Teaching strategies and effective instructions within a seventh-grade English language classroom

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(1)1 TEACHING STRATEGIES AND EFFECTIVE INSTRUCTIONS. Faculty of Education English Department. Action Research Project “Teaching Strategies and Effective Instructions within a seventh-grade English language Classroom” by Javiera Ballesteros Cataldo. Tutors: Mary Jane Abrahams- Claudio Jaramillo. January 2017.

(2) 2 TEACHING STRATEGIES AND EFFECTIVE INSTRUCTIONS. Table of Contents I. Abstract……………………………………………………………………………….. 4. II. Acknowledgments………………………………………………………………….... 5. III. Introduction…………………………………………………………………………. 6. IV. Context………………………………………………………………………………. 8. School Context……………………………………………………….8-10 The Class: Seventh grade C………………………………………….10-11 V. Research Problem and Question…………………………………………………… 12 Research Problem……………………………………………………12-13 Action Research Question……………………………………………14 VI. Rationale……………………………………………………………………………. 15 VII. Literature Review…………………………………………………………………. 17. Classroom Management: Effective Instruction-giving………………17-19 Teaching teenagers: Identity and development………………………19-20 English as Foreign Language: Chilean context………………………21-22 Men-centered culture and gender bias………………………………..22-24 VIII. Research Methodology…………………………………………………………. 25. Instruments of Data Collection……………………………………….26-31 Action Plan Calendar…………………………………………………32-33 Interventions………………………………………………………….34-39 IX. Data Analysis………………………………………………………………………. 40. Data Analysis…………………………………………………………40-42 Analysis of Interventions……………………………………………..42-45 X. Reflections…………………………………………………………………………... 46.

(3) 3 TEACHING STRATEGIES AND EFFECTIVE INSTRUCTIONS. Reflections………………………………………………………….46-47 Limitations and Further Improvements…………………………….47-48 XI. Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………. 49 XII. References………………………………………………………………………… 51 XIII. Appendix…………………………………………………………………………. 53 Appendix A Javiera Ballesteros Journal……………………………53 Appendix B Interview Seventh grade teacher……………………...57 Appendix C Interpretation of Questionnaire……………………….60 Appendix D Audio Recordings…………………………………….63 Appendix E Picture…………………………………………………64 Appendix F Audio recordings……………………………………...64 Appendix G Questionnaire…………………………………………66.

(4) 4 TEACHING STRATEGIES AND EFFECTIVE INSTRUCTIONS. I. Abstract Teaching is a practice that involves a diverse set of characteristics that makes it different to other professions. When teaching, it must be considered the different techniques, strategies and methods of teaching. This research focuses on one problem encountered in a teaching practice which dealt with conveying clear and effective instructions in a seventh grade. Through the implementation of different data collection tools and interventions, the problem is targeted to improve the said teaching practice. At the end of this research, there is an instance of reflection about the importance that giving instructions has for the teaching practice of the teacher who carried out this research. Key words: giving instructions, young learners, teenagers, teaching strategies, classroom management. Abstracto Enseñar es una práctica que incluye una diversidad de características las cuales la hacen una profesión diferente a otras. Cuando se enseña, se debe considerar las diferentes técnicas, estrategias y métodos de enseñanza. Esta investigación se enfoca en un problema dentro de una práctica educativa, la cual lidiaba con la entrega de instrucciones claras y efectivas dentro de un séptimo básico. A través de la implementación de diferentes métodos de recopilación de datos e intervenciones, el problema es abarcado para poder mejorar la práctica mencionada. Al final de esta investigación, se da una instancia de reflexión sobre la importancia que entregar instrucciones tiene dentro de la práctica educativa para la profesora que realizo esta investigación Palabras claves: Entregar instrucciones, estudiantes jóvenes, adolescentes, estrategias de enseñanza, manejo de clase.

(5) 5 TEACHING STRATEGIES AND EFFECTIVE INSTRUCTIONS. II. Acknowledgments The process of writing this research has been a long and chaotic process in which I have not only learnt from my own practice as a teacher, but I have also learnt about how to cope with the many thoughts in my head. At this moment, I want to thank special people that have been with me in this entire process and that have never stopped supporting and encouraging me to continue: •. First, I want to thank my parents, Liliana Cataldo and Manuel Ballesteros, and my sisters. My parents are my rocks and the people who give me the empowerment that I need every day to stand for what I believe and want in my life. I want to specially thanks my father for fighting all these years and for teaching me that strength carries in the family. Just like six years ago, he promised me to beat cancer, I promised him to finish my “career”.. •. Second, I want to thank José Callado, one of the people that I call my inspiration to become a better teacher every day. He taught me to be strong even in darker times. José gave me lessons that will prevail with me for eternity.. •. Third, I want to thank all the people that have supported me in this chaotic year, specially the people whom I work with during my time at DCI. Thanks to Alina, Paulina, Marisol and Constanza. They gave me an amazing opportunity to work with all of them and I am forever grateful for all the patience and support I got from them.. •. Lastly, I want to thank the teachers that helped me all these years, Loreto Aliaga, Claudio Jaramillo, Mary Jane Abrahams, Pablo Silva and Andrea Pardo. From my freshman year, they encourage me to be the best version of myself..

(6) 6 TEACHING STRATEGIES AND EFFECTIVE INSTRUCTIONS. III. Introduction Teaching a foreign language is not an easy job. When teaching, it must be considered the context in which the practice takes place, how students react to that practice and most importantly, how the teacher is prepared to address students in a fashion that the teaching practice transforms in a meaningful learning for the student. In that sense, the teacher must consider being prepared for unexpected circumstances as an essential aspect of the teaching practice. As a matter of fact, being prepared to teach students that in occasions prove to be complicated and that seek for constant responses from the teacher, becomes essential for the teacher that is in charge. In this research, the main focus is on how I can comprehend and reflect about my teaching and how some patterns of my practice need to be improved. Indeed, through these pages my intent is to analyze one specific aspect of my practice, which is the fashion through which I convey instructions in my lessons. Therefore, in the quest of finding those improvements, is that I make serval interventions in my lessons and try to find the proper answer that allows me to improve the skill I considered to be enhanced. For a complete semester, I had the opportunity to teach a seventh grade in a private school located in Santiago. During this time, I encountered several issues that presented complications and problems when I taught them. In fact, in several classes that I delivered, my students did not follow what I told them to do and when monitoring their work, I would change the directions of the activity, adding and taking information of the main directions. When I finally realized about the several problems that I was encountering, I decided to intervene my practice by applying new techniques that would allow me to improve and enhance my practice..

