The Effect of Avatar-Based Speaking Practice on Intermediate Iranian EFL Learners' Speaking Flow

Speaking fluency is one of the most challenging skills for many EFL learners, particularly in contexts where opportunities for meaningful communication are limited. Therefore, exploring innovative technological tools that can support the development of speaking skills has become an important concern in language education. The present study aimed to investigate the effect of avatar-based speaking practice on the speaking flow of intermediate Iranian EFL learners. The participants were female EFL learners studying at a language institute in Tabriz, Iran. After administering the Quick Oxford Placement Test to ensure the homogeneity of the learners, a group of intermediate learners was selected and assigned to experimental and control groups. The study followed a quasi-experimental pretest-posttest design. The instruments used in this research included the Quick Oxford Placement Test for participant selection and two versions of the Preliminary English Test speaking section as the pretest and posttest to measure learners' speaking flow. The collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and inferential statistical procedures, including tests of normality, Levene's test of homogeneity of variances, and analysis of covariance. The results indicated that learners who participated in avatar-based speaking practice demonstrated better speaking flow compared with those who received traditional instruction. The findings of this study have implications for learners, teachers, syllabus designer and language institute.

کلیدواژه ها:

Avatar-Based Learning ، EFL learners ، Speaking Flow ، Speaking Fluency