Implementation and effects of explicit reading comprehension instruction in fifth-grade classrooms.

Second research reading report

Implementation and effects of explicit reading comprehension instruction in fifth-grade classrooms.

By Rune Andreassen, Ivar Bråten

The central purpose of this study was to explore the effects of explicit reading comprehension instruction on students’ strategy use, reading motivation, and comprehension performance in relation to the quality of program implementation. The main theoretical basis for this investigation of reading comprehension instruction was Guthrie and Winfield’s (2000) engagement model of the development of reading comprehension. According to this model, good reading comprehension is expected to follow from engaged reading, that is, fundamentally motivated, and strategic reading to shape conceptual experience in teamwork. The first idea taken into account for this study is Explicit Reading Comprehension Instruction (ERCI), was based on a careful review of the literature on the three multiple-strategy programs, Reciprocal Teaching (RT; Palincsar & Brown, 1984), Transactional Strategy Instruction (TSI; Pressley et al., 1992), and Concept- Oriented Reading Instruction (CORI; Guthrie et al., 1996). The second idea is reading comprehension strategies, which holds that direct instruction of a restricted number of reading strategies may give readers with the tools they need to construct deep-level, inferential understanding of text. The third theory are the four approaches originally recommended by Palincsar and Brown (1984), that is, predicting, questioning, clarifying, and summarizing, still seem to be main ingredients in many comprehension education programs, including TSI and CORI. And the fourth idea is the promotion of reading motivation and reading engagement feature prominently in CORI. In that approach, students collaboratively read and discuss interesting self-selected texts to increase their knowledge about science topics and concepts introduced through hands-on science activities. While quite large positive effects of CORI on reading strategies and reading comprehension have been found in many studies, there is also substantial effect size variation across studies, primarily with respect to reading motivation (Guthrie, McRae, & Klauda, 2007).

The research study use is an experimental study. It is a kind of evaluation that seeks to determine if a program or intervention had the intended causal effect on program participants. Experimental research is guided by a hypothesis (or several hypothesis) that states an expected relationship between two or more variables. An experiment is conducted to support or disconfirm this experimental hypothesis. For instance, many of this author's research has been involved with the physiological effects of step training with and without hand weights. With this kind of experimental research, I have randomly selected group of subjects, decided the exercise program (step training with hand weights, step training without hand weights, and a control group which remained physically active but did no action training), tried to manage all relevant factors (e.g. no other aerobic programs, no change in diet, no additional resistance training, etc.), and then measured the effect of the action training with and without hand weights on a number of variables (such as cardiorespiratory fitness, muscular strength, body composition, blood lipids and lipoproteins, etc.). Experimental research, although very demanding of time and resources, often produces the soundest evidence concerning hypothesized cause-effect relationships (Gay, 1987).

The intervention group consisted of 55 girls and 48 boys in five mixed-ability fifth-grade classes; the overall mean age at pre-test was 10.5 years. The teachers of these students (4 female, 1 male) volunteered to participate in the intervention, and students participated with permission from their parents. Data was collected by means of classroom observation and questionnaires at the beginning and at the end of the intervention period. The observations used a checklist, which was filled out in each lesson by marking the record when an observed practice matched a description (i.e., check point) on the list. After each observed lesson, the teacher was asked to what extent that particular lesson was representative of his or her ERCI education and in what way. The questionnaire given to all teachers contained a combination of open-ended and Liker-type questions concerning teacher characteristics related to education and relevant experience as well as asked the teachers to judge the ease/difficulty of implementing each of the four principles in their classrooms and their success (or lack of it) in promoting strategic reading comprehension and cooperative learning among their students during the intervention period.

There are three key components of an experimental study design: (1) pre-post test design, it requires the collection of data on study participants’ level of performance before and after the intervention takes place. (2) A treatment group (22 students in this situation) and a control group (21 students in this situation), and (3) random assignment of study participants.

Findings in this study were: the study indicates that the results of reading comprehension instruction may depend on how an intervention is implemented in classrooms; also pinpointing which of the underlying theoretical principles that may represent particular challenges for the teachers. The improvement in students’ use of reading comprehension strategies resulting from the intervention seems to be in line with teachers’ adequate implementation of the principles of relevant background information and reading comprehension strategies in the classroom. Middle-school children, in particular, seem to prefer topics and texts experienced as interesting and debatable for cooperative group discussions (Alverman et al., 1996). It may be particularly relevant to try to modify teachers’ attitudes towards particular instructional principles and practice. All options are not necessarily motivating, and that teachers should give students options that are adapted to their interests and goals. In particular, group work must be organized to insure that group members explain or model to-be-learned material for each other. In order to insure better implementation of educational interventions, it may be necessary that the school’s administration play a more active role.

