Toneel, vreemdetaalangst en bereidheid tot communiceren: een longitudinale studie op basis van het project Dag Vreemde Man

Details

Supervisors

Degrave, Pauline

Faculty

Faculté de philosophie, arts et lettres

Degree label

Master [120] en langues et lettres modernes, orientation germaniques, à finalité didactique

Abstract

enThis master's thesis began with the observation that students in foreign language classrooms often avoid speaking the target language, typically due to anxiety or a lack of motivation. This reluctance to speak might be due to the presence of Foreign Language Anxiety, and, correlatively, to the absence of Willingness to Communicate. Research has shown that drama could be an effective tool to alleviate student’s anxiety and encourage communication in the target language. Both Foreign Language Anxiety and Willingness to Communicate are measured in this research paper, in the context of a musical drama project in Dutch: Dag Vreemde Man. This show has been performed by non-native actors and singers in 2024 and 2025. To assess the participants’ levels of Foreign Language Anxiety and Willingness to Communicate, a mixed-methods approach was used. On the one hand, longitudinal quantitative data was collected using a modified version of the FLCAS (Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale). On the other hand, qualitative semi-structured interviews were conducted to measure the participant’s Willingness to Communicate at one specific moment in time. Findings revealed that 87% of the participants experienced a reduction of anxiety between the first and the last research moment. Most participants experience a peak of anxiety for the second research moment. Analysis of anxiety dimensions showed relatively low levels of communication apprehension and test anxiety, with anxiety related to negative evaluation being the lowest. The analysis of the interviews brought four central themes: perception of speaking skills, conversations with native speakers of Dutch, motivation and anxiety. The interviews show that most participants are more confident and more motivated to use and practice the language. Most participants reported feeling more confident and motivated to use the language after participating in the project. Despite low statistic significancy, this research project offers shows the potential of drama to positively influence affective variables of foreign language learning. The thesis concludes with an epilogue offering practical tips and worksheets for implementing drama in the foreign language classroom.