Designing curricular units to enhance speaking: A pedagogical experience with secondary school students
No. 2 (2017-12-01)Author(s)
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Nancy María Torres Cepeda1Universidad Pedagógica y Tecnológica de Colombia, Tunja, Colombia (nancymaria.torres@uptc.edu.co)
Abstract
This article presents a report on a research and pedagogical intervention carried out with a group of ninth graders in their English as a Foreign Language class in Tunja, Colombia. The main purpose of this was to improve speaking skills through the design and implementation of contextualized curricular units. After implementing the curricular units, data were collected by means of field notes, surveys, and structured interviews. The findings of the pedagogical experience revealed that students enhanced their speaking skills by means of expressing personal experiences they experienced around Boyacá. They enhanced their lexicon, improved their pronunciation, and developed confidence as they identified and found a personal connection with the contextualized curricular units, encountering opportunities to talk about their interests, emotions, and feelings.
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