(7) 7 TEACHING STRATEGIES AND EFFECTIVE INSTRUCTIONS. Therefore, at the end of this research, the aim is to make the necessary improvements to make my teaching practice better and to provide my seventh-grade students with a teaching practice that can be meaningful for them, and that is always in disposition to be adapted to the necessities that they might have..

(8) 8 TEACHING STRATEGIES AND EFFECTIVE INSTRUCTIONS. IV. Context The following action research project is based on my teaching experience as an English student teacher at Colegio San Ignacio Alonso Ovalle. Colegio San Ignacio Alonso Ovalle (hereafter SIAO) is a private Jesuit school located in downtown Santiago, Metropolitan Region. It was founded on May 1st, 1856 by the Chilean Jesuit community. In its early beginnings, the education provided to students reflected the values and beliefs of the Chilean Catholic church (Colegio San Ignacio, 2008). Indeed, as the school project states, students at SIAO learn how to become better citizens through the values and beliefs that the Jesuit community has and, especially through those ones that are provided by the catholic church (Colegio San Ignacio, et al.). The tradition that this school carries is vast and has one important characteristic that, from its foundation, the school had only provided education for male students. However, from last year, girls were allowed at school, causing a change in the 160 years’ tradition that the school carried. Since SIAO has not had tradition and experience with teaching and educating both gender students, this school has an environment that is mostly dominated by male students. Indeed, the infrastructure and the predominant culture have not yet changed to receive female students. For instance, the school has yet to make more changes in infrastructure to receive more female students. In terms of the education provided regarding the English language, SIAO counts with an approach based on the learning experience of the students. In this school students do not only have classroom lessons, but they also have computer lab sessions aiming at giving students the opportunity to improve their skills in a fashion that is not only connected to learning a language within a classroom. Indeed, the English language classes in high school (from 7th grade until 10th grade) are divided in two per module. In other.

(9) 9 TEACHING STRATEGIES AND EFFECTIVE INSTRUCTIONS. words, the entire class is divided into two groups. One group stays in the classroom where students have classes based on contents. The other group has to go to one of the computer laboratories where they work either in computers doing writing exercises or, work on their reading comprehension by reading books that are available for them in the laboratory. In both groups, the teacher in charge is an English language teacher; therefore, the aim of learning the language does not get lost. In terms of the second characteristic of English language in this school, the fashion in which academic hours are handled, follow a similar pattern to the one used for groups separation and distribution in the class. Indeed, from seventh grade until eighth grade, students have five pedagogical hours per week which are divided into three days. Two days a week students have four hours that are divided into two in which they follow the group distribution explained beforehand and, one day a week in which students have only one pedagogical hour and are not divided into groups, on the contrary, they all stay in the classroom, and have lessons in which they do not have to go to the English computer laboratories. When it comes to upper level classes, students’ English pedagogical hours are reduced to four peer week (they no longer have a whole-class lesson) in which the classes are also divided into groups. Third, students receive an education under the approach of their learning experience. That is to say, students do not only have instances where they can learn contents that allow them to use the language properly (as what happens with grammar teaching in the school), but they can also learn through activities that are designed and planned for students to put everything that they have learnt in class into practice. For instance, in both semesters students have the opportunity to deliver a presentation called “Topic Speech”. In this presentation, students are given a topic by the English teacher in.

(10) 10 TEACHING STRATEGIES AND EFFECTIVE INSTRUCTIONS. charge and they have to research and prepare a presentation with the things they want to mention about it. For the specific purpose of this project, the focus will be on my teaching practice as an English language teacher in a seventh grade, particularly in seventh grade C. Seventh grade C is a class with thirty-two students. This class has several characteristics where this project finds a basis, and where I found the focus of the action plan that I want to put into practice in my own exercise. First, one important characteristic of this class is that it has groups of students that were part of different classes last year. Indeed, as part of the rules that SIAO holds, when students reach seventh grade, they are all mixed together in order to have new groups, even if some of the students know each other from before. Therefore, not all of the students are used to the behavior of some of their new classmates, which through time has caused some issues among students. Second, for some of the students in this class, behavioral issues related to following instructions have been highlighted through time, specifically following instructions from female teachers. Indeed, through observations and conversations with teachers and students of this class, problematic behavior has risen as an issue that characterizes them. For instance, on different occasions, some students of this class have suggested in the lessons that they neither like nor tolerate the way some of their classmates behave in class. What is more, through the same observations and conversations with some of the teachers that taught them in the past, students in this class tend to have issues with following instructions from female teachers. Indeed, as I observed during my first three weeks in the school, I noticed that they tended to question every instruction the teacher gave, and if the teacher asked them to behave well, they would answer back saying that the teacher did not need to.

(11) 11 TEACHING STRATEGIES AND EFFECTIVE INSTRUCTIONS. take everything they did so seriously. However, if the teacher was a male teacher, they would not question, and they would follow the instructions given by the teacher. Lastly, in terms of student communication with the language teacher, students have an approach that is constantly based on praising. Indeed, students tend to only participate in the class when they are praised with a system that consists on giving them points for participating, which at the end of the semester, are turned into points towards their final grades. For instance, it is common that each time they say something correct in class, they ask if they get a point or not and, if they are told they do not, they tend to complain, and stop participating in the class..

(12) 12 TEACHING STRATEGIES AND EFFECTIVE INSTRUCTIONS. V. Problem and Action Research Question As aforementioned, this project will be based on my experience at SIAO and, specifically, on my experience as English language student teacher with seventh grade C. Before I started teaching this class, I had the opportunity to observe the English language classes for several weeks. Throughout these weeks, I could notice some issues that became relevant to my reflection as a student teacher and that would become important to my teaching practice when I assumed the teaching of this class. In fact, while I was observing the classes with these students, I noticed specific behavior that repeated in different opportunities and, when I started to teach, it began to repeat with me as well. Some of these behavioral issues had to deal with students not paying attention to what the teacher told them to do. As a matter of fact, students would continue doing the same activities they were doing before the teacher gave them instructions, and after some minutes, they would start asking what they had to do. This behavior was observed during the first weeks of observations and, when I began teaching, the behavior did not take long to become a pattern that was part of the class’ behavior. For instance, during one of the classes that I was teaching, some students did not pay attention to the instructions that I gave to the class. Several minutes later, they started asking why I did not give them the instructions of the activity they were supposed to do, even though the instructions were already given and, the rest of the class was working on what I had told them to do. Alongside this issue, I noticed in the reflection of my teaching practice that something that was affecting my teaching practice, was that I was not showing confidence of what I was doing and was still not able to set myself up into an empowered authority position within my own practice. After I began teaching, I was able to notice that my students were not placing me as an authority in the classroom. Indeed, they were still.

