The Effectiveness of Role Playing as Strategy in Teaching

Vocabulary

_____________

A Research
Presented to
The Division of Graduate Research and Studies

____________

A Partial Fulfilment
Of the Requirements for the Degree
Master of Arts in Education

____________

By
Joy Mariette Burce Cristo
Teresita Caridad Gamiao
Ghie Taguinod Fernandez

The Problem and Its Background

Vocabulary is a key element of students' understanding and
communicative ability in any language. However Filipino English
Language Learners are observed to face many difficulties with
vocabulary, which have been attributed to the widespread use of
traditional methods focusing on memorization and rote learning.
Learning

vocabulary

is

very

important

in

ESL,

but

knowing

vocabulary is not enough; what matters is using it in various

situational contexts (Lajooee & Barimani, 2013). Therefore, teachers
of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) try to familiarize students
with words and their meanings, derivational patterns, grammatical
and social usage, through using various strategies, activities, and
drills to enable them to use vocabulary appropriately and effectively
in real situations.
Besides these mentioned statements regarding the importance of
vocabulary, it is to point out that there have been a great number of
different approaches to language learning, each with a different
outlook on vocabulary(Richards & Rodgers, 2001; Jesa,2008). At
times, language teaching and vocabulary teaching have been
interconnected

to

each

other,

and

sometimes

it

has

been

neglected(Schmitt,2000). In practice, syntax and pronunciation of

the words are the significant part of language learning, whereas,

vocabulary

has

been

ignored

in

most

foreign

language

classes(Femndez, Prahlad, Rubtsova, & Sabitoy, 2009; Farghal &

Obiedat, 1995).
Nowadays it is quite believed that vocabulary learning is one of the
most substantial parts of both ones native language acquisition and
foreign language learning(Morra & Camba, 2009).
Vocabulary learning and its retention in learners mind is very
momentous. So, it should be taught in a way that learners will be
capable of recalling them easily, Knowing how to use and when to
use words.
Based on these mentioned particular cases, the researcher in this
study intends to investigate a technique in order to learn vocabulary
better. Apparently there are many operative vocabulary learning
techniques such as concept-mapping, matching, role-play, semanticmapping, dictionary use, learning vocabulary through the context,
and many others. Among these, role-play, as a technique, has been
chosen by the researchers.

Theoretical and Conceptual Underpinnings

Role-playing is one of the classroom activities used in communicative
language teaching. Communicative Language Teaching or CLT is an
approach to second language teaching which grew out of Krashen
and Terrel's Natural Approach.

It is based on Krashen's Monitor

Model, or input hypothesis, and also draws on the notion of

communicative competence.
The Natural Approach
The natural approach developed by Tracy Terrell and supported by
Stephen Krashen, is a language teaching approach which claims that
language learning is a reproduction of the way humans naturally
acquire

their

native

language.

The

approach

adheres

to

communicative approach to language teaching and rejects earlier

methods such as the audiolingual method and the situational
laguage teaching approach which Krashen and terrell (1983) believe
are not based on actual theories of language acquisition but
theories of the structure of language
The Natural Approach vs the Direct Method
Although The Natural approach and the Direct Method (also called
the natural method) share some features, there are important

differences . Like the direct method the natural approach is

believed to conform to the naturalistic principles found in second
language acquisition. Unlike the direct method, however, it places
less emphasis on teacher monologues, direct repetion,and formal
questions and answers, and less focus on accurate production of
target language sentences (Richards and Rodgers, 1986:129)
Theory of language
Krashen and Terrell view communication as the primary function of
language, and adhere to a communicative approach to language
teaching, focusing on teaching communicative abilities rather than
sterile language structures.
Theory of learning
Krashen grounded the Natural approach on a number of theories of
learning tenets.
1.

Acquisition versus learning: explicit grammar instruction does

not facilitate acquisition

2.

Natural order: teachers must respect learners' developmental

sequences
3.

Comprehensible input (i + 1): the necessary and sufficient

condition for acquisition

4.

Monitor: explicit grammar knowledge is only useful for

checking writing
5.

