Storytelling through Picture Description to Enhance Very Young EFL Learners Oral Production: An Action Research Innovation

Abstract

This study aimed at improving the oral development in the primary school Ecuadorian context where teaching English at early ages focuses mainly on expanding reading and writing as productive skills. Therefore, the purpose of this action research was to specifically examine how the use of storytelling through picture description as a visual support can benefit communicative skills among a group of second grade students from a private school in Guayaquil. Using quantitative and qualitative instruments, the study considered vocabulary, organization, and fluency as the basis of oral development. A pre and post A1 level speaking assessment measured the improvement of vocabulary and fluency. Results evidenced that the impact of this intervention was a Cohen’s d = 3.48 which is interpreted as a large impact. The paired T-samples test revealed the study is highly reliable with a score of p = 0.000. There are few studies related to teaching English as a foreign language in very early education worldwide and South America. In Ecuador, no studies were found, therefore, implications of this study are addressed to school authorities and other EFL teachers in order to upgrade the proficiency of their students from early grades.