(13) 13 TEACHING STRATEGIES AND EFFECTIVE INSTRUCTIONS. seeking for my host teacher to tell them to follow my instructions. What is more, after several classes that the behavior was repeated, my host teacher told me in a feedback session that I needed to work more on how confident I was and looked in the classroom and how I positioned myself in the class. In fact, as what I was told and later realized, I was always looking for her approval instead of delivering the lesson as if I were the teacher. These, led me to comprehend that my instructions were hindered by my lack of confidence when standing in front of students to provide the instructions for each activity. However, one of the biggest issues that I noticed within my own practice was that when I had to teach my students, my students did not follow the instructions that I was giving them because I was not making clear statements of what I wanted them to do. In fact, on some occasions I had to explain instructions more than three times, so they were able to correctly work on the task I gave them. Moreover, in other circumstances, I tried using concept checking questions, but still my students did not seem to understand what I wanted them to do. This behavioral pattern that I noticed in my practice became worse when I realized through the journal entries, that I was changing the instructions depending on each student. In fact, I would start monitoring my students’ work, meanwhile, every time they asked me something related to the task, I would start changing the instructions that I previously gave them. With each student, I would add or take something out of the instruction, so when they talked to each other, they would not be able to tell what the correct instruction was. For instance, during the first two weeks of my teaching practice, I noticed that my instructions became the main issue that I had to deal with when I was delivering my classes. Even worse, I also noticed that some of the problems that I was encountering in my teaching practice had to deal with the environment that I was working in. As I described in.

(14) 14 TEACHING STRATEGIES AND EFFECTIVE INSTRUCTIONS. the context of this project, the school has an outstanding male-centered culture, where chauvinism is naturalized in a fashion that it becomes normal for students to make differences between female and male teachers. As a matter of fact, after I started teaching my seventh-grade class, I noticed that students were not treating me in the same way they were treating other teachers, specifically male teachers. All these issues led me to realize that I needed to work more on how I was approaching my students and, how confident I was feeling with the teaching practice that I had with them. But most importantly, I realized that all the lack of confidence and authority in my classroom was due to my students not following what I was telling them to do because I was not being clear and consistent with the instructions that I was giving them for each task. Therefore, through the realization of the issues that I needed to work on and the problems that I was encountering due to them, I was led to the following question: How can I improve the way I give instructions to make them effective within my seventh-grade English language class?.

(15) 15 TEACHING STRATEGIES AND EFFECTIVE INSTRUCTIONS. VI. Rationale The main reason for this research to take place is to set a comprehensive notion of how important classroom management becomes for my practice as a teacher, and how I need to transform that comprehension into practice to make my lessons meaningful for my students. However, the transformation that I need in my performance does not only comprise classroom management as an entire; on the contrary, it comprises the problems and different situations due to my lack of confident, clear and effective instructions. As it is mentioned in the context of this research, the school where I focused this project on had an environment fundamentally dominated by men. Thus, most of the culture which was generated within the school was related to a men-centered world, rather than male and female gender culture. Since this school did not have experience with teaching both gender students, the focus remains on the predominant male population within the school. When it came to my own teaching practice, this issue became more relevant, since the lack of confidence that I realized I had in my classes was related to the environment and the culture that I was immersed in. Due to this lack of confidence, was that I was encountering issues when trying to deliver proper instructions. Thus, what I intend with this project is to improve the fashion in which I deliver instructions, but also, I aim at giving a comprehensive reflection about the importance of giving proper instructions, and how this has an outstanding impact in the way students perceive the language lessons. As a matter of fact, through the different interventions that I applied for this research is that I try to prove that there are techniques that can be used to enhance clear instructions, and that can aid the teacher in giving students the chance to be accountable and engaged with the lesson..

(16) 16 TEACHING STRATEGIES AND EFFECTIVE INSTRUCTIONS. Finally, for the reasons exposed above, is that this research aims to give a space to debate and question how teachers are delivering instructions, and how the implements that they have in the classroom can aid them in the quest of delivering proper language lessons. In many occasions, it is believed that clear and effective instructions only deal with the teacher proposing clear statements. However, when the teacher only uses words but no other forms of communication with the students, the aim of understanding an activity can be lost. Therefore, comprehending how other forms of communication (use of the white board, for instance) provide help in the lessons, has an impact on how the teacher delivers better lessons and proposes other forms of understanding it..

(17) 17 TEACHING STRATEGIES AND EFFECTIVE INSTRUCTIONS. VII. Literature Review As mentioned throughout this research, the main aim is to understand and make improvements in the fashion I, the teacher, convey clear and efficient instructions within my seventh-grade class. Following those terms is that it becomes necessary to have an informed view of the different concepts and theory behind what I consider needs to be improved in my teaching practice and, the way I will implement and make the necessary changes to make my instructions clear and efficient. Therefore, in this section I will be reviewing literature, theories and point of views regarding the following topics: •. Classroom Management: efficient instructions-giving. •. Teaching Teenagers: Identity and development. •. Teaching English as a Foreign Language. Alongside the topics that deal with the question that prompted this research, I will be making a review of what theory and other research have to say about a male-centered teaching environment and how this might take an outstanding effect in the way female teachers deliver classes.. •. Classroom Management: Efficient Instruction-giving. Certainly, the word teaching cannot be defined in only one way and based in only one type of environment. When it comes to the action of teaching, it becomes essential to understand that many factors influence the way teaching takes place within a classroom. Some classrooms are characterized by having a large number of students, others are.

(18) 18 TEACHING STRATEGIES AND EFFECTIVE INSTRUCTIONS. characterized by the arrangement they have in the physical structure where students sit every day. Nevertheless, all of these issues might not have a greater impact than the fashion in which teachers manage their teaching practices. According to Scrivener (2011) classroom management involves two concepts, making decisions and taking actions. The role of the teacher is to see what is happening within the classroom, make informed decisions about what she/ he observed and, to take actions into which could be the best improvement to enhance the learning of students within that classroom. In those terms, Brown & Lee (2015) have a similar view of the importance that classroom management takes within the classroom setting. In these terms, these authors explain the importance of thinking about what one does within the classrooms and how the teacher manages the class in a way that becomes efficient. What is more, Macías & Sánchez (2015, p.83) comply with the views of the aforementioned authors, in terms that in their own research about pre-service English language teachers they found that classroom management is one of the main characteristics that teachers need to work on when delivering an efficient lesson, that is to say, establishing “appropriate environment and therefore order in the classroom so that teaching and subsequently learning can take place”. As important as comprehending what classroom management comprises, the idea of considering it when planning a meaningful lesson becomes fundamental, specifically when thinking of how to give instructions (or instruction-giving). When it comes specifically to giving efficient instructions Scrivener (et al.) suggests that instructions deal with more than just explaining a certain activity, it also deals with the diverse types of actions that need to be taken in order for students to understand what the teacher wants to convey. Indeed, he explains that efficient instructions are the ones that are clearly stated and that go straight to.

