Which works better for speaking? Task-based vs. cooperative role-playing in vocational EFL contexts
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.33474/j-reall.v7i2.25444Keywords:
communicative competence, cooperative role-play, speaking skills, task-based role-play, vocational EFLAbstract
Speaking proficiency in the vocational high school context is often hindered by a range of challenges. Learners frequently experience anxiety, possess limited vocabulary, encounter difficulties in collaborative interaction, and demonstrate reluctance to speak in front of their peers. Consequently, students provide minimal verbal responses due to concerns about making errors or facing negative evaluation. This study aims to compare the effectiveness of task-based role-playing (TBRP) and cooperative role-playing (CRP) in improving students’ speaking skills. A quasi-experimental design was employed involving 69 eleventh-grade students from a tourism service program at a vocational high school in Yogyakarta. The participants were divided into an experimental group TBRP and a control group CRP. Data were collected through pretest and posttest assessments and analyzed using the Mann-Whitney U test in SPSS version 22 due to non-normal data distribution. The results revealed a statistically significant difference between the two groups (p<0.05), indicating that students taught through TBRP achieved greater improvement in speaking performance compared to those instructed using CRP. The results imply that task-based role-playing, which emphasizes meaningful tasks, contextual language use, and active learner engagement, is more effective in fostering communicative competence. Additionally, the results may not be as applicable to larger educational environments or other vocational programs due to the relatively small sample size and its confinement to a vocational high school. Future research is recommended to use more rigorous designs, such as randomized controlled trials, and to use a bigger and more varied sample to enhance the robustness and generalizability of the findings.
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