People's 

Democratic Republic of Algeria

Pre-Service Teacher Training School (ENSB)

Department of English

Research Proposal Submitted in Candidacy for Writing a Masters

Dissertation in Didactics

Proposed Title:

The Use of Oral Presentations in Enhancing

Student’s Speaking Skill in EFL Classrooms

Students’ Names (M2 Didactics): Supervisor

1) Benmehal Mounia Dr. Tihal Wafia

2) Hamdi Pacha Amana

Academic Year
2020/2021
I-General Introduction:

Being proficient in the English language requires the mastery of the four main skills: listening,
speaking, reading and writing. However, proficiency in any language is usually measured by the
speaking skill. Celce-Murica (2000, p.103) argues that most people consider speaking as the most
basic means of human communication. Speaking English is highly important especially at the level of
university since it is the Lingua Franca of the age and the language of science; all research must be
presented in this language to be recognized. However, Speaking is one of the most difficult skills to
master because it does not allow the speaker time to think; it requires instant grasp and feedback.
Therefore, it is essential for universities to dedicate enough time, efforts and appropriate strategies to
ensure its development. One of the strategies used by university professors to improve their students’
speaking skill is oral presentation; it provides students with authentic situations where they can use the
speaking skill for effective and meaningful communication. Emden and Baker (2004) state that
“developing the abilities to speak to an audience is one of the greatest benefits you’ll ever get from
your time in further or higher education.”

ENSB (Ecole Normale Supérieure de Bouzareah) is one of the few teacher training schools in
Algeria situated in Bouzareah, Algiers. Students who go to the English department in this school are
trained for four years to become middle school English teachers or five years to become secondary
school ones. Although students’ speaking proficiency is tested before joining the school, that short
interview along with the enormous number of candidates may not be enough to reveal their
deficiencies with the skill. These issues are only observed later within classes by their teachers.

It is generally observed that many university EFL students show poor proficiency with the
speaking skill. Bouraoui R. and Moumed S. (2016) state that “despite the various methods and
approaches employed in EFL classes, speaking English fluently and accurately remains a far reaching
aim”. ENSB students are no exception to this problem; many of them are reluctant to participate in
speaking activities and discussions both inside and outside the classroom. It is true that they have a
module dedicated to the speaking skill (listening and speaking) during the first three years of their
training. However, the activities in this module do not provide the opportunity for authentic
communication; they usually supply learners with enough time to rehearse and memorize what they
will speak making these activities somewhat artificial. This is not enough since speaking has to be
immediate and spontaneous with active communication and responsiveness with the listeners. It
should also be noted that ENSB students are trained to become EFL teachers so they must be
proficient in this skill so that they can in turn teach it to their own learners.

The overall aim of this study is to suggest oral presentations as an effective strategy to
improve students’ speaking skill and promote an authentic communication. This study also aims to
identify students’ obstacles and difficulties towards oral communication and presentation.

The research problem combined with the aims lead to the formulation of the following research
questions:

1- To what extent does the use of oral presentations enhance students’ speaking skill?

2- What are the most important obstructions EFL learners encounter both in oral communication
and presentation?
 This research is also based on the following hypothesis:

The more students present efficient oral presentations the more their speaking proficiency will
improve.

This study is significant because it addresses an important issue with ENSB students and
seeks to deeply explore a strategy to help remedy it. It may come to mind that many ENSB teachers
already implement the oral presentation strategy in their classes, however; this strategy is quite
complex as it has many steps, types and frameworks that require a deeper look as they are often
overlooked, ignored or completely unknown. This research will be a useful resource for university
teachers to help them understand the difficulties their students face in oral communication and
presentation and provide them with appropriate solutions. It will also be a useful resource to provide
students with a framework to follow to create an efficient oral presentation and avoid some of its
obstacles to improve their speaking skill.

II-Theoretical Framework of the Study:

Any teaching/learning technique or strategy should sit on enough theoretical evidence that
prove its effectiveness. Therefore, the theoretical framework of this study will first define the key
elements of the study which are the speaking skill and the oral presentation technique. Then, it will
provide the theoretical bases and how

The Speaking Skill:

Speaking is one of the major four skills that students must master to be proficient in the
English language. It is believed by many teachers and some scholars that speaking is the oral practice
of grammar and vocabulary. However, the speaking skill is not just a mere manifestation of learners’
knowledge or grammar; it also involves social interaction and interpersonal communication.
(Thornbury, 2005). With these elements considered, the speaking skill was defined by Brown (1994)
as “an interactive process of constructing meaning.’’
The speaking skill is essential when learning a foreign language; it is usually the standard used
to measure a speaker’s proficiency in the language. Mc Donouly states that speaking not only reflects
the speaker’s mastery of the language but it also serves as a tool for social communication.
The speaking skill is very difficult to master seen as it involves many components such as the
linguistic and social competencies. It also does not allow for time to think as it has to be instantaneous.
It should also be noted that social anxiety, fear of mistakes and lack of opportunities to practise the
skill may hinder it as well.
With these difficulties in mind, teaching the speaking skill should be based on theories and
strategies that address those issues directly. Many strategies were suggested including the use of oral
presentation technique which this research will be focusing on.

