Talk It Out!: Developing a Design-Thinking-Based Boardgame for EFL Speaking Fluency

Abstract

Speaking fluency remains a challenge for many Indonesian EFL students. Based on a preliminary study, 65% of students were reluctant to speak English despite possessing sufficient vocabulary knowledge. One way to address this issue is by providing engaging learning activities that actively involve students in speaking practice. Educational board games can serve as an alternative learning medium capable of creating an enjoyable and interactive learning environment for speaking activities. However, studies focusing on the development of physical board games specifically designed to facilitate speaking fluency remain limited. Therefore, this study aimed to develop an educational board game called Talk It Out! to support speaking-fluency practice among tenth-grade students. This study employed Design and Development Research (DDR). The development process adopted the ADDIE model integrated with Design Thinking principles, including the empathize, define, ideate, prototype, and test stages. Data were collected through expert validation, a speaking-fluency assessment instrument, and a student-response questionnaire. The needs-analysis stage involved interviews with nine students, while the product was implemented through a limited trial involving 14 students. The results showed that the developed board game was highly feasible, receiving validation scores of 88% and 94% from a gamification expert and an English-language expert, respectively. Students achieved an overall speaking-fluency score of 72.1%, categorized as good, while student responses toward the board game reached 87.5%, categorized as very good. These findings indicate that Talk It Out! is a feasible and well-received learning medium that provides opportunities for speaking practice in EFL classrooms. Future studies are recommended to employ larger samples and more rigorous research designs further to examine the effectiveness of the developed board game.