Abstract:

Foreign language anxiety has been widely shown to negatively affect language learners’ performance, confidence and willingness to engage in speaking tasks. For pre-service teachers, such anxiety may also limit their ability to perform teaching-related tasks, including classroom communication, instruction delivery, and interaction with learners. This study, therefore, investigates the effects of drama-based activities on foreign language anxiety among pre-service EFL teachers during the summer semester of 2025 at Constantine the Philosopher University in Nitra, Slovakia. The research employed a mixed-methods quasi-experimental design that combined pre- and post-test Public Speaking Class Anxiety Scale (PSCAS), heart-rate monitoring during micro-teachings, and students’ reflective journal entries from both the experimental and control groups. The intervention incorporated drama-based activities designed to increase comfort when performing and speaking in front of peers. Physiological data from fitness watches revealed that although presentations triggered elevated heart rates in both groups, the experimental group showed a smaller increase than the control group, suggesting a lower physiological stress response during presentations. Qualitative analysis of student journals showed that participants in the experimental group reported increased confidence, greater willingness to speak, and a more positive perception of their speaking abilities, while also highlighting that drama created a supportive and friendly classroom atmosphere that appeared largely absent in the control group. Journal reflections also suggested a greater reduction in perceived anxiety during presentations in the experimental group. However, PSCAS results showed a slight increase in reported anxiety levels in both groups, suggesting that students still perceived public speaking as challenging. These differing findings suggest that foreign language speaking anxiety may manifest differently across physiological, reflective, and scale-based measures. Overall, the findings suggest that drama-based activities may help reduce physiological stress and increase confidence when speaking in front of others. The study recommends incorporating gradual exposure to speaking tasks, drama-based activities, reflective practices, and supportive classroom environments to help pre-service teachers manage anxiety over time.

Keywords:

Drama-based pedagogy, foreign language anxiety, physiological anxiety, self-perceived anxiety, mixed-method research.