The Problem-Based Learning Activities Enhance EFL Speaking Competence and Higher-Order Thinking Skills in Ethiopian Secondary Schools

The Problem-Based Learning Activities Enhance EFL Speaking Competence and Higher-Order Thinking Skills in Ethiopian Secondary Schools | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article The Problem-Based Learning Activities Enhance EFL Speaking Competence and Higher-Order Thinking Skills in Ethiopian Secondary Schools solomon Tamene, Seied Mohammad, Dawit Amonge This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8976925/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract This mixed-methods quasi-experimental study investigated problem-based learning activities' (PBLA) impact on Grade 11 EFL speaking competence and higher-order thinking skills (HOTS) at Sena Gimbi Secondary School, Ethiopia (N = 24; 12 experimental, 12 control). During a 12-week intervention, the experimental group engaged in PBLA tasks aligned with Revised Bloom's Taxonomy (Analyze/Evaluate/Create), while controls received traditional textbook instruction. Pre- and post-assessments (IELTS-style speaking rubric, α = .87α = .87; adapted KG-20 thinking skills test, KR-20 = .82), questionnaires, and interviews revealed substantial experimental gains: speaking competence advanced from M = 42.3M = 42.3 (SD = 8.1SD = 8.1) to M = 67.1M = 67.1 (SD = 6.2SD = 6.2; paired t(11) = 9.23t(11) = 9.23, p<.001p<.001, d = 1.89d = 1.89) versus control from M = 41.8M = 41.8 to M = 45.6M = 45.6 (d = 0.42d = 0.42); HOTS improved from M = 38.4M = 38.4 (SD = 9.2SD = 9.2) to M = 62.7M = 62.7 (SD = 7.1SD = 7.1; t(11) = 10.1t(11) = 10.1, p<.001p<.001, d = 2.41d = 2.41), with a strong HOTS-speaking correlation (r=.85r=.85, 72% variance explained). Despite time (68%) and training (52%) barriers, 92% of teachers and 88% of students endorsed PBLA feasibility. Findings challenge LOTS-dominated curricula, advocating scalable PBLA integration for Ethiopia's communicative competence goals through cognitive-linguistic synergy. Educational Philosophy and Theory Problem-Based Learning Speaking Competence Thinking Skills EFL Bloom's Taxonomy Secondary Education Full Text Additional Declarations The authors declare potential competing interests as follows: Conflict of interest: This study received approval from the Wollo University Institutional Review Board (IRB) on March 15, 2025 (Protocol ID: WU-IRB-2025-012). All procedures involving human participants were conducted in accordance with the ethical guidelines of the Wollo University IRB, the Declaration of Helsinki, and national ethical regulations of Ethiopia. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8976925","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":597492381,"identity":"56c26b19-aaf7-4cf9-ab83-0971c5da8fa9","order_by":0,"name":"solomon Tamene","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAABAklEQVRIiWNgGAWjYFAC5gYIzcOQcICBgU0OxD7wAK8WRhQtfMZgLQlEagEBuUQwF58W+fbGxkc3Ku4k9vcceHi4osYsfX7Y4YdAW+zkdBuwazE4c7DZOOfMs8QZZxsSDp45lpa78XaaAVBLsrHZARxaJBLbpHPbDuc2nGdIONjAdix34+wEkJYDidtwaJGfAdUyH6zl3/90w9npH/BqYbgB1bIB5LDGNrYEeekc/LZA/XK4fuOZA0AtfWyGG6RzCg4kGOD2i3x788HHORWHjeXO5CR/bPjGJi8/O33zhw8VdnK4tCABngSIvWCVBgSVgwA7xFT5BqJUj4JRMApGwQgCALVeb1l0qLD+AAAAAElFTkSuQmCC","orcid":"","institution":"Wollow University","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"solomon","middleName":"","lastName":"Tamene","suffix":""},{"id":597492382,"identity":"2658bf87-a6d3-4a7f-a768-b07c2cf2ea98","order_by":1,"name":"Seied Mohammad","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Debre Berihan University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Seied","middleName":"","lastName":"Mohammad","suffix":""},{"id":597492383,"identity":"8d7381c6-584d-4a5d-a113-a881610ccc12","order_by":2,"name":"Dawit Amonge","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Addis Ababa University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Dawit","middleName":"","lastName":"Amonge","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2026-02-26 11:02:40","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":{"humanSubjects":false,"vertebrateSubjects":false,"conflictsOfInterestStatement":true,"humanSubjectEthicalGuidelines":false,"humanSubjectConsent":false,"humanSubjectClinicalTrial":false,"humanSubjectCaseReport":false,"vertebrateSubjectEthicalGuidelines":false},"doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8976925/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8976925/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":104399175,"identity":"ca99c7cd-cc8b-43e5-b9c0-b0f32b2ea0ae","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-03-11 12:04:59","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":845518,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"11RevisedPBLAArticle2025org..pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8976925/v1_covered_3a7f9876-f325-4da1-a38b-aafc9327b4cb.