Tandem app and communicative competence

Abstract

This research aimed to analyze the influence of the use of the Tandem application on the communicative competence of the students of the Educational Unit "Fray Bartolomé de las Casas" Salasaca. The study methodology used for this research was pre-experimental with a quantitative approach. The research instrument was the Speaking Section B1 Preliminary for Schools (PET) exam, which was used as a preand post-test to collect data from 22 students in their communicative competence. The duration of the treatment was 3 weeks, consisted of conversations, discussions and negotiation through the use of the Tandem application focused mainly on communicative competence. Throughout the intervention, the students were participants in conversation where they had to make and respond to suggestions, discuss alternatives and negotiate an agreement by using the application in the “Language Party” option and sending audios where they expressed their opinions, gave advice and created role plays. The collected data were analyzed using the statistical software IBM SPSS, Shapiro Wilk Statistic and T-test for the verification of the hypothesis. The data of the pre-test and posts were obtained based on the Cambridge criteria, grammar, vocabulary, discourse management and interactive communication. The results showed positive effects with respect to communicative competence after treatment, as there was evidence of better management and control of grammatical forms, correct pronunciation and good use of vocabulary when expressing themselves and within a conversation after being exposed to the language. English in the Tandem application.