What teaching strategies can I use to maintain my 5th grade A studentes engaged in the English lesson?

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(1)TEACHING STRATEGIES TO ENGAGE STUDENTS IN THE ENGLISH LESSON. School of Education English Pedagogy. What Teaching Strategies can I Use to Maintain my 5th Grade ‘A’ Students Engaged in the English Lesson? Solange Sánchez. This research was carried out to obtain a university degree as an English teacher. Tutor Teacher: Lusvic Torrellas – Pablo Silva. Santiago, Chile 2016.

(2) TEACHING STRATEGIES TO ENGAGE STUDENTS IN THE ENGLISH LESSON. Index. Abstract…………………………………………………………………………………………2-3. Introduction………………………………………………………………………………………4 Context: School and Community…………………………………………………………………5 Students and Lessons……………………………………………………………………………..6 Problem and Research Question………………………………………………………………...7-8 Rationale………………………………………………………………………………………9-10 Literature Review………………………………………………………………………….....11-17 Methodological Design…………………………………………………………………….…18-21. Procedures for Data Collection………………………………………………………………22-23 Interventions…………………………………………………………………………….........24-27 Data Analysis…………………………………………………………………………………28-45 Reflection and Analysis…………………………………………………………………...….46-48 Conclusions and Implications…………………………………………………………….......49-50 References………………………………………………………………………………………51 Appendices…………………………………………………………………………………...52-61 1.

(3) TEACHING STRATEGIES TO ENGAGE STUDENTS IN THE ENGLISH LESSON. Abstract. This action research project looks for different teaching strategies to be implemented in the 5th grade A in order to maintain students engaged in the English lesson, at Cadete Arturo Prat School. The students involved in this project are up to about 10 and 11 years old. The teaching strategies were chosen according to students’ needs and interests. Furthermore, the process of this investigation was registered through journals and surveys. These instruments will demonstrate the implemented strategies succeed through the evidence collected.. At the end of this investigation, the researcher is able to recognize and implement appropriate strategies for their students, achieving the intended purpose of this project.. Keywords: Teaching Strategies- Students Engagement- Young learners – Classroom Management.. 2.

(4) TEACHING STRATEGIES TO ENGAGE STUDENTS IN THE ENGLISH LESSON. Resumen. Este proyecto de investigación acción busca diferentes estrategias de enseñanza para ser implementadas en mi 5to básico con el fin de mantener a los estudiantes involucrados en la clase de inglés, en el colegio Arturo Prat. Los estudiantes involucrados en este proyecto tienen entre 10 a 11 años de edad. Las estrategias de enseñanza fueron elegidas de acuerdo a las necesidades e intereses de los estudiantes. Además, el proceso de esta investigación fue registrado a través de una bitácora y encuestas. Estos instrumentos demostrarán si las estrategias implementadas son apropiadas o no.. Al final de este proyecto, la investigadora es capaz de reconocer e implementar estrategias apropiadas para sus estudiantes, logrando el propósito esperado de este proyecto.. Palabras clave: Estrategias de enseñanza- Compromiso de los estudiantes- Aprendices jóvenesManejo del aula.. 3.

(5) TEACHING STRATEGIES TO ENGAGE STUDENTS IN THE ENGLISH LESSON. Introduction. There are different factors that influence the teaching practice, as well as people involved in the teaching process. Teachers know that students are diverse, since learners have different characteristics and abilities in terms of learning styles, and students’ willingness in the classroom.. This action research project is focused on looking for teaching strategies to engage 5th grade students in the English lessons, at Cadete Arturo Prat School. For the researcher it is important to find suitable strategies to be implemented in 5th grade in order to improve her teaching practice, and to help students with their needs. This investigation might be a meaningful tool for teachers and/or pre-service teachers who face similar issues inside their classroom.. Teachers and preservice teachers can use suitable teaching strategies for their students. Teachers need to know their students: their likes, dislikes, interests, and specially their context. Thus, teachers can reach out to students in different ways.. If teachers become aware of a problem in the classroom, they should look for solutions. Teachers should focus on their teaching practice reflecting on what works and what does not work, implementing new techniques and activities according to students’ needs, and recognizing which strategies are more appropriate for their students, and which ones are not in order to catch students’ attention.. 4.

(6) TEACHING STRATEGIES TO ENGAGE STUDENTS IN THE ENGLISH LESSON. Context: School and Community. This action research project takes place at Cadete Arturo Prat School. This is a public school located in downtown Santiago. It is a secular, coeducational institution that houses approximately 800 members including students, teachers and administrative staff. Most of the students who attend this school come from low-income families; some of them belong to vulnerable environments as well. In fact, the rate of vulnerability according to the PEI is 44, 5% There are many students who come from different countries such as Colombia, Peru, Cuba, and Argentina. As it is established in the PEI, the school promotes cultural, religious, and social diversity of the students. (PEI, p. 7, 2014). Following this idea, the school has students from Pre-K to 8th grade with an average of pupils per classroom around 40 – except in Pre-k and Kindergarten since the number of learners is 30. Furthermore, the school does not have Jornada Escolar Completa (hereafter JEC), which means full school day. Therefore, the daily class schedule is organized in two modules: morning and afternoon classes.. Regarding the morning modules, from Monday to Friday lessons start at 07:45 am and end up at 13:20 pm, and in afternoon modules they start at 13:40 pm until 19:00 pm approximately. It all depends on the day since on Wednesdays students who attend in the morning leave earlier and the ones who go in the afternoon attend later because of teachers council.. 5.

(7) TEACHING STRATEGIES TO ENGAGE STUDENTS IN THE ENGLISH LESSON. Students and Lessons The class that will be part of this Action Research Project is the 5th grade A. The reason of the grade chosen mainly encompasses classroom management and the way students respond to English classes. Besides, the grade is composed of 45 students; 16 girls and 29 boys. Students have 3 pedagogical hours of English once a week on Wednesdays. In the morning, the lessons begin at 7:45 and finish at 10:00.. Taking into consideration that this is a co-educational institution which receives materials from the Ministry of Education, students usually use the student’s book during lessons. Specifically in 5th grade, students work with the student’s book every class. However, classes are not only focused on the book because they are more communicative. For instance, students discuss about different topics in pairs, and they give opinions. Moreover, the teacher relates the contents to students’ context. The teacher approaches the topics to students’ reality, and students can express their interests, likes and dislikes. Also, students often tell about their experiences inside and outside the school. It depends on the activities and the unit.. The seating arrangement is traditional. This means that students’ desks are located within the classroom in 4 rows. However, they are clustered in a line of three students per row. Furthermore, the class size is large in 5th grade; therefore this arrangement is appropriate in order to organize the classroom.. 6.

