Developing Students Speaking Skills Through Role-Play and Readers Theatre (RT)

Objectvive: The study aimed to investigate the impact of integrating role-play and reader's theater activities on developing students’ speaking skills in the EFL classroom. Method: The study relied on the experimental method with a quasi-experimental design. Accordingly, a random sample was selected from the elementary schools in the Arab sector of Israel. The number of study members reached 23 students. Theatrical situations were applied, and the results were recorded. Indicators of speaking skills are measured using the measurement tool represented by the observation card and the student attitudes questionnaire. Results: The study's results revealed significant differences at the level of statistical significance (0.00) between the student’s performance in the pre-and post-scales. The differences were in favor of the post-scale. Findings and implications: The findings showed that integrating role-plays and reader theater in the EFL classroom significantly improved students' speaking skills. The study suggested implementing these creative techniques in language learning to make it more effective and engaging. It also recommended enriching school curriculums with educational plays.