Maestría en Enseñanza del Idioma Inglés como Lengua Extranjera

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Communicative language teaching techniques for enriching the speaking skill in high school students
(Universidad Técnica de Ambato. Dirección de Posgrado. Maestría en Enseñanza del Idioma Inglés como Lengua Extranjera, 2018-01) Silva Valencia, Juan Carlos; Iza Pazmiño, Sarah Jacqueline
This research project is intended to analyze how communicative language teaching techniques influence the enrichment of the speaking skill in high school students. In order to determine how these two variables are interrelated, extensive research was done by reading several books, articles and journals in relation to each variable. Special attention was given to the book “Techniques and Principles in Language Teaching” written by Larsen (2000), for gathering information about the independent variable (Communicative Language Teaching Techniques) and “How To Teach Speaking” by Thornbury (2005) to get information about the dependent variable (The Speaking Skill). Furthermore, a survey entailing 10 questions was applied to 12 English teachers and 234 second year baccalaureate students after it was validated by three experts. This survey permitted to get a more approached panorama of how these two variables are taken into consideration and applied in the English classrooms of the Ambato High School. Once the results were cautiously analyzed and systematically tabulated, the established hypothesis was verified through using the Student’s T-test. These results stated that indeed, communicative language teaching techniques do influence the enrichment of the speaking skill in high school students. The results obtained also led to draw several conclusions and recommendations. One of the most important conclusions pointed out that the majority of students believe that they learn English best through interactive tasks, but unfortunately teachers do not seem to frequently apply a variety of techniques that foster communication in the classroom. Hence, it was seen that students do not get enough opportunities to interact among themselves to practice using the language in such an authentic, enjoyable and meaningful manner. The recommendation for this conclusion was to devise a handbook, which entails 20 communicative language teaching techniques (some adapted, and others created) that teachers can use in their classes so that their students are encouraged to practice their speaking skill more often. Therefore, the proposal to address the research problem identified in this investigative project is the presentation of the handbook with 20 CLT techniques, which are distributed to address and enhance several speaking subskills such as fluency, pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary and functions.
Strategies of motivation in the development of English paragraph writing in students between the ages of 8-11 years old
(Universidad Técnica de Ambato. Dirección de Posgrado. Maestría en Enseñanza del Idioma Inglés como Lengua Extranjera, 2018-01) Vásquez López, Adriana Lissette; Camacho Estrada, Sara Nidhya
The development of the writing skill and sub-skills in the courses of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) has been considered of key importance for the future academic and job success of the students. Nevertheless, the results on writing performance in the EFL courses have been poor. Many factors are related to the bad outcomes; among which, motivation has been considered as a central aspect of writing development. The present research focused on this motivational aspect; thus, a quasi-experiment was carry out at CEBI (Centro Educativo Bilingue Internacional) in Ambato with students from 8 to 10 level of General Basic Education (n=76). The purpose of the study was to prove the incidence of Motivational Strategies in the development of the writing skill. The process involved designing a meso-curriculum which was embedded in the regular EFL course, planning the corresponding lessons, and delivering to the students. A pretest and postest were applied to the control and experimental groups to test the hypothesis. The results showed the efficacy of the motivational strategies reflected on the improvement of the written performance of the students (t=4.84**). The motivational strategies which suited the students’ needs and interests were: Warm-ups, Lead-ins, Games, and role plays. Typical mistakes made by the students in the tests were: capitalization, subject-verb agreement, verb tenses, and punctuation. The mistakes made by the students were improved by feedback in the writing developing process. A replica of the quasi-experiment is recommended to be applied to students of different levels and ages. As an application of the research, a curriculum guide proposal was developed to be used EFL teachers. This guide contains the main recommendations for the planning of each lesson, specific motivational activities for the contents to be taught in the writing course, leaflets and worksheets used in the delivery of the lesson.
