetics [There are speech in their dumbness, language in

their very gesture- wrote Shakespeare in , ‘The Winter’s Tale’.]

· Eye contact that signal interest, boredom empathy, understanding or other

messages

· Proxemics- different cultures interpret different messages in the presence

of objects and their proximity. In some cultures, objects might enhance a
communicative process.

· Artifacts- the nonverbal messages of clothing and ornamentation are also

important aspects of communication. Clothes often signal a person’s sense of self-
esteem; socioeconomic class and general character. In multicultural conversational
groups such artifacts can be a significant factor in lifting barriers, identifying
certain personality characteristics, and setting a general mood.

This study can help boost students’ interest in learning others

subjects related to the literature major (as I plan to limit my research to
students of Literature) which were previously seen to be too cumbersome and even
boring for them. It can also help promote other innovative teaching methods in the
universities to encourage language acquisition by grammar with controlled accuracy
– based activities leading to fluency-based communicative practice. In this way
there is a link between grammatical forms and communicative function. This method
is like ‘cooperative learning’ which has been used as a means to promote
interaction among students. This will allow students time for social interaction
and enable them to develop confidence in their language skills (Boothe, 2000).
Through participation in cooperative learning they will have a chance to speak and
listen. Verbal activities promote collaboration among students. Verbal interaction
is fundamental to learning both language and content. ESL students need the
opportunity to use language in interaction with both peers and teachers who are
competent in the language and serve as models (Egbert & Simich-Dudgeon, 2001).
Cooperative learning will afford the opportunity to develop relationships with
their peers; and their peers will hopefully, begin to value the EFL students as
not just "kids who don't speak English."

The underlying philosophy is that meaningful and effective learning

transpires when the language to be learned is placed in naturally and culturally
based dialogues and dramas that put the learners at ease and transform them to
another platform of learning experience that eliminates the previous barriers to
language learning. I feel that acting is a profound experience that gives those
involved a taste of humanity and a taste of humility, both of which can help us
gain a better understanding of ourselves and the diverse people we live work and
learn with (Rudnick, 1995).

Very few resources are needed to make the communicative experience more real for
the students. Perhaps, if teachers think of the drama activities in the
terminology of the popular ELT methodology such as communication games or tasks
they could better comprehend the goals of using them.

This study will focus on adult university students in the 1st. term of
the B.A. course especially those who lack the confidence in public speaking. It is
anticipated that the findings will be extended to include the 2nd. and the 3rd.
term students who still maintained this reluctance in spoken English to find proof
that this ‘reluctance’ could be due to the ill- use of teaching methods and the
lack of rapport between teacher and students and to provide evidence of the
effectiveness of the ‘drama method’ in facilitating language learning as well as
alleviating the psychological barriers in producing spoken English.

III. Identification of the research problem.

A. Research questions.

1) Can dramas help motivate students to participate freely in language

communication activities and overcome the psychological fears in spoken language?

2) Would these motivated students (after trying out the ‘Drama method’
in teaching) be able perform better in the other subjects related to their
courses?

B. Further objectives

To develop a systematic method including situational dialogues

especially associated with their culture, leading to longer dramas that could not
only build vocabulary learning gradually but also help in facilitate language
acquisition through understanding and rote learning in order to get the students
more interested in Literature.
CHAPTER

TWO

REVIEW of RELATED LITERATURE

The most widely used method for teaching nowadays is the communicative
approach which stresses on teaching language as a means of communication. There
has also been studies on the degree of perceived support from the L2 for learning
a new language (Genesee, Rogers, and Holobow 1983).Schumann (1978) outlined a
broad framework of social and psychological variables, including attitude and
motivation which he claims are the most important factors;

The dominance relationship between the L1 and L2, the

degree of enclosure of the learner in an L1 environment, the cohesiveness of the
L1 community, the congruence of the first language and culture with the one being
acquired, the ego-permeability of the learner, and the degree to which the learner
undergoes language and culture shock) in determining the success of second
language learners. Investigations have also been done on the different learning
styles students use to learn a language.
 However, little research has been done in applying Schumann’s
claims in the context of Foreign language acquisition in an environment or country
like Iran where English is considered as a foreign language but is gaining
importance rapidly in the commercial field and the teaching methods do not cater
to the needs of this labor market which demands fluency in English both in the
spoken and written skills. Recently, there has been a distinctive rush in
enrolments in private institutes for the purpose of learning spoken English and
learning it swiftly (hence the popularity of crash courses) as a means of making
up for the inadequate teaching methods of guidance school teachers which had
proved sorely unsuccessful among adult learners. This is because the method of
teaching was universal and not individualized (not catering to the needs of
specific learning styles). The decision to increase the percentage of university
intakes recently, especially in the private ones, made matters worse as those
students right out of high school (some from the urban areas or towns with a
distinctive problem in producing spoken English) were matched with the privileged
ones in Tehran who could master the language through language institutes and
thereby creating a segregated set of students who faced psychological barriers as
mentioned by Schumman. These ‘weak’ students were either neglected by some
teachers who merely gave them a passing mark out of sympathy or failed them
repeatedly without identifying the root to the problem or trying to help them
overcome it and motivate them to improve. This problem became too cumbersome for
some forcing them to quit. Others who managed to get just the ‘passing mark’ faced
lack of work due to their inability to speak in English even though they claimed
to possess a degree in the English major.

Furthermore, based on the emerging recognition that literature study

had to be adapted to new dimensions of EFL work and new less elitist educational
objectives the British council held a conference at Kings college Cambridge in
1962 (see press 1963) to discuss the issues and make recommendations for change.

This conference was the first and only major organized attempt ever
under taken to evaluate the teaching of literature in EFL instruction. No similar
attempts to assess the role of literature have been reported. Thus focal research
on the teaching of literature in ESL/EFL has largely been ignored. Literature
teaching research, however, has receded even further into the background of
ESL/EFL specialists during the past three decades. The lack of interest is
reflected in three major areas;

While there are many literature anthologies, few resources exist to

aid teachers in presenting the material they contain. Second, there is a lack of
preparation in the area of literature teaching in TESL/TEFL programs, at least in
the United States. Third is the absence of clear cut objectives defining the role
of literature in ESL/EFL. Consequently, literature still tends to be taught in the
traditional way in most non English speaking countries. (Stern: An Integrated
Approach to Literature in ESL/EFL.)

In ESL situations, instructors would like to enhance their teaching of literature

with new approaches and techniques, but lack the resources that includes include
literature, background and training.

‘Hence, the full array of values literature offers English

instruction has yet to be fully realized. As ESL/EFL professional we must ask
ourselves how to translate these potentials into classroom practice. Although the
study of literature in a language class is traditionally associated with reading
and writing, both speaking and listening can play an equally meaningful role. Oral
reading, dramatization, improvisation, role-playing, discussion, and group
activities may center on a work of literature. By participating in literature-
based oral activities, the students are immersed in contextualized language
learning situations which provide string motivation for communication, where every
utterance is relevant’

( Collie,j.,and S. Slater (1987) , Literature in the language classroom).

‘Perhaps the greatest benefit of using literature in the language

classroom lies in its potential for developing students’ speaking skills,
particularly their sociolinguistic and pragmatic competence.’(Literature as
content for ESL/EFL, Sandra Lee McKay)

Plays provide a rich context for developing students’ sociolinguistic

and pragmatic awareness .It is important, however, to recognize that plays differ
in significant ways from natural conversation. As Simpson points out, drama and
naturally occurring discourse are not identical types of communication. Once
teachers recognize literature as a source and inspiration for listening and
speaking as well as reading and writing, the development of oral activities will
flow easily and naturally. Literature- based dramatic activities are invaluable
for ESL/EFL. They facilitate and encourage development of the oral skills as they
help students achieve a clearer understanding of a work’s plot and a deeper
understanding and awareness of its characters. Probably more than any other
activity they enliven classroom study of a literary work both for the participants
who are immersed in the consciousness and situations of the characters and the
spectators. Although drama in the classroom can assume many forms there are three
main types: dramatization, role- playing and improvisation. Dramatization entails
classroom performance of scripted materials. Students can write their own scripts
for short stories or sections of novels bringing them as closely as possible to
the actual text. They must imagine what the characters would say and how they
would say it, based on the story. Student – written scripts are also possible with
plays, covering offstage situate ions or actions only implied by the characters.
Role playing interviews work best directly after dramatizing a scene. The student
actors maintain their roles, and the rest of the class questions then about what
they did and said. The technique works because psychologically the actors haven’t
yet shed their personae, the class still perceives them as characters. Because the
scene remains fresh in mind, thought – provoking interview questions come easily
and spontaneously. The unique feature of this ‘Drama method’, as mentioned above,
mainly rests in trying to alleviate this psychological setback. Moreover, since in
Tehran, the English Language institutes focuses on ‘stressing’ on the ‘pronounced’
British or American accents, the students (who were generally adults and lacked
the natural age to acquire accents) were put off very soon in learning English as
they couldn’t master either one of these accents, this role-playing acquaints the
students with the international language (not either American nor British
language and accents)that does not emphasizes on a particular accent, in order to
put them at ease by eradicating negative pressures on ‘forced’ accents .
Scaffolding activities and accommodations that will help students to: organize
their thoughts, develop study skills, and organize their schedules, consistently
follow classroom procedures, and track their progress throughout the school year
(Boothe, 2000) has been utilized before. By assigning classroom jobs or
responsibilities to EFL or special needs students and by involving all the
students as a class in a joint activity at the end of a term in acting out plays
together would help them feel as if they belong and have value. I will encourage
them to share any personal experiences with the class that they feel comfortable
sharing and to also maintain a personal journal about themselves and their
experiences (written in English or their native language).
CHAPTER

THREE

Data collection and analysis

A.Data collection

Distributing questionnaires and conducting a spoken English proficiency

test in the various classes of the subjects chosen to separate the problematic
ones.

Dividing them into two groups:

a) Beginners with spoken English difficulties.[They do have a basic knowledge

of English as it is taught in Guidance schools in this country as part of their
curriculum yet they have inability or difficulty in producing spoken English]

b) Advanced learners with spoken English difficulties.[ They have

satisfactory or good command in the other language skills]
c) Analyzing the questionnaires* filled by the students to find out the
reasons behind the barriers in spoken English to select those with psychological
barriers.

Stage 1. Toefl test

To identify the students who have this psychological setback at the

beginners’ level of language acquisition through Toefl written and reading and
spoken English test. Proficiency tests were administered to students to discover
those who possess advanced or intermediate written proficiency but experienced
some difficulties when producing spoken language. A score* ranging from weak,
fair, average, good very good and excellent, was allocated according to their
weaknesses and strengths to all of the students and recorded for future reference
and comparison after the research. This score gave a means of measurement of the
students overall competency in spoken English.

Stage 2 .Questionnaire.

These was handed out to each student to find out the reasons for their
psychological fears ,if any ,to producing speech in English which in turn would
describe the problems related to unsuccessful endeavors in learning due to
unsuitable teaching methods that were applied to them, the use of the language in
their society (English is a foreign language here), the teacher’s incapability to
form a rapport with the students which is conducive in language and etc.

*See APPENDICES

Rationale: An essential criterion faced when designing a test to distinguish

these weak students was to plan it carefully so as not to ‘rupture’ their morale
or hurt their ego (as these students’ ages coincide with other psychological
crisis that accompany growing up due to prohibitions, restrictions that they feel
hinders their freedom and the lack of the uninhibited communicative ability to
grasp adult mannerisms and so on). Therefore, the first step of this study
included applying a sensitive approach to segregate the weak students from the
others who have either an average level of fluency or those who are fluent
speakers of English.

