english teachers frequently find students with a low level of oral proficiency but who want to put the language they are learning into practice. The lack of opportunities to use the language inside the classroom added to the lack of time and spaces to interact with others outside the classroom make the situation even more complex. This article contains the results of an Action Research study which aimed at exploring the impact of using Skype as a complementary tool to foster oral production in a group of students in a private university in Neiva, Colombia. Four students from the first level of English with a basic command of the language took part in this study. Theoretical constructs such the use of Skype in EFL, Computer-Mediated Communication (CMC), social networking, cooperative learning and oral production in CMC were taken into account. The pedagogical interventions in the study consisted of six Skype video- conferences between a teacher-researcher and the four participants. To collect data, video-conference transcripts, field notes and students’ journals were used. The data were analyzed using qualitative methods. Findings evidence that Skype impacts the EFL context in areas like language learning, social interaction and emotional influences. key words : Skype, CMC, oral production, social networking, cooperative learning.

中文翻译：

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Skype会议是为英语大学生提供额外口语练习的一种方式

英语老师经常发现学生的口语水平较低，但他们希望将他们所学的语言付诸实践。缺乏在教室内使用语言的机会，加上缺乏时间和空间与教室外的其他人进行互动，使情况变得更加复杂。本文包含一项“行动研究”研究的结果，该研究旨在探讨使用Skype作为补充工具来促进哥伦比亚内瓦的一所私立大学的一组学生的口语制作的影响。四名来自初级英语水平且基本掌握该语言的学生参加了这项研究。考虑了在EFL中使用Skype，在CMC中使用计算机介导通信（CMC），社交网络，合作学习和口头制作的理论结构。该研究中的教学干预措施包括教师研究人员与四名参与者之间的六次Skype视频会议。为了收集数据，使用了视频会议笔录，现场笔记和学生日记。使用定性方法分析数据。结果表明，Skype在语言学习，社交互动和情感影响等领域影响EFL上下文。关键词：Skype，CMC，口头制作，社交网络，合作学习。结果表明，Skype在语言学习，社交互动和情感影响等领域影响EFL上下文。关键词：Skype，CMC，口头制作，社交网络，合作学习。结果表明，Skype在语言学习，社交互动和情感影响等领域影响EFL上下文。关键词：Skype，CMC，口头制作，社交网络，合作学习。