Task-based learning and the English speaking skill in students at Universidad Nacional de Chimborazo
(Universidad Técnica de Ambato. Dirección de Posgrado. Maestría en Enseñanza del Idioma Inglés como Lengua Extranjera, 2018-02) Lara Velarde, Adriana Carolina; Infante Paredes, Ruth Elizabeth
The research project “TASK-BASED LEARNING AND THE ENGLISH SPEAKING SKILL IN STUDENTS AT UNIVERSIDAD NACIONAL DE CHIMBORAZO” aimed to analyze the relationship between Task – Based Learning and the English speaking skill. The research had a quali-quantitative approach. A field- experimental research study was carried out due to the fact the implementation was developed in each English class. The population consisted of A2 students who belong to the Language Center of Administrative and Political Science Faculty at Universidad Nacional de Chimborazo. It was a bibliographical and field research. The instruments used for this research were a pre-test and a post-test that were applied in order to assess the effectiveness of the implementation of TBL to enhance the English speaking skill. To verify the hypothesis of this research the Kolmogorov-Smirnov Test and the Wilcoxon Test were used. The results obtained show that Task- Based Learning fosters the English speaking skill. It is concluded that students had a significant improvement in their oral production after the implementation of tasks based on TBL.
Language games for promoting the speaking skill on English Language learners in Higher Education
(Universidad Técnica de Ambato. Dirección de Posgrado. Maestría en Enseñánza del Idioma Inglés como Lengua Extranjera, 2018-04) Mena Mayorga, Jazmina Ivonne; Calero Sánchez, Ximena Alexandra
This research aimed to find out if language games promote the speaking skill on English language learners in higher education. The target population was fifty-two students of the first levels at the Centro de Idiomas Extensión at the Escuela Superior Politécnica de Chimborazo (ESPOCH). Twenty- six students became the experimental group and the other twenty six students were part of the control group. A pre-test was applied for both groups in order to know their speaking level. The results demonstrated that both groups had a low speaking level. Consequently, language games were applied as a strategy to enhance speaking for learners in the experimental group. After this process, students in both groups took a post-test to see if the language game strategy made any difference regarding the speaking skill performance. The findings indicated that the students who belong to the experimental group got a higher average in the speaking post-test in comparison with the average obtained by the control group. Therefore, it is important to admit that learners in the experimental group outperformed learners in the control group. Based on these findings, it was suggested for professors to use language games in their lesson plans to enhance the speaking skill.
The use of scaffolding strategies in speaking skill
(Universidad Técnica de Ambato. Dirección de Posgrado. Maestría en Enseñanza del Idioma Inglés como Lengua Extranjera, 2018-04) Hernández Freire, Alba Paulina; Infante Paredes, Ruth Elizabeth
The research project "the use of scaffolding strategies to improve speaking skills" intent to analyze the connection between scaffolding strategies and the ability to speak. It should be noted that the scaffolding strategies were taken from Walqui’ model (2006) who classified them into: modelling, bridging, schema building, contextualization, development metacognition, re-presenting. The research had a qualitative and quantitative approach. The level or type of research was based on descriptive and quasi-experimental levels. An experimental field research study was carried out due to the implementation phase in each English class. The students of the Tourism and Hospitality Major of the Technical University of Ambato were the population for this research. This population was divided into two groups: first, the control group that was formed with students from the third to the fifth semester and the second, the experimental group that was constituted by students from the sixth to the eighth semester (n = 118). The instrument used was a standardized test called Preliminary English Test (PET) from Cambridge. The PET application was done in two phases: pre-test and post-test. The tests were used to assess the level of speaking through the use of scaffolding strategies. To test the hypothesis of this investigation, the paired T-student was used. To conclude, the results obtained showed that the use of scaffolding strategies had a positive impact on the students in the spoken ability of the English language of the students. To show the application of the study, a lesson plan manual was designed, it contains 15 lesson plans with their supporting material (some adapted and others created). For the lesson plans presented, a validated lesson from Piñeiro, (2009) was used and complemented with what Harmer (2007) mentions to design a lesson plan.The research project "the use of scaffolding strategies to improve speaking skills" intent to analyze the connection between scaffolding strategies and the ability to speak. It should be noted that the scaffolding strategies were taken from Walqui’ model (2006) who classified them into: modelling, bridging, schema building, contextualization, development metacognition, re-presenting. The research had a qualitative and quantitative approach. The level or type of research was based on descriptive and quasi-experimental levels. An experimental field research study was carried out due to the implementation phase in each English class. The students of the Tourism and Hospitality Major of the Technical University of Ambato were the population for this research. This population was divided into two groups: first, the control group that was formed with students from the third to the fifth semester and the second, the experimental group that was constituted by students from the sixth to the eighth semester (n = 118). The instrument used was a standardized test called Preliminary English Test (PET) from Cambridge. The PET application was done in two phases: pre-test and post-test. The tests were used to assess the level of speaking through the use of scaffolding strategies. To test the hypothesis of this investigation, the paired T-student was used. To conclude, the results obtained showed that the use of scaffolding strategies had a positive impact on the students in the spoken ability of the English language of the students. To show the application of the study, a lesson plan manual was designed, it contains 15 lesson plans with their supporting material (some adapted and others created). For the lesson plans presented, a validated lesson from Piñeiro, (2009) was used and complemented with what Harmer (2007) mentions to design a lesson plan.
