scholarly journals Malaysian Undergraduates’ Perceptions of Online Approach via Skype in Developing Speaking Skills

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (18) ◽  
pp. 168
Author(s):  
Sarala Thulasi Palpanadan ◽  
Iqbal Ahmad ◽  
Tamil Selvan A/L Subramaniam
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Structured Interview ◽  
First Year ◽  
Online Platform ◽  
Reflective Journals ◽  
Speaking Proficiency ◽  
Speaking Skill ◽  
Technical Division ◽  
Esl Learners ◽  
Speaking Skills

Speaking skill pedagogy has always remained a huge enigma for English as a Second Language (ESL) educators. Despite the challenges, the need to master the skills prevail in academia. The undergraduates especially those from the technical division seem to grapple with the ability to perform well in their studies and market their products upon employment due to the inability to communicate well in English. Nowadays, there are numerous platforms available for ESL learners to improve their speaking proficiency. Thus, this paper intended to study the effectiveness of using Skype as an online platform to help students enhance their confidence in speaking in English. 100 reflective journals of first year undergraduates who enrolled in an English course were collected. Meanwhile, 10 undergraduates were randomly selected to participate in the semi-structured interview. All the participants’ reflections and views were analyzed and thematized using Transana software. Four main themes emerged: account possession; familiarity; challenges; and features. It was found that many participants were aware of Skype but did not have the account prior to the study. Majority of the participants admitted that Skype activities helped them to converse better which enhanced their motivation to speak in English more confidently and fluently.

scholarly journals Practising Online Approach via Skype Activities to Develop Speaking Skills among Malaysian Undergraduates

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 98-101
Author(s):  
Sarala Thulasi Palpanadan ◽  
Iqbal Ahmad
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Thematic Analysis ◽  
Structured Interview ◽  
Public University ◽  
Reflective Journals ◽  
Speaking Proficiency ◽  
Speaking Skill ◽  
Technical Division ◽  
Esl Learners ◽  
Speaking Skills

Speaking skill pedagogy has always remained as a huge enigma for English as a Second Language (ESL) educators. Despite the challenge, the need to master the skills prevail in academia. The undergraduates especially those from the technical division seem to grapple with the ability to perform well in their studies and market products upon employment due to the inability to communicate well in English. Nowadays, there are numerous platforms available for ESL learners to improve their speaking proficiency. Thus, this paper intended to study the effectiveness of using Skype activities via online approach to help students enhance their confidence in speaking in English. Reflective journals were collected from 100 undergraduates who enrolled in an English course in a public university. Besides, 10 undergraduates were randomly selected to participate in a semi-structured interview. Thematic analysis was conducted using Transana software where four main themes emerged: account possession; familiarity; challenges; and features. It was found that many participants were aware of Skype but did not have the account prior to the study. Majority of the participants admitted that Skype activities helped them to converse better which enhanced their motivation to speak in English more confidently and fluently.

Spreekvaardigheidstoetsing

1988 ◽  
Vol 31 ◽  
pp. 149-159
Author(s):  
L.J.A. Nienhuis
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Group Discussion ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Group Discussions ◽  
Oral Production ◽  
Speaking Proficiency ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Speaking Skill

