Abstract:

This action research aims to determine the usefulness of a speaking technique that allowed foreign language classes to go beyond some obstacles such as the lack of technological resources in a public university and time constraints, which could eventually impede listening and speaking practice. In the same way, the focus on grammar translation method in this context does not contribute to the development of the language skills, in particular, oral production.

TED Talk videos, chosen by students and matching their personal interests raised their motivation since the beginning of the implementation of the technique. Students undertook the selection of the videos and prepared their speech including their reflections and personal experiences related to the topic. Assessment was a core element in this study where students reflected about their own performance based on peers and teacher’s feedback.

A comparative method was applied to analyze texts produced at the beginning and at the end of the term. This method permits the identification of student’s oral production traits such as formulaic expressions, phrase structure, intonation and lexicon. Additionally, the technique contributed to students’ confidence improvement when giving an oral speech.

Keywords:

Foreign language, oral production, assessment, feedback, comparative method.