Drama plays with words, words create worlds: The effects of drama-based language instruction on prep school students' self-efficacy and language learning curiosity

This study aimed to investigate the impact of drama activities on the self-efficacy and language learning curiosity of English Language preparatory (prep) school students at a state university in Istanbul, Turkey. Furthermore, the study explored the perspectives of language learners and the instructor on drama-based implementations. The participants were 50 prep school students and 2 language instructors. Two classes participated in the study: the experimental group (n = 25) who received drama-based instruction, and the control group (n = 25) who continued with the non-drama-based instruction. The classes were selected based on the convenience sampling method. To meet the goals of this mixed-method study employing a quasi-experimental research design, the quantitative data were gathered from pre- and post- General Self-Efficacy Scale (GSE) and pre- and post- Language Learning Curiosity Scale (LLCS) while the qualitative data were obtained from semi-structured student interviews and teachers' reflective journals. The statistical analysis of pre- and post- tests' scores revealed that the integration of drama activities significantly improved the self-efficacy and language learning curiosity of prep school students. Similarly, the qualitative findings indicated that language learners found drama-based language instruction as entertaining, encouraging, improving, long-lasting, awareness-raising, and socializing. There was an increase in students' class participation, an enhancement in their creativity and imagination, a boost in their collaboration, a raise in their interest in the target language and its culture, and an improvement in their speaking and communication skills.