Enhancing Speaking Competence through Communicative Language Teaching among College English Majors

This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) as a strategy to enhance the speaking competence of English major students at a public university in CALABARZON during the academic year 2024–2025. A total of 80 English majors were selected through purposive non-probability sampling. Data was collected using a researcher-made instrument and analyzed with appropriate statistical tools. The findings showed that CLT significantly improves students' speaking competence. Key components such as the use of authentic materials, interactional practice, functional language use, fluency over accuracy, and task-based learning contributed to this enhancement. Students demonstrated high competence in various aspects of speaking, including fluency, pronunciation, vocabulary usage, grammar, coherence, and confidence. The study concluded that CLT is an effective method for developing speaking skills among English majors. A significant correlation was found between the implementation of CLT strategies and improved student speaking performance. Based on the results, several recommendations were provided: Teachers are encouraged to use real-life materials (e.g., news articles, videos), promote interactive activities (e.g., role-plays, debates), and design communication-focused tasks (e.g., project presentations). Students should engage in active listening through films, lectures, and discussions. School administrators are advised to provide teacher training on CLT methodologies and support initiatives fostering collaborative and immersive speaking environments, such as language partnerships and mentoring programs.