UNIVERSIDAD TÉCNICA PARTICULAR DE LOJA
ESCUELA DE CIENCIAS DE LA EDUCACIÓN
MENCIÓN INGLÉS
DISTANCE SYSTEM
The Use of Supplementary Materials for Teaching
Children in EFL Classes
AUTHOR:
Bravo Bravo Wendy Lorena
ADVISOR:
Mgs. Paladines Benítez Jhoana Elizabeth
UNIVERSITY CENTER MACHALA
2012
CERTIFICATION
Magíster. Jhoana Paladines, Thesis Advisor
Certifies that:
This research study has been thoroughly revised by the graduation committee.
Therefore, it authorizes the presentation of this thesis, which complies with all the norms
and internal requirements of the Universidad Técnica Particular de Loja.
Loja, March, 2012
Magíster Jhoana Paladines
CONTRATO DE CESIÓN DE DERECHOS DE TESIS DE GRADO
Yo, Wendy Lorena Bravo Bravo declaro ser autora del presente trabajo y eximo
expresamente a la Universidad Técnica Particular de Loja y a 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 de su parte pertinente
textualmente dice: forman 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 el apoyo financiero, académico o institucional (operativo) de la
Universidad .
_________________ Wendy L. Bravo B.
AUTHORSHIP
The thoughts, ideas, opinions, and the information obtained through this research are the
only responsibility of the author.
____________________ Wendy L. Bravo B.
DEDICATION
I dedicate this thesis to:
My parents, Rodolfo and Emilia. You always taught me the value of hard work
and perseverance. Thank you for always showing me unconditional love and support
through this tremendous effort.
My brother and sister, Christian and Karen. Thanks for the love, support, and
patience they have given me. They had always believed in me and motivated me to
accomplish more than I ever thought I could.
My beloved daughter Emily, who has been the motivation and inspiration of my
work; to continue forward, day in and day out.
Finally, my friends and advisors, Javier and Penélope, for their unconditional
friendship and for always being there for me.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
This thesis was only completed through the combined efforts of the author and
few friends, whom I am exceedingly grateful. First of all, I must thank God, for the
strength and the wisdom to continue every day with the confidence and a blind faith that
everything will be fine.
I would like to thank my thesis advisor Magister Jhoana Paladines for supervising
my work throughout the process. I deeply appreciate her willingness to assist me in
writing the thesis by providing valuable suggestions and productive comments. I am
very grateful to her for sharing her knowledge with me and being always ready to guide
me with the research confusions and her remarkable patience.
Finally, I would like to express my gratitude to Penélope Sánchez, Director of
Lincoln English Center in Machala-El Oro, and all the people who helped me obtain
CONTENTS
CERTIFICATION .. ii
CONTRATO DE CESIÓN DE DERECHOS ... iii
AUTHORSHIP . iv
DEDICATION .. v
ACKNOWLEDGMENT ... ... vi
CONTENTS. .. vii
ABSTRACT . . 1
INTRODUCTION 2
METHOD .. 5
DISCUSSION .... 9
Literature Review 9
Results 23
Description, Analysis, and Interpretation of Results .. 28
Conclusions 63
Recommendations .. 65
REFERENCES . 66
Abstract
This study was carried out in Machala El Oro Ecuador. A bilingual private
school was chosen to identify and analyze the type of supporting materials used for
teaching children in EFL classes.
The participant in this research study was a private school. The teachers observed
were from the 4th, 5th, 6th grades. The data were collected in a total of thirty class
observations; which were divided into ten observations per each grade, during the period
of three months. This research study combines qualitative and quantitative methods to
accomplish the main objective of this study. Once the data gathered were placed in
tabulation charts, the results obtained were analyzed very carefully to get the
corresponding conclusions.
The findings of this thesis show that the teachers in this school constantly make
use of the white board as a means of instruction; without taking into account other
supplementary materials like: flashcards, power point presentations, videos, posters,
songs, among others. Consequently, it is important that teachers take some time to
prepare meaningful materials in order to awake and keep students` motivation and
Introduction
The use of supplementary materials to teach children in EFL classes is a topic that
concerns teachers, students and everyone related to the educational community. Perhaps,
one of the most important roles supporting materials play in EFL Ecuadorian classrooms
depends on their accurate elaboration and use.
One of the most important things at the time of teaching a foreign language is to
keep in mind factors such as: What I am going to teach, to whom, and how I am going to
do it. These questions help teachers to get an idea of the class they will have to deal
with; and also to be aware of the use of supplementary materials in EFL classes.
The main reason to conduct this research study on Teaching Children in EFL
Classes is to recognize the difference and variety of the Supplementary Materials used
by teachers, and how those materials help improve the quality of the education in
Ecuadorian EFL classrooms.
The objectives of this study are to identify and analyze supporting materials used
for teaching children in EFL classes. Another objective proposed was to describe and
analyze each one of the supplementary materials used in EFL classrooms in terms of
pertinence (content), appropriateness (students` needs), and quality. Finally, as the last
objective proposed was to determine the frequency and variety of the supplementary
materials used in the observed classes.
One of the important facts about this topic is that many teachers acknowledge the
role of supplementary materials in their classes; however few of them make use of them.
the learning of a foreign language. Moreover this topic is of great importance to discover
some of the reality in Ecuadorian schools.
Likewise, some researchers have concluded several studies about the use of
supplementary materials for teaching children in EFL classes. The study conducted by
Min and Hsu (2008) was proposed to demonstrate that intermediate teenage learners of a
foreign language, adopt more vocabulary by performing reading activities. They also
intended to prove that instructional contexts are more helpful at the time of acquiring
and conserving a new vocabulary. Furthermore, they proposed to determine what are the
differences of the known words, between the groups tested? Which were not reliable
enough due to limitations in the research study like the fact that the experimental group
were not randomly assigned, and that the tested group were only male samples.
