Developing Speaking Skills through Reading Graded Readers

Abstract

Thisstudy aimed at investigating the role of graded readers in developing students’ speaking skills as well asthe possible activities meant to developthe students’ speaking skills through reading graded readers. The primary purpose of the study was not only to report and inform about all these, but also to investigate and find beneficial outcomes of these practices and attitudes. The research was carried out in the Experimental English Classes (EEC) in the Department of English Programs (DEP) at the American University of Armenia (AUA). Two groups participated in the experiment: the experimental, which received the treatment by reading the books ofgraded readers series in addition to the textbook and the control group which used only their textbooks.The study comprises the quantitative data. The datawerecollected through a self assessment checklist and pre-and post interviews (Oral Proficiency Type Interview). The data collectedfrom the pre-and post-tests were analyzed by implementing the Mann-Whitney and Wilcoxon tests, in order to compare the test results of both groups. The findings of the study indicated that graded readers are valid tools for developing students’ speaking skills. Furthermore, the results of the analyses of the post interview and the self assessment checklist confirmed that learners had positive attitude towards the graded readers, as they provided the students with a lot of interactive activities which created an environment that was fun, enjoyable and effective for improving the students’ speaking skills.