on Speaking Skills Using Bubbly

María Cecilia Espinoza Mendoza1

Universidad Casa Grande

Guayaquil, Ecuador macespinoza77@gmail.com

Karen Elaine Wigby Cochran2

Universidad Casa Grande

Guayaquil, Ecuador kwigby@casagrande.edu.ec

Abstract

This study explores the role of peer feedback through a microa private high school in Guayaquil. Learners had to record six speaking tasks which they posted in Bubbly, and then they received peer feedback in the same app. The instruments applied were a pre and post-test with a speaking rubric as well as students’ learning logs and interviews to anashowed an increase in the mean between the pretest and the post-test results show that students viewed peer feedback as a valuable tool to enhance speaking. Finally, the implications and challenges of using peer feedback as a strategy in EFL learning are discussed. Since peer feedresearch helpful for its implementation in class.

Keywords: peer feedback, speaking skills, microblogging voice app., EFL Learning.

Introduction

A primary concern of EFL teachers worldwide has always been the development of their students’ speaking skills to communicate effectively. However, one of the biggest limitations in EFL teaching and learning in countries such as Ecuador is that there are not enough opportunities to use the language outside the classroom or get feedback on its use. Additionally, in EFL classrooms, many times, there are big

Along with the limitation for developing speaking skills, the use of technology in education is now an essential tool since teachers need to be updated with the technological knowledge that their students to the internet and technology has a positive correlation with a better English level. This means that in countries in which students have more access to technology, English levels are also higher. In addition, learners with access to many materials that help support their learning. Thus, now it is not a question for the teacher of whether to use technology in the class or not, but to select tech tools that are the best for the context of their students. Regarding the use of technology - ed that students engaged more and had more oral interaction in EFLdents who used Whatsapp for voice messages improved their verbal interaction.

In recent years, there has been an increasing amount of literature that teenagers have a positive perception towards using mobile devices in performing ubiquitous learning. They perceived that mobile devices could be used for gaming and entertainment as well as for education because they are very convenient, give fast responses, and are easy to using video conferencing as ansynchronous tool.

Many studies have also pointed out the importance of formative feedback to enhance students’ learning, including feedback from the ed that if the student receives feedback and then has the opportunity to use that feedback, this process will improve the student’s performance and learning. Given the relevant role of feedback in learning, teachers need to be aware of its use when designing their activities. However, giving frequent, quality feedback to each student can be

There are several studies on the use of peer feedback for enhancing oral skills which have concluded that peer feedback improves However, there are very few studies about peer feedback at the high mentioned above concluded that peer feedback enhances speaking, others question such a claim. For example, Murillo-Zamorano andsentations unless there are enough sessions. Also, Wichmann et al. successful changes and improve language skills.

There is little research about the use of technology to improve speaking skills in the reality of Latin America and Ecuador. The only use of mobile phones through audio and voice recordings to improve pronunciation and intonation. They concluded that students felt more English.quirement for the English level of high school students. However, most the situation at a private bilingual high school in the city of Guayaquil, at the moment of graduating from high school. Nevertheless, on the speaking.

There is a gap in research on using of technology with computers and mobile phones for peer feedback in Ecuador and at the high school level. Thus, the current study will provide further data for improving speaking skills and teaching practice. That is why this action research study focused on how a group of EFL learners could have more opportunities to improve their speaking skills with peer feedback using Bubbly, a voice microblogging mobile and computer application that permits users to create, post and share 90-second voice messages to peers.

This study focused on one aspect of spoken production, the sus-within the personal, educational, public, and vocational domains rather technology through a mobile and computer application in class?

Therefore, there are three main research questions for this study:dents’ speaking skills?

2. To what extent did the quality of peer feedback improve?

Literature Review

This study focused on the aspect of spoken production that refers to sustained monologue. Therefore, it was essential to analyze acquisition described the importance of the role of output in acquiring a language. He mentioned that it is useful in automatizing existing knowledge and in giving students opportunities for improving discourse skills such as producing long runs, which is the objective of this output indicating that it refers to language that has a communicative purpose.

The theory that supports this innovation is Social Constructivism since it emphasizes learning through group work and pair work, as well ulated by the interactions with people who have better skills or know more, such as peers, parents, or teachers. Vygotsky also believed that cultural tools, which could include computers, the internet, and mobile devices, have a relevant role in cognitive development. For this innova- that focuses on engaging students in communication so that they can develop their communicative competence.

Bubbly is a Voice Microblogging application and is known as Twit- is one study on the use of Bubbly to develop oral production skills in EFL but at the university level in Japan, made by Renaud Davies. Davies and improved their spoken production skills.

The focus of the current study is the development of speaking skills can be one of the hardest skills to improve, but it is also frequently the principal objective of every language learner. For this reason, communicative competence is often the main purpose of learning a language. about

speech and conversation. One is organization and behavior, which

pronunciation. The researcher has considered these three components in the speaking rubric that was used in this study. - continuity and rate as well as to connect and sequence ideas to pro- discourse refers to the ways to link sentences and organize ideas. The as she pointed out, involves a variety of constructions commonly used spoken discourse, grammar structures are usually shorter, simpler, and more informal. Therefore, grammar is an important descriptor to take into account when practicing speaking skills, and it goes together with vocabulary use. the spread of communicative approaches, the teaching of pronuncia- importance of stress, rhythm, and intonation.