Oral Presentation:

Oral presentation is a technique used within the learner-centred approach to enhance students’
speaking proficiency. Baker (2000) defines it as a natural activity in which an individual
communicates with a group. This technique can be done individually or within a group by researching
a topic and presenting it to an audience, preferably with a room for discussion and debate.
 The effectiveness of oral presentation in enhancing the speaking skill lies within its focus on
addressing many of the skill’s difficulties. First and foremost, it provides an authentic situation where
learners can meaningfully and spontaneously use the skill to achieve certain goals (Thornbury, 2005).
It also provides learners, especially those that do not frequently partake in oral activities, with enough
time and attention to express themselves. Chich M. and Dich Y. (2016) argue that oral presentations,
as a common feature of most courses especially for undergraduate students at university level, play
significant roles in engaging the students cognitively and communicatively. Moreover, if organized
correctly with the help of the teacher, oral presentation will help learners learn to talk to and discuss
with an audience; this is highly important as in their future careers, students will find themselves
obliged to make similar presentations (Baker & Emden, 2004). This is the case for ENSB students as
making oral presentations is very similar to teaching.

The use of oral presentation as a technique to improve the speaking skill is highly promoted in
many contemporary teaching/learning theories, approaches and methods. That is because this
technique shifts the focus on the learner and pushes him to autonomously improve his own speaking
proficiency with the teacher acting as a guide and assessor.

Oral Presentation in Communicative Language Teaching (CLT):

Also known as the communicative approach, CLT shifts away from focusing on grammar to
emphasizing the ability to communicate in the foreign language (Færch et al, 1983). This approach
also promotes active learning where students build their skills under the supervision of the teacher
(Richards & Rodgeis, 1986). Oral presentation matches all principles of CLT since it promotes active
communication through interaction with the audience and focuses on the learner instead of the teacher.
Hutchinson and Waters (1987) support the use of oral presentation stating that equips learners with
many communicative skills like earning an audience’s attention and effective communication.

Oral Presentation in Project-Based Learning (PBL):

Project-based learning is a learner-centred approach. It is based on the belief that learners

learn best when they are directly involved with learning problems by searching and trying to
autonomously solve them. It is an extension of John Dewey’s ‘learning by doing’ philosophy. Bell
(2010) defines this approach as a student-driven way of learning which gives students the opportunity
to work on their own to complete a project. Oral presentations in this approach are called ‘projects’
where a learner individually or in a group makes research about a topic or prepares a project (scientific
experiment, craft project…etc) and orally presents it to his peers for opinions and discussion; this
shows that oral presentation, or project as it is called under this approach, is a ‘learning by doing’
speaking activity that also involves social interaction (Stoller, 2002).

Oral Presentation in Social Constructivism:

Social constructivism broadens the scope of constructivism to include social role in the
development of individuals. It is mainly based on Lev Vygotsky’s sociocultural perspective which
emphasizes the social aspect of language. One of the key implications of this theory in education is
considering school as a social environment where learners have to interact through the use of
communicative activities to properly build their cognitive and social skills (Glasersfeld, 1989). The
speaking skill represets the social aspect of language as it requires active interaction with other
individuals. Apple (2006) states that failing to interact with others in the target language will obstruct
its mastery. Oral presentations can be used under social constructivism to enhance the speaking
proficiency along with the already mentioned skills. The reason is that oral presentations require a lot
of active social and oral interaction between the learner, his peers and his teachers through
presentation, discussion and feedback.

Previous Studies:

This literature review section aims at bringing together the most relevant works yet done in
this area of research that is the effectiveness of oral presentations in enhancing the speaking
proficiency. Even though limited literature related to the Algerian context has been yet published
about oral presentations, many studies were conducted aiming to investigate the role of oral
presentation strategy in developing the speaking skill among the students and overcoming their
speaking constraints and difficulties.

In His study “Investigating the Role of Oral Presentation Projects in Enhancing EFL Learners’
Oral Proficiency.” Mr. Mouhoub Ait Atmane (2016) revealed that oral presentations favor the
development of ones’ oral language skills. Although the difficulties and constraints, he noticed that
students have a positive attitude towards presentations. He also concluded that many students
complain about the lack of dedication, from teachers, to develop oral proficiency. Furthermore, all the
participants without exception claimed that they practice their English through giving presentations.
This is compatible with the view of many researchers such as Thornbury (2005) who claims that oral
presentations are an authentic way to practice speaking. This is indeed what justifies the urgent
necessity to use oral projects in all subjects as a tool to promote oral communication proficiency.

Zitouni Nadia (2013) in her study entitled “The Use of Students’ Oral Presentations in
Enhancing Speaking Skill in the English Language Classrooms” claimed that second year students
have positive attitudes towards the use of oral presentation as a learning activity. However, the results
of her research showed that they have several difficulties in doing it. She also added that oral
presentations are an effective strategy used by University teachers to enhance their students’ speaking
proficiency.

