UNIVERSIDAD TÉCNICA PARTICULAR DE LOJA La Universidad Católica de Loja
ESCUELA DE CIENCIAS DE LA EDUCACIÓN
MENCIÓN INGLÉS
DISTANCE SYSTEM
The use of supplementary materials for teaching children in EFL classes
Research done in order to achieve the Bachelor’s Degree in Teaching English as a Foreign Language
AUTHOR:
Ramírez Herrera, Génesis Ruby
ADVISOR:
Ms. Toro Gallardo, Lisset Vanessa
UNIVERSITY CENTER QUITO
CERTIFICATION
Ms. Vanessa Toro
Certifies that:
This research study has been thoroughly revised by the graduation committee.
Therefore, authorizes the presentation of this thesis, which complies with all of the
norms and internal requirements of the Universidad Técnica Particular de Loja.
Loja, March 2012
___________________
Ms. Vanessa Toro
CONTRATO DE CESIÓN DE DERECHOS DE TESIS DE GRADO
“Yo, Génesis Ruby Ramírez Herrera declaro ser autora del presente trabajo y eximo
expresamente a la Universidad Técnica Particular de Loja y sus representantes
legales de posibles reclamos o acciones legales.
Adicionalmente declaro conocer y aceptar la disposición del Art. 67 del Estatuto
Orgánico de la Universidad Técnica Particular de Loja que en su parte pertinente
textualmente dice: “formar parte del patrimonio de la Universidad la propiedad
intelectual de investigaciones, trabajos científicos o técnicos y tesis de grado que se
realicen a través, o que le apoyo financiero, académico o institucional (operativo) de
la Universidad”.
_________________________
Génesis Ruby Ramírez Herrera
AUTHORSHIP
The thoughts, ideas, opinions and the information obtained through this research are
the only responsibility of the author.
March, 2012
____________________________
Génesis Ruby Ramírez Herrera
DEDICATION
To my mother, who has been always there giving the right advice, the right and
opportune help and whom I will love and be grateful for all my life.
To my father, who has afforded me great backing in each decision I have made.
To my brother, who motivated me during my career.
I would like to replay their love and encouragement.
ACKOWLEDGEMENT
I wish to acknowledge the help, support and guidance of the University and
“Tabaret” School.
CONTENTS
CERTIFICATION………ii
CONTRATO DE CESIÓN DE DERECHOS……….iii
AUTHORSHIP………iv
DEDICATION………..v
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT………..vi
CONTENTS………..…vii
ABSTRACT……….1
INTRODUCTION………2
METHODOLOGY………...5
DISCUSSION………..7
Literature Review………7
Results………...22
Description, Analysis, and Interpretation of Results……….27
Conclusions………...66
Recommendations……….67
REFERENCES………...…………68
ABSTRACT
This study explores the use of supplementary materials for teaching children
in EFL classes. Its principal aim was to determine and analyze the type of supporting
materials used for teaching children among 4th (8 years old aprox.), 5th (9 years old
aprox.) and 6th (10 years old approximately) grades, who study at a private school in
Quito.
The analysis was carried out after thirty classes thoroughly observed, and it
was found that visuals were the mostly used materials, for instance: pictures,
handouts, white/black board, as well. It was also found that audio and realia were
used as extra resources to develop the learning process more effectively. Each
material was gauged in terms of pertinence, appropriateness for the level and
understanding of the students, and quality of the design and elaborations.
Furthermore, the analysis of learning styles revealed that in the majority of
the classes this concern was not taken into consideration and thus the teachers need
to be aware of the importance and significance of the role of the supplementary
INTRODUCTION
Teaching English as a foreign language has been considered a complex and
diverse process to accomplish due to the different components and situations that are
involved in such a kind of work. The context in which learning a foreign language is
achieved, challenges different endeavors not only for students but also for teachers.
Indeed, considerations of the different students’ learning styles and needs,
their levels of motivation, teaching techniques, students and teachers’ expectations,
new tendencies of authentic materials, availability and quality of resources and
accuracy of materials are some of the diverse aspects to be considered within the
context of learning process.
Therefore, it is important to rethink the role of materials and how are they
used in the teaching-learning process of children to have more motivating and
interesting classes. Thus, the purpose of this study is to determine and analyze the
type of supporting materials used for teaching children in EFL classes. This goal will
be accomplished by identifying supporting materials used and then by describing
each one in terms of pertinence (content), appropriateness (student’s needs), and
quality; finally, by determining the frequency and variety of the supplementary
materials used in the observed classes.
Supplementary materials “create conceptual frameworks -through images and
writing- based on certain ideological notions”. (Araya, 2007 p. 7), for that reason
there are many studies done around the world to reveal the real importance of the
usage of these resources, that is the case of Kensel (2009), who tried to demonstrate
the use of You Tube as a resource to be used in classes as an authentic material and
as a motivational tool to learn English in Taiwan. As a result, it suggested that both
variety of classroom activities to enhance learning outcomes and provide a positive
classroom environment; however, a principal shortcoming that Kensel has was the
relatively small sample size, especially in terms of the female students. Then there
were difficulties to make conclusions on gender.
Moreover, authentic materials were also studied by Hwang (2005), who tried to
demonstrate that learners who are hooked on authentic materials, which trigger the
process of natural language acquisition, can have an effective English education. The
study concluded that a foreign language classroom should consist of approximately
70% of abundant exposure in student-oriented activities and 30% of teacher’s
demonstration.
Not only authentic materials have been analyzed, but also the need to use
supplementary material to enhance certain skills. That is what Shu-Mei, Jonas, Tsai,
& Chuang (2009) studied. They investigated if supplementary materials can be
adopted to enhance college English as Foreign Language learners’ listening and
speaking strategy use. The study suggested that in order to expand students’ learning
capacity, more and diverse materials should be used to supplement the existing
textbook in the listening and speaking course. To achieve effective learning
outcomes on listening and speaking course, “learning with others” might be a useful
alternative strategy.
Hence, this study will benefit students and teachers because through it the
interest of teachers will be awaken as well as an improvement in the educational
system will be initiated. Having as a result more integrating and motivating classes,
that enhance all learners’ skills and that involved children in an easier context of
Furthermore, regarding future research, it is recommended that studies should
METHODOLOGY
The investigation started looking for the theoretical support of the content
outline of the literature review, whose principal issues were: teaching a foreign
language, learners, learning styles, teaching techniques, different contexts for
teaching, and supplementary materials. Moreover, there was a research of previous
studies that had considered the use of supplementary materials. All the theoretical
support was found on books, educational magazines, educational reports, and internet
by reading, and note-taking on specific filling forms.
