讀者劇場對國小高年級學童英語口語能力之影響

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(1)國立臺中教育大學教師專業碩士學位學程碩士班論文. 指導教授：賴政吉. 博士. The Impact of Readers Theater on the Speaking Proficiency of Higher-grade Students in an Elementary School in Taiwan. 讀者劇場對國小高年級學童英語口語能力之影響. 研究生：楊京儒. 撰. 中華民國 103 年 5 月.

(2) Acknowledgements With the perfect chance and the luck, I was able to enter NTCU to achieve my dream. These wonderful moments in the graduate school urges me to stick my faith all the time. Through this master degree, I would like to express my gratitude to my advisor, Dr. Cheng-Ji Lai who has assisted me for providing lots of suitable suggestion and strong support while I was struggling with me thesis. Moreover, I’d like to express my appreciation to the committee members, Dr. Li-I Hsu and Dr. Yi-Chun Lin for offering me the constructive comments, feedbacks and guidance. In addition, my appreciation goes to my research school. I couldn’t have finished my thesis without the helps from the principal, director of academic affairs, teachers and of course the 29 perfect sixth-graders. I appreciate their cooperation and participation during the 14 weeks, and I believe it is an impressive experience. I also need to thank all of the professors who have instructed me through the degree, and I’ve learned and benefited a lot from those helpful curricula. Especially I am grateful to my classmates in this degree. I am glad that we have gone through so many challenges, and we finally make it. Thanks for everyone’s companionship and encouragement, and let’s work on our future which is trying our best to become a better teacher.. Lastly, I would like to present my greatest gratitude to my dearest mom. Her love and companionship makes me more brave, positive and optimistic, and I am proud that I have such a cool mom who always supports and cares about me. She is the most important person in my life. Also, I’m thankful to meet Mr. Lin who fully shows his consideration and understanding to me. Let me thank all of my friends and people who has ever assisted me..

(3) The Impact of Readers Theater on the Speaking Proficiency of Higher-grade Students in an Elementary School in Taiwan. Abstract Readers Theater (RT) had become a way to improve student’s learning effect, attitude, and motivation toward English learning. However, there was no research which had been conducted to investigate the impact of RT on learners’ speaking proficiency. Hence, this study intended to investigate whether the Readers Theater training in an elementary school would make a difference in higher-grade students’ English speaking proficiency and to provide suggestions of the RT implementation from both the instructor’s and students’ perspectives. The study was conducted at an elementary school in New Taipei City, and the researcher sampled a sixth-grade class as the experimental group. 28 students had engaged in the Readers Theater implementation twice a week for 14 weeks to see if the students could improve their speaking proficiency. With the comparison between the pretest and the posttest of Speaking Proficiency Assessment, the experimental group showed the significant improvement on their speaking proficiency. According to the instructor’s journals and students’ feedback forms, this research also provided some insight toward the RT implementation. Most students had agreed that RT made them gain better language improvement and confidence, and their reflections and attitude overall showed positive effect no matter during the RT group rehearsal or the RT implementation. The researcher also proposed some suggestions from both the instructor’s and students’ perspectives for future RT implementation. Instructors should have enough preparations before the RT implementation and support students with diverse activities I.

(4) or strategies in the RT instruction. From students’ perspective, teachers should have more consideration, respect and evaluation in RT instruction. To sum up, a well-prepared RT implementation indeed stimulated students’ English speaking proficiency development significantly.. Keywords: readers theater, RT, speaking proficiency, higher-grade students. II.

(5) 讀者劇場對國小高年級學童英語口語能力之影響. 摘要讀者劇場不論是對於學生於英語的學習成效、學習態度或是學習動機之提昇，皆有正向的評價。然而，鮮少有相關論文研究指出讀者劇場能有效促進學生的英語口語能力發展。因此本研究旨在探討讀者劇場教學活動是否能有效提昇臺灣國小高年級學童口語能力，並且從教師及學生的角度為出發點，提出讀者劇場教學之相關建議。本研究為實驗研究，研究地點為新北市快樂國小，研究者從中取樣一個六年級的班級做為實驗組進行教學研究。實驗組一共有 28 位學生（13 位男生，15 位女生）參與讀者劇場教學，本研究每週進行兩次，共 14 週的實驗。研究結果顯示，在英語口說測驗的前、後測之比較上，實驗組達到顯著性的進步。本研究同時根據教學者的省思以及學生的回饋單，提出讀者劇場教學實施的觀點。多數學生同意在英語學習上，讀者劇場教學使他們獲得較多的進步與信心。不論是在讀者劇場教學期間的小組演練或是對於讀者劇場的整體教學，學生的省思或是態度表現，一般來說都呈現出正向的反應。研究者也透過師生的不同角度，探討對於未來讀者劇場教學之可能建議。以教師角度來看，在讀者劇場教學之前，教師必須要有足夠的準備。而在讀者劇場教學中，教師則要利用不同的活動或策略去支持學生的學習。另外以學生的角度來看，教師要多考慮學生的能力及需求，尊重學生的意願，並且在讀者劇場教學中能有多方面的評估。整體來說，一個完整的讀者劇場教學，的確能有效激發學生的英語口語能力發展。關鍵詞：讀者劇場、英語口語能力、高年級學童 III.

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(7) Table of Contents Abstract ...................................................................................................... I List of Tables..........................................................................................VII List of Figures ...................................................................................... VIII Chapter One: Introduction ......................................................................1 Background of the study.................................................................................1 Statement of the Problem ...............................................................................3 Purpose of the Study........................................................................................4 Research Questions..........................................................................................5 Definition of Terms ..........................................................................................5 Significance of the Study ...............................................................................6 Chapter Two: Literature Review.............................................................7 2.1 Definition of Readers Theater ................................................................7 2.2 Theories of Readers Theater ...................................................................8 2.3 Implementation of Readers Theater ...................................................12 2.4 Benefits of Readers Theater .................................................................24 2.5 The Importance of Speaking ................................................................36 2.6 Definition of English Speaking Proficiency .....................................37 2.7 Related Studies of Drama and English Speaking Proficiency .....41 Chapter Three: Methodology ................................................................43 3.1 Setting and Participants .........................................................................43 3.2 Research Design ......................................................................................44 3.3 Instruments of the Study........................................................................48 3.4 Date Collection Procedure and Data Analyses ................................54. V.

(8) Chapter Four: Results ............................................................................59 4.1 English Speaking Proficiency of Higher-grade Students in an Elementary School ................................................................................59 4.2 The Journal of the Instructor During the Readers Theater Implementation ......................................................................................64 4.3 The RT Implementation Feedback of Experimental Group .........70 Chapter Five: Discussion and Conclusion ............................................81 5.1 The Summary of the Research Results ..............................................81 5.2 Discussions of the Research Results ..................................................83 5.3 Suggestions ...............................................................................................89 5.4 Limitations of the Study ........................................................................91 5.5 Conclusion ................................................................................................92 Reference..................................................................................................95 Appendix ................................................................................................105 Appendix A: Parents' Agreement .............................................................105 Appendix B: Speaking Proficiency Assessment ..................................106 Appendix C: Speaking Proficiency Assessment Rating Reference . 111 Appendix D: English Speaking Proficiency Assessment Scoring Form ..................................................................................... 113 Appendix E: Teacher’s Journal Form ...................................................... 114 Appendix F: Student’s Feedback Form .................................................. 115 Appendix G: Unit 2 Script ......................................................................... 117 Appendix H: Unit 3 Script .........................................................................120 Appendix I: Unit 4 Script ...........................................................................123 Appendix J: Unit 5 Script...........................................................................126 VI.

