Gracia Montes, Paula AndreaAcevedo Fuenmayor, Katheryn EstherOviedo Jaramillo, Ivan Alberto2023-02-052023-02-052023-01-03https://repositorio.unicordoba.edu.co/handle/ucordoba/7019This study examines the beliefs of students at the University of Cordoba in Colombia about oral fluency activities facilitated by English Teaching Assistants (ETA) in the Fulbright English Teaching Assistant Program. The study aims to understand how these activities impact students' engagement, motivation, and confidence in learning English. The research is an expansion of previous studies in this area, which have primarily focused on other cultural contexts. The researchers collected data through Semi-structured interviews and recorded observations where notes were left in the protocols. Four themes emerged from the data in (a) a learner-centered approach to teaching and learning, (b) the need for improvement in oral fluency and speaking skills, (c) cultural awareness and (d) student engagement, motivation, and confidence. The study funded that students' perception of English conversation clubs played a crucial role in the development of their oral fluency, and that students' engagement, motivation, and confidence are key factors that determine their continued attendance and participation in these clubs. Additionally, the study highlights the importance of a voluntary and anxiety-free speaking activity, as well as the significance of cultural awareness in the development of speaking skills.Introduction...................................................................................................................... 5Theoretical framework ....................................................................................................... 9Conceptual Framework ................................................................................................... 9Beliefs ....................................................................................................................... 9Beliefs About Learning................................................................................................10Teachers’ Beliefs about Teaching .................................................................................11Culture .....................................................................................................................12Oral fluency ..............................................................................................................12Conversation Clubs ....................................................................................................13Literature Review ..........................................................................................................14Methodology ...................................................................................................................18Type of study ................................................................................................................18Research Context and Participants ...................................................................................19Data Collection .............................................................................................................19Findings...........................................................................................................................22A learner-centered approach to teaching and learning........................................................22The need for improvement in oral fluency and speaking skills ..............................................23Cultural awareness ........................................................................................................24Student engagement, motivation, and confidence .............................................................24Discussion........................................................................................................................26Conclusion .......................................................................................................................28References.......................................................................................................................30Appendixes ......................................................................................................................35Appendix 1- Interview Protocol (P1) .................................................................................35Appendix 2- Interview Protocol (P2) .................................................................................36Appendix 3- Observation Protocol ...................................................................................38Appendix 4- Matrix based on Kearney’s and Saldana’s 5-step method for coding ....................39Observation ..............................................................................................................39Interview (P1)............................................................................................................40Interview (P2)............................................................................................................42application/pdfengCopyright Universidad de Córdoba, 2023Trabajo de grado - Pregradoinfo:eu-repo/semantics/openAccessAtribución-NoComercial-SinDerivadas 4.0 Internacional (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)Creencias de los estudiantesClub de conversaciónContextos culturales globalesAprendizaje de lenguas extranjerasStudents' beliefsConversation ClubGlobal cultural contextsForeign Language Learning.