Back Dr. Emma Rodero and Dr. Isabel Rodríguez-de-Dios publish “Oral communication skills in elementary school”

Dr. Emma Rodero and Dr. Isabel Rodríguez-de-Dios publish “Oral communication skills in elementary school”

The article, published in Profesional de la Información, determines the current weight of oral skills in primary education in Spain
02.11.2021

Imatge inicial

Writing and reading have long been considered to be the two most important skills that pupils must master perfectly. For this reason, written competence has been the protagonist in education, while oral communication via listening and speaking has traditionally remained in the background. However, most criticisms of this prevalence have not been based on empirical studies but on simple verifications that are old and have not been applied to Spain. 

Given the lack of data and the importance of oral communication nowadays, an online survey of 433 teachers was conducted to determine the importance of each skill, the work dedicated to each, the activities to develop them, and the students’ perceptions.

Results show that, although most teachers believe that the way in which oral competencies are taught has changed, these skills should have still greater importance. In fact, they consider that the content included in the school curriculum is insufficient. Teachers claim to devote similar percentages of time to writing and speaking, but not so much to listen. 

In addition, they consider that students experience greater satisfaction when carrying out activities related to oral skills. In conclusion, although the results are positive and some progress is being made in developing oral communication, there is still room for improvement to achieve full equivalence with the written word.

 

Reference work:

Rodero, E. & Rodríguez-de-Dios, I. (2021). El peso de las competencias de comunicación oral en la Educación PrimariaEl Profesional de la Información.

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