Learner-centered instruction in the speaking skill development of english as a foreign language learners in Higher Education
(Universidad Técnica de Ambato. Dirección de Posgrado. Maestría en Enseñanza del Idioma Inglés como Lengua Extranjera, 2018-04) Villacís Villacís, Wilma Guadalupe; Chimbo Cáceres, Elsa Mayorie
Fluent communication in English as a foreign language is what many students aspire in a globalized world. However, having students speaking English fluently has been considered difficult to achieve. This research study was done in order to determine the effect of learner-centered instruction on the speaking skill development. It was carried out with 54 B1+ level students of the regular modality in the Languages Center in Universidad Técnica de Ambato. These students participated in an experimental study which consisted of giving learners a pre-test and a post-test. 26 students participated in the experimental group and 28 in the control group. Only the students in the experimental group underwent the implementation of a learning approach that moves away from the traditional language learning. The results obtained in this investigation indicated that with an approach that focuses on the learners, students are more actively engaged in the learning process, they take more responsibility for their learning and their roles in every lesson changed significantly. Furthermore, interaction and communication were two evident criteria when students communicated with their classmates. This study resulted in the creation of a booklet of ten interactive and communicative strategies which were designed to make learners the main protagonists in every lesson, to go in depth in the development of their knowledge, skills and dispositions to have success in their educational life.
Articulatory phonetics in the English language pronunciation development
(Universidad Técnica de Ambato. Dirección de Posgrado. Maestría en Enseñanza del Idioma Inglés como Lengua Extranjera, 2018-05) Remache Carrillo, Noemí Mercedes; Encalada Trujillo, Edgar Guadia
The present research named as “Articulatory Phonetics in the English Language Pronunciation Development” was aimed to determine whether Articulatory phonetics use enhances English Pronunciation development or not; to describe the sounds of speech, consonants and vowels, through their manners of articulation and points of articulation, stress, and intonation; besides, to develop a teacher’s intervention within the class and analyze the obtained data before and after it. Finally, it was aimed to socialize the necessity of improving English pronunciation development through the learning of Articulatory Phonetics issues; in this way, they would enhance their English Language oral communication skills. This descriptive research was focused on quali-quantitative approach and for the consecution of its goals, a quasi-experimental research was developed. Quasi-experimental research had two groups of students to implement Articulatory phonetics: the control group, which was formed by 121 individuals and the experimental one with the same number of students. Both, the control and the experimental groups of students were not chosen randomly. Besides, this investigation was focused on field research since the teacher made a class intervention. Furthermore, it was bibliographical research as well. The population was formed by six groups belonging to Eighth grade of Basic Education from xvii Unidad Educativa Riobamba during the First Term of 2017-2018 academic year. For collecting data, a pre and a post-test were taken by the students before and after the researcher’s intervention. Pre and post-tests consisted in a pair oral interview. With the obtained and analyzed data, the researcher verified the hypothesis with T Student mathematical method. The obtained results showed that students did enhance their English language pronunciation development with the use of Articulatory phonetics applied in class. Accordingly, it is highly recommended to emphasize those topics within the didactic class planning in order to encourage students to pronounce correctly for a better oral communication.
