Using Extensive Reading Oral Reports to Enhance Spoken Fluency

Abstract

Extensive Reading (ER) is most commonly used in TEFL/TESL practices to improve a variety of specific specialized reading skills, and sometimes even writing skills; however, ER is seldom associated with enhancing speaking skills. This paper explains a classroom practice where Oral Book Reports were designed and used as an additional component to standard ER work with the intent to strengthen students’ spoken output performance, speaking confidence, and oral fluency. Discussion of mid-course and post-course student selfreflective open-ended questionnaires reveals that incorporating Oral Book Report components into ER work not only increases enjoyment and improvement of L2 reading, but also successfully enhances students’ selfidentified improvements in spoken output performance, speaking confidence, and oral fluency. Adding oral components to non-speaking based ER practices can benefit L2 learners in Asia since EFL classes and courses throughout Asia often lack adequate focus on developing L2 oral fluency.