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"The authors declare potential competing interests as follows: Conflict of interest: This study received approval from the Wollo University Institutional Review Board (IRB) on March 15, 2025 (Protocol ID: WU-IRB-2025-012). All procedures involving human participants were conducted in accordance with the ethical guidelines of the Wollo University IRB, the Declaration of Helsinki, and national ethical regulations of Ethiopia.","formattedTitle":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe Problem-Based Learning Activities Enhance EFL Speaking Competence and Higher-Order Thinking Skills in Ethiopian Secondary Schools\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":true,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":true,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Problem-Based Learning, Speaking Competence, Thinking Skills, EFL, Bloom's Taxonomy, Secondary Education","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8976925/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8976925/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eThis mixed-methods quasi-experimental study investigated problem-based learning activities' (PBLA) impact on Grade 11 EFL speaking competence and higher-order thinking skills (HOTS) at Sena Gimbi Secondary School, Ethiopia (N\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;24; 12 experimental, 12 control). During a 12-week intervention, the experimental group engaged in PBLA tasks aligned with Revised Bloom's Taxonomy (Analyze/Evaluate/Create), while controls received traditional textbook instruction. Pre- and post-assessments (IELTS-style speaking rubric, α\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;.87α\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;.87; adapted KG-20 thinking skills test, KR-20 = .82), questionnaires, and interviews revealed substantial experimental gains: speaking competence advanced from M\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;42.3M\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;42.3 (SD\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;8.1SD\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;8.1) to M\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;67.1M\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;67.1 (SD\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;6.2SD\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;6.2; paired t(11)\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;9.23t(11)\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;9.23, p\u0026lt;.001p\u0026lt;.001, d\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;1.89d\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;1.89) versus control from M\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;41.8M\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;41.8 to M\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;45.6M\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;45.6 (d\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.42d\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.42); HOTS improved from M\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;38.4M\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;38.4 (SD\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;9.2SD\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;9.2) to M\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;62.7M\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;62.7 (SD\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;7.1SD\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;7.1; t(11)\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;10.1t(11)\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;10.1, p\u0026lt;.001p\u0026lt;.001, d\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;2.41d\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;2.41), with a strong HOTS-speaking correlation (r=.85r=.85, 72% variance explained). Despite time (68%) and training (52%) barriers, 92% of teachers and 88% of students endorsed PBLA feasibility. Findings challenge LOTS-dominated curricula, advocating scalable PBLA integration for Ethiopia's communicative competence goals through cognitive-linguistic synergy.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"The Problem-Based Learning Activities Enhance EFL Speaking Competence and Higher-Order Thinking Skills in Ethiopian Secondary Schools","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2026-02-27 16:26:00","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8976925/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"8dbd6e27-256a-4d05-9abf-e70ffb8d5c39","owner":[],"postedDate":"February 27th, 2026","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"posted","subjectAreas":[{"id":63580284,"name":"Educational Philosophy and Theory"}],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-03-24T05:39:11+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2026-02-27 16:26:00","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-8976925","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-8976925","identity":"rs-8976925","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"XKTyCvWXoU3ODBz1xrDgd","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}