TECHNOLOGY SUPPORTED SPEAKING PORTFOLIOS: DARE TO SPEAK

Findings show that learners expressed more anxiety over speaking than any other language skills (Horwitz, 1986). This is especially true for the students who lack self-esteem and have stage-fright. Most of the time, a feeling of worry anticipating embarrassment and failure avoids such students trying to do speaking activities in front of the class. As a result, in countries like Turkey where English could only be practised at school and not on the streets, students miss the chance of practising speaking in the second language. Lacking the practise of the language, they lose their confidence completely by time. Technology supported speaking portfolios, on which the presenter is going to talk about, give learners a chance to practise speaking outside school and in an environment they feel comfortable. Since the learners could edit their speeches as many times as they like before submitting them to their teachers, they learn to evaluate their own performances and correct their own mistakes. The presenter is going to present the results of the study she has carried out on this subject. She will be sharing sample students’ work and the student feedback collated on the effectiveness of student portfolios.