PERTANIKA JOURNAL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES

This article focusses on an experimental study conducted to improve the speaking proficiency of engineering students using the task-based approach. Engineering students are expected to possess adequate speaking proficiency for career growth prospects. The major impediment in job placement faced by students is their lack of proficiency in speaking. This article explores the pivotal role played by the English Language teacher in guiding students towards oral proficiency in English and enabling them to overcome constraints in speaking. The participants of the study are first-year civil engineering students comprising 38 participants in the experimental and control group respectively. The main tool used in this study is oral communicative tasks, which are administered to the experimental group. The results of the statistical analysis have revealed that there is a significant level of improvement in the oral proficiency of the experimental group.