What teaching strategies can I implement to increase the use of English language vocabulary, during speaking activities with the eighth graders?

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(1)Universidad Alberto Hurtado Faculty of Education English Pedagogy. What teaching strategies can I implement to increase the use of English language vocabulary, during speaking activities with the eighth graders?. Yvannia Neira Olguín Degree Seminar. December 4th, 2015. Santiago, Chile.

(2) Abstract In the following document, it is presented an investigation related to the use of English language vocabulary during speaking activities, with the eighth grade students from Colegio Babilonia. In this investigation, teaching strategies were exposed, such as the use of dialogues, monologues and interviews; furthermore, how pre-fabricated phrases and the use of chunks had impact on students’ development of speaking skills. Along this investigation, it will be possible to find the theoretical framework, which makes possible the implementation of those strategies. Key Words: Language – Vocabulary –Strategies –Speaking Skills –References. En el siguiente documento, es presentada una investigación relacionada al uso del vocabulario de la lengua inglesa durante las actividades de habla, con los estudiantes de Octavo año pertenecientes al Colegio Babilonia. En ésta investigación, estrategias de enseñanza fueron expuestas, como por ejemplo el uso de diálogos, monólogos and entrevistas; además, como las frases pre-fabricadas y el uso de trozos tuvieron impacto en el desarrollo de las habilidades de habla de los estudiantes. A lo largo de ésta investigación, será posible encontrar el marco teórico, el cual hizo posible la implementación de esas estrategias. Palabras Claves: Lengua –Vocabulario –Estrategias –Habilidad del Habla –Referencias.. 2.

(3) Acknowledgements The following document is dedicated principally to my family, who has supported me since I started this process, five years ago. To my mother and father, who always have given me words of support; to my siblings, who supported me when I was lost and whose advices let me focused on my purpose again. To my nephew Cristóbal Joaquín, who taught me during this time that nothing is impossible, and believe that good things happen for good people. To my grandmother who has stayed with me during this process. To my boyfriend Bastián, whose advices to keep going and fight for my objectives, finally worked. Thank for your words of support. Furthermore, I want to acknowledge my friends, Karen, Vannessa and Jeniffer for supported me on the decisions made since I was at school. Moreover, personally I want to acknowledge to my friend Stephanie Escobar and her daughter Belén, whose advices to face this life and not being afraid of taking risks; to my friend Gabriela Gauna, for her patience; to my friend Alexander Crettón, for supported me when I needed; to my friend Paulina Acevedo, for her commitment, support and patience during these last five years, and for being the proofreader of all my works, even this; to my friend Nicolás Carrasco, for his advices given on the way. Finally, I want to acknowledge to my teacher, tutor and friend, José Callado, for supported me when no one believe in my abilities; for his commitment with me as student and whose advices of how to face this life were very useful. Dear Don José, wherever you are, I know that you will be delighted with this. To all these people, thank you very much.. 3.

(4) INDEX. I.. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5. II.. Context . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6. III.. Research Question . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9. IV.. Rationale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9. V.. Literature Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12. VI.. Research Methodology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18. VII.. Data Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20. VIII.. Reflection and Analysis of Interventions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35. IX.. Conclusion and Implications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37. X.. Appendix. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41. 4.

(5) Introduction The following study is going to be made at Colegio Babilonia, in the 8th grade A. The study is about whether teaching strategies implemented in this course, can help students to increase the use of English language, in terms of vocabulary during speaking activities, to decrease in a certain percentage the use of their mother tongue (L1). Subsequently in this investigation, the context in which this study was made is going to be depicted the importance, the relevance and possible contributions to the teaching practice. Furthermore, students’ perceptions and appreciation of English are going to be presented and their attitude towards this subject. The purpose of this investigation, it is that students are able to use acquired English language vocabulary and apply it into a communicative context, either in the school or outside this. Along this investigation, it will be able to know if the implementation of different methods –regarding English vocabulary and speaking strategies– will help students to learn, understand and comprehend pre -fabricated phrases, such as cognates, collocations and chunks. Finally, at the end of this research, it will be possible to prove if this study could be considered valid and reliable.. 5.

(6) Context Colegio Babilonia is located in the North West of Santiago City. Its main characteristic is the Humanistic-Christian education which is offered to the school community. The mission and view of this school, is that students will be able to learn values and think about their role or immersion into the society. Students’ main characteristic is that they come from vulnerable sectors of Lo Prado, with 63, 6% of vulnerability, which is highlighted in the project of school (Colbab, 2012). In 8th grade there are approximately 38 students, whose ages range from 13 to 14 years old. They are living a conflictive stage, which is Adolescence, during which students develop abstract thinking, are able to face problems and find possible solutions for these. Along this context, it is going to be portrayed who 8th grade A’ students are, how they relate with the school community, how the learning environment is for them and finally, what resources they have at the moment to learn. The relationship developed among students - students and teacher- students, is based on respect and tolerance. Some students are active learners, which means they participate a lot during English classes, and others participate only when is needed – when the teacher asks directly to them. Their classroom is located in the second floor; there are six windows in this classroom, which means good lighting and ventilation; however, outside noise interrupts the class. Furthermore, this classroom is over the dinner area, which means food smells are present all the time. These factors could have consequences for students at the moment to learn the English subject. 6.

(7) Sitting arrangement could be considered traditional. That is to say, students are sitting in row and desks cannot be separated. Additionally, at the end of the classroom there are lockers, in which students can leave their textbooks, copybooks and other materials. Moreover, inside the classroom, there are access to a data projector, internet connection and speakers. Students have English lessons on Tuesday from 2.00 to 3.30 pm and on Friday from 10.00 to 11.30 am. Hence, students are exposed to a 90 minutes lessons, which most of time, they are developed with difficulties, because of external factors previously mentioned –ventilation, space and outside noises.. During this semester, the researcher has noticed that English subject’s contents are based on what is stated by the Ministry of Education, in the national curriculum of 8th grade. In Bases Curriculares (2012), is stated that the lessons should respond to a Communicative Approach, in which the four languages skills –namely speaking,. listening, reading and writing– must work together. The lessons are complemented with the English textbook given by the government, which is the principal source for learning English because all the students can access to this. The researcher has been able to observe that during English lessons, 8th grade students are able to understand and to comprehend what the teacher is teaching to them and to participate during listening, reading and writing activities. Regarding speaking activities, students’ participation is not highlighted as it is in the other activities; despite they use their mother tongue (L1) to accomplish the tasks. Notwithstanding, the 7.

