<![CDATA[Literacy instruction in junior secondary education poses cognitive and socio-emotional challenges, particularly in developing expository writing skills, managing writing anxiety, and encouraging students to express ideas confidently. This study aimed to analyse the instructional and socio-emotional needs underpinning the development of the DRAMATIKA module, which integrates improvisational theatre and Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) to support literacy resilience. The initial phase of research and development involved a qualitative needs analysis with pre-service Indonesian language teachers and junior secondary students selected through purposive sampling. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews, classroom observations, document analysis, and a needs assessment questionnaire, and were examined using thematic analysis and data triangulation. The findings identified difficulties in organising arguments, emotional barriers to written expression, and limited pedagogical readiness among pre-service teachers to integrate drama-based activities and SEL into literacy instruction. The analysis also identified instructional requirements, including improvisational prompts, scaffolded writing activities, assessment rubrics, and visual teaching guides. These findings informed the proposed DRAMATIKA framework, positioning pre-service teachers as prospective instructional facilitators and junior secondary students as the target learners. The study concludes that integrating drama-based pedagogy with SEL offers a relevant direction for designing emotionally responsive literacy instruction. Further development and evaluation are required to establish the module's effectiveness in improving literacy resilience and writing outcomes.]]>
