What techniques to identify vocabulary can i implement : to help Karla, my pre kinder student, who has down syndrome?
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(2) TECHNIQUES TO IDENTIFY VOCABULARY IN DOWN SYNDROME STUDENTS Index Introduction……………………………………………………………………….4 Context……………………………………………………………………………6 Problem....................................................................................................................8 Research question…………………………………………………………………11 Rationale………………………………………………………………………......13 Literature review……………………………………………………………..........15 Methodology………………………………………………………………………21 Data analysis………………………………………………………………………26 Reflection and analysis of intervention……………………………………………38 References………………………………………………………………………….46 Conclusion and implications……………………………………………………….42 Appendix…………………………………………………………………………..48. 2.
(3) TECHNIQUES TO IDENTIFY VOCABULARY IN DOWN SYNDROME STUDENTS Abastract This case study aims at exploring techniques to identify vocabulary in order to help a Down syndrome student. This investigation took place in a school located in Pudahuel, in an EFL context. The child in which this process was developed is a 5 years old student, the techniques used in the interventions were designed considering three aspects, student’s age, student condition and school specialists’ interviews. The results of this research confirmed a progress on the student ability to identify vocabulary. Key words: Down syndrome, young learners, vocabulary learning, techniques.. Este estudio de caso busca explorar estrategias para ayudar a una estudiante con síndrome de Down identificar vocabulario. Esta investigación tomó lugar en una escuela en Pudahuel, Santiago, en un contexto de enseñanza del inglés como idioma extranjero. Las estrategias utilizadas en las intervenciones fueron diseñadas considerando tres aspectos: La edad de la estudiante, la condición de esta y las entrevistas realizadas a los especialistas del establecimiento. Los resultados de esta investigación confirmaron un progreso en las habilidades de la estudiante para identificar vocabulario.. Palabras clave: Síndrome de Down, enseñanza de niños, estrategias de enseñanza, aprendizaje de vocabulario.. 3.
(4) TECHNIQUES TO IDENTIFY VOCABULARY IN DOWN SYNDROME STUDENTS Introduction In many societies, there is a misunderstanding that teaching children is seen as an extension of mothering rather than as an intellectual enterprise (Cameron, 2001) In Chile, teachers at primary level are sometimes seen as care takers and not as people in charge of students’ learning process. Which in fact, is very worrying, since the outcomes associated with an early childhood education provision are seen even in adulthood. These studies have associated attending a pre-school will increase opportunities of attending university, job qualifications, employment, etc. Learning capabilities are primarily formed during the first years of childhood and this is the most effective time to improve the lives of disadvantaged children. (PISA, 2010), on this subject it is crucial to understand that primary education is essential in order to give equal opportunities to all children to completely develop all their capacities. Teaching young learners is a difficult task since teachers need to understand how children make sense of the world and how they learn, in addition as teachers we have to pay attention to all the different learners that we have inside the classroom and how these learners learn best. Regarding the former, it is important for our teaching practice to be prepare to teach all kind of students, students with learning disabilities, students with hearing impairment, students with language trauma, etc. Subsequently, teaching Down syndrome students a second language has made me noticed that having some kind of instruction on special needs students is compulsory to help students with learning disabilities to be able to learn and participate inside the classroom. This action research was carried out in a Pre Kinder grade in San Alberto Hurtado School, moreover this action research was based on my personal Journal and allowed me to reflect 4.
(5) TECHNIQUES TO IDENTIFY VOCABULARY IN DOWN SYNDROME STUDENTS upon my teaching practice, and to spot the issues that problematized my classroom. This research will based on techniques to help my pre kinder student Karla to identify vocabulary seen in classes. My decision to base my research on Karla was because the first time that I taught this class I had very little information about what strategies could I use to help Karla learn English. In addition, she did not participate as much as other students in the classroom, since she has a severe language impairment, moreover I did not have clarity on what could I require my student in terms of language. Regarding the former, I strongly believe that having proper techniques to teach Down syndrome students is necessary in order have equality in the classroom, this way we can give to all students the possibility to learn English and be an active participant of the class. This report, is an action research proposal that encompasses relevant topics such as, young learners learning a second language and Down syndrome language development. This action research is divided as follows: context, research question, rationale, literature review, methodology, data analysis, reflection and analysis of interventions, conclusions and implications.. 5.
(6) TECHNIQUES TO IDENTIFY VOCABULARY IN DOWN SYNDROME STUDENTS. Context. The context presented in this research is a school located in Pudahuel. This school was founded in 2008 and it is one of the seven schools that are part of a nonprofit organization in collaboration with the Santiago Archbishop, which provides catholic education to vulnerable areas of Pudahuel. The school gathers students from Pre kinder to twelfth grade. In addition the school has 61.5 percent of students at social risk, this is bases on Belen Educa´s web page (2016).. Approximately 1534 students are part of this institution,. moreover, 211 students are part of the integration program (PIE), which works with the teachers in order to help students that might present some learning difficulties. This program works in two ways. First, the student that is part of the program works once a week individually with the special educator. Second, the program helps all teachers in all subjects, but in different ways, since it takes more relevance in subjects such as, Math, Language and Science, where the special educator works cooperatively with the teacher in order to plan classes that are specially directed to students with special needs. Both professionals, the teacher and the special educator are in charge of delivering the class, moreover, being in the class together gives a bigger insight on how the strategies that they implemented in the classroom are working. In the rest of the subjects, the working method changes, the teacher and the special educator meet once a week and discuss strategies to help students with special needs in the class. In this sense, the teacher is the only one in charge of adapting the classes, in order to. 6.
(7) TECHNIQUES TO IDENTIFY VOCABULARY IN DOWN SYNDROME STUDENTS help students with some learning difficulty. Regarding the former, this gives the sense that there are subjects that are more important than others in the school. In addition, whenever the special educator teacher works with special need students, the students are taken from subjects such as physical education, music, arts or English. Students cannot be taken from classes such as Math, Languages or Science, in other words, this is a school policy.. What happens with English? In my personal experience as an educator in this school I was not assigned a PIE educator, therefore I had not help regarding my special needs students nor a guide on how to work with this students or how to presents the topics that we were going to see in classes. This gave me a sense that English was an irrelevant subject for the school. The class that I am focusing my research on is the pre kinder C, which has 35 students between the ages of 3-4. Also, six of them are part of the integration program. The class has four English modules of 45 minutes per week. During my practicum, I have explored English with my students through songs and games. Since students at that age do not know how to read and write, I will only focus on oral and listening skills. I will base my research on one student of this class, I will refer to this student as “Karla”. Karla is a five years old student, who was diagnosed with Down syndrome. As I previously mentioned, I based my research on her because of my lack of knowledge on language development in Down syndrome children learning a second language, specifically on strategies to help my student identify vocabulary seen in classes. It is important to add that Karla is not my only student that has a language disability, I have four other students with Down syndrome, but Karla is. 7.
