International Journal of TESOL & Education Received: 10/05/2021

ISSN: 2768-4563; https://i-jte.org Revision: 12/05/2021

Vol. 1, No. 1, 2021 Accepted: 13/05/2021
pp. 22-29 Online: 08/06/2021

The Effect of ICT on Learners’ Speaking Skills Development

Chau Gia Khanh

Tra Vinh University, Tra Vinh City, Vietnam

Corresponding author’s email: cgkhanh@sdh.tvu.edu.vn

Abstract
The prosperity of humanity has been advanced and modernized due to the constant
growth of science and technology. The innovation of modern technology is an excellent
contribution to upgrading the quality and effectiveness of second language education, not
exclusively to teach the understudies, yet also to make them employable individuals in
higher education. In this case, ICT, Information, and Communication Technology
assume an essential part in assisting students' exposure to various sources of current
learning materials and authentic inputs. To clarify the impact of ICT in second language
teaching, there have been several studies conducted to investigate the positive effect of
the implication of ICT in teaching to enhance the speaking skills of students. This writing
aims to review various related research studies in terms of methods, participants, and
results.

Keywords: ICT, Speaking skills, effects, language teaching, language learning

Introduction
In the age of globalization, learning a second language is essential. Speaking seems to be the most
crucial and challenging to acquire in language learning (Nunan, 1995; Bueno, Madrid, & Mclaren,
2006). According to Ur (1996). One's understanding of a language can be shown by his verbal
ability explicitly. A person's speaking skills will be evaluated outside the classroom rather than
reading, writing, or listening (Brown & Yule 1983). A speaker is only successful if listeners can
understand his talk. Speaking comprehensively and fluently is a key to effective communication,
not only to impress others in everyday interaction or job interviews. According to Van et al. (2021),
using technology in learning English, the students will see the effectiveness on the four macro
skills, including listening, speaking, reading, and writing.
Yet, many learners find it hard to transfer their thought instantly into verbal in a second or foreign
language. It requires learners to acquire a quite great deal of vocabulary as well as an understanding
of grammar structure. Pronunciation is also a key to produce a confident talk. Moreover, the initial
function of speaking is to deliver an accurate message. Hence, teaching and learning speaking have
faced many challenges and have been received much concern from educators and learners. In the
past, communicative activities were neglected in schools and universities due to various reasons.
The main teaching method used then was grammar-translation that oral accomplishment was not
emphasized. Lack of materials and authentic inputs also led to struggles in teaching and practicing
speaking the language. Developing learners' speaking ability has been a topic attracting many
researchers. Tran and Nguyen (2021) assert that with the Corona Virus’ epidemic, implementing
elearning at universities in Vietnam has been an essential measure to remain the students' learning

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achievements. However, Bui et al. (2021) found that while some students find collaborative
blended learning beneficial, other ELF students still struggled in interaction and concentration.
With the spread of science and technology, the world is modernized and digitalized. There have
been tons of inventions born to develop and transform the ways things are done, which help the
process faster and easier. Education is not an exception. Nowadays, students can learn, especially
second language, more effectively and more enjoyable with the help of Information and
Communication Technology (ICT). ICT is the combination of communication and
telecommunications, which refers to the media used to process information, share images and
audio such as smartphones, televisions, network transmission, etc. This writing aims to collect
experts' ideas about the possibility of applying ICT into second language teaching and learning to
enhance students' speaking skills.