The present study aimed to understand if peer feedback can pos- communicated to the student that is aimed at changing the learner’s thinking or behavior to improve learning. In the same vein, Wiggins actions to achieve it, and receive information related to that goal. Therefore, it was important for the application of this action research to make sure that students understand how to give quality peer feedback. need information that tells them if they are headed in the correct direction. Furthermore, they also need opportunities to use that feedback to reshape their performance and be able to achieve their and informative language so that it tells the student what they did sessment, such as the direct participation of learners, the stimulation rized by saying that feedback has to be precise, actionable towards a goal, and timely. For this reason, the feedback rubric included those three aspects.tices could enhance speaking skills if four conditions are met: clear characteristics, and strong integration with the curriculum. In addition, could help teachers to provide learners with feedback and for students to check their work.

However, there are two essential aspects to consider about high-quality feedback represents an important demand of teaching time, especially in classes with many students. The second aspect is that not every student has the same motivation to provide the best feedback, which would be a drawback for the students who could re- study some concerns that students have about peer feedback, which - relationships.

Methodology Design

This study is action research because the author is involved in the study. The research design is mixed since it analyzes quantitative and steps in which those who participate examine their teaching practice in detail using research techniques. The action research project was carried out at a private bilingual high school in Guayaquil.

The convenience sample was 22 students in their senior year of non-random sample in which participants have been included because of easy accessibility or availability. In the case of this research, the participants were the ones assigned to the teacher doing the action research at the beginning of the school year. The ages of the participants - levels. These results were obtained through the application of a mock PET test at the beginning of the year. - tions stated as the purpose of the study. Therefore, the expectation was - sessment of quality feedback, and a positive perspective from the students toward the use of peer feedback to improve speaking as well as the use of technology and the mobile application Bubbly to enhance EFL learning.

Classroom Procedures

The innovation took place as part of a regular learning unit in whichcabulary and language as well as communicative activities aimed at speaking. Students uploaded six task-based voice posts using Bubbly, and received peer feedback in the form of comments posted to their speaking recordings in Bubbly.

At the beginning of the innovation, students were taught how to - students also learned how to use the speaking rubric. Students prac-

The speaking rubric was used by students to give feedback on the following aspects: grammar and vocabulary, discourse management

Students also used the rubric for self-assessing the feedback they were providing to their peers. Additionally, students completed two learning logs they had to take to improve their speaking tasks using the feedback given.

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ated by Bubbly, improve EFL students’ speaking skills? The teacher and a second evaluator used a speaking rubric adapted from Cambridge -

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- ly, and then the researcher averaged the results of both evaluators. As two or more scorers while validity refers to the degree to which a test assesses what it is supposed to.

The second research question about the quality of peer feedback was answered using the corresponding rubric. The researcher assessed to analyze the progress and improvement in the quality of feedback. The third research question is related to the students’ perspectives on the use of peer feedback mediated by Bubbly. For this purpose, the researcher interviewed eight students who were chosen considering students with the highest speaking scores in the posttest, students in the middle, and students with the lowest scores in order to have per- improve the innovation in the future. The interview protocol proposed questions related to the categories chosen for qualitative analysis in this research: students’ feelings towards the use of Bubbly and technology in the EFL class, as well as the students’ perspectives about the quality that the interviewer could obtain in-depth information about an issue and get further answers. In addition, students completed three learning logs, which included the categories of students’ feelings about the use of technology in the class and their perspectives on the quality of feedback received and given.

Data Analysis

The researcher expected that by using the speaking rubric, the speaking task with the application of peer feedback. The researcher used of the pretest and posttest results to determine basic descriptive statistics of means and standard deviations as well as the p value and

After analyzing the quality of feedback given by students using the rubric, these results were contrasted. Finally, the researcher analyzed the peer feedback posted in Bubbly as comments by looking for patterns or emergent themes in the answers to group data.

For the students’ perspectives on the use of peer feedback as a tool for improving speaking, the researcher examined the answers given according to positive and negative opinions from the students. This information was then contrasted with the learning logs each student anstudents’ perspectives on the use of peer feedback.

Results

ated by Bubbly, improve EFL students’ speaking skills? the researcher used the results from the pre-test and post-test.

the post-test. The values of the standard deviation in both the pre and post-test indicate that the scores are quite closely clustered around the mean of the test. The p means that there is strong evidence for stating that the improvement is dpost-tests.

