Sandra Anugrah Kirana, Ummi Nur Laila Sulistyani

Student's perception of integrating TED Talks to promote speaking fluency: A case study

Introduction

Student's perception of integrating ted talks to promote speaking fluency: a case study. Explore student perceptions of using TED Talks to boost English speaking fluency in EFL contexts. Discover how authentic, engaging content improves vocabulary, pronunciation, and motivation.

Abstract

This article explores how an English Department student perceives using TED Talks to develop speaking fluency in English in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) contexts. Although speaking fluency is one of the most essential and visible aspects of communicative competence, it remains one of the most challenging skills to master due to limited exposure to authentic input and low confidence among learners. TED Talks offer authentic, multimodal resources with engaging and culturally diverse styles of fluent English speech. Drawing on theories of perception, multimedia learning, and speaking pedagogy, this article categorizes the discussion into one main objective: how student's perception about TED Talks as a tool to enhance speaking fluency. The findings from this research and the reviewed previous studies suggest that students generally perceive TED Talks positively. The participant admires the fluency, organization, and delivery style of various TED Talks speakers and feels inspired to emulate them. Repeated exposure to TED Talks contributed to vocabulary enrichment, greater pronunciation, and increased motivation in learning. In conclusion, TED Talks might not be a one-size-fits-all solution, but they hold a promising source that can be thoughtfully integrated into a speaking learning activity.

Review

This article presents a focused case study investigating an English Department student's perception of integrating TED Talks to enhance speaking fluency in an English as a Foreign Language (EFL) context. The research effectively highlights a persistent challenge in language acquisition—the difficulty of achieving speaking fluency due to limited authentic input and low learner confidence—and proposes TED Talks as a promising pedagogical tool to address these issues. Drawing upon relevant theories of perception, multimedia learning, and speaking pedagogy, the study directly addresses its objective of understanding student perception, framing TED Talks as a potential resource for authentic, multimodal exposure to fluent English. The study's findings consistently indicate a positive perception regarding the use of TED Talks for fluency development. The participant in this case study expressed admiration for the fluency, organization, and delivery styles of TED speakers, fostering inspiration and a desire to emulate these qualities. Critically, repeated exposure to these authentic materials was found to contribute tangibly to vocabulary enrichment, improved pronunciation, and increased motivation for learning. These outcomes suggest that TED Talks can play a significant role in providing engaging and culturally diverse models of English speech, which are often scarce in traditional EFL environments, thereby directly addressing key impediments to fluency. While this case study offers valuable insights into the positive potential of TED Talks, its single-participant scope naturally limits the immediate generalizability of the findings. The abstract's mention that TED Talks "might not be a one-size-fits-all solution" aptly points to the need for further research involving larger and more diverse student populations across various EFL contexts and proficiency levels. Future studies could also quantitatively measure the actual impact on speaking fluency, rather than solely focusing on perception, and explore specific instructional strategies for optimally integrating TED Talks into speaking curricula. Nevertheless, this article provides a compelling initial exploration and a strong foundation for advocating the thoughtful integration of TED Talks into language learning activities.

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