Having the fundamental basis of the research, the general approach of this
study was Qualitative and Quantitative analysis of the type of supplementary
materials used in the classes observed.
Setting and Participants
The collected data was explored by making thirty observations, divided by
ten for each grade: 4th(8 years old approx.), 5th(9 years old approx), and 6th (10 years
old approx.) of the “Tabaret school”, which is a private school located in Quito; it
has students of both genders and each class has about 20 students between girls and
boys. There was one class per each grade. And for the last three years of school,
there had been one English Teacher for those grades.
Procedures
The study began by looking for the theoretical information needed to have a
basis for the analysis and interpretation of the observations and then for the results
obtained. This information was searched on specialized books, educational
magazines, educational reports, and internet; all were mainly about psychology,
methodology, teaching techniques and others. Then, all the information collected was
one about the following topics: teaching a foreign language, learners, learning styles,
teaching techniques, different context for teaching, and supplementary materials;
then, the second one was about previous studies about the researched topic. Finally,
the Literature Review was done by analyzing the information and comparing it by
three different author’s views.
Afterwards, the observations were done during the last four months of the
school year from April to July, by using different instruments, for instance: data
collection forms, observation forms and questionnaires, which were provided by the
University. (See Annex 1,2, and 3).
At the end of each observation, one student of each class was given a
questionnaire to be completed, as well as the teacher. The student’s questionnaire
was given randomly to one student for each class in order to analyze their needs and
preferences about new types of materials. While, the teacher’s survey tried to learn
her opinion about extra-resources and their usage in class.
Subsequently, for the quantitative analysis, all data was organized and
analyzed in tables and diagrams of frequency. Meanwhile, for the qualitative
analysis, each class was described in terms of pertinence, appropriateness and quality
for each type of material used. Finally, the scheme of analysis also included the
DISCUSSION
Literature Review
Teaching English as a Foreign Language has been considered for many years
as an important task to be developed in Schools and for that reason it must be
accomplished taking into account diverse situations individuals are exposed, as well
as the circumstances in which teacher and pupils are working. In this panorama, with
new and creative instruments available, the use of supplementary materials is
fundamental to deal with students’ different learning styles, levels of motivation,
context for teaching and teaching techniques and therefore it is important to achieve
students’ learning. Each of these issues will be explained in a detail way in this
paper, as well as, some studies that consider the needs to face the world with new
language not only in terms of grammar and syntax or phonology, but also to
empower oneself with critical thinking by using new and authentic supplementary
materials as resources that help teachers to construct on students linguistic skills
related to critical discourse.
Teaching a foreign language
Teaching is a “theory-based science” and also an “inventive task” (Woolfolk,
2007, p. 6) that teachers need to be acknowledgeable of, but when we talk about
teaching a foreign language, Biddle, Good, & Goodson, (1997, p. 773) said that:
Teachers also need, understandings of students in general-patterns common to particular ages, culture, social class, geography, and gender; patterns in typical student conceptions of the subject matter and they also need to know their own students. Face to face with actual children who are particular ages and gender, culture and class, teachers must see individuals against a backdrop of sociological and psychological generalizations about groups (Ball 1997).
Teachers must be able to use a range of strategies, and they must also be able to invent new strategies. They must have some basic research-based routines for managing classes, but they must also be willing and able to break from the routine when the situation calls for change. And teachers need both general theories and situation-specific insights.
About language learning Rüschoff (2006, p. 5) suggested that it “is more than
the simple learning of grammatical rules or acquisition of vocabulary”. Rüschoff
(2006) believed that learners need an environment where they can develop a deeper
and higher understanding of cultural aspects underlying the target language. Raising
acknowledgement of intercultural differences as well as empowering learners to be
able to deal with stereotypical viewpoints are important goals that teachers must
pursue for.
Araya (2007, p. 3) had a similar idea about teaching, she said that:
Teaching-learning a language implies not only developing certain linguistic skills but also being aware of the ideological implications of the educational processes related to language. In other words, one thing is to be able to construct coherent utterances in terms of phonological, syntactical and grammatical aspects, and another is to use language to empower oneself with a critical discourse and attitude to face the world. Similarly, teaching materials can help teachers and students to develop more critical thinking, or to construct misconceptions and ideas about language and its linguistic communities.
Learners
Although students have similar processes which they pass through, they are
also individuals who differ from one another in age, abilities, interests, motivation
and needs. These differences are important aspects to be considered in teaching for
its implications and effects on learning. Jacobson, Degener & Purcell-Gates (2003,
p.28) stated:
understand the contexts of their lives prepares teachers to provide a learning environment that best meets students’ needs.
Age: children, adolescents and adults
Talking about age, it is never certain that knowing age, teacher will know how
children will act or think, as Laurenco & Machado (1998) claimed referring to
Piaget’s theory which stated that children have different behaviors as they grow.
Piaget (Laurenco, & Machado, 1998, p. 143) assumed that “all people pass through
the same four stages (sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, and formal
operational) in exactly the order mentioned” In other words, Laurenco & Machado
(1998) suggested that commonly these stages are related with specific ages, but they
are only general principles. In this theory individuals may go through long periods of
transition between stages and they may show characteristics of one stage in one
situation, but characteristics of a higher or lower stage in another.
When we talk about concrete - operational thinking as Woolfolk (2007)
claimed in any grade teachers give classes, knowledge of Piaget´s theory will be
helpful. “In the early grades, the students are moving toward this logical system of
thought. In the middle grades, it is in full flower, ready to be applied and extended by
your teaching”. (Woolfolk, 2007, p. 35).
In this context, Saville (2006, p.82) believed that “there is a critical period for
first language acquisition in which children have only a limited number of years
during which normal acquisition is possible”. After this period, (Saville, 2006) due to
physiological changes, there is a decrease on the plasticity or capacity of the brain to
Learner differences
Many times teachers wonder about why some students learn more successfully
than others, this concern take into consideration learner differences, (Woolfolk,
2007) referring to them as distinctive collections of talents, abilities, and limitations.
As Woolfolk (2007, p. 35) stated: “all children are exceptional” and this belief
is also shared with Ormrod (2008), who claimed that children’s differences are
reflected on exceptional students, who may have special abilities and talents or
learning disabilities, and for those individual differences, teacher must understand
and brand the required materials to be used with each student.