(8) TECHNIQUES TO IDENTIFY VOCABULARY IN DOWN SYNDROME STUDENTS the youngest one and the one that struggles the most when she wants to communicate, even in her mother tongue.. Problem Pre kinder C class. This class has 35 students, five of these students have some learning difficulty related with language, but only Karla has a permanent language difficulty related to her condition. I have classes with this group four times a week all of these classes take place after lunch on modules of 45 minutes each. We are working with a textbook called “Cookie and Friends”, hence most of these classes are based on cookie’s songs or textbook. It is important to add that even though students do not know how to read or write they are early exposed to written words therefore, this happens in all subjects. The English class starts always with the routine. This routine encompasses vocabulary related to feelings, action verbs, parts of the body, weather and days of the week, in addition in the routine we use TPR. Also, I am using a moving corner that has recycled vocabulary words to make students remember and use previous vocabulary seen in classes. Later, it is time for Cookie (a cat puppet) to greet students, but they have to be in attitude of respect, this means sitting properly and wait for cookie to come to them, if not cookie does not say hi. All of the classes start in the semi-circle (all students are gathered in the carpet sitting in a semi-circle).. 8.
(9) TECHNIQUES TO IDENTIFY VOCABULARY IN DOWN SYNDROME STUDENTS Since this class starts after lunch there are a lot of students who are very sleepy at that time and I have been able to observe some disruptive behavior, but as the class develops students act engaged and problems related to disruptiveness go away. Every student knows what is expected from them in terms of attitude, I work with some “behavioral cards” they are red, yellow and green. If a student is not paying attention to the class, I show them a yellow card and I warn them that if they do not stop I will show them the red card and they will be send to a time out. This time out means getting out of the circle and moved to the desks, think about what they did and when I come back for them, they have to be in attitude of respect. On the contrary, when students are participating of the class, listening to the teacher and cooperating with their peers, and raising their hand when they want to speak, I show them the green card and I say “excellent job, very good you are in attitude of respect” Even though no student had interacted with children with Down syndrome before, they treat Noemi like every other child, but when they noticed that she needs help, all of them want to help her. This also happens in the English class. “We were reviewing colours and I showed some flash cards to students, while I showed a flashcard I asked a student, what colour is it? If they did not know the answer right away I gave them options such as “is this red?” “Is this blue?” When I asked Karla, I made her point the flash card, then I said, it is red, red, repeat red Karla, she articulated the word, but the sound that came out was ed, when students listened to Karla, they told her, Karla, repite red, all students said red out loud and waited for Noe to say it. Even though in this class I have to constantly make students move, repeat and do activities, otherwise disruptive behavior appears, they waited for Karla to say the word and we continued with the class” (Journal entry 1, 2016). 9.
(10) TECHNIQUES TO IDENTIFY VOCABULARY IN DOWN SYNDROME STUDENTS Two of the strategies that I use a lot in this class are flashcards and videos and visual aids, since one of the strengths that Karla has is visual memory. Supporting the students with Down syndrome in your class (2010).. Despite that I have 34 more students in the. classroom, I usually spend more time working with her. While working with Karla I realized that she speaks more English than Spanish. She is able to recognize colors, concepts such as big and small, vocabulary related to toys and animals. However, when I talk to her in Spanish she does not answer. “I was in class with the pre kinder C, when the head teacher, told me that Karla does not speak in Spanish, but she does say some things in English. In that moment Karla was working on her desk, I called her and told her to grab the yellow pencil so she did, but then the head teacher told her, Karla, pasame el lapiz color verde por favor, but she did not do it.” (Journal entry 2, 2016) Despite the fact that she seems to use more English than Spanish, she stills forgets a lot of vocabulary words that we have seen in classes. When I showed her flash cards with recycled vocabulary it seems that she had forgotten about it.. 10.
(11) TECHNIQUES TO IDENTIFY VOCABULARY IN DOWN SYNDROME STUDENTS. Research Question Regarding this class there are some aspects that make my teaching practice more complex, since I’m focusing my research on only one student of the class, it is necessary to mention that the English class is for 35 students, therefore, all the interventions are going to take place in that specific context, Karla as part of the pre Kinder C and not as an individual. Regarding the former, Karla in the English class needs to be treated as every other student inside the class. In addition, Karla struggles at English classes, since she does not know how to wait for her turn, how to interact with her peers and how to participate inside the class. “ We were working with some flashcards, I would say the name of an animal and students had to pick the right card, I chose a student to come in front of the class, then I said, “ok, Fernando please choose a snake!” then, the student looked for that particular flashcard and took it. Then I said, “Ok Fernando great job! Now choose someone in attitude of respect to come in front of the class”. Fernando chose Karla, she came in front of the class and I said “ok, Karla please choose a monkey” she took the right flash card, but then when I told her that was someone else’s turn, she took all the flashcards” ( journal entry 3, 2016) For the sake of this research it is important to add that there are some complex aspects when it comes to special need students, such as behavioral aspects, Karla needs to understand the context that she is insert in and what is acceptable and what is not.. 11.
(12) TECHNIQUES TO IDENTIFY VOCABULARY IN DOWN SYNDROME STUDENTS Subsequently, there is the English aspect, Karla, tends to forget considerable vocabulary words seen in classes, “I was assessing students, I showed them some flashcards and they had to say what was it, when was Karla’s turn Karla only remembered vocabulary words that we have recently mentioned in classes, but vocabulary words from other units she seemed to had forgotten about it” (Journal entry 5, 2016) Regarding what I mentioned before, my research question is related to techniques to help Karla to identify vocabulary seen in previous classes, this is why my research question is the following, “what techniques to identify vocabulary can I implement to help Karla, mi pre kinder student, who has Down syndrome?”. 12.
(13) TECHNIQUES TO IDENTIFY VOCABULARY IN DOWN SYNDROME STUDENTS. Rationale In the following section I will explain the reasons for undertaking this project, as I said before English is seen as an unimportant subject in the school, therefore I will like to highlight the importance to learn English and how English became a crucial factor on finding techniques to help a very young student deal with learning. This research will benefit different groups. Firstly, it will benefit Karla, my other group of special need students, the pre kinder C and me. While conducting this research I will be investigating different techniques to help Karla identify vocabulary words. In addition, it will allow me to improve my own teaching methods to help others students acquire more vocabulary words, since children with Down syndrome usually learn and progress more slowly than other children, therefore their development tends to be delayed in relation to chronological age. Fidler, D.J. and Nadel, L. (2007) It is important to add that there are more students in the school that are diagnosed with Down Syndrome, therefore this research will benefit tremendously that group of students, giving the fact that there are very few teachers in the school who know how to work with students with learning disabilities. In addition, it will also help me to have a better insight on how students with Down syndrome develop their language skills and how theory could meet my context appropriately, in order to improve my teaching practice and enhance the learning. 13.
(14) TECHNIQUES TO IDENTIFY VOCABULARY IN DOWN SYNDROME STUDENTS experiences of my students. Moreover, it will help me to look at my teaching practice more critically, in order to find ways to teach young learners more effectively. Hence, there is not enough information about Down syndrome and EFL. while this being my first experience teaching a class with a student with a severe learning difficulty I tried to find as much information related to the topic, nevertheless I came to noticed that there is not enough information about teaching English to Down Syndrome students, therefore I believe that this will also contribute to other English teachers who are struggling on finding ways to teach English to students with learning difficulties. As I mentioned above this has been my first year teaching a class, therefore it is relevant for my teaching practice to become aware of my decision making while I was researching, therefore this process not only helps Karla to identify vocabulary words and look for appropriate techniques to do so; but it helps me improve my own teaching performance. According to Harmer (2007) is either because they wish to improve aspects of their teaching, or because they wish to evaluate the success and/or appropriacy of certain activities and procedures. 14.