(9) List of Tables Table 2.1 The Relationship between Multiple Intelligences and Readers Theater ...................................................................... 11 Table 2.2 Comparison of RT Implementation Procedure ...................13 Table 2.3 The Related Studies of RT and Reading Fluency ................25 Table 2.4 The Related Studies of RT and Reading Comprehension ..28 Table 2.5 The Related Studies of RT and Vocabulary Development .29 Table 2.6 The Related Studies of RT and Learning Attitude..............31 Table 2.7 The Related Studies of RT and Learning Motivation .........33 Table 2.8 The Related Studies of RT and Social Interaction ..............35 Table 3.1 6-A Readers Theater Implementation Timetable ................45 Table 3.2 The Distribution Content of Speaking Proficiency Assessment .................................................................................49 Table 3.3 The distribution of the questions and scores .......................50 Table 3.4 Speaking Proficiency Assessment Criteria ...........................52 Table 4.1 Rater Reliability in Speaking Proficiency Assessment .......60 Table 4.2 Scores of Experimental Group in Speaking Proficiency Assessment .................................................................................61 Table 4.3 Scores of Themes in Speaking Proficiency Assessment ......62 Table 4.4 Scores of Language Competence in Speaking Proficiency Assessment .................................................................................63. VII.

(10) List of Figures Figure 2.1: The Procedure of Readers Theater (RT) Implementation ..............................................................................................14 Figure 3.1 6-A Readers Theater Implementation Procedure .............46 Figure 3.2 Date collection Procedure ....................................................55 Figure 4.1 Unit 3 Story Comprehension Worksheet ............................68 Figure 4.2 The Distribution of Group Rehearsal .................................72 Figure 4.3 The Distribution of Students’ Psychological Condition ....76. VIII.

(11) Chapter One Introduction Background of the study In the past decade, English had become the most common foreign language in Taiwan because of globalization and internationalization. English learning not only represented the quality of being a world citizen but also meant the competitiveness of a country. Even though English was a foreign language in Taiwan, the Republic of China (ROC) government attempted to promote English teaching as early as possible in elementary schools. To cope with the higher expectation from the society, The Ministry of Education regulated that Taiwanese elementary students began to learn English from the third grade in 2005 (Ministry of Education, 2008). Moreover, English was even included in the Language Arts Learning Areas of Grades 1-9 Curriculum Guidelines. It was obvious that English learning had gained much attention in Taiwanese primary education. Speaking of Grades 1-9 Curriculum Guidelines, it indicated the curriculum was establishing the foundation of English communication ability and promoting learners’ motivation and interest on English learning (Ministry of Education, 2008). In terms of skill building, the Grades 1-9 English Curriculum Guidelines suggested teachers should put more emphasis on students’ listening and speaking in the first stage which meant from the third grade to sixth grade. Chu (2004) also asserted that English curriculum in elementary schools should be based on the students’ basic English ability of interpersonal communicative field. The Grades 1-9 English Curriculum Guidelines anticipated cultivating the skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing; however, the teaching still focused more on 1.

(12) reading and writing and less on listening and speaking. One of the possible reasons could be that the English Basic Competence Test for Junior High School enacted now hadn’t tested students’ listening and speaking. Even the Ministry of Education would add listening into the test in 2014, and it was clear that speaking could no longer be neglected. Moreover, the Ministry of Education indicated that mostly English teaching in junior high and elementary schools still emphasized on reading and writing, and only 70% of junior high schools included listening and speaking in English exams. It was obvious that. traditional English teaching tended to address grammar, patterns. and vocabulary and failed to put much emphasis on the training of listening and speaking. Plus the atmosphere of education in Taiwan used to be exam-oriented and credentialism, and it turned out that the tests dominated the teaching which meant the teachers were unable to implement professional multiple assessments. (Ministry of Education, 2010) Aside from the issue of EFL teaching, more and more problems such as bimodal distribution and urban-rural difference had begun to emerge in Taiwanese elementary schools from the trend of English learning. To solve the phenomenon, the Ministry of Education proposed the program of promoting English teaching effect in junior high and elementary school. The strategies in this program included curriculum, teachers, teaching, assessments and other aspects. The most important strategy related to the researcher’s study was “to carry out multiple assessments and promote the ability of listening and speaking.” (Ministry of Education, 2010) Most people would agree that the main purpose of learning a foreign language was to cultivate a communicative ability in that language. The integration between classroom teaching and real life made learners be familiar with the application of function language (Lin, 2010). Since listening and reading were receptive input while speaking and writing were productive output, a meaningful communication would 2.

(13) heavily rely on one’s sociocultural background and language proficiency. Without enough language knowledge, it was hard to express one’s needs, feelings and even unable to interact with people, not to mention that it was an effective communication. So was there any other way to enrich the English speaking training in class? In the past few years, Readers Theater (RT) had become a way to improve student’s listening, speaking, reading, writing and even motivation toward English learning. According to Kelleher (1997), Readers Theater was interpreted by readers’ oral expression as a presentation of literature. It was unnecessary to memorize the lines, and there were no costumes, props, and properties in the performance because the readers could read aloud for the people with their scripts. Hence, Readers Theater was student-centered learning method, and it was combined with multiple English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learning such as listening, speaking, reading and writing which was also corresponding to the anticipation of Grade 1-9 English Curriculum Guidelines. Moreover, there were some cities and counties holding Readers Theater competition not only to show their English teaching outcome but also to approve the significance of Readers Theater implementation in English teaching. According to Tsou (2006), the qualities of RT corresponded to EFL teaching in Taiwan nowadays. Since RT was a student-centered learning task which students have to cooperate with one another in discussions during RT practices, students were in a communicative, agreeable, and social context which helped them learn English more naturally.. Statement of the Problem Prior research on Readers Theater mostly assessed the impact of RT on learners’ oral reading, reading fluency, vocabulary, motivation and attitude; rather very few studies had been conducted to investigate the impact of RT on learners’ speaking proficiency. The researches of Readers Theater (RT) had been carried in recent years, 3.

(14) and they had often implemented on EFL young students. The previous RT researches put emphasis on oral reading, reading fluency, vocabulary, motivation and attitude, and they indeed showed the effectiveness in the result. For example, in Susan, Janis & Alan’s study (2008), students in the Reader Theater class made statistically significant growth in reading level, as well as significant gains in fluidity and expressive measures of oral reading. The other implementation of Readers Theater, most students reached a significant gain in oral reading rate. In addition, the questionnaire and in-class discussions indicated that Readers Theater helped enhance students’ motivation to read, which led to the enhancement of their self-efficacy toward English learning. (Huang, 2006) As to the speaking proficiency, there were some researches related the influence of listening and speaking with different teaching methods such as task-based, theme-based and TPR strategies. (Chen, 2011; Xiao, 2010; Tsai, 2004) However, there hadn’t been a research about the combination of RT and speaking proficiency. That is to say, there was no research which had been conducted to investigate the impact of RT on learners’ speaking proficiency.. Purpose of the Study The purpose of this research was to investigate whether the Readers Theater training in an elementary school would make a difference in higher-grade students’ English speaking proficiency and to provide suggestions to the implementation of RT from both the instructor’s and students’ perspectives. Additionally, although higher-grade students referred to students in the fifth and sixth grade, for the purpose of the study, a convenience sampling of a sixth-grader class in an elementary school in New Taipei City would be selected to participate in the Readers Theater training program.. 4.

