Submission Title
The Use of the 3/2/1 Technique to Foster Students' Speaking Fluency
Abstract
For English as Foreign Language learners (EFL), fluency is one of the most difficult aspects to develop within the speaking skill. The Chilean teaching context has witnessed a gradual shift from the more traditional grammar-translation approach to a more communicative one, so it has become necessary to discover new strategies to develop students’ speaking skills. This action research was conducted in a technical university in Chile and it investigated how the use of the 3/2/1 technique influenced students’ speaking fluency. The data was collected under a quantitative and qualitative design; the quantitative data was taken from audio recordings which were transcribed and then compared the words per minute and length of pauses in the speech. A semi structure interview was conducted in order to gather student perceptions concerning the 3/2/1 technique. The results of the study indicate that after the implementation of the technique there was a small improvement in the students’ speech in terms of words per minute and the pauses made in their speech. The interview showed that 67% of the students recommended the use of the technique because it was useful for their development of fluency. However 33% of the interviewed students said the technique was not useful and they did not recommend its use in classes.
Recommended Citation
Molina, Mireya and Briesmaster, Mark. (2017). The Use of the 3/2/1 Technique to Foster Students' Speaking Fluency. i.e.: inquiry in education: Vol. 9: Iss. 2, Article 8.Retrieved from: https://digitalcommons.nl.edu/ie/vol9/iss2/8