Theme-Based Teaching to Promote Oral Fluency in a University in Colombia

Abstract

The present qualitative study with an action research orientation focuses on the strengthening of students’ oral fluency in English through the implementation of six theme-based teaching workshops. The participants were students of an EFL pre-intermediate English language course in the institute of foreign languages at the Technological University of Pereira, in Risaralda State, Colombia. Besides the implementation of theme-based teaching, this study includes the speaking phases of rehearsal, performance, and debriefing to impact students’ oral fluency. This project emerged from an exhaustive needs analysis which showed that the university’s students, as future professionals, had difficulties with their oral performance i.e. their being unable to speak about topics related to their university life in English; hence, the need of including themes aligned with their academic contexts was highlighted with the purpose of helping them improve their oral fluency in English. The findings indicate that the students improved in their oral fluency in terms of vocabulary, intonation, and a reduction in the number of long pauses when speaking in English.

Keywords

• oral fluency
• smoothness of speech
• speaking skill
• theme-based teaching
• university students
• vocabulary range