The Impact of Scaffolding Techniques on Saudi English-Language Learners’ Speaking Abilities

Abstract

This study investigated the extent to which scaffolding techniques improve Saudi English-language students’ speaking abilities. The study’s main aims involved determining why most Saudi students do not want to participate in communication tasks and activities and identifying other ways to encourage teachers and students to be more active during speaking classes. A mixed-methods technique, a special rubric, and an attitude questionnaire to collect this study’s data were used. The participants included 50 students from Level 3 in the Department of English Language and Literature at the College of Languages and Translation at Al-Imam Mohammed Bin Saud Islamic University. The experiment lasted for 7 weeks. A teacher met with each group for 2 hours per week. The participants were divided into two groups and experimental and a control group of 25 students each. The experimental group used various scaffolding techniques in each session—which allowed the learners to use their existing knowledge, skills, and strategies in several contexts and for many purposes when speaking. The control group received standard speaking instruction, in which the teacher gave the students time to speak freely without intervention. An independent-sample t test for was used of the analysis. The posttest results showed that the experimental group’s speaking ability improved after the pretest. Moreover, the posttests’ overall results indicated that the experimental group outperformed the control group. This result emphasized the usefulness of using new techniques to teach speaking to nonnative speakers.