(8) classroom environment in which students are, it could be described as a comfortable and respectful, in which students can feel relaxed at the moment to participate and communicate with their peers. It is significant to highlight, that there is still a challenge for them to speak English language. The research has noted that possible reasons could be the following, first, the lack of vocabulary that students have, in other words, students have not learnt certain words to communicate or have not found the correct words to communicate in English; second, the complex development of the speaking skills during the lessons – in which there are more preference to develop the other skills; and finally how students face the situations in which they have to communicate and interact with others –considering factors such as anxiety, self-esteem and motivation. According to what was previously exposed, these reasons can help the researcher to ask herself about the importance that has acquiring vocabulary and to apply this into a communicative context, how control anxiety and how to develop the speaking skills.. 8.

(9) Research Question As it has been stated previously, the researcher has thought of the possible reasons in which students do not use English language during speaking activities, and she has suggested a question which is presented down below. What teaching strategies can I implement to increase the use of English language vocabulary, during speaking activities with the eighth graders? Throughout this question, it is going to be demonstrated which methods or strategies can be useful to decrease the use of mother tongue (L1) at the moment to participate during speaking activities inside or outside the classroom, and also increase the use of English language vocabulary during these. This question will help the researcher to answer if the strategies implemented would be profitable for the eighth graders to increase the use of English language vocabulary in communicative situations, to develop speaking skills and apply them into communicative contexts, inside or outside the classroom.. 9.

(10) Rationale Taking into account what it is stated by the Ministry of Education (Mineduc) in Bases Curriculares (2012) of 8th grade, on the one hand, students need to develop the four language skills –understanding the four skills such as listening, reading, writing and speaking– during the English lessons; that is to say, students will be able to produce and reproduce the English language into communicative situations. On the other hand, students should acquire English language elements, such as grammatical structures, pronunciation function, vocabulary and development of strategies, as a strategy for developing the ability to communicative (Bases Curriculares, 2012). At the moment of developing the four skills in the 8th grade, it is proper to establish that particular skills such as listening, reading and writing are more developed than speaking. During English lessons of this grade, the researcher could not been encourage the development of speaking skills and its importance. In other words, there were not enough speaking activities in which students can practice the target language. Students have the chance to participate into speaking activities when there are presentations of a particular topic after English tests –considering English tests one per month. Moreover, the acquisition of language’s elements such as vocabulary, grammatical structures and interaction among students are not considered as meaningful tools to complement the development of communicative skills. In other words, these tools are not considered at the moment to develop speaking skills. The reasons why this study needs to be developed are the following: firstly, this investigation is going to put into practice different strategies that will help eighth grade students to develop their communicative skills; subsequently with this, it will give to the 10.

(11) students the opportunity to increase their previous knowledge of the English language vocabulary to decrease the use of L1 during speaking activities; and finally, students will be able to use the target language acquired, participate and interact during communicative situations inside or outside the classroom. Subsequently with this, the relevance of this investigation will help the researcher to find out different strategies to develop speaking skills with the eighth graders. It is important to take into account that those strategies could be useful for other students, too. In agreement with this, the researcher will be able to put into practice strategies selected to increase the use of English language vocabulary. Furthermore, this investigation will help the students and also the researcher to incorporate the acquired knowledge of the strategies applied, into a communicative context. From this study, it is expected that the researcher can increase her teaching strategies having different techniques for students to increase the use of English during speaking activities; learning language strategies such as English vocabulary, grammatical structures and other elements which help the students to express themselves, interact and communicate among others.. 11.

(12) Literature Review At the moment to learn a second language, listening and speaking are the most common developed skills (Pinter, 2006). These skills are considered fundamental because all the input is gotten by listening and all the output is from speaking. As it is stated by Pinter (2006), the development of listening it is the basis of the speaking practices. Without input from listening skills, it could be impossible or hardly to develop speaking skills. It is precise to establish that these skills need to be reinforced and worked together. According to this, at the moment of considering the development of speaking skills in students, it is necessary they will be exposed as much as they can to “listening situations”. Listening situations can be described as factors produced by this skill, such as storytelling, chants, chunks, poems and part of the songs or dialogues (Pinter, 2006). Through these listening situations, the teacher will be able to work with new vocabulary for students to expand their previous knowledge of the target language. It is noticeable that listening situations which are related to the students’ context help the students to understand better what it is exposed and also reproduce some words learnt. Through the development of listening skills, student will be able to identify and comprehend certain speaking patterns, which at the moment of being learnt; they can be implemented into communicative situations. To support this, Pinter (2006) establishes the following: “speaking practice however can also mean communicating with others in situations where spontaneous contributions are required.” (p. 55).. 12.

(13) The purpose of developing English speaking skills, is that the students will be able to face communicate situations through interacting with others. At the moment of interacting with others, people are learning from others. Interaction is the most powerful tool, which helps us to communicate in any language. Without interaction it could be impossible develop social skills, neither transmit messages to the society. If we only focus on the learning process that all human beings have, interaction will always be the main and most important tool. As Vygotsky (1978) states, the learning process is a social construction. In other words, what is mentioned by Vygotsky is that the learning process will be developed at the moment in which people will be able to interact, communicate and learn from others. As Pinter (2006) stated the social environment has an important role to play in young and older learners, due to context, interaction, influence of peers, teachers and parents are considered other sources of learning (p. 10). In the case of developing speaking skills and the importance of interaction, it is significant that we take into account what Vygotsky establishes on The Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD). The Zone of Proximal Development refers that the current learning of a child will be complemented with what this child could get from other. That is to say, what the child can do with his own learning (previous knowledge) and what he can do when receive help from a more knowledgeable person. The relevance of this ZPD, in the development of speaking skills, is the students can complement their previous knowledge of the target language at the moment in which they interact with other students or people who will be more knowledgeable than them. As Pinter (2006) set, “the language use in interactions with parents and teachers is. 13.

