Digital tools can guide and support teachers in professional development programmes. The aim of this study was four-fold: (1) to explore changes introduced in classroom methodology by secondary school teachers during their participation in a professional development programme, using the digital tool EVALOE-DSS, based on conversational methodology; (2) to analyse the impact of introducing conversational methodology in the development of students’ oral competence; (3) to determine the relation between students’ self-perception of oral competence and self-perceived emotional competence; and (4) to find out the teachers’ opinion about their experience in the programme. The instruments used were the digital tool EVALOE-DSS, the Test of Self-Perceived Oral Competence, the Self-Report of Emotional Intelligence, the Trait Meta-Mood Scale, and a satisfaction questionnaire. The study was developed in four phases: initial intensive training, intervention using the digital tool for four months, students’ assessments and teachers’ evaluations. The results of teachers’ self-assessments using the EVALOE-DSS showed that their self-assessment of classes significantly improved throughout their participation in the programme. In addition, students whose teachers participated in the programme were self-perceived as more competent at oral language, and this had a positive influence on their self-perception of emotional competence. Finally, teachers were positive about their participation in the training process using the EVALOE-DSS. In conclusion, this study seems to suggest that a professional development programme using a Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) tool could provide an important strategy for increasing teachers’ oral language teaching quality and improving student learning.

This paper reports the development and validation of a digital application (Assessment Scale of Oral Language at School - Decision Support System, EVALOE-DSS) for the professional development of teachers aiming to improve their students’ linguistic competence. We performed a multiple case study involving seven teachers and their students from seven different schools. Over a six–month period, the teachers used the digital application to self-assess their classes, make decisions and introduce changes into their teaching practices. The researchers observed four class sessions of each teacher and assessed them with the same digital application. Each teacher-researcher dyad discussed the tool and its use over three meetings during the semester. Despite some differences between the teachers, use of the digital application produced progress in the competences of both the teachers and the students. Thus, the digital application can be used for professional development in teachers.

Broadly speaking, the teaching of spoken language in Spanish schools has not been approached in a systematic way. Changes in school practices are needed in order to allow all children to become competent speakers and to understand and construct oral texts that are appropriate in different contexts and for different audiences both inside and outside school. Here we describe the construction of EVALOE (‘Escala de valoración de la enseñanza de la lengua oral en contexto escolar’ [Assessment scale of oral language teaching]), a flexible tool designed to assess the teaching and learning of spoken language in schools. The first part of the tool is an observation scale (for use in the classroom), and the second is a semi-structured interview carried out with the teacher after the observation. The instrument is designed to assess how teachers facilitate the development of spoken language. It also aims to further interdisciplinary collaboration with regard to the introduction of changes in teaching practices in order to promote the development of communication friendly classroom environments. A pilot test and expert review of the tool was carried out. Thirty-nine schools then participated in the field test, which involved 39 professionals (23 speech and language therapists, eight educational psychologists, and eight teachers) and two university students. Eighty observations, 34 in a preschool setting and 46 in primary schools, were carried out. The results suggest that EVALOE is a useful tool for assessing the teaching and learning of spoken language.

This paper describes teachers’ practices and their perceptions regarding the teaching and learning of oral language in Catalan schools. We used the Assessment Scale for Oral Language Teaching in School Settings (EVALOE) instrument, created and validated with the aim of assessing teachers’ practices for promoting the development of language skills (speaking and listening) in their classrooms, as well as their own perceptions of their classroom practices through an interview. Research participants are 111 teachers and their student’s groups from 36 schools around Catalonia. The study shows that the teachers themselves direct the communication in the classroom, that they often fail to clearly state the content of the oral language being studied, and that they do not systematically assess the learning outcomes of this content. In addition, they use few of the teaching strategies that have proved most useful in language learning. This paper stresses that these practices need to be revised so that teachers and students be aware of language teaching and to create environments that promote the development of students’ language skills.

The school is a natural context in which the communication strategies of teachers in their interaction with students are essential for the development of their oral competence. The goal of the study is to contribute to the improvement of teaching practice in relation to communicative and oral language competence through the use of a digital tool. The participants were 8 teachers and their pupils from 6 kindergarten and primary schools in Catalonia, 5 of which are public (2 ordinary and 3 cyclical) and 1 is private (special). As for teachers, 4 constitute the intervention group and 4, the comparison group. For 6 months, the 4 teachers of the intervention groups used the tool to self-evaluate their practices, made decisions to improve it and to introduce changes. The researchers observed 5 class sessions of each teacher, evaluated them with the same tool and each teacher-researcher pair talked and reflected on the classes in 5 meetings during the semester. The evaluations of the class sessions yielded significant differences between the scores obtained by the teachers who participated in the professional development process and those who did not. We argue, therefore, that the digital tool has contributed to the professional development of teachers and to the improvement of the oral communicative competence of their students. The implications derived from this research highlight the need to train teachers in the area of teaching the communicative and linguistic competence of students with the help of digital technology.