Performative Language Teaching for Speaking Engagement in an Italian High School through the Lens of a Filipino Educator

This thesis explores how Performative Language Teaching (PLT) can enhance student engagement in speaking activities in an Italian lower‑secondary English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classroom. Using a Classroom Action Research design grounded in drama‑based pedagogy, three PLT lessons were implemented with two Grade 7 classes in a private Catholic school in Rome, integrating speaking‑focused activities into the existing grammar syllabus and informed by the teacher‑researcher’s positionality as a Filipino, non‑native English‑speaking teacher. Data were collected through field notes, short end‑of‑lesson feedback tasks, pre‑ and post‑surveys, and a questionnaire completed by the main teacher, with attention to behavioural, emotional, and cognitive dimensions of engagement. The findings suggest that PLT had a positive impact on students’ participation in speaking: learners were more willing to speak, collaborated actively in pairs and groups, and often described the lessons as interesting, enjoyable, and different from their usual grammar‑oriented instruction. Many students also reported that activities involving movement, role‑play, and games helped them remember vocabulary and structures more easily. Although some learners remained cautious about performative tasks, overall, the PLT cycles contributed to a more welcoming atmosphere for speaking. The study suggests that PLT can be a useful complement to traditional EFL teaching in this context, while recognising that the results are limited to a short intervention in a single school and are based mainly on qualitative evidence.