Another study is the one conducted by Tsubaki and Nakayama`s (2008 2009)
whose purpose was to discover if by giving students a piece of reading outline in a way
of a higher standard organizer produce any changes at the time of working with listening
comprehension exercises. It is also intended to figure out if by having a good level of
listening competence or facility can help students anticipate reading understanding and if
by having a previous knowledge affect them directly at the time of working with
listening comprehension. Furthermore, this research study intended to prove the fact that
repeated exposure provokes, in students, better reading interpretations. As it is natural in
a study research, there were some limitations like: the number of the students was too
small for this kind of statistical analysis also the fact that the participants had a fairly
fact, only one type of advanced listening organizer was examined during the process. To
conclude, the participants were not allowed to take notes while listening to the lecture.
This study will benefit school administrators, since they can get useful
information about what their teachers might need in order to improve the quality of
education. People working for the Ministry of Education in Ecuador, will definitely
benefit from this study, because they can be aware of the problems teachers go through
every day in Ecuadorian EFL classrooms and the inappropriate use of supplementary
materials; so they can promote workshops to prepare teachers in this matter. The
teaching field and the learning community that is involved directly in this study will
benefit as well, by awaking the interest in them to perform further investigations about
the topic.
The limitations at the time of conducting this research study were two. First, the
sample was too small in relation to the magnitude of the study. Also due to the time
factor to conduct this investigation; probably a year-round research would be more
reliable. Second, teachers did not have their class plans to verify if the class objective
was met when using the supplementary materials, in terms of pertinence (content).
For further investigations, it is advisable to enlarge the sample and probably go
beyond that and conduct a comparative research in which schools and high-schools,
Method
Setting and Participants
This research study was conducted in Machala El Oro Ecuador. The school
chosen is a private school, located in an urban area of the city. This school was chosen
randomly out of four other schools around the same place. This school has an English
teacher per grade and around 25 students per class. The classrooms are well equipped
and have enough space for students and teachers to interact freely during class.
Procedures
In order to conduct this research study, it was necessary to obtain information
related to the topics supplementary materials used to teach children and teaching vs.
learning a foreign language . The information selected was chosen according to its
relevance and content through an analytic and detailed investigation. Also it was
required to find information on previous studies related to the proposed topic on this
research; in order to identify all the parts and steps to be followed when elaborating and
writing a study.
To continue with this research study, observation sheets and surveys were
designed in order to be applied in a public or private school and to evidence the reality
on the use of supplementary materials in EFL schools; so the data gathered could be
compared to the ones found in previous studies and the topics mentioned in the literature
review. The analysis and interpretation of the results were written based on the
bibliographic information found in contrast with the data gathered from the direct
Thirty class observations were carried out in the 4th, 5th and 6th grades and the first
hand data was recorded in observation sheets. Furthermore, as an extra data collection
technique, additional information was obtained through note taking during the class
observations. Also thirty surveys were applied to different children after each observed
class (two per class observed).
At the end of the observations, a survey was completed by the teacher of each
grade.
The presentation of the results from the information gathered was tabulated on 5
qualitative and quantitative tabulation charts. Four charts were used to represent the
qualitative results and one chart for the quantitative results.
The following paragraphs describe the distribution of the condensed information
in qualitative charts.
Chart one presents thetype of supplementary materials used to teach children. In
the first column shows the variables (visual, audio, audiovisual, realia and online); the
second column, the indicators (flashcards, maps, pictures, and so on); the third column,
indicates the material used; and finally, the fourth column indicates the material not
used.
Chart two presents the pertinence and appropriateness of the supplementary
material used to teach childrenin the fourth grade. the first column shows the variables;
the second column the indicators; the third to twelfth columns indicate if the material
used was pertinent and appropriate. In the same way charts 3 and 4 present the
Chart five presents the quantitative condensed results to evidence the frequency of
the supplementary materials used, as follows. The first column indicates the variables;
the second column the indicators; the third to fifth columns indicate the number of times
the supplementary materials were used for the 4th, 5th and 6th grades respectively. The
sixth column indicates the total of the times a material was used in all the grades; and
finally the seventh column indicates the global percentage of the supplementary
materials used in the 4th, 5th and 6thgrades.
For the description, analysis and interpretation of the results a qualitative and
quantitative analysis were performed, considering some important aspects, describe in
the following paragraphs.
The aspects taken into account for the qualitative analysis were the pertinence,
appropriateness, and quality of the supplementary materials used in the classes observed.
The pertinence which involved the importance of the material used in relation to the
contents reviewed in each class observed. The appropriateness indicated the relationship
between the material used and the students` level of understanding. And the quality was
predetermined by the way the teacher designed and used the supplementary materials in
each class. Also it is important to indicate that the additional information obtained,
through note taking during observations, provided valid support in this qualitative
analysis.
Finally the aspects taken into account for the quantitative analysis were the
frequency in which each material was used and the types of supplementary materials
used to teach children. Regarding frequency, it was determined by the how many times
supplementary materials, it was determined by the teacher`s preferences at the time of
DISCUSSION
Literature Review
The concept of being a good teacher, perhaps for most of us involves factors such
as: mastering the subject, being flexible or strict, having good class management, and so
on, but there are other aspects that make a good teacher; for instance, the use of
supplementary material in the classrooms. Truth is that every teacher worldwide is
aware of the importance of supplementary materials in their classes; but they do not use
them due to several actors. Their knowledge of elaboration of supplementary materials is
not enough and they do not use such materials appropriately during the planning and
teaching stages.