At higher levels of second language proficiency, the speaking skill is frequently measured in interviews, but the use of guided tests and group discussions is common too and can improve efficiency. Guided test and discussion create rather different speech situations and might well elicitate dissimilar kinds of oral production: the informal setting of group discussion is certainly less 'anxiety-provoking' and elicitates more natural speech, but it may lead to the use of elementary and unmonitored, minimally correct speech. In this article we report on a small-scale empirical investigation intended to lay bare differences between the language used in a guided test and in a group discussion at the level of 1st year university students of French. Although the discussion subject was defined in such a way that it would enable students to discuss a rather wide range of aspects, even superficial analysis of guided test and discussion subject suggested the first to be more content valid: this quality manifested itself in the higher proportion of different words used in the guided test answers. In other respects, there were no systematic differences between test and discussion: proportions of unique words and of less frequent words, in relation to the number of different words, were nearly the same in the two kinds of speech production. Contrary to intuitive expectation, the number of lexical and grammatical errors was greater in test production (i.e. in the formal setting) than in discussion, the guided test being perhaps a more demanding task, but the possible conclusion that the overall quality of second language use was less good in the guided test was not supported by other findings: mean scores of the three raters did not show systematic differences between test and discussion. Correlations between test scores and discussion scores were about .77, suggesting that as tests of speaking proficiency when the criterion is correctness, guided test and discussion are not as different as they may seem. The main difference between the two is in rater reliability: interrater correlations for the test were about .82; for the discussion the mean of three correlations was .52, but two of them approximated .60. One of the problems of rating discussions may be the rather unequal participation of the members of the group. The quality of discussion as a speaking proficiency test can, in our opinion, be improved by defining its subject in such a way that the aspects discussed will be sufficiently diverse and by training or instructing students: they should all participate actively and pay attention to regular turn-taking.

scholarly journals ‘Desire to learn, learn to shine’: Idolizing motivation in enhancing speaking skill among L2 learners

2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 411-422
Author(s):  
Tribhuwan Kumar
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Data Collection ◽  
Mean Value ◽  
Motivational Factors ◽  
English As Second Language ◽  
Excellent Teaching ◽  
Language Data ◽  
Speaking Skill ◽  
Speaking Skills

This paper aims to analyze the effect of motivation in the development of English speaking skills on second language acquisition. There are so many excellent teaching methods that vary in effectiveness. Motivation is the driving force for learning another language, and integration of that language into the person’s identity. Motivation is the practical reason for learning a second language. Data collection was done from two Indian universities named: Patna University and Patliputra University, from each university 50 students were randomly selected. Speaking English is one of the best needs of individual in both the students’ academic and a professional field. The second language students should be encouraged not only in the classroom but also outside to speak in English. In achieving this goal, motivation can be used as magical catalyst in learning L2. With this viewpoint, this research focuses on 3 main motivational factors to analyze the role of motivation in developing speaking skills: identifying the motivation function in promoting speaking skills; researches on motivational factors for English as second language; suggesting impact and strategies in stimulating learners in developing speaking skills. close-ended questionnaires using relevant types of questions are chosen to conduct data collection. For the research, descriptive statistical analysis was performed using SPSS software. The mean value was used to represent the analysis results. Within this paper, the researcher identified several factors that affect students’ motivation to learn second language. Motivation is surely, of great importance in this phenomenon, and is often critical in its development.   Keywords: language skills, L2 learner, motivation, second language; speaking skill;

scholarly journals The Influence of Intelligence on Student's Speaking Skills

2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 145-152
Author(s):  
Wira Kafryawan ◽  
Abdul Hakim Yassi ◽  
Nasmilah Nasmilah
Keyword(s):  
Psychological Factors ◽  
Quantitative Method ◽  
Intelligence Test ◽  
First Year ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Speaking Test ◽  
Speaking Proficiency ◽  
Correlational Research ◽  
Research Problems ◽  
Speaking Skills

Intelligence is one of psychological factors which affect the speaking proficiency. Therefore, this study aims at finding out whether or not there is a significant correlation between students’ intelligence and their speaking skills. With regard to the methodology applied in this study, a correlation research was used to determine whether, and to what degree, a relationship exists between two or more quantifiable variables in form of quantitative method. Purposive sampling was used in the correlational research due to the assumption that the selected students were able to give information or data in relation to the research problems based on the research design. Thus, 40 students were chosen as the samples. The study was conducted at the first-year students of SMA Negeri 2 Makassar. Moreover, the quantifiable data were obtained from speaking test based on the Heaton assessment and intelligence test based on the Barret assessment which were distributed to the students. The data were then analyzed by Pearson product moment. The findings showed that there was a significant correlation between students’ intelligence and their speaking skills in degree of high correlation. In other words, the assumption views that the higher intelligence belongs to students the better ability they speak.

scholarly journals Teachers’ Perceptions of using Gamification Apps in Teaching Speaking Skill to EFL Young Learners

