The Impact of Online Authentic Materials on Secondary School Students’ Oral Communication Skills

مركزأ.د/ أحمد المنشاوى             

للنشر العلمى والتميز البحثى

  (مجلة كلية التربية)            

     =======

The Impact of Online Authentic Materials on Secondary School Students’ Oral Communication Skills 

By

Prof. Arafat Mousa Ahmed Hamouda        Dr. Rehab Abdallah El Sayed  

Professor of curricula& methods of TEFL  .           Lecturer of  curricula& Methods

 Faculty of Education, Assiut University                   of TEFL, Faculty of Education

                                                                                   Assiut  University.

    arafathamouda62@gmail.com                         rehab.a.elsayed@gmail.com

Manal Fouad Sadiq Omar

Education researcher at Assiut University

manalfouad336@gmail.com

}     المجلد الواحد والأربعون– العدد السابع– جزء ثانى – يوليو 2025م {

http://www.aun.edu.eg/faculty_education/arabic

المستخلص:

تتناول هذه الدراسة أثر المواد الأصلية عبر الإنترنت في تعزيز مهارات التواصل الشفهي لدى طلاب الصف الأول الثانوي. وترتكز الدراسة على مبادئ تعليم اللغة التواصلية والتعليم المدمج، حيث اعتمدت تصميمًا شبه تجريبي (قبل وبعد) لقياس تطور الطلاب في المهارات الفرعية للتحدث، مثل: بدء وإنهاء المحادثات، استخدام الازواج المتتابعة، إدارة تبادل الأدوار في الحديث، التعامل مع المقاطعات، الانتقال بين الموضوعات، وإجراء إصلاحات في المحادثة. شارك في البرنامج التدريسي ثلاثون طالبًا لمدة ستة أسابيع، تم خلالها دمج موارد رقمية مثل مقاطع الفيديو من يوتيوب، والبودكاست، ومحتوى وسائل التواصل الاجتماعي. كشفت النتائج عن تحسنات ذات دلالة إحصائية في جميع المهارات الفرعية المقاسة، مع حجم تأثير كبير(η² إيتا التربيعية) مما يدل على القيمة العملية لاستخدام المواد الأصيلة في اكتساب اللغة في السياقات الواقعية. تؤكد الدراسة على الفوائد التربوية لدمج المواد الغنية بالسياق، والمبنية على اهتمامات المتعلمين، والمشربة بالثقافة في تعليم اللغة الإنجليزية كلغة أجنبية، بهدف تنمية الطلاقة، والثقة بالنفس، والكفاءة التواصلية. كما توصي بإدماج هذه المواد في تصميم المناهج الدراسية، وتقترح مجالات للبحث المستقبلي تشمل دراسات طولية ومتعددة المهارات.

الكلمات المفتاحية: المواد الأصلية عبر الإنترنت، التواصل الشفهي، المهارات، المرحلة الثانوية، اللغة الإنجليزية كلغة أجنبية (EFL).

The Impact of Online Authentic Materials on Secondary School Students’ Oral Communication Skills 

By

Prof. Arafat Mousa Ahmed Hamouda        

Professor of curricula& methods of TEFL  .           

 Faculty of Education, Assiut University                   

arafathamouda62@gmail.com    

rehab.a.elsayed@gmail.com

Lecturer of  curricula& Methods

of TEFL, Faculty of Education

Assiut  University

Dr. Rehab Abdallah El Sayed  

Manal Fouad Sadiq Omar

Education researcher at Assiut University

manalfouad336@gmail.com

Abstract:

This study explores the impact of online authentic materials on enhancing oral communication skills among first-year secondary school students. Grounded in communicative language teaching and blended learning principles, the research employs a quasi-experimental pre-post design to measure students’ progress in speaking sub skills, including initiating and closing conversations, using adjacency pairs, managing turn-taking, navigating interruptions, shifting topics, and performing conversation repairs. Thirty students participated in a six-week instructional program integrating digital resources such as YouTube videos, podcasts, and social media content. The findings revealed statistically significant improvements across all measured sub skills, with large effect sizes(Eta squared (η²))  indicating the practical value of authentic materials in real-world language acquisition. The study affirms the pedagogical benefits of integrating context-rich, interest-based, and culturally embedded materials in EFL instruction to foster fluency, confidence, and communicative competence. It further recommends embedding such materials into curriculum design and suggests areas for future research, including longitudinal and multi-skill investigations.

