Secondary school students' attitudes towards speaking skills

The aim of this study is to examine middle school students' attitudes towards speaking skills in terms of various variables. The participant group of the study, which was conducted with the Descriptive survey design 593 students studying at eight state secondary schools under the Zonguldak National Education Directorate, namely Mimar Sinan, Cumhuriyet, Karaman Amelebirliği, Imam Hatip, Beycuma Şehit Onbaşı Rıfat Köktürk, Elvanpazarcık Şehit Göksal Cin, Eceler Murat Kayhan, and Keller Secondary Schools. The data of the study were collected using the 'Personal Information Form' developed by the researchers and the 'Speaking Skills Attitude Scale' developed by Topçuoğlu Ünal and Özer, and were analyzed with SPSS 26.0 statistical software package. According to the research findings, middle school students' attitudes towards speaking skills were found to be at a 'high' level. Significant differences were identified in the overall scale or its sub-dimensions based on the variables of gender, grade level, achievement in the Turkish course, number of siblings, and mother's educational level. These differences were found to favor female students, fifth graders, and those with a Turkish course grade of 70 or above in the 'interest and affection' sub-dimension. They favored male students, those with no siblings or only one sibling, and those whose mothers are university graduates in the 'anxiety and concern' sub-dimension. In the total score of the scale, the differences favored students with a Turkish course grade of 70 or above and those whose mothers are university graduates. However, the variables of the school's location and the father's educational level did not lead to any significant differences in participants' attitudes towards speaking. Keywords: Language skills, speaking skills, attitude, speaking attitude, secondary school student.