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ENHANCING ENGLISH ORAL FLUENCY: A STUDY ON SIERRA LEONE'S SENIOR SECONDARY STUDENTS
Abstract
This study investigates factors and strategies to improve oral fluency, proficiency, and competency in English among senior secondary school students. Objectives include examining the influence of a speaker's first language and cultural factors on second language (L2) learning. Utilizing a mixedmethods approach, 25 out of 97 senior secondary schools in the southern province were chosen, involving 9,870.25 students and 59.5 teachers. The research assessed oral fluency enhancement using questionnaires and interviews, focusing on word pronunciation and public speaking exercises. Results showed over 80% of students had pronunciation issues and used frequent calques. Students in district headquarters performed better than those in remote areas. Common problems included poor sentence construction, spelling, pronunciation, and subject-verb agreement. Traditional teaching methods like grammar-translation and rote learning were prevalent but less effective. These teacher-centered approaches relied heavily on textbooks and did not promote student engagement or language acquisition. The study concludes that a shift towards student-centered teaching, involving classroom participation, interaction, group work, and public speaking, is necessary for effective English language learning. Keywords: speaking fluency, proficiency, competency, intervention strategies, sociolinguistic factors, public speaking
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.33365/jeltl.v4i2.4101
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