Keywords: Authentic Online Materials, Oral Communication, Skills, Secondary Stage, EFL.

1. Introduction:

The English language is a global language that sits on the throne of the most widely spread and used languages. It is a means of communication and interaction on an international level in various aspects of life, ranging from business to study and travel. The tremendous technological advancements have significantly increased the demand for learning the English language, as it is the most widely spoken language in the world, spoken by more than 1.5 billion people across the globe, making it the language of primary importance (Prayudha and Pradana, 2023). Mastering the English language opens up vast horizons of opportunities for an individual in both personal and professional domains. When an individual masters this language, they become capable of accessing a wide range of jobs that require advanced linguistic skills, as well as effortlessly communicating with English speakers across the world. Additionally, learning English facilitates international interaction and promotes cultural exchange, as a fluent English speaker can easily communicate with people from diverse cultures and backgrounds. Proficiency in English also provides individuals with opportunities for travel, study abroad, and access to the rich scientific and cultural resources available globally (Ravirot, 2015).

Learning a language is an essential foundation at various academic stages in our contemporary world. Language consists of four main skills: listening, speaking, reading, and writing. These skills are closely intertwined and mutually influential, as they overlap and intertwine with one another. Each skill is connected to the others, and an individual's proficiency in mastering one skill directly affects their other skills. The speaking skill refers to an individual's ability to engage in effective and purposeful communication through conversation. This skill encompasses the ability to participate in conversations, understand others and respond appropriately, and convey ideas and information clearly and accurately. Speaking skills are essential for effective communication and building relationships, serving as a means of exchanging information, understanding different perspectives, building trust, and establishing relationships with others. Utilizing speaking skills in diverse situations and interacting with all types of personalities is a valuable skill that strengthens our lives and social relationships.

Conversation also represents an essential part of language learning and is considered one of the most important and commonly used linguistic skills among the four language skills. People use conversation to communicate, express ideas, feelings, and emotions. It provides an opportunity to apply the grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation skills that learners have acquired in real-life contexts. Practicing conversation also helps language learners improve their speaking and listening skills, build their confidence, and develop fluency. It aids them in understanding the nuances of the language, such as idioms and cultural aspects, which are difficult to learn through textbooks or classroom lectures. Oral communication skills in the English language are increasingly important for high school students to develop in our interconnected world. The ability to engage in meaningful dialogue and discussions in English allows for better communication and greater self-expression. Therefore, students must be able to develop their English language skills so that they can be used as 21st-century skills worldwide and take advantage of opportunities for communication in English. However, research shows that high school education often does not provide sufficient development of students' oral communication skills (Citic & Deneme, 2016). English language classrooms at the high school level frequently rely on conversations found in textbooks, grammar-focused exercises, and teacher-led question-and-answer sessions.

Despite the important role that oral communication skills play in effective communication, building relationships, and cooperation, secondary school students often face difficulties and challenges in developing conversation skills. These difficulties include the inability to start and end a conversation, lack of vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation, fear of mistakes, lack of familiarity with the socio-cultural system of communication, etc. (Gilmore, 2007). Therefore, many students feel that they lack confidence when practicing conversations in English in the classroom. Most students also feel that they do not dare to speak English. There are still many students who are afraid to use English in learning even though it is done during English classes. This fear arises due to lack of practice and not being accustomed to practicing pronunciation or conversation in English in daily life. To solve this problem, the teacher must be able to determine the learning style that helps students communicate in English. Teachers can use a variety of interesting learning strategies, methods and media to train students in English conversation. Among them is the use of videos, and this is in line with the findings of the research presented by Prayudha (2021) that teachers can use video-based learning to train students to improve their English language skills. In this case, the teacher should train the students and encourage them to converse using videos so that they can enhance their enthusiasm in communicating in English. The teacher can also use social media platforms, to develop the students' oral communication skills in English conversation. In addition, the topics in textbooks may not match students' interests, resulting in a lack of motivation and engagement in conversational practice.

