Abstract:
This study focused on the impact of educational play on the oral expression of learners in the study of French as a foreign language (FFL). Our main objectives were to identify activities through which educational play facilitate learner’s vocabulary acquisition in the learning of French as a foreign language and also explain the benefits of educational play on learner’s oral expression and then propose steps to follow for the exploitation of educational play in the classroom.
We conducted a descriptive study with second year Senior High School students of Sekondi College, in the Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolis. We collected data by means of a non-participant observation of FFL class, an educational play, a questionnaire and an oral production activity. The outcome of the study showed that learners acquire vocabulary by reading, rehearsing, memorising and practicing speeches of a play. Learners later make use of vocabulary acquired in their own speeches and speak freely with self-confidence. We then elaborated proposed steps to follow to exploit educational play in the classroom. We recommended that teachers adopt or develop drama text based on strands in the French Curriculum for educational play and afterwards do oral activities with learners to enable them make use of vocabularies acquired in their own speech. We asked teachers integrate educational play in the FFL class and follow the steps for the presentation of educational play. We call on both boys and girls to take part in educational play. We then suggested that further research be carried out later to reproduce this study using a bigger sampling and also determine French teacher’s views on the exploitation of educational play in the teaching/learning of FFL.
