The impact of idiomatic expressions on the development of English oral skills in A2 level students

Resumen

This article critically analyzes how idiomatic expressions affect the development of oral English skills in A2 level students. The study, based on a mixed-methods action research design, involved 15 students in various communicative activities that incorporate idiomatic expressions through contextualized and participatory activities, such as role-playing, audiovisual resources, and interactive conversations.  The quantitative data validated by a T-test showed no significant changes in the fluency of the A2 level students. In addition, qualitative data corroborated that during the process of implementing, pronouncing, remembering, and processing idiomatic expressions, most students temporarily lost fluency, which was affected by the number of pauses, hesitations, paraphrasing, and nervousness. However, these same qualitative data showed great interest and satisfaction on the part of the participants, who managed to incorporate idiomatic expressions into their linguistic repertoire. Finally, the findings show the need to integrate idiomatic expressions on a regular basis as part of the teaching-learning process in educational environments.