The Use of Extensive Reading in Enhancing EFL Student’s Speaking Skills Case Study of Third Year Students of English at Mohammed Cherif-Messaadia University Souk-Ahras

Abstract

Abstract The present study investigated the use of extensive reading on the students’ development in speaking skills. Despite the fact that being a hard task, there is no doubt that speaking skills form a challenge for many EFL learners. In this research, we used qualitative and quantitative methods to collect both students and teacher’s data. Participants (N= 90) and teachers (N=10) were randomly chosen to answer the research questionnaires. The analysis of the results showed that students who use extensive reading are more creative and motivated compared to a number of students who face difficulties due to the fear of making mistakes. Moving away from a detailed category of information, extensive reading allows students to manipulate with words and ideas more than those who don’t use extensive reading. Furthermore, teachers are aware of the effectiveness of extensive reading in improving the students’ oral competence and raising their cultural awareness. They support and encourage them to read more through the use of smart strategies; enabling the integration of other skills to increase their motivation in the learning process. Accordingly, our research findings show that more research is needed to understand the use of extensive reading in enhancing the students’ speaking skills.