A LABOVIAN NARRATIVE ANALYSIS OF TED TALKS ON PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT AND ITS PEDAGOGICAL IMPLICATIONS FOR EFL SPEAKING AND PRESENTATION SKILLS AT THE UNIVERSITY LEVEL

บทคัดย่อ

          This study applied Labov’s (1972) six narrative elements – abstract, orientation, complication, evaluation, resolution, and coda – to analyze the discourse structure of four TED Talks on personal development. Using qualitative content analysis, 122 discourse units (DUs) from official English transcripts were deductively coded, with excellent inter-rater reliability (Cohen’s κ = .91). Evaluation was the most frequent narrative element (42.6%), followed by orientation (18.0%), complication (13.1%), resolution (11.5%), coda (10.7%), abstract (4.1%), and non-narrative units (3.3%). The findings indicate that evaluation is the defining feature of TED Talk discourse, enabling speakers to connect personal experiences with broader audience understanding while enhancing persuasion and credibility. Based on these findings, the study proposes a discourse-based instructional framework for university-level EFL speaking and presentation courses. By extending Labov’s model to TED Talks, the study contributes an evidence-based framework for discourse-level instruction and assessment beyond linguistic accuracy.