(8) TEACHING STRATEGIES TO ENGAGE STUDENTS IN THE ENGLISH LESSON. Problem. Throughout these months, I have been working with my 5th grade since April and officially teaching since May. Within this time, I have noticed different aspects to be improved in the class. For instance, misbehavior, reluctant students who are not willing to work, disrespectful learners and issues related to students’ attention. Since my teaching formally started, I realized that the problem that embraced all of my students was related to getting students’ attention back to the class. One of the issues that caused this problem was the class size because it is large due to students were sat in rows, just talking during the lessons, without having the possibility to be heard by the rest of the class since the environment was becoming noisy every single class. Consequently, the flow of the class was affected because the class was interrupted by talkative students, and the noise. The teachers waste time trying to silence students and it is difficult to getting students’ attention back to the lesson.. Students are usually participative; that is a great characteristic of them because it allows them to create activities centered on them. However, students get easily distracted: they stand up, walk around the classroom, talk to their classmates, ask permission to go to the bathroom, and so forth. As a result, it is complex to keep students focused on the class.. 7.

(9) TEACHING STRATEGIES TO ENGAGE STUDENTS IN THE ENGLISH LESSON. For example, considering that the amount of time of class is extensive for both of us, students and teacher; the use of videos has been used as ice-breakers in order to vary the sequence of the class to maintain students’ attention. Nevertheless, the activities are usually short and are not enough to keep them all focused. Therefore, the problem relies on my teaching practice because I have not been able to find the way to keep my students focused on the class. As it was mentioned previously, the short activities, videos and ice-breakers have not been enough to maintain students’ attention in the class. Consequently, it is important to find new techniques that help me to improve my teaching practice in order to engage students in the lessons.. Action Research Question. What teaching strategies can I use to maintain my 5th grade ‘A’ students engaged in the English lesson?. 8.

(10) TEACHING STRATEGIES TO ENGAGE STUDENTS IN THE ENGLISH LESSON. Rationale. As it was previously established, I am keen on finding strategies which could help me to improve my teaching practice in 5th grade so as to contribute with my students’ learning as well as my performance within the classroom.. Scrivener (2012) points out that “in order to help create the most engaging and useful learning environment, we need to learn new techniques, or perhaps relearn familiar ones, so that they are effective in a classroom environment.” (p. 3). The main purpose for addressing this action research is because I want to make a contribution in the English lessons in the 5th grade. It is expected to benefit different people, and to improve my teaching practice at Cadete Arturo Prat School as well. Once implemented, this project might expectantly help others stratums – me, as a future EFL teacher, my students and EFL teachers who might face the same problem.. Firstly, if by doing this action research project I might find out useful teaching strategies for my 5th grade students, I could help them with their attention during the English class. Together, we can create a better environment inside the classroom applying those strategies. It might be meaningful to find those strategies in order to catch students’ attention during the lessons.. 9.

(11) TEACHING STRATEGIES TO ENGAGE STUDENTS IN THE ENGLISH LESSON. If I achieved my purpose, the lessons could be more meaningful for students than the previous ones because it is supposed that the lessons will maintain students’ attention during the class.. Secondly, the results of this project could be helpful for my future experiences as English teacher in different grades and schools. This investigation is important to get involved with my current teaching practice, and to learn new strategies that might help my performance.. Finally, if I find out helpful strategies, other teachers could also use them to improve their teaching practice as well. Primarily, those strategies might help teachers who work at Cadete Arturo Prat and teach in 5th grade because they could have a similar issue with students’ attention. It is important that teachers support each other in order to enhance teaching performance.. 10.

(12) TEACHING STRATEGIES TO ENGAGE STUDENTS IN THE ENGLISH LESSON. Literature Review. Considering that the research question involves concepts such as teaching strategies, student engagement, young learners, and classroom management; it is important to present some definitions of these terms and provide a theoretical framework of the research in order to get a better understanding about it.. I have selected some definitions about the concepts in order to narrow the theoretical framework before to develop a depth analysis of this research.. Teaching Strategies Wandberg (2011) provides a definition of this concept: “teaching strategies refer to the structure, system, methods, techniques, procedures and processes that a teacher uses during instruction. These are strategies the teacher employs to assist student learning.” (p. 164) According to the author, the teacher is in charge of determining the appropriate strategies for students, depending on their needs. The teacher has to select the most accurate activities to achieve students’ engagement.. This action research will expose some teaching strategies through different activities that teachers might use to achieve the intended purpose.. 11.

(13) TEACHING STRATEGIES TO ENGAGE STUDENTS IN THE ENGLISH LESSON. Harmer (2001) establishes that grouping students is a good strategy to make students work on the expected goals. He exposes different kinds of ways to group students, and provide advantages and disadvantages about them. According to Harmer, “there is no real limit to the way in which teachers can group students in a classroom, though certain factors, such as overcrowding, fixed furniture and entrenched student attitudes, may make things problematic.” (p.161). This action research will be focused on two ways of grouping students: pairwork and groupwork. The first one is pairwork: “in pairwork, students can practise language together, study a text, research language or take part in information-gap activities.” (p.165). The second one is groupwork: “we can put students in larger groups, too, since this will allow them to do a range of tasks for which pairwork is not sufficient or appropriate.” (p.165) Harmer points out that small groups of around five students encourage involvement and participation. The amount of students will depend on the activity, it could vary.. The author states that through pairwork and groupwork, teachers promote cooperation among students. Also, students can participate in a better way and do not lose the focus of the lesson. However, Harmer adds that both strategies could be very noisy, and sometimes students talk about a different topic. For that reason, it is important that teachers monitor students’ work.. 12.

(14) TEACHING STRATEGIES TO ENGAGE STUDENTS IN THE ENGLISH LESSON. Along with this, Darling-Hammond and Bransford (2005) state that groupwork could have a proper impact if teachers design collaborative instruction effectively. “Effective groupwork requires teachers to create truly interdependent tasks, establish clear goals, effectively organize discussions, monitor activities to reinforce how students can help one another, and facilitate frequent evaluations of how the work is progressing.” (p.338). The authors point out that the strategies are closely related to classroom management. Later on, it will be exposed that concept in-depth.. Student Engagement: The research question is focused on the verb ‘engage’. In this research the term engagement is related to students´ involvement, and if they are interested or not in the English lesson. Willms (2000) establishes that “researchers have recently used the term engagement to refer to the extent to which students identify with and value schooling outcomes, and participate in academic and non-academic school activities.”. Another definition of student’s engagement is “the process whereby institutions and sector bodies make deliberate attempts to involve and empower students in the process of shaping the learning experience.” (HEFCE, 2008).. 13.