Supplementary materials are a vital part in any classroom. They are not only on
textbooks or teachers´ guides. They are mostly taken from teachers´ creativity, ability
and effort giving students an interesting, educational and successful class.
Teaching a foreign language
Vez (2002) states that teaching a foreign language requires teachers to be always
aware of the student s necessities at the time of teaching them English or any other
language as a foreign one. In addition he states that, in many countries around the world
people have noticed that learning English as a foreign language is not just a boom or a
trend, but it is a tool that can help them with their needs like: businesses, daily
interactions with out-of-country friends, computer programs, pleasure trips, and so on.
The same way Robertson (1964) notes that nowadays there are a wide and varied range
of techniques and methods available to help students react favorable to the acquisition of
students in a classified and organized way, in order to avoid future problems with
memorization of grammar rules and vocabulary words.
Furthermore Puhahl, Rhodes, & Christian (2001) report that it is better for people
to start learning a foreign language at an early age; consequently, acquiring proficiency
becomes faster and easier for children than adults.
Finally, the authors mentioned before concluded that, teachers need to find new,
interesting and revolutionary ways to teach students any foreign language they desire
according to their abilities and personal needs.
Learners
According to Rubin (1975), every person is born with the ability to learn any
language besides their own. Also he remarks that every person learns things in different
ways. A language learner will develop more than another according to the influences in
his/her surrounding making him/her special and particular among the same group of
learners.
In relation to the age factor on the teaching and learning of a second or foreign
language field, Gomleksiz (2001) states that people from different ages learn differently
due to their brain functions and the way they process the information at the time of
acquiring a second or a foreign language. Also he supports this idea by adding that when
a person is an adult (around 20 years of age) it is harder for him or her to acquire a
second language. By transferring the accent of their native language, the learning
process of the foreign or second language is compromised. Concluding that when people
accurate way; but as we get older our brain tends to lose plasticity making language
learning harder.
Likewise Global English (2001) suggests that when the learner is a child,
willingness to is dependent upon parental support. On the other hand adult learners have
to go through many socio-economical obstacles, in order to enroll him/her in classes to
learn the language of their choice.
When talking about learner differences, Rodiki (2006) reports that people learn
and acquire a second or foreign language depending on some influencing social factors.
Contrary to Gomleksiz (2001), who assures that there are not only differences on the
learning of a foreign or second language process among children-adolescents-adults; but
also amongchildren, at the time of selecting their learning habits and methods.
In fact, at the time of talking about motivation in learners Gomleksiz (2001),
Global English (2001) and Rodiki (2006) agree that learning a new language is not an
easy task, but an enthusiastic approach can make the difference from boring and hard to
enjoyable and nice. Coming to the conclusion that motivation is an important step to
take into consideration when teaching young children a foreign language. The more fun
the activities planned are, the higher the motivation will be. For that reason, it is
important to use pictures, videos, colorful presentations, realia, and so on in order to
keep the learners´ attention.
Learning styles
Felder (1993) agrees with Montgomery & Groat (1998) that people learn
differently according to their attitudes toward the language; they are learning and also to
certain situations. Similarly, they point out that teachers in the classroom not always pay
attention to the student´s needs at the time of teaching them a language.
Haynes (1998) on the other hand suggests that teachers should help students along
the learning process in order to identify their students learning styles; visual, auditory,
kinesthetic, analytic, and so on. The visual ones are students who learn and memorize
any new information by looking at images and pictures and relating them to the
vocabulary or grammatical structures learned. The auditory ones learn things better by
listening to a rhythm or a song and usually have the ability to appreciate and produce
musical forms as well. The tactile ones learn by using their sense of touch and relating
the new knowledge with older ones stored in their brains by using their memories. They
also have the ability to handle objects skillfully. The kinesthetic ones have the ability to
control their body movements, and learn new things by synchronizing a set of
movements. The analytic ones, learn things by discerning logical or numerical patterns,
and also have the capacity to handle long chains of reasoning problems. Besides the
previously learning styles, there is the case of students who can have a combination of
several learning styles.
Teaching techniques
According to McGraw-Hill (2002), students learn differently, which means
teachers need to find different and better teaching techniques to apply in a classroom
with their students. Moreover, it states that teaching techniques are the different tools
teachers have in their curriculum area.
Cornerstone (2010) and Brown (2004) agree with the fact that teaching children
Also, they add that in order to teach children to read and write in a foreign language,
teachers must be resourceful. While Brown highlights the importance of creating
interesting and fun activities to teach reading and writing to children, Cornerstone
believes that using teaching techniques as: predicting, guided reading, comprehension
questions, and so on is excellent to introducing children to literature.
On the other hand Kreger (2002), states that the best teaching techniques a
teacher can use to work with active children is by letting them participate actively
throughout the class and assigning them several responsibilities like being the teacher´s
helper.
Different contexts for teaching
The two authors Wideman (2010) and Hunt (1998) agree on the fact that it is not
easy to work in different contexts when teaching a foreign language; but that, it is
always necessary to understand how to work for the student´s benefit especially when
they need extra work. Working with large group of students requires teachers to plan
different context such as: planning the class atmosphere, moving students to different
seats and creating innovative projects inside and outside the classroom. Changing the
class atmosphereinvolves changing the setting. Classes can be taught in different places
like a cafeteria, a park, a library, a museum, a mall, and so on; which helps maintain
students´ attention. Moving students to different seats allows them to interact with their
peers and share their personal and particular talents. Creating innovative projects gives
students the opportunity to become more independent and have a more personalized
Furthermore, Hunt assures that working in different contexts is a process that
takes inexperienced teachers some time to get used to; while Wideman claims that
focusing on the classroom diversity is the key for teachers to know when to apply a
specific context.