(14) important because it is the vehicle through understanding and learning take place” (p.12). As interaction is considered meaningful for the learning process, there are others factors that will help students to develop their speaking skills. These factors are the suitable and comfortable environment in which students could develop their learning process and participate on this; and how affective factors work with ESL students. It is important that at the moment to consider developing speaking skills in young and older learners, they will be immerse in an environment in which they could feel relaxed, because speaking out in a classroom or interacting in every day conversation, even in the native language, is not easy (Shin, J., & Crandall, J., 2014). Likewise, an environment should be that one in which students are respected by others and not judged by the language ego, which establishes that students are what they speak (Brown, 2007). According to this, in Brown words, teachers should provide an embracing and warming environment that encourages students to communicate. If the environment in which students are immerse is not well enough, it is likely that students will be affected by the anxiety generated at the moment to speak. If this occurs, it is probably that students will keep their mouth closed and let other thinks that they are ignorant than to open their mouth and remove all doubt (Brown, 2007). In agreement with this, teachers should find good strategies for students to develop their speaking skills. To do this, it is important that we do not forget that speaking is considered the most difficult language skill to learn (Pinter, 2006). What is expected when teaching speaking skills, is the teacher considers students previous knowledge of the students, and creates meaningful activities in which students can practice the target 14.

(15) language, obtaining as a result, that students will be able to communicate and interact with others, even if this students learn and say one word correctly, they will be communicating. According to this, at the moment for teaching speaking, it is significant that the teacher focuses on the purpose of the development of speaking skills; if this will be message oriented or grammar centered, as well as students’ needs. If the teacher focuses on message oriented approach, in which the message given is more important than the grammatical structures, it is likely that students will appreciate that strategy because is more flexible. However, in the case of beginner learners, it is significant that learners will be able to understand and comprehend certain grammatical patterns. An example of this, the drilling technique, is a guided approach in which students must listen and repeat what the teacher says, focuses on specific aspect such as grammatical forms and pronunciation. To support this, Pinter (2006) points out, that “speaking practices starts with practicing and drilling set of phrases and repeating models” (p.55). Consequently with this, it is significant that we bear in mind the principles proposed by Douglas Brown (2007) for teaching speaking. The most important are the following: (a) the teacher will be able to focus on the accuracy and fluency; (b) the teacher will be able to provide intrinsically motivating techniques to students, discussing if the speaking activities will be profitable for them or not; (c) give students the opportunity to participate into communicative situations, that is to say, let students initiate a conversation with the teacher or classmates; (d) encourage the development of speaking strategies, that is to say, teach to students which are the most effective techniques to develop their speaking skills. 15.

(16) Authors such as Pinter (2006) and Shin & Crandall (2014), propose effective techniques that will help the learners to develop their speaking skills. On the one hand, these authors agreed that through dialogues, students will develop in a meaningful way their speaking skills. Use dialogues as effective technique, will help students being involved in communicative situations. The use of dialogues is because they could represent real life situations, and these situations could be familiar for the students. As Ur (1996) promoted, “particularly for beginners or the less confident, the dialogue is a good way to get learners to practice saying target language utterances without hesitation and within a wide variety of context” (p. 131). On the other hand, the use of role play it could be another technique for students to develop their communicative skills and to practice the English language. This technique will help the learners to face imaginary situation inside or outside the classroom, using and discriminating the correct use of the target language. As Ur (1996) pointed out, “the use of role plays is the only way that teachers give to students the opportunity to practice improvising a range of real situation of real like spoken language in the classroom” (p. 132). Another technique that is effective for teaching speaking skills is the use of the first building blocks that involve the learners into communicative situations. In Pinter words, this building block will be the use of chunks. Chunks are short phrases that are used in certain context for the teacher, to help the students to understand and reproduce the target language. Pinter (2006) states, chunks will be learnt by teachers’ input or from other context such as song, chants, stories or dialogues. It could be considered the use of. 16.

(17) chunks meaningful, due to they help speakers to produce language faster because it is not necessary think on the words as individual words. It is significant to point out that the development of those strategies can be complemented with the acquisition of vocabulary because this acquisition will help the student to develop easier his communicative skills. As it is stated by Folse (2004), second language learner need to acquire vocabulary as a meaningful strategy to work without problems in that specific language –English. In agreement with this, on one the hand, it is strongly remarkable that the acquisition of vocabulary is the main complement to learn a second language, not only focusing on the acquisition of the grammatical structures. On the other hand, at the moment in which the learner increases English language vocabulary, and applies it into a communicative situation, he or she will be able to give the message easier and communicate with others, than another learner who has difficulties to find the correct word, and just think of the correct grammatical structure to make a well structured sentence.. 17.

(18) Research Methodology To begin this section, it is highly important to set the characteristic of this study. This study corresponds to a qualitative investigation.. That is to say, students’. perception of the implementation of strategies will be considered as well as the researcher’s perception. In this section, different instruments to collect data will be presented, which will be analyzed, interpreted and concluded at the end of this investigation. This will be helpful to know if the teaching strategies suggested in the literature review with 8th graders can be considered as successful strategies. Moreover, the development of the strategies will be applied during the English lessons, and these will be considered part of the English program. The investigation is going to be developed into three parts. The first part entails the process of collecting students’ perception and appreciation of the main strategies regarding the problem. It is significant to state that these strategies will be focuses on the acquisition of L2 and the development of speaking skills. The strategies suggested by the researcher are the following, the first strategy will be the implementation of vocabulary into a role play, dialogue or monologues, and the second strategy will be related to the implementation of an interview, in which will be applied the vocabulary learnt during the lesson. After the first implementation or intervention, it is going to be applied a questionnaire, which will be added in the appendix (see appendix 1) of this study. According to Burns (2010), the questionnaire would be characterized by being attitudinal, that is to say, participants or students’ 18.

