A Hybrid Methodology to Improve Speaking Skills in English Language Learning Using Mobile Applications
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Mobile Learning in English as a Second Language Education
- Portability: The acquisition of knowledge can be moved to any place and time, facilitating the student’s learning regardless of where he/she is.
- Availability: Access to all information.
- Personalization: The information can be adapted to the user’s needs and style.
- Social Connectivity: Collaborative work among the same users of an application.
- Motivation: It motivates students to get involved in their education.
- The apps consider the four core English language skills: reading, speaking, listening, and writing.
- Learners can access their apps anytime, anywhere.
- Learners can interact through the apps with their peers or with other people around the world.
- The apps are free of charge.
- They can reinforce knowledge and provide tips to perform better in different skills.
- The ubiquity of mobile apps undoubtedly provides learners with an autonomous and omnipresent education. They only need a smartphone, an app of their liking and the right motivation to start the process of responsible and dynamic learning.
2.1. Mobile Assisted Language Learning
- Mobility of technology. It refers to all technological devices that have the wireless standard 802.11 (Wi-Fi). Through Wi-Fi, the teaching and learning material allows learners to acquire knowledge from anywhere and at any time; they choose the time and place where they want to learn, as well as the applications they want to use to interact with other users, create their own calendars, and relax from time to time.
- Mobility of learning. It refers to student-focused autonomous learning, where the teaching process is a personalized, collaborative, omnipresent and permanent experience that considers the level of each student, helping them to realize their level of knowledge, their learning process, their growth, their achievements, and goals.
- Mobility of learner. It refers to those free and independent learners who use teaching tools, leaving aside the barriers of age, time and learning ability. This avoids the comparison between students that usually causes shyness, fear and lack of confidence when expressing their ideas in a spoken way. In this way, mobile students personalize their learning activities based on their own interests and objectives, thus engaging in their continuous learning [33].
2.2. English Language Teaching–Learning Models
- Effective interaction only occurs through speaking skills.
- Practicing speaking skills allows the learning space to become a socially dynamic place.
- Speaking with others immerses students in real contexts and social experiences when sharing a message with others.
- The skill of speaking enhances the relationships that exist in the classroom. It all depends on the methodology used by the teacher to create a trusting classroom environment that allows everyone to express his or her opinions in a spoken manner without fear.
- The ability to speak helps students develop metacognitive and creative thinking, because they involve other actors in communication, and learning takes on a collaborative role.
- Grammar: It enables L2 learners to order and structure sentences so that they contain the correct meaning and sense and gives them the ability to communicate effectively orally and in writing. Grammar allows them to combine words based on rules and structures to create sentences that can be understood by others.
- Vocabulary: Relates to the knowledge of words, their meaning, and their use in a real context. Knowing how to pronounce them within a conversation on a specific topic is what allows communication within the speaking discourse. To fulfill this purpose, vocabulary must be familiar and extensive so that the student is able to talk about any topic without the barrier of not knowing what it means or how to say certain words.
- Pronunciation: Considers the phonology of the words and their grammatical elements that mark the sounds of the words in each language. Pronunciation is one of the most important elements of speech ability, since it is difficult for a person who does not have good pronunciation to make himself understood and communicate even if he has the correct grammatical elements and vocabulary.
- Fluency: Allows communicating naturally and accurately. It is the goal of every L2 learner to be able to communicate with others using an appropriate speed and precise pauses when constructing a conversation. This rhythm of speech indicates that the learner is knowledgeable of the language and does not take too much time to structure sentences or search for precise vocabulary, but rather is able to use expressions that come to mind quickly and naturally.
- Comprehension Allows one to understand the message transmitted and to convey a message that is understood. This encompasses all of the above, since making good use of grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, and fluency is when comprehension is effective and opens the way for students to engage in meaningful and efficient communication.
- Traditional approach: Grammatical translation methodology
- The natural approach: Direct learning methodology and Berlitz method
- Structural approach: Audio-oral method, situational method, and audio-visual method
- Communicative approach: Communicative method and nocio-functional method
- Humanistic approach: Total physical response method, silence method, suggestopedia method
- The Direct Method
- The Audio-lingual Method
- The Total Physical Response
- Communicative Language Teaching
- Task-based Language Learning
- Suggestopedia
- Which mobile application can be used for teaching English language speaking skills?
