Exploring the Landscape of Challenges and Opportunities in Teaching Speaking Skills

Speaking skills are defined as the skills which involve guiding learners to articulate thoughts coherently, express ideas fluently, and communicate effectively in spoken language through various interactive and engaging activities. As communication has become increasingly pivotal in the globalized landscape, the demand for effective speaking proficiency is more prominent than ever. The prime objective of writing this review article is to explore major challenges, and opportunities in teaching speaking skills in the context of English as a Foreign Language (EFL). In pursuit of this objective, extensive reviews and analyses of related materials from books, journal articles, and online resources have been undertaken. This article concludes that pronunciation, vocabulary building, fluency, grammar and syntax, listening skills and interactive activities are the aspects of teaching speaking skills, and learners’ anxiety and shyness, large class sizes, lack of teacher expertise, limited exposure and sources, lack of practice opportunities, diverse student needs, inadequate pronunciation correction, etc. are major challenges. Concurrently, authentic communication tasks, technology integration, peer interaction and collaborative activities, self-assessment and reflection, enhanced communication skills, real-life application, increased language proficiency, critical thinking and problem-solving, building confidence, career advancement, global communication, student engagement, etc. are prominent opportunities within the teaching of speaking skills. The findings of this study have implications for EFL teachers, teachers and curriculum designers who aim to enhance the quality of speaking skills in EFL contexts.