(15) Research Questions This study addresses the following research questions: 1. To what degree would a Readers Theater training in an elementary school make a difference on higher-grade students’ speaking proficiency? 2. What were the suggestions to the implementation of RT from the instructor’s perspectives? 3. What were the suggestions to the implementation of RT from the students’ perspectives?. Definition of Terms Readers Theater (RT) Readers Theater (RT) is literature-based read-out-loud performance. It’s one of the simplest theater forms which only uses oral ability to tell a story while actors communicate with the audience by reading the lines without memorization (Tsou, 2006). The costumes, make-up, scenes are not important and necessary in RT; instead, the facial expression, gestures, stress and intonation are the essential material for a good RT (Mei, 2007).. Speaking Proficiency Proficiency is one of the most basic concepts in linguistics, and proficiency represents the communicative growth. Different performance refers to the levels of proficiency (Iwashita, Brown, McNamara, O’hagan, 2008). In this study, the terms of speaking proficiency refer to accuracy and fluency. Accuracy is focus on phonology, grammar in students’ spoken output, and fluency means flowing and natural speed in the discourse (Brown, 2007).. 5.

(16) Significance of the Study This research would provide insight into the contribution of RT on EFL elementary students’ speaking proficiency. The researcher set the goal of the study was to present the significance of speaking proficiency by utilizing RT in EFL teaching. The result of the study should be useful to the EFL teachers who were struggling with students’ speaking performance or who were trying to use RT as a way to enrich their teaching. The researcher hoped the study would be able to provide some ideas for EFL teachers to inspire elementary students’ speaking willingness toward English learning.. 6.

(17) Chapter Two Literature Review Introduction The current study assesses the impact of 14-week Readers Theater on students’ English speaking proficiency; consequently, the study aims to address whether Taiwanese EFL higher graders’ speaking proficiency improves after the intervention of RT, and further provides suggestions to RT implementation in Taiwan. Hence, the following section includes conceptualizations and empirical studies on RT and speaking proficiency.. 2.1 Definition of Readers Theater According to Dixon (1996), Readers Theater is a read-aloud presentation of written work in a dramatic format. Walker (2005) also indicates Readers Theater is literature-based oral reading which interprets the literature rather than the interpretation with costumes, props, scenes and music in a normal drama play. Readers Theater is the simplest drama form. That is to say, even though a script is used, the story is mainly conveyed by readers who take part in narrator and characters. With at least two or more readers, they use their voices, facial expressions and body language to interpret the emotions, attitudes and motives of the characters in front of the audience (Dixon et al., 1996; Young & Rasinski, 2009). Moreover, Readers Theater emphasizes on the relationship between the readers and the audience. The connection is not only the performance of the readers but also the imagination from the audience. In a RT presentation, readers read their scripts, and the audience is inspired to imagine the setting, characterization and actions by readers’ voices and gestures. The audience can fully experience the literature and atmosphere by readers’ interpretation which easily 7.

(18) generates emotional interaction (Chang, 2007; Dixon et al., 1996; Hsu, 2011; Huang, 2011; Lin, 2011). However, even though Readers Theater is a kind of drama form, there is still some difference between RT and staged drama. In a RT performance, it puts much emphasis on listening part of the literature, and the readers must try not to draw the attention from the audience whose attention should be on the script (Dixon et al., 1996). Lines are read instead of memorizing, and there is little or no stage movement. While students practice the RT in a group form, students’ pressure, nervousness, and anxiety are decreases. The costumes, music, props and other theatrical effect are not required so the cost is scare. Moreover, every character in a RT has average lines in a script which means RT provides every student an equal chance to perform. Teachers should help assign each student a suitable character based on their English ability (Hsu, 2011; Lin, 2011; Tian &Wu, 2010).. 2.2 Theories of Readers Theater 2.2.1Readers Theater and Sociocultural Theory Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory of human learning illustrates learning as a social process. Sociocultural theory treats human development as intrinsically social rather than individualistic (Gibbons & Cummins, 2002). Vygotsky suggests the concept of combining the personal knowledge and societal situation and claims that knowledge or thought is built up within a social context and formed by the connecting of existing knowledge with new experiences. Namely, Vygotsky’s theory suggests that people learn first through person-to-person interactions, Vygotsky explains the interaction between two people by his concept of the zone of proximal development (ZPD), and defines ZPD as the cognitive gap between what a child can do independently and what the child can do with the assistance of an adult or 8.

(19) a more skilled peer. The ZPD defines intelligence as the ability to accomplish cognitive tasks with the help of a more capable peer or teacher (Pelech & Pieper, 2010). In other words, successful coordination with a partner or assisted performance leads learners to reach beyond what they are able to achieve alone, to participate in new situations and to handle new tasks, or to learn new ways of using language (Gibbons & Cummins, 2002). Vygotsky (1967) states that play may allow children to function at their highest level of competence, as cited in Davidson (1996). Therefore, the teacher is mainly responsible for initiating each new step of learning, building on what students are currently able to do alone. The teacher needs to maintain high expectations of all students but to provide sufficient scaffolding for tasks to be completed successfully. During the implementation of RT, not only the teacher’s guidance but peers’ social interaction is important. RT offers scaffolding to group members when the teacher introduces the story background, characters and lines or the students discuss how to act out and practice how to read the scripts etc. The use of scaffolding in the activities of RT can assist students to achieve their ZPD gradually.. 2.2.2 Readers Theater and Cooperative Learning Vermette (1998) states that cooperative learning can be defined as a strategy in a small, heterogeneous group of students who share knowledge, complete projects or assignments, or master a body of knowledge (Pelech & Pieper, 2010). Cooperative learning provides an environment where students are encouraged to discuss ideas, clarify questions and solve problems cooperatively to reach a specific goal. At the same time, teacher should actively inspect each group and provide assistance or encouragement to the group members (Huang & Wu, 2006). Thus, students in the cooperative learning environment usually show greater achievement and better willingness, and teacher can gain more professional development during the cooperative learning. 9.

