Developing Speaking Skills Through Self-Assessment In EFL Young Learners

Abstract

English has become the language of international communication. Nowadays, people are connected by using this language worldwide, even in social media, international corporations, and virtual platforms. Due to this relevance of learning a second language, Ecuadorian education has included in its curricula a subject in order to learn English as a Foreign Language, improving students’ abilities in the four skills: reading, writing, listening, and speaking. In Ecuador, the subject “English as a Foreign language” is mandatory for private and public schools from second grade to 3rd Baccalaureate. According to the Council of Europe (2018), the level where kids start is Pre-A1, in which acquiring vocabulary, listening, and following short conversations are some of the skills that need to be developed at this level. For young learners, it is crucial to find in their English classes, engaging strategies with useful content which give them the opportunity to apply what they learn in their daily lives. Speaking is one of the most challenging skills which needs to be developed in Second Language Acquisition. It is also the beginning of being communicative for L2 learners. The problem the researcher observed in young learners’ oral skills is the integration of new vocabulary in their daily conversations. Students from Pre-A1 level are able to identify and recall vocabulary. However, it is challenging for them to follow up short conversations by asking and answering questions with someone different tan their teacher. For that reason, it is necessary to apply a suitable technique in order to prepare young learners to become communicative individuals. Encouraging language learners to actively engage in the dynamic interactions within the classroom is essential for fostering fluency and proficiency in spoken language (Namaziandost & Nasri, 2019). Interaction among learners will be essential due to the opportunities that students could have to improve their creativity and vocabulary while sharing ideas with their peers. That is the reason why to prepare young learners to become communicative individuals, interaction is needed. During this research, interaction between students will be an essential part of the assessment with a role-play in order to test not only the vocabulary acquired, but the use of the language with others. This study aimed to answer to what extent self-assessment improves oral production in young learners, and how students feel about their oral production after the self-assessment. Therefore, this action research will focus on improving speaking skills in Pre-A1 learners through the elaboration of short conversations, which will be scored using self-assessment.