(19) attitudes, opinions and interest will be considered. Afterwards the second intervention, the impressions of the process will be depicted in a reflective and descriptive journal. At the moment of using this kind of instrument, it could be consider useful because they are a way of capturing significant reflections and events in an ongoing way (Burns, 2010). The third part will be related to the use of a third instrument to collect students’ appreciation and perception of the two implementations made. To do this, the researcher will apply to participants a survey. It is proper to state that this survey will be characterized by its attitudinal objective, in which students beliefs, values, and interest are going to be considered (Burns, 2010). Finally, the last part will be associated to the interpretation and analysis of the given results of the strategies implemented by the researcher in the 8th grade. Within this interpretation, it could be possible to demonstrate or not, if the strategies to increase the use of English language vocabulary during speaking activities were useful and meaningful for the students and helped to decrease the use of participants’ mother tongue. Notwithstanding, if the strategies applied do not have a positive impact on students, it is precise states that the researcher will analyze in detail, why those strategies have a negative impact or those did not work in this grade.. 19.

(20) Data Analysis To begin with this section, it is highly important to specify that the instrument used to collect data were written in the spoken language of the participants. This was a strategy for participants to understand better what were asked on the correspond instruments. In this section, different instruments used to collect specific information are going to be presented, those entails the development of teaching strategies, regarding speaking skills. It is significant to highlight, that only thirteen students of thirty eight accessed to participate in this study. In order to start this section, the first instrument used was a questionnaire related to the implementation of the first strategy applied with the eighth graders. The strategy was related to the use of role plays, dialogues or monologues during speaking activities. These roleplays were associated to a specific content of the English textbook. Through these, students should applied specific vocabulary into the dialogues of the roleplays and presented in front of the class. The questionnaire was answered after every presentation in which students did their performance. The questionnaire used was characterized by its six open- ended questions. In this, can be remarkable that thirteen students of thirty eight students accessed to participate and answer those questions according to their feelings and thoughts. Down below, are going to be presented the questions which are going to be analyzed one by one. Question 1: According to the dialogues presented in relation to the superstitions seen in the English class, do you think that the vocabulary learnt is significant for you? 20.

(21) Why? (It is proper stated that the word significant into the question refers if the vocabulary learnt during that period brought positive contributions to students’ learning). Regarding this question related to the implementation of the dialogues and role plays, the most of students answered that the vocabulary learnt was meaningful for them. They answered that it was useful and meaningful because they would apply it in a near future. Question 2: According to the vocabulary learnt, do you think you could apply it in conversations with classmates or teacher in the classroom? According to this, eight students stated that they could apply the vocabulary learnt into the classroom. In other words, students could apply it with their classmates and also with the teacher. The rest of the participants stated that sometimes they could apply the vocabulary learnt with classmates or teacher. Question 3: At the moment to develop activities such as dialogues, monologues in English, do you think these activities help you to develop your skills for speaking this language? Regarding this, the most of students stated that this kind of activity help them to develop their speaking skill, moreover the acquisition of new vocabulary. Question 4: At the moment to develop these kinds of activities, do you think they let you learn pre-fabricated phrases that you could use in any communicative field? Regarding this question, the most of students stated that they could apply these prefabricated phrases in any communicative field. The rest of the participant stated that. 21.

(22) they will not apply it in any communicative field because not all persons know how to speak the English language. Question5: Why do you think the production of dialogues and monologues in speaking activities are helpful for you? Regarding this question, the most of students established, on the one hand, that the production of monologues and dialogues help them at the moment to speak in front of classmates; on the other hand, a notorious answer given from students was that the production of dialogues and monologues help them with the pronunciation of words. The rest of students stated that from dialogues and monologues they could learn phrases and understand them when someone uses those. Question 6: Would you apply pre-fabricated phrases learnt during the English class to decrease the use of Spanish? According to this, it is significant to state that the most of students will apply these pre-fabricated phrases to decrease the use of Spanish. They answered that nowadays English words are very useful. The rest of students stated that they will not apply or not use these phrases because both languages L1 and L2 are important. According to the answers given by the students, it is significant to point out that the application of these strategies dialogues or monologues were useful for them. This strategy was accomplished with the purpose which was helped the students to learn new phrases that probably will apply in a near future. Moreover, this strategy helped students to improve their pronunciation of words worked within this.. 22.

(23) To continue the process of data collection, the second instrument used was a reflective journal in which the researcher exposed and described in detail her impressions related to the second strategy implemented. The second strategy was the implementation of interviews to famous people. In this students had to choose a famous character and start doing some questions to this fictitious people. Questions were worked during the lessons, in which students could acquire corresponding vocabulary and finally apply it into an interview. Down below, there is an extract of the journal, in which it is describe the process of pre, while and post of the second intervention process. At the end of this investigation you will find the complete journal entries (see appendix 2). The following table shows the first extract of a journal written by the researcher on November 10th, 2015. Table 1: Extract “So, I decided to do a different thing, but taking into consideration some ideas of the textbook. I thought that if I wanted to hook my students with this unit called “Inspiring People”, why I could not think on people, who possibly could inspire to my students? So, today’s class was about famous people, such as actors, singers, dancers, drivers, football players, gamers, fighters, etc. and I started showing them pictures and I asked to my students if one of those people inspire them. Most of the class answered with a big yes. And I asked them “why?” I could see how they reflected on this question; finally two students said the same answer, for example that Arturo Vidal was the best. At the moment to listen this, I elicited vocabulary from the students to complement it with the new one”. Journal Entry #3 November 10th, 2015 Coding information To begin with the analysis of this extract, it is proper to establish that the next summary box will help us to understand easier the objective of this. 23.

(24) Box 1.1 Initial coding Encoding (Evidence)  Teaching Strategy  Students’ motivation  Students’ attitude  Students’ participation  Teaching practice. Decoding (Description)  To do different things (nontraditional)  Hook students with the unit  Reflection  Answer to the questions.  Elicit vocabulary.. Taking into account what was exposed on box 1.1, it is possible see a previous process of a possible intervention. Within this, it is highlighted how teaching strategy is changed to hook students’ attention from the new unit. This teaching strategy entails that the researcher thought on students’ motivation as well as possible students’ attitude toward this unit. Regarding teaching practice, to elicit vocabulary was used to complement the acquisition of new vocabulary of the unit. At the moment of analyzing this extract, it is important state that this analysis was possible through the coding technique –Initial coding. With this, the information given in the journal’s extract was well organized and exposed according to participant sight, in this case the researcher’s perception of the lesson. The following table shows the second extract of the journal written by the researcher on November 13th, 2015.. 24.

