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Autores: ¹Cecilia Elizabeth Palma Zambrano, ²Yissel Elizabeth Burbano Intriago y ³Eduardo

¹ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0009-0005-1876-6631

²ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0009-0008-8343-7908

3

¹E-mail de contacto: cpalmaz@unemi.edu.ec

²E-mail de contacto: yissel.burbano@unesum.edu.ec

³E-mail de contacto: eduardoregarcia@gmail.com

Master’s Degree in Bilingual Education from Universidad Internacional de La Rioja, (Spain). She has over 15 years of teaching experience

in English language education at both secondary and higher education levels. She is currently pursuing a Doctorate in Education at

Universidad de Panamá, (Panama).

²Holds a Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.) with a specialization in English from Universidad Técnica Particular de Loja, (Ecuador) and a

Master’s Degree in Bilingual Education from Universidad Internacional de La Rioja, (Spain). She has over 16 years of teaching experience

in English language education at both secondary and higher education levels.

³Holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Languages, with a specialization in English, from Universidad Laica Eloy Alfaro de Manabí, (Ecuador).

He also holds two Master’s Degrees from Universidad Internacional de La Rioja, (Spain): one in Bilingual Education and another in

Psychology. He has over 18 years of experience teaching English at both secondary and higher education levels.

Resumen

para analizar cómo las prácticas pedagógicas,

los factores institucionales y las condiciones

contextuales influyen en los resultados de

aprendizaje percibidos. Los datos fueron

recolectados de 66 docentes de inglés de

instituciones públicas y privadas mediante un

Perceptions of Methodologies for Developing

Oral Skills (EFL). El instrumento evaluó la

frecuencia y efectividad percibida de diez

especialmente Communicative Language

Teaching (CLT), Task-Based Language

Teaching (TBLT) y Project-Based Learning

como altamente efectivas para mejorar la

fluidez y la confianza oral. En contraste, los

Translation y Audiolingual obtuvieron

puntuaciones más bajas. El análisis

hallazgos evidencian una tendencia creciente

hacia enfoques comunicativos y centrados en el

estudiante que promueven la interacción y el

uso auténtico del idioma.

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Palabras clave: Comunicación oral,

Metodologías EFL, Percepciones docentes,

Enfoques comunicativos, Habilidades

orales.

Abstract

This study investigated Ecuadorian EFL

perceived learning outcomes. Data were

collected from 66 English teachers working in

public and private schools through a validated

Perceptions of Methodologies for Developing

Oral Skills (EFL). The instrument measured

the frequency and perceived effectiveness of

ten instructional approaches, as well as

barriers, enablers, and student outcomes.

Reliability and validity analyses yielded

perceived as highly effective for enhancing

fluency and confidence. Conversely, traditional

Audiolingual received lower ratings.

Correlation analyses indicated strong positive

relationships between classroom practices and

barriers such as large class size and limited

time negatively affected speaking

methodologies, Teacher perceptions,

Communicative approaches, Speaking

skills.

Sumário

Este estudo investigou as percepções de

professores de inglês como língua estrangeira

(EFL) no Equador sobre metodologias que

promovem a comunicação oral no ensino

médio. Adotou-se uma abordagem

instituições públicas e privadas, utilizando um

questionário validado intitulado "Percepções

dos Professores sobre Metodologias para o

Desenvolvimento da Habilidade Oral (EFL)".

O instrumento avaliou a frequência e a eficácia

percebida de dez abordagens metodológicas,

bem como as barreiras, os facilitadores e os

resultados observados nos alunos. As análises

de confiabilidade e validade apresentaram

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Introduction

communicative action to think, respond, and

express meaning in real time. As Harmer (2015)

emphasizes, effective oral communication

requires not only grammatical accuracy but also

strategic competence, interactional awareness,

and self-confidence. In foreign language

contexts where exposure to English outside the

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crucial. The way teachers structure speaking

chances to practice, negotiate meaning, and

writing, and grammar. Consequently, students

often complete secondary education with

limited ability to communicate orally (Orosz,

2021). As Brown (2014) explains, learners

acquire speaking ability through continuous and

meaningful practice; without this, their

competence remains largely theoretical.

