Evaluación del tipo de muerte celular mediante citometría de flujo

6.1. Cases of Young EFL Learners

Chapter Six and Chapter Seven discuss the actual application of the methodological framework with rich descriptions of the multiple case studies in the context of creative drama and young learners’ EFL learning. I decided to investigate my own classes for this research because of the uniqueness of the case. Trained by my late teacher, Nellie McCaslin, one of the pioneers of creative drama in the United States, I have been applying creative drama methods in EFL/ESL classrooms since 2000. Currently, in South Korea, my classes provide EFL programmes with the integration of creative drama for young learners, which is a unique case in the field. I examined an existing case rather than setting up new situations since qualitative research typically involves studying things as they exist (Lichtman, 2010).

Two case classrooms constructed the units of analysis to investigate the phenomena and the feature of creative drama-integrated young EFL classrooms. Each class consisted of about 6~8 children in similar age groups (the first case: 4~6 years old; the second case: 7~9 years old) and with similar English skills. Appropriate materials and English contexts were provided to facilitate their comprehension.4 The below tables (see Table 3 and Table 4) illustrates the details of each student.

143 Table 3

Pupils in the First Case Study (4~6-year-old EFL Children)5

Name [pseudonym] English language skill Characteristics Age

Claire Beginner Claire has been exposed to the English language

since the age of 2, so that she understands basic words or simple sentences. Even though she is the youngest, she concentrates on the lesson and actively joins in the activity.

4

Lynn Beginner Lynn is the older sister of Claire and her listening

and speaking skills are quite good compared to other children in the class. She loves drama activities and expresses her ideas in a creative way.

5

Julie Beginner Julie is very quiet but artistic and easy going. She

is easily engaged in a drama activity and not hesitant to act out scenes.

6

Amy Beginner Amy is quite a reserved girl who is reluctant to

speak out in a group. When engaged in a drama activity, she usually chooses to stay as an audience member rather than an actor.

6

Rachel Beginner Rachel is outgoing and her English skills are quite

good. She likes to talk and enjoys drama activities. But sometimes she is very moody or physically tired, so that she does not always concentrate on the lesson.

6

David Beginner David is a very creative and artistic boy. He is

cooperative in any activity and well disciplined. He enjoys working in drama a lot.

6

5_{These beginner-level EFL pupils are standard Korean children who go to Korean-speaking}

kindergartens. They recognise and speak some English words but barely speak in sentences. They are at the beginning stage of reading short sentences with CVC (Consonant Vowel Consonant) combination words such as ‘cat’ and consonant blend words such as ‘black’.

144 Table 4

Pupils in the Second Case Study (7~9-year-old EFL Children)6

Name [pseudonym]

English language skill

Characteristics Age

James Intermediate James had a chance to live in the USA when he

was five, so that he commands quite good English. He had a negative experience of learning English in another academy, where he was forced to study English. But he has come to enjoy learning English since he came to this institute.

7

Emily Intermediate Emily is outstanding in her academic and

English skills. She often shows her deep understanding of the context by verbalising her opinions.

7

Ann Intermediate Ann is a very creative and artistic girl. She loves

drama and enthusiastically joins in activities. She is good at characterising with much empathy.

8

Christine Intermediate Christine’s verbal skill is excellent and she often

leads the discussion while projecting her analytical thought.

8

Brian Intermediate Brian is an imaginative boy who loves stories.

He is easily engaged in drama activities while expressing his creative ideas. His English speaking and writing skills are quite good compared to other children.

8

Kate Intermediate Kate is an artistic and brilliant girl. She is

versatile and confident. She often acts as a leader of other children by showing her maturity.

8

Tom Intermediate Tom is an outgoing and playful boy. He loves

drama activities and shows enthusiasm when he acts out the scene. He often surprises the group by showing his emotions with big gestures.

8

John Intermediate John is the oldest boy in the class. He had a

negative experience of learning English when he lived in a foreign country (India) in his kindergarten time. But, since joining this programme, he has changed his attitude toward English learning in a positive way. Unlike other children, he does not particularly enjoy the drama activities.

9

6_{These intermediate-level children have been exposed to English learning for more than 2–3}

years. Hence, they are able to read short stories and speak English in a few sentences. Most children have taken part in the creative drama programme at this institute for more than two years. Interestingly, some of the children had negative experiences of learning English at other institutes. However, their attitudes have reversed since joining the arts-integrated English programme at this institute.

145 The above children who participated in these case studies were typical Korean young EFL learners who are usually exposed to English learning environments at the age of 4 or 5, that is, before or during the pre-schooling period (Lee, 2006). Accordingly, the children in the first case study who were between 4 to 6 years old barely spoke full sentences even though they recognised some words or basic expressions. In contrast, the children in the second case study who were between 7 to 9 years old commanded an intermediate level of English, so that they could express their simple ideas in verbal or written forms. The children in both cases were from middle-class families in Korea and the majority of their parents were professionals in various fields. The parents selected our arts- integrated English programmes for their children with much expectation of improving the children’s English speaking skills in a less stressful environment.

The first case classroom observation was held from November to December 2013. The second case classroom observation was conducted from June to July 2014. The classes met for 60 minutes, once a week, which provided about 15 hours of fieldwork. Although 30 more hours of fieldwork were added during the third case study with an EFL teachers’ group, and my emphasis was on cross- checking the three cases, I admit that it was a comparatively short period of time for a qualitative study with regard to the typical tendency of qualitative research to gain increasingly long datasets (Dornyei, 2007). However, I contend that generating useful data is more important than generating enough data when seeking in-depth understanding of a particular meaning (Ibid.). In relation to such a view of the usefulness of qualitative data, Polkinghorne (2005) stresses:

146

The concern is not how much data were gathered or from how many sources but whether the data that were collected are sufficiently rich to bring refinement and clarity to understanding an experience (p.140).

He further comments on the importance of purposive sampling in order to bring about fruitful data, articulating that ‘The purposive selection of data sources involves choosing people or documents from which the researcher can substantially learn about the experience’ (Ibid.). In this regard, I purposely selected case classrooms in which certain patterns of phenomena were expected to emerge throughout repetitive class events. Indeed, at the early stage of data collection, I identified common patterns of children’s behaviour, interactions, and language performances in each class, which yielded rich data with significant descriptions through observation records, field notes, and interview transcriptions. Hence, by the time I reached the point of data saturation, I decided to stop collecting data and began to investigate the covert meanings in the phenomena (Ibid.). The procedure and the analysis of these case studies will be described in the following content.