One form of labeling the mentioned differences has been using intelligence as a
“hierarchy of abilities” (Woolfolk, 2007, p. 31).
In that sense, Garner theory of multiple intelligences Gardner (1983) suggested
that there are eight separate intelligences: linguistic (verbal), musical, spatial,
logical-mathematical, bodily-kinesthetic (movement), interpersonal (understanding others),
intrapersonal (understanding self), and naturalist (observing and understanding
natural and human-made patterns and systems).
Furthermore Richards & Rodgers (2006) stated other types of intelligences;
some of them are Emotional, Mechanical, and Practical Intelligence.
Motivation
Psychologists try to explain why some foreign learners are more successful
than others; Saville (2006) cited the individual motivation as a factor that determines
the level of effort which learners expend at various stages in their foreign language
Oxford and Ehrman (1993) conceived Motivation as a result of the components
as need, desire, perception of fulfilling the goal, belief on success or failure, and
value of rewards.
Besides, Saville (2006, p. 86) referred to the process of motivation in the
following way:
More recent developments in Second Language Acquisition theory (Schumann 1997, 2001) suggest that motivation for second language learning, along with second language representation and processing is controlled by neurological mechanisms specific areas within our brain conduct a “stimulus appraisal”, which assesses the motivational relevance of events and other stimuli and determines how we respond, including what our attitudes and ultimately degree of effort will be.
Thus, motivation provides the first desire to begin second language learning
and then it is the “driving force” to persevere “the long and often tedious learning
process” (Dörnyei, 1998, p. 117).
Learning Styles
Moreover, another factor to explain the success of certain learners is
(Woolfolk, 2007) how a student approaches learning and studying, in other words it
is, his or her learning style. Saville (2006, p. 87) defined it as “individuals’ preferred
way of processing: i.e. of perceiving, conceptualizing, organizing, and recalling
information”. Various analysts of learning styles consider that students learn more
when they study in their preferred setting and manner. But indeed, there are many
points of view that try to explain success in learning language (Dunn, Beaudry, &
Klavas, 1989).
Another difference in cognitive style may be related to age. Bialystok (1997)
suggested that second language learners have two choices when adapting, their
new language. One option is extending the existing categories to include new
instances from second language. The second option is creating new categories in
phonological structure, this would mean recognizing the slightly different second
language sound as phonetically different, and learning to keep it distinct from the
similar (and often functionally equivalent) first language sound.
As well as Saville (2006, p. 88) determined that “personality factors, referring
to how students learn using different strategies, are closely related to Cognitive
style”. One example that reaffirms this view is the evidence found by Torrance
(1986) who claimed that very bright students need less structure and prefers quiet,
solitary learning. On the other hand, some psychologists believe that students learn in
a certain way because it is the only way they know how to approach the task. So
what teachers need to do is to give students the opportunity to try other options. In
fact, recently investigations have dismissed the previous factors and have pointed to
the person in context - the entire teaching-learning system as a better way to
understand student learning (Coffield, Moseley, Hall, & Ecclestone, 2004).
Finally, another distinction in learning has been studying by Mayer (2003) who
analyzed visual and verbal learners, with a focus on learning from computer-based
multimedia. He has found that there is a visualizer-verbalizer dimension and that it
has three facets: cognitive spatial ability (low or high), cognitive style (visualizer vs.
verbalizer), and learning preference (verbal learner vs. visual learner).These
dimensions have shown that it might be useful to present information in multiple
modalities so students might take advantage of their preferences.
Teaching Techniques
The vital years in a child’s development are from five to ten years old, as Scott
and children of ten years old can do, for instance the younger ones can play
activities, can argue for something and they can tell you why they think and what
they think by using logical reasoning. While the older ones have their basic concepts
formed, and they can tell the difference between fact and fiction, they are able to
learn from others and work with others, they understand abstracts, symbols, they can
generalize and systematize.
Scott & Ytreberg (1991) believed that these characteristics mean that teachers
need techniques according the specific age. Some general teaching techniques they
suggested to be performance are: (Scott et al. 1991, p. 5) “teachers must not rely on
the spoken words only, most activities should include movements and senses, and
they might let students play with language by themselves, teachers should remember
all the time that variety in classroom is vital”, children also benefit from routines,
using familiar situations and activities let them to feel comfortable.
Besides, Ruddell & Ruddell, (1995) advised some techniques to be used in
teaching children, for instance: to read aloud, and to share reading and to guide it, to
use feedback sessions in an interactive way in order to promote self-evaluation.
Talking about language as Scott & Ytreberg (1991, p.10) claimed: “Becoming
aware of language as something separate from events taking place, takes time”. The
older children (eight to ten years old) already are conscious of this awareness. But as
words are most of the time followed by clues to meaning as facial expressions and
movements, teachers should use these clues and stimulate students to work their
reading and writing at home with effort and patience. In class, grammar should be
taught by noting the structures, functions, and grammar items, introducing some sort
are correcting written work or it may be in connection with oral exercises which
practices specific and simple structures (Scott et al. 1991).
Different contexts for teaching
Scott & Ytreberg (1991, p.9) claimed that “teachers of children need to be
patient and adaptable, have a sense of humour, but principally need to create a good
atmosphere to teach and manage the class”. In other words Scott & Ytreberg (1991)
determined that teachers need to learn abilities as mime, drawing, and actuation.
They also, need to help students to feel secure, and in that sense correction should be
avoided so children can have confidence to talk and learn better off.
Besides the abilities that teachers need, there are external factors to be taken
into account Scott & Ytreberg (1991, p.10):
The class atmosphere and surroundings should be pleasant and familiar, this can be obtained by putting charts, calendars, postcards on walls, or objects that add character to the room, teachers can also encourage children to bring in objects and tell the rest of the class something about it.
Scott & Ytreberg (1991) said that another factor to take into account is the
arrangements of desks in class, the best way is to decide the suitable form and use it
for the whole class, so the class would not be noisy and teachers would not lose time
changing positions. Besides, teachers should choose the type or work to be
performed by their pupils so they can work in groups or in pair depending of the age
and background.
