USING COMPETENCY-BASED DIFFERENTIATED INSTRUCTION TO DEVELOP ENGLISH ORAL COMMUNICATION ABILITY IN RESPONSE TO THE NEEDS OF EFL SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS

Abstract

The modern classroom in the twenty-first century consists of a diverse group of learners, each with distinct learning needs and modes. This study aims to investigate the problems and needs of English as a foreign language students, develops curriculum principles based on competency-based and differentiated instruction, and explore the effects of the instruction on oral communication ability development. The study was a single group design using quantitative and qualitative methods collected by an interview, a questionnaire, and oral communication tests. The findings revealed the needs of the secondary school students on towards oral communication ability: a lack of Englishspeaking opportunities, a misalignment between textbooks and teaching focus, a need for engaging practices, and a demand for differentiated approaches, to develop three principles of a new curriculum. The result shows a significant of improvement of the participants’ oral communication ability after receiving competency-based differentiated instruction at .05. The developed instruction has the potential to guide curriculum development in terms of objectives, content, instruction, and assessment strategies. However, the successful implementation necessitates a comprehensive curriculum and instruction considering cultural contexts and different students’ needs.