Therefore, students' weakness in oral communication skills has prompted many researchers, teachers, and curriculum designers to think about new materials that help students develop conversational skills. Among these attempts is the use of original materials. The use of authentic materials in language classes is seen as an effective way to engage students and motivate them to use language in real-life areas. It also helps develop students’ motivation, encourages them to learn and participate more in classroom activities, and helps them connect the classroom with the outside world (Umirova, 2020). Moreover, Kilickaya (2004, 2004) emphasizes “the importance of using authentic language materials.” In daily life." These materials are not specifically for the classroom but make excellent teaching tools because they are authentic and reflect real-life language use. The use of authentic materials in language classrooms is seen as an effective way to engage students and motivate them to explore the target language in real-life contexts. Moreover, it contributes to developing students’ motivation, motivates them to learn and participate more effectively in classes, and also helps them connect the classroom with the outside world. The use of authentic online materials, such as news reports, blogs, videos, and social media posts, can provide meaningful contexts for practicing oral communication skills in the classroom (Richards, 2015). These materials spark student discussions and allow teachers to design questions that encourage broader conversations beyond the content itself, which links it to the lives and experiences of students. Using authentic materials related to students' interests is a key factor in enhancing their engagement and motivation for the conversation. While adequate guidance and support, such as pre-teaching vocabulary and providing comprehension questions, may be needed, especially with lower-level students (Crosley et al., 2007), authentic materials provide an ideal environment for conversation practice, by providing the language and topics of The real world engages students and motivates them to interact.

To achieve proficiency in the English language, it is essential for students to practice conversations in a realistic environment. Therefore, authentic  online materials are an effective solution to achieve this goal. These materials, such as YouTube videos, TED talks, interviews, and English language learning forums, are full of natural, real language that enriches students' linguistic experiences (Gilmore, 2007). By incorporating these materials into lessons, students' opportunities to develop oral communication skills increase significantly. (2009, Cross) The benefits of using authentic materials include giving students more language practice in a better way, introducing them to authentic cultural information, stimulating their motivation by linking the content to their needs, and supporting a creative pedagogical approach (Berardo, 2006). Gebhard (2009) explains the advantages of authentic materials In more detail, it provides students with valuable linguistic topics, emphasizes the direct link between the language inside the classroom and the real language outside the classroom, and provides a way to activate language practice in a correct way. Hamouda's (2020) study emphasizes the value of using authentic materials in an educational setting, especially with regard to teaching listening skills.

The above-mentioned studies have indicated the need for authentic materials to play a greater role at the secondary level and for more research to be conducted to develop learners’ conversational skills. Therefore, the use of authentic materials in teaching English at the secondary level needs more attention in their use for classroom conversation. Despite the usefulness of authentic online materials, studies on their effectiveness in developing conversational skills, especially at the secondary level, are rare. From the above, it is clear that oral communication skills and mastery of them among male and female students, especially at the secondary level, are of special importance. Due to the need of students at this stage to have fluency in expression, accuracy in the use of words and selection of words that express the intended meanings, the ability to discuss and express opinions in an acceptable and effective way, and to confront linguistic situations and self-confidence, so that they are prepared for the higher stages and how to start and end a conversation.

The theoretical basis for developing oral communication skills among secondary school students is based on the principles of communicative language teaching, with an emphasis on the importance of using the target language for real communication and meaningful interaction. Teaching oral communication skills in the classroom using authentic materials via the Internet also depends on the blended learning system, which blends the traditional teacher roles in traditional classrooms with virtual classrooms and the electronic teacher. That is, it is a learning that combines traditional learning and e-learning. Interactive materials and original activities are presented to students to develop conversation skills.

2. The context of the problem

Despite the recognized importance of developing oral communication skills—and the corresponding research interest in enhancing these skills among secondary school students—actual student performance in English speaking across educational stages reveals noticeable weaknesses. These include superficial ideas, poor structure, grammatical mistakes, and pronunciation inaccuracies (Gilmore, 2007). The researcher observed these shortcomings through the following:

1-Observation

 During her work as an English teacher, the researcher noticed that secondary school students face difficulties in their oral communication skills such as starting and ending a conversation while speaking with others, using adjacency pairs, exchanging roles during a conversation, using appropriate intervention patterns when needed, expressing an opinion and responding to it, and expressing their opinions. The researcher communicated with other English language teachers in the same school, who confirmed that secondary school students have some problems related to oral communication skills that were previously mentioned. The researcher conducted unstructured interviews with a number of teachers and supervisors to determine the extent to which their students mastered conversational skills and  the methods used in teaching and developing these skills. These teachers and supervisors emphasized the students’ weak level of oral communication skills and the need to develop them among their students.

