Resumo

MONSALVE, Sara  e  CORREAL, Alexandra. Children’s Oral Communication in English Class Activities: An Exploratory Study. profile [online]. 2006, n.7, pp. 131-146. ISSN 1657-0790.

It is important that teachers fully equip students with the skills needed to communicate effectively in the target language so that they can share and exchange their ideas, feelings, opinions, etc. This article reports on a study aimed at examining the development of children’s oral communication in English and the way in which the activities and the teacher’s roles created or expanded students’ opportunities for learning. Data collection techniques included field notes, audio and video recordings and two interviews to the teacher. The study revealed that children’s oral production was possible thanks to the teacher’s efforts to provide children with topics and activities closely related to the students’ particular interests and needs. Likewise, the teacher created an appropriate learning environment in which children were challenged to use English in meaningful ways.

Palavras-chave : Oral communication; young learners; teaching English; children; teacher’s roles.