Subjects: The subjects were the first term students in three classes of teaching,
literature and linguistics majors ranging from the ages of 19-25. (In some rare
cases, even from the ages of 25-40)

The focus was on the less privileged students as mentioned before and on those
students who had very little or no previous private coaching in language
acquisition from language institutes of private tutoring and who are in the
Literature major (As I aim to prove that this method would affect the students
interest in learning all about Literature and create an incentive to improve)

Materials: The materials are standard tests of Toefl and other similar ones.

Results: Out of a total number of students from three classes, 75 students were
chosen to be the ultimate subjects as not only did the Toefl test illustrated a
distinctive problem in speaking as compared to their written and reading skills
but their responses to the questionnaire confirmed that they we were facing some
problems in speaking ( esp. in front of an audience).

Stage 3: Implementing the ‘Drama Method’

· Methodology

· First and foremost, I created a ‘foreign’ atmosphere by ‘sticking to’

speaking in English ONLY in the classes.

· Then, I divided the students in groups of two for each dialogue and
assigned a part for each one [in term one and according to the number of roles for
the other dramas, in the other terms]. I made them repeat each role loudly along
with me as a class, first, to stress on the correct pronunciation and intonation
and the type of accent [preferably that of ‘International language’]. Then, the
students practiced their respective roles on their own and with their partners
while I, as their teacher, was actively involved by going around the class to
check for mistakes and correct them simultaneously.

· I avoided allocating too many lines for practice in one session as I felt
that it would only frustrate them especially when attempts are unsuccessful,
leading to hurdles in learning. A little at a time, did the work!

· This activity, of repeating the roles [NOT memorizing] two by two,

continued till they had ‘mastered’ it by digesting their meanings. Next, I
prepared them for acting out their roles, allowing them enough creativity by
helping them infuse feelings, emotions, facial and body expressions and action
while acting. They could even ‘dress up’ for their roles and even make stage
arrangements. This created fun in learning and thereby alleviated their fears in
producing spoken English.

· Then, I recorded their dramas and replayed them for the whole class. Their
mistakes were pointed out while their achievements applauded. Their grades for
their performance were announced at once and the best actresses, rewarded. This
would be an incentive for further improvements and future involvements.

The students then, switched their roles and the whole process of learning was
repeated.

Procedures and Materials: The materials consisted of dialogues first supplied by

me as their teacher followed by systematic introductions of new phrases, idioms
and vocabulary. We started with short situational conversations as related to
their original text that is part of their syllabus at the university for teaching
in the Speaking and Listening classes. Then, it was followed by longer dialogues
framed with the help of the students who chose the new words* from their textbooks
and later with newer vocabulary from other sources outside their syllabus in order
to enrich their vocabulary. In the next term, focus was shifted on only the
Literature students to introduce them with first (simple / or simplified versions)
of original plays that they would have to learn in their courses of the degree.
They were later encouraged to dramatize these plays in the university auditorium.

Subjects: As described in stage one. This group consisted of the 'chosen 75' whose
written ability is good but faced definite speaking difficulties. It helped their
ego to show off their talents while simultaneously shedding their fear of speaking
by joining in dialogues with the other students (esp. the proficient ones) to help
them to understand the meaning of the dialogues, to help them in rote learning and
later to produce innovative dialogues together and on their own.

Results: This provided an innovative method that helps suppress the fears in
producing spoken language in a process of learning a foreign language as in is not
only natural but also encouraging, motivating and interesting. This in turn became
a pedestal that would lead to self confidence in continuing their education and
also helps in facilitating learning in other subjects in their field of study.

Stage 4. The reexamination of the students who had this psychological setback at
the beginners’ level of language acquisition through the Toefl spoken English test
was performed. Proficiency tests were administered to these students to discover
those who have shown a significant improvement in spoken language in order to
prove the success of the method recommended by the research.

Consequently, a statistical comparison of scores in the proficiency tests* and

analyzing the differences, if any, in the students’ responses to the question
would reveal if the barriers (faced by them before the research) have been eased
in any way or not.

*see APPENDICES

Chapter

Four

DATA ANALYSIS
Introduction

In this chapter different stages of statistics results and their interpretation

are presented. Following the scoring method to measurement tools which was used,
the subjects scores were obtained and recorded* in each phase of pre-test and
post-test before and after implementing the drama method of teaching spoken
English.

In the stage of applying descriptive analysis, the indexes of mean, standard

deviation, skewness, kurtosis, minimum, maximum, confidence interval as well as
the test of normalization of scores distribution (kolmogorov-smirnov) were
calculated. In addition, the histograms of the subjects' scores in the pre-tests
and post-tests related to the dependent variable of the students spoken English
difficulties exposed in the pre- test (before manipulation/ implementing the drama
method of teaching) compared to the dependent variable in the post-test results(
after manipulation/ implementing the drama method of teaching) were drawn. The
methodology used to analyze the data and assess the impact the independent
variables( reading and writing skills) on the dependent variables( before and
after implementing the drama method of teaching) are as follows:

*See APPENDICES

A.Methodology

*Skewness and kurtosis:

Skewness and kurtosis are statistics that describe the shape and symmetry of the
distribution. A high kurtosis distribution has a sharper "peak" and fatter
"tails", while a low kurtosis distribution has a more rounded peak with wider
"shoulders".[1]

Distributions with zero kurtosis are called mesokurtic, or mesokurtotic. The most
prominent example of a mesokurtic distribution is the normal distribution family,
regardless of the values of its parameters, therefore:

*Skewness - measures the degree and direction of symmetry or asymmetry of the

distribution. A normal or symmetrical distribution has a skewness of zero (0). But
in the real world, normal distributions are hard to come by. Therefore, a
distribution may be positively skewed (skew to the right; longer tail to the
right; represented by a positive value) or negatively skewed (skew to the left;
longer tail to the left; with a negative value.
Kurtosis - measures how peaked a distribution is and the lightness or heaviness of
the tails of the distribution. In other words, how much of the distribution is
actually located in the tails? A normal distribution has a kurtosis value of zero
(0) and is said to be mesokurtic. A positive kurtosis value means that the tails
are heavier than a normal distribution and the distribution is said to be
leptokurtic (with a higher, more acute "peak"). A negative kurtosis value means
that the tails are lighter than a normal distribution and the distribution is said
to be platykurtic (wi[2]th a smaller, flatter "peak").

*Cronbach's alpha and internal consistency:

Cronbach's alpha will generally increase when the correlations between the items
increase. For this reason the coefficient is also called the internal consistency
or the internal consistency reliability of the test. This was used to measure the
face validity of the tests that eventually proved the validity of the
questionnaire too.

*T-Test:

t-test is any statistical hypothesis test in which the test statistic has a
Student's 't' distribution if the null hypothesis is true. If our sample is
paired, so that each member of one sample has a unique relationship with a
particular member of the other sample (e.g., the same people measured before and
after an intervention, or IQ test scores of a husband and wife) then we can use
this test. If the calculated p-value is below the threshold chosen for statistical
significance (usually the 0.10, the 0.05, or 0.01 level), then the null hypothesis
which usually states that the two groups do not differ is rejected in favor of an
alternative hypothesis, which typically states that the groups do differ.

*Regression analysis:

Regression analysis is a technique used for the modeling and analysis of numerical
data consisting of values of a dependent variable (response variable) and of one
or more independent variables (explanatory variables). The dependent variable in
the regression equation is modeled as a function of the independent variables,
corresponding parameters ("constants"), and an error term. The error term is
treated as a random variable. It represents unexplained variation in the dependent
variable. The parameters are estimated so as to give a "best fit" of the data.
Most commonly the best fit is evaluated by using the least squares method, but
other criteria have also been used.

*Regression can be used for prediction (including forecasting of time-series

data), inference, hypothesis testing, and modeling of causal relationships.
*See page 40

Descriptives

In the table above, we see that the mean, minimum and maximum marks in the spoken
skills of the subjects have altered after the application of the 'Drama method' in
the course of this research. In fact, all of the students show improvement in
their speaking skills. For example, the mean of the speaking marks increased from
36.65 to 47.40 and the weakest student of the class (from minimum) who had
obtained 20 in the pre-test speaking demonstrated a substantial increase in her
marks to 29 in the post-test of speaking.

Explore

In the table above, we have two tests of normality, Kolmogrov-Smirnov and Shapiro-
Wilk. If the third column called Sig. (Significant) is more than 0.05 then we can
say that the distribution of our marks can be Normal. As we see in the pre-tests,
the distributions of the marks of the students in Reading, Writing and Speaking
are Normal. But in the Post-test, we can see that these distributions in Reading
and Speaking have undergone a change.

Below, we can compare the situation of students in different skills by using one
chart. It is important to note that though the reading and writing skills of the
students show some changes, however it is seen that there is a significant shift
in the marks of these students related to their speaking skills.
Histograms

This histogram illustrates the scores of the students in the pre-reading test
where the average number of students has scored above par.

This histogram illustrates the scores of the students in the pre-writing test
where again it is seen that the average number of students have scored above par.

This histogram illustrates the scores of the students in the pre-speaking test
where quite a number of students have scored below par.

This histogram illustrates the scores of the students in the post-reading test
where some of the students have shown a slight improvement.

This histogram illustrates the scores of the students in the post-writing test
where here also some of the students have shown a slight improvement.
On the other hand, this histogram illustrates the scores of the students in the
post-speaking test where most of the students have shown a considerable
improvement.

T-Test

Applying the t-test, we see here the results of a significant difference in the
scores of the students when the pre-test is compared with the post-test results.

Here ,we can see that the correlation between the Pre-Speaking marks and Post-
Speaking marks is 0.942. It shows that the new method of teaching English has the
equal influence on the weak and knowledgeable students and this kind of method can
be useful for all kinds of students in different levels of speaking ability.

As we see in the results of Paired Samples Test, the Significance of the t-test is
below the alpha=0.05 and it means that the equality in the marks of students
before and after the education is not acceptable and they are significantly
different. Therefore, we can say that our sample shows that in the population (All
students of English speaking), this method of can improve the speaking ability of
students.

Reliability

****** Method 1 (space saver) will be used for this analysis ******

R E L I A B I L I T Y A N A L Y S I S - S C A L E (A L P H A)

Mean Std Dev Cases

1. Pre-speaking 36,6533 9,0352 75,0

2. Post- speaking 47,4000 10,0512 75,0

No. of

Statistics for Mean Variance Std Dev Variables

SCALE 84,0533 353,7539 18,8083 2

Item-total Statistics

Scale Scale Corrected

Mean Variance Item- Alpha

if Item if Item Total if Item

Deleted Deleted Correlation Deleted

Pre-speaking 47,4000 101,0270 ,9420 .

Post-speaking 36,6533 81,6350 ,9420 .

Reliability Coefficients

No. of Cases = 75,0 No. of Items = 2

Alpha = ,9673

As we can see above, the Alpha is 0.96 and it shows that the reliability of the
tests were very high and the result of the data gathering is informative.
Regression

As we can see in the regression model, there is a relation between the ability of
students before and after this research as it is shown below:

Post_speaking = 8.991 + 1.048 * Pre_speaking

It means that, we can see a positive relationship between the speaking ability of
students before and after the research. In addition, we can infer that the method
proposed improves the speaking ability of students (8.99 marks) which could not be
influenced other previous methods that the students had personally attempted.