2-Results of previous studies:

 The results of several previous studies also revealed that secondary school students face great challenges in developing English conversation skills. For example: Egamberdiyeva (2023), Nunan (2015), Alsamadani and Ibnian (2015), Aljadili (2014) and Al-Jabry (2014).The results of these studies attributed poor mastery of oral communication skills to the un-motivating teaching methods followed by teachers and the lack of use of authentic materials associated with native language users, in addition to their excessive use of traditional methods. Students who suffer from weak levels of proficiency in oral communication skills may be due to their weak knowledge and ability to use appropriate conversational skills. The results of these previous studies indicate the need to use original materials to develop conversational skills, in addition to what has been confirmed by a large number of studies that many of secondary school students have a low level of oral communication skills in general. Then they stressed the importance of developing it. Among these studies is Lee's (2023) study, which was applied to investigate the factors that hinder students' participation in conversational activities. The results of the study showed that teachers must pay sufficient attention to their teaching methods in order to increase students’ participation in teaching English

Likewise, Al-Sobhi and Preece (2018) study aimed to explore the areas of difficulty that prevent students from mastering speaking skills in English classes. To improve the quality of teaching and enable students to overcome weak speaking skills, some techniques were proposed, such as applying the communicative approach. In English classes. Hadid’s study (2017), which dealt with conversation and oral expression skills among students of the English Department at the College of Arts, emphasized the importance of training teachers to improve their performance, raise their awareness of teaching and learning processes, develop their skills in teaching conversation, and how to keep up with the latest teaching methods and strategies. Accordingly, the studies mentioned above revealed that  eliminating the role of the learner, not providing sufficient opportunity for students to participate and interact in conversation sessions, as well as neglecting the design of conversation activities by the teacher, may be the main reasons behind the low level of students’ conversation skills.

3. The pilot study:

 To validate the existence of the problem, the researcher conducted a pilot study in which she designed an oral communication skills test. This test included the sub- skills of the conversation. It was administered to 30 first year secondary students. Thirty high school students, male and female, took an oral communication skills test that included seven sub-skills (starting a conversation - ending a conversation - using adjacency pairs – turn taking  - using intervention patterns – shifting  topic – conversation repair).According to the pilot study results, the majority of students demonstrated low proficiency levels across most conversational subskills evaluated. The subskill with the highest percentage of students at the low level was "using interruption patterns" at 74% (23 out of 30 students). "Topic shifts" and "conversation repair" also had high percentages at the low level, with 71% (22/30) and 67% (20/30) respectively. For "using adjacency pairs", 70% (21/30) were rated low. The subskills with relatively more students rated as "good" were "turn taking" at 33% (10/30) and "closing a conversation" at 30% (9/30). "Opening a conversation" had the highest percentage at 23% (7/30) rated as good. However, very few students reached the "advanced" level for any of the conversational subskills, with the highest being only 17% (5/30) for "opening a conversation". These results suggest students in this study struggled particularly with higher-level oral communication skills like interruptions, topic transitions, and conversational repair strategies.

Table (1) results of the pilot study

4. Statement of the problem

After reviewing the related studies along with the pilot study, the research problem can be stated as follows: Secondary stage students face difficulties with their conversational skills. Consequently, it is suggested that using online authentic materials might be used to develop secondary stage students' conversational skills.

5. Objectives of the study:

The main objectives of the study are:

1-Identifying the oral communication skills needed for first year secondary students.

2- Identifying the effectiveness of online authentic materials on developing oral communication skills among secondary school students.

6. Questions of the Study:

The present study attempts to answer the following  main questions:

1– What is the effectiveness of using online authentic materials on developing oral communication skills among secondary school students?

7. Hypotheses of the Study

The present research attempted to test the following hypothesis:

-There would be a statically significance difference at the level 0.05 between the mean scores of the research group in the pre-post oral communication skills test favouring post-administration.

8. Significance of the Study:

The present study is expected to be significant for the following reasons:

-The findings of this study may foster students' positive view of the importance of using authentic materials in enhancing their conversation; hence their respective prosodic understanding and competence.

-Educators can identify online authentic materials for conversational skills. This can help improve communicative outcomes and proficiency in English.

-The students can apply the knowledge after they learn with authentic
materials in their daily life and adapt it into practical use.

