International Journal of Education and Literature
Vol. 5 No. 1 (2026): International Journal of Education and Literature

The Effectiveness of Role Play in Improving EFL Students' Speaking Ability: A Systematic Literature Review




Article Info

Publish Date
21 Apr 2026

Abstract

This study aims to systematically examine empirical evidence on the effectiveness of role play in improving EFL students' speaking skills. Using Systematic Literature Review (SLR) methodology guided by the PRISMA framework, this study analyzed 20 peer-reviewed articles obtained from Google Scholar, ERIC, and Scopus databases. Inclusion criteria focused on studies investigating role play as an instructional technique targeting speaking skills in EFL or ESL contexts. Findings reveal that role play consistently and significantly improves key speaking components including fluency, accuracy, pronunciation, vocabulary, and confidence. Additionally, role play reduces speaking anxiety and promotes a more communicative and interactive learning environment. This review also identifies moderating factors such as class size, student proficiency level, and teacher facilitation quality that influence role play effectiveness. These findings suggest that role play is a highly effective pedagogical strategy for improving speaking competence, particularly in EFL contexts, and its systematic integration into curriculum design is strongly recommended.

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Journal Info

Abbrev

ijel

Publisher

Subject

Description

International Journal of Education and Literature accommodates scientific research articles by lecturers, academic practitioners, teachers and students to improve the quality of education. The scope of this journal is all research related to education. This journal is published 3 (three) times a ...