Rational and theoretical perspectives

Since the decision of the Government of Vietnam to implement economic open-door policy,
English has been officially acknowledged as a vital and mandatory communication language
for business, science, technology and commerce. Despite the importance of English in the
current social context, the examination-oriented and textbook-focused teaching method has
been regarded as an obstacle to achieve the communicative goals of language teaching
(Hoang, 2008; Le, 2004). Much literature about teaching English as a foreign language (EFL)
has pinpointed out the inadequate learning and teaching of English in Vietnam which is
mostly grammar translation method (GTM), with more focus on grammar rules, sentence
structures and vocabulary than on fluency and communication skill (Richards and Rodgers,
2014, p.6). Not only students but also teachers are not encouraged to spend class time on
activities which promotes the students communicative proficiency due to the lack of
speaking tests in examination (Chen & Goh, 2011; Gao, 2012). Admittedly, such a teaching
method in most universities, institutions and private centers has not yet taken conversational
English into consideration. In addition, other problem should be mentioned is that it is
difficult for teachers to their teaching targets, especially in enhancing students speaking
ability due to the insufficient teaching time for English subject in class. Whereas, students
have limited time to learn English in class and there is a lack of opportunity for them to
practice and reinforce English in their daily life outside the classroom. These are the
perceived barriers faced by the majority of teachers in Vietnam and in many other non-native
English-speaking countries.

Influenced by GTM that are not interactive and engaging for students, Vietnamese language
learners are often described as language receivers rather than language constructors
(Lewis and McCook, 2002, p.149). In the same vein, Nhan and Lai (2002) as well as Tin Tan
(2010) stated that teachers play a central role in providing encouragement, input and
guidance, while students suppose quite a passive role in Vietnamese classrooms. The major
part of interaction is generated by the teacher such as asking students questions, delivering
the knowledge, determining topics, etc. In contrast, students usually sit on a desk, keep quiet
in class, listen to and take notes about the teachers explanation, and follow the teachers
instructions (Pham, 2000). This teacher-learner interaction does not require students to
participate in any pair/ group activities or conversation among their classmates. As a result,
they are not be able to apply what they have learnt into real-life situation, which leads to
demotivation and less interest in English learning. So in an EFL context, it is essential to take
into consideration the spaces for students to develop the oral skill through practice and to get
involve in classroom activities.

Moreover, there are several factors that cause difficulties in communicative competence
among EFL learners even though they have been studying English for a long time from
primary to high level education. First of all, students communication skills were limited
because they are afraid to speak English, worried about making mistakes, fearful of criticism
by the teacher or other students (Rubin & Thompson, 2004, p.10). With respect to this fear, it
is important for teachers to provide their students the comfort and belief that the teacher will
help them if they make mistake and that they can even learn from their mistakes. Moreover, a
supporting and harmonious learning atmosphere should be created to reduce students
nervousness. Lack of confidence is another factor that influences progress in language
learning, especially in speaking skill. In other words, many students think that their English is
bad and feel that they cannot speak English well. They tend to show less willingness to
participate in the classroom and in daily-life communication. Makiko Ebata (2008) also
affirmed that lack of belief in ones ability hinders students form acquiring the targeted
language, enjoying the learning process and developing real communication. Therefore, Yi
(2007) gave a suggestion that maximizing students exposure to English is a good way to
enhance the students confidence. In conclusion, the English proficiency of the majority of
Vietnamese students, especially adults are quite disappointing due to both the traditional
teaching methods and the students characteristics.

Following the previous ideas, an effective and appropriate technique teaching speaking
should be investigated to create interesting teaching and learning process. Instead of
traditional whole-class setting, as a teacher, I would like to organize cooperative activities,
which encourage my students utilize language as a tool for social interaction, exchange
information as well as cooperate with the other learners to gain language acquisition
efficiently. Collaborative learning with interactive tasks is believed to provide opportunities
for students to become effective communicators in a meaningful way (Brown, 2007). In an
interactive classes using the student-centered approach which has a large amount of pair and
group work, students can increase their language and apply it in authentic conversations. In
addition, according to Brown (1994), this approach also creates a relaxed classroom
atmosphere and great motivation for learning by relieving students anxiety and timidity.