Haiku composition and the development of academic writing skills
(Universidad Técnica de Ambato. Dirección de Posgrado. Maestría en Enseñanza del Idioma Inglés como Lengua Extranjera, 2018-05) Santillán Iñiguez, Juan José; Sulca Guale, Manuel Xavier
The inclusion of poetry-based activities in the language classroom is by no means a common practice. Although this circumstance comprises all the dimensions of language instruction, the exclusion of poetry is particularly latent when dealing with creative writing tasks. Much of the reason for this reluctance to include poetry when teaching and learning a second or foreign language is that teachers commonly assume that poetry writing is just too challenging for language students. Nevertheless, the empirical evidence regarding the issue seems to contradict this assumption. Under these circumstances, the objective of this research study was to determine whether haiku composition fostered the development of the academic writing skills of a group of thirty students of the English Language and Literature (TEFL) Major of Universidad de Cuenca. The research design of the study was based on a Mixed-Methods approach; in other words, it included both quantitative and qualitative data collection and analysis techniques. The former related to the application of essay-based tests before and after a six-week intervention in which haiku composition tasks were promoted. The results of these tests were statistically analyzed on account of their means and standard deviations, which were employed in the administration of the Student's T-Test for repeated measures. For its part, the xv qualitative aspect of this research study was linked to the analysis of the answers that the participants of the study provided to a survey constituted by open-ended questions, which was administered at the end of the treatment. The findings of the study demonstrated that haiku composition had a beneficial effect on the development of the academic writing skills of the participants, a prime contribution being that of vocabulary enrichment. In addition, the statistical analysis of the pre and post-test results and the concurrence of positive survey responses indicated that this promotion was significant.
Role playing in the English speaking skill development
(Universidad Técnica de Ambato. Dirección de Posgrado. Maestría en Enseñanza del Idioma Inglés como Lengua Extranjera, 2018-06) Criollo Erazo, Wilson Fabián; Calero Sánchez, Ximena Alexandra
The present research work “ROLE PLAYING IN THE ENGLISH SPEAKING SKILL DEVELOPMENT” was developed with the goal of determining the effect of using role playing to develop the students’ English speaking skill. Besides, this research work was based on a qualitative-quantitative approach. On the one hand, it was qualitative since the students’ performance was observed during the English classes. On the other hand, it was qualitative since a statistics analysis was carried out with the scores obtained from the pre and post-test. Furthermore, this research work was developed under a quasi-experimental design because the students were subjected to a treatment based on role playing in the English classes. Moreover, the population consisted of elementary students from Escuela de Formación de Soldados IWIAS “Crnl. Gonzalo Barragán”. They were divided into a control group with 18 students and an experimental group with 17 learners. It is important to mention that the investigation was developed through a bibliographic and field research; bibliographic because the information was obtained from books published internationally, and field research since the effect of the treatment through role xv playing was observed on the experimental group. In addition, the instrument used was the speaking part of a Key English Test; it was administered before and after the treatment with role playing. Besides, a t-test was carried out in order to verify the hypothesis. Thus, the results showed that the treatment with role playing contributed to a better performance in the students’ English speaking skill. Additionally, they showed a significant improvement in the scores corresponding to the established parameters from the instrument i.e grammar and vocabulary, pronunciation, and interactive communication.