(15) TEACHING STRATEGIES TO ENGAGE STUDENTS IN THE ENGLISH LESSON. Regarding the concept engagement, I figured out another concept which is closely related to it. The concept is engaging pedagogy, and it is exposed by Darling-Hammond and Bransford in a chapter about classroom management. Darling-Hammond and Bransford (2005) point out “to develop and maintain and effective learning environment, children must be interested and engaged in the learning activities presented in the classroom.” (p. 332). As it is exposed, teachers are in charge of engaging students in the learning activities. The authors state that it is crucial that teachers select appropriate and meaningful tasks for students, and the instructions must be clear. Moreover, teachers have to promote suitable scaffolding; in that way students may be interested in the different activities and materials.. Young Learners: This concept is closely related to teaching strategies because the teachers’ strategies depend on the age of students. As Harmer (2001) establishes, young children learn differently from older children, teenagers and adults in diverse ways. He makes some recommendations to take into account to teach children up to about ten and eleven (the age of the presented students in this research). For instance, Harmer (2001) explains that the understanding of these children is more related to what they see and hear; especially if they have the opportunity to touch and interact. It is difficult for children to understand abstract concepts such as grammar rules. Furthermore, children have a limited attention span; they can get easily bored, and they lose interest after ten minutes or so.. 14.

(16) TEACHING STRATEGIES TO ENGAGE STUDENTS IN THE ENGLISH LESSON. Following the previous ideas, Harmer points out “good teachers at this level need to provide a rich diet of learning experiences which encourage their students to get information from a variety of sources.” (p. 83). The author argues that teachers need to work with students individually and in groups; in that way good and affective relationships could be developed. Moreover, teachers need to plan different activities for a given time of period, and be flexible to move on to the next activity when they see their students are getting bored. Teachers of young learners need to spend time understanding how their students think and operate. Teachers “need to be able to pick up on their students’ current interests so that they can use them to motivate the children.” (p.83).. Finally, Harmer recommends that students should work in groups in different parts of the classroom, changing the activities every ten minutes or so. “Because children love discovering things, and because they respond well to being asked to use their imagination, they may well be involved in puzzle- like activities, in making things, in games, in physical movement or in songs.” (p. 83).. It is important to consider some of those strategies if teachers are dealing with young children in order to accomplish the learning goals, and maintain students interested in the lesson.. 15.

(17) TEACHING STRATEGIES TO ENGAGE STUDENTS IN THE ENGLISH LESSON. Classroom Management:. I begin considering Brophy’s definition (1988) classroom management is defined as “actions taken to create and maintain learning environment conducive to attainment of the goals of instruction.” (p. 3). These actions are related to arranging the classroom, establishing rules, maintaining attention on lessons, and engagement in academic activities).. Scrivener (2012) exposes that “Your classroom management is the way that you manage students’ learning by organising and controlling what happens in your classroom”. (p. 1 ). The author also adds that it could be the way that teachers decide not to organise and control, or the way that they delegate such control to the students.. Darling-Hammond and Bransford (2005) developed a chapter of a book about classroom management, and at the beginning of it, they start with Brophy´s definition: “actions taken to create and maintain a learning environment that supports instructional goals.” (p. 330). Darling-Hammond and Bransford state that classroom management is one of the most important factors in preservice teacher education. They argue that teachers must create an effective structure in the classroom, establish certain rules, and foster respectful relationships with students to engage them and promote a constructive work.. 16.

(18) TEACHING STRATEGIES TO ENGAGE STUDENTS IN THE ENGLISH LESSON. “Classroom management is often erroneously equated only with organizing classroom routines and dealing with misbehavior. Relevant concerns about curriculum, pedagogy, motivation,and community development are often missing.” (p. 340). The authors explain that it does not mean that knowledge and skills for organizing the classroom are not important. They are crucial to promote and effective learning environment, and maintain an orderly class because they optimize learning time and reduce the students’ distractions.. “Learning time is optimized by using strategies that maintain the flow of the activities, minimize the disruptions that occur during transitions, and help students develop responsibility for their actions.” (p. 341) Also, the authors mention that teachers who begin the school year by developing and establishing a set of rules are more effective classroom managers.. Moreover, Darling-Hammond and Bransford (2005), state three main elements of preparation to be successful in classroom management. First, teachers need practical experience with children and guidance as they learn about classroom management. Second, practical experience has to be linked with useful classroom pedagogies, and integrate experience with theory. Third, teacher educator has themselves model good classroom management.. 17.

(19) TEACHING STRATEGIES TO ENGAGE STUDENTS IN THE ENGLISH LESSON. Methodological Design. In this section of the Action Research, it is necessary to expose the instruments that will be used to gather data, describe each one of them, and explain why they were chosen. Furthermore, this section will be divided into three stages: first, ask for the permissions to apply the instruments to students (see appendix 1); second, perform the interventions (three during the process); and third, collect all the data and analyze it.. Taking into account the purpose of this action research, two instruments were selected to collect data: journal and written questionnaires.. Classroom observation journal: A journal was selected to gather information because it is a useful tool to reflect on the reality observed during the lessons, and, particularly, during the interventions. As it was exposed previously, the research question is related to the teaching practice; thus, writing a journal might cause that the teacher, who is in charge of this investigation, could reflect and analyze about what it has been observed. The observations have been written weekly, and they depict a description of the classes and the reflections upon them.. Harmer (2001) points out that keeping journals is a good way of promoting self- analysis and reflection on the teaching practice. Through journals, teachers can record their thoughts about their performance and about their students. In this way “journals are powerful reflective devices which allow us to use introspection to make sense of what is going on around us.” (p. 411).. 18.

(20) TEACHING STRATEGIES TO ENGAGE STUDENTS IN THE ENGLISH LESSON. Moreover, Harmer establishes that journal-writing is powerful for two main reasons. First, the act of writing provides teachers a real introspection about their thoughts and observations. Second, the act of reading a journal provokes a new engagement with what was experienced. “As a result of this re-engagement, we might quite possibly come to conclusions about what to do next.” (p. 411).. Burns (2010) states that in action research it is important to collect data systematically. “By reflecting on the data – the information or evidence you have before you – your understanding and insights about teaching issues will get much deeper.” (p. 54). Moreover, Burns points out that journals “are extremely useful though as a way of capturing significant reflections and events in an ongoing way.” (p. 89).. Questionnaires / Survey Three questionnaires were selected to collect information because, as Harmer (2001) states, they are helpful tools to get information about opinions, thoughts, and feedback from the people involved in the process.. To begin with, Anne Burns establishes that Questionnaires (hereafter “Q”) are also sometimes called survey, and they will be applied (see appendix 2 and 3) in order to know what students think about the lessons and my performance as well. Also, a different survey will be applied (see appendix 4) to the host teacher and teacher’s assistant during the process of action research in order to collect more information and see their opinions towards my teaching performances.. 19.

