Abstrak
This study aims to determine whether the Talking Chips technique significantly affects the speaking skills of eighth-grade students at SMPN 11 Tarakan. The research employed a pre-experimental method with a one-group pre-test and post-test design. The population consisted of all eighth-grade students, with classes 8-3 (29) selected as the sample through purposive sampling. Data were gathered through oral tests administered before and after the treatment. The findings indicated a moderate improvement in students' speaking performance, as evidenced by an increase of 6.49 points in the mean scores from the pre-test to the post-test. The Wilcoxon Signed-Rank Test was applied due to the non-normal distribution of the data. The significance value obtained was 0.024 (p 0.05), indicating that the alternative hypothesis (H1) was accepted while the null hypothesis (H0) was rejected. Furthermore, the study found a notable improvement in the comprehension aspect of students' speaking skills, with an average increase of 0.690. Based on these findings, it can be concluded that the Talking Chips technique effectively enhances the speaking skills of eighth-grade students at SMPN 11 Tarakan. The technique also fostered active student participation, increased self-confidence, and motivated students to engage more in English-speaking activities.