Communication games: their contribution to developing speaking skills

Abstract

The current work was based on a project that aimed to enhance the Englishspeaking skill development in tenth graders of a public high school in Ambato, a city of the Andean Region of Ecuador. The population involved 145 students who were surveyed to detect their impression about the use of Communication Games in the English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classroom. Additionally, a pre-test was used to determine the students’ English level before implementing certain games selected from a handbook created especially for this study. After that, a post-test and an exit survey were used to measure the effects of communication games. It was found that students consider using games in the classroom beneficial for their learning. Likewise, it was evident that communication games contributed significantly to the students’ oral production, which showed an increased level of vocabulary, more accuracy and fluency, and a more relaxed interaction with their peers and their teacher, after the intervention.