Table 2 shows the values for each descriptor of the speaking rubric in the pre-test and post-test. The second construct, Discourse Management, is the one that shows more improvement with an increase in the the scores were not farther away from each other for all variables than p three constructs is less than 0.05, which means the correlation between d results are educationally meaningful. Figure 2 visualizes the comparison of the means of each variable in the pre and posttest. The second research question was: To what extent did the quality of peer feedback improve? The teacher assessed the peer feedback rubric. The results of the assessment of feedback at the beginning and the end are as follows: students improved by the end of the innovation. The p value with an ment in the quality of feedback given by students is meaningful. Additionally, the peer feedback given in Bubbly was carefully read to compare the scores of the quality of feedback assessment with the comments posted by the students in the application about their part-

Bubbly. Students focused on the three areas of speaking mentioned that students focused most of their feedback on Discourse Manage- and the use of connectors. On the other hand, comments about grammar, and pronunciation mistakes were more general.

The third research question was: What are the students’ perspectives about peer feedback using technology through a mobile and computer application in class? An analysis of data, which included extracts from the students’ learning logs and the eight interviews, reveals perceived improvement in the students’ performance and positive perceptions towards the use of peer feedback to improve speaking skills facilitated by Bubbly. For example, these are some extracts from the learning logs which show that: sounded nervous and in the following speaking tasks I could listen because I could see my mistakes and in my next task I could im-

The analysis of the interviews and learning logs shows that although some students felt uncomfortable giving comments and feed- mistakes in their classmates’ speaking tasks using the rubric, they helped each other identify errors in their tasks, preventing them from making the same mistakes again. For example, in some extracts of the students’ learning logs they mentioned the following: back. However, I tried to give her some advice and motivation for tips to avoid mistakes and solve them, such as about the way of tened to the post several times to write down mistakes… so they

This is supported by the students’ perspectives mentioned in the interviews about the quality of the feedback they gave. For example, some extracts from the participants’ responses mention: listening to the posts several times... For example, if they made mistakes in detail and how to solve them. For example, to pause less, if they had problems with a word, to look for a synonym that

Therefore, most students interviewed considered that the use of peer feedback was a good experience and a helpful tool to improve their speaking skills in a creative and fun way in which they could interact with others in the same way they use a social network. For example, some students’ perceptions taken from the interviews were the following: guage and listen to other people who have the same interests.”

One student considered that the peer feedback was not helpful because her peers were too general in their comments. Also, one stu-plication at the moment of uploading the posts.

Discussion by Bubbly, improve EFL students’ speaking skills? The results were positive. Pre and post-test comparisons indicate that peer feedback permitted an improvement in speaking skills. These peer feedback results on speaking skills are coherent with those found in previousies also revealed improvement through the application of peer feedback.

The pre-test and post-test analysis results showed that the area of speaking which improved the most was discourse management, whichstudents because that was the area in which participants gave more comments according to the results shown before. Class observations revealed that students were more worried about improving in this area of Discourse Management because they expressed more questions and interest in it during class. Furthermore, students avoided mentionwere uncertain how to use them.

The second research question was: To what extent did the quality improvement in the quality of feedback may be due to the training given of feedback improves. their study on peer assessment. They found that students did not provide negative feedback when they had to mention their names instead -

The third research question was: What are the students’ perspectives about peer feedback using technology through a mobile and computer application in class? In general, the analysis of the quality of the peer feedback given demonstrated that students were very encouraged by their partners’ work, trying not to criticize their task too harshly.

In addition, most students felt that the quality of the feedback they gave to their peers was good and useful.

Furthermore, peer feedback in this study emphasized the importance of the formative assessment to improve students’ speaking. Stu- they received in Bubbly. They were able to improve their speaking by trying to avoid the same mistakes in their next tasks. What is more, most of participants had a positive perception of the use of Bubbly and found it creative, interesting, and valuable.

The social use of Bubbly and the interaction through peer feed- speaking skills’ development. These emerging social functions are coninteraction, and having classes that were more interesting.

Conclusions

in improving EFL students’ speaking skills. Moreover, the students expressed their approval and showed a positive perception toward it, and - oratively.

The researcher observed that the participants could express themselves freely without the typical anxiety and fear of making mistakes in class. Being able to talk and share with their peers’ ideas about a topic way to practice and enhance speaking skills. However, one student had technical problems with the application when posting her audios. Peer - back and for the student who gave it. The students that commented had also more aware of their own mistakes whereas the students receiving it could improve on their next speaking post due to the recommendations given by their peers.

The researcher also observed the important role of appropriate training for students before applying peer feedback as a strategy to ensure its good quality. This was a completely new activity for students, so it is important to note that the time given to training students was - dents since the similarities of this app with social networks appeal to the students better than writing. time to train the participants before starting the speaking tasks. riods would be necessary to test the results. These kinds of studies feedback through technology for speaking skill improvement. Training peer feedback. Further research in this area would be useful for understanding the best strategies for training students before implementing peer feedback. - mance. Moreover, as Bubbly is a social network, it could be a good idea to add extra activities outside the classroom. Voice microblogging is an attractive new area of research which opens new teaching opportunities. The researcher hopes that the results of this study may be helpful as a reference for future similar studies. dents’ self-awareness and collaborative work to improve their speaking skills.

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