-Teachers who teach English will use authentic materials as a guideline
to create the new lesson plans and able to know how to select the appropriate.

authentic materials in several activities:

-The results of this study can be helpful for language learners as a guide tolearn how to improve their conversation ability and do a further study in the future for researchers.

-The role of this study is to render teachers, supervisors, examiners, textbooks writers and curricula designers of English focus more on authentic materials in teaching and learning conversational skills.

- The present research could provide a theoretical framework about authentic materials in the field of vocabulary.

-Authentic Materials refer to pieces of teaching materials created by native speakers of English. There are some useful authentic materials that teachers can use in EFL classroom such as newspapers and magazines, radio, television/video, internet and so on.

9. Definition of terms :

Online authentic materials :

Online authentic materials refer to real-world audio, visual, and written resources taken from the internet, used to help improve students' conversational abilities in a target language. For example, a language teacher may use recent YouTube videos of TikTokers or live streamers conversing naturally in the target language to expose students to authentic dialogue with modern slang and speech patterns (Lee, 2023, 321).

• Authentic online materials can be defined procedurally as real-life texts and materials online by native speakers that are used by secondary school students to develop conversational skills.

Oral communication skills:

• Oral communication skills refer to the ability to engage in effective and meaningful communication, understand others and respond to them appropriately, and convey ideas and information clearly ( Dinar, 2019,p.4).
• Oral communication skills can be defined procedurally as the ability of secondary school students to communicate and interact effectively with others through oral communication skills such as starting a conversation, ending a conversation, using adjacency pairs, turn taking, using intervention patterns, topic shift, and conversation repair.

10. The delimitations of the study

• This study includes first year secondary school students from one of the secondary schools in Assiut city, Assiut governorate.
• The present study is limited to some basic oral communication skills for first year secondary students (Initiating conversation, closing conversation, using adjacency pairs, turn taking, using intervention patterns, topic shift, and conversation repair.).
• The experiment will be conducted during the first semester of the school year 2024 – 2025.

11. Methodology:

11.1 Research Design:

For the purpose of the present study, the study adopted the one group pre-post quasi-experimental design. This design was found to be suitable for the research variables to demonstrate the effectiveness of using authentic online materials to develop oral communication skills among secondary school students. Effect sizes were calculated using Eta squared (η²), which indicates the proportion of variance explained by the intervention. According to Cohen's (1988) conventions, η² values above 0.14 represent large effects.

11.2 Participants:

A total of 30 secondary school students participated in the study. They were exposed to authentic online materials over a six-week period, engaging with interactive content such as video discussions, role-playing activities, and recorded conversations.

11.3 The Oral Communication Skills Test:

Objective of the Test:

The Oral Communication Skills Test was designed by the researcher to evaluate students’ oral performance before and after exposure to the proposed instructional program. It aimed to assess the effectiveness of the program in developing a range of real-world spoken communication skills.

Structure of the Test:

The test was carefully structured to measure students' proficiency across key components of spoken interaction, which are crucial for effective communication. It consisted of tasks that reflected authentic conversational contexts and assessed the following skills:

• Opening a Conversation
• Adjacency Pairs (e.g., question–answer, greeting–response)
• Turn-Taking (initiating and yielding turns appropriately)
• Interruption Patterns (managing and responding to interruptions)
• Topic Shifts (introducing or transitioning between topics)
• Conversation Repair (clarifying misunderstandings, reformulating speech)
• Closing a Conversation

These elements were embedded within both monologic and dialogic tasks, including spontaneous conversations, role-plays, and structured interviews.

Test Validity and Reliability:

The test underwent rigorous statistical analysis to ensure its validity and reliability:

• Reliability:
  The internal consistency of the test was assessed using Cronbach’s Alpha, yielding a high reliability coefficient of 0.87, indicating excellent internal coherence across the speaking components. Additionally, the split-half reliability method produced coefficients ranging from 0.82 to 0.83, confirming the stability and dependability of the test scores over its two halves.
• Validity:
  Discriminant validity was established through a Mann-Whitney Z test, which revealed statistically significant differences between students in the highest and lowest quartiles of performance (Z = 2.635, p = 0.01). This confirmed the test’s ability to effectively differentiate between varying levels of oral communication skill.