Role play
Among lots of teaching techniques, role-play seems to be an appropriate one to advocate
students ability, their self-confidence as well as interaction among class members in the
process of teaching and learning speaking. Role-play is a piece of activity in which students
are given particular roles in a real environment. They are supposed to speak and act with new
roles or new characters; for example, a waiter ordering at a restaurant, an doctor dealing
with patient, a client complaining about a product, a passenger asking for direction, etc. Role
play activities can be grouped into two types, scripted and unscripted role play (Byrne, 1983).
Scripted role play involves interpreting either the textbook dialogue or reading text in the
form of speech. The text is used as a model conversation for students to understand and
convey the meaning of language items in a memorable way. Byrne also suggested this kind of
role play can be appropriate for low level students. In contrast to scripted role-play,
unscripted role play might be applied to students with upper level of English capacity since it
is where students are only provided with cued dialogues, cues and information, or situation
and goals (Littlewood, 1981). Those learners themselves have to establish their own
conversation built on the understanding, opinions and thought (Davies, 1990).

A large number of literatures have revealed the advantages of role play in teaching
communication. First of all, role play activity gives the students the opportunity to practice
and develop variety of socio-cultural speech in real world situation (Larsen and Freeman,
2000). By involving in thinking how to act and react, students were seen to gain a different
experience related to their life and other social situations. It has become an effective and
beneficial way for them in fostering English proficiency beyond the classroom. According to
Scrivener (2005), role play is one of the student-centered methods which maximize the
students talking time despite their limited class time. It encourages students in thinking and
creativity to see situations from a different perspective, lets students practice and reinforce
new knowledge in a fun and engaging way. In the same vein, Ladousse (1987) indicated that
role play is one of a flexible communicative techniques which increases motivation, peer
learning and sharing. Besides, applying role-play activities in the communication class also
build up students self-confidence by creating spaces for them to interact with others,
especially for the shy students (Guilfoyle and Mistry, 2013). Students who are recognized as
a part of the class at which they feel safe can overcome the timidity to practice speaking in
front of others.

The effectiveness of implementing role-play technique for communication has also been
reported in many studies. In 2017, Krebt conducted a research to explore the effectiveness of
role-playing as a technique in teaching speaking for 40 students of University of Baghda,
Iraqui. By evaluating the post-test taken after 20 lessons of experimental and control groups,
the researcher concluded that the employed treatment affected the outcomes. There is a
considerable improvement in the speaking ability of the students under experimental group,
especially in pronunciation and accent because role play technique requires them to practice
speaking and listening more than other skills. Furthermore, students who adopted role-play
technique seemed to get more engagement in group work or peer speaking activities. In short,
the result of the study proved that role play provides an efficient learning atmosphere for
language learners to develop their skills.

In the context of Vietnam, an investigation into impacts of role-play were conducted by

Duong (2014). The participants included 10 Vietnamese teachers of English and 66 first-year
students whose major is English at Nong Lam University in Ho Chi Minh city. Discovered
from teachers and students responses to the questionnaires, the factors prevent students
from communicating in the target language are lack of vocabulary and grammar,
mispronunciation and psychological factor such as fear of making mistake, shyness or
anxiety. After a 30 period-English speaking course (lasted in 15 weeks), both teachers and
students believed that role play could help enhance the students speaking proficiency. Most
of students confirmed that they had lots of chances to participate in pairs or group activities,
leads to their more confidence and interaction. Moreover, the results of diagnostic and
achievement test in experimental group indicated the impressive progress in speaking skill.

These previous studies have some similarities to my research I intend to do. To be specific,
the participants are at the same age with my students (from 18 to 27). In addition, they are
affected traditional teaching methods which prevent the chance of using the target language.
The positive findings in different countries, including in Vietnam inspired me to employ role
play as a new teaching method into my teaching context with the aim of investigating its
impacts on adult students ability, their self-confidence and interaction in an elementary EFL
communication class.

