Problems English Majors Encounter in Learning Drama in English at Al Aqsa University in Gaza and Ways to Reduce Them

Abstract

Drama courses are core at the English departments in the Palestinian Universities. Teaching drama properly will help students have an excellent command of English language and culture. The research aimed to find out the problems English majors at Al-Aqsa University in Palestine encounter in understanding drama. It also aimed to propose ways to reduce the problems students encounter in drama. In order to achieve the study objectives, the study used the descriptive analytical approach. A questionnaire consisting of (25) items was designed (25) items and distributed to (75) male and female English majors at Al Aqsa University. The researchers also conducted interviews with (3) drama teachers at Al Aqsa University to offer ways to help reduce problems in learning drama. The study revealed that more (73%) of the students believed that the major problem encounter them in learning drama is that there is no chance to act the play. The study also found that there is no statistically significant difference attributed to gender or the level of the students in learning drama, and English Language Education students face more problems in learning drama than English Language Literature students. The study offered a number of suggestions to reduce problems in learning drama.