Benson (2007) on the other side, shares that an e-learning context is one of the most
effective contexts to teach students who can not be in the classroom setting for several
reasons. Benson also supports the idea of training teachers in the use of new educational
platforms like the ones used at distance teaching systems, like many colleges do
nowadays. In the same way he invites teachers to explore, share, and apply the
e-learning context, to help students learn a second or foreign language.
Supplementary materials
Supplementary materials refer to the extra materials used in a classroom, other
than the regular books or programs that an institution provides teachers for their classes.
The main objective of supplementary materials is to create a more motivational
atmosphere where students feel encouraged to participate actively during the whole
learning process.
In relation to the importance of supplementary materials Davanellos (2010)
strongly agrees with Araya (2007) about their effectiveness in the process of learning a
second or a foreign language, and the way they develop critical thinking in language
constructions. In the same way Kenji (1997) supports the idea that searching and making
new and creative materials, that enhance student s motivation in their learning process,
Moreover, when talking about the importance of supplementary materials
Davanellos (2010) suggests that there should be a relationship between the activities in
the student s text book and reality; the types of activities meant to teach students by
experimenting, touching, creating, and so on; rather than just sitting and listening to the
teacher.
A different point of view, by Kenji (1997), states that the importance of
supplementary materials is not just to make a whole set of new activities for every class;
but to know exactly what type of materials would be appropriate for the student´s age,
and how it relates to the topic and objectives of the class.
Furthermore, Davanellos (2010) believes that the role of supplementary materials
in a classroom is to highlight the topic of the class, and mostly to support the learning of
language structures and vocabulary. In addition, he states that teachers should present
nice and attractive materials in order to promote students´ interest in learning the target
language.
Contrary to that, Araya (2007) argues that supplementary materials can be culturally
damaging because they transmit different types of messages during the teaching-learning
process. Teachers should be cautious when selecting and making supplementary
materials with the aim that they do not fall into stereotypes. In other words, Araya
explains that teaching materials can become a message deliverer. For example, if the
class is about the topicfamilyand the teacher finds aChinese babyto use as a flashcard;
this can lead to racial problems, if one or a considerable minority in that class belongs to
Davanellos (2010), Araya (2007), and Kenji (1997), agree that, each one of the
materials used in a class has its unique characteristics and applications according to the
age of the students and to the topic of the class. Also, they strongly believe that it is
better to use visual and audio materials for vocabulary presentations, especially when
working with young children. Furthermore, they state that audiovisual is the perfect
choice for practicing grammatical structures in context. In addition, they assure that
realiais the best option when working with older learners, since they need to be more in
contact with the real world.
In contrast the authors mentioned before, found that although internet is a good
source of information and a common learning space, where teenagers and adults can
practice and develop their knowledge in a better way, it is not one of the most
recommended supplementary materials to use in a class. It presents a wide range of
disadvantages, especially when they are not under adult supervision.
The use of supplementary materials for teaching has created a great and profound
curiosity in some researchers worldwide, who in order to understand the reality of the
process for teaching and learning a foreign or a second language in the classroom have
conducted several studies. Most of the research studies have gone beyond the
researcher´s expectations having discovered new and fascinating ways of working with
learners from all kinds and contexts. Through the years researchers have been carefully
studying and analyzing the information obtained in their study in order to show their
valuable discoveries in the teaching field.
Indeed, one of the studies selected to be included in this literature review, is the
if giving students a piece of reading outline in a way of a higher standard organizer
produced any changes at the time of working with listening comprehension exercises. It
also intended to figure-out if by having a good level of listening competence or facility
can help students anticipate reading understanding, and if by having a previous
knowledge affected them directly at the time of working with listening comprehension.
Furthermore, this research study intended to prove the fact that repeated exposure
provokes, in students, better reading interpretations.
For this research study 63 students from a Japanese university, (EFL learners)
with a relatively lower English ability for lecture listening, were chosen randomly. The
students were tested for a first time in order to separate them into two groups; the more
proficient ones (MP) and the less proficient ones (LP). Later the two groups were
separated a second time into the experimental group and the control group. The
experimental group had to listen to the outline for three minutes before solving the
comprehension tasks, but the control group did not have the outline; both groups were
not able to take notes or use dictionaries.
As a conclusion for this research study, the authors mentioned before found many
contradictory theories about lecture listening outlines, since they discovered that it is not
such a good idea to use them with lower English proficient students. They also realized
that outlines have to be appropriate for the students´ level, and that having a prior
knowledge is not helpful either, since most of group was integrated by less proficient
students.
Min and Hsu (2008) study was proposed to demonstrate that intermediate teenage
activities. They also intended to prove that instructional contexts are more helpful at the
time of acquiring and conserving new vocabulary. Furthermore, they proposed their
study to determine what the differences of the known and unknown words, between the
groups tested were.
The subjects for this study were 50 male Chinese speaker students, at an
intermediate level of English proficiency. The students had studied English for 5 years
in order to reach the intermediate level required for the experiment. Some tests were
administrated to the participants in order to make sure that all of them were at the same
English level of proficiency. Finally subjects were given a final test in which they had to
show their reading and vocabulary skills.
The result was that students did benefit from the study research in their lexical
knowledge, not only through reading plus vocabulary-focused activities but also through
narrow reading activities.