More to the point, because of the Stepwise method that we have employed in the
regression model, we can see that the other variables like pre-reading, pre-
writing, post-reading and post-writing are excluded from the model. This means
that they are not important variables in the speaking skills of the students when
the variable Pre-speaking is available. Therefore, we can approximately determine
the speaking potential of students merely by distinguishing their ability in
speaking and not necessarily dealing with their ability in reading or writing.

Below, we can see the results of the descriptive statistics about our variables
separately.
Explore

Explore

Explore
Explore

Explore

Explore
The differences in the results of the spoken English tests was used to determine
if there were improvements in the student’s spoken skills before and after the
research using the Drama technique in teaching. The results as expected, revealed
a distinctive improvement in spoken skills and a noticeable breakdown in the
previously identified psychological barriers in producing spoken language.

Conclusion

There is a lack of data and information on how to remove the psychological

barriers in the acquisition of spoken English skills especially in countries where
English is a foreign language.

( Some of the teachers in our university felt that the reasons for the
incapability of their producing spoken English were attributed to the lack in the
aptitude of the students or having no ‘Talent’ in language acquisition or they
were plainly dumb!) This study would provide one way to make learning interesting
and fun by removing it from the context of exam based learning as it has been
often done so. The activities would start with pair work, group work and then the
whole class gets involved in information sharing and role playing to encourage
real like communication that induces student generated communication.

The goals of this research were to;

a) To provide students with a friendly and comfortable environment to make

them look forward to their classes and at the same time help develop their self
confidence that they had lacked previously due to psychological barriers and that
was essential in enabling them to use English outside the classroom.

b) To teach communication competence, that is, the ability to communicate in

English according to the situation , purpose and roles of the participants; First,
by framing a strong foundation of basic vocabulary acquisition for accurate and
fluent communication and then extending their grammatical, lexical and functional
skills.

There has not yet been an emphasis on trying to use innovative

methods to encourage students to shed their initial fears in spoken English
especially on the part of our lecturers in the Roudehen branch of the Azad
University. This study could lead to more interests in this case and prepare our
students to be more self confident and gain jobs which requires spoken English
(Like private trading companies that are thriving due to the government’s new
policies on privatization (Act. 44) This in turn would help decrease unemployment
among graduates of English majors who had gained a degree but were unable to gain
a job even as an English teacher as they lacked fluency in spoken English. This
study focused on adult university students in the 1st. term of the B.A. course
especially those who lacked the confidence in public speaking. The findings were
extended to include the 2nd. and the 3rd. term students who still maintained this
reluctance in spoken English and proved that this ‘reluctance’ was not only due to
the ill- use of teaching methods which neglected motivation but that it was also
enhanced by the lack of rapport between the teacher and the students .
Furthermore, this research provided evidence of the effectiveness of the ‘drama
method’ in facilitating language learning as being an intuitive device of
motivation possessing a natural motivating uniqueness thereby alleviating the
psychological barriers in producing spoken English.

Once teachers recognize literature as a source and inspiration for listening and
speaking as well as reading and writing, the development of oral activities will
flow easily and naturally.

Literature- based dramatic activities are invaluable for ESL/EFL. They facilitate
and encourage development of the oral skills as they help students achieve a
clearer understanding of a work’s plot and a deeper understanding and awareness of
its characters. Probably more than any other activity they enliven classroom study
of a literary work both for the participants who are immersed in the consciousness
and situations of the characters and the spectators.

Although drama in the classroom can assume many forms there are three main types:
dramatization, role- playing and improvisation.

Dramatization entails classroom performance of scripted materials. Students can

write their own scripts for short stories or sections of novels conforming them as
closely as possible to the actual text. They must imagine what the characters
would say and how they would say it, based on the story. Student – written scripts
are also possible with plays, covering offstage situate ions or actions only
implied by the characters

The nature of the course will determine the selection of dramatization materials.
If the focus is on literature or reading the instructor may choose a few key
scenes or situations from the work being red. If the focus is on oral skills one
play can be divided into scenes for each student’s participation. Or scenes from
different plays can be selected.

An entire play can be dramatized as a culminating classroom activity.

Students should carefully read assigned sections of dialog in advance and by able
to answer questions about characters and plot. They should note vocabulary idioms
or dialogue they don’t understand and words they cannot pronounce. These issues
especially pronunciation are then resolved in pairs small groups or as a class
with the help of the teacher or an aide. Students next rehearse the scene with
their partner. They dint memorize it but learn it well enough (script in hand) to
make eye contact and say their lines with meaning and feeling. They also discuss
facial expressions gesture and the physical aspects of staging the scene. Finally,
the dramatization is presented before the classes.

Role-playing interviews with the characters are an enjoyable and novel way for
students to discuss and analyze the characters and their interrelationships.
They adapt easily to any play short story or novel and are possible with same
poems as well. A student assumes the role of a character and the class interviews
him/her focusing on such issues as how that character feels about an event or
another character the characters value judgments regarding an issue raised in the
work why the character thinks something happened or someone acted in a specific
fashion what the character hopes will happen or how he/ she hopes a dramatic
conflict will be resolved. To successfully address these issues the student must
literally step into the consciousness of the character and view the word through
that character’s eyes.

Role playing interviews work best directly after dramatizing a scene. The student
actors maintain their roles, and the rest of the class questions then about what
they did and said. The technique works because psychologically the actors haven’t
yet shed their personae the class still perceives them as characters. Because the
scene remains fresh in mind thought – provoking interview questions come easily
and spontaneously.

Group activities encourage total participation by making each student responsible

for facts and ideas to be contributed and discussed. All students are involved and
the participation is multidirectional. Moreover, the student’s attention focuses
on what they wish to say rather than on how they wish to say it. For that reason,
they concentrate on communicating a message and on the response they receive
rather than on themselves thereby losing their self- consciousness at speaking in
English.

General Class Discussion.

In-class study of any literary work should include as much class discussion as
possible. Through the use of well- students into discussion and encourages them to
describe analyze and explain the literature.

Small-Group Work.

Small-group work on the characters theme and cultural id cues a literary work
presents allows each student the maximum opportunity to speak in class. In
addition to facilitating the development of oral skills, small, group work
encourages student interaction through the sharing of ideas and teamwork. By
collaborating on a project and reporting their findings to the class they become
“authorities” in their individual areas of investigation. They discover that they
are capable of interpreting and expressing complex ideas in English, and those
they can learn from one another as well as from the teacher.

The key to the success of this activity is to give each group a specific task to
accomplish such as answering questions solving a problem , or describing/analyzing
a character with “Mending Wall” for instance after the class has discussed the
speaker’s and neighbor’s attitudes toward the wall in the poem students are ready
to explore the work at a more symbolic level . Groups can be assigned to come up
with other kinds of walls political, personal, and psychological - that hem people
in or lock them out. They can divide them into walls that serve a positive purpose
(protection, privacy), that serve a negative purpose (to alienate or persecute),
or that serve no purpose at all.

Panel consists of four to eight students who conduct their discussion before the
entire class. They prepare for the topic beforehand-usually a significant theme or
issue raised in the work. The teacher serves as moderator, allowing the students
to carry the discussion themselves.
In “The Chaser” the question might be: If scientists could produce a love potion
that really worked (in the sense of romantic love), should it be made available to
the public?

A variation of this activity is the role playing panel discussion, in which each
panelist portrays a character discussing the issues from the character’s point of
view. Then the question might be should the old man go to jail for (1) selling the
love potion (knowing the user will become impossible to live with and/ or (2)
selling the life-cleaner “(poison)” to the same people later on in life
essentially to commit murder?

Debates. Literature-based debates focus on controversial issues related to the

work’s theme or characters. The debate topic can be stated as a resolution :
:Willy Loman (Miller’s Death of a Salesman) was a good husband and father.
“Alternatively, the two sides can receive opposing interpretations of the work in
the form of contradictory statements: Willy Loman was the cause of his own
destruction. “Willy Loman was the tragic victim of circumstance.

All of these group activities lend them -selves to pronunciation practice in the
same manner as suggested for drama. Instructors note errors as they observe or
listen to recordings of the activities, discussing them one to one at a later
time.

The question to be argued here is that even though there are differences between
dialogues in literary texts and natural conversation, such material is valuable in
developing students’ pragmatic competence? Do you agree or disagree? Why?
 References

· Literature in the language classroom: A Resource Book of ideas and

Activities. Cambridge: Cambridge University press.

· Sage, H. (1987)

· Incorporating literature in ESL instruction. Englewood Cliffs, NJ:

prentice- Hall.

· Carter, R, and J. McRae.1996. Language, Literature and the Learner.

London: Addison Wesley Longman.

· Collie, J., and S.Slater. 1987. Literature in the Language classroom: A

Resource Book of Ideas and Activities Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

· Brown, H.D. (1994). Principles of language learning and Teaching. E1

cliffs, N.J: Prentice Hall/Regent

· Deci, E. (1975). Intrinsic motivation. New York: plenum press

· Green, C.F., Christopher, E.R, and Lam J. (1997).

· Developing Discussion in the ESL classroom. ELT Journal, 51(2), 135-143.

· Larsen- Freeman, D. and long, M.H (1991). An Introduction to second

language Acquisition Research. London: Longman.

· Maslow A.H. (1970). Motivation and personality (2nd. Ed.) New York: and
Row.

· Bowen Donald, Madsen Harold, Hilferty Ann (1985). TESOL

· M.Rivers Wilga, S.Tempery Mary (1978). A Practical guide to the teaching

of English as a Second, Foreign Language.

Beckett, E., and Haley, P. 2000. Using standards to integrate academic language
into ESL fluency. The Clearing House, 74, 2, 102-104. Accessed through WilsonWeb
on-line database on June 10, 2001.
Boothe, D. 2000. Looking beyond the ESL label. Principal Leadership, 1, 4, 30-35.
Accessed through WilsonWeb on-line database on June 4, 2001.
Brice, A. and Roseberry-Mckibbin, C. 1999. Turning frustration into success for
English language learners. Educational Leadership, 56, 7, 53-55. Accessed through
WilsonWeb on-line database on June 10, 2001.
Egbert, J and Simich-Dudgeon, C. 2001. Providing support for non-native learners
of English in the social studies classroom. The Social Studies, 92, 1, 22-25.
Accessed through Wilson Web on-line database on June 4, 2001.
Lucas, T. 2000. Facilitating the transitions of secondary English language
learners: Priorities for principals. NASSP Bulletin, 84, 619, 2-16. Accessed
through WilsonWeb on-line database on June 10, 2001.
Meyer, L. 2000. Barriers to meaningful instruction for English learners. Theory
into Practice, 39, 4, 228-236. Accessed through WilsonWeb on-line database on June
10, 2001.
Olsen, L. 2000. Learning English and learning America: Immigrants in the center of
a storm. Theory into Practice, 39, 4, 196-202. Accessed through WilsonWeb on-line
database on June 4, 2001.
Research-it, www.itools.com/research-it
Rudnick, B. 1995. Bridging the chasm between your English and ESL students.
Teaching PreK 8, 26, 48-49. Accessed through WilsonWeb on-line database on June 4,
2001.

Shore, K. 2001. Success for ESL students. Instructor, 110, 6, 30-32. Accessed
through WilsonWeb on-line database on June 4, 2001.
Thompson, G. 2000. The real deal on bilingual education: Former language-minority
students discuss effective and ineffective instructional practices. Educational
Horizons, 78, 2, 80-92. Accessed through WilsonWeb on-line database on June 10,
2001.

APPENDICES

Questionnaire

Please take a moment to answer as honestly as possible. The responses are

confidential and would in no way affect your end of term marks. It will merely be
used to aid your teacher to make these classes more productive by means of
improving teaching methods. Thanks!
1. Age………… 2. Gender M………….. F…………….

