An Investigation of the Speech Skills of Children Living in Rural and Urban Areas

Abstract

Communication is vital for children’s development, especially in differentiating rural and urban speech skills. The aim of this study is to investigate the speech skills of children living in rural and urban areas. The speech skills of 72 students attending the 8th grade in rural and urban areas of Iskenderun in the 2020-2021 academic year were examined. In the study designed with the screening model, the data were collected with a structured observation form. The video recordings of the speeches made by the students on the topic of “human and nature” according to their levels were taken and evaluated according to the “Speech Evaluation Form”.  The results of the present research revealed that the highest average scores of the students belonged to the sub-dimensions of applying the external structural elements of the language, applying the internal structural elements of the language and the psychological state of the speaker. In addition, it was determined that the students’ speech skills were at a moderate level, whereas their ability to briefly introduce the parts of the speech, to start the topic with interesting expressions, to use appropriate tools such as pictures, graphs and photographs that can make the speech interesting, to use proverbs, idioms and aphorisms suitable for the topic, to benefit from literary devices suitable for the topic and to summarize the speech were very low. Urban students demonstrated comparatively stronger speech skills, highlighting the value of targeted improvements in communication education.