Abstract: This study examines the effectiveness of guided pair work in enhancing university students’ engagement in English speaking lessons in a Vietnamese tertiary EFL context. A quasi-experimental design was employed with 53 second-year non-English-major students divided into a control group (n = 25) and an experimental group (n = 28). Over a 12-week period, the experimental group participated in guided pair work activities, while the control group received conventional speaking instruction.