The implementation of CLIL to improve oral communication skills in undergraduate students of an Ecuadorian public university

Abstract

This study aims to demonstrate that the implementation of CLIL enhances English communication skills for undergraduate students. The research focuses on the evaluation of CLIL effectiveness to develop oral communication elements. Twenty-five students, aged 19-23, participated during three months applying all the different CLIL techniques to improve the use of vocabulary, time management, fluency and confidence, common criteria to measure how much a student can master the speaking ability. The results show that most of students reached the A2.1 level at the end of the semester, even when almost 40% of the class had a poor vocabulary at the beginning of the course. The chi-squares test and the validity analysis demonstrate that there is a statistically significant association between the variables, making the study robust. These findings prove the CLIL likelihood to become the preferred methodology for English language teaching at all levels, from children to teenagers as well as adult learners, thanks to its versatility in different environments. Nevertheless, this study has some limitations as other variables like motivation and background can affect the results obtained in future research for this area.