(25) Table 2: Extract “Today, I started with another implementation. My students and I worked on interviews. I hooked my students with the following question: “what would you like to ask to…?” In this part I explained to students that this question was for a famous person or famous people. Most students were excited; the rest of the class did not pay attention to this. I understood that those students were uninterested. Most of students worked on different questions and also worked on the possible answers that those famous people could give us. Through those questions students should answer them and make an interview. One student should be an interviewer, and the other one the interviewee. It was pair work. Students should interact among them. I thought this could be a good idea to practice vocabulary of the unit and learn other words. And I implement this, because various authors such as Penny Ur and Brown suggest this kind of activity to develop speaking skills. I taught them different techniques to develop an interview. I presented some prefabricated phrases that probably would help my students to carry on the questions. Also, I incorporated the use of chunks for students to understand and comprehend better what the other person was saying”. Journal Entry #4 November 13th, 2015 Coding information Through this technique, it will be possible to have a better understanding of what was exposed on table 2. Down below there is a coding box. Box 1.2 Initial Coding Encoding (Evidence)  Teaching Strategy  Performance  Interaction  Teaching Practice  References. Decoding (Description)  Another implementation, interviews.  Make an interview.  One student should be an interviewer and the other one an interviewee  Pair work  Interact among them (students)  Practicing vocabulary  Some pre-fabricated phrases. Use of chunks  Authors such as Penny Ur and 25.

(26) Brown suggest this kind of activity to develop speaking skills. According to the following data from the box 1.2, it is possible to analyze the second implementation was related to the use of interviews for developing speaking skills –as is portrayed on the description. Through performance, students should work in pairs and interact with others students. Within this, the purpose of this implementation was students were able to practice vocabulary learnt and practiced speaking using chunks or some pre-fabricated phrases. As it is posited on the encoding part, this kind of activity was made based on what some authors suggest. The following and last table that will be presented is about the last step of the implementation of the strategy. This was written by the researcher on November 17th, 2015. Table 3 “Presentations were good. Most of them did a great job and it was funny. Students characterized the interviewer and interviewee very good –even they wore distinctive clothing for each famous person. Once presentations were finished, students gave me their impressions related to this activity. Some students established that at the moment of doing this activity was funny. Others students told me that this activity helped them with the pronunciation of words. But I asked if this activity was significant for them, and they replied that it did not. Only they answered that this activity was helpful because it let them to learn new words. With these impressions, I could say that this kind of activity accomplished with the purpose of my implementation that was students could use of English language during this speaking activity and also increase the acquisition of new words”. Journal Entry #5 November 17th, 2015. 26.

(27) Coding information In the following box 1.3 will be sum up and coding the information given by the researcher on table 3. Afterwards coding process, the information given will be analyzed. Box 1.3 Encoding (Evidence)  Performance . Students’ feedback. . Students’ attitude. . Objective main activity. . Teaching practice. Decoding (Description)  Students characterized the interviewer and interviewee.  Students gave me their impressions related to this activity  Some students established that at the moment of doing this activity was funny  Students told me that this activity helped them with the pronunciation of words  This kind of activity accomplished with the purpose of the implementation. Use of English during speaking activities; increase the acquisition of new words (vocabulary). Taking into considerate the data presented on box 1.3, it is possible to analyze that students were able to do the activity implemented by the researcher. In addition to this, it is proper to establish that students’ feedback pointed out that they enjoyed develop this activity, moreover this helped with the pronunciation of words and the acquisition of new vocabulary. The objective of this implementation was that students were able to speak in English using vocabulary of the unit complemented with the previous knowledge of the students. This vocabulary was presented into chunks and other prefabricated phrases.. 27.

(28) Regarding the data analysis of the journal through coding process, it is appropriate to state that these data analysis give a better understanding of what was the second strategy implemented with the eighth graders. Through this, it was exposed how the previous, while and post processes of this implementation were. Notwithstanding, the purpose of using this technique was described in details researcher’s impression, it would have been useful and meaningful that students’ impressions would be more critical to the teaching practice. Finally, the third and last instrument used was an attitudinal survey in which participants should answer according their perspective of the used of the English language vocabulary, as well as the implementation of the strategies. The survey was characterized by its seven statements. Every statement had five categories, such as strongly agree, agree, in disagreement, strongly disagree and indifferent, which students had to choose according to their preferences. Down below, pie charts will portray the results of the seven statements of this survey. Statement 1:. Do not know correct words for Speaking in English 15%. 0%. 0%. 8%. Strongly agree Agree In disagreement. 77%. Strongly disagree Indifferent. Graph 1: This graph corresponds to the first statement of the survey related to the use of English language during speaking activities of 8th graders. Statement 1: “I do not know the correct words for speaking in English”. 28.

(29) The following graph represents what students thought about know the correct words for speaking the English language. The higher percentage represents 77% of the given answers, what established that students disagreed with this statement. According to this, it is precise to state that if students do not know the correct words for speaking in English, is not the problem to develop this skill. The other 15% strongly disagreed with this statement. According to this, it is proper to say that do not know the correct words is not a factor that hinders the process of speaking or its development. Statement 2:. 0%. Preference for Reading, Writing and Listening Activities 0% Strongly agree Agree 46% 54%. In disagreement Strongly disagree Indifferent. Graph 2: This graph corresponds to the second statement of a survey related to the use of English language during speaking activities of 8th graders. Statement 2: “I prefer participate in activities related to Reading, Writing and Listening than Speaking”. The following graph represents what students thought about the participation in reading, writing and listening activities. The higher percentages are 54% and 46%. The 54% portrayed more preference for these activities than speaking; the other 46% represented that students disagreed with this statement. According to this graph, it is notorious that students had preference to participate in reading, writing and listening activities than speaking activities. Taking into account the 29.

