Role Play to Improve Speaking Skills: A Case Study at SMKN 2 Blitar
Keywords:
Role play, speaking skill, vocational students, English learningAbstract
Speaking English remains a major challenge for vocational students, who often experience limited vocabulary, low confidence, and fear of making mistakes. This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of role play as a teaching strategy to enhance students’ speaking skills. Conducted at SMKN 2 Blitar in the Fashion Design program, the research applied a qualitative case study design. Data were collected from one English teacher and selected students through interviews, classroom observations, and documentation, and analyzed using Miles and Huberman’s interactive model. The results revealed that teachers prepared role play by selecting communicative topics, designing scenarios, and grouping students according to readiness. During implementation, students performed in groups, which fostered collaboration, reduced anxiety, and encouraged more active participation. Assessment was carried out using rubrics covering pronunciation, fluency, grammar, vocabulary, and confidence. The findings indicate that role play improved students’ motivation, classroom engagement, and ability to express ideas more confidently. In conclusion, role play proved to be an effective instructional strategy for vocational students, addressing both linguistic and psychological challenges in speaking.
References
Brown, H. D. (2004). Language assessment: Principles and classroom practices. Pearson Education.
Byrne, D. (1986). Teaching oral English. Longman.
Creswell, J. W. (2014). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (4th ed.). Sage Publications.
Harmer, J. (2007). The practice of English language teaching (4th ed.). Longman.
Huang, I. Y. (2008). Role play for ESL/EFL children in the English classroom. The Internet TESL Journal, 14(2).
Hughes, A. (2002). Testing for language teachers. Cambridge University Press.
Larsen-Freeman, D. (2000). Techniques and principles in language teaching (2nd ed.). Oxford University Press.
Littlewood, W. (2011). Communicative language teaching: An introduction. Cambridge University Press.
Miles, M. B., & Huberman, A. M. (1994). Qualitative data analysis: An expanded sourcebook (2nd ed.). Sage Publications.
Nunan, D. (2003). Practical English language teaching. McGraw-Hill.
Richards, J. C. (2006). Communicative language teaching today. Cambridge University Press.
Sutikno, S. (2019). Metode & model-model pembelajaran. Holistica.
Suryanto, & Zahra, E. S. (2021). Difficulties and strategies in learning English: An analysis of students from English and non-English education department in Indonesia.
Tauchid, A., Saleh, M., Hartono, R., & Mujiyanto, J. (2022). English as an international language (EIL) views in Indonesia and Japan: A survey research. Heliyon, 8(10), e10785. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2022.e10785
Wijaya, M., Handayani, I., & Fargianti, Y. (2024). Analysis of students’ perception regarding to the use of role play technique in learning speaking skills. Journal of English Education Forum (JEEF), 4(1), 10–17. https://doi.org/10.29303/jeef.v4i1.592
Yin, R. K. (2014). Case study research: Design and methods (5th ed.). Sage Publications.
Yoniswan. (2020). Effects of role-play on Indonesian junior high school students’ speaking skills: A classroom action research study. SALEE: Study of Applied Linguistics and English Education, 1(2).. 1, Issue 2). http://ejournal.stainkepri.ac.id/index.php/salee
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 zulvan Fauzi, Adin Fauzi, Nita Sutanti
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
