Using Role Playing in Oral Expression Skills Course: Views of Prospective EFL Teachers

Abstract

Conducting the lectures with effective approaches and methods is of prime importance for the acquisition of the necessary skills and competencies in the field of English language teaching. This study aims at determining the opinions of the pre-service teachers of English regarding the effects of the use of role playing technique in expression skills course, which is offered in the 2nd year at the Department of Foreign Languages Education, the problems experienced during the application process and the suggestions for the use of the technique. A semi-structured interview was implemented to gather the data. The data of the research were arranged and interpreted within the framework of the themes created for the purpose of the research with the descriptive analysis technique. The data obtained from the study results generally emphasize that role playing technique is an efficient method for students to improve their expression skills. Based on the results of the study, the application of the role-playing technique, may also be beneficial to the professional development of prospective teachers. Using drama in foreign language learning classes can improve the self-confidence of prospective teachers in terms of applying drama activities in their professional lives. However, when we consider this process as a whole, the difficulties students experience in this process should not be ignored. In order to minimize the problems participants made suggestions about the importance of space and equipment for the role-playing technique to reach its goal efficiently.