Fostering Undergraduate Students’ English Grammatical Knowledge through Drama Activities
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Abstract
The present study was conducted to explore effects of drama activities on students’ English grammatical knowledge and to investigate their attitudes towards grammar learning experiences through drama activities. The participants included 125 second-year English major undergraduate students who were enrolled in the Practical English course in the first semester of the academic year 2017 at Prince of Songkla University, Surat Thani Campus. Data were collected using a grammar test administered before and after the implementation of the treatment. The mean scores the students obtained in the pre-test and the post-test were compared using paired sample t-test and Hedges’ g effect sizes. Students’ logs and attitudinal questionnaires were additionally used to collect qualitative data. The findings revealed a statistically significant difference between the mean scores the students obtained in the pre-test and post-test of grammar achievement test at a significant level of 0.05. Calculation of the effect size yielded a value of 1.14 which was considered large. The data obtained in students’ logs as well as attitudinal questionnaires reflected the students’ positive attitudes towards their grammar learning experiences through drama activities. It is suggested based on the findings that drama activities can be an effective alternative means to foster grammatical knowledge and to create positive attitudes towards learning grammar among learners of English as a foreign language.
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