Literature review
Sherine et al. (2020) investigated the effect of Mobile Assisted Language Learning (MALL) on
the development of speaking skills, segmental and suprasegmental features of pronunciation, and
how to Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) approach enhanced listening and speaking skills.
Twenty-five Electronics and Communication Engineering freshmen were chosen to be the
participants of the study bringing personal devices to the lab. Data was collected from a pre-test
and post-test based on IELTS speaking test format and semi-structured personal interviews after a
15-week semester. As resulted in the alternative hypothesis and the interviews, after the training
program, participants' speaking performance, as well as pronunciation, were significantly
improved. The BYOD approach was also approved by the majority (64%).
In a study conducted by Aryani (2019), the purpose was to accomplish an advanced audio-visual
media to improve speaking skills called SCREAMBLE. The subject of the research was nine boys
and nine girls from Kindergarten B preschoolers in Cahaya Bangsa School. The media was
designed and developed through a procedure including ten steps in which tests, evaluations, and
refinements were made to reach standard quality. The researcher gathered data from behavior
observation and a verbal test consisting of pre-test and post-test. The outcome of using the media
was positive. SCREAMBLE had brought certain improvements in the speaking skill of the
participants.
In 2012, Pereira, Sanz-Santamaría, Montero, and Gutiérrez examined the potential of taking
advantage of technology to implement interactive videos and Rich Internet Application, Babelium,
into increasing learners' exposure to second language oral practice. The respondents of the research
were selected from two groups of students doing the subjects English II and English III from the
BA of Pre-Primary and Primary Education at the Public University of Navarre, Spain, including
30 students (level B2.1. initial stage of CEFR) and 60 students (B2.2. advanced stage of CEFR).
The result of the study was obtained from a survey including two questionnaires. It was clarified
that the students taking part in the trial test had intended to practice speaking English more
frequently.
Apriyanti et al. (2018)evaluated the impact of using Instagram as the public environment to
perform the second language on students' ability in the real world. The researcher chose 25 senior
students in a public speaking class of Politeknik Negeri Padang. The research applied the
descriptive-qualitative method. Students' talks were analyzed and scored with five levels using a
public speaking quick references card. The result showed that the students had put effort

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successfully into their performance, well-organized content, controlled voice, and appropriate
body movement. Thus, students still needed to develop English knowledge such as lexical and
grammatical points.
In 2019, Eissa conducted a study to reveal reasons why adult learners in the Kingdom of Saudi
Arabia could not produce fluent English speaking as a foreign language and to test whether Digital
Story Telling (DST)can be effectively applied in teaching English as a foreign language to help
students improve speaking ability. The quality of the approach was examined through pre-test,
post-test, and a questionnaire at the end of the experiment. Participants were girls only aged from
18 to 22 who had been training English for four years. The result indicated that applying DST
could help the learners who had found oral skills complicated have more confidence in speaking
English.
Romlah (2018) aimed to help learners achieve communicative competence on transactional/
interpersonal text by remedial teaching using 'Talking Stick.' The researcher examined 44 students
of class VIIA of SMPN 1 Kabupaten Cirebon Kedawung – Kabupaten Cirebon, on – Jalan Cideng
Raya Jaya. Kemmis and Taggart cycle model with four stages including planning,
implementation, evaluation - observation, and refection was used in the experimental classroom.
Speaking tests, observation, and a questionnaire were used to collect data. The outcome of cycle
1 was not satisfactory, which did not meet the goal. After some improvement with cycle 2, it could
be said that Talking Stick was an accomplishment that developed learners’ speaking proficiency,
engaged learners in orally using the language, and also provided a different learning environment.
The purpose of Mohammadi and Safdari (2015) was to indicate the possibility of online mobile-
assisted activities enhance intermediate English learners' speaking skills. Samples of the research
were 90 students from English classes in Simin institutes, Tehran. All participants, including 44
males and 46 females, are at the same level, aged from 13 to 16. They were fairly divided into
three categories interactive (learners-learners interaction), non-interactive (learners-teacher
interaction), and conventional groups. Only the two interactive and non-interactive groups
experienced online speaking activities through WeChat mobile application, while the conventional
one was lack of the help of technology. The researchers used pre-tests and post-tests based on
Cambridge Preliminary English Test speaking section to collect statistics. The result demonstrated
that the speaking performance of interactive learners surpassed the others.
In a study by Chen and Yunus (2016), the authors aimed to examine the feasibility of STARS,
known as 'star table', a motivational program, on inspiring learners speaking English. A
quantitative method was employed using a survey questionnaire to collect the data. The study
participants were 30 average students in grade 3 (9 years old) from a rural area school in Sarawak,
Malaysia. In conclusion, the program helped promote learners' desire to speak English within the
classroom and in general, even in public. The program a success which increases learners'
motivation for learning a second language.
Lailatuzzakiya et al. (2020) questioned the influence of listening to English songs on students'
speaking proficiency. A kind of quantitative method was used to examine if there was any
correlation between listening habits to English songs and the speaking skills of learners. The
researchers employed a questionnaire and an English-speaking test to collect the data. The study
population was 30 3rd semester students of the English Education Department at State Islamic
University of Sunan Ampel Surabaya. The outcome stated that there was no equivalence between
the two variables. In other words, listening to songs is not a factor that affects speaking skills.