2021 ◽  
pp. 81-97
Author(s):  
Nguyen Thi Thanh Thuy ◽  
Luu Nguyen Quoc Hung
Keyword(s):  
English Education ◽  
Structured Interview ◽  
Related Factors ◽  
Teachers Perceptions ◽  
Young Learners ◽  
Raising Awareness ◽  
Speaking Skill ◽  
Teachers Perspectives ◽  
Giving Feedback ◽  
Speaking Skills

Gamification is a concept that is commonly used in sectors such as education, information studies, human–computer interaction, and health. Recently, gamification apps have been widely used in teaching English in order to increase learners’ interests, engagement and joyfulness. In addition, there have been plenty of prior studies about the effectiveness of gamification in English education but there seemed to be little research about the correlation between gamification and teaching speaking skills. As a result of this, the current study investigated teachers' perspectives on the benefits and challenges of using gamification in teaching speaking skills to young learners. The study enlisted the help of 69 teachers. To explore teachers’ perceptions of gamifying apps, a questionnaire and a semi-structured interview were administered. The findings indicated that gamifying applications benefited teaching speaking to young learners in 4 stages: raising awareness, appropriation, autonomy and giving feedback. Still, there were some challenges involving external factors and teacher- related factors that must be considered and overcome when using gamification applications.

Note on Self-Rated Second-Language Proficiency

1988 ◽  
Vol 66 (1) ◽  
pp. 40-42 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stan Dornic ◽  
Bo Ekehammar
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Spoken Language ◽  
Social Relevance ◽  
Second Language Proficiency ◽  
Speaking Proficiency ◽  
Comprehension Skills ◽  
Speaking Skills

Self-ratings of second-language proficiency were collected from 168 bilinguals. Ratings of comprehension skills were higher than racings of production skills. The highest mean rating was obtained for listening (understanding spoken language), followed by reading, speaking, and writing, with the over-all proficiency in the language falling in the mid-die. The over-all self-rated proficiency was most closely linked to the rating of speaking proficiency ( r = 88), which seems to be related to the high social relevance of speaking skills in a nondominant language.

scholarly journals MECHANISMS OF PROMOTING PROFICIENCY OF SPEAKING SKILLS IN THE RA HIGH SCHOOLS/ԱՆԳԼԵՐԵՆԻ ԽՈՍՔԱՅԻՆ ՀՄՏՈՒԹՅՈՒՆՆԵՐԻ ԶԱՐԳԱՑՄԱՆ ՄԵԹՈԴՆԵՐԸ ԵՎ ԴՐԱՆՑ ԱՐԴՅՈՒՆԱՎԵՏՈՒԹՅԱՆ ԲԱՐՁՐԱՑՄԱՆ ՈՒՂԻՆԵՐԸ ՀՀ ԱՎԱԳ ԴՊՐՈՑՆԵՐՈՒՄ/МЕТОДЫ РАЗВИТИЯ НАВЫКОВ ВЛАДЕНИЯ АНГЛИЙСКИМ ЯЗЫКОМ И СПОСОБЫ ПОВЫШЕНИЯ ИХ ЭФФЕКТИВНОСТИ В СРЕДНИХ ШКОЛАХ АРМЕНИИ

2021 ◽  
pp. 144-155
Author(s):  
Irina Mkhitaryan ◽  
Knarik Meloyan
Keyword(s):  
High Schools ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Communicative Language Teaching ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
International Language ◽  
Speaking Proficiency ◽  
Speaking Skill ◽  
The Republic ◽  
Efficient Mechanisms ◽  
Speaking Skills

In this day and age, English is a dominant international language and correspondingly is the indispensable inkling to the ever-changing world of science. Yet from this perspective, it becomes paramount to promote speaking skill for better employability. Speaking English is extremely important to all, especially for EFL learners since they must make sure first that the hearer understands what is being said or delivered before speaking. During speaking activities, students confront some difficulties and to solve these problems the researchers of this article have determined to explore the efficient mechanisms to improve the pupils’ speaking proficiency and identify the favorable atmosphere in the process of implementing games and activities in the scope of the teaching and learning process, particularly in high schools of the Republic of Armenia. In order to minimize the learners’ problem, the Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) method has been applied to improve EFL pupils’ speaking skills undertaken during classes.

