Authentic written materials in students’ speaking skill development in higher education

Abstract

The development of speaking skill in a foreign language is a challenge that students of higher education must deal. For that reason, the present study was carried out to determine the influence of authentic written materials on the development of speaking skill. The research study was done with two groups: experimental and control group of A1 level students of the regular program in the Language Center in Universidad Técnica de Ambato. The level of the students in the speaking skill was determined through the application of a pre-test in the selected groups. Ten practical classes were applied using authentic written materials in the experimental group. The experiment concluded with a post-test in the experimental and control group. Once the results were validated, the verification of the hypothesis was carried out through the student t-test. The results obtained showed that authentic written materials promote the development of speaking skill. Moreover, during the experimental classes the students participated actively increasing the interaction in the classroom using English. The activities applied during the research study are included in a booklet. It contains ten communicative activities using authentic written materials which, encouraging real conversation and motivating students in the English learning process.