(20) Cooperative learning is especially necessary in the implementation of RT since students have to work and performance together, which the cooperation may increase the possibility of a successful learning experience. When practicing the RT, students who are in the same group need to discuss the characters and story lines, share the opinion of stories, correct each other’s pronunciation or intonation and plan the action or movement on stage. With the interaction and cooperation, the group will become a community which is full of positive atmosphere to help students improve language skills. An instructor is a facilitator of this cooperative learning because they have to be aware of students’ abilities and personalities to ensure a better cooperation and interaction while grouping the students. Moreover, the teacher should frequently observe each student’s learning situation and encourage their participation in group discussions in order to reach the final goal of the cooperative learning (Chin, 2009; Lin, 2012; Yang, 2006).. 2.2.3 Readers Theater and Multiple Intelligences Gardner (1993) offers an idea that humans have a multiplicity of intelligence (MI), denoting that each person has their own individual outline of intelligence. Different people may have certain intelligences as their central intelligences, and the central intelligences can be their main ways in learning. The eight intelligences include linguistic. intelligence,. logical-mathematical. intelligence,. spatial. intelligence. bodily-kinesthetic intelligence, musical intelligence, interpersonal intelligence, intrapersonal intelligence and naturalist intelligence. However, the number of intelligence is not important, what is important is that teachers should aware that different learners have different intelligence outlines and favored learning styles. Multiple Intelligences lead teachers to an understanding of students’ different learning styles (Baldwin, 2012). During the RT teaching, Gardner’s Multiple Intelligence is fully employed in 10.

(21) different aspects. RT is definitely suitable for teachers to develop students’ Multiple Intelligence, and students should be exposed in different kinds of stimulation while learning English. As a teacher, they must seek students’ central intelligence and lead them to success while encouraging them to be confident to reach better achievement. Moreover, a teacher should take students’ potentials into consideration when designing a RT lesson and teaching. Table 2.1 shows that how the profiles of Multiple Intelligences relate to the performance of Readers Theater. Table 2.1 The Relationship between Multiple Intelligences and Readers Theater Multiple Intelligences. Readers Theater. Linguistic. Readers Theater usually involves language art both naturally through practice and performance. RT integrates the oral fluency and written scripts, and develops understanding of text.. Logical-mathematical. Problem-solving is essential to the RT process. While preparing and performing the RT also need a variety of problem-solving skills.. Spatial. The design of physical and personal space between characters on stage provides the audience better comprehension toward the story.. Bodily-kinesthetic. With the contrast between the movement and stillness, RT requires the physical control of the body such as gestures and movements. Students need to consider about how to present their thought and feeling with their bodies in a performance.. Musical. Students use different voice to interpret characters of the story, and the intonation and rhythm are also included in students’ oral development.. 11.

(22) Interpersonal. A successful RT performance is consisted of social interaction and cooperation. To work with others, listen, emphasize, appreciate and respond to each other’s ideas and viewpoints well, are central feature of Interpersonal Intelligence which can be applied into the RT preparation.. Intrapersonal. Intrapersonal Intelligence is linked with recognizing, understanding and developing one’s personal feeling, and RT helps develops a sense of self. It involves the personal feelings and emotions, and uses them to guide behavior in imagined worlds through roles.. Naturalistic. The script selection of RT can be combined with the science knowledge or subject, and it helps the development of naturalistic intelligence.. According to the graph, it is clear how RT matches Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences. RT can integrate and develop a wide range of intelligences, and lead the students to learn with preferred learning styles. RT helps students to understand and find their advantages, and students are positively urged to work in their preferred ways in class.. 2.3 Implementation of Readers Theater 2.3.1 The Procedures of RT Implementation The literature of RT suggests a series of steps to implement Readers Theater in a class. The procedures of RT instruction are not totally inflexible so a teacher can adjust the procedures according to students’ language proficiency ability and special needs. With the related literatures, the specialty and similarity of the sequence in RT implementation can be seen in Table 2.2.. 12.

(23) Table 2.2 Comparison of RT Implementation Procedure RT Preparation. RT Rehearsal. RT Performance. Selecting a Suitable Script. Teacher’s Modeling Oral Reading. Performance. Grouping Students. Practices. Select what to read. Prepare and practice. Researcher. Chen, Y.S. (2011). Cho, J.S. (2010). Read and discuss the Choose parts and material rehearse. Discuss the performance. Writing scripts Hsu, M.H. (2010). Perform in front of the audience. Script. Teacher’s modeling. Supporting activities. Role assignment. Performance and discussion. Practice and rehearsal Chen, S.T. (2009). Find or write scripts Introduce and assign parts. Rehearse Reassign parts Planning a performance. The performance. Chang, Y.F. (2007). Read stories or sentences from literature. practice and rehearse Perform to audience the reading finally. performance. Analyze the literature Write the script Chen, Y.C. (2007). Yang, Y.L. (2006). Select scripts. Read aloud. Guidance and explanations. Cooperative learning. Vocabulary development and problem solving. Preparation for props. Select an appropriate script. Evaluation. Story webbing. Rehearsal Model-read Discuss the plot of the story. 13. Performance of Readers Theater.

(24) Huang, S.S.. Select what to read. Choose parts. Perform in front of a. (2006). Read and discuss the material. Discuss props and special needs. class. Prepare, practice, and rehearse. Discuss the performance. Based on previous researches, they’ve provided broad insight of RT implementation procedure. It’s clear that most researchers put script selection, practice, discussion, performance into consideration when instructing the RT. After the researcher reorganizes the RT implementation procedure, in current study, the Readers Theater implementation will be utilized by the following steps, script selection, teacher’s guidance, cooperative learning, rehearsal & reassignment, performance and evaluation & discussion, and the procedure as shown in Figure 2.1.. Script Selection. Teacher's Guidance. Cooperative Learning. Evaluation & Discussion. Performance. Rehearsal & Reassignment. Figure 2.1: The Procedure of Readers Theater (RT) Implementation In Step One, Script Selection, Kelleher (1997) suggests that voice and the written script are the most important factors of Readers' Theater. It’s clear that scripts play an important role in Readers Theater, and scripts are the foundation of a successful RT implementation (Hsu, 2011). Since RT is a performance about the interpretation of the text, the content of the text can be diverse and varies from drama plays to kinds of literature including poems, prose, news, stories, text books, and picture books (Hsu, 2012). Moreover, the forms of RT scripts can be classified like the citation from publication and internet resource, literacy works adapted by teacher or students and 14.

(25) writing based on specific vocabulary and sentence patterns by students’ creativity (Dixon et al., 1996). Hsu (2011) also suggests that texts are suitable for students to read and understand are the best materials for RT. That is to say, a suitable RT script must be interesting and parallel to students’ level when teachers choose materials. Therefore, teachers should put students’ language proficiency levels, learning interests and life experience into consideration in case students are lack of motivation, confidence and attention (Jo, 2010). In terms of Step Two, Teacher’s Guidance, Tsou (2006) states that Readers Theater is a way of independent learning, and the focus should be transferred from teachers to students. However, without teacher’s guidance in the first step, students won’t be able to manage the learning process and participation independently. Before the students can complete the tasks, the guidance from teachers becomes much more important. Hsu (2011) suggests that support activities will help teacher and students going on the RT implementation smoothly. The teacher should introduce what Readers Theater is to students who have never tried RT before. After the script is selected, teacher can give students a brief introduction of the story background, plots and characters to create an appealing atmosphere to catch students’ attention (Chen, 2009). In order to make the students read fluently, it’s essential for teacher to model-read. With the correct model-reading, teacher leads students to practice how to read and assists students getting familiar with various kinds of interpretations of emotions, and the teaching has to be emphasized on conducting pause, voice, volume and intonation (Chen, 2007; Hsu, 2011). In Step Three, Cooperative Learning of Readers Theater, students and teacher both play important role in the activities which are focus on the cooperative learning, and students are easily inspired by the interaction between group members (Dixon et al., 1996). Yang (2010) suggests that teacher must finish the grouping and characters 15.