Encouraging Teenagers to Improve Speaking Skills through Games in a Colombian Public School

First Reading Report

Encouraging Teenagers to Improve Speaking Skills through Games in a Colombian Public School

By Urrutia León William; Vega Cely Esperanza

The problematic situation in this research study was the difficulties that students of English at the Federico Garcia Lorca School had with their talking making because they looked apathetic and inhibited in projects, which involved oral skills. For this reason, the objective of this study they considered it necessary was to implement an innovative and action research project that fostered the growth of the oral ability, it was necessary to generate opportunities for students to use the foreign language in a fun and comfortable way.

The research question was: How games encourage teens to develop speaking skills? And the sub questions were: What kinds of games can we use to develop students’ speaking skills? And what happens to students’ oral production when they are engaged in games?

For the development of their plan, they studied two important concepts: the speaking skills which according to Bygate (1987) stated, “speaking is a skill which deserves attention as much as the literary skills in both native and foreign languages”. When students speak in a confident and comfortable way, they can interact better in real daily situations". The game’s concept, which provides students with opportunities for free expression. Mora & Lopera (2001) stated “games and fun activities have always been one of everybody’s favorite things to do in a class, both for teachers and students” and motivation which plays an important role when a game is applied, not only to get students’ concentration but also to produce better learning conditions. During the game environment,  the teacher has to influence the whole class in an active and positive way.

The researcher used the Action research project. It consisted of the implementation of projects focused on oral games for promoting the development of students’ speaking skills. Action research is a form of investigation designed for use by teachers to attempt to solve problems and develop professional practices in their own classrooms. It involves systematic observations and data collection, which can be then used by the practitioner-researcher in reflection, decision-making and the development of more effective classroom strategies. The Action study consists of five phases:  Selecting an area or focus, collecting data, organizing data, analyzing and interpreting data, studying the professional literature, taking action.

This project was carried out at the Federico García Lorca School, with a group of 40 students of 10th grade. There were 20 girls and 20 boys from 14 to 18 years old in this collection. The data collection methods were three: Video Recording, which helped as a tool to examine not only the student’s linguistic models, but also the part of body language, facial expressions and many other things that are happening at the moment of the study. Teacher’s Journal, which shows impressions, descriptions and methods in the student’s performance. Questionnaires that, along with an interview, they could inquire into people’s knowledge, opinions, ideas and experiences. The data was analyzed thought making comparative charts of the answers and so they could make conclusions.

The researchers, after applying the diagnostic questionnaire and doing the games in the English classes, they could observe how it was easier for students to involve themselves in the types by playing games. It lessened the shyness and fear on being humiliated, which are two of the most important reasons why students do not speak in English classes. The student’s opinions showed them how they enjoyed their English classes, participated and were motivated, and not only that, but also they were able to learn in a better and joyful way, thanks to the approach of games for improving the speaking skill.

After gathering all the information –by applying the techniques they chose: questionnaire, video recording and teacher’s journal- they analyzed all this data and were able to separate the games from different perspectives: The students’ view, in terms of cooperation/involvement, self-confidence and Teacher’s classroom management; and the teachers’ perspective, talking about motivation, improvement in speaking participation and free and confident students’ performance.

To analyze data it was used generic theorizing methods and general analytic procedures (Goetz & LeCompte, 1984) to construct an interpretive description of the methods and outcomes of L2 socialization in the classroom. These methods and procedures involve scanning the data, creating categories, noting patterns, looking for counterevidence, and selecting relevant domains for further analysis.  The games implemented helped to encourage students to communicate orally and to gain confidence in speaking. Also, to believe in themselves, thanks to the creation of a good environment inside the classroom, therefore, they overcame their fear of making mistakes and perceived speaking as a natural process. As they were very participative, they leant more vocabulary, short sentences and pronunciation. Finally, games are considered as a good strategy to encourage teens to develop their speaking skills, especially when these include group work, motivation and competition.

Educational Paradigm

This video show us the modern epidemic in Education.

Enjoy it!!!!!

An education revolution is needed but it won't happen for a long time. As disheartening the system may be and as dysfunctional it is, it does exactly what it was designed for. I think people need to wake up and open their eyes. People need to become more self sufficient because school won't teach them how to succeed.

Multiple Intelligences

Howard Garner, author of the book, Frames of Mind (1983), states that there are at least seven kinds of intelligences and that all seven should be integrated into the curriculum of the school system. These intelligences are musical, spatial, mathematical, logical, linguistic, bodily - kinesthetic, interpersonal, and interpersonal.