- Is it possible to propose an innovative methodology that combines traditional methodologies and mobile learning to improve English language communication skills?
3. Selection of Methodologies and Mobile App for the Research Proposal
- 1.
- The communicative language teaching method: This method is a combination of several methodologies that can allow the student to achieve the learning objective by himself. This method sets out thematic, functional, grammatical, and lexical lists as a starting point. The activities to be used can be very diverse (interactive, motivating, content-based, focused on the development of communicative functions, playful with the aim of releasing tension, escaping from daily routines and worries, and providing some pleasure, fun and entertainment). In addition, it tries to expose learners to a natural way of language based on daily communication, and gives much importance to grammatical, lexical, and phonological aspects that are integrated in the communicative process [2,3].
- 2.
- The direct method: This method is based on the following principle, namely that teaching an L2 does not require a translation into the mother tongue, but can be achieved through actions and demonstrations of what needs to be taught. This methodology proposes to give instructions for development of the class only in the foreign language, to teach vocabulary and certain everyday phrases. To achieve oral communicative skills, questions and answers between the teacher and the student can be established in a progressive way. In this educational environment, pronunciation and grammar are taught inductively. For this reason, vocabulary is taught with the visualization of objects and images, which allows access to new knowledge presented orally by the learner [2,3].
- 3.
- Audio-lingual method (ALM): This method is based on behaviorism, which indicates that repetition can form habits. Therefore, this method proposes a learning process based on listening and oral repetition. The material to be developed may contain dialogues and imitative pronunciation exercises as the main learning techniques. This method does not recommend the use of the mother tongue in the classroom; however, since it is not as restrictive as the direct method, the mother tongue can be used to give instructions that are not understood by most students. The main objectives of this method are to develop L2 oral proficiency through a wide selection of vocabulary, and to expose learners to oral exercises that enable them to communicate using the language learned by constant repetition [2,3].
Identification of a Mobile Application for Research
- 1.
- Quality of the content: The content of the application must allow students to grow in their knowledge in consideration of their level and their bases, i.e., the knowledge already acquired.
- 2.
- Pedagogical coherence of the linguistic skills: There must be coherence between the goal to be achieved in the speaking skill and the content offered by the application to reach the goal.
- 3.
- Feedback and self-correction: The feedback received by the student is very important, since it must evaluate and correct the student effectively.
- 4.
- Motivation: The application must be attractive; it must capture the attention and interest of the learner to generate the need to visit it continuously.
- 5.
- Usability: The application must be technologically friendly so that using it is easy for learners and they do not require training or face difficulties when using it.
- 6.
- Customization: Mobile applications should be editable, in font size, contrast and presentation. This is to personalize learning for students and make it more individual and unique.
- 7.
- Sharing: The application must be interactive and collaborative. That is, learners should be able to share their progress, difficulties, and challenges during their learning process.
- First step: The search was performed with the keyword and found about 250 applications for learning the English language and the development of communication skills.
- Second step: From this group only, we chose the apps that were top-rated in the Google Play Store (4.5–4.9) and that had been download between 50,000+ and 100,000,000+ times, as shown in Table 2.
- Third step: A smartphone was used to download all of the apps and choose those most suitable to the educational environment. These were chosen because they were free to use, easy to use, and had outstanding educational content.
4. Findings
5. Case Study
5.1. Timing
5.2. Learning Methodology
- Grammar: Structuring sentences that use tenses, phrases, and grammatical rules correctly.
- Sociolinguistics: Refers to the function of communication and interaction with other actors within different social and cultural contexts.
- Strategy: Having the ability to understand and be understood when presenting ideas and overcome difficulties and misunderstandings that may arise in communication.