(15) TECHNIQUES TO IDENTIFY VOCABULARY IN DOWN SYNDROME STUDENTS. Literature review In this chapter the reader will find theoretical concepts involved in my research question, this key concepts will be the foundation and cornerstone of all my interventions. The literature review is divided as follows: Young learners, Down syndrome students, learning vocabulary, teaching vocabulary and techniques. Young learners According to Piaget (1963) young learners from two to seven years old are in the preoperational stage. Intelligence is increasingly demonstrated through the use of symbols and language development. This stage is marked with the development of memory and imagination. Psychologically speaking, children at this stage are very egocentric, therefore teachers need to understand how children make sense of the world in order to teach them. Their thinking is not logical; therefore, they do not have the ability to reason. As Crosse claims (2007) Children who are learning a second language need to have the task set at an appropriate level for their stage of intellectual development as well as encouraging their additional language skills. They may need support and guidance at the start of the task, but can then work independently alongside their peer group. Their cognitive ability may be initially above that. 15.
(16) TECHNIQUES TO IDENTIFY VOCABULARY IN DOWN SYNDROME STUDENTS of their English language ability but staff need to make every effort to offer meaningful activities. As Krashen (1981) portrays, young learners need to be exposed to comprehensible input, the language that students are exposed should be just above their current level of understanding, in other words, language must be understandable for students. At the same time, it is important to provide plenty of opportunities for meaningful and comprehensible output, that is to say, encourage students to produce comprehensible utterances in the L2. According Shin, J. K., & Joann Crandall. (2014) Children are spontaneous and inhibited by nature, but they can be easily feel embarrassed, therefore, instead of correcting every mistake, the teacher should be focused only on correcting meaning, also use a lot of repetition using appropriate activities for children, to practice the correct form in meaningful ways. Children have lots of physical energy and they are easily distracted, thereby, teachers need to harness these natural characteristics of young learners when planning their classes and use social, active and creative activities to engage students.. Down syndrome students What is Down syndrome? For causes that have not been discovered yet, in cell development, each cell results in 47 instead of the usual 46 chromosomes. In Down syndrome there is an additional number 21 chromosome, resulting in the medical diagnosis of Trisomy 21. This extra genetic material causes changes in the orderly development of the body and brain, as well as the physical. 16.
(17) TECHNIQUES TO IDENTIFY VOCABULARY IN DOWN SYNDROME STUDENTS characteristics and delayed physical, intellectual and language development associated with Down syndrome.. “A genetically based neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by a delay in language development beyond that which would be predicted by general cognitive delays (e.g. Chapman 1995, Vicari et al. 2000). Although language development is delayed, it appears to follow the typical path in children with DS. However, language abilities are not uniform: comprehension is usually at a level consistent with general cognitive abilities, but the development of expressive language appears to proceed at an even Gestures and words in children with Down’s syndrome 181 slower pace relative to comprehension and to typically developing children” (Iverson, Longobardi, Caselli. 2002). Down syndrome language development. Children with Down syndrome produce their first words at a much older age than is the case for typically developing children, although many children with Down syndrome do not produce their first words until much later. In contrast, typically developing children produce their first words by their first birthday. Once they begin to produce words, children with DS continue to make very slow progress in comparison to their typically developing peers. Early delays in vocabulary development appear to be largely a reflection of more general delays in cognitive development, as evidenced by the fact that the first words of children with Down syndrome occur at the same mental ages as in typically developing children. (Abbeduto, Warren, Conners. 2007) Students with Down syndrome will need more time, practice, consistency and reinforcement to learn communication skills. Group acceptance is a big motivator for all 17.
(18) TECHNIQUES TO IDENTIFY VOCABULARY IN DOWN SYNDROME STUDENTS students. Teachers can facilitate this relationship for students with Down syndrome by fostering tolerance and understanding in the classroom, as well as refusing to allow teasing or mimicking. Supporting the students with Down syndrome in your classroom (2010). Learning vocabulary What is a word? Vocabulary can be defined as the words of a language, including single items and phrases or chunks of several words which convey a particular meaning, the way individual words do. Vocabulary addresses single lexical items—words with specific meaning(s)—but it also includes lexical phrases or chunks. Vocabulary is central to English language teaching because without sufficient vocabulary students cannot understand others or express their own ideas. (Tesol.org, 2016) How vocabulary is learnt and used on young learners “the acquisition of word meanings takes much longer than the acquisition of the spoken form of the words, and children use words in their speech long before they have full understanding of them” (Locke, 1993), subsequently, learning vocabulary is a process and we need to think of appropriate strategies to implement in the classroom for our students to learn vocabulary, learning words is a cyclical process of meeting those words again and again, each time extending knowledge of what the words mean and how they are used in the foreign language. (Cameron, 2001) Just as in the children’s first language, children will understand the language long before speaking it. Students will acquire their new language in a similar sequence to their first 18.
(19) TECHNIQUES TO IDENTIFY VOCABULARY IN DOWN SYNDROME STUDENTS language. In these early attempts at communication it is vital that children are supported in their efforts and receive praise and encouragement to feel safe and be able to use the language in a non-judgmental environment (Crosse, 2007). Teaching vocabulary According to Bruner (1983) language is the most important tool for cognitive growth, and he has investigated how adults use language to mediate the world for children and help them to solve problem. In a classroom context, the teacher is doing what children are not yet able to do for themselves. In this sense, Bruner (1983) provides useful ideas such as routines for children to explore language in a familiar structure. At the beginning the teacher is who does most of the talking, then step by step the students start making sense of the language helped by pictures and mimicry and begin to participate as the students participate at a more demanding level the teacher reduces the scaffolding. Even though, the language use is predictable within the routine, yet there is a space within where the child can take over and do the language by themselves. The importance of the appropriate exposure of the language lays on the learning acquisition, therefore, repetition is key when we want to teach a word, as Nation (2010) “repetition is essential for vocabulary learning because there is so much to know about each word that one meeting of it is not sufficient to gain this information, and because vocabulary items must not only be known they must be known well so that they can be fluently accessed. Repetition thus adds to the quality of knowledge and 19 also to the quantity or strength of this knowledge.”.
(20) TECHNIQUES TO IDENTIFY VOCABULARY IN DOWN SYNDROME STUDENTS states,. Techniques What is a technique? According to Brown (2014), (p. 15) techniques are specific activities manifested in a curriculum that were consistent with a method and therefore, were in harmony with and approach as well, the techniques are highly related to the lesson objective. In other words, techniques, include all tasks and activities. They are almost always planned and deliberate. They are the product of a choice made by the teacher. And, for your purposes as a language teacher, they can comfortably refer to the pedagogical units or components of a classroom session. In this case, we will refer to techniques to different activities applied in the classroom.. 20.
