Enhancing oral production in higher education efl learners: outcomes and insights from drama-based pedagogy

This action research explores how drama-based pedagogy can enhance oral production in English as a foreign language among higher education students in Colombia. The study addresses the problem of low oral proficiency and students’ lack of confidence when speaking English, despite its relevance in academic, professional, and social domains. The project aims to explore how Drama-Based Pedagogy can promote interaction based oral production in a language center with a group of foreign university learners at Corporacion Universitaria Antonio Jose de Sucre was to implement drama-based tasks. Twelve B1-level students from the Corporación Universitaria Antonio José de Sucre participated in the intervention, which consisted of eight tasks implemented over a seven-day cycle. Data were collected through classroom observations, video recordings, semi-structured interviews, and phenomenological writing protocols. The analysis, guided by iterative coding within action research cycles, revealed three constructs: (1) oral confidence and emotional security, shown in reduced anxiety, increased eye contact, spontaneity, and self-monitoring; (2) linguistic and cognitive development, marked by progress from fragmented, Spanish-reliant speech to fluent, coherent language enriched with vocabulary; and (3) affective, social, and contextual engagement, strengthened through peer collaboration, cultural relevance, and motivation in authentic scenarios. In conclusion, the study demonstrates that drama-based pedagogy is not merely recreational but a transformative approach that strengthens oral competence, motivation, and socio-emotional growth. Although the limited sample and short timeframe constrain generalizability, the results provide evidence that drama-based activities constitute a powerful and contextually relevant strategy for improving oral production in Colombian EFL classrooms.