English Competence through a SWOT-Based Intervention for Accounting Students at a Peruvian Higher Education Institution
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Abstract
This study presents the results of applying a SWOT program to improve oral competencies in 65 students at a Peruvian higher education institution. Therefore, a mixed-methods approach and a pre-experimental design were employed in the study. Thus, the first quantitative part was divided into two stages: in the first, students’ oral competencies were assessed by sex in relation to the applied program; in the second, an adjusted model was developed through confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) of four constructs: unconscious incompetence (UI), conscious incompetence (IC), conscious competence (CC), and unconscious competence (CI). On the other hand, the qualitative phase consisted of a semi-structured interview in which students were asked about the program they had completed. Among the most notable results, a significant difference in oral competencies was observed among the students. Furthermore, women performed better on this skill. A well-fitting model (RMSEA = 0.047, CFI = 0.962, TLI = 0.953, and IFI = 0.964) indicates strong correlations between CC and UC (0.82), moderate correlations between UI and CI (0.67), and weak correlations between CI and CC (0.39). Finally, very positive perceptions were observed among the participating students.
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