(21) TECHNIQUES TO IDENTIFY VOCABULARY IN DOWN SYNDROME STUDENTS. Methodology In this section the reader will find the description of the participants in this research, instruments used to gather data and action plan timeline. It is important to mention that the research methodology is suitable for student’s age, since students are very young learners the only one that is in charge of using the instruments is the teacher. Regarding the former, there are instruments that contribute to an objective view of the class, considering that I can see my teaching practice in a subjective manner, therefore for the well function of this research I chose instruments such as video footage to describe what happens inside the classroom.. Participants The Pre Kinder C has 35 students, nonetheless, this research focuses on one student, who is Karla that has a severe language impairment that is caused by Down syndrome. Karla is willing to participate in the English class, but she does not know how to interact with others in the class. “I was giving instructions to students, we were in the semi-circle and Karla took her chair and climb it, in that moment I stopped her, and I told her to sit in her chair, then I had to give the instructions all over again, but first I had to have students focus on the task again.. 21.
(22) TECHNIQUES TO IDENTIFY VOCABULARY IN DOWN SYNDROME STUDENTS This behavior cost disruption in the class, due to this situation students were focused on Karla and not on the task that was planned” (Journal entry 5, 2016) Karla in general, is a student that wants to communicate with others, but since she does not talk it is difficult for her to do so, therefore it is also challenging for me to communicate with her. Regarding the former, I had to modify the classes objective for her, for example, if I ask students about vocabulary related to animals with the question “what animal is it?”; I only make Noe identify the vocabulary by pointing at what I asked, for example, “Which one is the cat?” Data collection instruments The methodology that I will use to gather data in order to determine and choose appropriate strategies to help my student identify vocabulary seen in classes will be journal, video recording, and interviews to the head teacher, the special educator teacher and the speech therapist, finally I will assess student in order to evaluate whether the techniques implemented worked. Journal After all classes a journal will be written by me, this journal will be written in a descriptive manner, describing what happens inside the classroom, in addition, it will provide me with evidence of reactions of students and my perception of how the class develops. Journals are extremely useful though as a way of capturing significant reflections and events in an ongoing way. 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 (Burns, 2010) 22.
(23) TECHNIQUES TO IDENTIFY VOCABULARY IN DOWN SYNDROME STUDENTS. Assessment After finishing the interventions I will assess my student, this assessment will have as objective to be able to demonstrate that Karla is able to identify vocabulary related to animals and numbers. According to the Common European Framework, I will use Achievement assessment, since it’s consider to assess. specific objectives, it is an. assessment oriented of what has been taught, in other words, this assessment is highly directed to the course. Since Karla has issues with sensory motor skills, I will guide her through the test and Karla will only have to point at the selected vocabulary, in this regard, I would say a word and she would have to point at the right image. To have a better understanding of the instrument (visit appendix C). Video Recording I will video record all the interventions in order to prove that the interventions have in fact improve learning. Even though a journal will be used to describe what happens in each class, my perception of the events could change, because of my own beliefs and subjectivity. Subsequently, by combining both data collection methods, the data that will be 23.
(24) TECHNIQUES TO IDENTIFY VOCABULARY IN DOWN SYNDROME STUDENTS obtained will be more objective and descriptive. In addition, it will help me to capture a particular teaching moment and record non-verbal aspects such as physical expressions or body positions (Burns, 2010) Furthermore, a parent authorization form will be used for the parents of the learners to allow me to video record the students inside the classroom (visit appendix E.1, E.2). Interviews I will interview three members of the school community, the head teacher of the pre Kinder C, the special educator and the speech therapist. In addition, this interviews will be done before the interventions, since they can give me a better insight on what techniques use with Karla. I decided to interview them because they have been a crucial factor on Karla’s development. In addition, one of the reasons to interview them lies on the research carrying on, in order to confirm assumptions or reconsider the focus of my investigation. Furthermore, I want to find out what strategies they use with Karla and how do they perceive her language impairment. Moreover, I want to find out in which way does the integration program work and helps Karla to develop social and academic skills and finally, I would like to inquire further into Karla’s learning progress and how do the community members evidence her learning process. I decided to use a structured interview because I want to compare responses to the same questions across all the people interviewed, for this. 24.
(25) TECHNIQUES TO IDENTIFY VOCABULARY IN DOWN SYNDROME STUDENTS specific purpose, the interviewer goes through the questions in the same order with each person (Burns, 2010) for more understanding of the instrument (visit appendix B).. Action plan timeline The following shows the action plan timeline procedure in order to complete my research and fulfill all steps of my action research process. SEPTEMBER 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10. Revision Action research proposal Literature review Research methodology Revision of 1st draft Research methodology application Data analysis Revision 2nd draft Action research conclusión Analysis of error adjustment Project Final Revision. 25. OCTOBER 5 6 7 8. NOVEMBER 9 10 11 12. DECEMBER 13 14.
(26) TECHNIQUES TO IDENTIFY VOCABULARY IN DOWN SYNDROME STUDENTS. Data Analysis. The general objective of this chapter is to describe in a precise manner the results of the instruments mentioned in the previous section. Analyzing AR data is a continuing process of reducing information to find explanations and patterns Burns (2010). Since my research will be focused on gathering only qualitative data I strictly used instruments that could meet that need, for example, video recording, interviews, journal, etc. I will divide this section in three different chapters, before the interventions, during the interventions and after the interventions. In the first section the reader will find the three different interviews apply to the head teacher, the special educator teacher and the speech therapist. In the second chapter the reader will find the description of the four interventions and its techniques, and finally, in the third chapter the reader will find the assessment applied to Karla.. Before the interventions Interviews. 26.
(27) TECHNIQUES TO IDENTIFY VOCABULARY IN DOWN SYNDROME STUDENTS As I mentioned above the type of interview used in this research is an structured interview, which can compare responses to the same questions across all the people interviewed, in addition, this interview was applied in Spanish, since all the participants only speak Spanish, therefore the answers to this questions have been translated to English with the aim of caring a proper research process, nonetheless the transcription of these interviews will be available in the appendix (visit appendix B). Participant. 1. 2. 3. Question 1. Adapting material for her One of the strategies that With Karla is very important to. What. and if we have an activity I use with Karla is the divide the session, for example,. techniques. that is related to writing, use of concrete material, my session lasts 45 minutes. do you use we work with material in also everything through long, so at least I have three with Karla?. order to strength her motor repetition.. All. the activities. skills, also the instructions strategies that I use with interesting I give to her are very short. her. are. related. for. her,. enough. 27. Table 1. are. for. her,. to related with movement and very. repetition and concrete short instructions. material.. that.
