Exploring the Use of Speaking by EFL University Learners at a Mexican State University to Enhance the Speaking Skill

Abstract

Speaking is an essential language-communication skill for foreign language learners that contributes to the learners’personal and professional success. In my teaching experience,language learners in Mexico spend many years studying English and still they struggle in the development and mastery of this important language skill. The study reported in this paper aimed to determine the specific speaking strategies used when teaching to enhance EFL, investigate the effect of explicit speaking strategy instruction to EFL learners at a Mexican state university and the students’ perception of the importance of receiving this type of instruction. In order to determine the strategies that would be the focus of the speaking strategy instruction, two background questionnaires were used with eight teachers and thirty students. Twenty students received strategy instruction for three weeks on four speaking strategies: fillers, circumlocution, task-repetition and speaking in a self-talk mode using the app www.vocaroo.com. The use of speaking strategies was monitored using a checklist in a post-task basis with three specific speaking activities. The data collected through questionnaires and interviews revealed that students became aware of the usefulness of speaking strategies and regarded metacognitive and affective strategies as highly relevant to improve their speaking skill. The study also provides insights on how students perceptions can be influenced by teaching, which in some way can affect achievement, and the pedagogical implications of the teaching of speaking in EFL contexts.