Lights, Camera and Action: Using Creative Drama to Improve Speaking Skill in a Group of Fifth Graders in a Private Institution

Abstract

ABSTRACT: This action research study was carried out at Instituto Salesiano Pedro Justo Berrio in Medellin, which intended to describe how creative drama activities foster the students’ communicative speaking skills in a group of 5th graders. There were 14 participants with a basic level of English who participated in activities such as mimics, improvisation, frozen image, imitation, role-play, and theatrical exercises. Some school’s extracurricular activities influenced the application of the project. The data was collected with a survey and personal observations. The results gathered from this research showed how students’ willingness to communicate was increasing, which positively affected their communicative speaking skills; moreover, during the research, the teacher and classmates’ influence was crucial when supporting students’ learning processes.