(28) TECHNIQUES TO IDENTIFY VOCABULARY IN DOWN SYNDROME STUDENTS In relation to Table 1, the question “what techniques do you use with Karla?” participant 1 and participant 2 agreed that one of the techniques that they apply with her is the use of short instructions. Then, participant 2 said that the use of concrete material and repetition was essential on her work with Karla. In addition, participant 3 added that one techniques that she uses with Karla is the implementation of appealing activities for her.. Participant. 1. Question 2. When we talk about progress More. How can you related. 2. to. Karla,. I. 3 than. academic This is the second year that. always progress, there has been she has been in the school,. noticed. the compare her with herself, but practical progress, since she had to do Pre Kinder. progress. that with the Karla that was in the children. with. Down again this year because the. Karla has had school last year, since she failed syndrome are cognitively first time that she attended to in the school?. Pre kinder. We started to notice speaking. two. years Pre Kinder we only included. progress in a more profound way behind than a typical aspects related to norms, this during the second semester, we developing children. We was an objective that as PIE have. noticed. her. progress have. seen. practical team agreed on. Things such. because we applied a test, which progress, things related as know where her desk was, was very similar to the one that to the daily routine, on where to put her things, going the rest of the class took, but in her own autonomy.. to the bathroom and how to. Math for example, she had a We have also seen a socialize smaller. number. range. with. her. peers.. and progress in the academic Karla arrived to the school. 28.
(29) TECHNIQUES TO IDENTIFY VOCABULARY IN DOWN SYNDROME STUDENTS Language vowel but in a capital aspect, and this has been very young, she only was 4 letter format. This test was taken reflected on tests that we years old, the same age than in different situations and with have implemented.. her peers. Since the first year. different teachers. I believe that. that Karla was with us, we. this has been a way to prove the. only touch subjects that were. rest and not only me that Karla. very general we agreed that. has progressed, since I am with. Karla had to do Pre Kinder. her all day in the classroom I. again. When this year started. have seen progress. and in. we noticed a lot of progress,. different aspects, in personal. Karla knew all the school. aspects and in academic aspects.. routine, and therefore she was. But it is necessary that she. more autonomous. This year,. shows this progress to everyone. you can see Karla more. and at any time of the day,. connected in the classes, she. because it had happened that she. participates in the classes, she. had responded very good in a. is able to comprehend short. test during the morning, but then. instructions, also in English. after. not. she had had a lot of progress,. responded in the same way as in. we have seen progress in all. the first instance. Now, I ask her. areas.. lunch,. she. did. about vowels and she is able to answer at any time. Table 2. 29.
(30) TECHNIQUES TO IDENTIFY VOCABULARY IN DOWN SYNDROME STUDENTS In relation to Table 2, the three participants concluded that Karla had progressed in the school. Participant 1 and participant 2 claimed that they noticed that advance through a test that she took. Participant 3 stated that Karla was more autonomous and was able to understand in what context she was embedded in. Subsequently, all participants claimed that Karla had progressed in academic areas and social areas.. Participants. 1. 2. 3. Question 3. The integration staff is In the school we Since PIE is integrated by different. In what way does essential, since we have have the. integration not. program contributes student’s development?. teach. been. trained. students. plenty. of specialists we have a more holistic. to liberty to work in view, it is not the academic aspect with relation to students. only that matter to us. Sometimes the. to special needs, despite of We. do. develop school only cares about the curriculum. skill the experience that you skills on students, and the progress that the student may can gain by working skills of all kind. have on them. On the contrary, we see with. special. students.. need For. that,. we a holistic view of the, we do care. The evaluate the student about Karla’s academic performance,. integration staff helps and come up with a this performance will always be on a you to take concrete diagnosis,. where slower pace than her peers. We expect. decisions. They bring we. detect that within her abilities Karla can 30.
(31) TECHNIQUES TO IDENTIFY VOCABULARY IN DOWN SYNDROME STUDENTS you back to reality, descended putting. things. skills. progress. We cannot categorize Karla. in From this point, we as a Down syndrome students since. context, since you want create an individual we have six Down syndrome students to. accomplish work plan. and none of them are similar to the. everything. with. that. other. Karla is very “adequate” she is. student and you cannot. interested in communicating with. do it, then you get. others, so this has helped her learning. frustrated.. process. Also, PIE staff and teachers. Subsequently,. when. need to find common ground in order. you get frustrated you. to work as a team. We need to have. cannot bring the best of. communication with the teachers, for. you. There are things. example, Karla likes English, and so. that only the speech. we did a class related to English.. therapist can explained. Subsequently, Karla struggles a lot. to me, in this regard we. when it comes to articulate words and. can stablish concrete. we noticed that she spoke more words. goals. in English than in Spanish, so let’s use. to. work. with. special need student.. English as a tool to help Noe develop other areas.. Table 3. In relation to Table 3, all participants stated that the Integration program was essential to develop student’s skills, Participant 1 claimed that since she was not an specialist on special need student she needed guidance towards what can she expect from a student with some 31.
(32) TECHNIQUES TO IDENTIFY VOCABULARY IN DOWN SYNDROME STUDENTS learning difficulty. In addition, she mentioned the support that the integration program gives to teachers, this way the integration program develop skills on students through teachers. Participant 2 stated that the integration program helped students to develop skills through a work plan specially created for every student in order to compensate descended skills. Participant 3 claimed that the integration program does not only helps students to accomplish academic performance, but also helps to develop other skills. Then, she mentioned that all the progress that students accomplish is strongly related to the team work that PIE staff and the teachers have created.. Participant. 1. 2. 3. Question 4. Yes, I believe so, because as a. Yes, definitely,. Yes, It is fundamental not only. In your perspective,. teacher you are in charge of. students’ parents are in Down syndrome students,. do you think that. 35 students and we are only. our biggest support,. but in every child. You can see. student’s home have. two adults in the classroom or. they are the ones. a lot of progress on students. a fundamental roll. three at the most, when the. who pave the way,. when the school and parents. on students’ learning. special educator teacher. in order to build. work together. They need to. progress?. comes. Therefore, we cannot. learning,. know what we are doing, and. work as much as we would. confidence, that is. most important, that parents. like it with a specific student,. what we expect. accept the diagnosis that. in this case with Karla, so if. from parents,. students have, subsequently,. 32.
(33) TECHNIQUES TO IDENTIFY VOCABULARY IN DOWN SYNDROME STUDENTS parents do not work together. unfortunately that is. when parents do not accept it,. with their children and ask. not the case for all. you are able to see that students. you for advice, we would not. students. Is due to. stop growing. Also, they tend. be able to see all the progress. this issue that we. to justify everything that their. that we have been able to see.. offer guidance to. child does. We need that that. We see this progress on. parents, how they. parents accept the diagnosis,. students that have a learning. need to behave, in. and also that they could be able. difficulty and students that are what way reach and. to understand that a learning. “normal”, if parents do not. solve their children. difficulty is not a limitation,. emotional and academically. need, since not. therefore, we need that parents. support their children,. every parent has the. understand what we are doing. students would not be able to. tools to do so.. in the integration program and. accomplish the results that. work with us, in order to help. they have. I believe that this. every aspect of the student life.. year we have been able to accomplish these results is because, we have worked as a team with Karla’s family. In other words, when you are able to create an alliance with students’ parents you can see the results that we have witness with Karla. Table 4 33.