3. Did you find your English classes at school interesting? Yes/No

4. If the reason for Q. 3 is ‘No’, rank order the following reasons why it was not
interesting. (1 is the main reason, 2 the second reason,…etc.)

………….lack of motivation

………….inadequate teaching aids

…………boredom due to uninteresting; a) teaching method b ) teaching material

…………interferences of mother tongue that caused confusion

………….no/less focus on spoken English

…………confusion caused by various teachers/ teaching material

………….others: (Explain)

5. Have you participated in any private English classes before and if yes,for how
long? Yes/No,………………(months/ Years)

4. Was/were it/ they able to help you to learn to speak the language? Yes/No

5. If the response to Q. 4 is ‘No’, rank order the following reasons why it was
not useful (1 is the main reason, 2 the second reason,…..etc.)

………….lack of motivation

…………..dissatisfaction and uncertainty due to psychological barriers like;

(Tick the right response)

a) fear of being criticized b) afraid of making a mistake c)no

confidence in spoken skill d) others

……………boredom due to uninteresting;

a) Teaching method b) Teaching material

……………interferences of mother tongue that caused a confusion

…………..others
6. Do you feel your written and reading skills are better than your spoken skills?

Yes/No

7. If you are called upon to speak, would you feel …………..

……………confident

…………… enthusiastic

……………anxious

……………afraid

…………… nervous

( If your feelings do not correspond to any of the above explain)

9. How would you like your teacher to be in class?

………………pleasant and active

………………innovative and motivating

……………...conventional

……………….strict and serious

………………others;

9. How would you like your classes to be?

……………….interesting and lively

………………innovative and motivating

……………...conventional

……………….strict and serious

………………..exam based
………………..Communicative based

………………others;

10. Do you think you have mastered British or American accent and English? Why?

11. If you are a fluent speaker of English, please note the reasons for your
success in learning the spoken language.

12. Do you believe that there is a connection between the teacher’s behavior in
class and her teaching method with your success in learning a second language?

0 1 2 3 4
5

No slight mild moderate strong very

strong

connection connection
connection

13. How often has your teacher applied innovative methods in class to motivate the
students successfully?

0 1 2 3
4 5

never rarely sometimes frequently very frequently

always

14. What comes to your mind when you think of Drama?

15. Would you like to participate in role –playing activities? Yes/No

Overall oral fluency tests.

A score ranging from, ‘needs improvement, needs some improvement, satisfactory,

good and excellent with relevant marks* would be allocated according to the
weaknesses and strengths, to all of the students and recorded for future reference
and comparison after the research. This score was used as a measure of the
students' overall competency in spoken English.

Questions

1. Introduce yourself.

2. What do you do?

3. Describe your house

4. Talk about your family.

5. What’s Iran like?

6. Describe your daily routine.

7. How’s the weather in the spring, summer, fall and winter?

8. What will you do next week?

9. What are you going to do after graduating?

10. Describe the worst day in your life.

11. In your opinion what’s the best way to learn English?

*Refer to pages 60-63

Sample scoring Rubric for Oral Communication

SCORES
DESCRIPTORS
FLUENCY

1: Excellent
Conveys ideas accurately and naturally; speaks without excessive pauses; keeps
communication going smoothly; effectively requests and offers clarification.

2: Good
Has some trouble conveying ideas accurately; speaks with some pauses; uses
limited strategies to keep communication going; uses some strategies to request
and offer clarification.

3: Satisfactory
Ideas are occasionally unclear; pauses are somewhat frequent and/ or occasionally
too long; allows lapses in the conversations; somewhat haltingly requests and
offers clarification.

4:Needs Some Improvement

Ideas are often unclear; speech has fairly numerous long pauses; has few
strategies to keep communication going; has few or limited strategies to request
and offer clarification.

5: Needs Improvement
Ideas are unclear; speech has numerous long pauses; very few strategies to keep
communication going; has difficulty requesting and offering clarification.

ACCURACY

1:Excellent
A variety of grammatical structures are used correctly; vocabulary is used
accurately; level of politeness and formality is always appropriate in context.

2: Good
There are occasional errors in grammar or vocabulary; level of politeness and
formality is usually appropriate.

3: Satisfactory
There are some errors in grammar; avoids complex structures; vocabulary is
occasionally inaccurate; level of politeness and formality is slightly or
occasionally inappropriate.

4:Needs Some Improvement

There are numerous errors in simple grammatical structures and vocabulary; level
of politeness and formality is often and/ or substantially inappropriate.

5: Needs Improvement
There are numerous errors in simple grammatical structures and vocabulary; level
of politeness and formality is often and/ or substantially inappropriate.

PRONUNCIATION

1:Excellent
Stress is used appropriately to convey meaning in context; intonation is used
appropriately to convey meaning in context; vowel and consonant sounds are
accurately pronounced.

2: Good
Stress is occasionally lacking; intonation is occasionally lacking or
inappropriate; there are occasional errors with vowel and consonant sounds.
3: Satisfactory
Stress is sometimes lacking or inappropriate; intonation is occasionally lacking
or inappropriate; there are occasional errors with vowel and consonant sounds.

4:Needs Some Improvement

Sentence stress is generally lacking; syllable stress is sometimes inappropriate;
intonation is generally lacking or often inappropriate; recurring errors of
certain vowel or consonant sounds.

5: Needs Improvement
Sentence stress is generally lacking or often inappropriate; syllable stress
intonation is generally inappropriate; errors with vowel or consonant sounds cause
comprehension problems.

Scores

1:Excellent-85%-90%

2: Good-75%-84%

3: Satisfactory-55%-74%

4:Needs Some Improvement-45%-54%

5: Needs Improvement-44% and Below

Sample Original

dialogues

and

dramas

used in this research these plays

in the university premises and also his personal involvement in encouraging

our students to participate in these activities in order to improve their

proficiency in English. I am also very much indebted to Dr. Eftekhari ,

Mr. Nosratinia, Ms. Safavi for their valuable guidance and assistance in this

research. My dear students who were my 'subjects' and who willingly took part

in acting out these plays, do deserve my heartfelt appreciation.

Last but not least, I would like to thank my husband and my children for all

their help and encouragement.

 Abstract

The most widely used method for teaching nowadays is the communicative approach
which stresses on teaching language as a means of communication. In Iran, English
is considered as a foreign language but is gaining importance rapidly in the
commercial field and the teaching methods do not cater to the needs of this labor
market which demands fluency in English both in the spoken and written skills.

Recently, there has been a distinctive rush in enrolments in private institutes

for the purpose of learning spoken English and learning it swiftly (hence the
popularity of crash courses) as a means of making up for the inadequate teaching
methods of guidance school teachers which had proved sorely unsuccessful among
adult learners. This is because the method of teaching was universal and not
individualized (not catering to the needs of specific learning styles). The
decision to increase the percentage of university intakes recently, especially in
the private ones, made matters worse as those students right out of high school
(some from the urban areas or towns with a distinctive problem in producing spoken
English) were matched with the 'privileged' ones in Tehran who could master the
language through language institutes and private coaching and thereby creating a
segregated set of students who faced psychological barriers as mentioned by
Schumman . He claims that this is one of the important factors that bring about
unsuccessful attempts in language acquisition.

Moreover, another group of 'disappointed' students who underwent a mixed variety

of language instruction when they changed institutes indiscriminately ,usually
ended up learning a confused mixture of both British and American English .This
confusion in accents and structures- the forms that the school teacher employs as
compared with the ones that the private teachers emphasizes on, hinders the
learners’ progress in language acquisition especially in spoken skills and they
eventually retreat into a cocoon due to a psychological setback created as an
outcome. This of course is of very little help to them as being an incentive to
furthering their education in the English major. On the other hand, there are
others who only abide by their school teachers’ ‘Personalized English’ faithfully
(i.e. the English of non-native speakers who try to imitate either the American
English or the British English).Thus, they often end up lacking the confidence in
speaking the language when the need arises as emphasis on spoken English is rarely
a part of the teaching method in schools. Consequently, when they take up English
as their major in the university, this lack in confidence takes the shape of a
domineering ‘fear’ especially when called upon to speak in front of a class as
they are afraid of making a mistake. This in turn builds an emotional barrier to
further progress in language acquisition and the eventual frustration,
disappointment ending up in drop outs. Furthermore, inappropriate teaching methods
that stress on grammar, without clearly defining the basic differences between the
students’ mother tongue and the foreign language to facilitate recognition and
understanding, have also hindered successful language acquisition here. To be more
specific, we can quote Julia Popiescu who says, "A big problem with foreign
language acquisition is anxiety" These ‘weak’ students of the open universities
were either neglected by some teachers who merely gave them a passing mark out of
sympathy or failed them repeatedly without identifying the root to their problems
or even trying to help them overcome by motivating them to improve. This problem
became too cumbersome for some students forcing them to quit. Others who managed
to get just the ‘passing mark’ faced lack of work due to their inability to speak
in English even though they claimed to possess a degree in the English major.

This research that focuses on a specific mode of instruction called

role-playing or as I call it, 'The Drama Method' could motivate these 'de-
motivated' students to participate freely in language communication activities and
overcome the psychological fears in spoken language. Moreover, it's ultimate
purpose was not only to try to alleviate the inherent fears in spoken English that
hindered language learning but also to see if it could aid them to perform better
in the other subjects related to their courses.

The underlying philosophy is that meaningful and effective learning

transpires when the language to be learned is placed in naturally and culturally
based dialogues and dramas that put the learners at ease and transform them to
another platform of learning experience that eliminates the previous barriers to
language learning. I feel that acting is a profound experience that gives those
involved a taste of humanity and a taste of humility,

Very few resources are needed to make the communicative experience more real for
the students. Perhaps, if teachers think of the drama activities in the
terminology of the popular ELT methodology such as communication games or tasks
they could better comprehend the goals of using them.
 CHAPTER

ONE

INTRODUCTION

I. Title

To prove that dramatization or role-playing in EFL

instruction could help alleviate the psychological ‘anxiety’ (‘anomie’- Durkheim
1897) that exists mainly among Iranian students of English in private universities
culminating in their overcoming the psychological barriers caused mainly due to
the lack of motivation that ‘Schumman’ claims to be one of the important factors
that bring about unsuccessful attempts in language acquisition.

