Perceived Effects of Drama-Based Strategies on Student- Teachers’ English-Speaking Skills in Rwanda’s Teacher Training Colleges
Baudouin Habingabwa, Anthony Kamanzi & Pravda Mfurankunda
University of Rwanda, College of Education, School of Languages and Social Sciences Education, Kigali,
Rwanda
Email: bhabingabwa@gmail.com
Abstract: Although drama-based strategies have increasingly been recognised as learner-centred approaches that promote active participation and authentic language use, empirical evidence regarding their perceived effectiveness within Rwandan TTCs remains limited. Guided by Communicative Competence Theory and the Affective Filter Hypothesis, this study investigated tutors’ and student-teachers’ perceptions of the effects of drama-based strategies on English-speaking skills. A mixed-methods approach employing descriptive and exploratory research designs was adopted. Data were collected from 232 participants comprising student-teachers and tutors from TTC Save and TTC Nyamata through questionnaires, semi-structured interviews, focus group discussions, and classroom observations. Quantitative data were analysed using descriptive statistics, while qualitative data were subjected to thematic analysis. The findings revealed thatdrama-based strategies, particularly role-plays, simulations, skits, improvisation, and dramatized dialogues, are widely used in English-speaking instruction (overall M = 4.10). Respondents perceived these strategies as highly effective in improving communicative confidence (M = 4.41), pronunciation and grammatical accuracy (M = 4.35), and fluency (M = 4.34). Institutional support (M = 4.03) and the availability of teaching materials (M = 3.98) were identified as important factors facilitating implementation, whereas large class sizes (M = 3.78) emerged as the main constraint. The study concludes that drama-based strategies constitute an effective, learner-centred pedagogical approach for enhancing student-teachers’ English-speaking skills and recommends their systematic integration into teacher education curricula in Rwanda’s Teacher Training Colleges, alongside institutional measures to address class-size constraints.
