Exploring the use of role play to Develop Verbal Communication Skills in Public Relations Students

Abstract

South Africa is a diverse country, boasting eleven official languages. This poses a challenge for higher education spaces to provide multilingual classes. English is currently the official language at tertiary institutions. As a result, many students are English Second Language (ESL) speakers who have difficulty understanding the language on all levels; speaking, writing and comprehending. Public Relations (PR) students need the ability to speak the language, as it is vital to the profession. This research explores the concept of using role-play as an educational tool by which to develop verbal communication skills among PR students. The students participated in a role-play activity, after which a self-administered questionnaire as the data collection tool was used to obtain feedback on their experience. The questionnaire results have been presented in a graphic analysis. Results proved that the majority of students have accepted role-play enthusiastically and became more confident in the use of verbal communication skills through the application of this teaching method. Students showed signs of improved pronunciation, presentation skills and verbal communication confidence. In this study, role-play has indicated that it can be used as an educational tool in developing verbal communication skills among PR students.