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Triggering Epistemic Curiosity in Boosting Iraqi EFL Students’ Speaking Skills through in-class and out-of-class Tasks

Year: 2024
Type: article
Abstract: Epistemic curiosity’s popularity has expanded exponentially thanks to the rising inclination to put curiosity-based instruction into practice in EFL classes. Accordingly, the number of publications measuring its influence on EFL students’ linguistic performance has quadrupled in the last decade. On the other hand, an unbridgeable gap has been noticed in the Iraq setting, where there are few studies on epistemic curiosity’s role in developing EFL learners’ speaking skills. In this regard, this study attempted to investigate the influence of epistemic curiosity on improving first-year students’ speaking skills at a private university in Erbil, Iraq, spanning 9 months in the 2023-2024 academic year via appealing presentations. To fulfill this aim, 66 experimental or control group students were chosen through stratified random sampling. After doing in-depth research at home, the first experimental group of students presented the catchy topics in units after studying thoroughly; however, the second experimental group of students made a 10-minute knowledge-seeking attempt about the assigned topics within the class and shot their speech. However, control group students followed the official curriculum. SPSS 28 and NVivo were tools to analyze speaking exams and verbal responses. The findings revealed that the students whose presentations were addressed after studying thoroughly at home outperformed other groups. It hints that assigned speaking presentations are more fruitful when they can study further at home. This study’s findings can have implications for stakeholders contemplating inserting curiosity-driven exercises in EFL classes.
DOI: 10.24093/awej/vol15no4.4
Author: Recep Bilgin
Language: English
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W4405152005
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