(34) TECHNIQUES TO IDENTIFY VOCABULARY IN DOWN SYNDROME STUDENTS. Regarding Table 4, all specialist stated that students’ home were crucial on students learning progress, and the tremendous impact that building a relationship between parents and school has on students. Also, participant 2 mentioned that guidance to parents was necessary, since not every parent knows how to help their children. Then, participant 3 argued that it was fundamental that parents accept students’ diagnosis, otherwise whatever work plan that the integration program build would not work.. During the interventions On this section the reader will find the description of the interventions and the techniques used to help Karla identify vocabulary. Since this research only focuses on one student. I will describe how Karla reacted towards the presented technique. It is important to add that all interventions were part of a unit called “animals” and the objective was “students will be able to identify vocabulary related to animals”, all classes took place between 12.30 and 14.00 hrs. In addition, in all classes there are three moments, the first one, is the routine where students sing a song that has topics such as days of the week, weather, feelings, etc. (see appendix E.3) Second, where they are seated in the semi-circle participating of different activities, and the third one where students go to their desks to work autonomously.. Class number 1, Technique A “kill fly” 34.
(35) TECHNIQUES TO IDENTIFY VOCABULARY IN DOWN SYNDROME STUDENTS While students were seated in the semi-circle I presented the following activity, flashcards were placed on the ground. Then, I selected two students who were in “attitude of respect” and gave them a kill fly each, later I told them by modeling and using the kill fly that, when I said an animal they had to hit the correct flashcard and whoever hit the flashcard first wins, students did it and then was the turn of another pair. This time, a student chose Karla, I explained the same instructions, and then I said “ok, ready? Please choose monkey!” Karla took more time than his classmate to find the monkey, but she did, later I made her do it by herself and I said, “Karla, please choose tiger!” and so she did.. Class number 2, Technique B “counting animals” The seating disposition was arranged in a semi-circle, I expected for everyone to be in silence and then, continued with the class, I showed students flashcards from 1-6, this flash cards were not in order. First I asked “what number is this one?” as a whole class, but then I chose a student in particular to answer that question. Then, I placed flash cards on the carpet, one next to the other, but they were not in order, then, I asked if the flashcards were in order, they answer “no!”, therefore, I asked a student to arrange the order of the flashcards. Later, I showed students a bowl filled with plastic animals and I chose a student to come in front of the class. First, I ask him “please choose number 3” he pointed at the flash card and later I told him “please give me 3 animals”, the student took three animals 35.
(36) TECHNIQUES TO IDENTIFY VOCABULARY IN DOWN SYNDROME STUDENTS and put it in the corresponding flashcard. Later, it was Karla’s turn. I asked “which one is number 1?” I took two flashcards and asked again the previous question, Karla pointed at number 1, then I told her to pick one animal, Karla chose four animals. As a class we counted the animals and then, I said “please, give me one animal, so she did and put it were number one was placed.. Class number 3, technique C and D “Story time” and “TPR” Students are seated in a semi-circle, I made students repeat after me “1,2,3, story time, for you and me”, then I played the story audio, in addition I had eight images of 30 cm x 20 cm that described the story. In every slide an animal was being described, students say the animal and then the action of that animal, for example “a monkey goes like this eh eh eh!” Since Karla does not know how to talk she joins the class by doing the actions. In addition, Karla was paying attention in all times while I was telling the story. In this class there is a lot of repetition involved and little vocabulary in use.. Class number 4, technique E “puzzle game” Students were seated in the semi-circle and I started praising students who were in silence and waiting for the class to start, also I showed students who had a disruptive attitude a “yellow card”, I showed them the flashcard and I said “stop” Then, when everybody was in silence I turned on the projector, I used the projector connected to an I -pad, in order for all students to be able to see, and I said, “I’m looking for someone in attitude of respect”, Then I chose a student that was in silence and looking at me. I said “ok, Javier, please come”. 36.
(37) TECHNIQUES TO IDENTIFY VOCABULARY IN DOWN SYNDROME STUDENTS Javier had to connect all the parts of the image that was projected, then when Javier was Finished I asked “boys and girls what animal is it? Students answered “a crocodile”. I told the student to choose a classmate in attitude of respect, Javier chose Karla. She had to put in the correct place different jungle animals (visit appendix D.1) I asked Karla, I said “Karla please choose the elephant” and so she did, the same procedure was done with all the animals.. Routine At the beginning of each class we sing the routine song, which encompasses topics such as feelings, days of the week and weather. This is an essential moment in the class, since students are able to use the target language, answering questions such as “what’s the weather like today?” Also in the routine TPR is used, therefore language is connected to movement. (Visit appendix E.3). After the interventions Assessment. 37.
(38) TECHNIQUES TO IDENTIFY VOCABULARY IN DOWN SYNDROME STUDENTS After all interventions took place, I assess Karla, since I wanted to evidence if the techniques used to help her identify vocabulary had worked. The assessment used was an achievement assessment, this assessment was about animals and numbers. In addition, since she does not know how to read or write and struggles tremendously when she wants to speak, I only made her identify the image by pointing at it. It’s important to add that the assessment was only ten questions long, since young learners have a very short attention span (Cameron, 2001).. Subsequently, Karla is not autonomous enough yet to do an. assessment by herself, so I guided her through the process. In the assessment Karla scored 75% of achievement, being numbers the most problematic area for her.. Reflection and analysis of intervention The general objective of this chapter will be to understand and have a better insight on what will be the overall conclusions and interpretations of this Action Research process. According to Burn (2010), (p. 141) Reflection involves creative insights, thoughts and understandings about what you have been doing and finding, and it happens right from the beginning. For action researchers, reflection flavours and moulds the whole AR experience. In this regard, this chapter will be focused on finding relations among the literature review, data analysis and the interventions, in addition, in order to have a better view of the whole process. Class number 1, Technique A “kill fly” 38.
(39) TECHNIQUES TO IDENTIFY VOCABULARY IN DOWN SYNDROME STUDENTS Firstly, there are many aspects to discuss when it comes to this activity, since children are energetic and physically active Shin, J. K., & Joann Crandall. (2014) it is necessary to incorporate kinesthetic activities that encourage young learners to get up and move around, it is for that reason that I used an activity such as “kill fly” where students had to stand up and hit with a kill fly the right animal. In this activity students are not only moving but also, seeing the flashcards, hearing the word and touching the flash card. Subsequently, Children need to have all five senses stimulated, activities must go beyond visual and auditory modes, due to this it is necessary to have activities that are “physical” (Brown, 2014). We can see this issue reflected on the answer that participant three gave towards the question “what strategies do you use with Karla?” She stated that she practiced with Karla were activities were she had to move. Regarding the reaction that Karla had towards the activity, I believe that it was positive. In addition, she seemed eager to participate since she was constantly raising her hand to participate.. Class number 2, Technique B “Counting animals” Regarding this activity “counting animals”, the first thing to be considered is the use of concrete material, “hands-on” activities help children to internalize language (Brown, 2014) in addition, children are more interested in the physical and the tangible, since children 39.
