Drama-Based Instruction in Enhancing Learners’ Story Element Recognition
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.22047322Keywords:
drama-based instruction, story element recognition, reading comprehension, EFL, experiential learning, Grade 6 pupilsAbstract
This study determined the effectiveness of drama-based instruction in enhancing Grade 6 pupils’ recognition of story elements at Tai Ping Elementary School, Changhua County, Taiwan. A true experimental pretest-posttest control-group design was employed with 42 Grade 6 EFL pupils drawn from two intact classes: Grade 6A (n = 21) served as the experimental group and received drama-based instruction, while Grade 6B (n = 21) served as the control group and received the school’s traditional instruction. Both groups studied the same anchor text, The Water Princess, across a six-week, six-session instructional period. Story element recognition was measured using researcher-developed parallel 20-item forms assessing characters, setting, plot, conflict, and resolution. The instrument was validated by three experts and obtained an overall validity index of 3.91, interpreted as very highly valid. Descriptive statistics, independent-samples t tests, paired-samples t tests, and Cohen’s d were used at the .01 level of significance. The groups were equivalent at pretest, t(40) = 0.53, p = .598, d = 0.16. At posttest, the experimental group (M = 18.29, SD = 2.00) significantly outperformed the control group (M = 15.38, SD = 2.31), t(40) = 4.35, p < .001, d = 1.34. Both groups improved significantly, but the experimental group achieved a larger mean gain (5.00 versus 1.67), t(40) = 10.22, p < .001, d = 3.15. The findings indicate that drama-based instruction was more effective than conventional instruction for strengthening story element recognition and produced more uniform gains across pupils. Drama activities may therefore be integrated into elementary EFL literacy instruction to support active, experiential, and collaborative comprehension of narrative structure.
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