(21) TEACHING STRATEGIES TO ENGAGE STUDENTS IN THE ENGLISH LESSON. Along with this, through questionnaires we can get valuable information with different kinds of questions (open-ended item). Open-ended item: The purpose of applying this specific type of questionnaire is because, as Anne Burns explains, “the responses are fairly short but give you information that may not be easily captured numerically.”(p. 85).. Finally, Harmer (2001) establishes that through questionnaires teachers can ask students to rate the quality of an activity in order of importance or write a paragraph about an activity, and also ask them how they perceive what is happening in lessons.. Questionnaires to Students: ·. Q #1: It will be applied before the second intervention in order to know whether students prefer working in groups and/or in pairs, or if they prefer other kind of activities to be focused in the class. It is important to mention that this questionnaire will be written in Spanish because of the students’ English level. The questions were written in Spanish because it is important that students answer with no limitations.. ·. Q #2: It will be applied after the third intervention in order to know whether pairwork/groupwork helped students getting their attention back to the class, if pairwork and groupwork were effective or not, and if students were engaged with lesson working in teams. This questionnaire will be written in Spanish because of the aforementioned reasons.. 20.

(22) TEACHING STRATEGIES TO ENGAGE STUDENTS IN THE ENGLISH LESSON. Questionnaire to host Teacher and Teacher’s Assistant: Q #3: It will be applied after the interventions in order to know teachers’ opinions and reflections regarding my teaching practice, and how they perceived the results of the interventions.. 21.

(23) TEACHING STRATEGIES TO ENGAGE STUDENTS IN THE ENGLISH LESSON. Procedures for Data Collection. First of all, I began observing classes and taking notes in my journal. I started writing my journal from the first week of classes of the second term in order to reflect every day about my teaching practice, the context, and identify problems or needs inside the classroom. Therefore, my journal is the main instrument to collect data during the whole process of Action Research.. At the beginning, I wrote in my journal three times a week because I attend to school from Monday to Wednesday. However, when I identified the problem and chose the grade I would work with, I started to write in my journal just once a week (Wednesdays).. Secondly, I decided to use another instrument, more specific than the journal which is the questionnaire. Using questionnaires we can get specific information about what we want to know. It is not necessary that students write their names, it could be anonymously. In that way, students could answer honestly, the most important thing is their opinion, not their names.. Thirdly, I applied two questionnaires to students in order to collect data. The first one was applied before the second intervention, and the second one was applied after the third intervention.. 22.

(24) TEACHING STRATEGIES TO ENGAGE STUDENTS IN THE ENGLISH LESSON. Finally, I applied one questionnaire to the teacher’s assistant in order to know her opinion about the strategies used during the lessons. I made this decision due to the host teacher has not been able to attend to the school since last month. The only person who has been unconditionally with me during this process is the teacher’s assistant who has also collaborated and guided me through this path.. 23.

(25) TEACHING STRATEGIES TO ENGAGE STUDENTS IN THE ENGLISH LESSON. Interventions. As it was exposed at the beginning of this Action Research, the main problem is related to students’ attention during the class. Therefore, the research question is related to find out teaching strategies to maintain students’ attention in the class. Hence, the focus of the lessons was to use different strategies to maintain students’ attention in order to select the most appropriate for them. One of them was used during all the classes after the first intervention which is called: Spider Simone. The other strategies were focused on each intervention. First, individual work outside the classroom. Second, pairwork in the computer lab. Third, groupwork in the classroom preparing an oral presentation.. Spider Simone: This strategy consists on using a spider made of cardboard which will be present during the lessons from the first intervention on. At the beginning of each class Ms. Simone will have her 8 legs put on her body. Each time that students do not pay attention and/or misbehave, without letting students and teachers be heard by the others, she will unfortunately lose one leg. However, if they want Ms. Simone recovers her legs; they all will have to be focused. The objective of this strategy is to avoid the noise when this affects the flow of class.. 24.

(26) TEACHING STRATEGIES TO ENGAGE STUDENTS IN THE ENGLISH LESSON. First Intervention: The objective of this intervention was to observe how students worked in a different environment: working outdoors. Harmer (2001) states about children that “their understanding comes not just explanation, but also from what they see and hear” and “They generally display an enthusiasm for learning and curiosity about the world around them.” (p. 82) Therefore, it was considered that this activity could be beneficial for students and the teacher in order to get students’ attention in a different place to work.. At the beginning of the class, students work in the classroom individually. Most of them worked, but as usual there were problems related to getting their attention. The post activity was to go to the playground. Students had to observe the day and describe the weather applying the vocabulary learnt previously (keywords). Also, they drew what they saw.. Second Intervention: The objective of this intervention was to observe how pairwork works in the classroom and in the computer lab. It was performed after the application of a questionnaire in which students answered if they wanted to work in pairs and why. At the beginning of the class, students did an activity in pairs with the classmate next to them in the classroom. After that, students worked in pairs, but with a different classmate in the computer lab. Students chose their partners.. 25.

(27) TEACHING STRATEGIES TO ENGAGE STUDENTS IN THE ENGLISH LESSON. Students went to the computer and, in pairs, they had to search for information about the weather of a city. Then, they had to write the weather of a city with the vocabulary and finally, they had to present it to the whole class. For instance, some students chose Antofagasta. So, they mentioned the weather conditions of some days using the adjectives to describe the weather (sunny, cloudy, windy, hot, etc).. Harmer points out ““in pairwork, students can practise language together, study a text, research language or take part in information-gap activities.” (p.165). Students could work collaboratively with a classmate. In this intervention, it was observed how students worked in pairs with a classmate for affinity and friendship, and also with a different classmate who is not necessary a friend. In both activities students work focused on the class.. Third Intervention: The objective of this intervention was to observe how students work in groups. It was performed after the application of a questionnaire (Q#1) in which students answered if they wanted to work in groups and why.. Harmer (2001) points out that grouping students is a good strategy to make students work on the expected goals. Following Harmers’ idea, Darling-Hammond and Bransford (2005) establish that groupwork could have a proper impact if teachers design collaborative instruction effectively. “Effective groupwork requires teachers to create truly interdependent tasks, establish clear goals, effectively organize discussions, monitor activities to reinforce how. 26.

(28) TEACHING STRATEGIES TO ENGAGE STUDENTS IN THE ENGLISH LESSON. students can help one another, and facilitate frequent evaluations of how the work is progressing.” (p.338). The intervention was focused on the post activity in which students had to prepare a presentation in groups. They had to create a poster with the weather of a city during the week. The teacher organized the groups and asked them to choose a leader and create a name for the group. This, in order to the students feel that they all can work together with a same purpose, and focused on an activity, following instructions and most importantly, paying attention. After the second and third intervention two questionnaires were applied. While the first one was applied to the students and it was related to both interventions; the second one was applied to the teacher’s assistant. and it was related to both interventions as well as my teaching performance.. 27.

