Enhancing EFL students' academic speaking performance through reflective oral presentation assessment: A mixed-methods study in an Indonesian university context

Abstract

This research explores the potential of reflective oral presentation assessment (ROPA) to enhance the academic speaking abilities of university EFL students. Although central to academic speaking courses, opportunities for students to critically reflect on their speaking processes and monitor themselves as speakers are rarely provided, since such courses tend to emphasize presentation delivery. While prior studies have focused on peer assessment and technology-mediated feedback in oral presentations, little research has examined how reflective assessment influences academic speaking development in tertiary EFL contexts. This study addresses that gap through a mixed-methods design involving 32 EFL undergraduates in an Academic Speaking course at an Indonesian university. Presentation scores, reflective journals, and semi-structured interviews served as data sources, with students using ROPA to identify their strengths and weaknesses and plan strategies for future presentations. Descriptive statistics and a paired-samples t-test analyzed the quantitative data, while the qualitative data were analyzed thematically. Results showed a statistically significant increase in academic speaking performance from the initial to the final presentation, t(31) = 9.45, p < .001, with a large effect size (Cohen’s d = 1.67). The greatest gains were in organization of ideas and delivery and fluency, while language accuracy and audience engagement improved to a lesser extent. Qualitatively, students reported greater awareness of their speaking strengths and weaknesses, increased confidence, and stronger self-regulated learning strategies. These findings suggest that integrating ROPA into academic speaking instruction makes assessment more meaningful and supports learners’ autonomous development as academic speakers, offering a pedagogically grounded complement to predominantly teacher-directed assessment practices in tertiary EFL contexts.