Conversation Practice as a Strategy Enhancing Speaking Performance Among First-Semester Students of the Primary School Teacher Education Program at Universitas Halmahera

Abstract

This study investigated changes in overall speaking-performance scores among first-semester students of the Primary School Teacher Education (PGSD) Program at Universitas Halmahera after participation in structured conversation practice during the 2025/2026 academic year. A quantitative one-group pre-test/post-test design was used with 36 students. Speaking performance was operationalized through four dimensions, each scored on a five-point analytic rubric and converted to a 100-point total score. The mean score increased from 55.36 (SD = 2.37; range = 51.5 – 59.0) at pre-test to 75.19 (SD = 2.61; range = 71.0 – 79.0) at post-test, representing a mean increase of 19.83 points, or 35.83% relative to the pre-test mean. The Shapiro – Wilk test showed that paired difference scores were not normally distributed, W = 0.929, p = 0.023; consequently, the two-sided Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used. The test indicated a statistically significant difference between pre-test and post-test scores, W = 0, z = -5.23, p < .001, with a large within-cohort effect size (r = 0.87). The findings indicated that students’ speaking-performance scores were higher after the instructional period. Because the study did not include a comparison group, the observed change cannot be attributed to conversation practice alone. The findings therefore constitute preliminary within-cohort evidence and should be examined in controlled or quasi-experimental studies with independent raters and stronger instrument-validation procedures.