Research design
With regard to the design of this study, an action research would be conducted. This design
was chosen since it is an excellent tool for researcher to reflect on the classroom situation and
develop systematic, effective changes to address problems in day-to-day teaching speaking
(Dahlberg and McCaig, 2010). As a teacher, also a practitioner-researcher, I am confronted
with many issues; therefore, I need to reflect upon my own practice to understand and
improve not only the quality of teaching but also student outcomes. Suggested by Dahlberg
and McCaig (2010), the processes of my action research consisted of four stages:
- Plan: Think about the problem in particular situation
- Act: Develop action (using role play technique) and then put it into action
- Observe: Using different methods to collect and evaluate data
- Reflect: Analyze data and reflect the success of the action.

Research Questions
The objective of my study is to examine the effectiveness of applying role play in promoting
speaking skills, enhancing students interaction and confidence within an adult elementary
communication class in Hanoi, Vietnam. In order to gain the objectives, the study addressed
one central research question which was: How do students respond to the use of role play
activities in speaking practice in an adult EFL communication class in Hanoi, Vietnam?.
And there are three sub-questions as follow:
1. Do role play activities promote the students speaking proficiency?
2. How do role play activities contribute to the improvement of the students interaction?
3. How do role play activities increase students self-confidence?

This research is implemented with the expectation that the students and the teacher can gain
much benefits from it. In terms of the students, involving in this study, they can have better
understanding how to improve their communication skill through role play. They might
become active learners in the classroom, instead of being passive learners who sit on desks
and receive information delivered to them by their instructors. For the teachers, they will get
new insights into the usage and effectiveness of role play to develop their own teaching skill.
Curriculum planners may benefit from this study to cope with the curriculum changes to meet
the different and changing learning styles of the students; they may revise the curriculum to
make sure it contains the role-play technique.

Setting and Participants of the Study

This study was carried out at my communication class in Elight Learning English (ELE) a
private center located in Cau Giay District, Hanoi. The participants comprised of 8 students
in total, including 3 males and 5 females ranged from 18 to 27 years of age. They are from
diverse backgrounds with a wide variety of reasons to learn English communication. The
most typical groups are (1) students who have to meet graduation requirement for university
or finding more opportunities in their future careers and (2) employees who want to be
promoted by obtaining basic English communication skill or achieving a proficiency
certificate like VSTEP, TOEIC, IELTS.

Regarding the level of proficiency, all of the participants are non-English majors at
elementary levels in speaking skill due to a long period of learning language through the
GTM. The problem is that they spent 5-6 years learning English to pass regular tests and
examinations which mainly focus on grammar exercises, while they cannot communicate in
reality. As mentioned in the rational, it is the GTM, an ineffective teaching and learning of
English, with which students stay passive in learning and rarely have chance to practice
speaking skill. As a result, a lack of interaction and the timidity among EFL students
discouraged them from speaking.

Implementation of role play

The role play activities were practiced during this six-week-communication course, on
Tuesday and Thursday evening from 19/09/2017 to 26/10/2017 (90 minutes each class). The
teaching materials were taken from the textbooks designed for elementary level by the
academic team of ELE. The teacher needed to be well prepared by deciding the context for
the exercises, predicting a problem related to the chosen topics in order to involve students
and to enable them to learn as much as possible from the experience. Before practicing role
play activities, vocabulary, sentences and dialogs were also introduced to students
(Livingston, 1983 & Sciartilli, 1983). After working in pairs or small group, getting enough
confident, students were asked to perform in front of the class. Finally, teacher provided
feedback for students to develop their speaking or asked for the comments from other
students on their friends performance.

Before beginning the project, I held a session to give students explanation on the goals of role
play and guide them how it was going to be used by taking one of the roles and act it out as a
model. In the first two weeks, the scripted role play which is suitable for elementary level,
was utilized with the aims of make my students familiar to this method (see Appendix 1A). In
the third and fourth week, students were provided texts which were more complex in terms of
vocabulary and language structures. And finally, unscripted role play was applied (see
Appendix 1B). It is quite difficult and complicated for students to prepare in a short time and
then act out in front of the class.