In psychology terms (Saville, 2006), when teachers manage contexts in class,
they should take into consideration the microsocial and macrosocial focus. That is,
the language acquisition and use of it in both: social, productions and interaction,
and, ecological, educational, cultural and political settings considering to learners as
Definition of Supplementary materials
Gower, Phillip, & Walters (2005, p. 65) said that “teachers can use different
resources to make lessons more interesting and effective”. These resources are what
we call supplementary materials. The use of these materials is also explained by
Skehan (1998, p. 160.), who believed that “teachers choose materials for teaching
essential English skills in ways that suit a variety of learning styles”. In other words
each kind of supplementary material, for instance textbooks, songs, role plays,
pictures and others, should be used according the learners. Skehan (1998 p. 160) also
claimed:
In that way textbooks, worksheets and graphical material provide practice in writing and grammar and appeal to visual learners. Material for listening practice comes on cassette tapes, CDs or in videos and includes monologues, dialogues and songs. Role plays and activities like pyramid discussion help build conversation skills. Kinesthetic learners can work with cut-out pictures or words, or use blocks and clay to build models. Some teaching methods also require specific tools. For instance, the Silent Way uses colored Cuisenaire rods to represent parts of speech.
Importance of Supplementary materials
Richards, & Rodgers (2006), claimed in that sense that the effectiveness of
instructional materials used in learning determine their importance. Due to the fact
that these resources define subject-matter content even where there is not syllabus,
they suggest the coverage for rime, time, and they also define or imply the
day-to-day learning objectives that collectively constitute the goals of the syllabus. In other
words they are fundamental to obtain attention and promote the development of
language even though where there are not heads of the course of study.
Furthermore, Richards, & Rodgers (2006, p. 30) said that “materials play an
Skehan (1998, p. 160) also stated that: “teachers choose materials for teaching
essential English skills in ways that suit a variety of learning styles. Textbooks,
worksheets and graphical material provide practice in writing and grammar and
appeal to visual learners”.
Role of supplementary materials
In a functional/communicative methodology, the role of instructional materials
can be specified in the following items: materials will concentrate on the
communicative abilities of interpretation, expression, and negotiation; they will
“focus on understandable, and interesting exchanges of information, rather than on
the presentation of grammatical form; materials will involve different kinds of texts
and media, which the learners can use to develop their competence through a variety
of different activities” (Richards et al., 2006, p.30).
Furthermore, Araya (2007, p. 6,) claimed:
One way to develop a more sensitive and critical attitude toward language and society, could begin by rethinking the role materials have in the teaching-learning process. Teaching materials are mainly used to achieve the objectives that have been proposed in the language planning. Like texts that write and talk about the world, materials create conceptual frameworks through images and writing- based on certain ideological notions.
In the same way, Richards & Rodgers (2006) determined that the role of
instructional materials within an individualized instructional system might include
the following characteristics: materials will let learners to progress at their own rates
of learning; materials will provide opportunities for independent study and use, and
for self-evaluation and progress in learning.
In addition, some methods require specific materials, teachers can select from
trained teachers with near-native competence in the target language. Some materials
dictate various interactional patterns in the classroom; others inhibit classroom
interaction; still others are noncommittal about interaction between teacher and
learner and learner and learner (Richards et al., 2006).
There are numerous textbooks designed to direct and support Communicative
Language Teaching, but we can also find different supplementary materials as
boards, Gower, Phillip & Walters (2005, p.70) said that: “It is unusual to find
classrooms without a board of some kind. It is essential, then, to organize your use of
it in order to obtain the maximum effect”.
Moreover, Gower, Phillip & Walters (2005) detailed some supplementary
materials that are commonly used on classes: overhear projectors, visuals,
worksheets and work-cards, cassette recorders, videos, computers, authentic material,
and others.
The first one, the overhead projector, is becoming increasing popular because
teacher can write on it without turning back to the class. It helps to prepare overhead
transparencies in advance, saving time and ensuring that the writing is neatly
presented and the pictures clearly drawn (Gower et al., 2005).
Other materials are the visuals, which can take many forms but the most
common are real objects (sometimes called realia) and pictures or photographs. They
have a variety of uses: for example, the illustration of colors; places; to show word
stress. Among other things visuals are used to: arouse interest and concentrate
attention at the beginning of a lesson; elicit already known language; illustrate a new
language item and others (Gower et al., 2005).
Furthermore, Gower, Phillip & Walters (2005) stayed others useful tools that
generally very popular within students and can add variety and a welcome change of
focus in a lesson, but videos are easier to understand, due to the visual element and
they are often more interesting than only audio.
Alternatively, teachers not only can implement activities and use of
supplementary materials but also they have different sources in which they can find
different types of studies, which demonstrate and fulfill the information detailed
before and give new clues to manage and develop learning.
In Taiwan, Kensel (2009), tried to demonstrate the use of You Tube as a
resource to be used on classes as an authentic material and as a motivational tool to
learn English. The study consisted on grouping sixty nine students of chemistry, and
who spoke Mandarin as their fist language. At the beginning of the semester, the
instructor gave the students a simple questionnaire regarding their gender, access to
computers and experiences using YouTube. Later, while the semester was on,
YouTube website was used to supplement the textbook and it was associated to
classroom material. All YouTube video clips were shown during regular class time
using and were related to themes and vocabulary of the textbook. Finally, students
were given a follow-up questionnaire which reaches the following conclusion:
students found the experience of using YouTube to be interesting, relevant,
beneficial and motivating. As a result, it suggested that both teachers and students
can be involved in creative ways to incorporate YouTube in a variety of classroom
activities to enhance learning outcomes and provide a positive classroom
environment.
Authentic materials were also studied by Hwang (2005), who tried to
demonstrate that learners who are hooked on authentic materials, which trigger the
author experimented with one hundred and eighty students, giving them magazines,
best sellers and TV programs instead of using textbooks in her classes. As students
continued studying linguistics, the exposure to authentic materials increased and the
author further encouraged her students to utilize the vocabulary and expressions they
had learned from authentic materials in their own production of English. After a few
years, the teacher asked for feedback and the results indicated that students felt
gratified being treated as mature, intellectual individuals. The study concluded that a
foreign language classroom should consist of approximately 70% of abundant
exposure in student-oriented activities and 30% of teacher’s demonstration.
