From one-word utterances to complete sentences: an English teaching experience in primary education

Abstract

This article depicts an action research project developed within the context of the Master’s Degree in Teaching English at Primary School, at the University of Lisbon. The project was carried out in a fourthgrade class of 24 pupils, for ten 45-minute lessons, in an urban school, and it intended to address the fact that pupils mostly provided one-word answers during classroom interaction, expressing difficulty in the production of complete sentences. To help the class go beyond one-word answers, the project included a set of oral activities based on guessing games, role plays, oral presentations, a story, songs, and videos, all designed for learners to practice speaking in full sentences. Based on the implementation of the project and the data collected, it may be concluded that although speaking presents a challenge to young learners, with motivating tasks and activities that model full sentences as well as provide participants with plenty of support for understanding and production (e.g., by making use of written text, realia, visual aids and a supportive teacher), learners are able to go beyond one-word utterances and build complete sentences.