(30) other higher percentage, probably those students would prefer activities which group the four language skills. Through this statement it is proper to state that the preferences for speaking activities are still lower than the others.. Statement 3:. Learn more vocabulary related to the English Language and apply it in required Speaking activities 8%. 0% 0%. Strongly agree Agree. 23%. In disagreement 69%. Strongly disagree Indifferent. Graph 3: This graph corresponds to the third statement of a survey related to the use of English language during speaking activities of 8th graders. Statement 3: “If I learn more vocabulary related to the English language, I would use it in required activities (speaking)”. The following graph represents what students answered about learning more vocabulary to apply it into required speaking activities. Through the following results, students established the importance of the acquisition of English language vocabulary. The higher percentage represents more than a half of the answers given for the students. Its 69% represented that students strongly agreed with the learning and acquisition of vocabulary. The 23% represented that students agreed in terms of learning new vocabulary, and the rest 8% establishes that they are in disagreement with this statement. According to the higher percentage, it is proper to state that students strongly agreed with the importance of the acquisition of vocabulary for applying into speaking 30.

(31) activities. Subsequently with this, the other 23% agreed with the acquisition of vocabulary.. Statement 4:. Do not use words known for being afraid of mispronouncing Strongly agree. 8% 8%. Agree 31%. 38%. In disagreement Strongly disagree. 15%. Indifferent. Graph 4: This graph corresponds to the fourth statement of the survey related to the use of English language during speaking activities of 8th graders. Statement 4: “I have knowledge of the English words, but I do not apply them for not being wrong”.. The following graph represents what students thought about the knowledge they have about the words (vocabulary) and why they do not use it for being afraid of mispronouncing words. According to the graph, 38% of the given answers stated that students disagreed with this. That is to say, probably there are other factors that interfere in the application of known words. The other 31% stated that students agreed with this statement, establishing that students did not use or did not apply words known for not to mispronounce words.. 31.

(32) Statement 5:. Use of Spanish to develop Speaking activities - for giving the message quickly 0% 0% 23%. 39%. 38%. Strongly agree Agree In disagreement Strongly disagree Indifferent. Graph 5: This graph corresponds to the fifth statement of the survey related to the use of English language during speaking activities of 8th graders. Statement 5: “To develop the activities I prefer use Spanish (L1) because I can give the message quickly”.. The following graph represents what students answered about the use of Spanish for accomplishing the speaking activities. The 39% is the higher percentage of the given answers by students, and this portrayed the preference for using Spanish (L1) by the students. The other 38% represented that students were in disagreement with the statement, giving emphasis that they probably would use the English language for accomplishing the activities. The last 23% represented that students strongly disagreed with the use of Spanish for accomplishing the activities.. 32.

(33) Statement 6:. Do not learn yet required words to develop Speaking activities 15% 0% 0%. Strongly agree Agree. 31%. 54%. In disagreement Strongly disagree Indifferent. Graph 6: This graph corresponds to the sixth statement of the survey related to the use of English language during speaking activities of 8th graders. Statement 6: “I’ve not learnt yet the correct words required for developing speaking activities”.. The following graph represents what students answered about do not learn yet the correct words –in terms of vocabulary– for developing speaking activities. According to the graph, 54% of the given answers stated that students were in disagreement with this statement. That is to say, students who preferred this statement probably thought that do not learn yet the correct words do not help students to develop their speaking skills. The 31% stated that students strongly disagreed with this. This could be interpreted as the following: the acquisition of new vocabulary is not considered as fundamental factor for developing speaking activities.. 33.

(34) Statement 7:. Do not feel comfortable when speaking in English in front of classmates, even knowing words of this language 0% 8%. Strongly agree Agree. 31%. In disagreement 61%. Strongly disagree Indifferent. Graph 7: This graph corresponds to the seventh statement of the survey related to the use of English language during speaking activities of 8th graders. Statement 7: “I do not feel comfortable speaking in English in front of my classmates; even do knowing some words of this language”.. The following graph represents what students remarked about speaking in English in front of their classmates; even do knowing some words of the language. According to the graph, 61% of the answers given by the students portrayed that they were in disagreement with this statement. The next higher percentage, 31 % established that students strongly disagreed with this. Finally, only 8% of the answers given by the students agreed with the statement. That could be understood as the difficulty process that students have to develop at the moment of participating in speaking activities –such as anxiety, nervous, self- esteem-. According to the two higher percentages, it is proper to state that this is not a factor that affects directly the development of the speaking skills of these students. Taking into account the results presented and analyzed, it could be stated that not only the acquisition of new vocabulary could affects directly the development of speaking skills of eighth graders. It is likely that there are other factors that could affect the development of these, but they are not reflected into this attitudinal survey. 34.

(35) Reflection and Analysis of interventions Regarding the process of the implementation of the strategies suggested by some authors on the literature review, it is proper to establish that those strategies worked with the parameters established. Students could practice English language through the speaking activities, and to acquire and learn specific vocabulary related to the English language during this period. Since the two strategies could not be applied more than once because of time and missed classes, students were able to do those activities. On these, students answered and expressed their impression toward these kinds of activities implemented. Even do the strategies implemented had as purpose to increase the use of English language vocabulary during speaking skills to decrease the use of Spanish during this, it is important to state that students at the moment of working on these strategies, they could reduce the use of their mother tongue at the moment of speaking activities. That is to say, when students worked on required activities, students use English to ask questions and give answers, without doubts or hesitation. Moreover, these kinds of strategies help them to improve their pronunciation and also understand when and how to use that vocabulary learnt. It is important state that this reflection was based on the answers given by the thirteen participants of this study, and the reflection made by the researcher in her journal. With the answers given by those students, it was possible to state that those strategies were useful for students and also for the researcher to think of in similar. 35.

