VietTESOL International Convention 2026

Abstract
Many university students in the Mekong Delta whose English proficiency is around IELTS band 3.0–4.0 face considerable difficulty when they are required to give longer spoken responses. In IELTS Speaking tasks, they often pause for a long time, repeat simple ideas, and have problems connecting their answers with appropriate linking expressions. Although debate has been used in speaking classes to encourage students to express opinions and respond to others, little research has examined how pair debate-based activities can be used with low-proficiency IELTS learners, especially in regional university contexts. This study investigates the implementation of pair debate-based activities to improve fluency and cohesion in IELTS Speaking performance among 40 university students. The intervention lasts for eight weeks and includes sixteen online classroom sessions. Data are collected through classroom observation, semi-structured interviews, and pre- and post-speaking tests focusing on fluency and cohesion. During the lessons, students take part in scaffolded pair debate tasks such as agree/disagree exchanges, guided opinion sharing, argument building, short rebuttal practice, and partner discussion. Vocabulary support, sentence frames, and topic preparation are provided before students perform the speaking tasks. The expected findings indicate that these scaffolded pair debate-based activities may help low-proficiency learners speak with fewer long pauses, organize their ideas more clearly, and use cohesive language more appropriately. The study offers practical implications for EFL teachers who teach IELTS Speaking to learners with limited proficiency and need level-appropriate interactive activities.
Keywords: pair debate-based activities, IELTS Speaking, fluency, cohesion, low-proficiency learners, Mekong Delta