Exploring the Effects of Adventure Education on High School Students’ English-Speaking Performance and Self-Perceived Skill Improvement

With the widespread use of English, speaking has become one of the most sought-after skills. However, learners face some challenges in enhancing their speaking skills. Therefore, they need teaching methods that give them plenty of exposure to the target language and allow them to practise speaking English. This study aimed to investigate the effect of adventure education on high school students’ English speaking performance and to explore their perceptions of how such experiences contribute to improving their speaking skills. Conducted at a state science high school featuring extensive outdoor spaces suitable for adventure education, the research employed a convergent mixed-methods approach and implemented a quasi-experimental pretest–posttest design involving 29 tenth-grade students. The findings indicated that English-speaking activities integrated with adventure education enhanced students’ speaking performance. Furthermore, students’ perceptions of the impact of speaking activities conducted through adventure education on their English speaking skills were quite positive. In line with the research findings, recommendations were made to implement outdoor activities, such as adventure education, in school settings to support the development of students’ speaking skills by providing authentic, interactive, and experience-based learning environments.