THE ROLE OF GROUP DISCUSSIONS IN IMPROVING EFL STUDENTS' SPEAKING SKILLS

It is commonly acknowledged that speaking is an essential component of learning English as a second language.Nonetheless, it continues to be a major obstacle for many students who face different hurdles to communication in the classroom.Despite its significance, a lot of students struggle with high levels of anxiety, shyness, and lack of confidence when speaking English, which limits their engagement and overall language ability.The purpose of this study is to investigate how well group discussions work as a teaching strategy to improve EFL students' confidence and speaking abilities.Fourty NamSIFL undergraduate students participated in the study.The participants were split into two groups: a control group that participated in traditional teacher-led speaking exercises and an experimental group that participated in organized group discussion activities.Pre- and post-speaking assessments were used to gather data, and classroom observations were added.