Communicative Approach strategies to enhance speaking skills in English for Specific Purposes for medicine students

Abstract

This research aimed to determine the effectiveness of the Communicative Approach strategies to improve the English language speaking skills for medicine students. This quantitative research with a quasi-experimental design included fifty university students who were studying the first level of English in Medicine in the University of Guayaquil. A theoretical review was developed based on the criteria of several authors on communicative strategies to improve speaking skills for specific purposes in the area of medicine. At the beginning, a needs analysis survey was applied that determined what the students needed and wanted to learn. Then, the pre-test, B1 Preliminary for Schools Speaking Test, was applied to verify the students’ speaking level for both the control and experimental groups. The results of the Needs Analysis survey and the pre-test revealed that the ability to speak was a lack and a need. An intervention was designed for the implementation of the communicative strategies and at the end the students took the post-test. Their results confirmed the alternative hypothesis that the application of communicative approach strategies improved the medical students’ speaking skills. The t-student test corroborated this hypothesis with a two-tailed significance of .000, which means that there was a significant difference between the means of the control and experimental groups. Therefore, it is highly recommended to apply communicative approach strategies in the context of English for specific purposes to improve speaking skills. In fact, students have shown more interest and determination in order to speak English as a second language using it in context enhancing their professional settings, background and purpose in their future life as doctors of thexii Ecuadorian Republic. As a result, the research's findings show that teaching communicative languages to students is a successful strategy for helping them improve their speaking abilities. It boosts confidence, fosters student participation, and gets them ready for communication in the real world. In addition, it allows pupils to freely use the target language.