(19) 19 TEACHING STRATEGIES AND EFFECTIVE INSTRUCTIONS. the point, even if it seems easier to give more details. In that sense, Macías (et al.) explain that giving clear instructions is one of the teaching strategies that need to be taken into consideration when discussing about classroom management, especially when copping with contexts where there are behavioral issues (such as the one introduced in the context of this research). When it comes specifically to the idea of having effective giving-instructions, Marzano R., Marzano, J. & Pickering, D. (2003, p.1) suggest that “effective teaching and learning cannot take place in a poorly managed classroom. If students are disorderly and disrespectful, and no apparent rules and procedures guide behavior, chaos becomes the norm”. Therefore, having a good and proper management of instructions becomes a key to promoting learning within the classroom.. •. Teaching Teenagers: Identity and development. As explained above, teaching cannot be contained and defined in only one way; that is to say, it cannot be related to only one context and environment. In fact, depending on the context, teaching will take place differently. In the case of this research, the context that the research finds its basis is teaching teenagers, specifically seventh graders. In order to understand what being a teenager means we can take the words of Scrivener (2011, p.325) when he says that “the learners are discovering a range of new possibilities for themselves. They are discovering what impact they can have on the world and can be very motivated”. In fact, it is through the teenage years when students start discovering their identities and start developing more complex constructions than the ones they did when they were children. As Holdsworth (in Kumar 2010, p. 19) says “they become restless, agitated, distracted and want to be more independent and to assume adult.

(20) 20 TEACHING STRATEGIES AND EFFECTIVE INSTRUCTIONS. responsibilities. They seek more freedom and independence and resent parents and other adult members trying to check their freedom”. This idea does not appear to be distant from the idea that students between the ages of 13 and 14 years old go through the process of no longer be considered as children and start to be treated as adults. However, what I consider in the action of teaching teenagers is that, with the proper planning and encouragement for learning, teenagers can be students that are willing to learn and to participate in the class. Bearing in mind these words, Harmer (2007, p.83) states that “with their greater ability for abstract thought and their passionate commitment to what they are doing once they are engaged, adolescents may well be the most exciting students of all. Most of them understand the need for learning and, with the right goals, can be responsible enough to do what is asked of them”. According to Lauria de Gentile, P., & Leiguarda de Orue, A. (2012, p.16) “teaching English as a Second/Foreign Language (ESL/EFL) to teens has never been easy […] at their age, teens are undergoing many physical and cognitive changes that manifest themselves in the classroom”. Indeed, teenagers go through changes that can turn them into students that will not be willing to participate in the classroom. However, if given the proper flexibility and acceptance of their in-development identity, students might show an interest towards learning a foreign language. Indeed, as Lauria de Gentile (et al., p.17) states “while learning a foreign language can be a pleasant experience, it can also threaten one’s identity, and teenagers especially may feel awkward when speaking English, and somehow odd or different from their peers”. Therefore, showing students a proper attitude and acceptance, the task of teaching them and conveying meaningful learning might not turn up as difficult as it might seem..

(21) 21 TEACHING STRATEGIES AND EFFECTIVE INSTRUCTIONS. •. English as a foreign language: L2 in L1 context. The context of this research already gives an understanding of how English language is developed within the classroom setting. Indeed, considering that the school is located in a country whose mother tongue is Spanish and does not have an official second language, leads to the fact that English is not considered a second language, but rather as foreign language. As a matter of fact, for many of the participants of this research, English is only spoken within the classroom settings, leaving the rest of their daily life to their mother tongue, Spanish. For this reason, it is fundamental to comprehend what English as a Foreign Language (hereafter EFL) embodies and how this is seen through the educational curriculum of the country. According to the Chilean National Curriculum for English Language (2013) seventh grade students in Chile are expected to acquire and use the foreign language into conversational and communicative instances understanding that English has become one language that is no longer considered as the language of several countries, rather it is considered as a world-wide language. This notion of learning English seems to be paired we the idea that countries which do not have a second language such as, English, consider the latter as a foreign language. However, Harmer (2007) considers that English can no longer be considered as a foreign language when the exposure to it is more than in past years. Indeed, these new generations are exposed to the target language more than how their teachers were exposed to. For instance, when they play video games or log into different websites and apps, they are already interacting with chunks of the language that allow them to understand at least a small part of it. Therefore, it is a task that can seem easy but that implies more than it seems. As Kumaravadivelu (2008, p.25) states, “in the context of classroom-based L2 learning and teaching, it is the task of the teacher to help learners.

(22) 22 TEACHING STRATEGIES AND EFFECTIVE INSTRUCTIONS. reach a desired level of linguistic and pragmatic knowledge/ability that addresses their needs, wants, and situations”. In other words, students might acquire the chunks of the language outside the classroom, but it is the task of the teacher to help them learn the language instead of only separate parts. Therefore, the improvement of my skills becomes fundamental if we take this notion as one that has to be considered within the new contexts of learning English in a country where the latter is not the mother tongue.. •. Men-centered culture and gender. According to Norton & Pavlenko (2004, p.2) “we see gender not as a dichotomy or an individual property but as a complex system of social relations and discursive practices differentially constructed in local contexts”. In other words, these authors see gender not only linked to the biological sex that we were born with, but they also see the context and the environment that we grow in as the two main influencers in the ways students, and teachers, develop themselves. However, this notion was not always the one that primarily ruling in certain contexts, especially in the contexts of language classrooms. Indeed, as Norton (2004, p.1) also addresses that outdated research “conflates ‘gender’ with ‘sex’ and ‘sex’ with brain structure and leads to oversimplified generalizations along the lines of “females are superior in verbal skills, while males are superior in spatial skills [...] females are slightly more feeling oriented, while males are slightly more thinking oriented”. What is interesting about Norton’s (et al.) view of gender within the language classroom is that in this classroom, research has shown that female students tend to show more willingness towards learning English as a language. For instance, they mention that “several recent studies indicate that many young women around the world consider English to be intrinsically linked to feminism and are motivated to learn it as a language of.