The authors mentioned before concluded, that the application of the
quasi-experimental test was a success in the sample students, since they could prove that
intensive vocabulary exercises are the best option for those teachers, who want their
students to enhance their receptive and productive word knowledge acquisition and
long-term retention. Researchers also found interesting the fact that by selecting,
organizing, and grouping certain vocabulary words, similar in category, can help
students enhance significantly their range of acquisition and comprehension of each
word in any reading contexts. Demonstrating like this that the objectives of the study
Arikan and Ulas (2010) gave an interesting purpose to their research study, by
proposing to examine the accurateness of authentic animated cartoons in teaching
grammar and vocabulary to young Turkish learners of English. Similarly the authors
intended to analyze its effectiveness at the time of teaching, and if there was any
learning difference between the groups to be studied in this research.
The participants in this study were young English learners, from a Turkish school.
They were selected randomly. The control group was exposed to the traditional curricula
approved by the National Ministry of Education. Later researchers paid special attention
primarily to grammatical structures and vocabulary in separate ways, ignoring the
communicative class focus on sharing meaning. The young learners were taught every
new vocabulary or language in a mechanical way by practicing questions and answering
exercises. For example, if the teacher wanted to present the vocabulary days of the week,
then she/he would point at the calendar on the classroom wall to explain to students what
each one of them was making at the same time the relationship between the Turkish and
the target language. Then students repeated a similar action for the grammar structure
planned for that day by asking students to repeat the drills; either for affirmatives,
negatives, and interrogatives with its corresponding questions and answers.
Even when Turkish pupils managed to interact and work in class with their
teacher, motivation was something that was way beyond the objectives of the class.
Teachers usually performed short reading and role plays according to the learner s age
and level, with varied activities in order to have everyone in class involved in the usage
of the target language. Researchers had thought that in order to run with their plan of
language and vocabulary to young English learners? They had to carefully choose from
a series of cartoons available in the market. After a survey between the same group of
students, they selected one gathered the appropriate language, the required pedagogical
perspective and did not go against the students´ moral and religious beliefs.
The experiment took place, by presenting pupils the first episode. Students
watched it for at least three times until they began to get used to the language and to
capture the grammar in context they had already learned in class with their teacher. After
that, the teacher prepared some power point presentations, by using some of the pictures
from the cartoon, in order to ask learners about the plot, setting, and characters in the
story. Finally the students roles played the scene and were encouraged to participate in
the communicative learning process.
As a conclusion authors found that at the end of the research study the
experimental group exceeded the control group in knowledge and usage of the target
language. The hypothesis met the objectives, by having proved that, cartoons are a good
option for teacher to use with young learners as a part of the audio-visual supplementary
materials in a class.
Chwo, Jonas, Tsai & Chuang (2010) proposed that teachers need to ask
themselves first; who the students they are going to work with are considering their ages,
foreign language level. The reason why they are in that determined classroom, the things
they expect to learn during the course and most important of all the way the teacher is
expected to teach his/her classes. In addition, researchers intended to find out if there
were any changes at the time of implementing the supplementary materials for listening
For this research study, four sophomore listening and speaking classes were
randomly selected from non-English speaking classes. Students were taught with their
regular textbooks and listening material, created by the same teachers from the English
department. At the beginning of the semester, the participants were pre-tested, through
surveys, to see what the students´ general learning styles were before the instruction
began.
Each group was tested individually, and given a post-test in a survey format. After
that the results were analyzed and determined more effectively. Participants were
informed of the texts and listening materials they were going to use for this study.
Learners and teachers worked with the given materials through the methodology
proposed for listening and speaking. Each unit developed progressively with all the
activities and after each unit lesson there was a quiz to evaluate the learning progress.
The phonological awareness tasks were implemented to the program along with the
supplementary materials, in order to complement the existing materials.
The authors, previously mentioned, analyzed and compared the results and came
to the conclusion that; between the experimental and the control groups, the differences
in their improvement for listening and speaking skills were significantly important due
to their excellent development on their surveys. They also demonstrated that, the
implementation of extra materials for these skills, worked perfectly.
The results of the study were not outstanding in relation to what the authors
expected from the hypothesis proposed at the beginning of the study. But, they were
better strategies to learn and acquire effective recycling vocabulary skills and also
motivated them to use oral presentations in groups.
Peacock (1996) stated in his research study that his main objectives were to prove
and experiment about the use of authentic materials in EFL learners and how their levels
of motivation increase or decrease significantly.
Thirty-one students were selected for this study. The learners were separated into
two groups; 16 in one and 15 in another one. Their ages ranged between 18 and 24 and
the average age was 20. There were 18 males and 15 females participants for the
research.
The participants first, went through the process of observation, to obtain
information about their behavior, concentration, participation, and so on. Then students
were given some questionnaires to determine the intensity of motivational level at the
moment of the presentation of authentic materials in the class. The pilot experiment
lasted nine days, and after that, more tests were given to the participants in order to
make the study more reliability.
The author came to the conclusion, that students prefer artificial learning materials
rather than authentic ones. The study also reflected that students felt more motivated to
participate actively, during activities like constructing sentences and writing paragraphs,
due to the exposure of artificial materials. Indeed other authors that support the idea of
authentic materials. As a matter of fact, other authors, who support the idea of authentic
materials as being good for motivation, had not been specific enough about the subject.
Peacock´s suggestion is to perform deeper researches regarding students´ motivation
Results
Qualitative Tabulation
Chart One:Type of supplementary material used to teach children.
Variable Indicators Yes No
Visual
flash cards √
power point presentations √
maps √
pictures √
charts √
handouts √
posters √
word cards √
white/black board √
Audio
songs √
dialogues √
stories √
tales √
Audiovisual
videos √
movies √
documentaries √
Realia objects (toys, plants, fruits) √
Online websites √
Author:Wendy L. Bravo B.
Chart Two:Pertinence and Appropriateness of the supplementary material used to teach children.
Author:Wendy L. Bravo B.
