A comparative study of the effects of the integrated-skill and segregated-skill approaches on EFL learners’ speaking proficiency.

Abstract

The present study investigates the effects of the integrated-skill approach (ISA) and the segregated-skill approach (SSA) on the Algerian learners' speaking proficiency (fluency and coherence, lexical resource, grammatical range and accuracy, and pronunciation) through a quasiexperimental design. To achieve this aim, 46 first-year students participated in the experiment, which took place during the academic year 2020-2021 at the Department of Letters and the English Language, Frères Mentouri Constantine 1 University. Prior to the treatment, a preliminary study was conducted to track the integration of the four language skills and micro skills in Oral Expression lessons. A questionnaire was completed by 21 Oral Expression teachers and another by 120 first-year students. An interview was also conducted with 22 students to seek more information about skills' integration and the activities used in Oral Expression. As for the experiment, the sample was divided into two equal groups. Over eight weeks, the control group went through the traditional SSA, and the experimental one received instruction via the innovative ISA. The experimental group was assigned a post-intervention questionnaire to elicit information about their attitudes towards the ISA implementation. The preliminary results revealed that speaking was not totally segregated from the other skills, but it was related mainly to listening. Reading was used to a limited extent, and writing was marginalized. The micro skills were arbitrarily incorporated, and the integrated approach was not properly adopted. The t-tests’ results were in favour of the ISA group, which witnessed improvement in speaking proficiency and its component parts. The results of the post-intervention questionnaire displayed participants’ positive attitudes towards ISA. The main implication dictated by this comparative study is that the ISA proved to be more effective than the SSA in fostering students’ speaking proficiency, and thus it is pedagogically recommended.