II. Field of research /back ground.

 EFL refers to the use or study of English by speakers with
a different native language. In Iran, though English is taught to students in
Guidance schools, most EFL students, enroll in expensive private English
institutes or have private tutors to compensate for their unsuccessful attempts to
learn the language in schools (the reasons for this would be explained later on).
Proficiency in English is compulsory here as people need it either to pass exams
as a necessary part of their education or for a career progression while working
for an international focus. It is worth noting that the EFL instruction in schools
and institutes differ in the variety of English which is taught here. ‘English’,
is a term than can refer to various dialects, syntax and content, including
British English, American English and others. Obviously, those studying English in
order to fit into a new country they have immigrated to; will learn the variety
spoken there. However, for those who do not intend to change countries and require
proficiency in English for educational or professional purposes, the question
arises of which sort of ‘English’ to learn. In Iran, their choice of the type of
English to learn is made for them by the private language school teachers of the
foreign language or their school teachers. For instance, some private institutes
guarantee to guide their students to master British English to successfully claim
a certificate in FCE, CAE or CPE whereas others promise their students to make
them speak like a native American or pass the Toefl exam with flying colors. Many
of these students, in the process of seeking the best type of EFL instruction,
indiscriminately alternate from the former type of institute to the latter when
disappointed with the outcome with either form. Due to this reason they usually
end up learning a confused mixture of both British and American English .This
confusion in accents and structures- the forms that the school teacher employs as
compared with the ones that the private teachers emphasizes on, hinders the
learners’ progress in language acquisition especially in spoken skills and they
eventually retreat into a cocoon due to a psychological setback created as an
outcome. This of course is of very little help to them as being an incentive to
further their education in the English major. On the other hand, there are others
who only abide by their school teachers’ ‘Personalized English’ faithfully (i.e.
the English of non-native speakers who try to imitate either the American English
or the British English).Thus, they often end up lacking the confidence in speaking
the language as emphasis on spoken English is rarely a part of the teaching method
in schools. Consequently, when they take up English as their major in the
university, this lack in confidence takes the shape of a domineering ‘fear’
especially when called upon to speak in front of a class as they are afraid of
making a mistake. This in turn builds an emotional barrier to further progress in
language acquisition and the eventual frustration, disappointment ending up in
drop outs. Furthermore, inappropriate teaching methods that stress on grammar,
without clearly defining the basic differences between the students’ mother tongue
and the foreign language to facilitate recognition and understanding, have also
hindered successful language acquisition here. To be more specific, we can quote
Julia Popiescu who says, "A big problem with foreign language acquisition is
anxiety". (Removing emotional barriers to EFL- info@ rennet.com, 2007). "Students
get so focused on the grammar that they get nervous and can't speak, so I have to
provide an exercise that eases their tension and gets them to practice their
grammar without concentrating on it too much." Nevertheless, sometimes foreign
language learning barriers could be related to ‘anomie’ (Durkheim 1897).

It reflects the feelings of social uncertainty or dissatisfaction

–as a significant aspect of the relationship between language learning and the
attitude toward the foreign culture.

As the learner is unable to proceed in his language acquisition process

due to confusion in understanding the ‘context’ and ‘culture’ of the newly
acquired language, he/she experiences feelings of chagrin or regret, mixed with
the fearful anticipation of entering into a new group thereby experiencing a
psychological ‘anxiety’ as it becomes a negative experience which interferes with
further language acquisition. These are clearly evident in Iran. We can look back
at foreign language teaching in Iran and in observing the trends of EFL
instruction; we realize that the learners have no or very little familiarity with
the culture of the English- whether British or American, as it was rarely
considered as possessing an important role in teaching methods. These are some
of the reasons why many of them fail to use the language successfully when called
upon, which is highlighted when they attend employment interviews or desire to
take up English as their major in the university.

Thereby, students in the universities [since the university selection methods for
students do not exactly cater to the basic knowledge requirements of a student of
English in the Azad universities] often lack the self-confidence [especially those
who had no previous private coaching or didn’t attend any classes in English
institutes] either in learning the spoken skill as a beginner or even producing
fluent speech as an advanced student. In Tehran, due to the abovementioned
barriers in communicative language learning acquisition, there has been no
reliable teaching method related to it, especially in schools. Thus teachers of
EFL often face the need to find ways to try to help the students of English
overcome these kind of emotional barriers in language acquisition and alleviate
their fears in producing spoken English in the universities.

“The most effective way to teach English to students is to

help them forget about their emotional barriers to learning” says Julia Popiescu
(Removing emotional barriers to EFL- info@ rennet.com, 2007). This study in using
the ‘Drama method’ proposed can help the teacher to alleviate the first fears in
the students in producing spoken language caused especially since English is a
foreign language here and also mainly due to the lack of motivating students in
learning how to speak in English in teaching methods in schools and also due to
facing a variety of ‘English’ culminating in confusion. Furthermore, they seem to
possess a ‘reluctance’ to speak in English may be due to the students’ fear(
especially the older ones) of looking and feeling foolish when they make a mistake
that would make the others ridicule them or even look down on them. This method
proposes to help remove the students’ resistance to learning spoken language by
making them forget their barriers to learning. Yet, countless studies and
experiments in human learning have shown that motivation is a key to learning (H.
Douglas Brown; principles a language learning and teaching). Thus, I would like to
stress here that another important difficulty in language acquisition in Iran is
the lack of the right kind of motivation (esp. prevalent among the university
students in Iran). Consequently, it is fairly easy to note, how, virtually all
aspects of language learning (especially foreign language learning) can be related
to motivation.

‘Motivation, then, is an inner drive or stimulus which can, like self-esteem, be

global, situational, or task oriented learning a foreign language clearly requires
some of the levels of motivation (Ausubel 1968:368-379)’;

1) The need for exploration for seeing “the other side of the mountain”, for
probing the unknown;

2) The need for manipulation, for operating to use ‘Skinner’s’ term- on the
environment and causing change;

3) The need for activity, for movement and exercise, both physical and mental;
4) The need for stimulation, the need to be stimulated by the environment, by
other people or by ideas, thoughts, and feelings;

5) The need for knowledge, the need to process and internalize the results of
exploration, manipulation, activity and stimulation, to resolve contradictions, to
quest for solutions to problems and for self – consistent systems of knowledge.

6) Finally, the need for ego enhancement, for the self to be known and to be
accepted and approved of by others.

However, the ingredients to successful language acquisition are;

- the right kind of motivation. Margie Berns [1984b:15] warned teachers that
textbooks that claim to have a functional base may be sore, inadequate and even
misleading in their representation of language as interaction”. She also says the
‘context’ is the real key to giving meaning to both form and function in
developing a learner’s communicative competence.

- an appropriate method of teaching (namely role-playing) Donahue and Parsons

(1982) examined the use of role – play in ESL classrooms as a means of helping
students to overcome cultural ‘fatigue’; role – play promotes the process of cross
– cultural dialog while at the same time it provides opportunities for oral
communication. Furthermore, Nelson and Jakobovits (1970) cited a number of
instructional, individual, and socio cultural factors that could enhance or deter
motivation in foreign language learning.

We should examine the relation of each of these variables to the basic needs
underlying motivation .Why, for example, do learners lack perseverance in language
learning? Or, how can the beginning learner appeal to his or her needs and enhance
motivation? How can a teacher provide extrinsic motivation where intrinsic
motivation is lacking?

Since Howard Nostrand (1966) recommends the administration and

careful doses of culture shock (differences in culture of learner) in foreign
language classrooms in order to help learners to understand the members of the
foreign culture. This could be implemented by the teaching method proposed.
Furthermore, Stevick (1982) reiterates that;

In teaching an ‘alien’ language cautioned that teachers should be sensitive to the

fragility of students by using techniques that promote cultural understanding.

Numerous techniques and materials- readings, films, simulation

games, role – plays… are available to teachers to assist them in the process of
acculturation in the classroom (Mc Groarty and Galvan 1985).

Furthermore, there are certain characteristics in this

‘Drama method’ of teaching (it must be noted that this method can in no way
replace the general method like the communicative approach used by teachers
through ‘Original texts’ but can be used as a supplementary to their method of
teaching) can assist teachers aid learners to dissolve their initial frustrations
. For one thing, role –playing provides the student with the means of associating
language with feelings, gestures and facial expressions that create a more
personal and natural form of learning. Moreover, while dramatizing, students get
immersed wholeheartedly in their activities( acting) or the make-believe world
they had temporarily constructed that in turn help them gradually emerge out of
these confusions or psychological barriers and eventually conquer the ‘anxiety’
that had previously hindered their language acquisition progress . Drama or role-
playing can also assist the teacher to alleviate the fears her students might
experience when trying to produce spoken language by:

· making the learning of the new language an enjoyable experience

· setting realistic targets for the students to aim for

· a creative sharing real experiences with others to alleviate fears

· linking the language learning experience with the student’s own experience
of life

Furthermore, drama can create in students a need to learn the language by:

· the use of creative tension situations requiring urgent solutions

· putting more responsibility on the learner as opposed to the teacher.

Finally, it should be noted that acting includes nonverbal competence like:

· Body language or Kinetics [There are speech in their dumbness, language in

their very gesture- wrote Shakespeare in , ‘The Winter’s Tale’.]

· Eye contact that signal interest, boredom empathy, understanding or other

messages

· Proxemics- different cultures interpret different messages in the presence

of objects and their proximity. In some cultures, objects might enhance a
communicative process.

· Artifacts- the nonverbal messages of clothing and ornamentation are also

important aspects of communication. Clothes often signal a person’s sense of self-
esteem; socioeconomic class and general character. In multicultural conversational
groups such artifacts can be a significant factor in lifting barriers, identifying
certain personality characteristics, and setting a general mood.

This study can help boost students’ interest in learning others

subjects related to the literature major (as I plan to limit my research to
students of Literature) which were previously seen to be too cumbersome and even
boring for them. It can also help promote other innovative teaching methods in the
universities to encourage language acquisition by grammar with controlled accuracy
– based activities leading to fluency-based communicative practice. In this way
there is a link between grammatical forms and communicative function. This method
is like ‘cooperative learning’ which has been used as a means to promote
interaction among students. This will allow students time for social interaction
and enable them to develop confidence in their language skills (Boothe, 2000).
Through participation in cooperative learning they will have a chance to speak and
listen. Verbal activities promote collaboration among students. Verbal interaction
is fundamental to learning both language and content. ESL students need the
opportunity to use language in interaction with both peers and teachers who are
competent in the language and serve as models (Egbert & Simich-Dudgeon, 2001).
Cooperative learning will afford the opportunity to develop relationships with
their peers; and their peers will hopefully, begin to value the EFL students as
not just "kids who don't speak English."

The underlying philosophy is that meaningful and effective learning

transpires when the language to be learned is placed in naturally and culturally
based dialogues and dramas that put the learners at ease and transform them to
another platform of learning experience that eliminates the previous barriers to
language learning. I feel that acting is a profound experience that gives those
involved a taste of humanity and a taste of humility, both of which can help us
gain a better understanding of ourselves and the diverse people we live work and
learn with (Rudnick, 1995).

Very few resources are needed to make the communicative experience more real for
the students. Perhaps, if teachers think of the drama activities in the
terminology of the popular ELT methodology such as communication games or tasks
they could better comprehend the goals of using them.

This study will focus on adult university students in the 1st. term of
the B.A. course especially those who lack the confidence in public speaking. It is
anticipated that the findings will be extended to include the 2nd. and the 3rd.
term students who still maintained this reluctance in spoken English to find proof
that this ‘reluctance’ could be due to the ill- use of teaching methods and the
lack of rapport between teacher and students and to provide evidence of the
effectiveness of the ‘drama method’ in facilitating language learning as well as
alleviating the psychological barriers in producing spoken English.

III. Identification of the research problem.

C. Research questions.

3) Can dramas help motivate students to participate freely in language

communication activities and overcome the psychological fears in spoken language?

4) Would these motivated students (after trying out the ‘Drama method’
in teaching) be able perform better in the other subjects related to their
courses?

D. Further objectives

To develop a systematic method including situational dialogues

especially associated with their culture, leading to longer dramas that could not
only build vocabulary learning gradually but also help in facilitate language
acquisition through understanding and rote learning in order to get the students
more interested in Literature.

CHAPTER

TWO

REVIEW of RELATED LITERATURE

 The most widely used method for teaching nowadays is the communicative
approach which stresses on teaching language as a means of communication. There
has also been studies on the degree of perceived support from the L2 for learning
a new language (Genesee, Rogers, and Holobow 1983).Schumann (1978) outlined a
broad framework of social and psychological variables, including attitude and
motivation which he claims are the most important factors;

The dominance relationship between the L1 and L2, the

degree of enclosure of the learner in an L1 environment, the cohesiveness of the
L1 community, the congruence of the first language and culture with the one being
acquired, the ego-permeability of the learner, and the degree to which the learner
undergoes language and culture shock) in determining the success of second
language learners. Investigations have also been done on the different learning
styles students use to learn a language.