(23) 23 TEACHING STRATEGIES AND EFFECTIVE INSTRUCTIONS. empowerment” (Norton et al, p.3). In this sense, when Rojas quotes Francis (1998, p.31) “gender category maintenance is evident in the children’s constructions, and that because of this, many children presented gender as oppositional (in opposition and opposite) in their interviews” (as cited in Rojas, 2012, p.94), the gender bias that I have encountered in my teaching practice does not seem to be only in my own mind. In other words, through this I see clearer that my students do not tend to see me as figure of authority (as a teacher) due to the possibility of them already having a construction of what a female teacher is, giving me a role and position that might not be the one that I desire to be given by them. Comprehending the gender constructions that my students have is essential for the action plan that I took which is also related to something that Rojas (et al.) mentions when she says “there are many gendered discourses that have been identified by different researchers, where it is possible to recognize how discourses not only represent gendered social practices, but they also maintain gender representations in a particular community, or re-construct those representations and therefore, new or alternative gendered discourses have emerged” (p.95). That is to say, the issue that I encounter with my students does not only deal with the notions that they have constructed through the years in a men-centered culture, but also deals with the discourse that I have within the classroom. Indeed, I, as a student, have grown up with a notion of the role that I play as woman in my society and, how different the role that men play in the same society. Thus, when I am in the classroom with my students is not only them the ones who show a discourse that preserves the power of men in society, but I am also preserving that power with the way I talked to them and taught them. Indeed, as Rojas (et al.) states “Power is always circulating among teachers and students. However, what is important to notice is how through discourse, teachers allow and back up students to.

(24) 24 TEACHING STRATEGIES AND EFFECTIVE INSTRUCTIONS. perpetuate themselves in a power or less powerful position, preventing other students from learning or participating in classes” (p.106) As Norton (2000, p.6) clearly states “theory needs to develop a conception of identity that is understood with reference to larger, and frequently inequitable, social structures which are reproduced in day-today social interaction”. Therefore, when considering the action plan for this research, it is essential to consider the discourse of the interventions and, specifically, the identity that will be addressed through those interventions..

(25) 25 TEACHING STRATEGIES AND EFFECTIVE INSTRUCTIONS. VIII. Research Methodology In order to have a better understanding of what takes place in my teaching practice, and how this is affecting the way I convey my instructions, I will describe the different data collection tools that will be used through this research. Following the instruments of data collection, I will describe the action plan that will be taken in order to make proper interventions within my teaching practice. Lastly, I will explain the types of interventions I decided will be optimal for this research, and specifically to find an improvement of the skills I need to work in in my teaching practice. Due to the type of problem that I encountered and the interventions that I planned, this research is designed in a qualitative manner. So, it is clear and comprehensible, the following section will be divided into:. I.. II.. Instruments of data collection A.. Journal of teaching practice. B.. Interview and Questionnaires. C.. Audio recording. Action Plan Calendar A.. III.. Action plan timeline. Interventions A.. Use of the white board. B.. Seating Arrangement. C.. Organizational and checking techniques.

(26) 26 TEACHING STRATEGIES AND EFFECTIVE INSTRUCTIONS. I. Instruments of Data Collection In this section I will go deeply into what instruments I considered fit better the research that I am carrying out. a. Journal of Teaching practice Harmer states that “one way of provoking self-analysis and reflection of our teaching is by keeping our own journals in which we record our thoughts about our teaching and our students” (2007, p.411). In a similar tone Burns (2010) suggests that “journal writing is something of a ‘classic’ tool in AR as it allows you to record the events and happenings in your location, your reflections, beliefs and teaching philosophies, your ideas and insights about your practice, and your personal histories as a teacher researcher” (p.89). Therefore, the use of a journal of my teaching practice is fundamental to understand the primary sources that lead to the development of this research. For this specific purpose, the journal of teaching practice gathers information observed throughout the weeks and the different classes that I have taught in this school. What is more, this journal is designed to aid me in the search for new methods and techniques that I can apply in my day to day teaching practice. Indeed, each day, I sat down and wrote what I felt needed to be improved for the following lesson. Through this reflection, I started to search for more strategies that I could implement within my classes through the lesson plans that I prepared prior to the delivery of the classes. However, one pattern that always came up again and again was my students not understanding what I wanted them to do. In fact, several of the entries had observations and reflections that repeated the pattern and the question of what I needed to do in order to make my students work in class. For instance, in one of the entries I wrote “be careful with what I tell.

(27) 27 TEACHING STRATEGIES AND EFFECTIVE INSTRUCTIONS. students. Today they did not understand what I said. I wasted time and I need to work on how to deliver the activities more efficiently” (Ballesteros, 2016).. b. Interviews and questionnaires After I noticed that I had an issue with my discourse and how I was conveying my instructions within the lessons, I decided to talk to my host teacher and to teachers in the English department. In the case of my host teacher (whose name will not be mentioned in this research for the sake of anonymity), she agreed with my concern about how I was delivering my instructions and, that even for her, in some occasions would turn difficult to understand and explain when students relied on her because they did not understand me. Consequently, I decided that in order to have awareness of the issue that I was encountering, I would interview one of the teachers that was currently teaching in the same level, but in a different group. The objective of interviewing other teacher than my host teacher, was to provide myself with the necessary proofs that the problem was mine, and not a problem that originated in my students’ behavior (considering the context of this students described in previous sections). For this research, I considered that the best type of interview to carry out will be a guided or semi structured interview. Burns (et al.) states that this type of interviews are the ones that have already fixed questions but allow the interviewed more flexibility depending on the answers given to each question (p.75). Thus, the interview that I carried out was designed as follows:.

(28) 28 TEACHING STRATEGIES AND EFFECTIVE INSTRUCTIONS. Teacher interviewed: Date: Hour: Time taken: Questions: 1. Can you explain your experience teaching teenagers, specifically seventh graders? What needs to be considered when teaching them? 2. What is your experience with teaching seventh grade C? 3. What are the biggest issues you encountered with this class? 4. What techniques are effective when teaching this class? Figure 1. Set of questions interview seventh grade English teacher. However, when applying the interview that I designed, new questions appeared during the interview (see Appendix B). What these new questions and answers provided to this research and the data that I needed, is that my students not following the instructions that I gave them, were not an isolated problem regarding this specific group. In fact, this issue proved to be something that is presented in the different groups of this level. Nevertheless, as the teacher interviewed in this research mentioned, if the teacher is not prepared to deal with the context and to work with students through that context providing students clear instructions, they will not follow any direction from the teacher. Thus, the objective that I set of proving the problem that I had in my teaching, was proved to be true. As a matter of fact, the answers that I got from this data collection form gave me the instance to understand that I needed to find new forms to deliver my instructions, and to find new techniques that could aid me in that ‘search’.. In the case of the questionnaires, they were administered with my students. As it is mentioned in the literature of this research, it is important to consider the opinions and feelings of students, especially when teaching teenagers. Moreover, I considered that it would be fundamental for this research to have the perception of students regarding my.

