Picture Description to Enhance Oral Production in Young EFL Learners

Abstract

The present article reports results of an action research that was performed with 16 students from a private elementary school located in Guayaquil. Mixed methods were applied and the sample was selected by convenience. This study addressed the following research questions: 1. To what extent does picture description impact fluency in young learners? 2. What difficulties are found in the process of picture description? In order to answer these questions a speaking test adapted from the Young Learners Pre-A1 Cambridge assessment, an oral performance rubric and field notes were instruments implemented. Findings evidenced that picture description techniques using photos with real life situations enhanced learners’ oral production and engaged them to orally produce L2 language with confidence and fluency. Data analysis shows that the innovation had a high impact for learning of this population (Cohen’s d=1.65). It is concluded that young learners need to emotionally connect their immediate context with the learning content to recall prior knowledge. However, applying familiar pictures was not an easy task because parents were afraid to let their children share pictures in class