Recorded Speaking Practice and its Effects on Student Confidence and Motivation

The research discussed below is part of an ongoing action research project in a private university in western Japan. The subjects of the study were students in a freshman English language course and were, on average, low-proficiency beginners with a median TOEIC (LR) score of 275. The authors investigated whether recorded speaking practice (RSP) with individualized feedback could increase student confidence in speaking English and motivation to study English. A mixed-methods approach was used to measure confidence and motivation. Results from quantitative analysis were mixed, while the qualitative analysis showed stronger positive support that individualized feedback on RSP can increase confidence and motivation. The paper concludes with suggestions for researchers who would like to adapt the project to their own classroom and future directions for the RSP project.