Not only authentic materials have been analyzed, but also the need to use
supplementary material to enhance certain skills. That is what Shu-Mei, Jonas, Tsai,
& Chuang (2009) studied. They investigated if supplementary materials can be
adopted to enhance college English as Foreign Language learners’ listening and
speaking strategy use. The investigators used a standard syllabus for the Listening
and Speaking classes designed by representative teachers from the HungKuang
University. At the beginning students were informed of the aims of the course and
were taken a survey to examine learning strategy. Each unit lesson was also followed
by a quiz to evaluate the learning result, and the lesson was accompanied with
phonological tasks and supplementary materials to complement and improve the
existing teaching materials. A post test was delivered at the end of the term to exam
the general learning results. The study suggested that in order to expand students’
learning capacity, more and diverse materials should be used to supplement the
existing textbook in the listening and speaking course. To achieve effective learning
outcomes on listening and speaking course, “learning with others” might be a useful
Furthermore, Berardo (2006) focused on the developing of reading skills by
using authentic supplementary materials. The purpose of the study was to prove the
students’ benefiting from the exposure to real language in a real context. The study
used materials downloaded and adapted from the Internet, with tasks being designed
to use the different reading skills, concentrating in extensive and intensive reading
and skimming & scanning. The work was mostly done outside the classroom,
becoming the role of the teacher in the classroom a very low profile whose time was
dedicated to look for suitable material and to design tasks. The findings suggested
that students were highly motivated and preferred working with the authentic
material than with general textbooks.
Moreover, although there are many types of supplementary materials, currently
websites and online materials are commonly used, technology has became one basic
tool to develop learning skills, Al-Jarf (2005) studied this new tendency of use at
King Saud University. She believed that technology was not used in English
classrooms. The investigation began exposing all the students to the same traditional
in‐class instruction, covering half of the lessons in class. Later prior to online
instruction, the students’ computer literacy skills were assessed by a questionnaire.
Online instruction was initiated and every week vocabulary websites (hyperlinks)
related to the vocabulary topic covered in class were added in “Link Sharing”. The
students checked the specific vocabulary links posted, and were encouraged to check
the daily vocabulary lesson. Using the online course was optional, but the author
rewarded them with extra credit for using the online course. At the end of the course,
all of the students answered an open‐ended questionnaire. As a result the comparison
of the pre and posttest mean scores of fifty three freshman students showed
vocabulary development. Active participants made higher gains than inactive
Results
Qualitative Tabulation
Chart One: Type of supplementary material used to teach children
Variable Indicators Yes No
Flash cards √
power point presentations √
maps √
pictures √
charts √
handouts √
posters √
word cards √
white/black board √
drawings √
songs √
dialogues √
stories √
tales √
videos √
movies √
documentaries √
Realia Objects (toys, plants, fruits) √
Online websites √
Audiovisual Audio Visual
Author:Ramírez Herrera Génesis Ruby
Chart Two: Pertinence and Appropriateness of the supplementary material used to teach children. P er t. A pp ro p. P er t. A pp ro p. P er t. A pp ro p. P er t. A pp ro p. P er t. A pp ro p. P er t. A pp ro p. P er t. A pp ro p. P er t. A pp ro p. P er t. A pp ro p. P er t. A pp ro p. Flash cards power point presentations maps
pictures x x
charts
handouts x x
posters x x
word cards x x x x
white/black
board x x x x x x x x x x
drawings x x
songs x x
dialogues stories tales videos movies documentaries R ea
lia Objects (toys,
plants, fruits) x x
O nl in e websites V is ua l A ud io A ud io vi su al 9t h cl as s 10 th cl as s 7t h cl as s 8t h cl as s V ar ia bl e
Indicators 1stc
la ss 2n d cl as s 3r d cl as s 4t h cl as s 5t h cl as s 6t h cl as s
Chart Three: Pertinence and Appropriateness of the supplementary material used to teach children. P er t. A pp ro p. P er t. A pp ro p. P er t. A pp ro p. P er t. A pp ro p. P er t. A pp ro p. P er t. A pp ro p. P er t. A pp ro p. P er t. A pp ro p. P er t. A pp ro p. P er t. A pp ro p. Flash cards power point presentations maps
pictures x x
charts handouts posters
word cards x x x x
white/black board x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x
songs x x x x
dialogues
stories x x x x
tales videos movies documentaries R ea li
a Objects (toys, plants, fruits) O nl in e websites A ud io vi su al 9t h cl as s 10 th cl as s 7t h cl as s 8t h cl as s V ar ia bl e Indicators V is ua l A ud io 1s tc la ss 2n d cl as s 3r d cl as s 4t h cl as s 5t h cl as s 6t h cl as s
Chart Four: Pertinence and Appropriateness of the supplementary material used to teach children. P er t. A pp ro p. P er t. A pp ro p. P er t. A pp ro p. P er t. A pp ro p. P er t. A pp ro p. P er t. A pp ro p. P er t. A pp ro p. P er t. A pp ro p. P er t. A pp ro p. P er t. A pp ro p. Flash cards power point presentations maps
pictures x x
charts
handouts
posters
word cards x
white/black board x x x x x x x x x x x x x x
songs x x
dialogues
stories x x
tales videos movies documentaries R ea
lia Objects (toys,
plants, fruits) O nl in e websites A ud io vi su al 9t h cl as s 10 th cl as s 7t h cl as s 8t h cl as s V ar ia bl e Indicators V is ua l A ud io 1s tc la ss 2n d cl as s 3r d cl as s 4t h cl as s 5t h cl as s 6t h cl as s
Quantitative Tabulation
Chart Five: Frequency of use of supplementary material.
4to grade (8 years old
approx.)
5to grade (9 years old
approx.)
6to grade (10 years old
approx.) TOTAL PERCENTAGE
f f f f %
Flash cards
-power point
presentations
-maps
-pictures 1 1 1 3 7.69%
charts
-handouts 1 1 2.56%
posters 1 1 2.56%
word cards 2 2 1 5 12.82%
white/black board 5 8 7 20 51.28%
drawings 1 1 2.56%
songs 1 2 1 4 10.26%
dialogues
-stories 2 1 3 7.69%
tales
-videos
-movies
-documentaries
-Realia Objects (toys,plants, fruits) 1 1 2.56%
Online websites
-13 15 11 39 100%
Audio Audiovisual TOTAL Indicators Variable Visual
Author:Ramírez Herrera Génesis Ruby
Description, Analysis, and Interpretation of Results.
This section deals with the understanding of the qualitative and quantitative
analysis of the results, and therefore their interpretation about the use of the
supplementary materials for teaching children in EFL classes.