(29) TEACHING STRATEGIES TO ENGAGE STUDENTS IN THE ENGLISH LESSON. Data Analysis In this section of the Research project, all the information collected will be exposed. To begin with, all the data collected will be analyzed through the instruments that were applied. Afterwards, the results will be presented.. Instrument 1: Questionnaires: Q #1: This instrument was used in order to know the students’ preferences regarding the previous activities of the investigation, and the new ones focused to maintain students’ attention during the process.. Most of the previous activities were related to images and videos. The new activities were oriented to work in pairs and groups using different sources such as computers, posters, and other materials. In addition, new activities were created after the application of this questionnaire in order to maintain students’ attention in the class.. The first question was: ¿Te gustaría trabajar en pareja? The purpose of this question was to know whether students prefer to work alone or in pairs. Depending on the answers, the new activities would be applied.. 28.

(30) TEACHING STRATEGIES TO ENGAGE STUDENTS IN THE ENGLISH LESSON. Some of the answers collected are the following (see appendix 5) : “Sí, porque sería más entretenida la clase por lo tanto los niños se quedaran callados, pero con este curso lo dudo, pero si me gustaría”, “Sí porque aprendemos cosas que no sabemos y las aprendemos”, “Sí, así tengo quien me ayude cuando no entienda, y para ayudar cuando alguien necesite ayuda”, “No porque es fome para mí”, “No, trabajo mejor solo”, “Sí, porque puedo saber más de ellos y tenerles confianza”. Figure 1. Figure #1 illustrates all the students’ answers. 44 students answered the questionnaire. 40 out of 44 students answered that they would like to work in pairs which corresponds to a 91% of the students; while 4 out of 40 students answered that they would not like to work in pairs which is a 9% of the students.. 29.

(31) TEACHING STRATEGIES TO ENGAGE STUDENTS IN THE ENGLISH LESSON. It is observed that most of the students were willing to work in pairs because of different reasons, especially because students can help each other. Students see their classmates as a support to work. Moreover, they consider that working in pairs is more entertaining.. The second question was: ¿Te gustaría trabajar en grupo? The goal of this question was to know whether students prefer to work alone or in groups. Most of the English lessons performed previously were individual, and sometimes in pairs. It was important for the Action Research if students were willing to work in groups in order to apply group working.. Some of the answers were (see appendix 6): “Yes, si porque me gusta trabajar más en conjunto para aprender más”, “No, porque todos pelean y nadie trabaja”, “Sí, porque me divierto y podemos tener ideas diferentes”, “No, porque son muy conflictivos”, “Sí, porque compartimos ideas”, “no me gusta porque hablan mucho”. Figure 2.. 30.

(32) TEACHING STRATEGIES TO ENGAGE STUDENTS IN THE ENGLISH LESSON. Figure #2 depicts all the students’ answers. 40 students answered the questionnaire. 37 out of 40 students answered that they would like to work in groups which is a 84% of the students; while 7 out of 40 students answered that they would not like to work in groups which is a 9% of the students.. It is illustrated that most of the students were willing to work in groups. It is a similar result to the previous answers. However, it is shown a tiny difference between figure #1 and figure #2 that most of the students were more willing to work in pairs than in groups.. The third question was: ¿Prefieres actividades relacionadas a imágenes y videos, o actividades relacionadas a moverte? ¿O ambas? The purpose of this question was to know what kind of the previous activities students prefer. Moreover, through this question the teacher could know if her activities were interesting for students, and if she would have to change them.. Some of the answers collected were (see appendix 7): “Me gusta ver videos y sobre todo donde tengo moverme”, “Si, porque me gusta moverme. Prefiero la actividad de moverme”, “Prefiero videos y moverme”, “Prefiero actividades relacionadas a videos y imágenes porque es divertido”, “Actividades donde tienes que moverte”, “Prefiero actividades relacionadas con videos y imágenes”. 31.

(33) TEACHING STRATEGIES TO ENGAGE STUDENTS IN THE ENGLISH LESSON. Figure 3.. Figure #3 demonstrates all the students’ answers. 16 out of 40 students answered that they prefer activities with images and videos which is a 36% of the students; while 14 out of 40 students answered that they prefer activities related to movements which is a 32% of the students. Also, 14 out of 40 students mentioned that they like both activities which is a 32% of the students.. It is observed that students prefer the activities performed before the investigation. Therefore, changing the way of grouping students could be beneficial for them. Later on, the results of those changes will be exposed.. 32.

(34) TEACHING STRATEGIES TO ENGAGE STUDENTS IN THE ENGLISH LESSON. Q #2: This instrument was applied to identify if the second and third intervention were effective or not, and if the interventions contributed with the improvement of the problem.. The first question was: ¿Te gustó trabajar en pareja? ¿Por qué? The purpose of this question was to know whether students liked to work in pairs in order to foster this kind of activities.. Some of the answers collected were (see appendix 8): “Sí porque terminamos más rápido y nos concentramos más”, “Sí porque nos damos ideas entre nosotros y compartimos nuestras ideas”, “Sí porque me gusta escuchar opiniones aparte de las mías”, “Sí porque interactuamos más entre nosotros”, “No, trabajo mejor solo porque lo ago más rapido”, “Sí porque avanzamos más de lo que hubiese sido solo”. Figure 4.. 33.

(35) TEACHING STRATEGIES TO ENGAGE STUDENTS IN THE ENGLISH LESSON. Figure #4 exposes all the students’ answers. 16 out of 40 students answered that they liked to work in pairs which is a 92% of the students. Whereas just 3 out of 40 students answered they did not like to work in pairs.. It is observed that most of the students enjoyed working in pairs, and that work got good results. Students expressed that working in pairs they could share ideas and opinions, and also help each other. Furthermore, for some students is important to interact with others. I was a positive result to work in pairs.. The second question was: ¿Te gustó trabajar en grupo? ¿Por qué? The objective of this question was to know if students liked to work in groups. If students had difficulties to do it, and why.. Some of the answers were (see appendix 9): “Sí porque me tocaron niños trabajadores (ecepto uno que era el Cristobal G). Y yo pensaba que iba a ser más difícil”, “No porque nos cuesta trabajar”, “Si porque todos trabajamos como equipo”, “Sí porque todos tenemos algo que decir y aprendemos más cosas de los demas”, “No porque jamas me toman en cuenta y es más desordenado”, “Si porque me divierto y aprendimos a trabajar con más personas”. 34.

(36) TEACHING STRATEGIES TO ENGAGE STUDENTS IN THE ENGLISH LESSON. Figure 5. Figure #5 illustrates all the students’ answers. 33 out of 40 students answered that they liked to work in groups which is a 82% of the students. Whereas 7 out of 40 students answered they did not like to work in groups.. It is exposed that most of the students enjoyed working in groups. They liked to share opinions, work collaboratively, and also it was more amusing for them.. The third question was: ¿Lograste concentrarte en la clase o tuviste muchas distracciones? ¿Por qué crees que pasó eso? The goal of this question was to recognize if students were able to focused on the class, or if they had distractions, and why. It was important to identify the difficulties that students had related to their attention.. 35.

