Encouraging Teenagers to Improve Speaking Skills through Games in a Colombian Public School

First Reading Report

Encouraging Teenagers to Improve Speaking Skills through Games in a Colombian Public School

By Urrutia León William; Vega Cely Esperanza

The problematic situation in this research study was the difficulties that students of English at the Federico Garcia Lorca School had with their talking making because they looked apathetic and inhibited in projects, which involved oral skills. For this reason, the objective of this study they considered it necessary was to implement an innovative and action research project that fostered the growth of the oral ability, it was necessary to generate opportunities for students to use the foreign language in a fun and comfortable way.

The research question was: How games encourage teens to develop speaking skills? And the sub questions were: What kinds of games can we use to develop students’ speaking skills? And what happens to students’ oral production when they are engaged in games?

For the development of their plan, they studied two important concepts: the speaking skills which according to Bygate (1987) stated, “speaking is a skill which deserves attention as much as the literary skills in both native and foreign languages”. When students speak in a confident and comfortable way, they can interact better in real daily situations". The game’s concept, which provides students with opportunities for free expression. Mora & Lopera (2001) stated “games and fun activities have always been one of everybody’s favorite things to do in a class, both for teachers and students” and motivation which plays an important role when a game is applied, not only to get students’ concentration but also to produce better learning conditions. During the game environment,  the teacher has to influence the whole class in an active and positive way.

The researcher used the Action research project. It consisted of the implementation of projects focused on oral games for promoting the development of students’ speaking skills. Action research is a form of investigation designed for use by teachers to attempt to solve problems and develop professional practices in their own classrooms. It involves systematic observations and data collection, which can be then used by the practitioner-researcher in reflection, decision-making and the development of more effective classroom strategies. The Action study consists of five phases:  Selecting an area or focus, collecting data, organizing data, analyzing and interpreting data, studying the professional literature, taking action.

This project was carried out at the Federico García Lorca School, with a group of 40 students of 10th grade. There were 20 girls and 20 boys from 14 to 18 years old in this collection. The data collection methods were three: Video Recording, which helped as a tool to examine not only the student’s linguistic models, but also the part of body language, facial expressions and many other things that are happening at the moment of the study. Teacher’s Journal, which shows impressions, descriptions and methods in the student’s performance. Questionnaires that, along with an interview, they could inquire into people’s knowledge, opinions, ideas and experiences. The data was analyzed thought making comparative charts of the answers and so they could make conclusions.

The researchers, after applying the diagnostic questionnaire and doing the games in the English classes, they could observe how it was easier for students to involve themselves in the types by playing games. It lessened the shyness and fear on being humiliated, which are two of the most important reasons why students do not speak in English classes. The student’s opinions showed them how they enjoyed their English classes, participated and were motivated, and not only that, but also they were able to learn in a better and joyful way, thanks to the approach of games for improving the speaking skill.

After gathering all the information –by applying the techniques they chose: questionnaire, video recording and teacher’s journal- they analyzed all this data and were able to separate the games from different perspectives: The students’ view, in terms of cooperation/involvement, self-confidence and Teacher’s classroom management; and the teachers’ perspective, talking about motivation, improvement in speaking participation and free and confident students’ performance.

To analyze data it was used generic theorizing methods and general analytic procedures (Goetz & LeCompte, 1984) to construct an interpretive description of the methods and outcomes of L2 socialization in the classroom. These methods and procedures involve scanning the data, creating categories, noting patterns, looking for counterevidence, and selecting relevant domains for further analysis.  The games implemented helped to encourage students to communicate orally and to gain confidence in speaking. Also, to believe in themselves, thanks to the creation of a good environment inside the classroom, therefore, they overcame their fear of making mistakes and perceived speaking as a natural process. As they were very participative, they leant more vocabulary, short sentences and pronunciation. Finally, games are considered as a good strategy to encourage teens to develop their speaking skills, especially when these include group work, motivation and competition.