However, little research has been done in applying Schumann’s

claims in the context of Foreign language acquisition in an environment or country
like Iran where English is considered as a foreign language but is gaining
importance rapidly in the commercial field and the teaching methods do not cater
to the needs of this labor market which demands fluency in English both in the
spoken and written skills. Recently, there has been a distinctive rush in
enrolments in private institutes for the purpose of learning spoken English and
learning it swiftly (hence the popularity of crash courses) as a means of making
up for the inadequate teaching methods of guidance school teachers which had
proved sorely unsuccessful among adult learners. This is because the method of
teaching was universal and not individualized (not catering to the needs of
specific learning styles). The decision to increase the percentage of university
intakes recently, especially in the private ones, made matters worse as those
students right out of high school (some from the urban areas or towns with a
distinctive problem in producing spoken English) were matched with the privileged
ones in Tehran who could master the language through language institutes and
thereby creating a segregated set of students who faced psychological barriers as
mentioned by Schumman. These ‘weak’ students were either neglected by some
teachers who merely gave them a passing mark out of sympathy or failed them
repeatedly without identifying the root to the problem or trying to help them
overcome it and motivate them to improve. This problem became too cumbersome for
some forcing them to quit. Others who managed to get just the ‘passing mark’ faced
lack of work due to their inability to speak in English even though they claimed
to possess a degree in the English major.

Furthermore, based on the emerging recognition that literature study

had to be adapted to new dimensions of EFL work and new less elitist educational
objectives the British council held a conference at Kings college Cambridge in
1962 (see press 1963) to discuss the issues and make recommendations for change.

This conference was the first and only major organized attempt ever
under taken to evaluate the teaching of literature in EFL instruction. No similar
attempts to assess the role of literature have been reported. Thus focal research
on the teaching of literature in ESL/EFL has largely been ignored. Literature
teaching research, however, has receded even further into the background of
ESL/EFL specialists during the past three decades. The lack of interest is
reflected in three major areas;

While there are many literature anthologies, few resources exist to

aid teachers in presenting the material they contain. Second, there is a lack of
preparation in the area of literature teaching in TESL/TEFL programs, at least in
the United States. Third is the absence of clear cut objectives defining the role
of literature in ESL/EFL. Consequently, literature still tends to be taught in the
traditional way in most non English speaking countries. (Stern: An Integrated
Approach to Literature in ESL/EFL.)

In ESL situations, instructors would like to enhance their teaching of literature

with new approaches and techniques, but lack the resources that includes include
literature, background and training.

‘Hence, the full array of values literature offers English

instruction has yet to be fully realized. As ESL/EFL professional we must ask
ourselves how to translate these potentials into classroom practice. Although the
study of literature in a language class is traditionally associated with reading
and writing, both speaking and listening can play an equally meaningful role. Oral
reading, dramatization, improvisation, role-playing, discussion, and group
activities may center on a work of literature. By participating in literature-
based oral activities, the students are immersed in contextualized language
learning situations which provide string motivation for communication, where every
utterance is relevant’

( Collie,j.,and S. Slater (1987) , Literature in the language classroom).

‘Perhaps the greatest benefit of using literature in the language

classroom lies in its potential for developing students’ speaking skills,
particularly their sociolinguistic and pragmatic competence.’(Literature as
content for ESL/EFL, Sandra Lee McKay)

Plays provide a rich context for developing students’ sociolinguistic

and pragmatic awareness .It is important, however, to recognize that plays differ
in significant ways from natural conversation. As Simpson points out, drama and
naturally occurring discourse are not identical types of communication. Once
teachers recognize literature as a source and inspiration for listening and
speaking as well as reading and writing, the development of oral activities will
flow easily and naturally. Literature- based dramatic activities are invaluable
for ESL/EFL. They facilitate and encourage development of the oral skills as they
help students achieve a clearer understanding of a work’s plot and a deeper
understanding and awareness of its characters. Probably more than any other
activity they enliven classroom study of a literary work both for the participants
who are immersed in the consciousness and situations of the characters and the
spectators. Although drama in the classroom can assume many forms there are three
main types: dramatization, role- playing and improvisation. Dramatization entails
classroom performance of scripted materials. Students can write their own scripts
for short stories or sections of novels bringing them as closely as possible to
the actual text. They must imagine what the characters would say and how they
would say it, based on the story. Student – written scripts are also possible with
plays, covering offstage situate ions or actions only implied by the characters.
Role playing interviews work best directly after dramatizing a scene. The student
actors maintain their roles, and the rest of the class questions then about what
they did and said. The technique works because psychologically the actors haven’t
yet shed their personae, the class still perceives them as characters. Because the
scene remains fresh in mind, thought – provoking interview questions come easily
and spontaneously. The unique feature of this ‘Drama method’, as mentioned above,
mainly rests in trying to alleviate this psychological setback. Moreover, since in
Tehran, the English Language institutes focuses on ‘stressing’ on the ‘pronounced’
British or American accents, the students (who were generally adults and lacked
the natural age to acquire accents) were put off very soon in learning English as
they couldn’t master either one of these accents, this role-playing acquaints the
students with the international language (not either American nor British
language and accents)that does not emphasizes on a particular accent, in order to
put them at ease by eradicating negative pressures on ‘forced’ accents .
Scaffolding activities and accommodations that will help students to: organize
their thoughts, develop study skills, and organize their schedules, consistently
follow classroom procedures, and track their progress throughout the school year
(Boothe, 2000) has been utilized before. By assigning classroom jobs or
responsibilities to EFL or special needs students and by involving all the
students as a class in a joint activity at the end of a term in acting out plays
together would help them feel as if they belong and have value. I will encourage
them to share any personal experiences with the class that they feel comfortable
sharing and to also maintain a personal journal about themselves and their
experiences (written in English or their native language).

CHAPTER

THREE

Data collection and analysis

A.Data collection

Distributing questionnaires and conducting a spoken English proficiency

test in the various classes of the subjects chosen to separate the problematic
ones.

Dividing them into two groups:

d) Beginners with spoken English difficulties.[They do have a basic knowledge

of English as it is taught in Guidance schools in this country as part of their
curriculum yet they have inability or difficulty in producing spoken English]

e) Advanced learners with spoken English difficulties.[ They have

satisfactory or good command in the other language skills]

f) Analyzing the questionnaires* filled by the students to find out the

reasons behind the barriers in spoken English to select those with psychological
barriers.

Stage 1. Toefl test

To identify the students who have this psychological setback at the

beginners’ level of language acquisition through Toefl written and reading and
spoken English test. Proficiency tests were administered to students to discover
those who possess advanced or intermediate written proficiency but experienced
some difficulties when producing spoken language. A score* ranging from weak,
fair, average, good very good and excellent, was allocated according to their
weaknesses and strengths to all of the students and recorded for future reference
and comparison after the research. This score gave a means of measurement of the
students overall competency in spoken English.

Stage 2 .Questionnaire.

These was handed out to each student to find out the reasons for their
psychological fears ,if any ,to producing speech in English which in turn would
describe the problems related to unsuccessful endeavors in learning due to
unsuitable teaching methods that were applied to them, the use of the language in
their society (English is a foreign language here), the teacher’s incapability to
form a rapport with the students which is conducive in language and etc.

*See APPENDICES

Rationale: An essential criterion faced when designing a test to distinguish

these weak students was to plan it carefully so as not to ‘rupture’ their morale
or hurt their ego (as these students’ ages coincide with other psychological
crisis that accompany growing up due to prohibitions, restrictions that they feel
hinders their freedom and the lack of the uninhibited communicative ability to
grasp adult mannerisms and so on). Therefore, the first step of this study
included applying a sensitive approach to segregate the weak students from the
others who have either an average level of fluency or those who are fluent
speakers of English.

Subjects: The subjects were the first term students in three classes of teaching,
literature and linguistics majors ranging from the ages of 19-25. (In some rare
cases, even from the ages of 25-40)

The focus was on the less privileged students as mentioned before and on those
students who had very little or no previous private coaching in language
acquisition from language institutes of private tutoring and who are in the
Literature major (As I aim to prove that this method would affect the students
interest in learning all about Literature and create an incentive to improve)

Materials: The materials are standard tests of Toefl and other similar ones.

Results: Out of a total number of students from three classes, 75 students were
chosen to be the ultimate subjects as not only did the Toefl test illustrated a
distinctive problem in speaking as compared to their written and reading skills
but their responses to the questionnaire confirmed that they we were facing some
problems in speaking ( esp. in front of an audience).

Stage 3: Implementing the ‘Drama Method’

· Methodology

· First and foremost, I created a ‘foreign’ atmosphere by ‘sticking to’

speaking in English ONLY in the classes.

· Then, I divided the students in groups of two for each dialogue and
assigned a part for each one [in term one and according to the number of roles for
the other dramas, in the other terms]. I made them repeat each role loudly along
with me as a class, first, to stress on the correct pronunciation and intonation
and the type of accent [preferably that of ‘International language’]. Then, the
students practiced their respective roles on their own and with their partners
while I, as their teacher, was actively involved by going around the class to
check for mistakes and correct them simultaneously.

· I avoided allocating too many lines for practice in one session as I felt
that it would only frustrate them especially when attempts are unsuccessful,
leading to hurdles in learning. A little at a time, did the work!

· This activity, of repeating the roles [NOT memorizing] two by two,

continued till they had ‘mastered’ it by digesting their meanings. Next, I
prepared them for acting out their roles, allowing them enough creativity by
helping them infuse feelings, emotions, facial and body expressions and action
while acting. They could even ‘dress up’ for their roles and even make stage
arrangements. This created fun in learning and thereby alleviated their fears in
producing spoken English.

· Then, I recorded their dramas and replayed them for the whole class. Their
mistakes were pointed out while their achievements applauded. Their grades for
their performance were announced at once and the best actresses, rewarded. This
would be an incentive for further improvements and future involvements.

The students then, switched their roles and the whole process of learning was
repeated.
Procedures and Materials: The materials consisted of dialogues first supplied by
me as their teacher followed by systematic introductions of new phrases, idioms
and vocabulary. We started with short situational conversations as related to
their original text that is part of their syllabus at the university for teaching
in the Speaking and Listening classes. Then, it was followed by longer dialogues
framed with the help of the students who chose the new words* from their textbooks
and later with newer vocabulary from other sources outside their syllabus in order
to enrich their vocabulary. In the next term, focus was shifted on only the
Literature students to introduce them with first (simple / or simplified versions)
of original plays that they would have to learn in their courses of the degree.
They were later encouraged to dramatize these plays in the university auditorium.

Subjects: As described in stage one. This group consisted of the 'chosen 75' whose
written ability is good but faced definite speaking difficulties. It helped their
ego to show off their talents while simultaneously shedding their fear of speaking
by joining in dialogues with the other students (esp. the proficient ones) to help
them to understand the meaning of the dialogues, to help them in rote learning and
later to produce innovative dialogues together and on their own.

Results: This provided an innovative method that helps suppress the fears in
producing spoken language in a process of learning a foreign language as in is not
only natural but also encouraging, motivating and interesting. This in turn became
a pedestal that would lead to self confidence in continuing their education and
also helps in facilitating learning in other subjects in their field of study.

Stage 4. The reexamination of the students who had this psychological setback at
the beginners’ level of language acquisition through the Toefl spoken English test
was performed. Proficiency tests were administered to these students to discover
those who have shown a significant improvement in spoken language in order to
prove the success of the method recommended by the research.