(37) TEACHING STRATEGIES TO ENGAGE STUDENTS IN THE ENGLISH LESSON. Some of the answers collected were (see appendix 10): “Logre concentrarme porque cuando hay que hacer algo me guste o no me guste (aunque me gusta todo) lo hago”, “ Si me distraje pero poco y creo que es donde me cuesta el idioma”, “No, no tuve distracciones”, “No en verdad porque me distraje tanto como en 4° pero aprendi mas”, “Me concentre en la clase porque me gustaba esa clase en trabajar en el papel craft”, “Me concentre porque trabajamos en grupo y nos concentramos para que no nos saliera mal”, “Me concentre mas que sola”, “No tanto pero igual me concentre y pocas distracciones pero igual trabaje en clase”. Figure 6. Figure #6 demonstrates all the students’ answers. 35 out of 40 students answered that they were focused during the class which is a 87% of the students. Whereas just 5 out of 40 students answered they had some distractions, or it was difficult to be focused; which is a 13% of the students.. 36.

(38) TEACHING STRATEGIES TO ENGAGE STUDENTS IN THE ENGLISH LESSON. It is observed that most of the students were focused and engaged in the class. They were interested in the activities working in pairs and groups.. Q #3: This instrument was applied to the teacher’s assistant in order to know how she perceived the results of the interventions, and to know her opinion about my teaching practice. This is the questionnaire and the answers of the teachers:. English teacher: Tiare Rojas → Teacher’s assistant. 1.. Do you think that pairwork was effective during the classes? Why?. From my perspective, it was. Students were able to share experiences and responsibilities while working together to reach a goal; in this case their own learning or even a grade. It is important to mention, that students had worked before in pairs developing different activities, even though they are used to work individually. That is why, at the very beginning was difficult to introduce another working technique during classes, because the English class is based mostly in individual work and activities.. 37.

(39) TEACHING STRATEGIES TO ENGAGE STUDENTS IN THE ENGLISH LESSON. 2.. Do you consider that groupwork was effective? Why? Definitely it was. Particularly by three reasons; Firstly, Solange was able to engage students with the new unit while preparing effectives lessons plan regarding the content to study. Secondly, instructions were effectively given to students aiming to reach the final step of the activities, which was an oral presentation. Finally, students work in groups during the class creating a poster to later on present in front of the class. It is important to say, that students were visibly excited to work with a large group of their classmates. Because, they were not necessarily had to be quiet and focus on the whiteboard, on the contrary, they were able to talk, laugh and share with others classmates, which were not in most cases, their friends. Students were engaged in the lessons working in groups.. 3.. What do you think about the oral presentation? Students are not used to prepare and present in front of the class. They were shy, nervous and not confident enough. But they were able to perform and say the vocabulary learned during classes. What it’s essential to work with students, it’s the respect towards their classmates while presenting. Something that the team of teachers should focus to work on.. According to the teacher’s opinion, the strategies used to maintain students’ attention in the class were effective. Students discussed, shared ideas, organized their groups, and at the end of the class, they presented their posters to the class. They could work focused on the lesson and on what they had to do.. 38.

(40) TEACHING STRATEGIES TO ENGAGE STUDENTS IN THE ENGLISH LESSON. Instrument 2: Journal Through journals teachers can record their thoughts about their performance and their students. Harmer (2001) points out that “journals are powerful reflective devices which allow us to use introspection to make sense of what is going on around us.” (p. 411). I have been writing weekly about what I observe, reflect, think, and feel regarding my teaching practice and the context. Month: August Week 1: August 15th , 16th, 17th I had to continue in the same school. I decided to continue in the same grades: 7th and 5th because I already know the students. I know their names, how they are, their behavior, etc. I have to observe the classes during two weeks, and then I will start my lessons. I go to the school from Monday to Wednesday, but I have classes with my grades on Tuesday (7th grade) and Wednesday (5th grade). I ‘m motivated with the practicum, but at the same time I’m afraid of the action research…. Week 2: August 23th, 24th This is my second week at school. I have to observe carefully what is happening in my grades. Think about possible needs, problems… something to improve. Think about my teaching practice… Remember my previous classes with my grades, and try to identify aspects to improve. Since last term, I have identified different problems in both grades, but I’m not sure what could be a relevant aspect to investigate… For example, there are problems related to respect, motivation, participation, and attention. I have to analyze the situations, and decide soon… It’s time to work on the action research.. 39.

(41) TEACHING STRATEGIES TO ENGAGE STUDENTS IN THE ENGLISH LESSON. Week 3: August 31st I decided to work on my 5th grade. In general, there are more needs there… different issues related to reluctant and disrespectful students, classroom management, and students’ attention. I still don’t know what the most relevant need is… I need time, I need time… to observe, analyze, think, reflect… Unfortunately, I see my 5th grade once a week.. Month: September Week 4: September 7th From now I have to focus on my 5th grade, especially in the identified problem to investigate which is students’ attention. I have to think about my interventions, the instruments that I will use to collect data, etc. What I already know is that the main instrument will be my journal.. Week 5: September 21st Today the class was complicated. I used videos for some activities and as usual I had technical problems with audio. I wasted time trying to fix the problem. I went to my 7th grade to ask for good speakers. When I came back to the class students were talking a lot, running, playing, etc. I connected everything to watch the video, and most of the students did not pay attention to me. After some minutes we could watch the video, but it was not as I had thought. It is so difficult to engage students, “the engagement” is very short… they get bored easily. I have to think about new kind of activities.... 40.

(42) TEACHING STRATEGIES TO ENGAGE STUDENTS IN THE ENGLISH LESSON. Week 6: September 28th. The activities today worked well. I did not have technical problems. The videos were good for students and they worked better than the previous class. However, I still have problems with their attention. The main issue… I have thought about a different activity for next class. I want to solve the problem.. Week 7: October 5th First intervention: Students worked outside the classroom. We went to the playground to observe today’s weather. Students had to describe it using the vocabulary learnt during the class. The task was individual. It was really difficult to get students’ attention during the activity. Some of them played with a ball, others walked around the playground, and even some students did not work. So, I think it was not a good idea. Perhaps, they were not prepared to work outside the classroom, in a bigger place. Also, I could not manage in a good way that part of the lesson. I was alone because my host teacher and the teacher’s assistant stayed in the classroom, and it was really difficult to maintain students’ attention in the activity. There are so many students in my 5th grade! A few students worked, some of them did it excellent. For now I discard working outside.. 41.