The information obtained from the investigation which was carried out by
observing thirty different classes, must be considered within two different
approaches. In the first one, the data are to be analyzed in a qualitative form, in other
words, by taking into account characteristics that show: pertinence, appropriateness,
quality and learning styles. In the second, they are to be analyzed in a quantitative
form, that is, the analysis of how often each type of supplementary material is
utilized.
Qualitative Analysis
During the observation process of the classes to determine the supplementary
materials used in them, it was found that most of the teachers use visuals as
supplementary materials, for instance: pictures, handouts, posters, word cards,
white/black board and drawings, as well. It was also found that audio materials such
as songs and stories principally for little children were used. Finally, realia were
utilized as extra resources to develop the learning process more effectively.
4thGrade/ 8 Years Old
Pictures
Pictures were used in the seventh class, which objective was to introduce the
meaning and use of “there is and there are”. For this purpose, the teacher brought
pertinent pictures with simple images about singular and plural nouns related to food
and things in the kitchen; for example: ice cream, popcorn, sausages, sugar and
Finally, the students fulfilled their course book. As a result, both the materials and
the activities developed with these materials were useful to achieve the objective of
the class
Moreover, these materials were appropriate for the students’ basic level of
English knowledge, because they had basic and simple vocabulary. Besides, they
were also applicable for this class because they contained understandable images
considering students’ age. In fact, these types of food and things of the kitchen
showed on the pictures let the students infer the usage of plural and singular of “there
is and there are”. These pictures were posted on the board also to encourage the
thinking on relationships between images and grammar. As a result, the teacher
considered what Araya (2007, p. 7) claimed: pictures make learning “more accessible
and understandable”.
The materials used were big enough for children to see, even those who were
on the back of the classroom recognized them and they gave feedback about the
meaning of the images. For that reason, the quality of the pictures constituted a good
resource to help children in the acquisition of the English.
Handouts
The fifth class observed had as topic the family members and social studies,
whose objective was to reinforce the use of the possessive adjectives by using new
vocabulary related to family members. To accomplish the mentioned objective, the
teacher used handouts that contained photos of a family tree, a story and some
exercises about the use of the possessive adjectives. These materials were pertinent
because students understood the usage of the vocabulary and mainly they acquired
the ability to produce sentences taking into consideration the meaning of the words
Furthermore, these handouts were in accordance with the students’ age
because, they let children paint the family tree images, and the students also could
read the story about it. In fact, the handouts utilized were well chosen for the students
with a basic knowledge because they contained basic grammatical structures and all
the students understood the meaning of each family member; as a result, they
answered the exercises correctly by using their personal information about their
relatives’ names. Moreover, this class was appropriate for the visual learners, if we
consider what Skehan, (1998), said: “textbooks, worksheets and graphical material
provide practice in writing and grammar and appeal to visual learners.”
Nevertheless, the quality of the handouts used had some defects. Even though
the materials were used adequately by the students and they caught their attention,
the handouts were photocopied in black and white; as a result, some graphs were not
completely clear, and some students totally disliked the usage of them in class,
because they had a book in colors and clear graphs.
Posters
“Shapes and Forms” was the topic of the sixth class. As the objective of the
class was to teach children new vocabulary about shapes and forms by using didactic
materials, the teacher brought to the class two posters of approximately 60
centimeters each one that contained some figures in colors and their names. These
posters became pertinent materials to accomplish the goal of this class because they
contained figures that the students were studying in this lesson. The teacher also used
them to encourage children to play a competitive game of comparing the shapes on
the posters with the shapes in their books. Hence, children learned new words
namely: square, triangle, octagon, hexagon and others; they paid a lot of attention
All the materials were well-selected for students’ age because the students
were familiar to the shapes on the posters; in fact, posters were used considering their
preferences for games. Moreover, these materials were suitable for their
understanding and basic level of English because they contained just one word for
each figure and as the vocabulary was followed with activities from the book,
students were able to complete sentences using the new vocabulary. Besides,
according to what Gower, Phillip & Walters (2005, p. 67) said, visuals should be
used to arise interest and concentrate attention at the beginning of a lesson and they
also should be used to “stimulate discussion”, and that was exactly what the teacher
did with these posters.
Both posters were clear, colorful and computer elaborated, so children could
look at them without any difficulty. To sum up, the materials used were of excellent
quality and they encouraged the students’ learning.
Word Cards
Word Cards were used as another supplementary material to teach vocabulary
about transportation in the third class, whose objective was to obtain a faster
understanding and memorization of words concerning transportation. Thus, the
teacher made pertinent word cards with names of the means of transportation the
students were studying, one for each word card, which were used to match them with
the corresponding drawing made by the students. Indeed, after the teacher had
explained the meaning of each word, she asked the students to match each word card
with their respective drawings on the board; as a result, and regarding pertinence,
these word cards allowed the teacher to achieve the mentioned objective by attracting
Moreover, the Word cards were appropriate for the students’ age and their
basic level of English knowledge because they contained vocabulary related to their
real lives and daily activities, and they helped the students to memorize them; indeed,
they were enthusiastic to repeat them in English and Spanish one after one.
According to what Gower, Phillip & Walters (2005, p. 67) said, visuals are used to
“illustrate a new language item, often a vocabulary item”, in this case, the teacher
considered students’ needs of vocabulary, their preferences for active participation in
learning, their age and their basic knowledge of English.
Furthermore, talking about quality of the used materials, Word Cards were
completely clear and legible, due to that fact, the students copied words on their
notebooks without any effort and they finished their books’ exercises on time.
Moreover, this kind of materials was also used in the fourth class when the
teacher explained the Possessive Adjectives. In this class, the objective was to
construct sentences by using this type of adjectives according to the book. Word
cards were relevant to accomplish the goal of the class because each one contained a
possessive adjective which was explained clearly by the teacher; besides, at the end
of the class, the students were able to create new phrases by using them and they also
recognized when to use the possessive adjectives.
In addition, these supplementary materials were appropriate for students’ age
and their basic level of English knowledge because, as it was mentioned before, each
Word Card contained just one basic word, and they were posted next to the personal
pronouns that were written on the board in order to create thinking relationships on
the students between the previous knowledge they had and the possessive adjectives;
respective meanings in Spanish, their usage and then they also created their own
phrases by using them.