One of the ways teachers integrated the Multiple Intelligence approach into the classroom was to create learning centers within the classroom where children could choose to work at different tasks throughout the day for a certain amount of time. This method allowed for more one-on-one interaction between teacher and student and gave the teacher an opportunity to evaluate which intelligence activity each student preferred.

1. The mathematical and logical centers included scientific demonstrations, puzzles, problem-solving activities (logic, calculations, mathematics, stories), and opportunities to create and decode codes.
2. Musical centers, provided students with music appreciation and opportunities to play recorded music, play live music, make instruments, sing in groups, and do jazz chants.
3. Spatial centers were set up to provide activities that involved the use of maps, charts, graphic, organizers, videos, movies, telescopes, microscopes, and art and other pictures. These centers also included visual awareness activities using a mind map, optical illusions and collages.
4. Linguistic centers offered a space to students to take part in debates, speeches, storytelling and group discussions. Completing worksheets, word games, and journals, along with memorizing, word processing, listening to cassettes, CDs and publishing were also done in this space.
5. Bodily - kinesthetic centers allowed for body movement through hands-on activities, such as cooking, role play, mime and the occasional field trip.
6. Interpersonal centers focused on cooperative group activities, conflict mediators, board games, peer teaching, pair work, and group brainstorming.
7. Intrapersonal centers were arranged in such a way that allowed for independent student work, options for homework, individualized projects, silent reading, and checklist, self-teaching, self-esteem journals, goal setting and reflective learning. Although many teachers find it difficult to maintain this centers approach in the classroom, there are ways to integrate the different dimensions of intelligence in the classroom.

Communicative Language Teaching CLT

Communicative Language Teaching is viewed as an approach rather than a method. The focus of the CLT approach is on communication and meaning rather than on form and structure. The teacher's role becomes that of coach, counselor or resource  rather that the input provider. There is a lot of free talking and risk taking as well as a focus on the message and the appropriateness of the language. This approach is learner- and experience-based. 

Approach, Method and Technique

The set of three of terms, which I am trying to locate in the scheme of definitions is approach, method and techniques. The classification is hierarchical. The organizational key is that techniques carry out the method, which is consistent with, and approach. 

                                       

The term approach as a combination of assumptions, dealing with the nature of language and the nature of language teaching. An approach describes the nature of the subject matter to be taught. It says a point of view, a philosophy, an article or faith something which one believes but cannot necessarily prove. It is oftentimes unarguable except in terms of the effectiveness of the method, which grow out of it. It makes sense of how people get their awareness of the language and makes observations about the conditions which will promote successful language learning. Historical approaches were developing before the 1960s.

The approaches are dividing into:

1. Structural/Linguistic approaches: these approaches are based on the structure of a language and contrastive analysis of the first language. These also isolate grammatical and syntactic elements of a language. Included in this group are: Grammar Translation and Audio lingual methods.
2. Cognitive Approaches: In these approaches second language goals are based on ideas and procedures that generalize and find rules and conventions in the target language.
3. Affective/Motivational Approach: these are based on concepts of social psychology and counseling. Reducing stress and inhibitions to advance language acquisition are emphasize.
4. Functional/Communicative Approaches: In these approaches the goals are based on communicative proficiency. Students participate at their own skill level. Both the direct method and the Oral approach fall under this category.

Robert W. Blair in his article 'Innovative Approaches to Language Teaching' (1982) Proposes a different classification of the innovative or designer methods of 1970s and 1980s. 

1. Comprehension-Based Approaches: These approaches focus on receptive (listening and reading) skills. Oral fluency is expected to arise in a natural and progressive way. J.Asher's Total Physical Response, S. Krashen and T. Terrell's Natural approach belong to this category. 
2. Production-Based Learning: These approaches reject the notion that oral fluency arises spontaneously. They focus on production and productive (speaking and writing) skills. C. Gattegno's Silent way is an example of production-based learning. 
3. Humanistic and Psycsosuggestive Approaches: These approaches address 'learner-external dimensions of the learning environment and learner-internal dimensions (the learner as receiver and processor of input, producer of output, and participant in a community of learners and speakers. Examples are G. Lozanov's suggestopedia and C. Currans' Community League Learning. 

Method is an overall plan for the systematic performance of communication material, not part of which contradicts, and all of which is based upon, the selected method. Approach is axiomatic a method is procedural. It is a bear in mind the practical realization of an approach. Within one, method, their can be many methods. Quite a lot of portions influence the precise performance of communication to learners. The plan will be the impact on by the natural setting of the student's language as compared to English. For example, education, English to Hindu speakers and teaching English to Chinese differ methodologically. The age of the student as I mention in the last entry, his background, and his/her previous experience with English modify the method employed.

