INTERACTIVE LEARNING ACTIVITIES FOR DEVELOPING EFL SPEAKING SKILLS: A CRITICAL LITERATURE REVIEW
Keywords:
communicative language teaching; EFL; interactive learning; speaking skills; university studentsAbstract
Speaking is a central component of communicative competence, yet many learners of English as a foreign language (EFL) have limited opportunities to use English spontaneously outside the classroom. This critical literature review examines how interactive learning activities—including pair work, role-play, discussion, information-gap tasks, and collaborative problem-solving—may support university students’ speaking development. The review draws on established work in second-language interaction and task-based language teaching, together with recent reviews of role-play and communicative competence. Rather than reporting a newly completed systematic search, it synthesizes selected published sources to identify recurring pedagogical principles, possible benefits, implementation challenges, and priorities for future research. Across the literature considered, interactive activities appear most useful when they create a genuine information or opinion gap, distribute speaking opportunities, provide preparation and feedback, and align with explicit learning outcomes. However, activity labels alone do not guarantee improvement: outcomes depend on task design, proficiency level, classroom climate, teacher support, and assessment practices. The review proposes practical principles for EFL teachers and outlines a transparent procedure for developing a future systematic review. Its conclusions should be interpreted as a critical synthesis of selected literature, not as the results of an exhaustive systematic review.
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