5.3. Limitations
6. Discussion
7. Conclusions
- Pedagogical coherence
- Feedback and self-correction
- Motivation
- Usability
- Customization
- Sharing
8. Future Work
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Category | Least Suitable (1–3) | Average (4–7) | Most Suitable (8–10) |
---|---|---|---|
Content Quality: Content should provide opportunities to advance learners’ English skills, with connection to their prior knowledge. | Content fails to help achieve learning goals or autonomous learning. | Content helps achieve the learning goals but is neither autonomous learning nor related to prior knowledge. | Content helps achieve the learning goals, autonomous learning, and relates prior knowledge to new content. |
Pedagogical Coherence: The skills provided in the app should be consistent with the targeted learning goal. | Skills (especially listening and speaking skills) reinforced in the app were not consistent with the targeted skill or concept. | Skills (especially listening and speaking skills) reinforced were prerequisite to foundation skills for the targeted skill or concept. | Skills (especially listening and speaking skills) reinforced were strongly connected to the target skill or concept. |
Feedback and Self-correction: Learners should be provided with feedback to conduct self-evaluation. | Feedback is limited to correct learner response. | Feedback is specific and allows for learners to try again in order to improve learning performance. | Feedback is specific, which results in improved learner performance; data are available to learners and instructors. |
Motivation: Elements are embedded to engage and motivate language learners to use the app. | No elements are embedded to encourage learners’ self-directed learning. | Limited elements are embedded to encourage learners’ self-directed learning. | Elements are embedded to encourage learners’ self-directed learning. |
Usability: Learners are provided with clearly indicated menus and icons to easily navigate through the app. | Menus and icons are not clearly indicated, no onscreen help and/or tutorials are available, and learners need constant help to use the app. | Menus and icons are clearly indicated, but no on-screen help and/or tutorials are available. Learners need to have an instructor in order to review how to use the app. | Menus and icons are clearly indicated, and on-screen help and/or tutorials are available so that learners can launch and navigate the app independently. |
Customization: Learners have their individualized needs met including font size and customizable settings to personalize their learning. | Text size cannot be adjusted, and few customizations are provided. | Text size can be adjusted according to user’s needs, and some customizations are provided. | Text size can be adjusted to suit diverse needs, and customizations and more individualized options are provided. |
Sharing: Learners can share their learning progress, issues, or concerns in learning. | Limited performance data, or learner’s progress is not accessible. | Performance data or learner progress is available in the app, but exporting is limited. | Specific performance summary or learner progress is saved in the app and can be exported to a teacher or an audience. |
Mobile App (Code *) | App Name | Google Play Store Rating | Downloads | Comment |
---|---|---|---|---|
A | Aba English—aprender inglés | 4.6 | 10,000,000+ | does not track progress |
B | Andy English—habla en inglés | 4.6 | 1,000,000+ | poor content |
C | Aprende a hablar inglés (talk englihs) | 4.6 | 5,000,000+ | little content, lots of ads |
D | Aprende inglés—escuchando y hablando | 4.7 | 1,000,000+ | no levels |
E | Aprende inglés, vocabulario | 4.7 | 1,000,000+ | focuses on vocabulary |
F | Aprender a hablar inglés (hello) | 4.7 | 1,000,000+ | poor vocabulary and assessment |
G | Aprender a hablar inglés (miracle full box) | 4.7 | 1,000,000+ | no levels |
H | Basic English for beginners | 4.7 | 1,000,000+ | low level |
I | British council Englishscore | 4.9 | 5,000,000+ | good |
J | Bytalk: speak English online | 4.7 | 100,000+ | not safe |
K | Cake | 4.8 | 50,000,000+ | no specific themes |
L | Conversación en inglés | 4.6 | 1,000,000+ | focuses on listening |
M | Conversación en inglés (elearning) | 4.9 | 500,000+ | good |
N | Curso de inglés para principiantes gratis | 4.9 | 1,000,000+ | low level |
O | Duolingo | 4.8 | 100,000,000+ | good |
P | Elsa speak | 4.7 | 10,000,000+ | good |
Q | English 1500 conversation | 4.7 | 1,000,000+ | focuses on listening |
R | English conversation | 4.9 | 1,000,000+ | lots of ads |
S | English conversation practice | 4.9 | 100,000+ | good |
T | English conversation practice case | 4.9 | 100,000+ | time consuming |
U | English listening step by step | 4.8 | 500,000+ | good |
V | English skills—practicar y aprender inglés | 4.5 | 1,000,000+ | lack of short dialogues |
W | English speaking practice | 4.8 | 5,000,000+ | good |
X | Habla inglés—comunicar | 4.5 | 1,000,000+ | no audios |
Y | Hablar inglés americano | 4.7 | 500,000+ | complicated to use |
Z | Hallo: hablar inglés | 4.5 | 1,000,000+ | not safe |
AA | Hello English: learn English | 4.6 | 10,000,000+ | complicated to use |
BB | Hello English: learn English skills | 4.5 | 1,000,000+ | audios do not work |
CC | Ielts listening English—eli | 4.9 | 1,000,000+ | standardized test |
DD | Learn English conversations | 4.8 | 100,000+ | good |