(36) strategies for developing speaking skills in vulnerable context in which students do not have too many sources for practicing English and its corresponds languages skills. The interventions were thought and worked always taking into consideration students’ needs and also interests.. Notwithstanding, the purpose of these were all. students could feel involved into these activities to develop their speaking skills and to apply all language acquired into communicate situation in or outside the classroom. Worked with dialogues, monologues, roleplays and also with interviews, it is the first step that ESL students could use to develop their speaking skills and complement it with the three others skills. It is significant that in this context could be worked those activities, and relate them to students’ context. As conclusion, taking into account what was previously mention, the researcher considers that the implementation of those strategies were useful for her teaching practices, due to she could find the correct way to teach new vocabulary connected with students’ reality. Notwithstanding, to develop speaking skills in context like this, it is moreover important use other strategies in which students could practice more. The interventions accomplished with the purpose of these, that students will be able to acquire new vocabulary to apply into speaking activities; however, these would be more meaningful, if the teacher would have the opportunity to apply it more than once to complement it with similar activities.. 36.

(37) Conclusion and Implications Along this investigation related to the increment of the use of English language vocabulary during speaking activities with eighth graders, it was possible to see how two strategies implemented entailed a better developing of speaking skills. The purpose of this study was that students were able to acquire more vocabulary for applying it into communicative situations inside or outside the classroom. In other words, that those students were able to use those words in a familiar context, moreover understanding when and where use them. Regarding the implementation of strategies, it is appropriate state that apply them into a context in which students are not totally exposed to the English language was a completely challenge.. With this, the researcher had to investigate on how those. strategies could be more meaningful for those students. Within the last data it was possible think and state that probably students needed something related to them, to their reality and also to their interests. Doing this action research let the researcher comprehends how complex and complicated were to develop her teaching practices, and also to think on those teachers that have to do the same, at different schools and contexts; how prepare different lessons and also materials for students to learn the English language; and beyond this, how teachers can motivate students to learn a second language even when they are learning their mother tongue. This study lets the researcher to think on her teaching practices. To think on how her teaching practices were at the beginning of the study and how her teaching practices 37.

(38) were at the end of this. The researcher was able to criticize herself and also realized that she has had a personal and professional development through this study. Not only students’ answers were analyzed here, but researcher teaching practices and strategies. It is important state that the implications that this study has, are not considered only for the acquisition of English language vocabulary, but the development of the most important skills that let students to interact with other people. All languages skills were worked on this study, but the objective of this was students were able to increase the development of their own speaking skills. Maybe the intervention suggested by various authors, as it is exposed on the literature review works only with students who had a good base, regarding the English language; but if students’ needs and also interest are considered as significant part at the moment to develop the four skills into the lesson, meaningfully, it will bring positive repercussions to those students’ learning. As general conclusion, the implementation of new strategies on the traditional educative system will always be a challenge. As it is exposed at the beginning of the study, lessons must integrate the four skills within the communicative approach, but actually, in this context only three skills were worked more. If the four skills are not worked together, probably that the lesson will be grammar centered. This investigation let the researcher put into practice her knowledge acquired form practicum, and also think on doing possible or similar studies that would be develop on a near future.. 38.

(39) References . Brown, D. (2007). Teaching by principles: An interactive approach to language pedagogy (3.rd ed.). White Plains, NY: Pearson Education.. . Burns, A. (2010). Doing Action Research In English Language Teaching: A Guide For Practitioners. New York: Routledge.. . Folse, K. (2004). Vocabulary myths applying second language research to classroom teaching. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press. . Pinter, A. (2006). Teaching young language learners. Oxford [England: Oxford University Press.. . Saldana, J. (2009). The Coding Manual For Qualitative Researchers. London: SAGE.. . Shin, J., & Crandall, J. (2014). Teaching young learners English: From theory to practice. Boston, MA: National Geographic Learning.. . Pressley, M., & McCormick, C. (2007). Cognitive Development, Piaget's Stage Theory. In Child and adolescent development for educators. New York: Guilford Press.. . Ur, P. (1996). Module 19: Learner Motivation and Interest. In A course in language teaching: Practice and theory. Cambridge [England: Cambridge University Press.. 39.

(40) Other references . Atherton J S (2013) Learning and Teaching; Piaget's developmental theory Retrieved 2nd October, 2015 from http://www.learningandteaching.info/learning/piaget.htm. . Colegio Babilonia (n.d). PEI. Retrieved October 2nd, 2015 from http://colbab.cl/. . McLeod, S. A. (2014). Lev Vygotsky. Retrieved September 21st from www.simplypsychology.org/vygotsky.html. . Ministerio de Educación de Chile (2012). Bases Curriculares para la Educación Básica.. Retrieved. September. 24th,. 2015. from. http://www.curriculumenlineamineduc.cl/605/articles-21319_programa.pdf. 40.

(41) Appendix. Action Plan. MONTH / WEEK. October. Activities. 1. Literature Review Research Methodology. 2. November 3. 4. 2. 3. 4. 1. 2. 3. 4. x x. Implementation of 1st strategy and 1st Intervention.. x. Data Collection. x. Analysis of Data. 1. December. x. (1 st Intervention) Implementation of 2nd strategy and 2nd Intervention Analysis of Data. x. x. (2nd intervention) Analysis of complete Data. x. Reflections on Procedures. x. Final Conclusion. x. 41.

(42) Appendix 1: Questionnaire’s sample. Implementación de diálogos usando vocabulario del idioma inglés Cuestionario para saber la percepción de los estudiantes de 8vo año A del Colegio Babilonia Por favor responde con toda sinceridad. 1. De acuerdo a los diálogos presentados en relación a las supersticiones vistas dentro de la clase de inglés, ¿crees que el vocabulario aprendido es significativo para ti? ¿Por qué?. 2. De acuerdo al vocabulario aprendido, ¿crees que podrías aplicarlo en conversaciones con tus compañeros o profesor dentro del aula?. 3. Al desarrollar actividades como diálogos, monólogos en inglés, ¿crees que este tipo de actividades te ayudan a desarrollar tus habilidades para hablar este idioma?. 4. Al desarrollar este tipo de actividades, ¿crees que éstas te permitieron aprender frases pre fabricadas del inglés que podrías utilizar en cualquier ámbito comunicativo?. 5. ¿En qué te ayuda a ti el hecho de Speaking?. hacer diálogos-monólogos en las actividades de. 6. ¿Aplicarías y/o usarías palabras aprendidas dentro de la clase del inglés para disminuir el uso de español?. 42.

