Developing public speaking skills and media literacy among high school students through extracurricular activities in humanities and library studies
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17721/2663-0303.2026.1.02Keywords:
public speaking skills, media literacy, extracurricular activity, critical analysis of media content, high school students, humanities, library and information studiesAbstract
Background. Contemporary language pedagogy increasingly prioritizes the development of communicative competence over the mere acquisition of linguistic knowledge. Particular importance is attached to developing public speaking skills, media literacy, and critical thinking as essential components of successful social interaction and professional fulfilment. Awareness of the challenges posed by the digital media environment, which exposes students to manipulative information practices, emotionalised discourse, and disinformation, increases the demand for their effective public communication skills. However, methodological approaches to developing students' public speaking skills in an extracurricular setting remain underrepresented in modern pedagogical research.
The purpose of the article is to provide a theoretical description and methodological framework for an integrated extracurricular activity, designed to develop high school students' public speaking skills, media literacy, and critical thinking within the humanities, library and information studies fields of extracurricular education.
Methodology. The qualitative research design combines theoretical, comparative, and project-based approaches. Theoretical methods of analysis, interpretation, synthesis, and generalisation were used to systematise scientific perspectives on extracurricular and out-of-school activities. Comparative analysis of teaching practices and legal regulations from different countries enabled the identification of common trends and discrepancies in the organisation of extracurricular practices. Research findings enabled designing a methodological nine-stage model, including linguistic experiments, workshops, debate and role-playing activities, reflective tasks focused on media texts and public communication.
Results and discussion. The described model demonstrates significant potential for integrating linguistic analysis with media literacy and interactive learning strategies, therefore, promoting media literacy, fostering critical thinking, and facilitating the development of students' public speaking skills in Ukrainian.
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