THE ROLE OF AUDITORY LEARNING STYLE IN IMPROVING EFL LEARNERS’ SPEAKING SKILL The Case of First Year EFL Students at Biskra University

Abstract

EFL learners supposed to master all the language skills, however; EFL students at the University of Biskra face many obstacles, especially those related to speaking skill. This may result from their lack of practice and experience in the language learning process. The aim of this study is to investigate the role of auditory learning style as a teaching/learning strategy to enhance EFL learners’ speaking skill. Therefore, we hypothesized that the more EFL students are familiar with this learning style, the more their speaking skills will be enhanced. To test the validity of our hypothesis, a descriptive study has been conducted with the adaptation of the qualitative approach to collect, analyze, and interpret data. We used two different tools in the data collection operation: an interview administered to five (5) EFL teachers at University of Biskra and a questionnaire which was administered to twenty-five (25) first year (LMD) EFL students from the same university. The findings of the study confirmed that both teachers and students agreed upon the importance of auditory learning style in learning English as a foreign language and the effective role of auditory learning strategies to enhance students’ speaking skill. In sum, it is highly recommended for teachers to introduce the auditory learning strategies of teaching and evaluating students in order to make them more creative and productive. Moreover, this learners’ centered approach contributes in the development of students’ personal, social, academic, and cognitive skills.