Foreign Language Anxiety and Speaking in English Drama Clubs: Results from a School-and-University Partnership

Previous empirical research indicates that Foreign Language Anxiety (FLA) is closely connected to Foreign Language (FL) oral competences in learners (Teimouri et al., 2019), which is why lowering FLA is likely to benefit the development of their oracy. The empirical study presented in this chapter, which was conducted at a comprehensive school in Göttingen, Germany, examines which elements of drama (e.g., role work, acting, FL feedback) have an impact on learner FLA and whether this impact is beneficial or detrimental to their FLA and thus affected their development of speaking competences. The study was conducted at lower secondary (Unterstufe, aged 10–12) and middle secondary level (Mittelstufe, aged 13–15) English drama clubs that took place as extracurricular school activities. Based on a sample of 50 pupils from these English as a foreign language drama clubs, the study shows that role work and FL feedback influence learner FLA: While more role work is able to decrease their FLA, more feedback on their FL increases their anxiety. With a view to the classroom, both elements can be taken into account in the design of future lessons that aim to support FL oracy. However, it is up to future research to conclusively prove this effect for regular FL classrooms.