Research Methodology
In order to address the research questions, the researcher decided to employ qualitative
research. The aims of the study is to learn from the participants, understand their experiences,
emotions, behaviors deeply and in detail, so qualitative research is the most suitable methods
(Dahlberg and McCaig, 2010, p.112). Sharing the same points, Berg and Lune (2012)
affirmed that qualitative research makes it easy for researcher to gain clearer insights into
issues by giving the reason for the Why and How types of questions asked during the
process. Another outstanding advantage is that I can collect more subjective and accurate data
because I can interact with the participants directly by deploying the observation, group and
individual interview (Black, 1999). Indeed, three methods which applied into my study are
observation, individual interview and group interview.

Ethical issues
As this research project included the involvement of participants (students), the researchers
had to take into consideration a variety of ethical issues. In the first place, the Academic
Manager of my working place, where the study conducted, should be given a clear
description about the purposes, nature and procedures of the research. Fortunately, working
in a dynamic environment with a a great supervisor, I was provided with opportunities to
grow and develop professionally, to learn continuously and to expend my own skill through
teaching practices. Additionally, as a teacher, I also have participation in and responsibility
for critical decision-making that affects my work, for example: teaching schedules,
curriculum, teaching materials or textbook. In conclusion, not only such a desirable teaching
climate but also the teacher empowerment and decision-making provides me the necessary
support in the conducting of my action research.

After getting an allowance from the manager, I also need to be clearly informed all the
participants about what they were expected to do and how much time would be required for
each activity they were involved in, and the benefits going with the risks as well. Therefore, I
have spent about one hour to discuss these information with my students at the beginning of
the research process. All of them were encouraged to attend the study voluntarily with no
need of completing the consent forms. All data collected were kept anonymous and
confidential. Participants were informed that they had the rights to withdraw from at any time
without any consequences, and if they wish, all information they have given will be shredded.
Besides, they were be able to contact me and the supervisors via email or phone to ask for
any information or raise any related issues during the session.

Data collection methods

1) Observation
The observation was conducted during the role play project to measure the changes in their
level of English speaking skill. The data was recorded in the form of observation checklists
including 15 statements under three aspects: students ability, confidence and interaction (see
Appendix). During the performance of each student, the researchers took note by marking a
tick sign () in the observation sheet if each behavior is present. According to Miller (2004),
observation is the most basic research technique to employ within the classroom setting. The
data that obtained from class observation were proved to be objective to recognize the effect
of the treatment given and find out the students respond toward role play activities
(Anderson, 1998). Besides, observation is an effective approach to get a real picture of non-
verbal behaviors students in natural setting since it does not rely on participants willingness
to provide information. To be detailed, non-verbal behaviors includes facial expressions, eyes
contact, tone of voice as well as posture and spatial between two or more people.

There are also limitations to observation as a data collection method. People may be
concerned about what they are being evaluated, then they would react differently from how
they normally would. Therefore, observational accounts of their behavior may be inaccurate
representations of how they behave naturally (Sapsford & Jupp, 2006). Understanding the
impact of evaluation, I developed strategies to minimize this by explaining the purpose and
nature of the observation, motivating students to feel free in role play tasks or encourage the
students with positive feedback.

2) Interview
Interview is the most common and versatile means of data collection in qualitative research.
As stated by Ary, Jacobs, Irvine and Walker (2013), the first advantage is the interviews are
usually used to gather in-depth data on subjects perspectives, beliefs, and feelings about the
situation in their own words. Therefore, the researcher decided to implement the interview
twice, in the form of group at week 2 and individual at the end of this project to verify the
result of the class observation. It would give the researcher information about students
attitude toward role-play activities as well as its usefulness.

a) Group interview
After the first week of applying role play activities, I spent about 20 minutes setting a group
interview, where all eight students could share their experience and give feedback for any
changes if had. The numbers of my participants was small enough, which is mostly
recommended number to conduct a group interview (Krueger & Casey, 2014). Indeed, the
small size creates more opportunity for everyone to share insights, while more than ten
participants can be difficult to manage, particularly if they are highly involved and anxious to
contribute. Gorman and Clayton (2005) identify group interaction is a primary benefit of
group interview. It offers an opportunity for immediate feedback or clarification on ones
viewpoint, with the contributions of other group members. Students have the opportunity to
hear the opinions of others. In these circumstances participants can develop ideas that have
already been proposed, challenge these ideas or suggest new ideas of their own (Krueger,
1994). As a result, by implementing a group interview, I as the teacher as well as the
researcher could collect evidence about similarities and differences in the students opinions
and experiences on role play activities. In other words, this method would allow me to get a
wide and appropriate amounts of qualitative data with reasonable time. However, there are
some limitations associated with the group interviews is the difficulty to control and facilitate
group discussion. Therefore, the role of the moderator is therefore especially important for
keeping participants on track in a group interview. As Krueger (1994) pointed out: The
open-ending questioning, the use of techniques such as pauses and probes, and knowing
when and how to move into new topic areas are required.