EE | Listen English daily practice (AMA english) | 4.8 | 500,000+ | good |
FF | Practica conversar en inglés (talk english) | 4.5 | 5,000,000+ | not eye-catching |
GG | Práctica de conversación en inglés (CUDU) | 4.6 | 1,000,000+ | good |
HH | Pronunciación correcta—aprende inglés | 4.6 | 1,000,000+ | focuses or pronunciation |
II | Reallife | 4.9 | 100,000+ | focuses on listening |
JJ | Redkiwi: escucha&habla inglés | 4.7 | 100,000+ | focuses on listening |
KK | English pronunciation (yobimi group) | 4.7 | 500,000+ | focus on pronunciation |
LL | Speak English pro: American pronunciation | 4.7 | 100,000+ | focuses or pronunciation |
MM | Speak English! | 4.5 | 1,000,000+ | not safe |
NN | Speaking TOEFL | 4.5 | 50,000+ | good |
Category | Mobile App (Code *) | ||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
O | P | W | GG | NN | DD | S | M | EE | I | U | |
Content quality | 8 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 3 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 3 |
Pedagogical coherence | 9 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 6.5 | 9 | 5 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 4 |
Feedback and self-correction | 8 | 8 | 5 | 7.5 | 7 | 3 | 7 | 5 | 7 | 5 | 7 |
Motivation | 8 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 3 | 6 | 3 | 5 |
Usability | 7 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 9 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 8 |
Customization | 8 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 3 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 5 |
Sharing | 7 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 3 |
Total score | 55 | 48 | 47 | 44.5 | 43.5 | 41 | 41 | 40 | 40 | 36 | 35 |
Week 1: Greetings | ||
---|---|---|
Objective: To identify the different forms of greetings and apply them in conversations in different spaces, such as offices, restaurants, parks, medical centers, etc. | ||
Resources: teacher, students, flash cards, smartphones, Duolingo app | ||
SESSION 1 | DEVELOPMENT | TIME |
Warm up | The teacher will start the class with a game. Say “Hello”. The teacher will ask the students to go out to the playground and form a circle. Then, the teacher will explain to the students the dynamics of the game. The students should greet the classmates who meet the teacher’s characteristics. For example, say “hello” to whoever is wearing green pants. | 5 min |
Duolingo Time | The students have already created their accounts and profiles and will start with the first session. The teacher asks the students to choose a space on the playground and work on the “Greeting” session of the application. The students will complete the following activities: complete sentences and questions to make a short conversation, match words with their meaning, read short paragraphs and choose the correct answer, answer questions, listen to sentences and repeat them or write them down, and translate sentences from Spanish to English or from English to Spanish. All of these exercises are related to the theme. The students have 15 min to do so. At the end of the lesson, the students should show the teacher their crown, which signifies that they have successfully completed their session. While the students work on the application, the teacher observes the students for any questions or doubts. | 15 min |
Speaking in real context (Evaluation) | The teacher will ask students to enter the classroom. The teacher will hold in his/her hands two bags containing flashcards about space and time. Each group of students will choose whether their conversation takes place in the morning, afternoon, evening, or night and in which space. The teacher will ask the students to record their conversations with their cell phones and then send them to his or her email. | 15 min |
Feedback | The teacher will take notes on errors as the activity unfolds. At the end of the speaking activity, the teacher will give general feedback on and correct errors across the board. As homework, the students will have to complete the same level of Duolingo at home. | 10 min |
Week 1: Making Plans for the Weekend | ||
---|---|---|
Objective: To know how to ask a friend what he/she would like to do on the weekend. | ||
Resources: teacher, students, Sarah’s, Lukas’s and Jake’s Photo, smartphones, Duolingo app | ||
SESSION 2 | DEVELOPMENT | TIME |
Warm up | The teacher will ask the students to go out to the playground and play in groups of the number she indicates. The student who is left out of a group will answer the following question: What would you like to do on the weekend? The teacher will play this game with the students several times so that different students can answer the question. The teacher will explain to the students that the theme of the class will be to talk about plans for the weekend. | 5 min |
Duolingo Time | The teacher asks the students to choose a space on the playground and work on the “Plans” session of the application. Students will complete the following activities: complete sentences and questions to make a short conversation, match words with their meaning, read short paragraphs and choose the correct answer, answer questions, listen to sentences and repeat them or write them down, and translate sentences from Spanish to English or from English to Spanish. All of these exercises are related to the theme. The students have 15 min to do so. At the end of the lesson, the students should show the teacher their crown, which signifies that they have successfully completed their session. While the students work on the application, the teacher observes the students for any questions or doubts. | 15 min |