(26) assignment before reading the script. Grouping is one of the factors to see whether the RT implementation is smooth or not, because the teacher might overload the teaching pressure if students are unable to cooperate with each other well (Hsu, 2011). Especially the grouping has to be heterogeneous group in order to let students get the assistance and learning effect from each other. The teacher not only should clarify what cooperation is to students but also needs to move from group to group to encourage students or provide assistance if they are in need (Yang, 2010; Hsu, 2011). In Step Four, Rehearsal & Reassignment, Hsu (2011) indicates that rehearsal is the most important part in RT implementation, and it takes students the longest time than other steps in RT implementation. With sufficient time, repeated practice, teacher’s guidance and students’ cooperation, students’ language proficiency ability such as listening, speaking, reading will have significant progress. Therefore, RT rehearsal means “reading, repeating, and reviewing lines, sound effects, and gestures to prepare for a performance” (Flynn, 2004, p.362). After determining the characters and assigning the parts, students can begin rehearsing the script step by step. First, they should focus on reading the text correctly, and then it’s the volume, fluency and intonation. Furthermore, students can discuss if they can design and add any gesture in the performance. Moreover, except the teacher should provide assistance sometimes, teacher can utilize some strategies to check groups’ or students’ preparation. Teacher may check student’s pronunciation, volume, fluency and intonation based on their reading, and discusses how students interpret their characters personally. As to the reassignment, a teacher shouldn’t intervene the decision which the groups make unless the students are still unable to interpret the characters after teacher’s guidance, and the teacher may help the student assigning the characters again. All of the students can try different parts and negotiate character in rehearsals before the final performance. In Step Five, Performance, a teacher can arrange the performance order for each 16.

(27) group after the preparation and rehearsals. While each group shows their greatest result of their efforts, and the teacher should encourage students to convey the story with their voice to the audience who can easily visualize the story. With animated voice and appropriate gestures, students will complete a successful performance and enjoy the pleasure from doing the Readers Theater. Furthermore, students can also invite parents, teachers and friends to join the performance. Students will be supported and motivated by the audience’s feedback and their successful experience. The last step, Evaluation & Discussion, occurs during the Readers Theater performance while the teacher starts evaluating the group’s and individual’s presentation. The rubrics or criteria can be based on accuracy, fluency, intonation, stress, creativity and so on. Secondly, teacher should provide praises and positive advice instantly after students’ performance, and teacher can ask students have a brief discussion about the process and performance of RT. Every group can share their reflection and feedback about the process and performance, and this kind of immediate and authentic feedback promotes students’ mental development. With teacher’s suggestion and peers’ feedback, students will possibly have much more confidence and willingness in the next RT implementation. To sum up, the accomplishment of a RT performance takes a great deal of time and efforts among a teacher and students. However, students will definitely benefit greatly from the process of RT implementation which includes not only the interaction between teacher and students but also the cooperation among students. In this study, the researcher will apply the procedure which mentioned above into the RT implementation.. 17.

(28) 2.3.2 Readers Theater Materials As mentioned before, the RT script selection is the first step in the RT implementation. Readers Theater is this combination of text, interpretation and performance that makes it an important tool for language proficiency development (Moran, 2006). Without a suitable RT script, it’s impossible for teacher to keep on a RT smoothly. The importance of the RT material is discussed in the procedures of RT implementation. Therefore, in this section, the researcher will be focus on the features of script selection, the types of RT material and the essentials of script adaption. According to Tsou and Hsu (2009), there are few features in script selection. First of all, the level of the script must meet students’ ages and language proficiency. Easier scripts denote the lack of challenge and possibility of improving students’ language ability, while difficult scripts make students feel frustrated. For instance, a script for lower graders should contain simple and repeated sentence patterns, and as to the higher graders, a script should have various and attractive themes and much more challenging text. The interesting, imaginative and creative text can provoke students’ learning interests, so a teacher can try to choose the script with humorous dialogues, special rhythms, unexpected storylines and intense character traits. Second, the script selection must put students’ life experience and preference into consideration. Integrating the daily life experience into the script makes students familiar with the script as soon as possible, and they will interpret the scripts more correctly. The last but not least, a great script should contain fast-moving dialogues, movement, humor and narration (Allen, 2004). The dialogues of RT script should shift regularly between characters, and have every student a equal chance in performance with a relaxing tempo and atmosphere. As to the types of RT materials, Shirlee (1982) indicates that Readers Theater provides a unique contribute no matter on thinking, reading, writing, speaking, and 18.

(29) listening experience in our language art curriculum. A story, a poem, a play or even a song lyric provide the ingredients for the script. It’s clear that the scripts of the Readers Theater come from many types of literature. Under the advice of script selection, teachers may start deciding the form of script to be performed in Readers Theater. According to Shirlee (1982), to begin the search for Readers Theater material is on the book shelf. Most of illustrated stories are classy enough to be performed by and for any age students. He indicates that there are five Readers Theater materials which teachers can easily collect; such as picture storybooks, fairy tales, fables, realistic stories and play, and the further introduction can be seen below. 2.3.2.1 Storybooks Storybooks are good script resources because they are meant to be written for children. The words and phrases follow the rhythmic pattern of conversation, and the books work for different ages of children. With the short sentences, tense plot, life-like characters and added humor, the author creates a perfect easy-to-read storybook. Shirlee (1982) states that students don’t need to deal with difficult vocabulary before enjoying the pleasure of adapting and performing a script. 2.3.2.2 Fairy Tales Fairy tales used to be the entertainment of people’s life and they have passed down till nowadays for some specific reasons. There are general themes such as love, courage, goodness, wickedness around the story which is built within the characters. The storyline usually starts swiftly, comes directly to its magical episodes, and finishes with a pleasing ending. Fairy tales definitely satisfy children’s fantasy, and the fantasy will influence on the dramatization. Students can create an imaginative world by reading and invite the audience to inhabit it. Some popular folk tales which are workable for Readers Theater have been selected and adapted into the picture books already.. 19.

(30) 2.3.2.3 Fables Fables illustrate the aspect of human behavior, and the tales describe in a way that children can easily understand. Fable mostly is written in only two to three paragraphs, so it can be adapted into one class session quickly. The class can work together to create an entire script in the limited time and space. Teacher and students turn some of the narrative passages into dialogues and invent new characters. 2.3.2.4 Realistic Stories Students sometimes struggle with the problems of school, friends and family, and Readers Theatre will become a way to dramatize students’ lives. Students are drawn into a story which characters are encountering similar difficulties. Students will not only discover more about life and themselves by rehearsing but also be fascinated by the nature of realistic stories. Moreover, social studies contain amount of historical events and adventures which can be provided for rewriting and adapting into the RT material. 2.3.2.5 Plays Obviously, plays have all the essentials for Readers Theater. Characters and action are clear in the dialogues. A good play doesn’t rely too much on staging, and it can be condensed without losing author's intent. However, as to full-length books and long stories, the narrative part can be written into the script for filling in the needed details, or we can quote short scenes or sequences from plays to be used as independent parts. Therefore, some of the studies related to Readers Theater, the researchers tend to select the scripts from many types of literature. However, as Shepard (1996) indicates that the best place to look for scripts is in the classroom itself. The scripts can be developed by the teacher, or even be developed by the students themselves, which depends on the language proficiency of students. Moreover, as the regulation of Ministry of Education, the teaching periods of language arts learning areas in 20.

