Promoting EFL Speaking Practice through Digital Reading

Abstract

This purposive homogeneous study explores the relationship between reading and speaking in the EFL context and attempts to integrate the two language skills in a manner that encourages learners to practice and develop their receptive and productive capacities with greater enthusiasm. To this end, tertiary-level learners from two universities in Thailand representing six English-prominent fields of study were presented with a questionnaire, participated in structured interviews, and took part in five in-class online reading and speaking lessons designed and evaluated by this author. The study questions focused on the English reading habits of service industry and communication majors for whom English proficiency figures prominently in employment pursuits. The goal was to discover reading patterns and sources and forge links that would combine reading and speaking classroom activities. The two language skills are connected but rarely considered an alliance and thus are paired less frequently than most other language skill combinations. The results of this descriptive-correlational study found the majority of participants derived their English readings from online sources. Oral narratives read from online information sources proved to be an efficient blend of receptive reading and productive speaking performances that found favor with participants as task models.