A Historical Review of Research on Speaking in English Teaching

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to review speaking articles published in the journal of English Teaching over the past 50 years. A total of 145 speaking articles were analyzed according to research areas, target groups, language and research methodologies for every ten years from 1965 to 2015. A thematic analysis was also conducted based on eleven major research categories. The results showed that a shift of focus in research themes occurred around the fourth decade ofthe journal between 1995 and 2004 with a surge in the amount of speaking articles, greater attention of which was paid to methods and approaches, i.e., specific classroom-oriented tasks and activities to improve students' oral proficiency. While oral assessment was the second most productive area of research topics, the number of studies on materials and media ranked third, due to the trend in computer-assisted language learning in the last two decades. Research methodologies were evenly divided among theoretical, quantitative, qualitative, and alternative types, although the recent two decades have witnessed a noticeable increase in the number of quantitative analyses based on survey and experimental studies and qualitative studies on classroom discourse and native versus non-native interaction. Implications and future directions are suggested.