(31) elementary school are distributed into 20% to 30%, and which means there are 4 to 6 teaching periods included Mandarin and English. Within the limited time, teachers not only have the pressure of teaching schedule but also seek to have a better way to teach efficiently. As a result, teacher must consider about the teaching materials deeply if they are about to try utilizing RT in a class. Likewise, Flynn (2004) doubts that the conventional Readers Theater resources are primarily focus on stories and literature, and it can’t fully correspond to the curriculum standards. Therefore, she claims that Curriculum-Based Readers Theater (CBRT) can merge drama, theater, writing, reading, peaking, listening, and content learning. The difference between CBRT and conventional RT is that the script of CBRT is directly based on classroom curriculum content instead of published scripts or stories. According to Flynn (2004), CBRT scripts are based on curriculum topics and are written to address prescribed standards of learning, and the topics can directly correspond to the standards of any course of study. Except the introduction of CBRT, Flynn (2004) also suggests that the advantages of CBRT are to enhance students’ retention during the performance rehearsal. By reading, reciting, repeating and reviewing the scripts, students will easily remember what they’ve read and rehearsed during the preparation of RT, which will reinforce the retention at the same time. With the dramatization of the curriculum in CBRT, it helps students improving the test results. Moreover, CBRT not only merges the necessary reading skills and the art essentials of RT but also relates to curricular topics, which can lead to a variety of a great performance (Flynn, 2004). A number of empirical studies had attempted to utilize the scripts based on the textbooks in RT (Yang, 2006; Liu, 2008; Chen, 2009; Wang, 2010) and suggested that the consideration of CBRT could ensure that it reaches student’s language proficiency level and students get familiar with the plot of the stories in the script. Most important 21.

(32) of all, the implementation wouldn’t interfere with the curriculum standards much in such a limited amount of time. To sum up, the specialties of different types of Reader Theater materials bring up the abundant RT implementation. Also, according to Flynn (2004), the goal of adaption is to create a script which can evoke audience interest so the script mustn’t be a dull recitation of facts. Therefore, teachers should consider their teaching needs and students’ proficiency levels before selecting their RT materials. Based on the reasons above, the researcher will utilize the CBRT in the RT implementation in this study.. 2.3.3 Basic Rules of Adapting Readers Theater Scripts After the material has been chosen, the next step is to adapt what types of scripts for RT implementation. Speaking of the scripting, it can be varied from teacher’s and students’ adaptions. Tsou (2009) indicates that teacher’s adaption is suitable for students because it is based on student’s language proficiency, learning content and learning problems which fully corresponding to the actual teaching needs. As to the students’ adaption, Shepard (2004) states that students can choose what they’re interested in, and scripting the content helps students improving the language learning such as reading comprehension, writing and so on. However, students must choose under teacher’s guidance step by step. In the current study, the RT scripts are adapted from the textbook; hence, the researcher will follow the guidelines of script adaption. Tsou and Hsu (2009) claim that the scripting must be logical, educational, interesting, and practical; meanwhile, the performance form must be put into consideration. With these concepts, students can easily pay much more attention on what they’re reading. Shepard (2004) suggests the guidelines to create a RT script are as follows: First, there are two basic types of roles which are narrators and characters. Narrators tell the story, and Characters are in the story. In order to assign the characters to the students equally, teacher must pay attention to the number of your students. Teacher can assign 22.

(33) each student more than one role or cut a character and combine it with another if teacher is working with a small group. In the other hand, teacher also can use two or more narrators or split characters into two or more. Second, making cuts and changes in the story will make the script more vivid, easier to understand and perform, but teacher have to make sure that everything in the story still makes sense. Here are the things a teacher needs to cut, tag line, long descriptions and minor characters or scenes. Tag lines means the lines that tell us “someone said,” long descriptions can be shortened or even removed, and minor characters or scenes can be adjusted and simplified in the script. Here are other things you can make changes, additional speeches, difficult language and aids to reading. Invent additional speeches for the character who may have no lines, substitute a simpler word into the line or split a sentence in two will make student easier to read. As to the aids of reading, teacher can use underline or italics to stress words, add commas to describe phrasing, or insert stage directions behind the speeches. Third, it is more appropriate to have two or more narrators, which spreading the responsibility for important function and helping maintain audience’s interest during the performance. By switching different narrators in each new scene or dividing narration between the narrators and the characters make the performance more artful. Especially Shepard (2004) offers an idea is “sandwich” the dialog, and which means one narrator reads both sections before and after a character’s dialogue, then the next narrator does the same. After introducing the basic guideline of the RT scripting, teacher might also notice about the script format such as the word type, the size of the words, the layout and so on because the script should be neat and easy to read. The students may have trouble while reading if the text is too crowded or disorganized (Shepard, 2004).. 23.

(34) 2.4 Benefits of Readers Theater Plenty of empirical studies have shown that Readers Theater implementation can improve students’ learning effects and evoke students’ emotional growth. Based on the studies, they provided a wide range of benefits in RT implementation. The benefits are divided into language learning effects and emotional growth, and language learning effects are included reading fluency, reading comprehension and vocabulary development while emotional growth is included learning attitude, learning motivation and social interaction. With the empirical studies of RT, most researchers have proved that RT definitely has positive influence on learners. The researcher believes that RT is an effective activity which helps learners progress no matter in learning effect or emotional growth. Even though there has no study shown any results about raising learners’ speaking proficiency, the researcher hopes to explore and examine students’ performance which might related to empirical studies in the RT experiment. The related studies about the benefits of RT implementation can be seen below.. 2.4.1 Benefits on Reading Fluency According to Young and Rasinski (2009), the repeated and assisted practice involved in RT rehearsal improved accuracy and automaticity in word recognition. They also claimed that the concept of fluency was about accuracy, automaticity, and prosody. Previous researchers Tsai (2012), Chang (2012), Morrison (2011), Johnson (2011) and so on have suggested that modeled, assisted, and repeated readings are powerful tools to improve fluency as in Table 2.3.. 24.

(35) Table 2.3 The Related Studies of RT and Reading Fluency Researcher/ Year. Topic. Results. Tsai, S.C. (2012). Readers Theater Instruction to Enhance First Graders’ Oral Reading Fluency – Effects of Applying Multiple Script Formats. All of the students gained a significant increase in their oral reading fluency after the instruction. By applying multiple script formats in first graders’ English class could develop students’ proficiency and interest of oral reading.. Chang, Y.W.. Effects of Readers Theater on. The results of this ten-week. (2012). English Oral Reading Fluency and Learning Attitude for Sixth Grade Students. research showed that experimental group was significantly higher than the control group on oral reading fluency test and affection and behavior dimensions.. Morris, E.W. (2011). The effects of readers' theater The results indicated that on reading fluency and attitudes Readers Theater helped towards reading maintain and improve oral reading rates and prosody for second grade students, and the students enjoyed Readers\ Theater.. Johnson, D. D. (2011). The Effects of a Reader's Theater Instructional Intervention on Second Grade. The study showed a significant increase in fluency scores of DIBELS Oral Reading Fluency. Students' Reading Fluency and Comprehension Skills. in the treatment group. Although the RT implementation didn’t improve overall reading comprehension scores, findings indicated a significant increase in fluency.. 25.

