THE EFFECTS OF THE ECHOENGLISH APPLICATION ON EFL STUDENTS' SPEAKING SKILLS

Abstract

This research investigates the effects of the EchoEnglish application on the speaking skills of EFL students. The objectives were as follows: (1) to investigate the effects of the EchoEnglish application on speaking skills of EFL students in the Science-Math Program; (2) to investigate the effects of the EchoEnglish application on the speaking skills of EFL students in the Chinese-English Program; (3) to compare the effects of the EchoEnglish application on the speaking skills of EFL students in Science-Math Program to those of students in the Chinese-English Program; (4) to explore the opinions of EFL students about learning English through the EchoEnglish application. The participants consisted of 70 EFL students selected via purposive sampling, 35 students in the Science-Math Program and 35 students in the Chinese-English Program. The research instruments included five lesson plans, an English speaking test, a questionnaire, a semi-structured interview, and a speaking skills rubric. The mean score, standard deviation, and t-test analyses were used to analyze the quantitative data, while content analysis was used to analyze the qualitative data from semi-structured interviews. The results revealed that there were statistically significant differences in the pre-test and post-test mean scores of the Science-Math Program students (t = 26.39, p < .05). Similarly, there were statistically significant differences in the pre-test and post-test mean scores of the Chinese-English Program students (t = 21.56, p < .05). When compared the post-test mean score of Science-Math Program students to those of the Chinese-English Program students, no statistically significant differences were found (t = -0.19, p >.05). This indicated that the EchoEnglish application had positive effects on students from different backgrounds. In addition, opinions about learning speaking through the EchoEnglish application was at a very positive level (M= 4. 38). This illustrated that students favored this teaching method and points out that the EchoEnglish application can be a useful tool to enhance the speaking skills of EFL students.

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