Teaching Yoruba Language Through Drama in Secondary Schools in Osun State

Drama as a pedagogical method offers learners opportunities for embodied language use, cultural engagement, and creative problem-solving that traditional chalk-and-talk instruction cannot replicate. This study investigates the effectiveness of drama-based approaches in teaching Yoruba language to secondary school students in Osun State, South West Nigeria. An experimental research design was adopted, with 120 Senior Secondary 2 students from four schools in Osogbo and Ede randomly assigned to experimental and control groups. The experimental group received Yoruba language instruction incorporating role-play, script performance, and improvisation exercises over a ten-week period, while the control group received conventional instruction. Pre-test and post-test assessments measured oral fluency, vocabulary acquisition, and communicative competence in Yoruba. The theoretical framework draws on communicative language teaching theory and constructivist learning theory. Existing literature confirms the general effectiveness of drama in language teaching, with limited studies specifically targeting Yoruba language instruction. This research fills that applied pedagogical gap. The study further collects qualitative data from student reflective journals and teacher observations to capture the experiential dimensions of drama-based language learning. Findings are expected to show statistically significant improvements in oral fluency and vocabulary among the experimental group. Recommendations will address the integration of drama-based pedagogy into Yoruba language teacher training programmes in Osun State. Keywords: drama-based teaching, Yoruba language, secondary education, communicative language teaching, Osun State.