Enhancing high levels of student engagement in classroom speaking activities is
possible through offering appropriate speaking activities according to students’
expectations. This requires understanding students’ needs and wants because their
perceptions influence their engagement in classroom activities (Ruddock and
McIntyre 2007). If the students do not find an activity interesting and useful, their
motivation to be involved will probably decrease. Taking account of students’ views
is important for speaking classes through which teachers can obtain valuable information
about students’ wants and needs (MacBeath et al. 2003). Student negotiation
is a way of collecting data from students to design classroom activities accordingly
(Doran and Cameron 1995). A number of research studies implementing student
negotiation have been carried out and these studies revealed positive aspects of student
negotiation. For example, Xie (2010) conducted a study in China with the aim
of investigating the role of teacher–student interaction on learners’ reticence to
speak. Xie concluded that involving students in critical thinking allowed students to
choose their own topics, which increased opportunities to participate in classroom
interaction. Zhang and Head (2010) carried out a study in a similar context in which
they actively involved students in designing their speaking courses and planning
activities. The results showed that involving students in decision-making resulted in
positive attitude change and increased motivation. Tsafos (2009) conducted an action research study that offered opportunities for student negotiation in a literature course
in a high school in Greece. Teacher–student negotiation was reported to promote the
effectiveness of classes and transform students’ roles from passive receivers to active
participants. The main findings of the studies discussed above show that student
negotiation seems to improve classroom practice through making it possible to provide
classes relevant to students’ needs and wants.