Enhancing Public Speaking Skills among EFL Learners through the Peer Teaching Method: A Mixed-Methods Study
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.26877/eternal.v16i1.1124Keywords:
Peer Teaching Method, English as foreign language, public speaking anxiety, supportive teaching environment.Abstract
This research investigates the effectiveness of the Peer Teaching Method (PTM) in improving public speaking skills among English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners in a tertiary education setting. A mixed-methods approach was employed, combining quantitative and qualitative data collection and analysis methods. The research involved 25 EFL learners who participated in a peer teaching intervention, which was evaluated through pre- and post-intervention speaking assessments and in-depth interviews. The results showed significant improvements in pronunciation accuracy, vocabulary usage, fluency, and confidence levels and lowering the public speaking anxiety among the participants. The qualitative findings highlighted the supportive and collaborative nature of the peer teaching environment, which fostered a sense of shared responsibility for learning, reduced anxiety, and promoted confidence in public speaking. The research 's findings contribute to the growing body of literature on collaborative learning methods in language education, suggesting that the Peer Teaching Method is a valuable approach for enhancing public speaking skills and promoting psychological readiness among EFL learners.
References
Al-Sobhi, S. B. M., & Preece, A. S. (2018). Teaching english speaking skills to the arab students in the saudi school in kuala lumpur problems and solutions. International Journal of Education and Literacy Studies, 6, 1-11.
Amin, F. H. and Masthurah, N. (2023). Exploring students’ speaking anxiety in an EFL classroom. Technium Social Sciences Journal, 50, 406–416. https://doi.org/10.47577/tssj.v50i1.9919
Chou, M. (2018). Speaking anxiety and strategy use for learning English as a Foreign Language in full and partial English‐medium instruction contexts. TESOL Quarterly, 52(3), 611–633. https://doi.org/10.1002/tesq.455
Chou, M. (2021). An integrated approach to developing and assessing EFL students’ speaking ability and strategy use. Language Education & Assessment, 4(1), 19–37.
Csizér, K., Smid, D., Zólyomi, A., and Albert, A. (2024). Motivation, autonomy and emotions in foreign language learning: A multi-perspective investigation in Hungary. Multilingual Matters.
Curtis, K., Jones, G. J. F., & Campbell, N. (2015). Effects of good speaking techniques on audience engagement. Proceedings of the 2015 ACM on International Conference on Multimodal Interaction, 35–42. https://doi.org/10.1145/2818346.2820766
Dansieh, S. A., Owusu, E., & Seidu, G. A. (2021). Glossophobia: The fear of public speaking in ESL students in Ghana. Language Teaching, 1(1), p22–p22.
Dellah, N. F., Zabidin, N., Nordin, N. A., Amanah, F. H., & Atan, M. A. (2020). Glossophobia: evaluating university students’speaking anxiety in english oral presentations. Jurnal Ilmi, 10(1), 116–126.
García-Monge, A., Guijarro-Romero, S., Santamaría-Vázquez, E., Martínez-Álvarez, L., & Bores-Calle, N. (2023). Embodied strategies for public speaking anxiety: Evaluation of the Corp-Oral program. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 17(2)
Gregersen, T., & Horwitz, E. K. (2002). Language learning and perfectionism: anxious and non‐anxious language learners’ reactions to their own oral performance. The Modern Language Journal, 86(4), 562–570. https://doi.org/10.1111/1540-4781.00161
Horwitz, E. K. (2017). 3. On the Misreading of Horwitz, Horwitz and Cope (1986) and the Need to Balance Anxiety Research and the Experiences of Anxious Language Learners. In C. Gkonou, M. Daubney, & J.-M. Dewaele (Eds.), New Insights into Language Anxiety (pp. 31–48). Multilingual Matters. https://doi.org/10.21832/9781783097722-004
Horwitz, E. K., Horwitz, M. B., & Cope, J. (1986). Foreign language classroom anxiety. The Modern Language Journal, 70(2), 125–132.
Isaacs, T., & Trofimovich, P. (2012). Deconstructing comprehensibility: Identifying the linguistic influences on listeners’ L2 comprehensibility ratings. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 34(3), 475–505.
Johari, A., Fauzi, S. F. N., Aidit, N. A., Morni, A., & Sahari, S. H. (n.d.). The influential factors of self-efficacy in English public speaking domain among university students. The 2nd International Conference on Modern Languages and Applied, 217.
Kho, M. G.-W., & Ting, S.-H. (2023). Overcoming oral presentation anxiety: A systematic review of tertiary ESL/EFL students’ challenges and strategies. Qeios.
Li, M., & Yuan, R. (2022). Enhancing students’ metacognitive development in higher education: A classroom-based inquiry. International Journal of Educational Research, 112, 101947.
Li, T. (2020). Analysis on the causes and treatment of public speaking anxiety. 2020 4th International Seminar on Education, Management and Social Sciences (ISEMSS 2020), 514–518.
Lucas, S. E., & Stob, P. (2020). The art of public speaking. McGraw-Hill.