(43) Appendix 2: Journal Entries Journal Entry #3 November 10th, 2015 Last week I started the English lesson with the last unit of the English textbook related to “Inspiring People”. Within this, eighth graders should recognize through pictures, reading and listening comprehension famous people –understanding famous people or historical people who have had an important role into the society and have fought for their rights. Students’ attitude toward this unit was good, they were respectful, but I could see in their faces that they were not motivated with this topic. I thought that they just took into consideration this unit as another one for studying. So, I decided to do a different thing, but taking into consideration some ideas of the textbook. I thought that if I wanted to hook my students with this unit called “Inspiring People”, why I could not think on people, who possibly inspire to my students? So, today’s class was about famous people, such as actors, singers, dancers, drivers, football players, gamers, fighters, etc. and I started showing them pictures and I asked to my students if one of those people inspire them. Most of the class answered with a big yes. And I asked them “why?” I could see how they reflected on this question; finally two students said the same answer, for example that Arturo Vidal was the best. At the moment to listen this, I elicited vocabulary from the students to complement it with the new one. Most of time students said words in Spanish but I translated those and make them repeat. I continued point at some pictures and asking them why those people inspired them. I presented new vocabulary and we worked with words those words they didn’t know and it was good, because all the vocabulary worked during the lesson were presented in real context for students to understand better.. 43.

(44) Journal Entry #4 November 13th 2015 Today class was great. We have seen different interviews related to famous people and I can say that my students really enjoy this, because they felt close with the people who appeared on the screen. What I am trying to say it is students felt close to those people because they know those famous people because they could see them on TV, videos on internet, etc. Today, I started with another implementation. My students and I worked on interviews. I hooked my students with the following question: “what would you like to ask to…?” In this part I explained to students that this question was for a famous person or famous people. Most students were excited; the rest of the class did not pay attention to this. I understood that those students were uninterested. Most of students worked on different questions and also worked on the possible answers that those famous people could give us. Through those questions students should answer them and make an interview. One student should be an interviewer, and the other one the interviewee. It was pair work. Students should interact among them. I thought this could be a good idea to practice vocabulary of the unit and learn other words. And I implement this, because various authors such as Penny Ur and Brown suggest this kind of activity to develop speaking skills. I taught them different techniques to develop an interview. I presented some prefabricated phrases that probably would help my students to carry on the questions. Also, I incorporated the use of chunks for students to understand and comprehend better what the other person was saying. I modeled this activity with my host teacher. Students practiced the rest of the class and I helped the students when they had doubts at the moment to ask or answer the questions, and how to use better those chunks. Finally, students only worked with five questions. They should develop and practice them as a real interview. Personally, I’m very excited for seeing how are going to be those interviews.. 44.

(45) Journal Entry #5 November 17th, 2015 Today class was about presentation of the interviews that students practiced last week. Before starting the presentations, I helped my students to clarify doubts they had related to the vocabulary and also I helped them with the pronunciation of words of the pre-fabricated phrases. I gave them enough time for practicing. Presentations were good. Most of them did a great job and it was funny. Students characterized the interviewer and interviewee very good –even they wore distinctive clothing for each famous person. Once presentations were finished, students gave me their impressions related to this activity. Some students established that at the moment of doing this activity was funny. Others students told me that this activity helped them with the pronunciation of words. But I asked if this activity was significant for them, and they replied that it did not. Only they answered that this activity was helpful because it let them to learn new words. With these impressions, I could say that this kind of activity accomplished with the purpose of my implementation that was students could use of English language during this speaking activity and also increase the acquisition of new words. Personally, I would like to have the opportunity to implement again this kind of activity, because I consider this was really meaningful to develop speaking skill in ESL students, and also let me thought about my teaching practices, realizing that improve something different into the classroom probably will work better than trying with something that students already know.. 45.

(46) Appendix 3: Survey’s sample Encuentra sobre el uso de la lengua inglesa en las actividades de Speaking del Subsector Extranjero Idioma inglés Instrucciones:  Esta encuesta consta de 7 preguntas relacionadas al uso de la lengua inglesa durante las actividades de Speaking.  Esta encuesta es de carácter anónima, por lo cual no es necesario poner tu nombre.  Para responder esta encuesta, debes escoger la categoría que más se adecue a lo que sientes o te represente, para ello, debes marcar con una (x) si estás: Muy de acuerdo, de acuerdo, en desacuerdo, muy en desacuerdo o indiferente. 1a) b) c) d) e) 2-. No se las palabras adecuadas para poder hablar Inglés. Muy de acuerdo De acuerdo En desacuerdo Muy en desacuerdo Indiferente. Me es más fácil participar en actividades relacionas a Reading, Writing y Listening, que en las actividades de Speaking. a) Muy de acuerdo b) De acuerdo c) En desacuerdo d) Muy en desacuerdo e) Indiferente. 3a) b) c) d) e). Si aprendiera más vocabulario relacionado al idioma Inglés, lo usaría dentro de las actividades requeridas. Muy de acuerdo De acuerdo En desacuerdo Muy en desacuerdo Indiferente. 4-. Tengo conocimiento de palabras en inglés pero no las uso dentro de las actividades de Speaking por miedo a equivocarme, ya sea en su pronunciación e interpretación del significado. a) Muy de acuerdo b) De acuerdo c) En desacuerdo d) Muy en desacuerdo e) Indiferente. 5-. Para desarrollar las actividades de Speaking prefiero utilizar español, ya que así me doy a entender de mejor manera. a) Muy de acuerdo b) De acuerdo c) En desacuerdo d) Muy en desacuerdo e) Indiferente. 6a) b) c) d) e). No he aprendido todavía las palabras adecuadas que se requieren para desarrollar las actividades de Speaking Muy de acuerdo De acuerdo En desacuerdo Muy en desacuerdo Indiferente. a) b) c) d) e). No me siento cómodo hablando en inglés frente a mis compañeros, aun sabiendo algunas palabras de este idioma. Muy de acuerdo De acuerdo En desacuerdo Muy en desacuerdo Indiferente. 7-. 46.

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