<![CDATA[Speaking skills enable young children to express ideas, respond to others, and participate in classroom learning. Role-playing offers opportunities for contextualized dialogue, but evidence about observable speaking performance in face-to-face preschool settings remains design- and context-dependent. This study compared speaking-skill scores among children receiving structured role-playing activities and those participating in regular classroom activities. A quasi-experimental nonequivalent control group design involved two intact classes of 5–6-year-old children at Al-Amien Kindergarten, Yogyakarta (experimental n = 16; control n = 16), selected from five Group B classes. The experimental class participated in four 45-minute role-playing sessions involving familiar social scenarios; the comparison class continued regular activities. Speaking skills were assessed using a 10-item observation instrument covering responses to questions, vocabulary, sentence construction, verbal expression, and dialogue continuation. Mean scores in the experimental class increased from 57.50 (SD = 6.58) to 65.00 (SD = 7.53), whereas scores in the control class increased from 57.19 (SD = 6.05) to 57.50 (SD = 8.56). The experimental class showed a significant within-class change (t = 6.708, p < .001), while the control class did not (t = −0.235, p = .817). Posttest scores differed between classes (t = 2.631, p = .013), despite a nonsignificant pretest comparison (t = 0.140, p = .890). The observed posttest difference favors the role-playing classroom but cannot establish a causal intervention effect because a single intact class represented each condition. Teacher characteristics, peer composition, and classroom environments were inseparable from group assignment. Replication across multiple classrooms, with independent observation and a direct comparison of between-group change, is needed before broader conclusions are warranted.]]>
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