Role play and dramatizations

Student’s Perceptions of the use of Role Play and Drama in L2 Learning

Magdalena Elizabeth Vargas Torres

Thesis presented to Escuela Politecnica del Litoral – ESPOL and Centro de Estudios de Lenguas Extranjeras – CELEX
To fulfill the requirements for the
Master’s Thesis on Teaching English as a First Language

Dara G. Shaw, Ed.D.
Dennis Maloney, Ed
Jorge Flores,Ms

Guayaquil,Ecuador
2007

Abstract
Student’s Perceptions of the use of Role Play and Dramatizations in L2 Learning

Magdalena Elizabeth Vargas Torres

The study of communicative skills has proposed Role Plays and Dramatizations as a way to provide learners with many opportunities to acquire the language. However, there have also been opinions of the limited benefits that they give. Despite this, there havebeen few studies about the student’s perceptions of role play and dramatizations. The present study focuses on the Student’s perceptions of the use of role play and dramatizations in the acquisition of the English language, as well as any other skills they could find. The results showed that the participants recognized the benefits of role plays and dramatizations to increase their vocabulary,fluency, pronunciation, development of comprehension and to apply/ gain knowledge. Beside these benefits, students have noticed the development of individual skills which they referred as personal growth such as confidence, spontaneity, use of imagination and creativity, fun, development of personal and group relationships, and the interchange of ideas with classmates. But also, they recognized thatdramatizations were too demanding and needed an extra dosage of responsibility in all members.
Acknowledgements
First, I would like to thank my husband who has always supported me to study anything I liked and also helped me to take the decision to study the Master’s degree. Thanks to his comprehension, patience and love to me and our sons.
Second, I would like to thank my parentsand siblings. Their constant support and pride made me work harder. Special thanks to my Mother in Law, for her willingness and the tranquility she brought to me when taking care of my baby while I was taking the master’s classes.
I would like to express my gratitude to the three committee members who helped me with valuable feedback. Special thanks to Dr. Shaw, for her words ofencouragement and patience in the whole process of the master’s program. Thanks also to Mr. Maloney for his bright ideas and generosity to share important material for the Master’s students. Thanks also to Mr. Flores who provided helpful comments and kindly checked and answered many questions through the whole process.
Finally, I would like to thank my students, not only the ones who gentlyparticipated in this study, but all students who have been part of pilot projects for the past three years. Thanks to their enthusiasm and motivation to work on these projects.

Dedication

To
My husband, my sons, my parents, relatives and my students

Table of Contents
Title Page ……………………………………………………………………………………………i
Abstract ……………………………………………………………………………………………..ii
Acknowledgements…………………………………………………………………………..iii
Dedication ………………………………………………………………………………………….iv
Table of Contents ……………………………………………………………………………….v
Chapter 1: Introduction …………………………………………………………..1
Chapter 2: Review of the Literature ………………………………………..3

Chapter 1
Introduction
Researchers in the second language acquisition (SLA) field agree that the language teacher’s goal should make language real. It is not possible to do so with atextbook alone; language needs to be taught as a living experience that belongs to each student.
Many experts have expressed the many special reasons for using role play and dramatizations to achieve that goal. A very wide variety of experience can be brought into the classroom through role play. The range of functions and structures, and the areas of vocabulary...