Developing the speaking skill by using Buzz Groups activities in third semester students of the english major at the university of Cuenca

Abstract

This work deals with the need that every English teacher faces at the moment of developing the speaking skill with their students. We applied a method called Buzz Groups to improve this important skill. Some students tend to feel ashamed to speak in front of the whole class, but they feel comfortable speaking in groups of partners. To accomplish this investigation, we based it on a study applied in Nong Bone Public High School in Laos. In order to start our investigation, first we asked the Director of the English Major Career of the University of Cuenca for permission to apply Buzz Groups with third semester students. After getting the permission a survey was conducted in order to know students’ preferences regarding topics in the English class. The selected topics from the survey were: music, movies, tourist places, technology, and food. We elaborated lesson plans based on the topics mentioned above and we applied them to the students from the morning and afternoon group using Buzz Groups, with the consent of professors who were in charge of the speaking subject. Moreover, the activities were designed to facilitate the work in groups allowing students to express themselves without limitations that they could have in front of the entire class. Additionally, we analyzed the benefits of the topics chosen for the students through percentage charts in the results section, due to a survey that we applied at the end of every activity. Finally, we pointed out the benefits of using this method.