An Experimental Study of the Impact of Teachers' Expectations and Pressure on the Skill of Speaking English as a Foreign Language of Elementary Students in Aseer

Abstract

This experimental study, conducted over ten classroom sessions, examined the influence of teachers' expectations and pressure on the speaking abilities of EFL elementary students in Aseer, Saudi Arabia. It aimed to explore the relationship between teacher expectations, pressure, and students' speaking skill development and to provide practical strategies for managing pressure while enhancing speaking abilities. The study employed a quantitative research design, incorporating pre- and post-tests to assess students' speaking skills and a questionnaire survey to collect data on teacher expectations and pressure. The study included 32 elementary students, divided into a control group (n=17) and an experimental group (n=15), as well as 107 EFL teachers from various schools in Aseer. The results indicated that teachers' realistic expectations and reasonable pressure significantly improved students' speaking skills, particularly in pronunciation, grammar, and fluency. However, vocabulary skills did not show significant improvement under reasonable pressure. EFL teachers in Aseer held high expectations for their students' speaking proficiency and applied moderate pressure to enhance performance. Differentiated instruction, constructive feedback, and hands-on learning strategies effectively managed pressure and enhanced speaking skills. The study emphasizes balancing teacher expectations and pressure to improve students' speaking skills. It recommends that teachers maintain realistic expectations, clearly communicate them to students, and implement strategies such as differentiated instruction and constructive feedback. Further research could explore the long-term effects of teacher expectations and pressure on overall language proficiency and examine additional factors influencing vocabulary development in this context.