Authentic assessment tools for the writing skills development to EFL intermediate students
(Universidad Técnica de Ambato. Dirección de Posgrado. Maestría en Enseñanza del Idioma Inglés como Lengua Extranjera, 2018-06) Navarrete Cuesta, Paola Vanessa; Encalada Trujillo, Edgar Guadia
The current investigation has been executed from the time a low proficiency in the writing skill was presented by intermediate students from the Diocesan Community Zone 3, which is compounded of Catholic University of Ambato and The Seminary Mayor Cristo Sacerdote. After the research was carried out through surveys done to teachers and students, it was effectively demonstrated the affirmation of the hypothesis. It was clearly observed that the outcome of the deficient aptitude in the writing skill was due to the lack of the application of authentic assessment since the traditional and monotonous strategies had been employed in the classroom. Consequently, the proposal stablished to improve the writing skill through the application of innovative and engaging strategies based on authentic assessment was highly accepted by the authorities, teachers and students; showing a great deal of interest in the proposal. Before the strategies were applied, scholars took a pre-test based on the international KET (Key English Test) exam and the results were analyzed, obtaining a fair product. After the strategies were implemented in the English classroom students were exposed to a post-test based on the same exam and there was a significantly improvement in the writing skill proficiency for intermediate students. From these results, the researcher concludes that the present research has been of a significant relevance for the Diocesan Community Zone three.
Self-monitoring strategies in English reading comprehension
(Universidad Técnica de Ambato. Dirección de Posgrado. Maestría en Enseñanza del Idioma Inglés como Lengua Extranjera, 2018-06) Cola Chiguano, Sandra Noemi; Suárez Mosquera, Wilma Elizabeth
The main objective of this research work was to confirm how meta-cognitive strategies (self-monitoring) influence in the improvement of English reading comprehension. To determine the effectiveness of these strategies a Cambridge 2007 pre-test and post-test were applied in two groups of students from the first year of secondary education at Unidad Educativa del Milenio “11 de Noviembre” in the city of Machachi. The first A of secondary education (25 students) was established as the control group, while the first B of secondary education (22 students) was considered as the experimental group. Four self-monitoring strategies were chosen: "Look, Think and Predict Strategy", "Guided Retelling Strategy", "Response Journal Strategy" and "Thinking Along Strategy", all of them were implemented in the experimental group. Hence, to verify the hypothesis in this study, Cambridge reading tests (2007) results were analyzed statistically. As consequence, they indicated that the students who worked with the self-monitoring strategies remarkably improved their reading comprehension skills, while the control group increased it in a significant scale. Therefore, it is important to suggest the implementation of self-monitoring strategies through the use of a strategy manual that promotes the development of high-thinking skills (Bloom, 1993) for reading comprehension; this manual aims to help teacher to promote the use of effective strategies for reading comprehension according to the needs and interests of students.
The effect of extensive reading on vocabulary knowledge
(Universidad Técnica de Ambato. Dirección de Posgrado. Maestría en Enseñanza del Idioma Inglés como Lengua Extranjera, 2018-06) Campaña Días, Diana Carolina; Chimbo Cáceres, Elsa Mayorie
The objective of this research project is to analyze how extensive reading or reading for pleasure can enhance the vocabulary development of first level students at Universidad Tecnológica Indoamérica. In order to determine the correlation between the two variables, a deep and thorough research analysis of books, magazines, researches, etc., related to these variables under study was done. Furthermore, an observation card was used to gather data about attitudes and behaviour towards extensive reading or reading for pleasure and a questionnaire encompassing 12 questions related to two aspects of word knowledge: word form and word meaning was used to measure the vocabulary knowledge of 48 first level students. These instruments allowed to collect data and later on, it was carefully analyzed and tabulated, which lead to verify the established hypothesis in the current research. Thus, Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient (r) determined the existence of the correlation between the two variables investigated. That is to say that the obtained results indicated that the use of extensive reading or reading for pleasure influence in the vocabulary development of the students. Based on the foregoing, the proposal that arises to solve the problem identified in the current investigation is the extensive reading or reading for pleasure of the following books: Summer sounds, Amazing young sports people and A Little trouble in Dublin. Thus, extensive reading will increase the interest of the students and through it, they can improve their vocabulary with the use of a handout that encompasses 19 vocabulary activities related to the books mentioned before. The students will utilize these activities in class and independently outside of it as well. Additionally, the objective of these activities is to keep tracking of the students reading outside the class by completing the proposed activities and to help them to increase their amount of vocabulary, too.
