Effectiveness of Using Prepared and Impromptu Speeches to Evaluate Undergraduates’ Oral Proficiency in English as a Second Language Classroom

Abstract

Proficiency in English language can be considered as crucial because it has been commonly used as a lingua-franca in communication. This study was conducted to investigate the effectiveness of using prepared and impromptu speeches to evaluate undergraduates’ oral proficiency in English as a Second Language (ESL) classroom. The undergraduates’ perception on the importance of testing oral proficiency and the effectiveness of prepared and impromptu speeches to evaluate oral proficiency of the undergraduates were investigated. A sample of 74 first year undergraduates who are reading up for Bachelor of Science (Honors) in Software Engineering were selected for this study as a convenience sampling. The data were gathered under three stages by following a mixed methodology. As the first stage a questionnaire was distributed and as the second stage a prepared speech was done. As the third stage, a prepared-impromptu speech and an impromptu speech were evaluated. The data collected from the questionnaire and the marks of the three speeches were analyzed to answer the research questions. The analyzed data emphasized that the participants have identified the importance of oral proficiency in English language for their future career and prepared and impromptu speeches can be used as a testing technique to evaluate undergraduates’ oral proficiency. Thus, oral proficiency in English language is crucial for the undergraduates, as English language has been used for communication purposes. Hence, prepared and impromptu speeches can be considered as an effective testing tool to evaluate students’ oral proficiency in English Language in the Sri Lankan ESL classroom.