Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) in Improving Speaking Skills of Tertiary Level EFL Students of Bangladesh

This study focuses on lexical diversity and the use of academic and lower frequency words in essays written by EFL (English as a Foreign Language) students enrolled in Years 1 and 2 at the undergraduate university level. The purpose of this study is to find out the extent to which EFL students become more proficient in their use of academic and lower frequency words and make more diverse choices in their writing after one year of undergraduate university education in English. The study also compares essays written by EFL students and NS (native speaker) students to determine inter-language differences. Essays written by 62 EFL students and 198 NS students at Years 1 and 2 were analyzed for this study. The findings showed no statistically significant difference between the essays written by EFL students in Year 1 and those written in Year 2, either in terms of lexical diversity or in terms of the use of academic and lower frequency words. EFL students in both year levels had a preference for highly frequent words (words in the 1k frequency band). This is in contrast to the NS students, whose use of academic and some lower frequency words improved in Year 2. The findings also showed a statistically significant difference between the essays written by the EFL and the NS students in both year levels. The EFL students made less diverse lexical choices and used fewer words in various frequency bands than the NS students. Findings are discussed and recommendations are offered to EFL students and their educators on how to focus on these aspects of academic writing.

Storytelling have already integrated in learning speaking with many advantages, the researchers apply it among EFL (English as a Foreign Language) students in Kampung Inggris Transmigration to fostering students' speaking skills. Utilizing the Photovoice methodology and the SHOWeD method, the study systematically explores the use of storytelling in language learners' speaking abilities. Participants of this study were 5 tutors and 30 students from two EFL classes in Kampung Inggris Transmigrasi. The findings highlight the pivotal role of storytelling in creating a dynamic and engaging learning environment that encourages active participation and collaboration. This research contributes to the field of language education by emphasizing the significant influence of storytelling on developing effective speaking skills in EFL students, offering insights into innovative methodologies for language acquisition.Keywords: Speaking Skills, Storytelling, and EFL Students

The purpose of this study is to investigate the possible causes and possible solutions of the massive underachievement in speaking skills among Kuwaiti EFL (English as a foreign language) students at the College of Basic Education (CBE). This study involved 331 male and female EFL students who are currently studying different bachelor degree programs at CBE. A questionnaire of 12 statements was used to collect their responses, and then the data was analyzed. After the analysis of the data, the findings indicated that the vast majority of students identified their speaking skills as weak or fair. Their answers revealed there are various factors that hinder in developing their weakness in speaking skills. The most obvious ones were lack of motivation, the lack of speaking skills emphasis in EFL syllabus design, and the absence of technology in ELT (English language teaching), including language laboratories and auditory aids. According to the recommendations of this study, this great challenge could be overcome by four central solutions. First, placing spoken English in the EFL syllabus. Second, including spoken English assessment in the coursework and providing a comfortable environment in class to motivate EFL students to use their target language and encourage them to improve it. Third, the study recommends that EFL teachers join special training courses in the Professional Development Center to learn the basic knowledge of how to use technology in ELT, including language labs. Finally, the researcher ends his recommendations by endorsing the administration of the College of Basic Education to provide modern language labs for the Language Center.

This study explores the impact of social media discourse analysis on enhancing the critical thinking skills of EFL (English as a Foreign Language) students at Universitas Tridinanti. A mixed-methods approach was employed, combining quantitative and qualitative data collection and analysis. The study involved 150 EFL students divided into control and experimental groups. Quantitative data were gathered through pre-test and post-test assessments, analysed using descriptive statistics, inferential statistics (paired and independent sample t-tests), and ANCOVA. Qualitative data were obtained from semi-structured interviews and documentation observation, involving 10 participants from the experimental group. Quantitative findings revealed a significant improvement in the critical thinking skills of students in the experimental group, with mean post-test scores increasing from 60 to 75, compared to a smaller increase in the control group. Qualitative results supported these findings, highlighting increased engagement, motivation, and enhanced critical thinking skills due to the interactive and collaborative nature of social media platforms. This research is novel in its focused application of social media discourse analysis within an EFL context at Universitas Tridinanti, providing context-specific insights and practical implications for similar educational settings. The integration of both quantitative and qualitative methods enriches the understanding of social media's educational impact. The study concludes that social media discourse analysis effectively improves EFL students' critical thinking skills at Universitas Tridinanti. Keywords: social media, discourse analysis, critical thinking, EFL students, mixed-methods

