The purpose of this study is to evaluate the impromptu speaking skills of 7th-grade students and to examine the relationship between their oral performance and individual variables such as weekly reading habits and leisure-time activities. The study employed a descriptive survey model and utilized the Speaking Skills Rating Scale for Native Turkish Speakers developed by Bozkurt and Arıca-Akkök (2019) to assess the speaking performances of 96 students. Data were collected through video recordings of students’ unprepared speeches, which were then analyzed based on sub-dimensions such as pronunciation, fluency, content-language use, and interaction-presentation strategies. The findings revealed that students scored lowest in the fluency dimension and highest in interaction and presentation strategies. Multiple regression analysis indicated that the number of pages read weekly was a significant predictor of students’ overall speaking quality and its sub-dimensions, while leisure-time activities did not have a meaningful impact. These results suggest that regular reading habits positively contribute to the development of impromptu speaking skills, particularly in areas such as structural coherence, pronunciation accuracy, and non-verbal communication. The findings underscore the need for more systematic and integrated approaches to speaking instruction within Turkish language education.

Impromptu speaking, speaking skills, secondary school students, Turkish language education