Source:4th(8 years old approx.) grade
V a ri a bl e Indicators 1 st cl a ss 2 nd cl a ss 3 rd cl a ss 4 th cl a ss 5 th cl a ss 6 th cl a ss 7 th cl a ss 8 th cl a ss 9 th cl a ss 1 0 th cl a ss P er t. A ppr o p . P er t. A ppr o p . P er t. A ppr o p . P er t. A ppr o p . P er t. A ppr o p . P er t. A ppr o p . P er t. A ppr o p . P er t. A ppr o p . P er t. A ppr o p P er t. A ppr o p . V is ua l flash cards power point presentations Maps Pictures
charts √ X
Handouts
posters word cards
white/black board
√ √ √ X √ X √ X X X √ X √ X √ X √ √
A udi o Songs dialogues stories Tales A udi o v is ua
l videos √ √
Movies documentaries
R
ea
li
a objects (toys,
plants, fruits)
O
nl
Chart Three:Pertinence and Appropriateness of the supplementary material used to teach children.
Author:Wendy L. Bravo B.
Source:5th(9 years old approx.) grade
V a ri a bl e Indicators 1 st c la ss 2 nd cl a ss 3 rd cl a ss 4 th cl a ss 5 th cl a ss 6 th cl a ss 7 th cl a ss 8 th cl a ss 9 th cl a ss 1 0 th cl a ss P er t. A ppr o p . P er t. A ppr o p . P er t. A ppr o p . P er t. A ppr o p . P er t. A ppr o p . P er t. A ppr o p . P er t. A ppr o p . P er t. A ppr o p . P er t. A ppr o p P er t. A ppr o p . V is ua l flash cards power point presentations Maps Pictures charts Handouts posters word cards white/black board
√ √ √ X √ X √ X √ √ √ √ X X √ √ √ √
A udi o Songs dialogues stories Tales A udi o v is ua l videos Movies documentaries R ea li
a objects (toys,
plants, fruits) √ √
O
nl
Chart Four:Pertinence and Appropriateness of the supplementary material used to teach children.
Author:Wendy L. Bravo B.
Source:6th(10 years old approx.) grade
V a ri a bl e Indicators 1 st c la ss 2 nd cl a ss 3 rd cl a ss 4 th cl a ss 5 th cl a ss 6 th cl a ss 7 th cl a ss 8 th cl a ss 9 th cl a ss 1 0 th cl a ss P er t. A ppr o p . P er t. A ppr o p . P er t. A ppr o p . P er t. A ppr o p . P er t. A ppr o p . P er t. A ppr o p . P er t. A ppr o p . P er t. A ppr o p . P er t. A ppr o p P er t. A ppr o p . V is ua l flash cards power point presentations Maps Pictures charts
Handouts √ X
posters word cards
white/black board
√ X √ X √ X √ √ √ √ √ X X X √ √ √ √
A udi o Songs dialogues stories Tales A udi o v is ua l videos Movies documentaries R ea li
a objects (toys,
plants, fruits)
O
nl
Quantitative Tabulation
Chart Five:Frequency of use supplementary material.
Variable Indicators 4th grade (8 years old approx.) 5th grade (9 years old approx.) 6th grade (10 years old approx.) TOTAL PERCENTAGE
f f f f %
Visual flash cards power point presentations Maps Pictures
charts 1 1 3,23
Handouts 1 1 3,23
posters
word cards
white/black board
9 9 9 27 87.09
Audio Songs dialogues stories tales Audiovisual
videos 1 1 3,23
movies
documentaries
Realia objects (toys,
plants, fruits)
1 1 3,23
Online websites
TOTAL 31 100%
Author:Wendy L. Bravo B.
Description, Analysis, and Interpretation of Results
The following section describes, analyzes, and interprets the results collected in
qualitative and quantitative charts. The qualitative analysis is described in terms of
pertinence, appropriateness, and quality. And the quantitative analysis takes into account
the frequency of the supplementary materials used in every observed class.
Qualitative Analysis
4thGrade
Along the10 observed classes, the teacher used charts, white board and videos as
supplementary materials to teach children in EFL classes. These materials were analyzed
in the same order as they appear in the qualitative charts.
Charts
In the first class observed The garden scarecrow problem vs. solution a flow
chart was used to explain part of the class topic. The objective of this class was to
identify the problem and solution of the story in order to understand it better. The chart
was used in a pertinent way, because the teacher summarized the story with some
examples. Also the chart was used to help students identify what the problem and
solution in the story was. In addition, the chart was used to help students classify the
important details from the story, which successfully met one of the objectives of the
class.
The use of the flow chart in this class was not appropriate for the students` age
and level because there were a few misspelled words that confused students at the time
Regarding the quality of the material, students were considerably bored and sleepy
in this class, since the material presented was not elaborated with originality. Teacher
used too many words for each part of the flow chart; the size of the letter was small and
placed in a perpendicular position which made the chart look extense. To conclude,
teacher did not design the flow chart with creativity which did not encourage students`
participation or interest in the class.
White board
In the first class observed, the white board was used in a pertinent way according
to its topic The garden scarecrow problem vs. solution and its objective to identify
the problem and solution of the story in order to understand it better. The teacher drew a
picture of a scarecrow to introduce the topic of the class. Then the teacher explained to
the students what a problem is and what could a possible solution to that problem be by
dividing the board in two parts with a vertical line from top to bottom. In one side the
teacher wrote some common conflicts or problems and in the other some solutions to
those problems. Also the teacher drew some pictures to clarify the meaning of the
unknown words that appeared in the reading as the class progressed.