Although all the students understood and completed all their tasks, these
Word Cards contained words written with marker of one color only; thus, the quality
was not excellent. The teacher did not consider what Gower, Phillip & Walters
(2005, p. 72) claimed: materials should be “as professional looking and as attractive
as possible”, including “illustrations in the form of simple line drawings or pictures
cut out of magazines to add interest”.
White –Black Board
The theme of the first class was: Prepositions, which purpose was to teach
vocabulary and help the students to identify how and when to place things by using
prepositions. The teacher used the white and black board as a pertinent additional
resource to write vocabulary about objects of the class and to make drawings to
indicate the use of prepositions, which, definitely, allowed her to accomplish the
mentioned objective because most of the students understood the usage of
prepositions, and they also practiced with real objects of the class.
In addition, the material was well chosen for students’ age and their basic
level of English knowledge. First of all, the sentences, which were written on the
board by the teacher had simple structures and basic vocabulary that the students had
already known, the additional fact is the relevance that the teacher gave to organize
the information on the board and to put in order the new structures and prepositions
on it. Above all, the teacher encouraged students to guess the meaning of her designs.
This appropriate, organized and creative usage of the information on the white and
black board helped her to focus on the content of the class, exactly as what Gower,
white and black board in order to obtain the maximum effect”. Later, the teacher
asked her students to complete students’ book and to create their own sentences by
using prepositions at home. Finally, she reaffirmed that the contents of the class were
understood by checking the students’ homework.
Furthermore, the quality of the used white and black board was good enough
because it was in excellent conditions; totally clean and well-located, and its usage
was tidy and clear. Besides, the handwriting used and the teacher’s designs were big
enough for children to see and copy them without any effort.
The theme of the second class was “Places of the house”, and its purpose was
to practice new vocabulary by using places of the house and prepositions. To
accomplish this objective, the teacher used the white and black board, as a pertinent
supplementary material, to write new vocabulary about the topic of the class and to
explain the meaning of the new words. For instance, students learned about the
rooms of the house such as: living room, dining room, bedroom and others.
Speaking about appropriateness, the whole usage of the white and black
board was in accordance with the children’s age and their basic level of English
knowledge; first of all, there was a permanent section on the white and black board
used in order to facilitate students’ understanding of those rooms of the house.
Indeed, she explained them by writing one by one in the permanent section on the
board, and she encouraged her students to compare the names with the images the
students had on their books. Then, she wrote some examples about their daily
activities by using prepositions and some places of the house. Finally, they were able
to complete the students’ book tasks about prepositions during the class, and they
was simple to understand and the examples were also related to the students’
common knowledge.
Because the teacher wrote legibly and neatly in a straight line, it was easy for
the students to read and to copy, and as it was described before, the board was in
excellent conditions. Thus, the quality of the used material was good and the teacher
kept in mind what Gower et al., (2005, p. 65) suggested: “generally, try to keep the
board as clear, as straightforward and as easy to read as possible. Clean it
periodically to keep it neat and consider other ways of display in more permanent
information.”
In the fourth class, the White and black board was also used when the teacher
explained the Possessive Adjectives. In this class the objective was to construct
sentences by using this type of adjectives. Regarding pertinence, the teacher used the
board as an essential instrument to accomplish the goal of the class, which indeed,
was achieved because she wrote on it the personal pronouns in order to match them
with the corresponding possessive adjective contained in a word card, as well as she
wrote relevant words that students were going to need to create new sentences and
that would help her to explain the usage of the possessive adjectives.
The use of the white and black board was appropriate for the students’ age
and basic level of English knowledge, because the teacher wrote the personal
pronouns on the board which her students had already learned in order to explain the
relationship between them and the possessives adjectives. As a result, each child
participated by matching them on the board with the respective possessive adjective
in the Word Card posted on the White and black board. In addition, the material
sentences. Finally, all the students finished their task and they were excited of being
active learners by using the board.
In addition, the quality of the board was good enough to write and to post the
used word cards. Moreover, the teacher put into practice what Gower et al., (2005)
claimed, referring to the usage of different types of materials: “teachers can use
white and black board to relate material to the stage of the lesson that the teacher has
reached at any one moment”. In this class, the teacher used the board and word cards
posted on it by relating them to illustrate the new concepts students were practicing
in. Most of all, its usage was excellent, because information was organized in
different sections and in a chronological order.
In the seventh class, the white and black board was also used to explain the
theme “there is and there are”, and its objective was to introduce the meaning and
usage of these words. For this purpose, the teacher explained students how and when
to use those structures by writing some pertinent examples on the board about
singular and plural usage and by using some basic vocabulary which students know.
These examples, which were taken from students’ real lives, were resources
necessary to link the new words within their respective context of use.
This material was appropriate for students’ basic level of English knowledge
and their age because the teacher used the white and black board as Richards &
Rodgers (2006, p. 30) suggested: “to focus on understandable, relevant, and
interesting exchanges of information, rather than on the presentation of grammatical
form”. The sentences written on the board were simple for the students to
understand, and they constituted useful examples for them to complete the exercises
The board was clean and it was also kept straight and as easy to read as
possible, the quality of this material let it be a good resource to help the children in
the acquisition of the English.
In the ninth class the theme was “Make a Grocery Store” and the white and
black board was used to accomplish its objective, which was to learn new vocabulary
and the use of “too much” and “too many”. Although the teacher used the students’
book as the main resource of the class, the usage of the board was completely
necessary and relevant to explain when to use the new words and their relation with
singular and plural usage by writing on it several examples. In fact, the white and
black board was pertinent to accomplish the objective of this class because it also
helped the teacher to remain her students some grammar explanations about
countable and non-countable nouns, such as: milk, sugar, sausages and the use of
“there is and there are”.
As Gower et al., (2005, p. 66) stated: “teachers can put up reminders of items
that students need constantly or persistently get wrong”. By making the observation
of the class, it could be concluded that the teacher used the board adequately
considering her students’ needs of knowledge, only to specify particular words and
related grammatical structures that needed more attention. Besides, the new words as
well as the examples written on it were simple for students to understand, and they
were created considering students’ basic level of English. However, their age was not
considered because students were not motivated and the teacher had to make them
complete their books’ tasks on time. Then, the teacher realized that she needed to use
more materials according to her children age and style of learning, mainly materials
Furthermore, the board was in good conditions and it was used in a straight
way during the whole class.
Objects (Realia)
Objects were also used as supplementary materials at the first class.