MacIntyre, P. D., & Gardner, R. C. (1994). The subtle effects of language anxiety on cognitive processing in the second language. Language Learning, 44(2), 283–305. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-1770.1994.tb01103.x
Malmir, A., & Shoorcheh, S. (2012). An investigation of the impact of teaching critical thinking on the Iranian EFL learners’ speaking skill. Journal of Language Teaching and Research, 3(4), 608–617.
Munz, S. M., McKenna-Buchanan, T., & Wright, A. M. (2024). The Routledge Handbook of Public Speaking Research and Theory. Routledge.
Palupi, R. E. A. (2022). Students’ speaking anxiety: ready or not. ELE Reviews: English Language Education Reviews, 1(1). doi: https://doi.org/10.22515/ele-reviews.v1i1.3592
Parra, L. E. C., López, G. C., & Ortiz, O. G. (2023). Perceptions of peer-teaching strategy in the English major at a public university in Ecuador. Kronos–The Language Teaching Journal, 4(1), 92–102.
Pekerti, A. A., Van de Vijver, F. J., Moeller, M., Okimoto, T. G., & Edwards, M. R. (2021). A peer mentoring social learning perspective of cross-cultural adjustment: The rapid-acculturation mateship program. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 84, 276–299.
Pitura, J. (2022). Developing L2 speaking skills in English-medium EFL higher education. Innovation in Language Learning and Teaching, 16(2), 118–143. https://doi.org/10.1080/17501229.2021.1884688
Rahmat, N. H. (2018). Educational psychology: A tool for language research. PEOPLE: International Journal of Social Sciences, 4(2), 655–668.
Raja, F. (2017). Anxiety level in students of public speaking: Causes and remedies. Journal of Education and Educational Development, 4(1), 94–110.
Robah, A., & Anggrisia, N. F. (2023). Exploring challenges and strategies in English speaking among Indonesian university students: A case study of AKM university. Englisia: Journal of Language, Education, and Humanities, 11(1), 55–74.
Roberts, J. (2019). The erosion of ethics: From citizen journalism to social media. Journal of Information, Communication and Ethics in Society, 17(4), 409–421.
Rusli, M., Degeng, N. S., Setyosari, P., & Sulton. (2021). Peer teaching: Students teaching students to increase academic performance. Teaching Theology & Religion, 24(1), 17–27. https://doi.org/10.1111/teth.12549
Sato, M. (2017). Oral peer corrective feedback: Multiple theoretical perspectives. Corrective Feedback in Second Language Teaching and Learning, 19–34.
Sato, M., & Lyster, R. (2012). Peer interaction and corrective feedback for accuracy and fluency development: Monitoring, practice, and proceduralization. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 34(4), 591–626.
Skehan, P. (1996). A framework for the implementation of task-based instruction. Applied Linguistics, 17(1), 38–62.
Storch, N. (2002). Patterns of Interaction in ESL Pair Work. Language Learning, 52(1), 119–158. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9922.00179
Sukrajh, V. (2018). The use of peer teaching to promote active learning amongst senior medical students. https://scholar.sun.ac.za/handle/10019.1/103318
Sutiyatno, S. (2018). The effect of teacher’s verbal communication and non-verbal communication on students’ English achievement. Journal of Language Teaching and Research, 9(2), 430–437.
Tauchid, A., Saleh, M., Hartono, R., & Mujiyanto, J. (2022). English as an international language (EIL) views in Indonesia and Japan: A survey research. Heliyon, 8(10).
Tee, X. T., Joanna, T. A. T., & Kamarulzaman, W. (2020). A systematic review of self-coping strategies used by university students to cope with public speaking anxiety. English Language Teaching, 13(10), 57–73.
The Psychology of the Language Learner | Individual Differences in Sec. (n.d.). Retrieved September 10, 2024, from https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/mono/10.4324/9781410613349/psychology-language-learner-zolt%C3%A1n-d%C3%B6rnyei
Topping, K. J. (2005). Trends in peer learning. Educational Psychology, 25(6), 631–645. https://doi.org/10.1080/01443410500345172
Vygotsky, L. S., Cole, M., & John-Steiner, V. (1978). Mind in Society: The Development of Higher Psychological Processes. Harvard University Press.
Wardana, I. K., Susrawan, I. N. A., & Sukanadi, N. L. (2024). Exploring Psychological State and Performance Within the Speech Contest EFL Competitors. ETERNAL (English Teaching Journal), 15(2), Article 2. https://doi.org/10.26877/eternal.v15i2.586
Yuan, R., Chen, Y., & Peng, J. (2022). Understanding university teachers’ beliefs and practice in using English as a medium of instruction. Teaching in Higher Education, 27(2), 233–248. https://doi.org/10.1080/13562517.2020.1715936
Yulianti, T., & Sulistyawati, A. (2021). Enhancing public speaking ability through focus group discussion. JURNAL PAJAR (Pendidikan Dan Pengajaran), 5(2), 287–295.
Zhang, X., Ardasheva, Y., & Austin, B. W. (2020). Self-efficacy and English public speaking performance: A mixed method approach. English for Specific Purposes, 59, 1–16.