Using role play in teaching Chinese speaking skills for a special purpose: a case study of a perfume company in Thailand

Abstract

The objectives of this study were to (1) examine the effectiveness of role play in enhancing Chinese speaking skills of perfume company staff in Thailand. (2) explore the learning satisfaction of the perfume company staff after using role play activities in learning Chinese. Mixed methods were employed and a group of 20 working staff who were working in a perfume company in Thailand was involved in the study. Four Lesson Plans of 120 minutes each (1 Lesson Plan = 2 Sessions) incorporating role play activities were used and taught for 8 sessions (2 sessions per week) with 20 participants within the time period of a month. The researcher collected the quantitative data through need analysis questionnaire, pretest as well as posttest scores and a qualitative data through focus group discussion (FGD). The quantitative data were analyzed by paired sample t-test based on mean, standard deviation and significant value. The outcome of the learning achievement test score analysis revealed significant difference between the posttest mean (x ̅ =3.51) and pretest mean (x ̅=1.16) with the mean difference of 2.35. The significance (P) values 0.01 which indicated significant increase in the posttest scores as compared to those of pretest. Analysis of the qualitative data of focus group discussion proved impact on students' learning satisfaction. The result showed that the use of role play activities was effective in enhancing Chinese speaking skills of perfume company staff in Thailand.