Affective filter: learners must be relaxed and motivated in

order to learn.
Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) is an approach to the
teaching of second and foreign languages, emphasizes interaction as
both the means and the ultimate goal of learning a language. It is
also referred to as Communicative Approach. Historically, CLT has
been seen as a response to the Audio-Lingual Method (ALM), and as
an extension or development of the Notional-Functional Syllabus.
Task-based language learning, a more recent refinement of CLT, has
gained considerably in popularity.
According to the communicative approach, in order for learning to
take place, emphasis must be put on the importance of these
variables:

Communication: activities that involve real communication

promote learning.
Tasks: activities in which language is used to carry out

meaningful tasks supports the learning process.

Meaning: language that is meaningful and authentic to the
learner boosts learning.

Basic premises of this approach:

 Focuses on all of the components of communicative competence,

not only grammatical or linguistic competence.
Engages learners in the pragmatic, functional use of language for
meaningful purposes

Views

fluency

and

accuracy

as

complementary

principles

underpinning communicative techniques

Uses the language in unrehearsed contexts
David

Nunan

(1991:279)

lists

five

basic

characteristics

of

Communicative Language Teaching:

(1) An emphasis on learning to communicate through interaction in
the target language.
(2) The introduction of authentic texts into the learning situation.
(3) The provision of opportunities for learners to focus, not only on
the language but also on the learning process itself.
(4) An enhancement of the learner's own personal experiences as
important contributing elements to classroom learning.
(5) An attempt to link classroom language learning with language
activation outside the classroom.

The communicative approach is based on the idea that learning

language successfully comes through having to communicate real
meaning. When learners are involved in real communication, their
natural strategies for language acquisition will be used, and this will
allow them to learn to use the language.
In the classroom
Classroom activities guided by the communicative approach are
characterised

by

trying

to

produce

meaningful

and

real

communication, at all levels. As a result there may be more

emphasis on skills than systems, lessons are more learner-centred,
and there may be use of authentic materials.
The main elements of Communicative Approach usually appear as
three steps in classroom teaching: 1) presentation 2) practices 3)
production. Applied to the third period, one of the effective practice
is role-play, which emphasizes much on the comprehensively
performance of the target language.

Statement of the Problem

The learning process requires some change and variation from time
to time, because too much repetition and structure make it much
harder for students to engage and practice new language vocabulary
activities.
For this reason, the present study aims to answer the following
questions:
1. How effective is role-playing as strategy in teaching vocabulary
in the grade 7 students of Lakan Dula High School?
2. What are the advantages and disadvantages of using role-play
as a medium to enhance and develop vocabulary?
3. Is there any positive impact of the evaluation based on the
recorded performance of role play on the students?

Hypothesis

On the basis of this research question, the following null hypotheses

are formulated:
1. There is no significant difference in the average mean score on the
vocabulary achievement test between learners who will be taught by
using a role-play strategy (experimental group) and those who will be
taught without a role-play strategy (control group) in the pre-test."
2. There is no significant difference in the average mean score on the
vocabulary achievement test between learners taught by using a roleplay strategy (experimental group) and those taught without a roleplay strategy (control group) in the post-test."

Operational Definition of Variables

Communicative Language Teaching (CLT. An approach to

the teaching of second and foreign languages, emphasizes interaction
as both the means and the ultimate goal of learning a language.
Role-play Strategy. According to the Oxford Dictionary (2015)
role play is acting out of the part of a particular person or character,
for example as a technique in training or psychotherapy. Role-play is a
strategy in which students are required to act specific roles through
saying, doing and sharing (Altun, 2015).
Vocabulary. Graves (2000, as cited in Taylor, 1990) defines
vocabulary as the entire stock of words belonging to a branch of
knowledge or known by an individual. He also states that the lexicon of
a language is its vocabulary, which includes words and expressions.
Vocabulary Learning Strategy. It refers to " any set of
techniques or learning behaviours, which language learners use to
understand the meaning of a new word, to restore the knowledge of
newly learned words, and to expand one's knowledge, of vocabulary" .