Consequently, a statistical comparison of scores in the proficiency tests* and

analyzing the differences, if any, in the students’ responses to the question
would reveal if the barriers (faced by them before the research) have been eased
in any way or not.

*see APPENDICES

Chapter

Four
DATA ANALYSIS

Introduction

In this chapter different stages of statistics results and their interpretation

are presented. Following the scoring method to measurement tools which was used,
the subjects scores were obtained and recorded* in each phase of pre-test and
post-test before and after implementing the drama method of teaching spoken
English.

In the stage of applying descriptive analysis, the indexes of mean, standard

deviation, skewness, kurtosis, minimum, maximum, confidence interval as well as
the test of normalization of scores distribution (kolmogorov-smirnov) were
calculated. In addition, the histograms of the subjects' scores in the pre-tests
and post-tests related to the dependent variable of the students spoken English
difficulties exposed in the pre- test (before manipulation/ implementing the drama
method of teaching) compared to the dependent variable in the post-test results(
after manipulation/ implementing the drama method of teaching) were drawn. The
methodology used to analyze the data and assess the impact the independent
variables( reading and writing skills) on the dependent variables( before and
after implementing the drama method of teaching) are as follows:

*See APPENDICES
A.Methodology

*Skewness and kurtosis:

Skewness and kurtosis are statistics that describe the shape and symmetry of the
distribution. A high kurtosis distribution has a sharper "peak" and fatter
"tails", while a low kurtosis distribution has a more rounded peak with wider
"shoulders".[3]

Distributions with zero kurtosis are called mesokurtic, or mesokurtotic. The most
prominent example of a mesokurtic distribution is the normal distribution family,
regardless of the values of its parameters, therefore:

*Skewness - measures the degree and direction of symmetry or asymmetry of the

distribution. A normal or symmetrical distribution has a skewness of zero (0). But
in the real world, normal distributions are hard to come by. Therefore, a
distribution may be positively skewed (skew to the right; longer tail to the
right; represented by a positive value) or negatively skewed (skew to the left;
longer tail to the left; with a negative value.
Kurtosis - measures how peaked a distribution is and the lightness or heaviness of
the tails of the distribution. In other words, how much of the distribution is
actually located in the tails? A normal distribution has a kurtosis value of zero
(0) and is said to be mesokurtic. A positive kurtosis value means that the tails
are heavier than a normal distribution and the distribution is said to be
leptokurtic (with a higher, more acute "peak"). A negative kurtosis value means
that the tails are lighter than a normal distribution and the distribution is said
to be platykurtic (wi[4]th a smaller, flatter "peak").

*Cronbach's alpha and internal consistency:

Cronbach's alpha will generally increase when the correlations between the items
increase. For this reason the coefficient is also called the internal consistency
or the internal consistency reliability of the test. This was used to measure the
face validity of the tests that eventually proved the validity of the
questionnaire too.

*T-Test:

t-test is any statistical hypothesis test in which the test statistic has a
Student's 't' distribution if the null hypothesis is true. If our sample is
paired, so that each member of one sample has a unique relationship with a
particular member of the other sample (e.g., the same people measured before and
after an intervention, or IQ test scores of a husband and wife) then we can use
this test. If the calculated p-value is below the threshold chosen for statistical
significance (usually the 0.10, the 0.05, or 0.01 level), then the null hypothesis
which usually states that the two groups do not differ is rejected in favor of an
alternative hypothesis, which typically states that the groups do differ.

*Regression analysis:

Regression analysis is a technique used for the modeling and analysis of numerical
data consisting of values of a dependent variable (response variable) and of one
or more independent variables (explanatory variables). The dependent variable in
the regression equation is modeled as a function of the independent variables,
corresponding parameters ("constants"), and an error term. The error term is
treated as a random variable. It represents unexplained variation in the dependent
variable. The parameters are estimated so as to give a "best fit" of the data.
Most commonly the best fit is evaluated by using the least squares method, but
other criteria have also been used.

*Regression can be used for prediction (including forecasting of time-series

data), inference, hypothesis testing, and modeling of causal relationships.

*See page 40

Descriptives

In the table above, we see that the mean, minimum and maximum marks in the spoken
skills of the subjects have altered after the application of the 'Drama method' in
the course of this research. In fact, all of the students show improvement in
their speaking skills. For example, the mean of the speaking marks increased from
36.65 to 47.40 and the weakest student of the class (from minimum) who had
obtained 20 in the pre-test speaking demonstrated a substantial increase in her
marks to 29 in the post-test of speaking.
Explore

In the table above, we have two tests of normality, Kolmogrov-Smirnov and Shapiro-
Wilk. If the third column called Sig. (Significant) is more than 0.05 then we can
say that the distribution of our marks can be Normal. As we see in the pre-tests,
the distributions of the marks of the students in Reading, Writing and Speaking
are Normal. But in the Post-test, we can see that these distributions in Reading
and Speaking have undergone a change.

Below, we can compare the situation of students in different skills by using one
chart. It is important to note that though the reading and writing skills of the
students show some changes, however it is seen that there is a significant shift
in the marks of these students related to their speaking skills.
Histograms

This histogram illustrates the scores of the students in the pre-reading test
where the average number of students has scored above par.

This histogram illustrates the scores of the students in the pre-writing test
where again it is seen that the average number of students have scored above par.

This histogram illustrates the scores of the students in the pre-speaking test
where quite a number of students have scored below par.
This histogram illustrates the scores of the students in the post-reading test
where some of the students have shown a slight improvement.

This histogram illustrates the scores of the students in the post-writing test
where here also some of the students have shown a slight improvement.

On the other hand, this histogram illustrates the scores of the students in the
post-speaking test where most of the students have shown a considerable
improvement.

T-Test

Applying the t-test, we see here the results of a significant difference in the
scores of the students when the pre-test is compared with the post-test results.

Here ,we can see that the correlation between the Pre-Speaking marks and Post-
Speaking marks is 0.942. It shows that the new method of teaching English has the
equal influence on the weak and knowledgeable students and this kind of method can
be useful for all kinds of students in different levels of speaking ability.

As we see in the results of Paired Samples Test, the Significance of the t-test is
below the alpha=0.05 and it means that the equality in the marks of students
before and after the education is not acceptable and they are significantly
different. Therefore, we can say that our sample shows that in the population (All
students of English speaking), this method of can improve the speaking ability of
students.

Reliability

****** Method 1 (space saver) will be used for this analysis ******
_

R E L I A B I L I T Y A N A L Y S I S - S C A L E (A L P H A)

Mean Std Dev Cases

1. Pre-speaking 36,6533 9,0352 75,0

2. Post- speaking 47,4000 10,0512 75,0

No. of

Statistics for Mean Variance Std Dev Variables

SCALE 84,0533 353,7539 18,8083 2

Item-total Statistics

Scale Scale Corrected

Mean Variance Item- Alpha

if Item if Item Total if Item

Deleted Deleted Correlation Deleted

Pre-speaking 47,4000 101,0270 ,9420 .

Post-speaking 36,6533 81,6350 ,9420 .

Reliability Coefficients

No. of Cases = 75,0 No. of Items = 2

Alpha = ,9673

As we can see above, the Alpha is 0.96 and it shows that the reliability of the
tests were very high and the result of the data gathering is informative.

Regression

As we can see in the regression model, there is a relation between the ability of
students before and after this research as it is shown below:

Post_speaking = 8.991 + 1.048 * Pre_speaking

It means that, we can see a positive relationship between the speaking ability of
students before and after the research. In addition, we can infer that the method
proposed improves the speaking ability of students (8.99 marks) which could not be
influenced other previous methods that the students had personally attempted.

More to the point, because of the Stepwise method that we have employed in the
regression model, we can see that the other variables like pre-reading, pre-
writing, post-reading and post-writing are excluded from the model. This means
that they are not important variables in the speaking skills of the students when
the variable Pre-speaking is available. Therefore, we can approximately determine
the speaking potential of students merely by distinguishing their ability in
speaking and not necessarily dealing with their ability in reading or writing.
Below, we can see the results of the descriptive statistics about our variables
separately.

Explore
Explore

Explore

Explore

Explore
Explore

The differences in the results of the spoken English tests was used to determine
if there were improvements in the student’s spoken skills before and after the
research using the Drama technique in teaching. The results as expected, revealed
a distinctive improvement in spoken skills and a noticeable breakdown in the
previously identified psychological barriers in producing spoken language.

Conclusion

There is a lack of data and information on how to remove the psychological

barriers in the acquisition of spoken English skills especially in countries where
English is a foreign language.

( Some of the teachers in our university felt that the reasons for the
incapability of their producing spoken English were attributed to the lack in the
aptitude of the students or having no ‘Talent’ in language acquisition or they
were plainly dumb!) This study would provide one way to make learning interesting
and fun by removing it from the context of exam based learning as it has been
often done so. The activities would start with pair work, group work and then the
whole class gets involved in information sharing and role playing to encourage
real like communication that induces student generated communication.
The goals of this research were to;

c) To provide students with a friendly and comfortable environment to make

them look forward to their classes and at the same time help develop their self
confidence that they had lacked previously due to psychological barriers and that
was essential in enabling them to use English outside the classroom.

d) To teach communication competence, that is, the ability to communicate in

English according to the situation , purpose and roles of the participants; First,
by framing a strong foundation of basic vocabulary acquisition for accurate and
fluent communication and then extending their grammatical, lexical and functional
skills.

There has not yet been an emphasis on trying to use innovative

methods to encourage students to shed their initial fears in spoken English
especially on the part of our lecturers in the Roudehen branch of the Azad
University. This study could lead to more interests in this case and prepare our
students to be more self confident and gain jobs which requires spoken English
(Like private trading companies that are thriving due to the government’s new
policies on privatization (Act. 44) This in turn would help decrease unemployment
among graduates of English majors who had gained a degree but were unable to gain
a job even as an English teacher as they lacked fluency in spoken English. This
study focused on adult university students in the 1st. term of the B.A. course
especially those who lacked the confidence in public speaking. The findings were
extended to include the 2nd. and the 3rd. term students who still maintained this
reluctance in spoken English and proved that this ‘reluctance’ was not only due to
the ill- use of teaching methods which neglected motivation but that it was also
enhanced by the lack of rapport between the teacher and the students .
Furthermore, this research provided evidence of the effectiveness of the ‘drama
method’ in facilitating language learning as being an intuitive device of
motivation possessing a natural motivating uniqueness thereby alleviating the
psychological barriers in producing spoken English.

Once teachers recognize literature as a source and inspiration for listening and
speaking as well as reading and writing, the development of oral activities will
flow easily and naturally.

Literature- based dramatic activities are invaluable for ESL/EFL. They facilitate
and encourage development of the oral skills as they help students achieve a
clearer understanding of a work’s plot and a deeper understanding and awareness of
its characters. Probably more than any other activity they enliven classroom study
of a literary work both for the participants who are immersed in the consciousness
and situations of the characters and the spectators.

Although drama in the classroom can assume many forms there are three main types:
dramatization, role- playing and improvisation.

Dramatization entails classroom performance of scripted materials. Students can

write their own scripts for short stories or sections of novels conforming them as
closely as possible to the actual text. They must imagine what the characters
would say and how they would say it, based on the story. Student – written scripts
are also possible with plays, covering offstage situate ions or actions only
implied by the characters

The nature of the course will determine the selection of dramatization materials.
If the focus is on literature or reading the instructor may choose a few key
scenes or situations from the work being red. If the focus is on oral skills one
play can be divided into scenes for each student’s participation. Or scenes from
different plays can be selected.