(40) TECHNIQUES TO IDENTIFY VOCABULARY IN DOWN SYNDROME STUDENTS from 2-7 years old are in the preoperational stage, in other words, they learn by exploring and using their senses (Piaget, 1970) In addition, one of the interview participants, participant two, responded to question one, “what strategies do you use with Karla?” that one of the techniques that she uses with Karla was the implementation of concrete material. Another aspect to consider in this activity was the use of short instructions, since Down syndrome students have poor memory ability (Supporting the student with Down syndrome in your classroom, 2010) they struggle when teachers give them long instructions, at the same time, children also have a very short attention span. It is possible to see that in activity two I gave short instructions to Karla such as “give me one animal” , “which one is number one?” this also helps Karla to understand the activity and to focus on one thing only. In addition, this was also a topic that came up interviewing school members, Participant three, stated that one of the techniques used with Karla were the used of short instructions and break the session down into at least three activities.. Class number 3, Technique C and D “story time” and “TPR” In relation to this activity “story time”, stories use a holistic approach to language teaching and learning that places a high premium on children’s involvement with rich, authentic uses of the foreign language. (Cameron, 2001) moreover, children enjoy stories, since they are always eager to listen to stories and they want to understand what is happening (Slatterly & Willis, 2001) this is the case of Karla, while I was telling the story she paid attention in all times. (visit appendix E.2), while the story was in process students did the action of the animals, for example “a lion goes like this grrr grrr” students use their hands in order to represent a lion, then they repeat the word, this increases opportunities of exposure to 40.
(41) TECHNIQUES TO IDENTIFY VOCABULARY IN DOWN SYNDROME STUDENTS the language and gives children a second (or third) chance to work out the meaning and have it confirmed. (Cameron, 2010). In classroom activities, according to Shin, J. K., & Joann Crandall. (2014) using Total Physical Response (TPR) is a great way to teach English especially for very young learners. That method keeps children active in learning process while it links the language with physical movement. Young learners are easily distracted and have very short attention spans; therefore, it is better to keep in mind that five and ten minutes activities are best to engage them in learning. It is important to add that all activities implemented in this Action Research are compatible with the attention span of very young learners.. Class number 4, technique E “puzzle game” Regarding this activity, Down syndrome students have exceptional strength in visual processing and visual memory (Including children with Down syndrome in your school, n.d.) The use of visual aids helps them to learn better. In the case of Karla almost all activities created for her are supported by some kind of visual aid. In this activity Karla was able to select all animals and put them in the correct order (visit appendix D.1), this evidence the fact that visual techniques work tremendously in Down syndrome students. In addition this is also supported by participant two, when answered the question “What techniques do you use with Karla?” she said that the use of concrete material, puzzles and a lot of repetition.. 41.
(42) TECHNIQUES TO IDENTIFY VOCABULARY IN DOWN SYNDROME STUDENTS. Conclusion and implications The general objective of this section is to analyze the implications, the impact and the limitations that this action research process has had. Firstly, I would like to mention that Action Research can be a very valuable way to extend our teaching skills and gain more understanding of ourselves as a teacher, our classroom and our students. (Burn, 2010), (p. 1) my vision as a teacher has changed, since when you look at your teaching practice in a critical manner there will be problematic situations considered be worthy of investigation. At the beginning of this process it was difficult for me to choose one of the problems inside the classroom, at the end I chose a topic worthy of investigation, which is Down syndrome 42.
(43) TECHNIQUES TO IDENTIFY VOCABULARY IN DOWN SYNDROME STUDENTS students and teaching English as a foreign language. This experience has showed me the necessity of being instructed on this issue. According to a survey conducted by the Catholic university of Chile (Lucchini, 2003) 91, 3% of teachers reported that they had especial need students inside their classroom. As I said before, the need to be instructed in this matter lays on the fact that we will encounter many students with special needs in our classroom and is our job as a teacher to create learning opportunities for all students. In relation to my experience as a researcher, I would like to mention that I would have done many things differently in this AR. Firstly, I would have changed the use of some instruments of data collection. At the beginning of process I thought that having a considerable range of instruments to gather data was appropriate for the investigation that I was conducting, but while I was applying those instruments I noticed that instead of helping my research, they hindered it. Another aspect that I would have done differently, is the use of video recording in my data collection. Now I realize that I should have taken more advantage of them by using specific moments of teaching to evidence that learning was being improved. According to Burns (2010) the central idea of the “action” part of AR is to intervene in a deliberate way in the problematic situation in order to bring about changes and, even better improvements in practice. For me this process has been very successful, since due to this research I have a better insight on teaching special need students, moreover using different techniques to teach English improves the learning experience of all students inside the classroom. In addition, I am more willing to see my teaching practice, in other words, to observe myself in the classroom and to be able to see positive and negative aspects of my teaching practice. Regarding the former, the use of video footage in AR is a powerful tool, 43.
(44) TECHNIQUES TO IDENTIFY VOCABULARY IN DOWN SYNDROME STUDENTS since you are not only observing aspect of interest for your investigation. This instrument helped me tremendously too see other aspects of my teaching practice that needed to be addressed. Furthermore, the implications of this Action Research fell firstly on Karla, this study discussed techniques to help her identify vocabulary. Subsequently, the results that we found concluded that the techniques implemented were appropriate and improved learning. This is essential, since there is not enough information about Down syndrome students learning a second language, therefore this research can help other teachers to investigate and create opportunities for learning for all students, despite that they might have some learning difficulties. Hence, this action research could also serve as a practical guide for English teachers that have students with Down syndrome in their classrooms. Regarding the limitations that I face during this process, I have to add that one of the most important limitations was time. Since Action Research is a process that is time consuming. I believe that having less than a semester to conduct a research does not demonstrate fully the capacities that we might have as teachers and as agents of change. I have to say that another limitation for this research was the school, this institution is strongly advocate to have good results and the evidence to demonstrate good results is through standardized test. Therefore, when I assessed Karla it had to be through a norm reference test. Regarding my research question “what techniques to identify vocabulary can I implement to help Karla, my pre kinder student, who has Down syndrome?” the techniques use to help Karla identify vocabulary were constructed in relation to her age and condition. In addition,. 44.
(45) TECHNIQUES TO IDENTIFY VOCABULARY IN DOWN SYNDROME STUDENTS the use of activities where Karla use her body such as TPR, “story time”, the implementation of realia in class number two and having a routine in the English classroom help Karla tremendously to improve her learning. As a conclusion, I have to mention that the results of this Action Research were not only due to my teaching practice, but were the result of the alliance of a learning community that works as a team, in order to help their students to fulfill all their capacities. The progress that Karla has had during this year is due to the hard work of a speech therapist, a special educator teacher, her classroom teacher and me. It has been proved that students with Down syndrome can be successfully included in primary school setting if they are given regular and timely support as needed. This means that peers, coordinators, principals, specialist staff, and the parents all should be involved to ensure the best start for students with Down syndrome. (Down syndrome inclusion support service, 2014) Furthermore, I will continue investigating on Down syndrome students and EFL. The following is a list of possible research question: . How motivation affects students with Down syndrome in learning a second language?. . What strategies can I use to foster autonomy on Down syndrome students?. . Can affective factors foster the learning of a second language?. 45.
(46) TECHNIQUES TO IDENTIFY VOCABULARY IN DOWN SYNDROME STUDENTS. References. Abbeduto, L., Warren, S.F., and Conners, F.A. (2007). Language development in Down syndrome: From the prelinguistic period to the acquisition of literacy. Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities Research Reviews, 13, 247-261. doi:10.1002/mrdd.20158 Anne E, f. (1986). The development of language structure in children with Down syndrome. En f. Anne E, the development of language structure in children with Down syndrome. Haskins laboratories. Buckley, S. (1993). Language development in children with Down syndrome-Reasons for optimism. Down Syndrome Research and Practice, 1(1), 3-9. Burns, A. (2009). Doing action research in English language teaching: A guide for practitioners. Routledge. 46.
