TEACHING ENGLISH LANGUAGE SPEAKING SKILLS TO BUSINESS STUDENTS AT TERTIARY LEVEL: PRACTICES IN PAKISTAN

Abstract

Speaking is one of the primary English language skills that is focused in both EFL and ESL contexts. This skill is required for both English for general purposes and English for specific purposes. This study aimed to explore the practices of teaching English language speaking skills at the tertiary level in Pakistan. The challenge that paved the way for the current study was the students' lack of English proficiency. This study was conducted with 200 undergraduate students and 20 Pakistani tertiary-level English language teachers. Data for this qualitative study were collected through focused group interviews, open-ended questionnaires, and observation sheets. The study employed self-validation, expert validation, and pilot validation techniques for the tool validity. Tool and participant triangulation techniques were also used to ensure the reliability of the study. The data were analyzed thematically following Savin-Baden and Major's (2013) thematic analysis scheme. Findings reveal that problem-solving activities, real-life topics for classroom discussions, listening to songs and interpreting songs in speeches, debates, role plays, and pair conversations are being used to teach English language speaking skills at the tertiary level in Karachi, Pakistan.