The effectiveness of group discussion on controversial issues in improving adult EFL learners’ speaking fluency
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.30659/elitation.2.2.193-204Keywords:
adult EFL learners, controversial issues, group discussion, quasi-experimental design, speaking fluencyAbstract
Speaking fluency plays a crucial role in determining EFL learners' communicative success; however, many adult learners still struggle to speak spontaneously and coherently during classroom interactions. Although group discussions are widely used in EFL instruction, limited research has explored how controversial issues specifically influence the fluency of adult EFL learners compared to neutral topics, creating a significant gap in understanding optimal topic selection for collaborative speaking instruction. This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of group discussions using controversial topics including climate change policies, economic inequality, immigration debates, gender roles, and social media impact compared to neutral topics such as daily routines, hobbies, travel experiences, and weather patterns in enhancing speaking fluency among adult learners. A quasi-experimental design with pre-test and post-test procedures was employed involving 60 participants aged 18–40 from two intact FLIP Education classes who were assigned to experimental and control groups during a four-week intervention with forty meetings. Data were collected through individual 5-minute speaking tasks in which participants described their future career goals and life plans, and the analysis focused on four fluency indicators: speech rate (syllables per minute), mean length of utterance (syllables divided by pause count), pause frequency measured through acoustic analysis, and discourse coherence assessed through qualitative rating. Statistical analyses included descriptive statistics, independent and paired samples t-tests, and effect size calculations, and all audio recordings were analyzed using speech analysis software to ensure objective measurement. The experimental group discussing controversial topics demonstrated significantly greater improvement in speaking fluency compared to the control group, as controversial issues stimulated deeper cognitive engagement, longer speech production, and enhanced discourse coherence. The findings provided empirical evidence supporting the incorporation of carefully selected controversial issues in collaborative speaking instruction and contributed valuable insights to EFL pedagogy regarding optimal topic selection for maximizing adult learners' speaking development through authentic, cognitively engaging communicative experiences.
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