Effective English language learning for EFL (English as a Foreign Language) students involves integrating communicative methodologies, technological resources, and cultural awareness. This paper explores various approaches such as Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) and Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT), emphasizing their roles in fostering communicative competence and language proficiency. CLT promotes interactive learning through real-life communication activities like debates and role-plays, enhancing fluency and pragmatic skills. TBLT complements CLT by engaging students in tasks that simulate authentic language use, promoting autonomy and problem-solving abilities. Technology plays a crucial role in modern EFL education, offering interactive tools and multimedia resources that cater to diverse learning styles and facilitate self-paced learning outside traditional classroom settings. Additionally, cultural competence is essential for effective communication, enabling students to navigate cross-cultural interactions with sensitivity and proficiency. By synthesizing these approaches and resources, educators create dynamic learning environments that prepare EFL students to communicate effectively in global contexts. This holistic approach not only supports language acquisition but also cultivates skills necessary for academic success and professional advancement in an interconnected world.

Purpose As a type of mixed methods research, the exploratory sequential design is employed when the aim is to interrogate a topic before collecting any quantitative data. The Aspect of Iranian EFL (English as a Foreign Language) Students’ Identity Orientation Scale (AIESIOS) is used to assess EFL students’ social identity. Student social identity encompasses six orientations: personal, relational, social, collective, cultural and religious identity. This resulted in a measurement scale consisting of 55 items. Design/methodology/approach The factorial design was inspected through the administration of AIESIOS to 518 EFL students. In phase 1, involving five experts, the most frequent themes were extracted through conducting open-ended questions in semi-structured interviews. In phase 2, a pilot study was conducted prior to scale distribution. In phase 3, cognitive interviews with 10 students from the sample were held to illuminate the conceptions that have been written. In phase 4, the scale was distributed among 418 students. The factorial design and construct validity, and reliability of the scale, were assessed by performing EFA (Exploratory Factor Analysis) and CFA (Confirmatory Factor Analysis). Findings The findings from the quantitative analyses of EFA, CFA, and the relevant analyses showed that the newly validated scale enjoyed adequate psychometric properties. The results obtained from the interviews (in the qualitative stage) were coded to ensure intra-subject reliability agreement. Accordingly, 50 codes have been extracted to complete the quantitative analyses. The findings also highlighted the significance of examining the six sub-constructs of identity as single factors, as opposed to sufficing a sum score of the six sub-constructs. Both the intercorrelations among the sub-scales and the significant differences among the typology classification groups were detected in separated hypotheses. The operationalization proposed in the scale validation permits the method of measuring six orientations of identity to become conforming to the full theoretical framework of social identity. Research limitations/implications The instrument may facilitate and extend understanding of EFL students’ identity development and serve as a tool to support the process of developing a safe and robust identity in EFL students. Practical implications The AIEIOS might be a practical instrument for researchers and practitioners in the ELT field. It can assist researchers in gathering data and differentiating between EFL learners and discovering longitudinal patterns in the development of social identity among EFL learners. Moreover, future research could centralize its aim on interrogating the relation between social identity of EFL learners and social identity tensions (Amini and Weisi, 2023b; Jones and Abes, 2013; Mili and Towers, 2024). Whereas researchers have recommended these relations, it has not yet been examined pellucidly (Amini and Weisi, 2023a, b; Rezaei et al., 2014). Interrogating these relations may result in a more illuminative understanding of how the development of social identity might occur during the process of becoming EFL learners. Originality/value The AIEIOS is particularly designed for Iranian EFL learners. Learner identity, conceptualized from an identity theory perspective, includes six sub-constructs. The instrument, which is psychometrically valid, can be employed for research and pedagogical objectives, by researchers and practitioners. Utilizing the AIEIOS can be used for broadening the ancillary horizons of the development of EFL learners’ social identity and further can assist instructors and professors to bulwark and strengthen the social identity of their students.