(36) Tsou, W.L.. The Application of Readers. After one semester, the. (2011). Theater to FLES (Foreign Language in the Elementary Schools) Reading and Writing. quantitative results of the study indicated that the RT group outperformed the control group in reading accuracy and fluency but not in reading comprehension.. Lui, Y.C. (2011). The Effects of Readers’ Theater After the 7-week experiment, on EFL Primary School the students’ oral reading Students’ Oral Reading fluency had a significant Fluency and Writing Ability. improvement after receiving RT instruction.. Chen, Y.S. (2011). The Effects of Readers Theater on English Oral Reading Fluency and Reading Motivation of Ninth Grade Low-achievers. The students participated in 5 Readers Theater (RT) circles. After 15 weeks, the results of showed that RT had improved the students’ oral reading fluency in rate and accuracy.. Huang, S.C.. The Effects of the. Students’ oral reading fluency. (2010). Readers-Theater-Jazz Chants Instruction on Elementary Students’ Oral Reading Fluency. was found to have a significant difference between the pre- and posttests. Interview results showed that RT-Chants has improved students’ oral reading rate.. Clark, R.; Readers' Theater: A Process of Morrison, T.G.; Developing Fourth-Graders' Wilcox, B. Reading Fluency. The study showed students’ inconsistent accuracy scores but documented the progress of. (2009). students' development in two of the four MFS categories: pace and expression/volume. Motivation and confidence also increased through Readers Theater.. 26.

(37) Liu, Y.Y.. Effects of Readers Theater on. The study indicated that gender. (2008). Different Gender Students’ Oral Reading Fluency and Reading Motivation in an EFL Elementary School. did affect students’ oral reading performance and motivation. The interview and students’ reflections also supported this finding. Students claimed that they liked the task and considered it was beneficial to their learning.. Chen, Y.H.. An Action Research of. The study showed that students. (2008). Integrating “Readers Theater” into English Remedial Instruction for Elementary School EFL Underachievers. improved oral reading fluency including accuracy, reading speed, and fluency. The study suggested that RT might be helpful in promoting English oral reading fluency of elementary school EFL underachievers.. Chang, Y.H. (2008). Readers Theater and Oral Reading Fluency of Sixth. All of the students gained an increase in their oral reading. Graders in Hualien City: An Action Research Study. fluency in the components of accuracy, rate and prosody after the instruction.. According to the empirical studies of RT and reading fluency, it showed that the RT implementation significantly improved students’ oral fluency which included reading accuracy, reading rate and prosody. Moreover, students also gained lots of reading skills such as intonation, expression and volume, and students. 2.4.2 Benefits on Reading Comprehension Young and Rasinski (2009) suggested that students who read orally with expression tended to have good comprehension. Oppositely, students who read with little or inappropriate expressions in oral reading were more likely to have poor comprehension. In the RT implementation, some researchers Lin (2012), Tsai (2009) in 27.

(38) Table 2.4 had researched and showed that students’ reading comprehension positively improved. The results indicated that it’s necessary for students to understand the text in order to interpret the character’s feelings, thoughts, and emotions, making their performance understandable. Table 2.4 The Related Studies of RT and Reading Comprehension Researcher/ Year. Topic. Results. Lin, Y.H.. A Study of the Effects of. Results showed that there was a. (2012). Readers’ Theater on English significant difference on Reading Comprehension “English Sentence Ability of the 5th Graders Comprehension Ability” and “Whole English Reading Comprehension Ability” between the two groups. Most of the studentss responded that RT activities are helpful for their word recognition and text reading comprehension.. Tsai, C.M. (2009). Effects of Reader Theater on EFL Learners' Oral Reading Fluency and Reading Comprehension. There was significant difference in the progress of reading comprehension between English high-proficient and low-proficient students. More students in the RT group agreed that their reading comprehension was enhanced with teachers’ instruction.. The studies indicated that students had better comprehension after the RT implementation. However, there weren’t many studies focus on reading comprehension. Even though the RT implementation claims it can improve students’ story comprehension, and it seems that the empirical studies about reading comprehension are still insufficient. 28.

(39) 2.4.3 Benefits on Vocabulary Development During rehearsing the RT scripts, students are exposed in a meaningful context where they can acquire new vocabulary and word usage. A meaningful context is essential in vocabulary acquisition. According to the researchers Lin (2011), Tsai (2010), Peng (2009) and so on in Table 2.5, we can see their studies of RT and Vocabulary Development. Based on the findings of various studies, the strategy of repeated reading in RT implementation and the content gradually becoming sight words were found to be beneficial to students’ vocabulary development. Table 2.5 The Related Studies of RT and Vocabulary Development Researcher/ Year Lin, H.W. (2011). Topic. Results. A Study of the Application of Readers Theater in a SecondGrade EFL Classroom: A Qualitative Inquiry. Participants of the study made significant improvement in alphabet recognition and sight word recognition after the three-months training of Readers Theater. The study demonstrates that Readers Theater had positive effects on second-grade EFL learners’ English learning performance and attitudes.. Tsai, H.Y. (2010). The Effects of Readers Theater The ten-week Readers Theater Instruction on English instruction enhanced students’ Vocabulary Ability and English abilities of vocabulary Learning Attitude of Elementary Higher Grade Students. 29. including phonological awareness, grapheme recognition, meaning understanding and spelling..

(40) Tsai, Y.C.. Study of Effects of Readers. The students in experimental. (2010). Theater on Taiwanese EFL Elementary School Students’ Vocabulary and Sentence Pattern Learning and Reading Attitudes. group gained higher scores on the posttest so RT instruction seems to be a possible teaching method for vocabulary and sentence patterns. Students also demonstrated that RT helped them to learn vocabulary and sentence patterns.. Peng, S.W.. The Effects of Readers Theater. The results indicated that most. (2009). on English Reading Ability of Fourth Graders in An Elementary School in Taiwan. students improved their English reading ability, word recognition and reading comprehension. Moreover, most participants also showed positive feelings about Readers Theater.. Keehn, S.; Harmon, J.; Shoho, A.. A Study of Readers Theater in Eighth Grade: Issues of Fluency, Comprehension, and. Over six weeks of a short story unit, one class participated in Readers Theater. Students in. (2008). Vocabulary. the Reader Theater class made statistically significant growth in oral reading. The Readers Theater class nearly doubled the vocabulary acquisition of the comparison group.. The previous studies of RT and vocabulary development found that the RT implantation had enhanced students’ alphabet recognition, word acquisition, phonological awareness and spelling. These results offered an idea that there is no need to drill vocabulary over and over, and teachers can try to utilize the RT in class.. 2.4.4 Benefits on Learning Attitude A positive learning attitude not only promotes students’ learning willingness but also gains learning interests in the process (Chin, 2009). In RT implementation, most readers lose their anxiety when practicing a script with teacher and group members. 30.