Curriculum effects on university students’ English Language achievement
(Universidad Técnica de Ambato. Dirección de Posgrado. Maestría en Enseñanza del Idioma Inglés como Lengua Extranjera, 2018-06) Cárdenas Moyano, María Yadira; Camacho Estrada, Sara Nidhya
This research work deals with the curricular effects on the linguistic achievement of university students for the English learning development at the ESPOCH Language Center, in Riobamba, Chimborazo. The research objective is to analyze, identify and determine the curricular effects to implement a curricular redesign and improve the English language teaching-learning in students and teachers of the Language Center. The communicative method is used by means of several integral techniques based on the language skills: listening, speaking, reading and writing. It is also considered that the critical-propositive paradigm will improve different points of view in order to look for solutions in an environment of description and understanding the educational, social and cultural process. The two variable surveys were analyzed: the English achievement, as an independent variable, applied to one hundred and fifty students and the curricular effect, and as a dependent variable, directed to fifty-five teachers of the Language Center, as well as interviews to four senior managers of the Language Center. The results of the survey demonstrate that student skills are still at a basic level at the end of their study program, therefore they need a new instrument that proposes: methodology, techniques and updated contents to reach a competitive level in the language. Most teachers, for their part, considered that the curriculum established by the Center must be updated to make teaching more effective. The results obtained allow establishing conclusions and recommendations. One of the most important conclusions states that teachers have to ensure their students achieve an excellent level of English knowledge, since the current curriculum does not cover all the academic-administrative needs for an efficient learning process, therefore, it is recommended to implement a curricular redesign to comply with the contents that involve teachers and students, that is, a good evaluation system, number of hours, adequate schedules, and academic infra-structure, to obtain a good result in teaching and learning of the English language.
Automated language evaluation tools and the development of grammar skills
(Universidad Técnica de Ambato. Dirección de Posgrado. Maestría en Enseñanza del Idioma Inglés como Lengua Extranjera, 2018-07) Cáceres Zambonino, Lili Fernanda; Chicaiza Redín, Verónica Elizabeth
This research involves the analysis of the experimental use of Automated Language Evaluation Tools and the Development of Grammar Skills in Unidad Educativa Eloy Alfaro. The methodology of this project was based on a qualitative – quantitative approach, referring to Automated Language Evaluation Tools because it determined what is the incidence and the susceptibility when the students were exposed with the new strategy of teaching. The tools that were used through the investigation: bibliographic research that allowed collecting the necessary information; also the project was based on statistical data in order to support the present research; procedures and techniques such as the surveys, T Student and direct interviews, pretest and posttest to a control and an experimental group to test the hypothesis with the students of 1st, 2nd and 3rd Bachillerato and the field research with the English teachers of Eloy Alfaro High School. Students worked with a web page that contains the five most effective automated language evaluation tools (grammar checkers) which students worked with exercises in present, past and future tense, which helped them a lot in order to correct their grammar errors, learn from them and be aware of them too so as not to commit them again. It concluded that there was an impact on how the student is familiarized with the technology; therefore, this project is proactive because it stated how students are familiarized with platforms of teaching like using web xvi tools in classes. It also stated that students improved enormously in their comprehension of grammar, students could notice which their grammar errors were and they could correct them too. This experience was more joyful, productive and they can retain the words and corrections. Moreover, it was used like a feedback to teachers and the High School because they have another tool of teaching that economizes time, can be used in high school or home and covers the educational curriculum.
