Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) - A Strategy to Enhance Students’ Speaking Skills and Motivation

Q: Why are speaking skills difficult for EFL junior high students?

Speaking requires real-time language production and psychological readiness. Learners often hesitate because of low proficiency, fear of making mistakes, and resulting limited participation.

Q: How does motivation affect speaking and language learning?

Motivation influences how much effort learners invest, how persistent they are with challenges, and how willing they are to engage in spontaneous communication.

Q: What instructional approach does the study focus on to improve speaking and motivation?

The study focuses on Communicative Language Teaching (CLT), which emphasizes interaction and authentic language use through real-life communicative tasks such as role plays, compared against the Audio-Lingual Method (ALM).

Sep 15, 2026

Uploaded by wps_ap_test_251126_0180

Speaking proficiency depends on learners’ ability to produce language spontaneously with fluency and accuracy, while motivation sustains their engagement and willingness to communicate. In EFL classrooms, speaking skills and learning motivation often remain persistent challenges. Communicative Language Teaching (CLT), grounded in interaction and authentic language use through real-life communicative tasks such as role plays, is used to address both needs. A quasi-experimental study with test and questionnaire data evaluates CLT against ALM and reports significant improvements in speaking ability and motivation.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages8

Reading Time20 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Speaking as a vital and challenging skill in EFL

Motivation as a key driver of effort and communication

CLT as an instructional approach to foster engagement

Communicative Language Teaching (CLT): A Strategy to Enhance Students’ Speaking Skills and Motivation Radinsa Yola Candadila 1, Desi Puspitasari 2 1Institut Agama Islam Negeri Ponorogo, Jalan Puspita Jaya Jenangan, Ponorogo, Indonesia 2 Institut Agama Islam Negeri Ponorogo, Jalan Puspita Jaya Jenangan, Ponorogo, Indonesia | Article info | | Abstract
Speaking is one of the foundational components of language proficiency, requiring learners to produce language spontaneously with fluency and accuracy, while motivation plays a key role in sustaining learners' engagement and willingness to communicate. In English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classrooms, both speaking ability and motivation remain common challenges. Communicative Language Teaching (CLT), which emphasizes interaction and authentic language use, can help students to develop both aspects by involving learners in real-life communicative tasks such as role plays. This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of CLT in improving the speaking skills and learning motivation of seventh graders at SMPN 3 Kota Madiun. To provide a comparative measure, the Audio-Lingual Method (ALM), a traditional, drill-based method, was used with a control group. Employing a quasi-experimental design, students were divided into experimental and control groups. Data were gathered through speaking performance tests and motivation questionnaires, and then were analyzed using SPSS 25 with the Mann-Whitney U test, Independent Sample t-test, and N-Gain. The results demonstrated that CLT significantly enhanced both students’ speaking abilities (U = 259.000; p = 0.002) and motivation (p = 0.000) compared to ALM, with a moderate N-Gain effectiveness (56–75%) for the CLT group and minimal improvement (<40%) in the ALM group. These findings confirm CLT as a more effective and engaging instructional method in EFL classrooms.
Keywords: CLT; speaking skills; students’motivation. | | --- | --- | --- | | Article history:
Received May 16, 2025 Revised May 26, 2025 Accepted May 30, 2025 | | | | Corresponding Author:
Desi Puspitasari
Email: [desipus@iainponorogo.ac.id](desipus@iainponorogo.ac.id) | | Abstrak
Berbicara merupakan salah satu komponen dasar dari kemahiran berbahasa, yang mengharuskanpembelajar untuk menghasilkan bahasa secara spontan dengan kefasihan dan akurasi, sementara motivasi memainkan peran kunci dalam mempertahankan keterlibatan dan kemauan pembelajaruntukberkomunikasi. Di kelas Bahasa Inggris sebagai Bahasa Asing (EFL), kemampuan berbicara dan motivasi tetap menjadi tantangan umum. Pengajaran Bahasa Komunikatif (CLT), yang menekankan interaksi dan penggunaan bahasa yang autentik, dapat membantu siswa untuk mengembangkan kedua aspek tersebut dengan melibatkan pembelajar dalam tugas-tugas komunikatif kehidupan nyata seperti permainan peran. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui efektivitas CLTdalam meningkatkan keterampilan berbicara dan motivasi belajarsiswa kelas tujuhdi SMPN 3 Kota Madiun. Untuk memberikan ukuran komparatif, Metode Audio-Lingual (ALM), metode tradisional berbasis latihan, digunakan dengan kelompok kontrol. Dengan menggunakandesain kuasi-eksperimental, siswa dibagi menjadi kelompok eksperimen (CLT) dan kontrol (ALM). Data dikumpulkan melalui tes kinerja berbicara dan kuesioner motivasi, dianalisis menggunakan SPSS 25 dengan uji Mann-Whitney U, uji t Sampel Independen, dan N-Gain. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa CLT secara signifikan meningkatkan kemampuan berbicara siswa (U = 259.000; p = 0,002) dan motivasi (p = 0,000) dibandingkan dengan ALM, dengan efektivitas NGain sedang (56–75%) untuk kelompok CLT dan peningkatan minimal (<40%) pada kelompok ALM. Temuan ini menegaskan bahwa CLT merupakan metode pengajaranyang lebih efektif dan menarik di kelas EFL.
Kata Kunci: CLT, kemampuan berbicara, motivasi siswa | |
This is an open access article under the CC BY 4.0 license. | | | | | | | I. INTRODUCTION Speaking is widely

FAQs

Why are speaking skills difficult for EFL junior high students?

Speaking requires real-time language production and psychological readiness. Learners often hesitate because of low proficiency, fear of making mistakes, and resulting limited participation.

How does motivation affect speaking and language learning?

Motivation influences how much effort learners invest, how persistent they are with challenges, and how willing they are to engage in spontaneous communication.

What instructional approach does the study focus on to improve speaking and motivation?

The study focuses on Communicative Language Teaching (CLT), which emphasizes interaction and authentic language use through real-life communicative tasks such as role plays, compared against the Audio-Lingual Method (ALM).

Sep 15, 2026

Uploaded by wps_ap_test_251126_0180