Scoring the Test:

Two trained raters – the researcher and a qualified English language teacher – evaluated the students’ performance independently. Prior to formal scoring, they collaborated to align their interpretation of the rubric. Each student’s final score represented the average of both raters' assessments, and inter-rater agreement was confirmed through correlational analysis.

Test Instructions:

Instructions were written in English using clear, simple language to ensure student comprehension. They explained the test's objectives, structure, timing, and evaluation criteria. Students were allowed a total of 90 minutes to complete the test, which included preparation and speaking time for both parts. They were encouraged to communicate naturally, confidently, and coherently, with emphasis placed on clarity and interactive competence.

Reliability and Validity

The reliability of the test was assessed using Cronbach's Alpha, which yielded an overall reliability coefficient of 0.87, indicating high internal consistency. The split-half method confirmed similar reliability values (0.82 - 0.83), supporting the test's dependability. Moreover, discriminant validity was established through a Mann-Whitney Z test, confirming significant differences between high and low-performing quartiles (Z = 2.635, p = 0.01).

12. Materials and instruments of the study

  The following instruments and materials will be prepared by the researcher

1-A list of some oral communication skills,  that are suitable for first year secondary students.

2- A teacher's guide and a student's book of online authentic materials used for developing some oral communication skills for first year secondary students.

 3-A pre-post oral communication skills test for measuring oral communication skills for first year secondary.

4-The online authentic materials used in the study included:

- YouTube videos (e.g., interviews, TED Talks, vlogs)

- Podcasts on topics of interest to teenagers

- News articles and blogs

- Social media posts and discussions

13. Procedures of the study

   To answer the questions of the study: the following steps were followed:

1-Reviewing literature related to research variables including online authentic materials and conversational skills.

2-Preparing the list of some oral communication skills for first year secondary students and presenting the list to the jury members.

3 Making the appropriate adjustments according to the suggestions of the jury members to reach the final form of the list of the conversational skills.

4- Preparing the teacher’s guide and a student's book based on online authentic materials including objectives, content, activities and evaluating techniques to be validated by some specialized jury members.

5-Preparing the final form of the teacher’s guide and a student's book after conducting the modifications made by the jury members.

6- Preparing the oral communication skills pre-post test to measure some oral communication skills for first year secondary students and submitting it to the jury members. The researcher will make modifications according to the jury members’ feedback.

7 Piloting the research tools to test their validity, reliability and calculate the allocated time for them, and modify them based on the pilot study results.

8- Choosing the group of the study from first year secondary students.

9- Administering the oral communication skills test to the group of the study at the beginning of the experiment. (Pre-administration).

10 Teaching the research group using online authentic materials for developing oral communication skills to the research group.

11- Administering the oral communication skills test to the group of the study at the end of the experiment. (Post-administration).

  12- Collecting and analyzing data statistically using the suitable statistical methods.

13- Interpreting and discussing the result, providing conclusions, recommendations, and suggestions for further research.

14. Results and Discussion

Pre-Test and Post-Test Comparisons

The table below summarizes the pre-test and post-test results for the experimental group.

Results and Discussion:

The results of the oral communication test demonstrate a statistically significant improvement in students’ performance across all measured speaking sub-skills following their exposure to online authentic materials. The pre-test and post-test means, along with the highly significant t-values and consistently large effect sizes, provide strong empirical support for the effectiveness of the intervention.

Skill-by-Skill Analysis:

-Opening a Conversation: The mean score increased from 4.03 to 8.40, with a large effect size(Eta squared (η²))  of 0.96 and a highly significant t-value (29.574, p < 0.01). This suggests students became more confident and strategic in initiating conversations after the program, reflecting improved pragmatic competence.

Adjacency Pairs :Scores jumped from 6.23 to 12.83, with the highest t-value (46.940) and an effect size (Eta squared (η²)) of 0.98, indicating that learners developed a much stronger grasp of conversational structure and response conventions (e.g., greetings, Q&A, requests/responses).

Turn-Taking: A marked improvement from 6.17 to 12.87 was recorded, with a large effect size(Eta squared (η²))  (0.96). This reflects better management of conversation flow, including entry and exit strategies during dialogue.

Interruption Patterns: The increase from 4.50 to 8.47 (effect size(Eta squared (η²))  0.95) illustrates learners' enhanced ability to manage and respond to interruptions in conversation appropriately — a nuanced and socially sensitive skill.

