Development of oral communication in English through differentiated activities in Elementary Education
Keywords:
oral communication, English teaching, Primary Education, differentiated activities, communicative competenceAbstract
The development of oral communicative competence in English constitutes one of the fundamental challenges in contemporary Primary Education. This research addresses the design, implementation, and validation of a system of sufficient, differentiated, and varied activities to develop oral communication in sixth-grade students. The study is based on the communicative, cognitive, and sociocultural approach, integrating the potential of audiovisual media in the teaching-learning process. A mixed methodology with quasi-experimental design was employed, working with a sample of 20 students from Miguel Peña Utra Semi-boarding School, Las Tunas, Cuba. Applied instruments included classroom observation, surveys, interviews, and pedagogical tests. Results showed significant transformations in four fundamental indicators: motivation (from 15% to 90% at high level), vocabulary use (from 20% to 75%), pronunciation and articulation (from 25% to 75%), and coherence in connecting ideas (from 25% to 80%). The methodological proposal integrates authentic communicative situations, collaborative work, and strategic use of technological resources, demonstrating its effectiveness for developing oral skills in contexts where English is not the native language.
References
Bachman, L. F., & Palmer, A. S. (2021). Language assessment in practice: Developing language assessments and justifying their use in the real world (2nd ed.). Oxford University Press.
Black, P., & Wiliam, D. (2019). Assessment and classroom learning. Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy & Practice, 5(1), 7-74. https://doi.org/10.1080/0969595980050102
Borg, S., & Alshumaimeri, Y. (2019). Language learner autonomy in a tertiary context: Teachers' beliefs and practices. Language Teaching Research, 23(1), 9-38. https://doi.org/10.1177/1362168817725759
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2021). Thematic analysis: A practical guide. SAGE Publications.
Byram, M., & Wagner, M. (2018). Making a difference: Language teaching for intercultural and international dialogue. Foreign Language Annals, 51(1), 140-151. https://doi.org/10.1111/flan.12319
Cameron, L. (2021). Teaching languages to young learners (2nd ed.). Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108869812
Canale, M., & Swain, M. (1980). Theoretical bases of communicative approaches to second language teaching and testing. Applied Linguistics, 1(1), 1-47. https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/1.1.1
Celce-Murcia, M., Brinton, D. M., & Snow, M. A. (2020). Teaching English as a second or foreign language (5th ed.). National Geographic Learning.
Chapelle, C. A., & Sauro, S. (Eds.). (2021). The handbook of technology and second language teaching and learning. Wiley-Blackwell. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118914069
Cohen, E. G. (2021). Designing groupwork: Strategies for the heterogeneous classroom (4th ed.). Teachers College Press.
Coyle, D., Hood, P., & Marsh, D. (2020). CLIL: Content and language integrated learning (2nd ed.). Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009024549
Creswell, J. W., & Plano Clark, V. L. (2018). Designing and conducting mixed methods research (3rd ed.). SAGE Publications.
Crystal, D. (2019). The Cambridge encyclopedia of the English language (3rd ed.). Cambridge University Press.
DeKeyser, R. M., & Larson-Hall, J. (2021). What does the critical period really mean? In J. C. Mora & M. J. Gutiérrez-Mangado (Eds.), Age effects in L2 learning (pp. 11-42). Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009024518.002
Derwing, T. M., & Munro, M. J. (2021). Pronunciation fundamentals: Evidence-based perspectives for L2 teaching and research (2nd ed.). John Benjamins. https://doi.org/10.1075/lllt.42
Dewaele, J. M., Chen, X., Padilla, A. M., & Lake, J. (2019). The flowering of positive psychology in foreign language teaching and acquisition research. Frontiers in Psychology, 10, 2128. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02128
Dörnyei, Z., & Ryan, S. (2021). The psychology of the language learner revisited (2nd ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780367809119
Ellis, R., Skehan, P., Li, S., Shintani, N., & Lambert, C. (2019). Task-based language teaching: Theory and practice (2nd ed.). Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108643689
Fuchs, C., & Snyder, B. (2020). Collaborative learning with digital tools in language education. In M. Dressman & R. W. Sadler (Eds.), The handbook of informal language learning (pp. 239-254). Wiley-Blackwell. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781119472384.ch16
Fulcher, G. (2020). Testing second language speaking (2nd ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429264955
García, L., & Martínez, P. (2020). Juegos comunicativos para el desarrollo de la oralidad en inglés. Revista de Educación y Lenguas, 28(2), 145-168.
