Andragogic strategies for English language oral communication improvement

Resumen

Introduction: taking into consideration that university students are young adults, another way of teaching is needed. In this context, andragogic strategies must be applied to enhance their English language learning process. Objective: this research aims to apply andragogic strategies in the context of telework for the improvement of English oral communication of first-semester students of the industrial maintenance career of the Higher Polytechnic School of Chimborazo during the academic period October 2020 - March 2021. Methodology: This study implemented a quasi-experimental, descriptive, and mixed research. To achieve the purpose of this research, two focal groups took part. 80 students from the first semester of the Industrial Maintenance participated. The students belonging the parallel A formed the control group and the students who were registered in the parallel B formed the experimental group.  The groups had the same number of students. At the beginning of the semester, the students took a pre-test; after that, the results were condensed and analyzed. Due to the low scores, the researchers planned a classroom intervention that focused the use of andragogic strategies namely discussions, problem solving, simulations, projects and analysis, to improve the students’ oral communication skills. After finishing the intervention, the students took the post-test with the same characteristics. The pre-test and the post-test had the speaking part of the PET (Preliminary English Exam).  Results: After gathering data, they were analyzed through a statistical software. The means of each group were compared for the pre-test and the post-test as well. In the pre-test an equal level of English oral performance was evidenced; however, in the post test, a significant difference existed. The students belonging the experimental group obtained a mean of 5.48 for the pre-test; on the contrary, they obtained 11.40 in the post-test. On the other hand, the students who belonged the control group, kept the same level of English performance. Conclusion: Andragogic strategies are suitable and helpful to be used in the higher education to improve the students’ oral communication skills; therefore, teachers must use them to contribute with their improvement.