The use of the white board was appropriate in relation to the students` age and
level, as Gomleksiz (2001), Global English (2001) and Rodiki (2006) agreed children
learn things better by the presentation of graphics, rather than speeches or written
explanations. Teacher was also dynamic at the time of the explanations by encouraging
students to participate actively at the time of the explanations by encouraging students to
The white board used by the teacher was acrylic, and it had a grid expanded across
its dimensions; which was very original and helpful at the time of drawing and writing
anything. The quality of the used material was very good because the teacher drew
pictures big enough for all the students in the classroom to see. In addition, teacher used
different color markers to explain what a problem and a solution was, so students could
differentiate things easier. Furthermore, teacher used a normal size letter so students
were able to read without too much effort. Finally teacher used the board in an organized
way to help students understand the topic better and met the objectives of the class.
In the second class the board was used to explain the grammar structures,
have/has, in a pertinent way in order to meet its objective to explain students how to
identify the use of have/has. Teacher wrote on the board some sentences with have/has
and explained, step by step, when and how to use them. After that, teacher asked
students to pass in front of the class and match the grammar structures learned with their
corresponding personal pronouns, by drawing some lines with a marker on the board, in
order to check understanding.
The used material was not appropriate for the students` age and level, due to the
teacher`s lack of organization for explaining and writing the grammar rules. Students
could not understand the topic of the class at first, since the white board was so full of
words that confused them and made them lose interest in the subject. Moreover students
were not motivated at all and interrupted the classes constantly; which according to
Gomleksiz (2001), Global English (2001) and Rodiki (2006) students need to be highly
In terms of quality, the white board was not presented with creativity or
originality, mostly because the teacher used small size letters and a light color marker to
write. There was not organization at the time of writing on the board which made it
difficult for students to write down the information in their notebooks.
In the third class observed, the white board was used properly in terms of
pertinence since the teacher achieved successfully the objective proposed, to learn new
vocabulary about the story Lazy Town. In fact, the white board was used to draw
pictures about the vocabulary prepared for this class, related to the story Lazy Town .
In relation to the quality of the used material; the board was not applied with
originality, because the teacher was not good at the complexity of certain words like:
energy booster, underground, neighborhood, among others did not help either. Also the
teacher used a red color marker for all the drawings, which made it difficult for the
students to see especially for the ones on the back seats. Students were not motivated by
the presentation of the drawings and for that reason they made noise during the whole
class.
In the fourth class, the white board was used to explain the topic countable
nouns- food . The teacher drew a pertinent chart to meet the objective of the class to
learn about countable nouns by writing sentences using the food vocabulary. Also the
teacher explained each part of the chart on the board and drew some food vocabulary. In
addition, teacher asked students to pass in front of the class and circle the correct
countable noun in sentences written on the board. Likewise, teacher gave students some
rules to form affirmative, negative, questions and answers with the countable nouns,
Concerning the appropriateness of the used material, it was not good at all in
relation to the students` age and level. The teacher wrote so many words in the chart that
students took a long time to understand what a countable noun was. Moreover, after the
explanation of countable noun , teacher confused students with so many rules on the
board that made students progressively lose interest in the class.
Students were not motivated during the presentation of the countable nouns
chart on the white board, since the teacher was not creative enough at the time of
presenting it. The teacher used so many color markers for all the charts and the food
items were drawn in a messy way. In this class, the quality of the material was
inappropriate and boring.
Cornerstone (2010) and Brown (2004), state that teachers must be resourceful at
the time of teaching children to read and write in order to meet the objectives of the
class. In The fifth class observed, the board was used to write and explain the topic
Academic words and to meet the objective to learn about academic words and to
identify them in a paragraph. The teacher did not use the board in a pertinent way like
drawings or sentences; to help students understand the topic.
In terms of appropriateness, the board was not used in an effective way since the
teacher`s explanations and definitions of academic words were confusing. The
students felt frustrated during the whole class. Moreover students were not able to
construct their own sentences using academic words.
The material used did not awake students` interest or motivation at all. The
teacher wrote some examples on the board and expected students to comprehend
six words and their meanings and felt the rest of the board in blank. The quality of the
white board used in this class was just not didactic or adequate for teaching children.
In the sixth class observed, the used of the white board was pertinent because the
teacher did everything to get students` attention at the time of explaining the topic of the
class ordinal and cardinal numbers and to meet the objective to identify and classify
ordinal and cardinal numbers according to their characteristics. The teacher also drew
some pictures to let students know there exists a classification among numbers and the
specific use of each one of them. Furthermore, teacher wrote on the board the sequence
of the ordinal numbers in words and explained how to use the abbreviations when
writing dates. The teacher also wrote the date in the top center of the board and did a
dictation for the students.
According to McGraw-Hill (2002), every student learns differently, which means
that teachers need to find different and better teaching techniques to apply in a
classroom with his/her students. When analyzing the appropriateness of the used
material, it was found that the white board was not used in relation to the students` age
and level due to its overuse. Moreover the teacher`s messy notes about ordinal and
cardinal numbers on the board did not help students understand the topic immediately.
The teacher had to repeat the process a lot of times. Finally, some drawings helped
students a little bit. The entire board was full of words when the teacher finished
explaining the topic which made students bore.
The material use was not applied with creativity in this class. The teacher
confused students using a lot of words and complex explanations. The teacher wrote
could not understand them, so the teacher drew a chart to explain the topic better, but it
did not work either and finally the teacher decided to explain the topic by drawing a
picture about the usual places in a contest. Besides the fact, that the teacher wasted so
much time writing boring things on the board, students were disappointed and stressed
that in the middle of the class they were distracted with other things.