Garton, S., & Copland, F. (Eds.). (2019). The Routledge handbook of teaching English to young learners (2nd ed.) Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315623672
Goh, C. C. M., & Burns, A. (2022). Teaching speaking: A holistic approach (2nd ed.). Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009232821
Graham, K. M., Choi, Y., Davoodi, A., Razmeh, S., & Dixon, L. Q. (2021). Language and content outcomes of CLIL and EMI: A systematic review. Latin American Journal of Content and Language Integrated Learning, 11(1), 19-37. https://doi.org/10.5294/laclil.2018.11.1.2
Gregersen, T., MacIntyre, P. D., & Meza, M. D. (2021). Positive psychology exercises build social capital for language learners: Preliminary evidence. In K. Budzińska & O. Majchrzak (Eds.), Positive psychology in second and foreign language education (pp. 289-309). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-64444-4_16
Hymes, D. (1972). On communicative competence. In J. B. Pride & J. Holmes (Eds.), Sociolinguistics (pp. 269-293). Penguin Books.
Krashen, S. D. (1985). The input hypothesis: Issues and implications. Longman.
Lamb, M. (2021). Motivational teaching strategies in the language classroom: Insights from second language acquisition. In A. H. Al-Hoorie & P. D. MacIntyre (Eds.), Contemporary language motivation theory: 60 years since Gardner and Lambert (1959) (pp. 286-308). Multilingual Matters. https://doi.org/10.21832/9781788923194-016
Lantolf, J. P., & Poehner, M. E. (2021). Sociocultural theory and second language development: State-of-the-art (2nd ed.). Equinox.
Lee, I. (2021). Feedback in L2 writing: Alternative approaches and future directions. In R. M. Manchón & C. Polio (Eds.), The Routledge handbook of second language acquisition and writing (pp. 387-398). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003174059-37
Long, M. H. (1996). The role of the linguistic environment in second language acquisition. In W. C. Ritchie & T. K. Bhatia (Eds.), Handbook of second language acquisition (pp. 413-468). Academic Press.
Long, M. H. (2021). Interaction in L2 classrooms. In E. Hinkel (Ed.), Handbook of research in second language teaching and learning (Vol. 3) (pp. 150-165). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315716893-11
López, M., González, R., & Hernández, A. (2021). Contextualización y motivación en la enseñanza del inglés en primaria. Revista Mexicana de Investigación Educativa, 26(89), 543-568.
Luoma, S. (2021). Assessing speaking. (2nd ed.). Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009024556
Nation, I. S. P., & Newton, J. (2021). Teaching ESL/EFL listening and speaking. (2nd ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429203114
Paradis, M. (2020). Bilingualism in the light of neurology. In C. A. Chapelle (Ed.), The encyclopedia of applied linguistics. (pp. 1-6). Wiley-Blackwell. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781405198431.wbeal0105.pub2
Pérez, L., & González, M. (2019). Actividades comunicativas para fortalecer la expresión oral en inglés. Íkala, Revista de Lenguaje y Cultura, 24(3), 583-599. https://doi.org/10.17533/udea.ikala.v24n03a07
Pérez-Cañado, M. L. (2022). CLIL and educational level: A longitudinal study on the impact of CLIL on language outcomes. Porta Linguarum, 10, 57-72. https://doi.org/10.30827/portalin.v0i23.7143
Rea-Dickins, P. (2020). Classroom-based language assessment. In C. A. Chapelle (Ed.), The encyclopedia of applied linguistics (pp. 1-8). Wiley-Blackwell. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781405198431.wbeal0144.pub2
Reinders, H., & Stockwell, G. (Eds.). (2020). Essential competencies for language teachers. Cambridge University Press.
Richards, J. C., & Renandya, W. A. (Eds.). (2021). Methodology in language teaching: An anthology of current practice (3rd ed.). Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009024525
Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2020). Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation from a self-determination theory perspective: Definitions, theory, practices, and future directions. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 61, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cedpsych.2020.101860
Smith Batson, M. C., & Linch Aguilera, M. (2025). English oral and written communication essentials through the 5E methodology. Didáctica y Educación, 16(1), 21–44. https://revistas.ult.edu.cu/index.php/didascalia/article/view/1511
Tomlinson, B., & Masuhara, H. (2021). Materials development in language teaching (3rd ed.). Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108623056
Vigotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes. Harvard University Press.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
ARK
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Glenis Rodríguez Mir, María de la Caridad Smith Batson, Silvia Miriam Morgan Scott
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