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In 2017, Machmud and Abdulah explored the effectiveness of a modern smartphone teaching
method on supporting learners to overcome their anxiety of speech. A quasi-experimental design
was employed in this study. Using a foreign language anxiety classroom scale questionnaire, the
researchers selected 20 highly anxious and lowly anxious students; and divided each group into
two. One experienced a new teaching method using a Smartphone-integrated model, and one was
applied with the conventional method. After collecting data from an oral test, the result showed
that in the new teaching model class, both high and low anxiety students receive a higher score in
comparison to the conventional class. It proved that the Smartphone-integrated teaching model
was a success in helping students conquer their speaking anxiety in a second language.
Mortaji (2018) investigated learners' viewpoint on how videotaping influences English as a foreign
language public speaking skills of college students. Twenty random first-year students aged 18 to
20 from a Public Speaking course at Al Akhawayn University in Ifrane, Morocco were chosen to
participate in the study. The data was collected from various methods videotaped speaking
performances, pre, and post-videotaping surveys, and a self-reflective essay. The outcome revealed
that the public speaking capabilities of the students adjusted positively. The result of this study
confirmed that videotaping and self-reflection brought a significant impact on the enhancement of
students' public speaking abilities and helped encourage their learning autonomy and confidence.
Zulhermindra and Hadiarni (2020) researched to develop students' public speaking skills at the
English Education Department (JTBI) of IAIN Batusangkar by applying Videotaped Feedback.
The investigators used a Classroom Action Research method to collect statistics via observation,
test, and interviews. The data were analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively. Participants of the
study were all 98 students of the English Education Department. The result showed that students'
public speaking score had risen from 6.95714 (Mid Term Test) to 7.026 (Final Test), which meant
that videotaped feedback method successfully helped students enhance their speaking capacity
level from deficient to efficient.
To support second language learners to reach their goal in the target language, a study by
Almarshadi et al., 2019 illustrated the benefit of Mobile devices in language learning (M-learning),
particularly with speaking skills. A quantitative method was employed in the study. A well-
organized questionnaire was designed to gather the source of fundamental data. Another source of
data was obtained through the consultation of previous studies. The researcher selected
undergraduate students of English courses at the College Languages and Translation at King Saud
University, Riyadh, in The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, with a population of 200 to join the study.
The efficiency in developing English speaking skills of M-learning was clarified in the result.
Farmana's (2018) 's goals were to investigate the effectiveness of software called Learn to Speak
English to improve students' speaking competence and increase students' interest in speaking class
through the software. Sixty-eight students from 2 classes (B class and D class), 34 students each,
of the Mahummadiya University of Makassar were chosen to join the study. The study applied the
Quasi-Experimental method. To collect student's speaking skill data, both the experimental group
(B class) and controlling group (D class) went through a process of 3 steps, including a pre-test,
treatment, and a post-test. The data later were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics.
A questionnaire was designed and analyzed using the Likert scale to gather data on students'
interests. The result demonstrated that the software positively affected both variables, students'
speaking skills and interests.