An entire play can be dramatized as a culminating classroom activity.

Students should carefully read assigned sections of dialog in advance and by able
to answer questions about characters and plot. They should note vocabulary idioms
or dialogue they don’t understand and words they cannot pronounce. These issues
especially pronunciation are then resolved in pairs small groups or as a class
with the help of the teacher or an aide. Students next rehearse the scene with
their partner. They dint memorize it but learn it well enough (script in hand) to
make eye contact and say their lines with meaning and feeling. They also discuss
facial expressions gesture and the physical aspects of staging the scene. Finally,
the dramatization is presented before the classes.

Role-playing interviews with the characters are an enjoyable and novel way for
students to discuss and analyze the characters and their interrelationships.

They adapt easily to any play short story or novel and are possible with same
poems as well. A student assumes the role of a character and the class interviews
him/her focusing on such issues as how that character feels about an event or
another character the characters value judgments regarding an issue raised in the
work why the character thinks something happened or someone acted in a specific
fashion what the character hopes will happen or how he/ she hopes a dramatic
conflict will be resolved. To successfully address these issues the student must
literally step into the consciousness of the character and view the word through
that character’s eyes.

Role playing interviews work best directly after dramatizing a scene. The student
actors maintain their roles, and the rest of the class questions then about what
they did and said. The technique works because psychologically the actors haven’t
yet shed their personae the class still perceives them as characters. Because the
scene remains fresh in mind thought – provoking interview questions come easily
and spontaneously.

Group activities encourage total participation by making each student responsible

for facts and ideas to be contributed and discussed. All students are involved and
the participation is multidirectional. Moreover, the student’s attention focuses
on what they wish to say rather than on how they wish to say it. For that reason,
they concentrate on communicating a message and on the response they receive
rather than on themselves thereby losing their self- consciousness at speaking in
English.

General Class Discussion.

In-class study of any literary work should include as much class discussion as
possible. Through the use of well- students into discussion and encourages them to
describe analyze and explain the literature.

Small-Group Work.

Small-group work on the characters theme and cultural id cues a literary work
presents allows each student the maximum opportunity to speak in class. In
addition to facilitating the development of oral skills, small, group work
encourages student interaction through the sharing of ideas and teamwork. By
collaborating on a project and reporting their findings to the class they become
“authorities” in their individual areas of investigation. They discover that they
are capable of interpreting and expressing complex ideas in English, and those
they can learn from one another as well as from the teacher.

The key to the success of this activity is to give each group a specific task to
accomplish such as answering questions solving a problem , or describing/analyzing
a character with “Mending Wall” for instance after the class has discussed the
speaker’s and neighbor’s attitudes toward the wall in the poem students are ready
to explore the work at a more symbolic level . Groups can be assigned to come up
with other kinds of walls political, personal, and psychological - that hem people
in or lock them out. They can divide them into walls that serve a positive purpose
(protection, privacy), that serve a negative purpose (to alienate or persecute),
or that serve no purpose at all.

Panel consists of four to eight students who conduct their discussion before the
entire class. They prepare for the topic beforehand-usually a significant theme or
issue raised in the work. The teacher serves as moderator, allowing the students
to carry the discussion themselves.

In “The Chaser” the question might be: If scientists could produce a love potion
that really worked (in the sense of romantic love), should it be made available to
the public?

A variation of this activity is the role playing panel discussion, in which each
panelist portrays a character discussing the issues from the character’s point of
view. Then the question might be should the old man go to jail for (1) selling the
love potion (knowing the user will become impossible to live with and/ or (2)
selling the life-cleaner “(poison)” to the same people later on in life
essentially to commit murder?

Debates. Literature-based debates focus on controversial issues related to the

work’s theme or characters. The debate topic can be stated as a resolution :
:Willy Loman (Miller’s Death of a Salesman) was a good husband and father.
“Alternatively, the two sides can receive opposing interpretations of the work in
the form of contradictory statements: Willy Loman was the cause of his own
destruction. “Willy Loman was the tragic victim of circumstance.

All of these group activities lend them -selves to pronunciation practice in the
same manner as suggested for drama. Instructors note errors as they observe or
listen to recordings of the activities, discussing them one to one at a later
time.

The question to be argued here is that even though there are differences between
dialogues in literary texts and natural conversation, such material is valuable in
developing students’ pragmatic competence? Do you agree or disagree? Why?
 References

· Literature in the language classroom: A Resource Book of ideas and

Activities. Cambridge: Cambridge University press.

· Sage, H. (1987)

· Incorporating literature in ESL instruction. Englewood Cliffs, NJ:

prentice- Hall.

· Carter, R, and J. McRae.1996. Language, Literature and the Learner.

London: Addison Wesley Longman.

· Collie, J., and S.Slater. 1987. Literature in the Language classroom: A

Resource Book of Ideas and Activities Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

· Brown, H.D. (1994). Principles of language learning and Teaching. E1

cliffs, N.J: Prentice Hall/Regent

· Deci, E. (1975). Intrinsic motivation. New York: plenum press

· Green, C.F., Christopher, E.R, and Lam J. (1997).

· Developing Discussion in the ESL classroom. ELT Journal, 51(2), 135-143.

· Larsen- Freeman, D. and long, M.H (1991). An Introduction to second

language Acquisition Research. London: Longman.

· Maslow A.H. (1970). Motivation and personality (2nd. Ed.) New York: and
Row.

· Bowen Donald, Madsen Harold, Hilferty Ann (1985). TESOL

· M.Rivers Wilga, S.Tempery Mary (1978). A Practical guide to the teaching

of English as a Second, Foreign Language.

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 APPENDICES

Questionnaire

Please take a moment to answer as honestly as possible. The responses are

confidential and would in no way affect your end of term marks. It will merely be
used to aid your teacher to make these classes more productive by means of
improving teaching methods. Thanks!

1. Age………… 2. Gender M………….. F…………….

3. Did you find your English classes at school interesting? Yes/No

4. If the reason for Q. 3 is ‘No’, rank order the following reasons why it was not
interesting. (1 is the main reason, 2 the second reason,…etc.)

………….lack of motivation

………….inadequate teaching aids

…………boredom due to uninteresting; a) teaching method b ) teaching material

…………interferences of mother tongue that caused confusion

………….no/less focus on spoken English

…………confusion caused by various teachers/ teaching material

………….others: (Explain)

5. Have you participated in any private English classes before and if yes,for how
long? Yes/No,………………(months/ Years)

4. Was/were it/ they able to help you to learn to speak the language? Yes/No

5. If the response to Q. 4 is ‘No’, rank order the following reasons why it was
not useful (1 is the main reason, 2 the second reason,…..etc.)

………….lack of motivation

…………..dissatisfaction and uncertainty due to psychological barriers like;

 (Tick the right response)

b) fear of being criticized b) afraid of making a mistake c)no

confidence in spoken skill d) others

……………boredom due to uninteresting;

b) Teaching method b) Teaching material

……………interferences of mother tongue that caused a confusion

…………..others

6. Do you feel your written and reading skills are better than your spoken skills?

Yes/No

7. If you are called upon to speak, would you feel …………..

……………confident

…………… enthusiastic

……………anxious

……………afraid

…………… nervous

( If your feelings do not correspond to any of the above explain)

9. How would you like your teacher to be in class?

………………pleasant and active

………………innovative and motivating

……………...conventional

……………….strict and serious

………………others;
9. How would you like your classes to be?

……………….interesting and lively

………………innovative and motivating

……………...conventional

……………….strict and serious

………………..exam based

………………..Communicative based

………………others;

10. Do you think you have mastered British or American accent and English? Why?

11. If you are a fluent speaker of English, please note the reasons for your
success in learning the spoken language.

12. Do you believe that there is a connection between the teacher’s behavior in
class and her teaching method with your success in learning a second language?

0 1 2 3 4
5

No slight mild moderate strong very

strong

connection connection
connection
13. How often has your teacher applied innovative methods in class to motivate the
students successfully?

0 1 2 3
4 5

never rarely sometimes frequently very frequently

always

14. What comes to your mind when you think of Drama?

15. Would you like to participate in role –playing activities? Yes/No

Overall oral fluency tests.

A score ranging from, ‘needs improvement, needs some improvement, satisfactory,

good and excellent with relevant marks* would be allocated according to the
weaknesses and strengths, to all of the students and recorded for future reference
and comparison after the research. This score was used as a measure of the
students' overall competency in spoken English.

Questions

12. Introduce yourself.

13. What do you do?

14. Describe your house

15. Talk about your family.

16. What’s Iran like?

17. Describe your daily routine.

18. How’s the weather in the spring, summer, fall and winter?

19. What will you do next week?

20. What are you going to do after graduating?

21. Describe the worst day in your life.

22. In your opinion what’s the best way to learn English?

*Refer to pages 60-63

Sample scoring Rubric for Oral Communication

SCORES
DESCRIPTORS

FLUENCY

1: Excellent
Conveys ideas accurately and naturally; speaks without excessive pauses; keeps
communication going smoothly; effectively requests and offers clarification.

2: Good
Has some trouble conveying ideas accurately; speaks with some pauses; uses
limited strategies to keep communication going; uses some strategies to request
and offer clarification.

3: Satisfactory
Ideas are occasionally unclear; pauses are somewhat frequent and/ or occasionally
too long; allows lapses in the conversations; somewhat haltingly requests and
offers clarification.

4:Needs Some Improvement

Ideas are often unclear; speech has fairly numerous long pauses; has few
strategies to keep communication going; has few or limited strategies to request
and offer clarification.

5: Needs Improvement
Ideas are unclear; speech has numerous long pauses; very few strategies to keep
communication going; has difficulty requesting and offering clarification.

ACCURACY

1:Excellent
A variety of grammatical structures are used correctly; vocabulary is used
accurately; level of politeness and formality is always appropriate in context.

2: Good
There are occasional errors in grammar or vocabulary; level of politeness and
formality is usually appropriate.

3: Satisfactory
There are some errors in grammar; avoids complex structures; vocabulary is
occasionally inaccurate; level of politeness and formality is slightly or
occasionally inappropriate.

4:Needs Some Improvement

 There are numerous errors in simple grammatical structures and vocabulary; level
of politeness and formality is often and/ or substantially inappropriate.

5: Needs Improvement
There are numerous errors in simple grammatical structures and vocabulary; level
of politeness and formality is often and/ or substantially inappropriate.

PRONUNCIATION

1:Excellent
Stress is used appropriately to convey meaning in context; intonation is used
appropriately to convey meaning in context; vowel and consonant sounds are
accurately pronounced.

2: Good
Stress is occasionally lacking; intonation is occasionally lacking or
inappropriate; there are occasional errors with vowel and consonant sounds.

3: Satisfactory
Stress is sometimes lacking or inappropriate; intonation is occasionally lacking
or inappropriate; there are occasional errors with vowel and consonant sounds.

4:Needs Some Improvement

Sentence stress is generally lacking; syllable stress is sometimes inappropriate;
intonation is generally lacking or often inappropriate; recurring errors of
certain vowel or consonant sounds.

5: Needs Improvement
Sentence stress is generally lacking or often inappropriate; syllable stress
intonation is generally inappropriate; errors with vowel or consonant sounds cause
comprehension problems.

Scores
1:Excellent-85%-90%

2: Good-75%-84%

3: Satisfactory-55%-74%

4:Needs Some Improvement-45%-54%

5: Needs Improvement-44% and Below

Sample Original

dialogues

and

dramas

used in this research

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

* See pages 28-45

*See pages 28-45

* See pages 28-45

*See pages 28-45