Therefore, teaching methodologies play a

decisive role in transforming passive linguistic

knowledge into active communicative

Approach emphasized accuracy, memorization,

and structural repetition (Lightbown & Spada,

2021). While these approaches helped learners

develop grammatical control, they often

neglected opportunities for spontaneous

expression and interaction. In contrast,

Communicative Language Teaching (CLT)

revolutionized the field by proposing that the

ultimate goal of language learning is the ability

to communicate meaningfully and

communicative foundation, Task-Based

Language Teaching (TBLT) emerged as a

practical framework in which learners complete

real-life tasks that require the active use of

language (Ellis, 2018).Similarly, Project-Based

Learning (PjBL) promotes collaboration and

authentic communication through long-term

projects that integrate content, creativity, and

oral performance (Pae, 2024)

Additionally, other complementary

acquisition of lexical chunks rather than

isolated grammar rules, helping learners build

fluency naturally (Victoria University of

Wellington, 2023) Furthermore, models such as

the Flipped Classroom and Cooperative

Learning frameworks encourage student

autonomy and peer interaction, allowing

learners to prepare content independently and

practice speaking collaboratively (Tondok y

otros, 2024). Together, these methodologies

determine their pedagogical choices more

strongly than institutional policy or prescribed

curricula. When teachers view communicative

methods as effective, they are more likely to

integrate activities such as role-plays, debates,

and problem-solving tasks into their lessons

(Burns, 2016). Conversely, when they perceive

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to more traditional techniques focused on

accuracy rather than interaction.

Studies in Latin America Santos y Luque

to cover extensive syllabi within limited class

hours. Consequently, there is often a disconnect

between methodological awareness and

classroom practice, which reduces

opportunities for genuine communication.

therefore essential to bridge the gap between

innovation and feasibility in EFL contexts.

increasingly aligned with international

However, implementation varies widely

depending on institutional resources,

geographical region, and teacher training

opportunities (Camacho y otros, 2023).

In many public schools, large class sizes,

limited access to technology, and lack of

continuous professional development hinder the

consistent use of communicative

methodologies. In contrast, private institutions

often benefit from smaller classes, digital tools,

approaches provides valuable insight into the

current state of English teaching in Ecuador. In

summary, existing research highlights both the

potential and limitations of communicative

methodologies in EFL instruction. The

literature consistently shows that approaches

such as CLT, TBLT, and PjBL are effective for

promoting oral competence, yet their success

depends on contextual variables including

institutional support, class size, and teacher

Ecuadorian EFL teachers perceive, prioritize,

and adapt methodologies to develop oral

communication. By combining statistical data

with interpretive analysis, it aims to provide a

comprehensive understanding of how

methodological choice, classroom practice, and

institutional context interact to shape the

teaching of speaking in contemporary EFL

education.

Materials and Methods

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data were collected through a structured digital

questionnaire administered to 66 EFL teachers

working in public and private secondary

Applied Linguistics. In terms of classroom

education.

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Method, Audiolingual Method, and

frequency of classroom use and perceived

effectiveness in developing oral

communication activities such as role-

plays, debates, and information-gap tasks.

➢ Outcomes Scale (7 items): Reflected

in fluency, accuracy, pronunciation, and

confidence.

➢ Contextual Factors: Divided into Barriers

questionnaire was reviewed by three experts in

Applied Linguistics and EFL methodology,

who verified content validity, wording clarity,

and cultural relevance. Minor adjustments in

phrasing and item order were made to optimize

accuracy and coherence. Internal consistency

each subscale; the results indicated excellent

met the thresholds suggested by Fornell and

Larcker (1981): CR ranged from .84 to .89 and

AVE was consistently above .50. As

summarized in Table 2, these indices confirm

satisfactory psychometric properties, indicating

that the instrument effectively measures

communication instruction in EFL settings.

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Source: own elaboration

Participants received the survey link via

institutional e-mail and professional teaching

Statistics v.25 for quantitative analysis. The

analytical process followed five stages.

➢ First, descriptive statistics (means, standard

deviations) identified which methodologies

were most frequently applied and perceived

as most effective for developing oral

communication.

➢ Second, the Friedman test was used to

detect significant differences across the ten

instructional methodologies

➢ Fourth, composite indices were computed

for Practices, Outcomes, Barriers, and

Enablers to synthesize construct-level

tendencies.

➢ Finally, Spearman’s rho correlations

examined associations among these

constructs. All tests were interpreted at p <

.05 to ensure statistical rigor and stable

inference.

Results and Discussion

interaction, oral participation, and real-world

communication tasks. This finding reflects a

clear pedagogical evolution away from

traditional, grammar-based models toward

approaches that view language as a tool for

communication rather than as a system of

isolated rules. To contextualize these findings,

the descriptive results presented in Table 3

provide a detailed summary of how often each

methodology is applied and how effective it is

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As illustrated in Table 3, the Communicative

Language Teaching (CLT) approach emerged

as the most dominant methodology, closely

followed by Task-Based Language Teaching

As reflected in Table 4, all comparisons yielded

significant differences (p < .001), confirming

that communicative methodologies are not only

more frequently used but also more valued by

research (Ellis, 2018), (Qasserras, 2023), which

found that communicative exposure enhances

both motivation and oral accuracy in EFL

settings.

Beyond individual methods, the study also

sought to understand how pedagogical

conditions and perceived results relate to each

other. For this purpose, four indices were