The influence of body awareness through drama and improvisation on the development of EFL students' oral production

Abstract

The purpose of this quasi-experimental research project was to develop oral communicative competences by raising body awareness through drama and improvisation in students of II, IV, and VI semester of the Bachelor Program in Modern Languages at University of Cauca. In order to achieve this purpose, a group of students, whose ages ranged from 18 to 25 years old, was selected by an open call and an interview process. The research was developed in a three main phases of instruction, starting with a pre-test measurement, with the aim of collecting an understanding of their natural occurring discourse proficiency level, passing through a 40-hour drama and improvisation workshop, and concluding with a posttest measurement and the implementation of a semi-structured interview to all students. Those instruments provided the elements for analyzing the influence of body awareness through drama and improvisation on the development of EFL students' oral production.