A review of literature on pragmatic competence reveals that less attention is given to the enrichment of cross-cultural pragmatic awareness in the classroom. The study focuses on the need to survey and discuss communicative dynamics in classroom situations and the importance of enhancing cross-cultural pragmatic competence in the English as a foreign language (EFL) context. We believe that enhancing students’ cross-cultural pragmatic competence will provide students with a sustainable learning environment, which is crucial for the quality of education. The investigation involves a mixed approach of quantitative and qualitative methods by using a questionnaire for EFL students and interview guide questions for both EFL students and teachers. For quantitative analysis, the participants involved in this research include 200 EFL students of different nationalities, and for the qualitative analysis, the participants include 10 teachers and 20 EFL students in a university in North Cyprus. The study’s findings indicate that students lack cross-cultural pragmatic knowledge and must be provided with classroom activities for social interaction and to develop explicit and implicit communicative competencies in EFL as a target language. Findings further reveal that EFL students are not endowed with cross-cultural pragmatic competence by the EFL teachers who provide little attention to pragmatic knowledge and classroom activities in the EFL context.

Purpose – This paper aims to outline research that explores the information literacy experiences of English as a foreign language (EFL) students. The question explored in this research was: how do EFL students experience information literacy? Design/methodology/approach – This study used phenomenography, a relational approach to explore the information literacy experiences of EFL students. Phenomenography studies the qualitatively different ways a phenomenon is experienced in the world around us. Findings – This research revealed that EFL students experienced information literacy in four qualitatively different ways. The four categories revealed through the data were: process, quality, language and knowledge. This research found that language impacted on EFL students’ experiences of information literacy and revealed that EFL students applied various techniques and strategies when they read, understood, organised and translated information. Research limitations/implications – This research was conducted in a specific cultural and educational context; therefore, the results might not reflect the experiences of EFL students in other cultural or educational contexts. Practical implications – The findings from this research offer an important contribution to information literacy practice by providing important insights about EFL students’ experiences and perceptions of information and learning that can be used to inform curriculum development in second language learning contexts. Originality/value – There is currently a lack of research using a relational approach to investigate EFL students’ experiences of information literacy. There is also limited research that explores the impact language has on information literary and learning in EFL or English as a second language (ESL) contexts.

In an international communication context, English becomes an International language , commonly known as English as an International Language (EIL). EIL sees various English accents equally because intelligibility, being able to deliver message clearly to listeners, is the main goal in a communication. Therefore, Indonesian EFL (English as a foreign language) students need to focus their English mastery on intelligibility over native-likeness accent when learning English. However, whether or not the students concentrate their English learning more on intelligibility is still unknown yet. To identify which aspects EFL students focus on, the research examined Indonesian EFL students’ attitudes toward their L1-accented English. The main aim is to enhance their awareness that intelligibility is the key component in an English communication. Also, English teachers hopefully discuss the intelligibility in their teaching. Thus, the targeted learning results, particularly related to speaking skills development, are more reachable so the students are more encouraged to develop their English. The study involved 46 students (14 males and 32 females) from University of Muhammadiyah Malang (UMM), East Java. The implemented instrument as a data collection is a questionnaire. The collected data were organized and then analyzed to find out EFL students’ attitudes perceiving their Indonesian-accented English. The researcher figured out that EFL students had less positive attitude towards their own English accent. That perception might be caused by their low linguistic awareness, excessive exposure to the Internet (YouTube, International news) made by native speakers of English. The result of data analysis will be elaborated to interweave the investigation outcomes with classroom context so the outcomes could be implemented in classroom instruction. Keywords: Accent, Intelligibility, EIL and attitude.

