Students’ Perceptions on the Use of Radio Drama to Develop Speaking Skills

Abstract

Speaking confidently with correct oral communication skills in a target language is not an easy task for any second language learners. One of the ways to develop speaking skills is through radio drama activity. The present study examined students’ perceptions of radio drama to develop speaking skills. Besides, the differences between male and female students were also explored. The participants of the study were fifty-five diploma engineering students taking the Integrated Language Skills course. In order to collect the necessary data, a set of questionnaires with two open-ended questions were distributed to the participants through Google Form link to the class WhatsApp groups. Descriptive statistics were conducted to measure the quantitative data and content analysis was used to analyse the qualitative data. The results show that students have positive perceptions regarding the implementation of radio drama activity to develop speaking skills. The students perceived radio drama as fun and effective, improved pronunciation, constructed better sentences, learned new vocabulary, gained confidence, and experienced speaking English with peers. Besides, both genders perceived radio drama developed creativity in speaking skills with female students having a stronger view than their male counterparts. It is suggested teachers consider utilizing radio drama activities in English language lessons.