Developing Culture-Based English Speaking Materials to Improve EFL Students’ Speaking Skills and Learning Authonomy

Abstract

Culture-based English materials may make speaking instruction meaningful by connecting language practice with learners’ cultural knowledge, yet their contribution to speaking development and learning autonomy in secondary schools remains underexplored. This study investigated the effectiveness of culture-based English speaking materials in improving secondary-school EFL students’ speaking skills and learning autonomy. An embedded mixed-method design was employed with 29 students from one intact secondary-school class. Quantitative data were collected through pretest and posttest speaking assessments, while qualitative data were obtained from classroom observations and semi-structured interviews. The speaking tests assessed fluency, pronunciation, vocabulary, grammatical accuracy, content organization, and comprehensibility. Quantitative data were analyzed descriptively, whereas qualitative data were coded and interpreted thematically. The findings showed that the students’ mean speaking score increased from 66.34 on the pretest to 79.00 on the posttest. Improvements were evident across all speaking components, with gains in fluency and vocabulary. Observation and interview data indicated that culturally familiar topics helped students generate ideas, participate actively, reduce hesitation, and speak with greater confidence. The materials also supported learning autonomy by encouraging topic selection, independent preparation, feedback use, self-monitoring, reflection, and resource seeking. However, some students continued to rely on teacher assistance, especially for grammar, pronunciation, and locating resources. The study concludes that culture-based English speaking materials can simultaneously strengthen oral performance and learning autonomy when cultural content is integrated with communicative tasks, learner choice, formative feedback, and reflective activities. These findings highlight the pedagogical value of transforming local culture into structured speaking materials for secondary-school EFL classrooms.