Summary
This systematic review is a compilation of international research that focuses on the teacher’s work in the classroom. The overall purpose of this review is to provide scientific support for teaching that promotes students’ oral communication in a foreign language. We hope that the results can be used for teaching conducted according to the curriculum’s objectives on communicative competence. The review can also be useful in teacher training. The question the review answers is:
What characterises teaching that promotes students’ oral communication in a foreign language?
The ability to communicate in different languages can be beneficial when studying, working and in social settings, as well as for understanding different perspectives on the world around us. In this review, we define oral communication as interaction, dialogue or conversation. The results are relevant for teachers of Spanish, German or French, the language choices for students in the Swedish compulsory school.
Results of the review
The studies in the review include results about what characterises teaching that can promote students’ oral communication in the target language. The results are presented using two themes:
- Spontaneous and realistic conversations.
- Feedback in the classroom.
These main themes are divided into aspects that, in various ways, contribute to answering the review’s question. There are some overlaps between the themes. For example, teacher feedback can affect the students’ opportunities for spontaneous conversation.
Theme 1: Spontaneous and realistic conversations
The first theme in the review describes teaching that focuses on students communicating in the target language. Conversations can arise spontaneously as part of teaching activities or through tasks that are similar to real life situations.
The studies describe oral activities in the classroom that often resemble authentic situations in everyday life, where conversations or spontaneous questions arise without following a script. Anxiety about speaking a new language is common among students, and the studies describe teaching with a focus on students making themselves understood. Less emphasis is placed on linguistic skills such as grammar.
The review provides examples of encouraging students to speak only the target language in the classroom, such as by discussing common interests and what happens in conversations between teachers and students. These conversations may include the teacher’s responses and encouragement, the teacher asking questions, how turn-taking is conducted, and how to sustain a spontaneous conversation in the target language. This theme provides ideas for teaching that allows students to develop their oral communication skills through spontaneous speech in the target language.
Theme 2: Feedback in the classroom
The second theme discusses different types of feedback and how it can promote students’ oral communication skills. The studies primarily investigate feedback about grammar and vocabulary in oral communication, but also pronunciation. When students make a mistake in the target language, the teacher can correct or draw the students’ attention to this in various ways. The teacher can rephrase what a student is saying, thereby correcting the error without specifically drawing attention to the error; this is called recasting. The other type of feedback, prompting, is a more explicit type of feedback that involves the teacher providing prompts, such as asking for clarification, repeating and providing feedback that allows the student to reflect upon their mistake. The teacher then makes active attempts to encourage students’ self-correction.
This feedback can help promote fluency and correct oral language, which allows the conversation to continue. The results show that teachers can use feedback to encourage students to speak in the target language.
Applying the results
In conclusion, students’ oral communication can be promoted by spontaneous speech in the target language in the classroom, and from teachers having planned tasks that relate to real-life situations. However, to benefit students’ oral communication, teachers also need to use feedback that draws the student’s attention to mistakes and allows the conversation in the target language to continue.
The results of the review can be used as a basis for discussion among modern language teachers and may also be useful in teacher education. You can also visit skolforskningsportalen.se for additional questions to discuss among your colleagues.
Reflect on and discuss the results of the review using the following questions:
- How can you work with oral communication and tasks in a manner that will engage your students and help them to speak in the target language?
- How do you provide feedback in a way that corrects the students and encourages further conversation in the target language?
- What approaches can you use to help students practice pronunciation in a communicative context?
- How can you plan teaching so that students are equipped to cope with real-life communication in the target language?
Selection of research
The review is a compilation of results from 16 studies that were selected after searches of international and national literature in research databases. The studies were carried out in the Netherlands, the United States, England, Austria, Scotland, Germany, Norway, Finland and Sweden. The students who participated in the studies attended schools equivalent to middle school, secondary school or upper secondary school in Sweden.
The review includes quantitative studies in the form of intervention studies, in which researchers compare different forms of teaching or different types of feedback. It also includes qualitative studies in which researchers have chosen to conduct interviews, surveys and observations of classroom activities in which students are taught oral communication.
The systematic review is available as summary, information sheet and full report (in Swedish).
Project Group
External researchers
Berit Aronsson, PhD, senior lecturer, Umeå University
Rakel Österberg, PhD, senior lecturer, Stockholm University
From the institute
Alva Appelgren, PhD, Project manager
Elín Hafsteinsdóttir, PhD, Assistant project manager
Lisa Jonsson, Information specialist
Catarina Melin, Project assistant