Enhancing ESL Learners’ Non-Verbal Communication Skills through Process Drama

This research aims at determining the effects of the process drama on non-verbal communication behaviour of ESL learners in secondary school (SS group) and at a university (TI group). Six participants, three from each group were examined as focus participants and their non-verbal behaviours, including movements and facial expressions were studied. According to the findings, students in the TI group had better levels of non-verbal communication than those in the SS group. Additionally, these participants thought they displayed a wider variety of non-verbal actions. The findings also revealed that participants from the university group had higher self-reported non-verbal communication ratings than those in the secondary school and that the former perceived themselves as using more non-verbal behaviours than the latter. The study also identified some similarities in the non-verbal behaviours of both groups, such as maintaining eye contact while speaking. However, some contradictions were found between self-reported data and their actual behaviour. The study suggests that engaging in process drama could enhance learners’ non-verbal communication skills. The study also concludes that process drama improves the non-verbal skills, which help in improving the self-esteem and confidence of the learners of both learners from the different educational levels.