Applying role-play to foster language and cultural competence in East Asian language majors at Hong Bang International University

Tóm tắt

 This study examines the effecƟveness of role-playing as a pedagogical approach for enhancing language proficiency and intercultural communicaƟve competence (ICC) among university students majoring in Japanese, Chinese, and Korean at Hong Bang InternaƟonal University. Grounded in experienƟal learning theory and intercultural competence frameworks, the research adopted a mixed-methods design involving 120 parƟcipants across the three language majors. QuanƟtaƟve data were collected through pre- and post-tests assessing speaking performance, while qualitaƟve data were obtained from surveys, semi-structured interviews, and classroom observaƟons to contextualize learning outcomes. The results indicate overall improvements in learners' oral fluency, grammaƟcal accuracy, and interacƟonal ability following the roleplaying intervenƟon, with varying degrees of gain across the three language majors. Japanese majors demonstrated comparaƟvely higher post-test gains, while Chinese and Korean majors also showed consistent improvement. In terms of intercultural communicaƟve competence, students exhibited enhanced aƫtudinal openness, interpreƟve skills, and behavioral adaptability. QualitaƟve findings further suggest that role-playing supported contextualized language use and increased learner engagement, although challenges related to vocabulary limitaƟons and performance anxiety remained. These findings highlight the pedagogical value of role-playing in fostering both linguisƟc development and intercultural awareness in foreign language educaƟon. The study contributes empirical evidence supporƟng the systemaƟc integraƟon of role-play acƟviƟes into language curricula, parƟcularly for high-context languages and mulƟlingual classroom contexts.

Abstract

This study examines the effecƟveness of role-playing as a pedagogical approach for enhancing language proficiency and intercultural communicaƟve competence (ICC) among university students majoring in Japanese, Chinese, and Korean at Hong Bang InternaƟonal University. Grounded in experienƟal learning theory and intercultural competence frameworks, the research adopted a mixed-methods design involving 120 parƟcipants across the three language majors. QuanƟtaƟve data were collected through pre- and post-tests assessing speaking performance, while qualitaƟve data were obtained from surveys, semi-structured interviews, and classroom observaƟons to contextualize learning outcomes. The results indicate overall improvements in learners' oral fluency, grammaƟcal accuracy, and interacƟonal ability following the roleplaying intervenƟon, with varying degrees of gain across the three language majors. Japanese majors demonstrated comparaƟvely higher post-test gains, while Chinese and Korean majors also showed consistent improvement. In terms of intercultural communicaƟve competence, students exhibited enhanced aƫtudinal openness, interpreƟve skills, and behavioral adaptability. QualitaƟve findings further suggest that role-playing supported contextualized language use and increased learner engagement, although challenges related to vocabulary limitaƟons and performance anxiety remained. These findings highlight the pedagogical value of role-playing in fostering both linguisƟc development and intercultural awareness in foreign language educaƟon. The study contributes empirical evidence supporƟng the systemaƟc integraƟon of role-play acƟviƟes into language curricula, parƟcularly for high-context languages and mulƟlingual classroom contexts.