Ever since English has become the lingua franca and the demands of speaking a foreign language have become more important, English has evolved over the past decades through different teaching approaches and methods. Learning a foreign language in early childhood must follow certain principles, as working with younger students is very specific. The purpose of learning and teaching a foreign language in the 1st grade is to encourage joy and a positive attitude towards foreign languages, and the acquisition of these should take place through play and movement activities and through experiential learning. The development of communication skills is one of the fundamental goals of language learning, and experiential learning is extremely important. In English language learning, role-playing is one tool that teachers can use to deepen their understanding of the learning material and to develop the skills that students need to acquire the necessary language skills. In the research, we focused on early learning of English as a foreign language, more precisely in the 1st (first) grade of primary school. The purpose of the study was to determine how much influence role play has on the enrichment of the English vocabulary and the ability to use a set of different words and phrases at the end of the discussed topic. With additional questions, we also obtained information on whether the students like the teacher's way of working with role-playing or not. The goal of the research was to validate the theory derived from data that was systematically collected and analysed. In the quantitative research, with the help of story-based teaching methodology, we encouraged students to actively participate in English classes. We conducted a didactic treatment of stories and within this we used innovative approaches to learning a foreign language with a special emphasis on role-playing. 42 first-grade students who chose English as an optional elective participated in the above-mentioned research. The duration of the study lasted for 6 lessons in November and December 2022. First, we carefully observed and analysed the existing situation, and afterwards designed the research plan which we supplemented during the research. We obtained the answers to the research questions based on observation and students’ completion of the questionnaire. The results of the conducted research contributed to the understanding of the use of role-playing in foreign language lessons at an early stage. It can be said with certainty that the use of the role-play method in early English learning is recommended for enriching the vocabulary and empowering the students in spoken communication. It is an effective and appropriate technique for young students to be actively involved in oral activities.
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