Task-Based Speaking Activities to Improve Fluency

Abstract

The objective of this research was to improve fluency in students through taskbased speaking activities for high school students who are starting a B1 course. This investigation was based on action research with an analysis of qualitative and quantitative data. The instruments applied in this study were a pre-test, that consisted of a video interacting each other to identify the problems they have while speaking in English, a post-test, which was the last video recorded and graded with a rubric to analyze to what extent task-based activities improved fluency in speaking. The results showed that participants interacted more among themselves during the post-test and the effect sizes were significant (over 0.500) for all the components of the rubric, which was an adaptation from Schmid and Bianco’s research (2015) who based in the Common European Frame of Reference. An interview and a survey were performed with some open-ended questions that were asked to determine the students ’perspectives towards the innovation. In conclusion, participants expanded their interaction, fluency, vocabulary, and accuracy significantly. This document is for people who are dedicated to teaching English and all those who wish to apply didactic tools to obtain results in the development of speaking.