Using communicative games to improve speaking in English as a second language

Abstract

This study aimed to examine whether the use of communicative games can improve the students’ speaking ability in the learning process and how it influences them. In doing so, the participants were fifty-eight students (23 females and 35 males) between 16 and 18 years of twelfth grade at a public rural school in Manabí. They had an English beginner's level. Then they were divided into two equal experimental and control groups. This study used a descriptive quantitative method whereas pre-test and post-test were administrated to collect data. The experimental group was taught speaking using two communicative games “guess who” and “gossip”, whereas the control group used conventional classes. Analyzing the data through the independent sample revealed the effectiveness of games application, the experimental group outperformed the control group in the four speaking components. Furthermore, students had a positive attitude toward utilization of communicative games.