Use the application Cake to develop oral production in English as a Foreign Language in A2 level students

Abstract

Introduction: This study explored the effectiveness of the Cake application to enhance speaking skill considering four basic components: fluency, pronunciation, vocabulary, and grammar. Objectives: To evaluate the effectiveness of the Cake application as a complementary tool to develop English as a Foreign Language speaking skill in basic level university students (A2). Methodology: This Quasi-experimental study contemplated a particular group of forty students with an average age between 19 and 20 years, studying the second semester of a public university in Ecuador with a basic level of English (A2) during the academic period of October 2021-March. 2022. The study took place in three stages: The initial stage, in which oral production was evaluated before using the application (Pre-Test); the Experimentation stage, where the Cake application was used; and the Evaluation stage, conducted after having used the Cake application (Post Test). When conducting the Pre-Test and Post-Test, a speaking test was the instrument to assess oral production using the teams' platform and to distribute ten groups formed by four students each. The students were evaluated in 24-minute sessions, allocating a time of 6 minutes for each student. To measure the Pre-Test and the Post-Test results, a rubric with a scoring scale of 1 to 5 points, with a rating from low to excellent, was used to evaluate pronunciation, fluency, vocabulary, and grammar. Results: Once the analysis was completed, it was possible to identify significant changes in oral production parameters. Conclusions: The findings revealed a significant difference between the results of the Pre-Test and Post-Test. This difference demonstrates the effectiveness of the Cake application for the development of oral production and the relevance of the mobile-assisted language learning system (MALL) in the teaching-learning process of English as a foreign language.