The last term, technique is implemented that which in others words, takes place is a classroom. These Techniques must be coherent with the method, and for this reason they must be an agreement with the approach. Some techniques can be found in different methods, whereas other ones are specific to a given method.

Describing Learners

Something that I want to remember from this chapter was the age factor, that age is essential in the successful develop of class. If u as a teacher know the age of the learner you can easily get ready for your class, of course, there are other factors, but especially this one has a certain importance. Also, you have to ask yourself all the time Who are your students? One can find second language learners all around the globe, in almost every country. They are people who speak African, French, Thailand, Mandarin and who have varying degrees of education. They also have different personalities, learning styles, and reasons for studying a language. These language learners can be divided into two groups: the age group, consisting of children, adolescents or adults, and the proficiency level group, where students can be beginner, intermediate or advanced learners of English.

Age group: as I said before, age is the main factor in make a decision what to teach and how to teach it, different ages have several needs, competences and cognitive abilities.

a) Children's persons from 1 to 12 year of age (include pre-adolescents): elements to consider: biological, cognitive and social. Children learn differently in the following ways. The younger, the better brain plasticity: even though children can be less inhibited than adults when it reaches speaking in a new language, they can also be discouraged. Therefore, it is important that you find English tasks for your pupils that are challenging without being overtaxing. If the task is beyond them, the childrens will lose confidence and, in the absence of constant and sympathetic encouragement, they may begin to think themselves as poor languages learners. If this happens, then they can easily give up trying and become bored.

• Keen to talk about themselves (topics friends-cartoons, movies)

• Pick up the language easily

• Good pronunciation / learn through imitation

• Need individual attention

• Enthusiastic for learning

• Need for teacher approval

• Limited attention

• Prefer involves movement

b) Adolescents: Teaching adolescents can be a challenging process. Adolescents are not children nor are adults. They are capable of taking care themselves, yet their role in society is not clearly defined. Adolescents go through major biological and psychological changes. Biological changes will affect their self-esteem, consciousness, and security as they're fluctuating hormones cause periods of restlessness or fatigue. Even as adolescents begin to realize their personal goals and desires, their parents still have a very strong influence on their lives. Adolescents may or may not be learning English because they want to, most often it is because they want to pass an English proficiency examination to attend a secondary or post-secondary educational institution either in their home country or abroad. 

• Need for self-esteem

• Search for identity

• Need for approval

• Must be encouraged to respond to texts & situations with own thoughts 

• Great creative minds

c) Adults: Teaching adults may be as challenging to the teacher as any other age group. Adult learners have experience and maturity. They usually approach learning with a sense of whom they are want to learn. Adult learners often have time to learn only what they need to learn. They usually lead complex and busy lives with many commitments. They do not have time to learn what is irrelevant to them. Adults learners usually know what they want to learn. They have definite goals.

• Prefer learning by studying the language situations

• Easily engaged

• Self-motivated

• More disciplined

• Have a whole range of experiences to draw on

The changing world of English

Something that I learn from this article is that English has gradually become the language of communication for people from different backgrounds whose language is other than English. Kachru’s (1985) estimates were between 320 and 380 million native speakers of English, compared to between 250 and 380 million non-native speakers of English. However, he also foresaw a change in these numbers, meaning there would be more non-native speakers of English as time went by, which came to be true. Currently, estimates find that there are close to 329 million native English speakers, but about 1.2 billion non-native English speakers (Crystal 2003a). 

There are certain changes thought the language such as the economic power, who ensures a language survival and growth. Commerce, has become more globalized mainly by American dominance, English has become the language of business. According to Harmer (2001) the commercial activity has helped fan the flames of English. Also, the exchange of academic conferences, journal articles and several branches of the sciences and education have English as their main language. The introduction of the Internet, which has its roots in the USA, has also caused English to become more ‘popular'. Tourism, is conducted in English in most places around the world, but even if English is not used for tourism in certain areas, one can always be sure that most airports on the planet have English besides the country’s first language printed in signs, and most of the staff at the airport will certainly know English to be able to provide assistance to travelers. 

On the other hand, movies and music are very commonly found in English in the western part of the planet, and certain countries such as the USA, the United Kingdom, Australia and others try to persuade people all around the world to choose said countries as study destinations, which also be seen as part of the business these places are doing.  To conclude, I want to say that English is taught (and learned) for a big number of reasons, business, education, travel or for a hobby. However, no matter what the reason, it is clear that the number of speakers is growing dramatically.