Scaffolding English Communication through Drama-Based Pedagogy: Insights from ESL Lecturers in Malaysian Higher Education

Abstract

Despite extensive formal English instruction, many Malaysian higher education graduates continue to show limited confidence and persistent anxiety when communicating in English, indicating ongoing challenges in developing communicative competence in tertiary ESL contexts. Although drama-based pedagogy is widely advocated as an effective way to address these challenges, limited empirical research has examined how experienced lecturers intentionally scaffold English communication through drama within undergraduate curricula. This study explores the pedagogical principles underpinning lecturers' implementation of drama-based learning in an undergraduate English communication course at a Malaysian public university. Specifically, it investigates how lecturers design, sequence, facilitate, and adapt drama-based learning experiences to support students' communicative development. Employing a qualitative research design, the study drew on in-depth semi-structured interviews with three experienced ESL lecturers teaching the Communication Through Drama course. Data were analysed using Braun and Clarke's reflexive thematic analysis. Four interrelated pedagogical principles emerged from the analysis: (1) a structured progression of learning activities from low-risk individual monologues to higher-risk ensemble productions; (2) the deliberate creation of psychologically safe communicative environments that reduce learners' affective barriers to participation; (3) the design of authentic communicative situations through drama in which learners negotiate meaning and respond to realistic scenarios; and (4) a facilitative teaching orientation in which lecturers act as guides, observers, and co-learners. Collectively, these principles supported learners' gradual development of communicative independence throughout the semester rather than through isolated classroom activities or assessments. The findings complement the predominantly outcome-oriented literature on drama-based pedagogy by providing a process-oriented explanation of how communicative competence is cultivated through purposeful instructional design. Furthermore, the study extends scaffolding theory in second-language education by demonstrating that effective scaffolding in drama-based pedagogy integrates cognitive, emotional, interactive, and instructional dimensions. The study offers a coherent pedagogical framework for lecturers, curriculum designers, and professional development providers seeking to embed drama-based pedagogy as a structured, supportive, and sustainable approach to developing communicative competence in higher education ESL classrooms.