Abstrak
ABSTRACT Muhammad Arif Hasibuan, 20223013. THE EFFECT OF GUIDED CONVERSATION TECHNIQUE TOWARDS SPEAKING PERFORMANCE ACROSS STUDENTS’ MOTIVATION LEVEL AT PESANTREN NURUL HUDA BANGAI, A Thesis, State Islamic University of Sjech M Djamil Djambek Bukittinggi, 2025. This study was designed to investigate the effect of the Guided Conversation Technique (GCT) on the speaking performance of seventh-grade students at Pesantren Nurul Huda Bangai, specifically accounting for their varying levels of learning motivation. The preliminary research revealed a significant problem: students often displayed high levels of theoretical motivation but consistently failed to translate this internal drive into effective, demonstrable speaking proficiency, suggesting that conventional teaching methods were insufficient to bridge the gap between motivation and actual skill acquisition. Consequently, the research aimed to determine whether GCT could serve as the necessary pedagogical intervention to maximize speaking performance across student motivation in the English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classroom. Employing a quantitative, quasi-experimental research design, this study utilized a two-group pre-test/post-test approach, involving an experimental group taught with the Guided Conversation Technique and a control group taught with conventional methods. Data were collected using validated instruments: speaking performance was measured through standardized oral tests (pre-test and post-test), and student learning motivation was assessed using a comprehensive, reliable questionnaire. The resulting data were analyzed using SPSS, specifically the Two-Way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), to test the main effect of the technique and the interaction effect between the technique and student motivation levels. The research yielded three major findings: first, the Guided Conversation Technique showed a highly significant positive effect on student speaking performance, resulting in a substantial mean score difference in favor of the experimental group. Most importantly, the study confirmed a potent interaction effect: GCT proved to be the critical factor that enabled highly motivated students to achieve high speaking performance (not achieved in the conventional class) and acted as a motivational catalyst for moderately motivated students, demonstrating its effectiveness that successfully enable students affective to help improving speaking skill. Key Words: Guided Conversation Technique (GCT), Speaking, Motivation