Exploring the use of drama-based activities as a learning tool in English oral proficiency development among students from non-Malay-medium nation schools: A preliminary study

• Main Authors: Chang, Fui Man, Lee, Andrea Jen May, Sabariah Sharif, Soon Singh Bikar Singh
• Format: Article
• Language: English; English
• Published: Human Resource Management Academic Research Society (HRMARS) 2019
• Subjects: PR English literature
• Online Access: https://eprints.ums.edu.my/id/eprint/27394/1/Exploring%20the%20use%20of%20drama-based%20activities%20as%20a%20learning%20tool%20in%20English%20oral%20proficiency%20development%20among%20students%20from%20non-Malay-medium%20nation%20schools_%20A%20preliminary%20study%20FULL%20TEXT.pdf; https://eprints.ums.edu.my/id/eprint/27394/2/Exploring%20the%20use%20of%20drama-based%20activities%20as%20a%20learning%20tool%20in%20English%20oral%20proficiency%20development%20among%20students%20from%20non-Malay-medium%20nation%20schools_%20A%20preliminary%20study%20ABSTRACT.pdf; https://eprints.ums.edu.my/id/eprint/27394/; https://hrmars.com/papers_submitted/6082/Exploring_the_Use_of_Drama-Based_Activities_as_a_Learning_Tool_in_English_Oral_Proficiency_Development_among_Students.pdf

Transitioning from Non-Malay-medium national schools to Malay-medium or English-medium secondary schools proved to be a struggle for many students due to the negligence in developing audio-lingual skills of the second language (L2) throughout the six-years of primary education. This study aims to explore the effectiveness of drama-based activities as a language learning strategy on L2 oral proficiency among the students aged between 12 to 13 years old from Non-Malay-Medium National School. Over a period of five weeks, pre-intervention interviews (on the first week), intervention (over the span of three weeks with two hours per week), and post-intervention interviews (on the fifth week) were carried out. The content of the intervention was adapted from Trinity College London's Grade 4 Communication Skills syllabus. The instruments used for data collection included: (1) pre-determined pre- and post-intervention speaking assessments, (2) classroom observation speaking assessments and (3) oral proficiency assessment rubric adapted from Cambridge English speaking assessment of Common European Framework of Reference Level B1 and a published drama assessment tool focusing on elements such as Grammar and Vocabulary, Pronunciation, Discourse Management, and Task Completion. The results of the post-intervention oral proficiency assessment showed that the there was an overall improvement especially in discourse management and task completion.