Speaking in real context (Evaluation) | The teacher will show the group a picture of Sara, Jake and Lukas, teenagers. The teacher will tell the students their story. Sara is a teenager who is going out with her friends for the weekend. The teacher will ask the students to choose a character and ask their friends about their plans for the weekend. For this activity, students will work in pairs. Each pair will come to the front of the class and discuss their plans. | 15 min |
Feedback | The teacher will take notes on errors as the activity unfolds. At the end of the speaking activity, the teacher will give general feedback on and correct errors across the board. As homework, the students will have to complete the same level of Duolingo at home. | 10 min |
Week 2: Comparatives and Superlatives | ||
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Objective: To identify how to use and express the comparative and superlative forms in a sentence. Vocabulary (adjectives) | ||
Resources: teacher, students, students’ family photos, smartphones, Duolingo app | ||
SESSION 3 | DEVELOPMENT | TIME |
Warm up | The teacher will show the students a picture of his/her family. The teacher will describe each family member using comparative and superlative sentences. Example: This is my sister Karen. She is the youngest in the family. In this way the teacher will indicate to the students the topic of the activity. | 5 min |
Duolingo Time | The teacher asks the students to choose a space on the playground and work on the “Comparatives and Superlatives” session of the application. Students will complete the following activities: complete sentences and questions to make a short conversation, match words with their meaning, read short paragraphs and choose the correct answer, answer questions, listen to sentences and repeat them or write them down, and translate sentences from Spanish to English or from English to Spanish. All of these exercises are related to the theme. The students have 15 min to do so. At the end of the lesson, the students should show the teacher their crown, which signifies that they have successfully completed their session. While the students work on the application, the teacher observes the students for any questions or doubts. | 15 min |
Speaking in real context (Evaluation) | The teacher will ask students to bring in a family photo. In each of the groups, the students will describe their family pictures. Example: This is my family. My brother Carlos is the youngest of all, my sister Laura is taller than my mom, but my dad is the tallest in the family. This time, students will come to the front of the class voluntarily. Only those who want to. This is to see if students have developed more confidence in public speaking in front of their peers. | 15 min |
Feedback | The teacher will take notes on errors as the activity unfolds. At the end of the speaking activity, the teacher will give general feedback on and correct errors across the board. As homework, the students will have to complete the same level of Duolingo at home. | 10 min |
Week 2: Likes and Dislikes | ||
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Objective: To identify how to use and express likes and dislikes in a sentence. | ||
Resources: teacher, students, questions, smartphones, Duolingo app | ||
SESSION 4 | DEVELOPMENT | TIME |
Warm up | The teacher will start the class with a “Speaking Telephone” game. The teacher will ask the students to form two lines. The teacher will say the phrase “I like fruits and candy, but I don’t like soup, pizza and noodles” to the first student in each line. The students will have to relay the message to their classmates. At the end, the last student will say the message out loud. The students will compare their message with the original. The results will be a lot of fun. | 5 min |
Duolingo Time | The teacher asks the students to choose a space on the playground and work on the “Likes and Dislikes” session of the application. Students will complete the following activities: complete sentences and questions to make a short conversation, match words with their meaning, read short paragraphs and choose the correct answer, answer questions, listen to sentences and repeat them or write them down, and translate sentences from Spanish to English or from English to Spanish. All of these exercises are related to the theme. The students have 15 min to do so. At the end of the lesson the students should show the teacher their crown, which signifies that they have successfully completed their session. While the students work on the application, the teacher observes the students for any questions or doubts. | 15 min |
Speaking in real context (Evaluation) | The teacher will share with each group of students a list of questions. The students will have to discuss these questions and discuss and present their points of view. This activity should be recorded and sent to the teacher’s email. Questions:
| 15 min |
Feedback | The teacher will take notes on errors as the activity unfolds. At the end of the speaking activity, the teacher will give general feedback on and correct errors across the board. As homework, the students will have complete the same level of Duolingo at home. | 10 min |
