Development of oral production through questions and answers as a technique for learning English as a foreign language in second-level students

Abstract

The aim of this paper was to carry out an action research study to improve the performance of English level 2 students with a basic level of English (A2).  For this study the direct method was used i.e., the teacher follows a given pattern of questions and answers during language teaching.  The teacher asks questions at a faster pace than a normal conversation to capture the students' attention. The Microsoft Teams platform was used in virtual mode. The 25 students were divided into five groups, for which five channels were created with five students each, the time of each lesson was 20 minutes. Before applying the intervention, the students took a Pre-Test to be evaluated in their oral production, which resulted in a score of 1.69. The mean of the pronunciation skill was 1.69 points. The mean of the Pronunciation skill was 2.15, and the mean of the Interactive communication skill was 1.73 which indicated that they are below A2 level. In the post-test the students completed a survey using Likert scale questions to measure the degree of satisfaction in using this direct method of questions and answers, which was coded with the first letters of their full names, obtaining that the mean of the Grammar and Vocabulary skill was 3.08 points, the mean of the Pronunciation skill was 3.24, and the mean of the Interactive communication skill had a value of 3.12, signifying favourable results. With the data obtained, Fisher's exact test was applied using the data from the Grammar and Vocabulary, Pronunciation, Interactive Communication skills of the Pre-Test and the Post-Test in the experimental group. As a result, the technique based on questions and answers using the direct method significantly improved oral production in English language learning in second level students.