b) Individual interview
The individual interview could contribute to the project since it allows the interviewer to
delve deeply into social and personal matters. With individual interviews, there is an
opportunity to provide clarification, to follow-up on leads to observe body language.

A set of open-ended interview questions, were designed in Vietnamese to easy for students
understanding (see Appendix). Other associated questions related to the central research
question could emerge from the dialogue between interviewer and interviewee. The
flexibility of semi-structured interviews makes them so well suited to answering a why
questions. By changing the questions and the areas discussed during the interview, I can
address aspects that are important to individual participants and by doing so I can gain a
better understanding of the research question. In addition, I also had to negotiate with
students for the interview being audio recorded with the aim of focusing on the interview,
reducing the distraction and making the data could be analyzed more easily.

Data Analyses
Qualitative data analysis can be described as the process of making sense from research
participants views and opinions of situations, corresponding patterns, themes, categories and
regular similarities (Cohen et al., 2007:461). The steps of the data analysis included
collecting the data, comparing and cross checking the data form observation checklist and
interview transcript. As Hincheys suggestion (2008), I started data analysis process right at
the beginning due to a large amount of data collected from observation and interview.
However, at the first glance, there are so many different techniques for analyzing qualitative
data that I feel overwhelmed. To cope with observational data, I labeled them basing on date
order. In terms of group and individual interview data, I attempted to transcribe all the
recorded data into text. To be more specific, instead of transferring word by word, I used a
verbatim transcription with key points of what the interviewees talked. As indicated by Lena,
D & Colin, M (2010:149), this combination were sure to reduce the complexity and subtlety
of the interview and help the researcher saves time. I carefully read all data several times
before the analysis. After that, I classified and assigned symbols for evidences from the
observation lists and audio records into three different themes which are speaking capacity
(S), self-confidence (C) and interaction (I). These helps me address the research questions on
the effectiveness of role play activities in fostering students speaking ability, increasing their
self-confidence and enhancing their interaction in class.

After studying one set of interview, I made some key notes at the end of the paper. At the
same time, I also highlighted important quotes and explained on the margin why they were
vital for my study. After that, I cut up and combined all the similar quotes into the same
categories. Any unexpected problems would be noted down into the new theme to analyze
later. Finally, I compared and contrasted among themes and tried to give out some findings
from the collected data.

Findings

Discussion
After completing data collection process by observing and interview students, the researcher
have come to some conclusion that
In my research, after a series of role play, students showed remarkable improvement in their
speaking ability and they became confident enough to speak in the created situation of real
life scenario. They shared hidden feelings and expressed themselves without restraint.

Students stated that as they worked in pairs or groups, they with less confidence benefitted
from this as they got support from students who were more confident. As they were divided
into groups, they felt less burdened and it created a scope to show the talent of each
individual. Students said that as they were confronted with a different situation, they
experienced something new and interesting even though the characters in role play were
familiar with them. While talking about the disadvantages of role play, students felt that
during role play, out of nervousness, they forgot their dialogues and it caused them
embarrassment. On the other hand, students disagreed with the idea and said that even if they
forgot the dialogues, they could continue the act by making up dialogues of their own.