(29) 29 TEACHING STRATEGIES AND EFFECTIVE INSTRUCTIONS. instructions. Consequently, to accomplish this, I considered that the best type of questionnaire to administer to my students would be a Likert scales which according to Burns et al. corresponds to the type of questionnaire that “asks people to give the degree to which they agree with something usually by circling or ticking the responses” (p.82). Even though, the language used for this research was English, I decided that to have truthful answers, the questions needed to be translated into Spanish, thus, my students would have the chance to interpret each question without me giving a prescribed interpretation for them. In figure 2, I present the format of the questionnaire that I administered to my students.. Name: Class: Date: Read the sentence and put a “X” in the option that fits the best for you (Lee y coloca una “X” en la opción que mas te caracterice) Strongly disagree. Statement. Disagree. Somewhat disagree. Somewhat agree. Agree. Strongly agree. 1. I understand when the teacher explains the activities (Entiendo las actividades que explica la profesora) 2. I follow what the teacher says (Hago caso a lo que la profesora dice) 3. The instructions are clear in each activity (Las instrucciones de cada actividad son claras) 4. Instructions are not clear in the activities (Las instrucciones de cada actividad no son claras) 5. If I don’t understand, the teacher explains the activity again (Si no entiendo, la profesora explica nuevamente la actividad) 6. When the teacher explains again, I understand what she says (Cuando la profesora explica nuevamente, entiendo lo que dice). Figure 2. Questionnaire for seventh-grade students. As the results of the interview that I carried out showed and the reflections that I had from my journal, I found that for my students the instructions that I was giving them were neither clear nor effective (see Appendix C). Indeed, in Appendix C Figure 5, the.

(30) 30 TEACHING STRATEGIES AND EFFECTIVE INSTRUCTIONS. answers of students showed that instructions needed to be repeated and explained more than once because they did not understand what they had to do. Even though the sections in this questionnaire did not specifically ask from students to provide their opinion about how many times I was changing the instructions, they did provide a clear comprehension that instructions were something that I needed to work on in my practice.. c. Audio recording According to Harmer et al. one of the optimal ways to reflect about our teaching practice is through recordings of one’s practice in the classroom. What journals might not show, recordings can show, and can also make the teacher aware of factors and behaviors that she might have not been aware of before looking at herself in a tape (p.412). When it comes to my teaching practice, I consider that the best way to gather data is through comparing what I reflect from practice in my journals with things that I might not be aware of and that can aid into how to solve the problem that I encountered in my classes. Therefore, I decided that the best format for the recording of my teaching practice would be through the use of audio instead of video recording. The idea of using audio, allows me to have a faster collection of data, whereas video recording would take more time, considering that to be able to record a video of one of my lessons, I would have to count with permissions from all the parents of my students, and consider the school’s permissions as well. After I recorded one of my classes, I noticed that students were finding difficulties to understand the instructions that I was providing. As a matter fact, as it can be seen in Appendix D, part of my instructions was extensive and did not go straight to the point, in other words, the instructions were redundant enough to cause confusion in students when.

(31) 31 TEACHING STRATEGIES AND EFFECTIVE INSTRUCTIONS. trying to comprehend them. Even though, the use of the language was simple, it lacked variety and was repetitive throughout the entire direction. Yet, the most important aspect that I obtained from this tool is that, in my instructions, I spent several minutes trying to explain one activity that could be explained in only a few words..

(32) 32 TEACHING STRATEGIES AND EFFECTIVE INSTRUCTIONS. II. Action Plan Calendar This action research was based in my teaching practice within a seventh-grade class at SIAO. To have a better comprehension of how this project took place and how I developed my research, it is fundamental for me to mention that the time and the calendar that I counted with was not flexible and, in some occasions proved to be stressful and inconsistent. In the following chart (Table 1), I show how the calendar of my classes and the one for this research went through many changes in the moment. Action Plan. August 1. 2. September 3. 4. 1. 2. 3. October 4. 1. 2. November 3. Observation Regular teaching Description of context Research Problem Search for literature Data collection: journal Data collection: interviews and questionnaires Data collection: audio recording Interventions Analysis of data Reflections Final conclusions Table 1. Action Plan Calendar. Expected Calendar Current Calendar. 4. 1. 2. 3. December 4. 1. 2. 3. 4.

(33) 33 TEACHING STRATEGIES AND EFFECTIVE INSTRUCTIONS. As it can be seen in this table, the consistency of this project varied through the weeks. Indeed, in some occasions, I was not able to deliver my classes due to unexpected circumstances that were out of my control and, my host teacher’s control. For instance, during the month of September, I was not able to teach more than 2 classes in two weeks (represented in the table in September week 2 and 3) which produced the main and first inconsistency in the schedule for this research..

(34) 34 TEACHING STRATEGIES AND EFFECTIVE INSTRUCTIONS. III. Action Plan: Interventions The interventions were planned to be executed in a time frame of two weeks, which can be translated into 6 classes. However, from the six classes, I could carry the complete set of interventions only in four classes, due to the distribution of groups that I had for the classes and that it was part of the teaching methodology that the school had. In terms of what I did, I decided that my interventions would be divided into 3 sections, which were: a. Use of white board b. Seating Arrangement c. Controlled and Open-ended techniques (Brown et al., p. 226). a. Use of white board Prior to this research and to the reflection that I had been doing about my teaching practice, I had not considered the use of white board as an essential tool to improve the way I was conveying my instructions. Essentially, I noticed through my reflections in my journal and the feedback given by my host teacher that the use I was giving to the white board was almost inexistent, and when it was used I did not use it as a tool for students to follow the activities. Thus, and following Brown et al. idea of “is one of the greatest allies. It gives students added visual input along with auditory” (p.292), I designed a new format to use the white board in my classroom. For this to work, I decided to plan the way I was to present the format to students, so they were also aware that I was using the board and that they could find aid with this implement as well. With this new format, I expected to improve my giving instructions and also expected to give my students the feeling that they were part of the class, and that they.

(35) 35 TEACHING STRATEGIES AND EFFECTIVE INSTRUCTIONS. not only could follow what I said, but they could also find the guidance written on the board. The new format would follow the pattern presented in Figure 3. In this pattern, the board would count with a special disposition for the objective of the lesson and for some of the routines that I had established with my students through time. As a matter of fact, the routines that I previously had, did not seem to have a specific place in the board which with the pattern presented would change. For instance, the objective of the class was not presented to students, yet, with the new format, the objective would be established and presented for students to follow. Furthermore, with this new pattern the aim was also to enhance students’ autonomy and participation throughout the lessons. In fact, by giving them the tools and the explanations of the class on the board, I intended to encourage them to emerge from the dependent behavior they had.. DATE. VOCABULARY SECTION FROM ACTIVITIES. MENU:. EXPLANATIONS. - OBJECTIVE OF THE LESSON - ACTIVITIES FOR THE LESSON Figure 3. White board format. As a difference to what occurred with the rest of the interventions, this intervention was planned to be presented throughout the other ones, thus, I would turn the intervention into a routine rather than something that had started changing with time (as what happened with my instructions). For this reason, the first intervention initiated on November 8th (Appendix A). At first, when I introduced the new format, students did not comprehend the.

