The bottom line: Video blogging significantly improves students’ speaking skills by making language practice more engaging and psychologically manageable. By reducing anxiety and increasing confidence, this approach supports both communication development and mental well being in classroom settings. For education policy and practice, the findings suggest that integrating low pressure digital tools into teaching can improve learning outcomes without adding strain on students or teachers.
In a recent study, researchers from Universitas Negeri Surabaya discovered that video blogging significantly improves high school students’ speaking abilities. This research, published in the Journal of English Language and Education, bridges the gap between conventional language teaching methods and modern multimedia content preferences.
The study utilised a pre-experimental method involving 36 students from Sekolah Menengah Atas Negeri 1 Surabaya. The researchers conducted pre-tests and post-tests to measure the students’ speaking abilities before and after introducing video blogging as a learning medium. The average pre-test score was 57.3, while the post-test score improved to 69.2, indicating a significant enhancement in speaking skills.
Speaking is a crucial skill for English language learners, enabling them to express ideas, feelings, and experiences effectively. But traditional teaching methods often fail to engage students who are more accustomed to interactive and multimedia-rich environments. This study highlights the potential of video blogging as a modern educational tool to address this challenge.
Dennis Relojo-Howell, a British-Filipino blog psychologist, said: “Video blogging shifts speaking practice from performance to self-expression. When students speak to a camera rather than a classroom, anxiety drops, self-monitoring increases, and learners gain a stronger sense of control over how they present themselves. That psychological safety is often what allows confidence and fluency to develop, especially among students who struggle with traditional oral tasks.”
The integration of technology in education has opened up new opportunities for student engagement. Traditional methods, such as memorising dialogues and repeating drills, are being supplemented with more interactive approaches like video blogging. This method not only improves students’ language skills but also boosts their confidence and enthusiasm for learning.
Video blogging, or vlogging, involves creating and sharing videos on digital platforms, offering a visually engaging way for students to practise spoken communication. The study found that this approach exposes learners to a wide range of English accents, speech patterns, and vocabulary, while also encouraging them to think carefully about how they express ideas in realistic communication settings. Interaction with an audience, including receiving feedback, further supports the development of speaking skills by grounding practice in meaningful, context-based use of language.
The data collected from the pre-tests and post-tests were analysed using statistical methods. The normality test, based on the Shapiro-Wilk theory, indicated that the data were normally distributed. The paired sample t-test showed a significant improvement in students’ speaking skills post-intervention, with a significance value (2-tailed) of 0.000, well below the predefined significance level of 0.05.
The study’s findings align with previous research, confirming that video blogging is an effective tool for enhancing speaking skills. For instance, previous research found that video blogging not only improved students’ performance but also increased their motivation to learn. This study further supports these findings, showing a notable improvement in students’ post-test scores compared to their pre-test scores.
While the study demonstrates the effectiveness of video blogging, it also acknowledges certain limitations. The pre-experimental design lacks a comparison group, making it difficult to generalise the results. Future research should consider a more robust experimental design, including larger sample sizes and comparison groups, to validate these findings further.