Effects of narrow listening on ESL learners’ pronunciation and fluency: An ‘MP3 flood’ programme turning mundane homework into an engaging hobby

2019 ◽  
pp. 136216881989448
Author(s):  
Art Tsang
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Hong Kong ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Reading Aloud ◽  
Control Group ◽  
First Year ◽  
Tertiary Level ◽  
Group A ◽  
Esl Learners

While most empirical studies have investigated the improvement of learners’ L2 spoken proficiency via speaking-related interventions, the present study examined the same topic through a different modality: listening. Ninety-five first-year tertiary-level students of English as a second language (ESL) in Hong Kong participated in this three-month experiment. They were separated randomly into three groups: (A) narrow listening with latitude for learners to choose their own materials; (B) narrow listening without such latitude; and (C) a control group without narrow listening. All participants attended a compulsory course on English phonology. Narrow listening was set as homework for the two experimental groups A and B. The overall results indicated that groups A and B improved significantly more than group C in pronunciation and fluency in reading aloud, performing a dialogue, and free production. There were also differences between group A and B in these tasks. The participants were generally highly positive about the narrow listening set as homework. This article ends with a discussion of the findings from theoretical and pedagogical perspectives.

scholarly journals The Role of Oral Communicative Tasks (OCT) in Developing the Spoken Proficiency of Engineering Students

2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 161
Author(s):  
S. Shantha ◽  
S. Mekala
Keyword(s):  
Engineering Students ◽  
Oral Proficiency ◽  
Routine Activities ◽  
Engineering Industry ◽  
First Year ◽  
Pedagogical Intervention ◽  
Speaking Skill ◽  
Experimental Group ◽  
Speaking Skills

The mastery of speaking skills in English has become a major requisite in engineering industry. Engineers are expected to possess speaking skills for executing their routine activities and career prospects. The article focuses on the experimental study conducted to improve English spoken proficiency of Indian engineering students using task-based approach. Tasks are activities that concentrates on the learners in providing the main context and focus for learning. Therefore, a task facilitates the learners to use language rather than to learn it. This article further explores the pivotal role played by the pedagogical intervention in enabling the learners to improve their speaking skill in L2. The participants of the study chosen for control and experimental group were first year civil engineering students comprising 38 in each group respectively. The vital tool used in the study is oral communicative tasks administered to the experimental group. The oral communicative tasks enabled the students to think and generate sentences on their own orally. The‘t’ Test was computed to compare the performance of the students in control and experiment groups.The results of the statistical analysis revealed that there was a significant level of improvement in the oral proficiency of the experimental group. 

scholarly journals Use of Charades in Enhancing Higher Institute Students’ Speaking Skills

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
pp. 15-38
Author(s):  
DALVINDER KAUR A/P KOLDIP SINGH ◽  
Azlina Abdul Aziz
Keyword(s):  
Positive Perception ◽  
Single Group ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Speaking Proficiency ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Post Test ◽  
Quasi Experimental ◽  
Speaking Skill ◽  
English Speaking ◽  
Speaking Skills

English speaking skill is one of the most challenging skills that has to be taught by teachers, and there are many factors affecting students' low speaking proficiency. Hence, charades are implemented in this study. The purpose of this research is to study the improvement of English-speaking skills among college students through implementing Charades in the classroom. This study consists of two objectives. The first objective is to determine the effectiveness of charades in improving learners’ speaking skills, and the second objective is to investigate learners’ perception of charades. This study involves 18 students from Chenderoh Community College. Charades were implemented in their speaking lessons. This is single-group quasi-experimental research. Data was collected through pre and post-test and questionnaire. Speaking scores were analyzed through paired T-test. After the data analysis, there is a significant difference between pre and post-test. Students showed a positive perception of charades.

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