The Role of Pairwork in Enhancing Speaking Skills and Learner Autonomy among Bangladeshi Tertiary Level Students

The study aims to explore pair work activities in EFL-speaking classrooms at tertiary level education in Bangladesh. Pairwork has been an issue of interest among English language researchers and learners of English as a second language. In recent years, learner autonomy in language learning has added new dimensions. As pair work can relate to learner autonomy in speaking, everyone can look into the phenomenon. Through a mixed-method approach, the investigation was conducted at a university in Chittagong, Bangladesh, with a survey through a questionnaire, semi-structured interviews of teachers, and classroom observation. The findings show that pair work has been proven to be a significantly useful strategy to improve learners’ speaking skills. Moreover, teachers can utilize different strategies in pairing learners to create a positive learning atmosphere. Through pair work, learners can work independently, and they turn into autonomous users of the English language in both academic and real-life situations. The study throws light on some issues of providing more speaking opportunities to students at the secondary level. It ends with recommendations for both teachers and policymakers in tertiary-level ESL classrooms.