Topic Shifts: The skill of shifting topics effectively rose from a mean of 4.10 to 8.37 (effect size (Eta squared (η²)) 0.93), suggesting that students gained competence in maintaining coherence and flow in longer conversations.

Conversation Repair: One of the most dramatically improved areas, with scores rising from 8.23 to 17.00 and a high effect size (Eta squared (η²)) of 0.98. This indicates a significant gain in students’ ability to correct, clarify, or reformulate their speech — a vital feature of real-life communication.

Closing a Conversation: The improvement from 4.37 to 8.53 (Eta squared (η²)0.94) shows that students became more adept at wrapping up discussions naturally and politely, another marker of pragmatic fluency.

Overall Oral Communication Performance: The total mean jumped from 37.60 to 76.33, with a t-value of 87.146 and a massive effect size (Eta squared (η²)) of 0.99, underscoring the overall success of the instructional approach in enhancing comprehensive oral communication skills.

The statistical outcomes highlight the robust positive impact of integrating online authentic materials into the language learning process. These materials likely exposed students to real-life language usage, including natural rhythms, intonations, and context-rich interactions, which are rarely captured in traditional textbook dialogues. The consistently large effect sizes (Eta squared (η²)) (ranging from 0.93 to 0.99) across all sub-skills confirm that the changes were not only statistically significant but also practically meaningful. The learners didn't just improve — they transformed their communicative competence. This suggests that online authentic content (such as video interviews, real conversations, podcasts, and social media snippets) played a pivotal role in enhancing learners’ exposure to natural, context-driven language, thereby accelerating their acquisition of discourse-level skills. Moreover, the balanced gains across both mechanical skills (e.g., turn-taking) and pragmatic aspects (e.g., repair strategies, closing a conversation) indicate that the instructional design was comprehensive and well-aligned with communicative language teaching principles. The oral communication test results offer compelling evidence that the instructional intervention was highly effective. The program significantly enhanced all facets of oral communication among students. These findings support the incorporation of authentic digital materials into EFL speaking curricula as a strategic move to boost learner engagement, relevance, and real-world language readiness

Improvement in Individual Speaking Skills:

• Fluency & Confidence: The opening a conversation mean score increased from 4.03 to 8.40, demonstrating enhanced confidence.
• Turn-Taking & Interaction: The turn-taking and adjacency pairs scores reflect better engagement in real-time dialogue.
• Handling Interruptions & Topic Shifts: The increase in interruption patterns and topic shifts confirms students’ improved ability to navigate dynamic conversations.
• Conversation Repair & Closing Strategies: Higher post-test scores for conversation repair and closing a conversation indicate stronger conversational control.

Findings:

This study demonstrates the significant impact of online authentic materials on secondary school students' oral communication skills. The results reveal strong improvements in fluency, coherence, and interaction skills, suggesting that real-world exposure through digital content enhances language acquisition.

The study yielded several key findings:

1. Improved Oral Communication Skills: Students in the experimental group showed significant improvement in fluency, pronunciation, vocabulary, and confidence compared to the control group.
2. Engagement and Motivation: The use of authentic materials increased students' interest and motivation to participate in oral activities.
3. Cultural Awareness: Exposure to authentic materials helped students understand cultural nuances and context, which enhanced their ability to communicate effectively.
4. Challenges: Some students struggled with the complexity of authentic materials, particularly those with lower proficiency levels. Additionally, technical issues and limited access to devices were reported as barriers.
5. Student Perceptions: Most students reported positive experiences, stating that the materials were relevant, interesting, and helpful for real-life communication.

Recommendations

1-Integrate Online Resources into Curriculum: Schools should adopt authentic online materials for conversational skill development.

2-Encourage Active Participation: Students should engage in interactive tasks like role-playing and online discussions.

3-Further Research: Future studies should examine long-term impacts and compare different types of online materials.

Limitations and Future Research:

While the study provides valuable insights, it has some limitations:

1. Sample Size and Diversity: The study involved a relatively small sample from a limited geographic area. Future research could include a larger and more diverse sample.
2. Short-Term Intervention: The 12-week intervention may not be sufficient to measure long-term impacts. Longitudinal studies could provide deeper insights.
3. Focus on Oral Communication: The study focused exclusively on oral communication skills. Future research could explore the impact of authentic materials on other language skills, such as reading and writing.

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