Foreign Practices In Teaching Public Speaking Skills To University Students: Evidence From EFL Contexts

Abstract

Proficiency in public speaking is an essential academic and professional skill expected of university graduates, especially in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) environments. Many higher education students encounter challenges associated with self-confidence, language proficiency, anxiety, and restricted instructional methodologies. This essay seeks to analyze international methodologies for imparting public speaking skills to university students by integrating empirical findings from recent global research. This study used a literature-based qualitative research approach to examine chosen open-access scholarly papers that address project-based learning, oral presentation tasks, and the perceived internal and external factors affecting students’ public speaking performance. The results demonstrate that student-centered instructional methods—particularly project-based learning and organized presenting assignments—substantially improve learners’ public speaking skills, self-assurance, and involvement. Moreover, both intrinsic elements (self-assurance, subject proficiency) and extrinsic factors (classroom atmosphere, instructor evaluation, time allocation) significantly influence students’ oral performance. The discourse underscores the ramifications for higher education pedagogy and advocates for the incorporation of genuine, practice-based teaching paradigms to enhance public speaking education. The article finishes with suggestions for EFL educators and prospective research avenues.