The Effect of Drama Activities in the Second Language Classroom: Vocabulary Acquisition and Fluency Development

Abstract

Recent studies stress the benefits of using drama activities in the L2 classroom to improve oral skills, based on qualitative analyses rather than on empirical evidence. This thesis explores, through quantitative analysis, whether or not role-plays can enhance L2 acquisition of Spanish, in particular vocabulary acquisition and fluency development. To address this issue, 56 participants were divided in three experimental groups: a) Control group; b) Experimental group 2, only memorized three scripts; c) Experimental group 3, memorized and embodied scripts. To analyze the effects, data were collected through the following instruments: pre-test and post-test to assess their Spanish level, production of target vocabulary and structures during role-plays and a final interview and, the perception of native-speaker instructors. Findings obtained from this research show that, although drama activities create a safe classroom environment for oral production, the exposure to these activities had no impact in participants’ oral production or vocabulary learning.