(36) 36 TEACHING STRATEGIES AND EFFECTIVE INSTRUCTIONS. use that I was giving it. However, with the time and the emphasis that I gave to the board, students started making remarks about the use of it. As it can be seen in Appendix A Class Nov. 15th, students made remarks such as, “Miss, don’t block the board, I need to know what you wrote there (because I was dragging projector’s screen down)” (Ballesteros, 2016). In the data analysis section of this research, I explain in depth what happened with this specific intervention and the outcomes that I obtained that were not expected at the moment of planning the intervention (see Appendix A Class Nov 22nd).. b. Seating Arrangement In my seventh-grade classroom, students were usually seated in rows looking at the front of the classroom where the white board is located. During the observation period, I was able to see that my host teacher used a U-shape seating arrangement to make students work better than in the normal rows. However, with time, I noticed that this arrangement was not working for a variety of reasons. First, students were not forming the U-shape; instead they would be seating one next to the other crowding the front of the classroom and leaving one or two students in the back of the room. Second, students were sitting next to their friends and they were not interacting with other classmates rather than the ones close to them (usually their friends). Last, students did not seem to understand the reasons why they were seating in that form, thus, when asked to make the U-shape arrangement, they would complain and take a lot of time to finally be seated and ready to begin the class. Furthermore, when I started teaching, all the situations described above repeated since I maintained the seating arrangement that my host teacher had. Inevitably, after several classes, the behavior that I first observed did not change, in addition to, it became.

(37) 37 TEACHING STRATEGIES AND EFFECTIVE INSTRUCTIONS. worse, since it started to show that several students were not following what I was teaching, because they payed attention to the conversations they were having with the person next to them. Thus, through the reflections that I was having in my journal I considered that having a new seating arrangement would lead my students to have a different disposition towards the class. As Scrivener suggests “the simplest argument for pair and group work is that it allows more learner talk in a class than if all interaction has to be with the teacher. This, in turn, is likely to lead to significantly higher involvement and engagement” (2012, p.223). In other words, the main idea of this new seating arrangement was to give myself more confidence and assurance that students were going to participate and that I was giving them the opportunity to interact with other classmates than the ones that they were usually interacting with. WHITE BOARD Teacher’s desk. Figure 4. Seating Arrangement. In this new arrangement students had to sit in pairs which during the first two classes were designated by me. The designations were based on previous students’ behavior and performance. Indeed, in this arrangement, students were paired with someone that could help them through the lesson. For this reason, students were told that in this arrangement they would help each other for them to be engaged with the class and to learn from each other. Depending on how students performed during those two classes, new pairs.

(38) 38 TEACHING STRATEGIES AND EFFECTIVE INSTRUCTIONS. would be formed and arranged. To make this intervention meaningful, this intervention held the same timeline that the previous intervention. Nevertheless, and as it is mentioned above, some of the pairs were changed in specific classes (see Appendix A Class Nov.15th), since the arrangement of the beginning was causing only one part of the desired result which was improve their participation and their comprehension of my instructions.. c. Controlled and Open-ended techniques: Organizational and checking techniques As Brown (2015) describes, there are many techniques that can be implemented into the classroom to make it as meaningful and communicative as possible. Through this research, I developed a concern for how I was conveying instructions in my lessons and, what I could do to improve and make my instructions effective and clear. Thus, the last intervention that I carried out dealt with applying techniques to the way I conveyed instructions. To be able to see how I implemented this intervention and the results of it, I included the new techniques into the lesson plans that I had and, specifically into the comprehension activities which were the activities that I consider are the ones that I need to work on more. First, using the new format of the white board and the new seating arrangement, I implemented the “Organizational technique” which Brown refer to as “structuring of a lesson or class activities includes disciplinary action, organization of class furniture and seating, general procedures for class interaction and performance, structure and purpose of lesson” (2015, p.226). With this technique, I aimed to give a better structure to my classes so students could comprehend why I was expecting from them and, how the class was designed for them to learn. To give this intervention the importance that it had, I decided to include it in the format that I had for the board which translated into a “menu” of the.

(39) 39 TEACHING STRATEGIES AND EFFECTIVE INSTRUCTIONS. activities. For instance, in Appendix E a picture taken from one of the classes that I taught and the design that I had for the board can be seen. Second, I put into practice within the comprehension activities the technique called “Checking” which consists in “teacher either circulating or guiding the correction of students’ work, providing feedback as an activity rather than within another activity” (Brown et al., p.226). Through this technique I aim to give more space for students to work on their own pairs instead of spending time explaining everything more than three times. In this intervention, the aim was to provide students the sufficient autonomy to support each other, which could be seen in the audio one of the lessons that were planned for the interventions (see Appendix F). Last, I implemented CCQ’s or Concept Checking Questions and provided examples to what I wanted them to do. Usually, I failed to give students clear examples of the activities they had which ended up with students asking many times what they had to do and how they had to execute it. That is why, with the last part of this intervention, I intended to provide the examples using fundamental parts of my previous interventions such as, writing examples in the white board (first intervention). Finally, as it aforementioned, all of these interventions were meant to be applied in a time frame of two weeks, but with the specific focus on only 4 classes. For this reason, it is fundamental to comprehend that each intervention was not meant to be delivered as in a specific activity or format. Indeed, the main aim was to implement them throughout the classes. Nevertheless, for the purpose of this research, there would be presented one activity that was presented throughout the lessons recorded..

(40) 40 TEACHING STRATEGIES AND EFFECTIVE INSTRUCTIONS. IX. Data Analysis In this section, I analyze in a deeper form the data that I gathered throughout this research and the results that I obtained from the interventions that I applied. I. Data Analysis Interview As I mentioned in the data collection instruments section of this research, the aim for this interview was to prove if the issues that I was having with my students was something that only occurred while I was teaching this specific group or, if the issue was related to the characteristic behavior of the group. Considering that matter is that I found that some of the issues that I was encountering were happening with other teachers as well. Even though, most of the questions in this interview were directed towards the experience of teaching seventh graders and the specific group of this research, the answers were not completely directed towards the expected responses. Indeed, some of them were repetitive in terms of the topics discussed within them (see Appendix B). Nevertheless, the unexpected outcomes of these responses, provided me with a different perception of what I needed to consider when planning the interventions. For instance, the importance of students’ context was one of the highlighted characteristics when teaching seventh graders. As I previously mentioned, the answers that I was obtaining were not the ones that I expected, I decided to add new questions throughout the interview that led me to comprehend the issues that I was leaving out of the planning of the interventions that I prepared. In figure 5, it can be seen the new questions that I added in the interview so I could have some light of what I needed to be attentive to..