Week 3: What Kind of Friend Are You? | ||
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Objective: To identify and use adjectives to describe themselves and others to express what kinds of friends they are. | ||
Resources: teacher, students, TikTok questions, smartphones, Duolingo app (https://www.tiktok.com/@oliver.dean/video/7030510466627636486?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc&web_id=7099859761571628549 (accessed on 1 March 2022)) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-PMAMUl-5r8 (accessed on 1 March 2022)) | ||
SESSION 5 | DEVELOPMENT | TIME |
Warm up | Students will record a video about 14 questions with their friend. The teacher will ask students to form pairs, then they should put a cell phone in front of their faces. Students should activate the questions, close their eyes and point to the friend who would be the answer to the question. For example: Who is the funniest of the two? | 5 min |
Duolingo Time | The teacher asks the students to choose a space on the playground and work on the “Friends” session of the application. Students will complete the following activities: complete sentences and questions to make a short conversation, match words with their meaning, read short paragraphs and choose the correct answer, answer questions, listen to sentences and repeat them or write them down, and translate sentences from Spanish to English or from English to Spanish. All of these exercises are related to the theme. The students have 15 min to do so. At the end of the lesson, the students should show the teacher their crown, which signifies that they have successfully completed their session. While the students work on the application, the teacher observes the students for any questions or doubts. | 15 min |
Speaking in real context (Evaluation) | The teacher will write the names of all the students on paper. Then ask each student to take a piece of paper, The student will read the name and describe the person to their classmates to guess who the person is. | 15 min |
Feedback | The teacher will take notes on errors as the activity unfolds. At the end of the speaking activity, the teacher will give general feedback on and correct errors across the board. As homework, the students will have to complete the same level of Duolingo at home. | 10 min |
Week 3: Emotions | ||
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Objective: To identify and use feelings to express how they feel about different actions or events. | ||
Resources: teacher, students, Spider Man movie pictures, smartphones, Duolingo app | ||
SESSION 6 | DEVELOPMENT | TIME |
Warm up | The teacher will project in class pictures of famous actors from the latest Spider Man movie and ask the students about the emotions in each picture. If the actor or actress is happy, upset, excited and why. Students will respond to each question by expressing their point of view. | 5 min |
Duolingo Time | The teacher asks the students to choose a space on the playground and work on the “Emotions” session of the application. Students will complete the following activities: complete sentences and questions to make a short conversation, match words with their meaning, read short paragraphs and choose the correct answer, answer questions, listen to sentences and repeat them or write them down, and translate sentences from Spanish to English or from English to Spanish. All of these exercises are related to the theme. The students have 15 min to do so. At the end of the lesson, the students should show the teacher their crown, which signifies that they have successfully completed their session. While the students work on the application, the teacher observes the students for any questions or doubts. | 15 min |
Speaking in real context (Evaluation) | The teacher will read short paragraphs to his/her students. Students should listen and then say how they feel about the situation. For example: Pandemic, Animals in Danger of Extinction, The Premiere of a New Movie, etc. | 15 min |
Feedback | The teacher will take notes on errors as the activity unfolds. At the end of the speaking activity, the teacher will give general feedback on and correct errors across the board. As homework, the students will have to complete the same level of Duolingo at home. | 10 min |
Week 4: Nature | ||
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Objective: To identify nature-related vocabulary and use it in conversations. | ||
Resources: teacher, students, nature audio, smartphone, Duolingo app https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKFTSSKCzWA (accessed on 5 April 2022) | ||
SESSION 7 | DEVELOPMENT | TIME |
Warm up | The teacher will play an audio of nature sounds. The teacher will ask the students to use the sounds to describe a place. Students who wish to do so will raise their hand and give a brief description of a place based on the sounds they heard. | 5 min |
