TOP: Fostering ESL Students’ Overall Speaking Performance Using Topical-Based Oral Presentation

Abstract

The ability to communicate verbally permits humans to communicate with one another. For students with a variety of first languages, English is one of the languages with the increasing requirement. Developing speaking skills is always viewed as a difficult and time-consuming process that necessitates a significant amount of effort. This study aimed to investigate the use of topical-based presentation (TOP) in enhancing ESL students’ speaking performance overall. The participants were 30 form four students from a secondary school. The research design used in the present study was action research. One pre-assessment and post-assessment were administered before and after the treatment. A set of questionnaires with 15 closed-ended Likert-scale items were used for data collection. This questionnaire was performed after the treatment to learn how students felt about the tactics that they used to improve their speaking talents during the course of the study. The data acquired was analysed using a paired sample t-test, which revealed a substantial improvement in students' speaking ability between pre and post assessment performance, with a t-value of 18.137 and p. value =.00001, 0.005. The findings of the study showed that TOP helped the students to improve their overall English-speaking skills. The students also saw TOP as a beneficial tool for improving their speaking ability, according to the findings. The pedagogical principles presented in this study are hoped to assist educators in effectively using topical-based oral presentations to improve their students' English language abilities, particularly in speaking.