| Resumo: | The present research is relevant at a time when English has become part of the curriculum in 3rd and 4th grades in the first cycle of Portuguese primary school. The main aim was to understand and implement task based learning in order to verify its benefits to the development of speaking skills. The research project was developed in a state primary school during the first term and involved a group of 25 learners attending the fourth grade. Classroom strategies and five speaking tasks in pairs and in groups were implemented in order to develop speaking skills. The data was collected from a reflection journal, audio recordings and a questionnaire to learners. The audio recordings were analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively to check oral interaction and oral production of students while they were carrying out the speaking tasks. Results concluded that task based learning methodology can be incorporated in a topic based approach in order to develop speaking skills. However, especially for less experienced teachers, it is vital to create the conditions by using classroom strategies (e.g. routines, classroom language) for the successful implementation of task based learning. The teacher should be able to adapt the course book and produce tasks that fulfill learners’ needs and improve speaking skills. Results suggested that task based learning fostered the development of speaking skills with this specific group of students. The main conclusion of this study is that the teacher should consider, when creating speaking tasks for YLs, the following criteria: level of freedom of the task, the role of pretending in a child’s world, the fun nature of the task and the adequate level of challenge to engage learners and meet their proficiency levels. Thus speaking tasks can develop YLs’ communicative competence.
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