The Impact of negotiated english-speaking activities in the ESL classroom

Abstract

Negotiation empowers students to develop a deeper understanding of the learning process. Moreover, negotiation including discussions with friends and conversations with teachers, fosters essential life skills like communication and problem-solving while promoting a more student-centred learning environment. The research gap identified is that while there is a substantial body of research on negotiated English- listening activities, there is a notable absence of studies in the context of negotiated English-speaking activities. The primary objective of this study is to measure the impact of using negotiated English-speaking activities in the ESL classroom. This study aimed to understand the extent to which using negotiation in English-speaking activities impact grade 8 ESL learners of St’ Bernadette’s college, Polgahawela. The grade 8 ESL learners were selected using a convenience sampling method and divided into two groups for data collection: an experimental group and a control group. The experimental group received instructions that incorporated negotiated English-speaking activities, while the control group received instructions following the standard curriculum. A final test was administered to the students after a week of teaching to measure the impact of negotiated English-speaking activities. In developing the activities and tasks, the theoretical framework of Nation and Newton (2009) based on “Teaching ESL/EFL Listening and Speaking” was used as a guiding model for the study. A quantitative data analysis approach was used to measure the impact of using negotiated English-speaking activities on the grade 8 ESL learners. In the results obtained, 18.4% of impact on the grade 8 ESL learners was observed in the experimental group with negotiated English-speaking activities compared to the control group, as determined by calculating and comparing the average marks of both groups. Further, this study provides recommendations for future research studies to encourage the incorporation of constructivism, interaction hypothesis, and sociocultural theory in the ESL classroom.