Reducing Speaking Anxiety in Iraqi EFL Classrooms through Collaborative Task-Based Role-Play

Abstract

The paper is a quasi-experimental study that examines the impact of Collaborative Task-Based Role-Play (CTBRP) on the alleviation of speaking anxiety in Iraqi EFL preparatory students. Based on the Affective Filter Hypothesis by Krashen, the sociocultural theory by Vygotsky, and the principles of Task-Based Language Teaching, the intervention incorporates the collaborative learning, task-based teaching, and role-play learning to provide psychologically safe speaking practice opportunities. The participants included 60 female students of Gamal Abdel Nasser Preparatory School in the District of Yathrib and randomly matched to the experimental (n=30) and control (n=30) groups. The experimental group was given the CTBRP teaching advice and the control group conventional teaching. The participants were assessed on a 15-item questionnaire, which was based on the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS) and was administered to access the data before and after the eight-week intervention. The outcomes indicated statistically significant group differences with the experimental group showing significantly less anxiety levels (M=50.56, SD=7.56) than the control group (M=37.50, SD=8.63), t (58),= 6.709, p<0.05. The within group analysis revealed that the level of anxiety in the experimental group has greatly been reduced, before the questionnaire (M=29.83, SD=16.32) and after the questionnaire (M=50.56, SD=13.46), t (29) = 6.417, p< 0.05. These results are very strong evidence that CTBRP can be used to reduce the levels of speaking anxiety by developing peer support, shifting the focus on the meaning rather than the form, and getting psychological distance through role-play. The research provides a useful and replicable model to overcome the affective barrier in Iraqi EFL classrooms and other settings.