USING K12-STUDENT PRESENTATIONS ON TERTIARY EDUCATION MAJORS TO IMPROVE SPEAKING SKILLS AND CAREER ORIENTATION

Presentations, which are very necessary for university students and future employees, are a great way to have students practise their language skills and improve their knowledge of different topics. Nevertheless, most topics for presentation in the K12 textbook are neither relevant nor interesting to students. Simultaneously, many K12 students, who have been studying English for more than 10 years and are going to take the university entrance exam, are not confident in their English speaking and career choice. This study, thus, aims to examine how K12 students’ presentations on different tertiary education majors can boost their speaking skills and facilitate their career orientation. The findings from the questionnaires and observations indicated that their speaking skills and knowledge of career paths improved considerably. Besides, other language aspects of the students like listening and their confidence together with their presentation and research skills have been enhanced significantly. This paper also provided some pedagogical suggestions on applying student presentations on different topics to high school learners.