Dramatizing a northeastern thai folklore to lessen high school students’ communication anxiety

Abstract

© 2019, Chulalongkorn University Language Institute. All rights reserved. This paper aims at examining the extent to which the English drama inspired by the Northeastern Thai folklore “Pachit-Oraphim” in an English classroom can reduce high school students’ classroom anxiety in speaking English. The participants were thirty-six students in the tenth and eleventh grades, who were enrolled in an English class under the School-Based Management for Local Development (SBMLD) program at a local high school in Bua Yai district, Nakhon Ratchasima province. Based on Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS) questionnaires (Horwitz, Horwitz, & Cope, 1986) and focus-group interviews, the results reveal that the participants showed a significant increase in their self-confidence to speak English by lowering their classroom anxiety. The results also suggest that the use of folk drama could potentially alleviate their anxiety of speaking English and promote their positive attitudes toward English communication in the classroom. Moreover, students appreciated their local culture by performing this folk drama in authentic sociocultural situations. This study will be potentially beneficial for English teachers who would like to enhance students’ speaking skills through a fun and meaningful folk drama performance. Culturally-responsive English language teaching through folk drama familiar to students can be an adaptable language pedagogy to increase their confidence to engage in the English classroom.