Exploring the Impact of TED Talks Videos on EFL Learners’ Speaking Accuracy and Fluency

Abstract

Speaking fluency and accuracy are essential components of English proficiency, yet many EFL learners struggle to balance both in real communication. While prior research has examined TED Talks' effects on speaking skills or motivation separately, few studies have qualitatively explored fluency and accuracy together, particularly among advanced pre-service EFL teachers who face professional demands for high oral proficiency. This study explores the impact of a curated TED Talk video on university EFL learners' speaking performance, focusing on their improvement and perceptions. Using a qualitative descriptive design with an in-depth multiple case study approach, four seventh-semester English education students at a private university in Indonesia recorded a baseline speech, underwent a structured three-day exposure to the video, and completed a post-exposure speaking task. Data were collected through speaking performance recordings and semi-structured interviews, analyzed descriptively and thematically. Comparisons between pre- and post-exposure recordings using an analytical speaking rubric revealed noticeable improvements in fluency, grammatical accuracy, pronunciation, and vocabulary. Participants also reported increased confidence, motivation, and positive attitudes, though they faced cognitive and lexical challenges, such as unfamiliar advanced vocabulary and complex topic comprehension. These findings suggest that a curated TED Talk video can be effectively integrated into EFL speaking instruction to promote fluency, accuracy, motivation, and communicative confidence, offering EFL teachers a practical, low-cost model for designing brief, authentic-material-based speaking activities that address both linguistic and affective dimensions of learners' oral performance.