(43) TEACHING STRATEGIES TO ENGAGE STUDENTS IN THE ENGLISH LESSON. I decided to use a spider made of cardboard to avoid noise, and to get students’ attention in the class. A teacher told me about it. He used it with young learners and it worked. The spider works in this way: at the beginning of each class the spider will have her 8 legs put on her body. Each time that students do not pay attention, without letting students and teachers be heard by the others, she will lose one leg. If students want the spider recover her legs, they all will have to be focused on the class. I hope it works!. Week 8: October 12th Second intervention: Pairwork. I wanted to promote pairwork today in order to see how they work in pairs. And also, if they maintain engaged in the class, that is the most important to my action research. Maybe, they do it better than working individually. First, they had to work in pairs in the classroom using the student’s book. They discussed about some questions about a text. Second, students, teachers and I went to the computer lab. Students were happy and motivated. They were engaged with the class. I saw that they enjoyed to work in pairs. Furthermore, the use of the spider was beneficial for the class. By the way, the spider has a name now: Simone. Some students did not want that the spider loses her legs, so they tried to be focused.. Week 9: October 19th I performed a new intervention today: Groupwork. Students had to create a poster with information about the weather and draw working in groups. They were excited to work in groups. Some students told me: “Profesora, I like trabajar en grupo porque podemos hablar con. 42.

(44) TEACHING STRATEGIES TO ENGAGE STUDENTS IN THE ENGLISH LESSON. los compañeros y a la vez hacer la tarea”, “miss, qué bueno que nos hizo trabajar en grupo. Nos gusta el trabajo en equipo”. But other students were not happy with that. Some of them told me: “tía, no me gusta trabajar en grupos porque no todos trabajan”, “profe, a veces es complicado trabajar en grupos”. The teacher’s assistant and I organize the groupwork in a good way: with a leader, sharing materials, and establishing rules about respect. The last part was difficult because it was something new for them, maybe… Many students are disrespectful and it is complicated for them to control what they say and how they are with some classmates.. Week 10: October 26th I did not have classes because of the strike. I’m worried because I have to apply questionnaires and perform the intervention.. Week 11: November 2nd I did not have classes again. I’m really worried because of the action research. I had organized every intervention and a date for each questionnaire, and now I will have to change everything.. Week 12: November 9th I came back to the school after two weeks or more without classes. Now I have to apply the questionnaires. I wanted to apply one of them to my host teacher, but she has not gone to school because she is sick. I don’t know when she will come back. I can apply a questionnaire to the teacher’s assistant. She told me that I could send her the questions by email, and then she will answer them.. 43.

(45) TEACHING STRATEGIES TO ENGAGE STUDENTS IN THE ENGLISH LESSON. Today, students finished the poster of the previous class (two weeks ago). They had time to fix some details, and to organize the presentation. They looked to be very interested in the presentation. I think that groupwork has been helpful for students and me, because now the flow of the class is better. Students have worked focused on the class. They talk a lot, but it is about the topic: the weather. Some of them looked at outside the classroom by the window and say: “profesora, profesora, its’ sunny today” I feel really happy with the results of groupwork. I want to continue fostering groupwork because it has been a good way to maintains students’ attention in the class.. After analyzed this instrument and all the evidence provided, I consider that the new techniques worked. The first intervention was not successful, but it was useful in order to find out other kinds of activities which were not individual. I realized that when students have to work alone, they have more distractions, and they get bored easily.. After the second intervention, I noticed that when students have the possibility to discuss and work with a classmate, they are more engaged in the class. They like to talk to their classmates, share ideas, and discuss opinions.. Furthermore, after the third intervention, I realized that students were engaged in the class working in groups. Although, some students do not like that kind of work, most of the students were focused on the class.. 44.

(46) TEACHING STRATEGIES TO ENGAGE STUDENTS IN THE ENGLISH LESSON. It is important to mention the most relevant discovery after the interventions: for students it is difficult to be quiet, therefore, grouping students is a suitable strategy to maintain students engaged in the class. Students can talk while they are working on tasks, and they do not lose the focus of attention.. 45.

(47) TEACHING STRATEGIES TO ENGAGE STUDENTS IN THE ENGLISH LESSON. Reflection and Analysis. The interventions performed in the 5th grade A were helpful for students and I. I could identify what types of activities are more appropriate for my students in order to maintain them engaged in the classes. It was meaningful to apply surveys to students to know what types of activities they prefer. Thus, I could perform different activities related to students’ preferences, and I could recognize which ones were more suitable for my students.. Taking into consideration the results obtained from the instruments- surveys and journal- I consider that the strategies implemented during the English lessons caused beneficial outcomes for the 5th grade students and for the teachers in charge of the English class as well.. At the beginning of the process, I was not sure about the effectiveness of the interventions, but I had to look for different techniques if I wanted to make a change. The first intervention was not successful, but it was useful to know that individual work with my students is not the most suitable technique. The second and the third intervention were fruitful and beneficial. During those interventions, I realized that grouping students is an appropriate strategy to engage them in the lesson. Moreover, the use of Ms. Simone, the spider, was an attractive technique for students since it caused that students tried to be focused on the class as they did not want that the spider loses her legs.. 46.

(48) TEACHING STRATEGIES TO ENGAGE STUDENTS IN THE ENGLISH LESSON. Considering the research question of this investigation: What teaching strategies can I use to maintain my 5th grade ‘A’ students engaged in the English lesson? I would say that I could find out teaching strategies to maintain my students engaged in the English lesson. I considered some recommendations exposed by Harmer (2001). For instance, he establishes that young learners get distracted easily because they have a limited attention span. Therefore, it is necessary to change the activities after ten minutes or so because children lose their attention quickly. Additionally, he states that the understanding of young learners has more relation with what they see and hear. Due to that, I selected activities related to observe, listen, and draw. Also, I chose activities in which students had to interact with their classmates, working in pairs and groups. Taking into consideration those recommendations, I could apply appropriate strategies for my students to maintain them focused on the class.. It was a relevant finding that grouping students- pairwork and groupwork- is a suitable technique to maintain my students engaged in the lessons. Therefore, what I did during this long process worked. Students and I were benefited by the interventions and strategies implemented in the classes. I consider that my teaching practice and students’ engagement improved considerably.. 47.

(49) TEACHING STRATEGIES TO ENGAGE STUDENTS IN THE ENGLISH LESSON. Finally, it is important that teachers get to know their students in order to select or/and adequate the teaching strategies according to their needs. In this way, it is relevant to mention the importance of considering students’ opinions and interests in order to engage them in the lessons. If teachers have problems with students’ attention, they should look for new techniques and attractive activities for their students. Thereby, learners might be interested in the activities, and they should be focused on the class.. 48.