In the first observation, the students were not very familiar with the use of simulation and
role-play in their class. Therefore, they were still shy to participate and did not give full
cooperation in the activities. They also made many grammar mistakes while communicate
using English and did not seem to enjoy the activities. Then, in the second observation there
were changes in the students where they started to like the simulation and role-play activities.
They easily interact with their group members using English and did not feel shy when
speaking in English. It was a positive changes because once the students gave full
cooperation in the activities, they realised on the benefits that they can get through those
activities. They even make less grammar mistakes compared to the first observation. Finally,
in the third observation the students became eager to perform in the simulation and role-play
activities because they felt comfortable with the activity. The students looked confident and
did not feel shy to participate and enjoyed the task given by the teacher. They could easily
interact with their friends using English and did not shy of making mistakes because they
knew that they can improve themselves as well as enhancing their speaking skills. In
conclusion, the students attained many benefits from the use of simulation and role-play due
to the positive changes from the first until the third observation during the treatment process.

Based on the analysis done, the respondents and researcher agreed that simulation and role-
play help in enhancing speaking skills in learning English language.
the observation sessions conducted shown positive changes in the students as they started to
like the simulation and role- play activities. There are many benefits can be derived from the
activities such as shed the students shyness by providing a mask to them, serve as
communication practices in the class and also fun and enjoyable ways to attract the students
interest to learn English because it is their second language. The researcher also found out
that the students slowly changed and started to speak in English as much as possible. They
also did not afraid of making mistakes because they understood that they learnt from
mistakes. Therefore, the result from observation indicates the Research Question 2 and also
supports its hypothesis.
Finally, the feedback gathered from the interview helps the researcher a lot in investigating
the students perception towards the use of simulation and role-play in helping them increase
their speaking skills. Besides, it contributed to Research Question 3 and the hypothesis that
the students gave positive perception towards the use of simulation and role-play in the
classroom because they found those activities were helpful in improving their vocabulary and
shedding shyness, increasing their confident level to speak English and enjoying new ways to
learn English as well as led to enhance their speaking skills. The respondents agreed that
simulation and role-play increased their learning motivation because they feel more
comfortable to speak in English and did not felt shy anymore to perform in front of their
classmates. They also found out that role-play and simulation are fun and enjoyable ways to
learn English due to a lot of characters that they get during the activities. It also had help
them increased their confident level and they were free to make their own decisions about the
role-play and simulation activities each time they had to perform. Many new words were
used in communication are learnt and contribute to enlarge the students vocabularies.
Furthermore, the respondents agreed that they had fun doing a group work presentation and
had the chance to carry out a task or solve a problem together with their group mates. In
conclusion, the use of simulation and role-play had enhance the students speaking skills by
improving their vocabulary and shedding shyness, increasing their confident level to speak
English and providing enjoyable ways to learn English.
Reflection
1) Reflection on the innovation
The teacher should set the appropriate period to help them fulfill their potential about
preparing role play conversation and be patient since this technique employs a lot of time and
activities at every stage.
As the research was conducted on a small scale where only one teacher and eight students
took part in the investigation process, I cannot generalize the concept that role play is the
effective technique for improving leaners speaking skill in other context.

2) Reflection on the research process

Conclusion
In conclusion, based on the research results and discussions, the researcher can draw a
conclusion in terms of the implementation of role play technique to improve students
speaking ability. The use of role play makes the speaking and learning activity in the class
more interactive. Students display to be willing and confident to participate with others in
role play activities

From positive results, role play activities should be frequently applied in teaching English,
especially in fostering students speaking ability because of its effectiveness.
The implication of the study is that teachers in the school can use simulation and role-play as
activities that can enhance students speaking skills. Teachers can improve the activities
applied in the classroom and bring changes to go beyond the normal routines. The students
will enjoy learning English through the use of simulation and role-play. The findings of this
study can become one of the useful references to other researchers as well. A clear and brief
summary about the relation between simulation and role-play, the advantages and students
perception towards it has been elaborated to equip teachers and other researchers concerned if
the interest of broaden knowledge in this topic arises.
Although careful measures were taken to ensure a strong study, there were still some
limitations due to the nature of the sample. The reliability of the data collected from the
questionnaires was uncertain because of the truthfulness of respondents when completing the
questionnaires. Moreover, the subjects are fourteen years old students and they never
participate in any study before. Secondly, in regard to the treatment process, it was another
restriction when the subjects were always interfered with the schools activities during the
process was running. Therefore, some of the subjects were not fully involved in this study
due to their own pack schedule. However, the researcher managed to collect the data for
performance test, observation and questionnaires from all of the subjects in this study. The
limitation of the study also occurred in the samples itself when there were a few of students
that were reluctant to speak because of the shyness to participate in the simulation and role-
play activities. They were worried of speaking badly using English in front of their teachers
and classmates. They also did not want to express themselves especially when it comes to
giving their personal opinions or response about something. Time constraint was also one of
the limitations in this study because the treatments need a lot of time to be applied to the
samples before they were ready for the post-test. Furthermore, the treatment of the study
which is the simulation and role-play activities can only be done in a double period class
because its required a lot of time. The simulation and role-play activities were difficult to be
monitored because both physical and verbal activities are going on. Besides, the students had
too much fun and made so much noise that have disturbed other classes nearby.