This study investigates the effects of technology integration on the motivation and engagement of Indonesian EFL (English as a Foreign Language) students. The research seeks to answer the following questions: (1) What is the impact of technology on student motivation in EFL classrooms? (2) How does technology affect student engagement in learning English as a foreign language? (3) What are the specific challenges associated with integrating technology in EFL settings? A mixed-methods approach was employed, combining quantitative surveys and qualitative interviews. The survey data were collected from 150 EFL students across various Indonesian schools, while in-depth interviews were conducted with 15 teachers to gain deeper insights into the observed phenomena. The findings reveal that technology integration positively influences student motivation by making learning more interactive and enjoyable. Students reported higher levels of interest and participation when technological tools were used. However, engagement levels varied, with some students feeling overwhelmed by the rapid pace of technological advancements. The study also identified several challenges, including insufficient teacher training, limited access to reliable technology, and the digital divide between urban and rural areas. In conclusion, while technology has the potential to enhance motivation and engagement among EFL students, addressing the identified challenges is crucial for maximizing its benefits. Effective training for teachers, improved access to technological resources, and policies aimed at bridging the digital divide are recommended to support the successful integration of technology in EFL education.

The main purpose of this study is to investigate the attitudes of EFL students towards CLT in an Afghan EFL setting. Communicative Language Teaching (CLT), as a responsive teaching approach to the needs of learners, has been extensively recognized as a favorable approach for English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers and learners around the world. It also attempts to determine the effects of CLT activities on their motivation and CLT challenges based on their demographic profile. The data were collected from 201 English major undergraduate students from the Faculty of Language and Literature at Takhar University purposefully through a questionnaire that consists of 30 items. For answering the research questions, descriptive statistics, sample T-test, and a one-way ANOVA test were employed. The findings revealed that Afghan EFL students have positive attitudes towards CLT approach. The study also showed that the attitude of the students towards CLT is positive in terms of their gender. Moreover, there is no statistically significant difference among the group factors (age, first language, and English learning experience) of the participants.

Burnout has been a major concern in the educational settings and it is worth exploring it among English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students and finding its relationship with other factors, such as emotional intelligence (EI), which may help reduce burnout sources. In this light, this study was designed to a) explore Iranian EFL students’ burnout and EI profiles; b) investigate the relationship between EFL students’ burnout and their EI; and c) examine the extent to which EFL students’ EI competencies could predict their burnout. To these ends, 100 male and female Iranian EFL university students, selected through convenience sampling from two universities (Shahrekord University and Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz), participated in the study and responded to the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Student Survey (MBI-SS) and the Bar-On’s Emotional Quotient Inventory (EQ-i). To triangulate the data, a semi-structured interview was conducted with 20 EFL students. Data analysis showed that EFL students had a low level of burnout and were emotionally intelligent at the intrapersonal level. Also, the data from semi-structured interview provided further insight into the quantitative results and explained some personal and organizational factors in relation to EFL students’ burnout. Moreover, bivariate correlation and multiple regression analysis revealed a negative relationship between EI and two dimensions of burnout (emotional exhaustion and cynicism) and a positive relationship between professional efficacy and EI. Furthermore, intrapersonal, general mood, and adaptability components of EI were found to be better predictors of burnout. The findings have implications for language educators in reducing students' burnout.

