The effect of applying “Small talk as warming-up technique” in EFL classrooms on students’ improvement in English speaking skill

Abstract

So far junior high school students have dealt with obsolete English speaking topics in textbooks developed by the MOET. They are often fed up with speaking lessons, and thus their speaking skill fails to improve after many years studying English at school. Stimulated by this reality, the current study was carried out to investigate the effect of applying “small talk as warming-up technique” in EFL classrooms on students’ speaking skill improvement. A schedule of applying “small talk as warming-up technique” in English language classrooms was developed; then a training program with seventeen appropriate topics aside from the prescribed curriculum of “Tiếng Anh 9” by the MOET was conducted. Within a term of nearly four months, the results have showed that, after the treatment, students’ achievement was proved to be significant in improving English speaking skill.