As this study has remained some limitations, hence suggestions for further studies are
necessarily mentioned. It is recommended that future studies use subjects that can contribute
to the reliability of the data collected. Longer time is also needed so that the treatment
process will run smoothly without any interference. This study has been able to reach some
conclusions about the use of simulation and role-play in enhancing speaking skills in learning
English language. However, it also raises some issues that could be explored further in
subsequent research. One issue is the differences between simulation and role-play and other
speaking activities in order to increase speaking skills. Since simulation and role-play derive
many advantages for the students, the advantages of using those activities can also be
explored in other researches. As for conclusion, the result of this study support the hypothesis
stated that simulation and role-play enhance the students speaking skills, provide many
advantages and the students enjoy the activity in the classroom. Through simulation and role-
play, teachers can help their students improve their speaking skills and bring changes in the
class as well. Students will expose to communication practices the same as they face in the
real-life situations. They also practice new vocabulary and help to increase their fluency.
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Appendix 1A Scripted role play: Talk about the family

A: Hey! Why dont you tell me about your family?

B: Well, I have an extended family. We live in a big house.
A: How many people are there in your family?
B: There are six people: my grandparents, my parents, my older sister and me. How
about you?
A: I have a quite small family. I live with my parents. They are kind people and they are
both famers.
B: Great! Do you have any siblings?
A: No, Im the only child. I wish I had a big family

Appendix 1B Unscripted role play: At the restaurant

A: You are a customer.
- Greet the waiter and ask for the menu
- the waiter about your reservation. You are asking the information about the
reservation and ordering some food and drink.
B: You are a waiter/ waitress at a restaurant.
- Greet the customer(s) and ask him/her if he/she is ready to order.
- and give information about the reservation. You will show the menu. Then take order
for you customer.

Observation
The students are willing to be cooperative in the activity
The students ask questions in English
The students answer the questions in English
The students are cooperative in preparing the role play
The students are eager to speak in English during the activity
The students speak English actively in class
The students are confident in performing the role play
The students speak English during the role play
All of the students are involved to the role play

Interview questions for group students

Name of participants:
Age group

1) Did role play help you to regain confidence? How?

2) What benefit did you get while working in groups? What sort of problems did you face in
working in a group?
3) How did you feel when you got the topic for your act?
4) Could you manage time that was given to you for the act?
5) Do you think that the role play activities can improve your speaking skill?
6) How do you think about role play activity that we did?
Yes, it can help me to speak English. Im more confident and braver to speak in English.
My friends become more enthusiastic and more attentive to the teaching learning process.
Yes, it can help me to speak more, but I still shy to speak English.
I really love it, it can improve my confident and decreased my unwillingness to speak.
Its very useful. At least, it helped me to speak English. We were more fluent to speak
English because there were many opportunities to speak.
Surely, I was not shy to speak English, then I knew how pronounce some words correctly,
while it was not overall.
Thank you Miss, because of this research, the students become more active to speak
English.
What is your impression after you joined with the role play activity?
The impression about the activity was I did not feel bored during the English lesson.
What attracted you to participate in this role play activities?
What did you find most helpful about the project?
After participating, what were the benefits of the program?
What difference did it make to you and to others?
How could the program be improved?
Interview
I: Thanks for coming in today with me. How was your weekend?
P: Great to see you, Ms. Thuy. Im so sad because the weekends go so quickly.
I: I think weve covered everything I wanted. Is there anything else you would like to
share with me?
No, I dont think there is anything else that important.