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Sherine, Seshagiri, and Sastry (2020) aimed to identify 1) the effect of integrating Whatsapp, a
mobile application, and informal learning to develop learners' communicative skills based on some
IELTS test criteria fluency and coherence, lexical resource, grammatical range, and accuracy, and
pronunciation.,2) explored how students interpret the improvement in their speaking competence.
The researchers combined two research methods in the study, quantitative and qualitative. A pre
and post-test procedure clarified the first objective. A pre and post-survey questionnaire was
carried out to obtain data for the second objective. One hundred and ten undergraduate engineering
students from rural areas were randomly selected to be the experimental group. The results
signified improvement in their speaking skills, and it also proved that students' viewpoint toward
speaking skills had changed.
A study carried out by Saran, Seferoglu, and Cagıltay (2009) examine the possibility of employing
mobile phone in foreign language learning and teaching, mainly to help learners obtain better
pronunciation in the word unit. A quantitative method, including a pre/post-test quasi-experimental
design, and qualitative, consisting of post-study semi-structured interviews and a questionnaire,
were applied in the study. Participants involved in the study were students from the English
Preparatory School of an English-medium university in Turkey. There were divided into three
groups that experience different teaching supplies mobile phones, web pages, and original
handouts to make a comparison. Data collected from both methods supported the idea that mobile
phones significantly contributed to learners' pronunciation perfection.
Madiyoh, Hidayanto, and Putro (2018) investigated how watching movies influences learners'
speaking capability development. A quasi-experimental method with a pre-test and post-test group
design was employed in the study. Thirty-three out of 203 senior high school students in the second
semester of the academic year in an Islamic High School were selected to join in the research. The
participants were distributed into two groups, one was an experimental class (33 students), and
one was a control class (29 students). Data were analyzed using Multivariate Analysis of Variance.
In conclusion, it could be seen that there was a remarkable improvement of students of the
experimental group compared to the control one, and audio-visual media can be used as an
authentic material to teach speaking skills.
In a study by Ashtiani and Zafarghandi (2015), the purpose was to examine the influence of
English verbal songs on grown-up learners' speaking production, specifically connected speech
elements. In the piloted and validated Nelson test organized to 60 intermediate English learners
aged from 18 to 25 in a language institute in Tehran, 40 participants were chosen based on their
communicative performance results. They were divided randomly into two groups: experimental
and control. Both groups went through a process that consisted of a pre-test of English decoding
and speaking, treatment in a period of 18 sessions in 7 weeks, and finally a post-test. However,
only the experimental group was exposed to the new teaching method using English songs. The
outcome illustrated that statistically, verbal songs positively influenced the adult learners'
connected speech aspects. Nonetheless, reading aloud and speaking improvements were vague,
based on insignificant different scores of the post-test.
Halimah, Lustyantie, and Ibrahim (2018) investigated EFL students' insight regarding the
utilization of Oral application in the Community Language Learning method in engaging
themselves in learning speaking skills beyond the classroom and also in improving their speaking
ability. A qualitative descriptive method with Likert-scale questionnaires was applied in this
investigation to gather huge information. Twenty-four first-year advanced level English Students
of a private university in East Java, Indonesia, including five males and 19 females, were chosen

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to participate in the study. The result demonstrated that the Oral application got over speaking
anxiety and assisted students with better pronunciation, intonation, and steady speaking speed.
In a study conducted by Do and Dang (2014), the purposes were 1) to examine the effect of video-
recorded feedback, a new teaching technique, to develop students' speaking acquisition and
speaking comprehension of English as a Foreign Language, and 2) observe students' perspective
on the implementation of the technique in public speaking courses. The participants of the study
included 50 upper-intermediate and advanced level (based on CEFR test) students who were in the
third year of a public speaking course at a university of foreign languages in Vietnam. Data was
gathered utilizing video recording of students' presentations, students' reflection forms,
questionnaires, and in-depth interviews. The result illustrated that video-recorded feedback
effectively improved learners' speaking skills, and learners appreciated the technique as a new
teaching tool.

Conclusion
Bringing positive results in previous studies, ICT should be highly recommended for language
teaching and learning. Not every means of ICT could improve all the aspects of speaking skills.
Thus, teachers can take advantage of rich online sources and combine different types of input with
building up students' communicative competence. Teachers should also introduce useful
applications or websites for students to do more practice at home. This way of learning is more
amusing so that learners are engaged in the lessons more productively. It was believed that
speaking is not a skill that students can learn at home alone. It could only be acquired by
experiencing it. However, due to the growth of modern technology, learners can be assisted to
study by themselves outside the classroom.

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