“Prepositions” was the theme of the class and to accomplish its purpose of teaching
vocabulary and how and when to place things by using prepositions, the teacher used
both the white and black board, and the real objects of the classroom. Most of the
students understood the usage of prepositions and the vocabulary taken from the
classroom when they observed the real objects, for example: eraser, desk, pencil, and
scissors were located by the teacher in different places to motivate the students to
guess the preposition needed. For that reason, these supplementary materials were
totally pertinent for the mentioned purpose of the class and its content.
Because all the children knew their environment, it was funny and interesting
for them to use prepositions with real objects. In this regard, it can be concluded, that
materials were appropriate for their age and their basic level of English knowledge.
Indeed, Gower et al., (2005, p. 149) stated that for “concrete items it is usually much
quicker to show the item than explain the meaning” by taking “time to prepare some
visuals” instead of relying only on “wordy explanation”. According to this view, the
teacher used realia to illustrate the meaning and to establish a context in which the
vocabulary will be used.
The use of the objects was creative and motivating for all the students who
felt more comfortable to speak in class and participate without worrying about the
correctness of their words and sentences. Besides, these objects were in good
Songs
The tenth class was the most interesting and well-accepted by all the students.
Its theme was “Learning a Song”, and its objective was to motivate students to study
a foreign language and to practice pronunciation. The song was pertinent to achieve
the goal of the class because this new activity encouraged pupils to learn the lyrics of
the song and to practice it. Moreover, the students not only practiced pronunciation,
but also they learned the meaning of the new vocabulary which was found on the
lyrics, with teacher’s help. This recognition of unknown words such as: cookies,
store, late, and plate, ended when the song was played on the cd-recorder.
Furthermore, the song was appropriate for the students’ basic level of English
knowledge and their age because its lyrics, which had simple grammar, were related
to the latest lessons given. Besides, it helped the teacher to motivate their students to
learn a foreign language by using authentic materials and by being a coach. As
Gower et al., (2005, p. 73) claimed: “many teachers have access to authentic audio
material that can be brought into the classroom - most notably recordings made from
the radio, and songs, for developing listening skill”. Therefore, the teacher brought to
the class an authentic well chosen song for giving the students
During the class, this audio material was of high quality, because it was clear,
slow enough and rhythmic. However, it would have been better if the volume of the
cd-recorder had been higher.
Drawings
Drawings were used as supplementary materials to teach vocabulary about
transportation in the third class observed, whose objective was to obtain a faster
understanding and memorization of words related to transportation. Thus, the teacher
favorite means of transportation; she would use them during the class. Drawings
were relevant for the class because they became excellent resources to accomplish
the mentioned objective. Indeed, while the teacher explained the meaning of each
word, the drawings showing different means of transportation such as buses, trains,
planes, ships, cars, etc. were presented to students, and the teacher repeated the
words for teaching their pronunciation; as a result, children were motivated to show
their created drawings and to pronounce the word they had just memorized.
Besides, the fact that the students created the supplementary materials was an
appropriate factor for their age because the classmates’ drawings attracted their
attention and curiosity of how creative and well-drawers they were. And the
drawings were also related to the students’ basic level of knowledge because they
created them depending on their previous knowledge about the means of
transportation. Above all, this knowledge was increased due to the fact that, at the
end of the class, the teacher gave feedback by pointing out each drawing, and then
the students answered appropriately. In other words, during this class the teacher
took into consideration what Richards & Rodgers (2006, p. 30) suggested: “materials
will focus on understandable, relevant, and interesting exchanges of information,
rather than on the presentation of grammatical form”, she used the drawings to teach
only vocabulary by doing interesting activities in accordance with the age and level
of the English knowledge of the students.
On the other hand, talking about the quality of the material created by the
students themselves, it is evident that it had the inconvenience; the different sizes and
styles of the drawings which delayed children’s recognition of the figures and the
understanding of their meaning. However, this inconvenience could be avoided, if
needed about the form to create drawings, so all the students could have understood
and they could have looked at them without any effort.
Leaning Styles
Mayer, R., & Massa, L. (2003), claimed that it is more complex than simply
categorizing a student as either a visual or a verbal learner. For instance: students
might have preferences for learning with pictures, but their low spatial ability could
make using pictures to learn less effective. “Certainly, presenting information in
multiple modalities might be useful”. Taking this assertion and then by comparing it
with the observations done, it can be concluded that the fourth grade teacher
attempted to give students as many resources as she and the possibilities of the
school permitted. However, there is a lack of use of Audiovisual and online
supplementary materials, which are, definitely, of extreme importance to develop
comprehension on speaking and listening skills.
5thGrade/ 9 Years Old
Pictures
Pictures were used as supplementary materials to teach vocabulary about
“Food and the Supermarket” in the third class whose objective was to obtain a faster
understanding and memorization of new words concerning food. To accomplish it,
the teacher brought relevant pictures about food. While the teacher explained the
meaning of each word, she repeated them in order to teach their pronunciation, and
the pictures were showed to students; children were motivated to create their own
supermarket by drawing it on their notebooks, and then ten of the students explained
what they had just done in front of the class. At the end of the class, with children’s
exposition, the teacher realized that the objective of the class was achieved. So the
have variety of uses”, sometimes they are “used to illustrate a new language item,
often a vocabulary item”.
In addition, the pictures used were appropriate for students’ intermediate level
of English knowledge because while the students attempted to draw exactly as the
pictures that were presented, they repeated the word in English and interiorized its
meaning. This fact also indicates that the materials were appropriate for their age
because they understood the new vocabulary and indeed they were able to use them
in a paragraph by explaining about what kind of food they usually find in the
supermarket.
Finally, the quality of the pictures was excellent because children were able to
see and they clearly distinguished colors and shapes.
Word Cards
In the first class, the teacher used word cards as supplementary materials. The
topic of the class was “It was snowing”, and its objective was to introduce the simple
past and its usage in English. In this case, the teacher backed up on students’ book to
give the class, and she took two-word cards about verb “to be” in past (was and
were) which had to be attached quickly by her students on the board. The use of the
word cards was relevant and essential to accomplish the students’ understanding of
the past tense of verb “to be”. Firstly, the teacher wrote personal pronouns on the
board and then the two-word cards were attached on it, so with the students’ help she
involved them to match each pronoun with the respective word card. As a result, the
students felt comfortable by being active learners and collaborating students.
The materials were appropriate for students’ age because all of them could
read them perfectly and they distinguished the meaning of each one with the
