BENEFITS OF OUT-OF-CLASS SPEAKING ACTIVITIES FOR EFL STUDENTS (SINIF DIŞI KONUŞMA ETKİNLİKLERİNİN İNGİLİZCE ÖĞRENENLER İÇİN FAYDALARI)

The objective of the study is to investigate the benefits of out-of-class speaking activities for English as a Foreign (EFL) students. Twenty-one first-year students in a state university in Turkey were encouraged to choose any out-of-class activities they would like to carry out for six weeks to improve their speaking skills. At the end of six weeks, they were given a survey of open-ended questions aiming to reveal the activities they selected and the perceived benefits of these activities. The chosen activities include the following: Fantasy Role-Playing, Continuous Story, Debate, Radio Program, Broadcasting on Periscope. As for the perceived benefits of these activities, nearly all the students indicated that their activities contributed to their fluency, vocabulary and pronunciation development as well as problem solving skills. Also, the activities were thought to be useful for their self-confidence, critical thinking skills and for their general knowledge. Therefore, it can be recommended that out-of-class speaking activities should be incorporated into mainstream EFL programs.