Communication, particularly verbal communication, is central to the development of a desired competence in a second or foreign language. Approaches such as communicative language teaching (CLT) in second language acquisition emphasize practical use of the target language for effective learning/acquisition. However, despite the necessity of using a target language to learn it, it has been a common phenomenon to observe most learners exhibiting passiveness, reticence, and unwillingness to participate in oral communicative opportunities in English as a foreign language (EFL) classes. This study therefore explored EFL students’ willingness to communicate (WTC) in oral communicative English classes together with the factors underlying with it in the Ethiopian higher education context. To this end, primary quantitative data were collected from a randomly selected sample of 450 EFL students taking oral communicative English courses followed by qualitative data from a sample of fifteen students selected again randomly to triangulate the results from the quantitative data. The results revealed that the target students had in general a low level of WTC in oral communicative English classes, and their WTC was affected by both psychological and contextual factors such as self-confidence, motivation, personality, language learning orientation and classroom environments. The findings indicate that EFL students’ WTC is a crucial component to increase students’ participation in oral communicative English classes by raising their self-confidence, motivation and awareness of language learning orientations, coupled with facilitating the language learning environment. It is therefore suggested that WTC needs to be given special consideration while designing and preparing ELT materials, and during instructions as well.

The development of speaking skills represents a central objective in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) education, particularly within higher education contexts where communicative competence is essential for academic success and professional engagement. Speaking is not merely the production of language; rather, it involves the dynamic integration of grammatical knowledge, lexical resources, pronunciation accuracy, and discourse management within real-time interaction (Harmer, 2001). Despite its importance, speaking remains one of the most challenging skills for EFL learners, especially in contexts where exposure to authentic language use is limited. Within the Libyan educational system, English language instruction has historically emphasized grammar, reading, and translation. This tradition has contributed to the development of receptive knowledge; however, it has not adequately supported the development of productive skills, particularly speaking. At the University of Benghazi – Al-Abyar Branch, many students demonstrate a noticeable gap between their knowledge of English and their ability to use the language effectively in spoken communication. This gap raises concerns regarding the effectiveness of current teaching practices and the extent to which they align with contemporary approaches to language instruction. Several contextual factors contribute to this issue. Limited exposure to English outside the classroom restricts opportunities for meaningful practice, while large class sizes reduce the likelihood of individual participation. In addition, teacher-centered instructional approaches continue to dominate many classrooms, where the focus remains on content delivery rather than student interaction. These conditions create an environment in which learners become passive recipients of knowledge rather than active participants in communication. Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) has been widely promoted as an effective approach to address such challenges. CLT emphasizes the use of language for meaningful communication and encourages interaction through tasks such as discussions, role plays, and collaborative activities (Richards, 2008). However, the implementation of CLT in the Libyan context has often been partial or inconsistent, limiting its potential impact on students’ speaking development. This study seeks to investigate the current state of speaking instruction at the University of Benghazi – Al-Abyar Branch by exploring students’ experiences, challenges, and perceptions. Through qualitative inquiry, the study aims to provide a deeper understanding of the factors influencing speaking development and to identify pedagogical practices that can enhance oral proficiency among Libyan EFL learners.

Objectives The purpose of this research is to explore the role of a NEST (Native English Speaking Teacher) teacher identity development during teaching experience for EFL (English as a Foreign Language) students in the local university context in Korea according to four self-efficacy elements based on Bandura (1997)’s theory. Methods Data was gathered through semi-structured interviews, class observations and reflective journals for around two years which was between March 2021 to November 2023. Two student participants were Koreans, who are typical EFL students and the focal teacher was a native English speaker from America, who has taught EFL course for almost 18 years. Results The findings of the study highlighted the two aspects of the results. (1) the multidimensional teacher identity related to the four self-efficacy sources was shown through contextual environment, classroom the management of the class, and instructional strategies in the local university context in Korea. 2)The researchers found out the NEST employed practically pedagogical strategies in order to teach EFL undergraduate students in the given context. Conclusions The findings specifically revealed the following categories influenced the relation between the NEST and EFL students academic language learning: teacher’s language knowledge, intrinsic teaching methods based on teaching experience, teacher’s attitude towards EFL students related to his TSE. This study proposes pedagogical implications for NEST teachers who teach EFL students at the contexts of university in a foreign country.