Click, Watch, and Speak: The Effect of YouGlish on Kuwaiti EFL Students’ Speaking Achievement

HRMARS - Despite growing interest in digital tools for speaking skills, research on YouGlish’s impact on EFL learners’ speaking achievement, particularly in Kuwait, remains limited. This study examined the effect of integrating YouGlish in English lessons on Kuwaiti EFL students’ speaking achievement and their experience of using the tool. A mixed-method approach with explanatory sequential design was adopted. Eighty-four first-year English major students were randomly assigned to the experimental or the control group. The speaking achievement test was used to collect the quantitative data before and after the intervention, while a semi-structured interview was used to collect the qualitative data from 12 students who were purposively selected based on their post-test scores. An ANCOVA was conducted, and the results indicated a significant positive effect of YouGlish on speaking achievement. The highest improvement was in the lexical resource, followed by fluency and coherence, pronunciation, and grammatical range and accuracy. Thematic analysis of the interviews revealed that students found YouGlish to be entertaining and supportive of development of their pronunciation and fluency. Kuwaiti EFL students should be encouraged to use YouGlish for independent practice, while teachers integrate it into lessons. Policymakers should support this by providing training and adequate infrastructure.