(41) 41 TEACHING STRATEGIES AND EFFECTIVE INSTRUCTIONS. Teacher interviewed: Juan Claudio Zarate Date: Hour: Time taken: Questions: 1. Can you explain your experience teaching teenagers, specifically seventh graders? What needs to be considered when teaching them? 2. What is your experience with teaching seventh grade C? 3. What are the biggest issues you encountered with this class? 4. What techniques are effective when teaching this class? 5. Do you have any sort of experience with seventh grade c? 6. Considering that the class you teach and the one from this research have mixed students, do you think Figure 5. Interview questions. Questionnaire In terms of the questionnaire, this one was designed to obtain closed answers regarding the form I was giving instructions and if students were comprehending what I was trying to convey to them. In the first 3 questions of the questionnaire, students were expected to react to how they were comprehending my lessons and if I was giving them clear instructions to perform the activities. As it is seen in figures 1, 2 and 3 of Appendix C, the answers were, as an overall, inclining to “agreeing” which meant for me that they were following me through the lessons. However, when it came to the specific section of “Instructions are not clear in each activity” (see Figure 4, Appendix C), the overall answers of students started to shift more to the options in where they were not completely confident with my instructions. In that sense, the responses that I obtained in the section “If I don’t understand, the teacher explains again” (Figure 5, Appendix C) can be considered as a result of what occurred in the previous section. In other words, what I reflected from this data, is that students were not understanding the complete instruction that I provided and for that reason they were in the need of me giving more explanations to the things that I told them..

(42) 42 TEACHING STRATEGIES AND EFFECTIVE INSTRUCTIONS. Considering all the results from this data collection tool, I obtained sufficient data to reach the reflection that I needed to think of something to improve the fashion I was giving instructions to my students and how to make those instructions more meaningful to students, so they would feel more confident with what I was teaching them.. II. Analysis of interventions In this section, the aim is to analyze all the data gathered from the interventions that I applied in my classes. First, I will explain what happened with each intervention. Second I will provide some of the data that I gathered during those interventions. Last, I will reflect on one last questionnaire that I designed after the interventions to obtain a better comprehension of how my ability to give clear instructions evolved through time. In the first intervention that I applied, which dealt with the use of the white board, I obtained results that I did not expect at the beginning of this research. As a matter fact, some of the outcomes that I obtained from this intervention guided me to the reflection that what I provided my students was not only support in the class, but also, I provided them with the sufficient autonomy and confidence to make them feel part of the class, and engaged with it. In those terms, the main aim of this intervention was accomplished, but obtained more from it that than expected, yet, all the outcomes seem to work better. For instance, looking at some of the reflections that I had in my journal (see Appendix A), I noticed that the changes were starting to occur and that some of the students that previously did not show engagement with the class, started to show motivation and empowerment in their learning process. Thus, through this intervention I could prove that the use of the white board does make an impact in the way students perceive classes and that it can transform into a routine that aids the class in the search for it to be meaningful..

(43) 43 TEACHING STRATEGIES AND EFFECTIVE INSTRUCTIONS. In my second intervention, just as what happened with the first intervention, students started to show improvements with the time. At first, I got many bad reactions from students due to me deciding the people they would work with. In fact, even for some students the new seating arrangement seemed to be not what they needed (see Appendix A), yet, with the proper explanation and arguments to support the decisions I made, students finally comprehended what I expected to have as outcome from them. As illustrated by, during one specific class (see Appendix A and C) one of the students who never showed confidence and commitment in the class, started to participate more throughout the lesson and when he had the opportunity to change his partner, he decided to not do so because he was working well according to his standards. This outcome can be seen through the last questionnaire that I applied in which students were expected to choose the aspects of the class (some of them my interventions) that they liked the most during the semester. Surprisingly, one of the aspects of the classes that students liked the most was the seating arrangement that I gave them, which in terms of numbers it was 43% of the total answers of students (see Appendix G Figure 2). However, the biggest outcome did not come among the expectations that I had. As a matter of fact, the intervention transformed into a routine of the class in such form that, during one of the class after the final assessment of the semester, students were still forming the pairs to work in class (see Appendix A, Class Nov 22nd).. For the final intervention that I applied, students’ responses proved that the design and implementation of the intervention had proper results. To prove the results of this intervention, I decided to use a questionnaire (mentioned in other sections of this research) in which students could evaluate what I was doing in the classroom. In this questionnaire,.

(44) 44 TEACHING STRATEGIES AND EFFECTIVE INSTRUCTIONS. there was specific question in which students had to react to my instructions. The fashion in which they were supposed to react to it was based on the idea of choosing if they liked or not the way I was giving instructions. The final results showed that 40% of students chose the option “liked the most”, 24% of students chose the option “liked” and 29% of the students decided that they neither liked nor disliked it. This showed that students’ perception of my instructions improved with the time. When it comes to the techniques applied to improve my instructions, I was able to prove through the recording of some of the classes that the format of my instructions was changing and that I was finally giving emphasis to more simple, and clear directions of what I wanted my students to do. To get a better idea of this, I decided to take one of the instructions that I transcribed from one of the audio recordings of my classes and assess it using the Flesch-Kincaid Reading Ease Formula1. In this formula, words are measured in terms of difficulty to read. What is more, words are measured in terms of syllable per sentence, words per sentence and type of words used (How To Write Plain English, n.d.) The instruction taken from the transcription corresponded to:. “What you are going to do is that… Number one you are going to look at the words there… and you are going to transform it into an adverb. For example, bad” (see Appendix D). The results that I obtained from applying the Reading Ease Formula, were the following:. 1. Numbers obtained using calculator for this formula from https://readability-score.com/text/.

(45) 45 TEACHING STRATEGIES AND EFFECTIVE INSTRUCTIONS. According to the scale provided by Flesch et al. the scores that circulate between 90-100, correspond to scores that are considered as English sufficiently easy to be comprehended by 5th grade level students. Thus, the type of instructions that I was providing my students with, not only proved to be easier to understand in terms of the language used in them, but they also proved that they were clear and concise to what I wanted them to do..