Duolingo Time | The teacher asks the students to choose a space on the playground and work on “Nature” session of the application. Students will complete the following activities: complete sentences and questions to make a short conversation, match words with their meaning, read short paragraphs and choose the correct answer, answer questions, listen to sentences and repeat them or write them down, and translate sentences from Spanish to English or from English to Spanish. All of these exercises are related to the theme. The students have 15 min to do so. At the end of the lesson, the students should show the teacher their crown, which signifies that they have successfully completed their session. While the students work on the application, the teacher observes the students for any questions or doubts. | 15 min |
Speaking in real context (Evaluation) | The teacher will ask the students to record with their phones a video advertising a company that organizes camping trips. Students should mention in their videos the activities that can be performed at the camp. Students should send their videos to the teacher’s email address. | 15 min |
Feedback | The teacher will take notes on errors as the activity unfolds. At the end of the speaking activity, the teacher will give general feedback on and correct errors across the board. As homework, the students will have to complete the same level of Duolingo at home. | 10 min |
Week 4: Hobbies | ||
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Objective: To identify nature-related vocabulary and use it in conversations. | ||
Resources: teacher, students, fancy hat, smartphones, Duolingo app | ||
SESSION 8 | DEVELOPMENT | TIME |
Warm up | The teacher will bring a fancy hat to class. The teacher will sit at the front of the class and ask one of the students to be the interviewer and wear the fancy hat; the topic will be hobbies. Students can take turns wearing the hat and interviewing the teacher. | 5 min |
Duolingo Time | The teacher asks the students to choose a space on the playground and work on the “Hobbies” session of the application. Students will complete the following activities: complete sentences and questions to make a short conversation, match words with their meaning, read short paragraphs and choose the correct answer, answer questions, listen to sentences and repeat them or write them down, and translate sentences from Spanish to English or from English to Spanish. All of these exercises are related to the theme. The students have 20 min to do so. At the end of the lesson, the students should show the teacher their crown, which signifies that they have successfully completed their session. While the students work on the application, the teacher observes the students for any questions or doubts. | 15 min |
Speaking in real context (Evaluation) | This time, the teacher will put on the fancy hat and interview the students briefly. Students will choose to be a superhero like Wonderwoman or Aquaman, wear their masks and answer questions about their hobbies. | 15 min |
Feedback | The teacher will take notes on errors as the activity unfolds. At the end of the speaking activity, the teacher will give general feedback on and correct errors across the board. As homework, the students will have to complete the same level of Duolingo at home. | 10 min |
Intervention Proposal | Improve Speaking Skills in English Language Teaching Process through the Use of Duolingo App. | |||||||
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Project Timeframe | 2 Months | |||||||
Activity | W1 | W2 | W3 | W4 | W5 | W6 | W7 | W8 |
| x | |||||||
| x | |||||||
| x | |||||||
| x | |||||||
| x | |||||||
| x | |||||||
| x | |||||||
| x |
Name: | Where I Am? | ||
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SPEAKING | ALWAYS | SOMETIMES | NOT AT ALL |
I speak fluently, clearly and loudly. | |||
I understand what my friends are talking about. | |||
My friends understand when I say something. | |||
I am not afraid to express my ideas out loud. | |||
When I work in a group, we all listen to each other. | |||
I am more confident to speak when I work in a group than when I work alone. |
B2 | Grammar and Vocabulary | Discourse Management | Pronunciation | Interactive Communication |
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5 |
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4 * | Performance shares features of Bands 3 and 5 | |||
3 |
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2 * | Performance shares features of Bands 1 and 3 | |||
1 |
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0 * | Performance below Band 1 |
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Share and Cite
Criollo-C, S.; Guerrero-Arias, A.; Vidal, J.; Jaramillo-Alcazar, Á.; Luján-Mora, S. A Hybrid Methodology to Improve Speaking Skills in English Language Learning Using Mobile Applications. Appl. Sci. 2022, 12, 9311. https://doi.org/10.3390/app12189311
Criollo-C S, Guerrero-Arias A, Vidal J, Jaramillo-Alcazar Á, Luján-Mora S. A Hybrid Methodology to Improve Speaking Skills in English Language Learning Using Mobile Applications. Applied Sciences. 2022; 12(18):9311. https://doi.org/10.3390/app12189311
Chicago/Turabian StyleCriollo-C, Santiago, Andrea Guerrero-Arias, Jack Vidal, Ángel Jaramillo-Alcazar, and Sergio Luján-Mora. 2022. "A Hybrid Methodology to Improve Speaking Skills in English Language Learning Using Mobile Applications" Applied Sciences 12, no. 18: 9311. https://doi.org/10.3390/app12189311
APA StyleCriollo-C, S., Guerrero-Arias, A., Vidal, J., Jaramillo-Alcazar, Á., & Luján-Mora, S. (2022). A Hybrid Methodology to Improve Speaking Skills in English Language Learning Using Mobile Applications. Applied Sciences, 12(18), 9311. https://doi.org/10.3390/app12189311