(47) TECHNIQUES TO IDENTIFY VOCABULARY IN DOWN SYNDROME STUDENTS Cameron, L. (2001). Teaching languages to young learners. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Common European framework of reference for languages: Learning, teaching, assessment. Retrieved from https://www.coe.int/t/dg4/linguistic/Source/Framework_EN.pdf Crosse, k. (2007). Introducing English as an additional language to young children. En k. Crosse, introducing English as an additional language to young children. Paul Chapman publishing. Down syndrome inclusion support service. (2014). Victorian Government Department of Education and Training. http://www.tesol.org/docs/books/bk_eltd_vocabulary_974 [Accessed 4 Oct. 2016]. Including children with Down syndrome in your school. (n.d.). 1st ed. Anna Martin. Johnson, C. Teaching student’s with Down syndrome. Lucchini, G. (2003). Niños con necesidades educativas especiales: cómo enfrentar el trabajo en el aula. Ediciones Universidad Católica de Chile.. María Teresa Sanz Aparicio & Javier Menéndez Balaña (2002) Early Language Stimulation of Down's Syndrome Babies: A study on the optimum age to begin, Early Child Development and Care, 172:6, 651-656 Nation, I. S. (2001). Learning vocabulary in another language. Ernst Klett Sprachen. OECD (2010), PISA 2009 Results: Overcoming Social Background: Equity in Learning Opportunities and Outcomes (Volume II), Paris: OECD. Pace JE, Shin M, Rasmussen SA. 2010. Understanding attitudes toward people with Down syndrome. Am J Med Genet Part A 152A:2185–2192.. 47.
(48) TECHNIQUES TO IDENTIFY VOCABULARY IN DOWN SYNDROME STUDENTS Richards, J. C., & Rodgers, T. S. (2014). Approaches and methods in language teaching. Cambridge university press. Shin, J. K., & Joann Crandall. (2014). Teaching young learners English: From theory to practice. National Geographic Learning. Supporting the student with down syndrome in your classroom.(2010). Retrieved from https://dsawm.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/2014-Educator-Manual.pdf. Appendix Appendix A.1 authorization. Autorización uso de video e imagen. Yo__________________________. RUT______________________. apoderado/a. de. _________________________ RUT________________________ quien es parte de Pre Kinder C. Por medio de la presente autorizo a la profesora Constanza Vallejos Cid, RUT 48.
(49) TECHNIQUES TO IDENTIFY VOCABULARY IN DOWN SYNDROME STUDENTS 17961666-1, para hacer uso de videos en los cuales figure mi hijo/a, así como trabajos que él/ella realice durante el segundo semestre del 2016 en la asignatura de Inglés. La profesora Constanza Vallejos y el departamento de Inglés podrán hacer uso de las fotos, videos y trabajos para los fines académicos correspondientes que conlleva esta investigación. Cabe señalar que la información, imágenes obtenidas en esta investigación solo serán usados confidencialmente para el trabajo de tesis de la profesora.. Firma _____________________________. Appendix B.1 interview María José Moyano Celis. Interview María José Moyano Celis Educadora Pre kínder C Date: 3/11/2016 Time: 18.00 Constanza: Dime tu nombre completo, tu cargo y curso que estás a cargo María José: Mi nombre es María José Moyano Celis y soy la educadora del pre kinder C. Constanza: ¿Qué estrategias utilizas para trabajar con Karla?. 49.
(50) TECHNIQUES TO IDENTIFY VOCABULARY IN DOWN SYNDROME STUDENTS María José: El trabajo con Karla va variando con la asignatura que uno va realizando con ella, hay trabajos como generalizados con ella, partiendo que se normalizara dentro del curso. Estableciendo metas super concretas, que empezara a trabajar la actividad completa. Si eran cinco instrucciones, una instrucción para la adecuación correspondiente a su tarea y tratando de adecuar antes todo el material que fuéramos a necesitar con ella y cuando hay trabajo, en este caso de lenguaje de escritura o lectura, se trabaja, se intenciona toda la motricidad, se trabaja con material diferenciado. Constanza: ¿Cómo se evidencian los avances que ha tenido Karla en el colegio? María José: Con la Karla los avances siempre los comparamos con la Karla del año pasado, como ella repitió pre Kínder, se vio como fue ella el año pasado y como se está evidenciando en ella su avance y este año fueron, pero los empezamos a notar en un cien por ciento este segundo semestre con ella y lo vimos al tomarle una prueba, en un mismo nivel de prueba que tienen los chiquillos, pero en matemáticas por ejemplo con un ámbito numérico más chico y en lenguaje con vocales en formato mayúscula y esas pruebas primero las tomó la Elena en donde ella mostraba que lo reconocía, después empezamos nosotros a tomarlo en sala más constantemente y después la tomo la encargada de área, Ceci, también la tomó, ya en otro contexto, con otra persona, por lo menos pudo identificar vocales correctamente. Yo creo que esas han sido las formas de ir evidenciando no solo yo, porque como educadora y como estamos todo el día en la sala con ella, yo veo avances, hasta que no necesite que yo tenga que ir a buscarle el confort, tanto como en ámbitos personales y curriculares. Pero….yo, se necesita que ella lo pueda demostrar a toda persona y en cada minuto del día, porque sucedía que la Karla respondía muy bien durante la. 50.
(51) TECHNIQUES TO IDENTIFY VOCABULARY IN DOWN SYNDROME STUDENTS mañana y en la tarde no, si no que ahora ya le pregunto las vocales en la jornada de la tarde y ella también las puede responder. Constanza: ¿Crees que el curriculum escolar ayuda a desarrollar habilidades de niños con necesidades especiales? María José : Yo creo que el curriculum escolar adaptado a las necesidades que ella tiene, pero, no estableciendo que la Noé tiene síndrome de Down, porque nosotros hemos trabajado con niños con síndrome de Down y siento que todas las adecuaciones son diferentes, es por esto que este curriculum el que nosotros estamos desarrollando, así como lo has desarrollado tú en inglés y las profesoras que lo han desarrollado en la sala junto con la Elena si funciona, pero siento que en si uno estructura una clase en general para los chiquillos es muy difícil llegar a trabajar, lo que si se necesita es el tema de las adaptaciones curriculares, que uno va haciendo, porque sin estas adaptaciones creo que los chiquillos no van a tener los avances que hemos podido ver con los chiquillos.. Constanza: ¿De qué manera y como el proyecto de integración aporta al desarrollo de los estudiantes? María José: Las chiquillas de integración son fundamentales, porque partiendo, uno tiene formación general, no tengo formación en función al trabajo con ella (Karla), independiente que la experiencia que uno adquiere en sala o la experiencia que uno tiene, porque yo he trabajado anteriormente con niños con síndrome de Down, pero con ella uno puede tomar decisiones como concretas, te ayudan, te aterrizan, te bajan de las nubes, porque en un 51.
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