(50) TEACHING STRATEGIES TO ENGAGE STUDENTS IN THE ENGLISH LESSON. Conclusion and implications. This research project was finished with successful outcomes regarding the implemented strategies, and the interventions performed during this process. The purpose of this investigation was to look for teaching strategies to engage my students, and I found out suitable techniques to engage them in the lessons, the main identified issue in the 5th grade A.. The main outcome obtained was that grouping students is an effective strategy to maintain learners engaged. My 5th grade students are very talkative and restless, and they could talk while they were working on tasks. They did not lose the focus working in pairs and groups. Furthermore, they enjoyed working with their classmates. Students expressed that they like to discuss opinions, consider classmates’ points of view, and work in teams collaboratively.. The strategies used during this process were successful, and the interventions- activities and routines- were beneficial as well. Nevertheless, I had some limitations. For instance: -. The schedule: English lessons were once a week from 7:45 to 10:00. They were very extensive, and students get distracted easily (the main issue of this investigation).. -. Students who forgot the written consent (Time): This limitation affected my organization with the application of the instruments. -Host teacher: My host teacher disappeared because of a medical license. I wanted to apply a survey to her, but I could not do it.. -. Teachers’ strike: This affected my plan of interventions and the application of the instruments as well.. 49.

(51) TEACHING STRATEGIES TO ENGAGE STUDENTS IN THE ENGLISH LESSON. I would have liked to have fewer limitations, especially in terms of the plan of interventions because I wanted to do more activities with my students. Moreover, I wanted to know the opinion of my host teacher about my teaching practice, the interventions, and the outcomes of this investigation. Fortunately, I could apply a survey to the teacher’s assistant who was an important support during this process.. Regarding the implications of this investigation, I can state that doing an action research is a meaningful tool to reflect on the own teaching practice, and on our educational context. As future teacher, I consider that it is important to identify issues or needs in the classrooms which affect the teaching practice in order to make a change.. This investigation might be useful in my future teaching practice. It is possible that I face a similar issue in a new school, with new grades. Perhaps, I would not use the same strategies applied during this process in my 5th grade because it depends on the context and the learners’ needs, but I could look for new techniques according to the new experiences.. To conclude, I would say that through the process of this action research, I realized that using different teaching strategies teachers can solve diverse problems related to classroom management, students’ attention, misbehaved students, and so on. It is important to know our students in order to find out appropriate teaching strategies for them, and modify them according the students’ needs. Teachers should be aware of their educational context and what it all implies in order to help their students.. 50.

(52) TEACHING STRATEGIES TO ENGAGE STUDENTS IN THE ENGLISH LESSON. References. ● Brophy, J. (1988). Educating teachers about managing classrooms and students. Teaching and teacher education: An international journal of Research and Studies.. ● Burns, A. (2010). Doing Action Research in English Language Teaching. New York, New York: Routledge.. ● Darling-Hammond, Linda and Bransford, John (2005). Preparing Teachers for a changing world. Chapter nine: Classroom management.. ● Harmer, J. (2001) The Practice of English Language Teaching. Cambridge, UK.. ● HEFCE (2008) Tender for a Study into Student Engagement. Bristol: Higher Education Funding Council for England. ● Proyecto Educativo Cadete Arturo http://www.ecadeteprat.webescuela.cl/. Prat. (2014). retrieved. on. ● Scrivener, J., & Thornbury, S. (2012). Classroom Management Techniques. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.. ● Wandberg, R. (2011). Teaching Health Education in Language Diverse Classrooms. Chapter 9: Active Teaching Strategies and Learning Activities.. ● Willms, J. (2000). Student Engagement at School. A sense of belonging and participation. Chapter 1: PISA as an International Study of Student Engagement .. 51.

(53) TEACHING STRATEGIES TO ENGAGE STUDENTS IN THE ENGLISH LESSON. Appendices. Appendix 1: Written consent. Estimados padres y apoderados: Junto con saludarlos, quiero presentarme. Mi nombre es Solange Sánchez, soy estudiante de Pedagogía en Inglés de la Universidad Alberto Hurtado. Desde el primer semestre de este año estoy haciendo mi práctica en el colegio Cadete Arturo Prat. Este semestre comencé un proyecto de investigación para la Universidad y me estoy enfocando en 5to ‘A’. La idea es mejorar las estrategias de enseñanza utilizadas en dicho curso para contribuir de mejor manera en el aprendizaje de los niños. Con el fin de recolectar datos que me permitan llevar a cabo un buen proyecto necesito aplicar algunas encuestas a los estudiantes con relación a las clases de Inglés. La participación de los estudiantes es completamente voluntaria. Por lo tanto, si usted está de acuerdo en que su hijo sea parte de esta investigación lo invito a firmar el siguiente consentimiento. Por otra parte, si usted no está de acuerdo en que su hijo participe, no tiene que firmarlo. Si surge alguna duda sobre el proyecto o sobre la participación de los estudiantes, no dude en informarme y podemos discutirlo en el colegio. Agradezco desde ya el aporte de cada uno. Yo……………………………………………………………..apoderado de………………………………………... del 5to ‘A’ , autorizo a mi hijo a ser parte del proyecto de investigación. Se despide atte: Solange Sánchez.. 52.

(54) TEACHING STRATEGIES TO ENGAGE STUDENTS IN THE ENGLISH LESSON. Appendix 2: Questionnaire to students (Q#1) Lee atentamente cada pregunta y responde honestamente. Nombre (opcional): 1) ¿Te gustaría trabajar en pareja? ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________. 2) ¿Te gustaría trabajar en grupo? ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ 3) ¿ Prefieres actividades relacionadas a imágenes y videos, o actividades relacionadas en donde tienes que moverte? ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________. Muchas gracias por tu opinión.. 53.

(55) TEACHING STRATEGIES TO ENGAGE STUDENTS IN THE ENGLISH LESSON. Appendix 3: Questionnaire to students (Q#2) Lee atentamente cada pregunta y responde honestamente. Nombre (opcional): 4) ¿Te gustó trabajar en grupo? ¿Por qué? ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________. 5) ¿Te gustó trabajar en grupo? ¿ Por qué? ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ 6) ¿Lograste concentrarte en la clase o tuviste muchas distracciones? ¿Por qué crees que. pasó eso? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________. Muchas gracias por tu opinión.. 54.

(56) TEACHING STRATEGIES TO ENGAGE STUDENTS IN THE ENGLISH LESSON. Appendix 4: Questionnaire to the teacher’s assistant (Q#3). 1. Do you think that pairwork was effective during the classes? Why?. 2. Do you consider that groupwork was effective? Why?. 3. What do you think about the oral presentation?. 55.

(57) TEACHING STRATEGIES TO ENGAGE STUDENTS IN THE ENGLISH LESSON. Appendix 5: Students’ answer from questionnaire #1. 56.



(60) TEACHING STRATEGIES TO ENGAGE STUDENTS IN THE ENGLISH LESSON. Appendix 8: Students’ answers from questionnaire #2. 59.

(61) TEACHING STRATEGIES TO ENGAGE STUDENTS IN THE ENGLISH LESSON. Appendix 9: Students answers from questionnaire #2. 60.

(62) TEACHING STRATEGIES TO ENGAGE STUDENTS IN THE ENGLISH LESSON. Appendix 10: Students’ answers from questionnaire #2. 61.

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