Applying phonemic transcription activities to improve English pronunciation in language learners
(Universidad Técnica de Ambato. Dirección de Posgrado. Maestria en la Enseñanza del Idioma Inglés como Lengua Extranjera, 2018-07) Rivadeneira Mora, Jimena Elizabeth; Miller Bauer, Kari Lynn
This research project is aimed at analyzing how the application of phonemic transcription activities influences the improvement of English pronunciation in 51 language learners who belong to the fifth level (B1-CEFR) at the Languages Center at Escuela Superior Politecnica de Chimborazo. A quasi-experiment was carried out to verify the hypothesis of the research. It was a bibliographical and field research. The instruments used for this research were a preliminary survey, a pre-test and a post-test applied in order to assess the improvement in English pronunciation. The preliminary survey was administered before the intervention, and its results evidenced lack of phonemic awareness in most of learners. Subsequently, the pretest tested learners’ English pronunciation of two words each corresponding to the vowel and consonants sounds that are unfamiliar for Spanish speakers. The experimental process involved the application of 15 phonemic transcription activities to reinforce the knowledge simultaneously acquired during classes. The most common mistakes made by the students in the tests were identified and those ones were improved since students associated the symbols with the word at the moment of reading. The posttest - the same as the pretest – was applied, and its results showed the efficacy of the phonemic transcription activities reflected on the improvement of English pronunciation. The proposed handbook of activities of phonemic transcription includes the most relevant contents to be taught; provides clear instructions for conducting each one of the activities as well as the handouts and evidences of their application during the intervention. The activities can be adapted for future uses since they are suitable for learners at different levels (A1-A2-B1-B2 CEFR) at the Languages Center at ESPOCH.
The Audiolingual Method in the development of listening comprehension skills of English learners
(Universidad Técnica de Ambato. Dirección de Posgrado. Maestria en la Enseñanza del Idioma Inglés como Lengua Extranjera, 2018-07) Barona Oñate, Ruth Viviana; Mejía Sánchez, Enith Jessenia
The goal of learning a foreign language, such as English, is communication. Learners need to develop their input skills first to be able to produce the language to communicate information. In this way, listening comprehension skills are vital in a foreign language learning. This research project was carried out to determine the benefit of the audiolingual method in the development of listening comprehension skills. There were 69 participants in this research. 58 of them were students of English coursing level A2 divided equally into two groups, the control group and the experimental group. The experimental group was exposed to the application of the audiolingual method to develop listening comprehension skills whereas the control group continued with the regular method. In addition, a survey was applied to evaluate the acceptance of the proposal of a booklet with activities based on the mentioned method which was applied to 11 A2 teachers and the 58 students. The academic performance analysis of the scores obtained by the study subjects of the experimental and control groups in the diagnostic test, midterm exam and final exam showed that there are improvements in both cases. However, the experimental group exceeded by 1.6 points to the control group in average scores of the final exam which demonstrates the benefit of the method.
The use of Bloom´s Taxonomy on students´ listening skills improvement
(Universidad Técnica de Ambato. Dirección de Posgrado. Maestria en la Enseñanza del Idioma Inglés como Lengua Extranjera, 2018-07) Saquinga Yanchapanta, Alexandra del Rocío; Meléndez Escobar, Lorena Monserrath
This research project aims to analyze how the activities based on Bloom's Taxonomy influence on the students´ listening skill improvement at level A1. To establish the relationship between these variables, it was necessary to conduct an investigation by reading several books, articles and journals in relation to each variable. In addition, a survey was applied, which was previously valid, with 10 questions to 12 English teachers and 153 students of A1 level in the Language Center. This survey allowed obtaining a perspective of how these two variables are taken into consideration and applied in the English classes of the Technical University of Ambato. Once the results were analyzed and tabulated, the established hypothesis was verified by the Chi-square. These results showed that the use of a process in activities to achieve oral comprehension does influence the improvement of listening skills in A1 students. The results obtained also led to several conclusions and recommendations. One of the most important conclusions was that most students consider that listening helps in the process of learning and communication, but unfortunately teachers do not seem to use several techniques that improve this skill in the classroom. Therefore, it was seen that students could not understand aspects such as: the main idea, details, they could not either summarize nor give their opinion about the topic heard. The recommendation for this conclusion was to design a handbook that includes activities based on the learning level presented by Bloom which are guided from the simplest to the most complex so that it optimize the oral comprehension level in English.