In her study the “importance of oral presentations for university students”, Zivkovich (2014)
claimed that students need a lot of opportunities to practice language in situations which encourage
them to communicate their ideas, needs and opinions. She added that for successful oral
communication, students need in-depth instruction and practice where the best practice is oral
presentations. All in all, Zivkovich’s study showed that students have a very positive attitude towards
oral presentations in the classroom. Students agreed that conducting presentations helps them learn
English better and practice their speaking skills despite the difficulties and constraints.

According to the analysis of the findings of Rima Fraioui’s (2016) study entitled “
Improving Students’ Speaking Proficiency in EFL Classes through Oral Presentation Technique” it
was found that speaking is the most important skill for EFLL and the majority of learners confirmed
that developing and mastering this skill can be achieved via oral presentation technique. It was found
also that oral presentation is very helpful to develop their speaking proficiency because of its
effectiveness in EFL classes. It is resulted from the findings that students have a positive attitude
towards the effectiveness of oral presentation technique to enhance the speaking skill, yet they still
suffer from speaking difficulties, as they fear their classmate feedback and teachers’ assessment.
III-Research Design and Methods:

To gain an in-depth understanding of the topic, our study will be carried out using the
convergent parallel design, a mixed-method design. A convergent parallel design entails that the
researcher concurrently conducts the quantitative and qualitative elements in the same phase of the
research process, weighs the methods equally, analyzes the two components independently, and
interprets the results together (Creswell & Pablo-Clark, 2011). With the purpose of corroboration and
validation, the researcher aims to triangulate the methods by directly comparing the quantitative
statistical results and qualitative findings. Therefore, a simultaneous administration of a questionnaire
in order to collect and analyze quantitative data, and a semi-structured interview in order to collect and
analyze qualitative data will take place. Subsequently, the findings will be compared, related and
interpreted. The research process of this study can be illustrated in the figure below:

Figure 1. The research process in this study using the convergent mixed-parallel design.

Data Collection Tools and Instruments:

To collect data two research instruments will be used, a questionnaire and a semi-structured
interview. Firstly, the motive behind choosing a questionnaire is because it is anonymous and the
participants will remain comfortable when answering the questions. It will be administered to 3 rd year
students of English at ENSB. Questions will be brief and simple to make sure all the students
understand; thus providing valid and reliable data. The Questionnaire is easy to administer, that makes
it a frequent tool for data collection. Secondly, a semi-structured interview will used (a qualitative data
collection strategy in which the researcher asks informants a series of predetermined but open-ended
questions) to know ENSB teachers’ opinion and perception about the effectiveness of oral
presentations in enhancing the speaking skill in EFL learning contexts.
Students were selected as a sample because they are directly involved with the research
problem and can provide valuable information about the topic. The questionnaire was selected to gain
data from as many students as possible for the purpose of attaining some representation.
As to the teachers’ interview, it was selected to gain deeper insights about the role of oral
presentations in enhancing the speaking skill. Students may not be able to observe their own
improvement therefore teachers’ long experience in using this technique will provide better
observations about its effectiveness.
Population and sample:

Students

The sample of this study is third year students of English at ENSB.The reason behind
choosing to work with third year students is the fact that they are starting to be familiar with the use of
oral presentations as task implemented by teachers to assess their speaking skill ; however, they still
encounter some difficulties and obstacles in oral communication. Forty (40) students will be
randomly chosen to represent the population. The sample has to be restricted to forty due to time
constraints and sanitary conditions.

Teachers:

Five (5) teachers from the English department of ENSB will be interviewed about use of oral
presentations in developing the speaking skill. Since most the teachers of the English department use
oral presentations as a strategy to assess their students’ speaking proficiency, there is no need to
purposely select only teachers of oral expression (listening and speaking). Therefore, random sampling
will take place.

IV-Conclusion

Expected Implications of the Study:

At the end, this research aims to formulate a number of pedagogical implications that will
help teachers as well as students take maximum advantage of oral presentations in order to enhance
the speaking skill.
The first expected implication is formulating the steps, components and structure that make an
effective oral presentation.
Additionally, this research expects to provide teachers with insights about how to adequately
select the types of oral presentation that best suit their students.
Moreover, this research will equip teachers and students with techniques to overcome the
speaking difficulties and constraints students face in oral communication and presentation.
Furthermore, this research will provide teachers and students with criteria to successfully
assess the oral presentations either through peer-assessment, self-assessment or teacher assessment.

Expected Limitations of the Study:

One expected limitation of this study is time. This research needs to be conducted and
completed in approximately three months; therefore, due to time constraints the sample has to be
limited and restricted to a total number of forty 3rd year students and five ENSB teachers. Another
limitation is sanitary conditions. On account of the COVID-19 situation, difficulties may be
encountered concerning the administration of the questionnaire and the semi-structured interview.
Consequently, the questionnaire may eventually be submitted and administered online via google form
and the semi-structured interview via google meeting or zoom. In addition, the lack of database can be
seen as another major limitation as previous works conducted in ENSB are not easy to access.
Therefore it is not possible to know whether similar areas have been researched within this context or
not. To counter this limitation, to collection of data and the review of literature from studies
conducted in similar EFL contexts.
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