The effects of drama on students' self-confidence and motivation in language learning process

In modern education system, the most effective ways of teaching English have been researched. Motivation, self-reliance and the methods that are used in language classroom are closely related to each other. Drama can be an alternative way to integrate into the language learning process to make language learning more effective. In this respect this study aims to find out if drama effects the motivation and self-confidence of students in learning English. To achieve this, an 8-week lesson plan was designed. The study was carried out with 100 elementary level students at the Preparatory school of Hasan KALYONCU University. The aim was to find the answers for the following research questions which are (1) Is using drama activities effective for developing students' self confidence and motivation? (2) What are the students' perceptions towards using drama activities? Regarding these questions, three different data collection tools were used; the teacher kept weekly diaries after the drama classes for 8 weeks. Also students answered questionnaires. Lastly, at the end of the term, an interview was conducted with 10 students. The results from the interviews were analyzed by content analysis and the questionnaire data was calculated based on a five-point Likert scale. The findings showed that using drama in language learning was quite effective. Also students reflected positively about the drama lessons in terms of improving their motivation, and developing their self-confidence.