Alternative assessment in the oral production of A2 level students of the Centro de Idiomas in Universidad Nacional de Chimborazo
(Universidad Técnica de Ambato. Dirección de Posgrado. Maestria en la Enseñanza del Idioma Inglés como Lengua Extranjera, 2018-07) Rodríguez Durán, María Eugenia; Oye Rotimi, Peter
The Research Project entitled “ALTERNATIVE ASSESSMENT IN THE ORAL PRODUCTION OF A2 LEVEL STUDENTS OF THE CENTRO DE IDIOMAS IN UNIVERSIDAD NACIONAL DE CHIMBORAZO” aimed to examine the use of alternative assessment in the oral Production of A2 level students of knowledge regarding the English Language. The research had a quantitative approach. An experimental field study was carried out, the same that obtained results based on control and experimental groups. This research took place in the classroom. The population consisted of 133 students from second and third level from the Faculty of Educational Sciences of the National University of Chimborazo. The instrument used for this research was a rubric that was used to evaluate the oral production and verify the incidence of alternative assessment in the development of oral production. In order to verify the hypothesis, the chi-square test was used. The results showed that the application of alternative assessment influences oral production. It is concluded that the students had an improvement in their oral production after the application of alternative assessment techniques and the respective use of the rubric.
Communication games as a means to develop students’ English speaking skills applied to tenth graders at Unidad Educativa Gral. Eloy Alfaro Delgado
(Universidad Técnica de Ambato. Dirección de Posgrado. Maestría en Enseñanza del Idioma Inglés como Lengua Extranjera, 2018-07) Escobar Llanganate, Paulina del Rocío; Hernández Chérrez, Elsa de los Ángeles
The current research project has as a main objective the use of Communication Games to enhance the English speaking skills development on tenth graders at Unidad Educativa Gral Eloy Alfaro Delgado. In addition, this research study tried to determine how the two variables (independent and dependent) are related, making use of books and academic papers. In this sense, this research ran a survey, in order to verify that exist a special interest on tenth graders and English teachers in implementing Communication Games and at the same time the need in applying them in the English language classroom. Next, a pre-test was applied to determine the English speaking level of tenth graders, and it was evidenced, due to the fact that the scores were relatively low. After that, five games were selected from the proposal (manual) to be implemented in the classroom, and then proved, through the application of a post-test, that Communication Games enhanced the oral expression on tenth graders. It is important to mention that the results obtained from the pre-test and the post-test were duly verified through the application of the T-Student test in the SPSS program. Finally, aa an extra xix resource, an exit survey was applied, in order to demonstrate the usefulness and the impact of Communication Games in the English teaching-learning process. In fact, the exit survey as well as the results of the entire research project, caused a great impression on students and teachers of the institution, due to the fact that all of these, corroborate that English speaking skills of tenth graders were optimized with the implementation of Communication Games.
Positive and negative word order interferences from Kichwa into English writing
(Universidad Técnica de Ambato. Dirección de Posgrado. Maestría en la Enseñanza del Idioma Inglés como Lengua Extranjera, 2018-07) Guachi Constante, Ana Lucia; Camacho Estrada, Sara Nidhya
The purpose of this research project is to analyze the positive and negative word order interferences from Kichwa language to English writings in Kichwa students when learning English as a foreign language. In order to determine how the variables are interrelated, an exhuastive research was carried out through the reading of academic articles, books, and journals related to the study of positive and negative word order interferences from the mother language to the foreign language, as well as the writing skills. With the aim of gathering information, three tests were carried out during the English Language Teaching process to seventy Kichwa students with the objective of measuring positive and negative word order interferences from Kichwa language to English writings. Once compiled the obtained results were analyzed carefully and systematically tabulated with which the percentage of positive and negative interference was determined. Also two English teachers with enough experience in the institution were interviewed about the topic of study, who contributed with significant information about the phenomenon of positive and negative interference that exists from Kichwa to English, as well as to an expert writer of the Kichwa language. Based on the results obtained from the applied tests and the interviews, conclusions and recommendations were established. Within the conclusions, it was found that there is positive Kichwa word order interference while negative word order interference was not considerable. Consequently, within the recommendations once states the necessity of the creation of a handbook with activities to prevent negative Kichwa word order interference as well to take advantage of positive interference. Therefore, the proposal of this present research work contains activities designed exclusively for Kichwa speakers to structure sentences correctly in the English language.