(41) Students are encouraged and stimulated in the cooperative learning environment, and their confidence has been built up by teacher’s and group members’ feedbacks which activate their language learning based on the findings of previous studies and the researchers Chang (2012), Kao (2012), Tsai (2010) and Hung (2008) are listed in Table 2.6. Table 2.6 The Related Studies of RT and Learning Attitude Researcher/ Year Chang, Y.W. (2012). Topic. Results. Effects of Readers Theater on English Oral Reading Fluency and Learning Attitude for Sixth Grade Students. After ten-week RT research, the score of English learning attitude of the experimental group was significantly higher than the control group on affection and behavior dimensions. Moreover, the female’s learning attitude was significantly higher than the male in the same group on affection and behavior dimensions.. Kao, P.G. (2012). A study in the effects of English Readers Theater Instruction on English Listening Comprehension for elementary school students. The results of attitudes toward English Learning Questionnaire showed that students had positive attitudes toward English learning. The results also revealed that students’ attitudes toward English Readers Theater instruction and the interview had a positive improvement after the treatment.. 31.

(42) Tsai, H.Y.. The Effects of Readers Theater. After. Readers. theater. (2010). Instruction on English Vocabulary Ability and English Learning Attitude of Elementary Higher Grade Students. instruction, students showed great significance on learning attitude, as well as the cognitive, behavioral and affective components of English Learning Attitude Scale through the pretest and posttest. Students showed positive attitude towards Reader Theater instruction through interview data and students' reflection.. Hung, W.C. (2008). The Impact of Readers Theater Activities on Students' Foriegn Language Learning Anxiety: A Study on Elementary EFL Students in Taipei City. The study indicated that after receiving 8-weeks of RT activities the low achieving participants are more anxious than the high achieving participants, but both underwent the reduction of anxiety level. It suggests that RT activities can reduce participants’ anxiety.. According to the studies, both students and teachers kept positive attitude toward language learning. The traditional English teaching was replaced by the RT implementation. The researchers claimed that students engaged in the class with better, positive learning attitude based on the teacher’s observation, students’ reflection, interviews and questionnaire.. 2.4.5 Benefits on Learning Motivation In RT implementation, textbooks are replaced by various kinds of reading material learning, and the RT performance also become a diverse assessment to evaluate students’ learning progress instead of the traditional exams. RT provides students a chance to participate successfully and equally in an enjoyable literary environment 32.

(43) which might lead them to become better readers. Moreover, RT helps struggling readers gain confidence by repeated rehearsal and stage performance. Students are not required to read or even memorize the whole script by themselves, and students can engage in scripts with ease. Table 2.7 lists studies conducted by Lin, (2013), Chen (2011), Drew, I; Pedersen, R.R. (2010), Liu (2008) and Chen (2008) to investigate the impact of RT on students’ learning motivation. Table 2.7 The Related Studies of RT and Learning Motivation Researcher/ Year Lin, M.C. (2013). Topic. Results. The Impact of Readers Theater The findings showed that the on EFL Students’ Motivation and participants in the RT Learning activities enhanced their motivation by building their self-confidence and attaining success in English learning. They also acquired linguistic skills along with interactive skills while they were doing the RT activities.. Chen, Y.S. (2011). The Effects of Readers Theater on English Oral Reading Fluency and Reading Motivation of Ninth Grade Low-achievers. The results showed that RT promoted the students’ reading motivation in three aspects, self-efficacy, intrinsic and extrinsic motivation and social domain, especially the social domain area receiving particularly high marks.. 33.

(44) Drew, I;. Readers Theatre: A different. In this study, students were. Pedersen, R.R. (2010). approach to English for struggling readers. struggling readers who treated English as their first foreign language. However, the RT experience had a positive effect on their confidence and motivation to read. Students were positively satisfied and motivated by practicing and performing.. Liu, Y.Y. (2008). Effects of Readers Theater on Different Gender Students’ Oral Reading Fluency and Reading Motivation in an EFL Elementary School. Both boys and girls scored higher in motivation regarding affective domain and social domain after the study. It implied that the RT task might motivate students on oral reading and engage them in English learning. The interview and students’ reflections also supported this finding.. Chen, Y.H. (2008). An Action Research of Integrating “Readers Theater” into English Remedial Instruction for Elementary School EFL Underachievers. The questionnaires of students’ motivation for reading showed that the students performed more actively in self-efficiency and class participation no matter in the intrinsic motivation or social factor for reading.. In the empirical studies, the researchers proved that student were encouraged and motivated by the RT implementation. Students gradually built up their confidence and successful experience with great collaboration, interaction and performance time after time. No matter the self-efficacy or social factors, students would participate in class actively. 34.

(45) 2.4.6 Benefits on Social Interaction Readers Theater demands communication and collaboration no matter in the preparation or performance. Students help each other in heterogeneous groups, and group members discuss how to interpret the characters, read contexts correctly and create different stage movements. Hence, students increase the opportunities of social interaction during the collaborative learning as suggested by previous studies conducted by Tsou (2011), Chen (2009) and Yun (2008) are listed in Table 2.8. Table 2.8 The Related Studies of RT and Social Interaction Researcher/ Year Tsou, W.L. (2011). Topic. Results. The Application of Readers Theater to FLES (Foreign Language in the Elementary Schools) Reading and Writing. The qualitative results showed that students have a purpose to interact in class, to work with others, to read and write for an audience, and, at the same time, enjoy their learning in RT.. Chen, S.T. (2009). Action Research on Curriculum-based Readers Theater. At the beginning, the students did not grasp the tips to work cooperatively; hence, the confrontation occurred easily. However, the students eventually learned to draw on collective wisdom and absorb all useful ideas to develop their scripts.. Yun, M.S. (2008). Using Reader's Theater to Teach English to First and Second Graders in an Rural Elementary School in Taiwan : An Action Research Study. This research showed the results that involved all the students’ ideas helped them to cooperate and show their creativity in the RT performance. Reader’s theater could improve students’ peer relationships.. 35.

(46) Based on the qualitative results in studies, they showed that students could work collaboratively, which improved their peers relationship during the RT rehearsal. To sum up, the previous studies has shown significant benefits in RT implementation; however, there hasn’t been a study which aimed to check the significance of RT implementation of improving English speaking proficiency. Even though most of studies had been focus on oral reading, they didn’t have enough proof about English speaking improvement. Therefore, the researcher is going to apply RT to the English teaching to see if the students advance English speaking proficiency instead of oral reading in current study.. 2.5 The Importance of Speaking In current study, the researcher aims to investigate whether the Readers Theater implementation can improve EFL higher graders’ English speaking proficiency. Thornbury & Harmer (2005) claim that speaking is closely related to our daily life that we easily take it for granted. We speak so naturally and integrally that we almost have no idea how we had struggled to achieve the ability until we have to learn a foreign language all over again. According to the Ministry of Education, the Language Arts Learning Areas of Grades 1-9 Curriculum Guidelines suggests that teachers should emphasize on student’s listening and speaking abilities in order to establish students’ basic English communicative competence. By cultivating students’ speaking and listening will provide every student an opportunity to express their thoughts and opinions in class (Grugeon, Hubbard, Smith, & Dawes, 2005). However, Tsou (2009) indicates that teachers actually occupy most of teaching period while students barely have time to practice speaking, even they do, are restricted to answer teachers’ questions only. The one-way interaction between teacher and students has made students become passive in language learning, and they are unable to put the language 36.