In the seventh class observed, the use of the white board was pertinent enough in
relation to the topic and the objective of the class. The teacher could explain the topic,
long vowel pairs-phonics and meet the objective to learn the correct pronunciation of
the long vowel pairs and to discriminate sounds in a dictation, by writing and explaining
on the board the correct pronunciation of the long vowels /a/, /e/ and /i/ and the reason
why they are like that. First the teacher wrote the phonetic symbols of the vowels on the
board and produced the corresponding sound for each one of them. Then students
imitated the pronunciation. Then the teacher wrote some words that contained the long
vowels just taught in order for students to identify and discriminate sounds. After that,
the teacher did a run dictation by dividing the board into three parts. The first side was
used to write words with long /a/pairs, the second side to write words with long /e/ pairs,
and a third part to write words with long /i/ pairs. This last exercise helped students
recognize the long vowel sounds and accomplish the objectives of the class.
The board in this class was not used appropriately according to the students` age
and level. The teacher could not get the students` attention at the time of the
explanations on the board and had to repeat the process several times. Also teacher used
a lot of unknown words as examples, which confused the students. Moreover students
tired during the class explanations. They were playing and talking instead of listening,
repeating or looking at the board.
Kenji (1997) supports the idea that searching and designing new and creative
materials that enhance students` motivation in their learning process is teacher`s every
day work. This is the reason why students did not feel motivated about the presented
material in terms of originality and creativity. The teacher used one and almost worn-out
marker. This was not appropriate for the students sitting in the back of the classroom.
Indeed the teacher did not use the board differently from other occasions. The teacher
filled it with a lot of words. This did not help students to write down the information in
their notebooks.
In the eighth class, the white board was used in a positive way, in terms of
pertinence. The teacher drew some pretty nice pictures to explain the topic of the class,
the reading A Big Mess . The teacher combined some of the pre-reading vocabulary
words with pictures drawn on the board and gestures in order to keep students
concentrated in the story. Later the teacher used the board to write the plot and the
conclusions of the story. This helped the students with their understanding and met the
objectives of the class to help students with their reading habits and to develop their
reading skills for comprehensive reading, at the same time.
About the appropriateness of the materials used, it was not really good for the
students` age and level. The teacher wasted quite a lot of time drawing some words that
could have been better just mimed. In addition to what has been said, students were lost
in the middle of the story even though the teacher made a big effort trying to explain it
According to the creativity and originality of the material applied, it did not awake
students` interest or curiosity. The teacher wrote the whole story on the board, and asked
students to read it. The students did not want to participate in the reading and decided
not to pay attention to the teacher`s instructions during the whole class which create
chaos.
In the tenth class observed the use of the white board was pertinent at the time of
explaining the topic, have/has forming sentences and meeting its objective to learn and
use appropriately have/has according to the noun in the sentences given. First the teacher
wrote on the board the list of personal pronouns, then drew some lines to match them
with the corresponding form of have/has, and explained to the students everything about
their usage.
The board was used appropriately in relation to the students` age and level in this
class. The teacher used only a few words on the board and was clear and specific with
the explanations. The students felt confident to come to front of the class and work with
the exercises on the board either by circling or completing the correct structure.
The quality of the material used in this class was good, because the teacher used
two different color markers at the time of the explanation and wrote only the necessary,
which helped the students in their understanding. The teacher also use the space in the
board in a proper way and wrote in big size letters which helped students sitting at the
back of the classroom to read without much effort.
Videos
In the ninth class a video was used in a pertinent way according to the topic
and to understand what is wrong with them. The teacher showed students the vocabulary
words related to the topic of the class, through a video that contained a song. The video
was used to review the vocabulary learned in previous classes and also to identify and
understand what was wrong with the animals in it. Moreover, teacher used the video to
socialize with students about the topic and to know a little bit more about students`
passion for animals. The students were practicing verbs at the same time they were
watching the video. The teacher stopped the video every time a new animal appeared to
ask the students information about that animal.
Arikan and Ulas (2010), share that the use of authentic audio visual material to
teach English as a foreign language to children, offers an invaluable way of
contextualizing and introducing authentic language. Indeed, the material used for this
class was appropriate in terms of the students` age and level because the teacher selected
the video carefully, taking into account the language used and the students` preferences.
Also, the video, the video was spoken in American English with native accent very clear
and neat for students` better understanding.
The quality of the material used in this class was great, since the teacher applied
the video with creativity and originality. The students were motivated to participate
actively in the class and also awoke their curiosity to find out what would come next. In
addition, the video had bright colors that captured students` attention right away and the
songs were so contagious that encouraged students` to sign along. Furthermore, the
video helped the teacher to create a nice environment of happiness and peace to work
Learning styles
According to Haynes (1998), he suggested that teachers should assist students all
the time during the learning process, in order to help them identify their own learning
styles. Keeping always in mind that there are different types of learners however, in this
class, the teacher used the white board as the main supplementary material to explain
almost everything in the classroom, without taking into account the students` necessities.
Sometimes it is difficult to create and select the supplementary materials for every
class, although it is always rewarding to see the students` progress class after class. In
these ten observed classes; the teacher was not considering the types of learning styles in
the classroom. The teacher s main focus was more on reaching the class objectives
through the use of a few supplementary materials rather than prioritize the students`
needs. I believe the teacher could improve his classes by getting to know his students`
preferences at the time of learning. So that he can design or elaborate the adequate
supplementary materials for successful classes.
5thGrade
Ten classes were observed in this grade. During this time the teacher used the
white board and other objects as supplementary materials to teach children in EFL
classes. These materials were analyzed in terms of pertinence, appropriateness, and
quality.
White board
In the second class the teacher taught the components of a story with the topic
My favorite story . In this class the board was used in a pertinent way in order to meet
