Effects of Creative, Educational Drama Activities on Developing Oral Skills in Primary School Children

A research study was carried out to determine whether native language teaching courses that utilize creative drama activities are more efficient in developing oral communication skills in primary school students than the traditionally applied native language teaching courses. In the present research, the elements of oral communication skills of primary school students were investigated in terms of pronunciation and interpretation skills. The study group consisted of two groups of fourth-year students attending an elementary school in the provincial city-center of Erzurum, Turkey, during the 2006-2007 educational year. A random sampling technique was used to form the experiment (n = 32) and control (n = 33) groups. An observation form was developed to assess oral communication skills and collect data. The validity of this form was verified by referring it to experts and its reliability was confirmed by seven educators. This measurement tool was applied on the experiment and control groups as both a pre-test and post-test. In concordance with the aim of the study, the traditional method, using a teacher-centered course-book, was implemented in the control group, whereas native language instruction lessons were implemented utilizing drama activities in the experiment group. At the end of this 14 week period, both groups participated in the post-test. Data analysis demonstrated a significant difference between the experiment and control groups oral communication skills. The application of drama activities using native language instruction improved development of pronunciation skills when contrasted with traditional, teacher-centered course-book methods.