Pedagogical interventions to Foster engagement and improve oral skills among future teachers of English

Abstract

The oral performance of Spanish future teachers of English is an essential linguistic aspect that requires thorough attention. This aspect is not only important but also vitally necessary, as achieving adequate oral performance on a daily basis is crucial for teachers of English. This study addresses emotional stressors in the form of anxiety or frustration, as well as mistakes related to their mother tongues’ influence, which affect the demographic and, hence, determine the use of appropriate pedagogical strategies. In order to tackle these two issues, a classroom intervention was performed with a group of twenty students enrolled in a Bachelor of Teaching program. Before attempting any pedagogical innovation, a semi-structured questionnaire was conducted to gather data about their difficulties and motivations. The results led to a twofold intervention; first, sets of pedagogical strategies were tailored to improve their attitudes towards participation in oral English instruction; secondly, an array of participatory activities were designed and implemented in order to correct their most common oral mistakes. The success of the intervention indicates that improving classroom engagement is possible by working on the student teachers' oral competence; this, in turn, promotes improvements in attitude and increased confidence in oral skills.