First language in the classroom: the forbidden fruit?

Tesis (Profesor de Inglés para la Enseñanza Básica y Media y al grado académico de Licenciado en Educación)Over the past years, the use of students’ first language (L1) in the classroom has been a highly discussed topic in the EFL classroom as well as in the field of second language (L2) teaching/learning research. There is a tendency that advocates communicative language teaching which suggests that L1 use should forbidden in the classroom. However, research has yet to discover whether L1 use has a positive or negative impact on L2 learning. Hence, the present study aimed to examine L1 functions and the impact of L1 use on L2 development. The present study was conducted in a private school in Santiago, Chile. The participants of this study (N = 34) were engaged in two collaborative writing tasks about the book they were reading in their English literature classes, and their discussions were audio-recorded and later analyzed. A quasi-experimental method was utilized in order to observe the influence that group work had on their L2 vocabulary development. The results demonstrated that the students’ L1 played a major role in their interaction while together working on the collaborative tasks, and it served for the development of L2 vocabulary. Specifically, the results suggest that the way in which individual learners contributed to interaction affected their learning outcomes.En los últimos años, el uso de la primera lengua de los estudiantes ha sido un tema altamente discutido en las salas de clases y en la investigación de la enseñanza de inglés como Lengua Extranjera. Existe una tendencia general de prohibir el uso de la primera lengua, sin embargo, aún existen vacíos sobre la influencia positiva o negativa que esta podría tener en el aprendizaje de vocabulario. El presente estudio se realizó en una escuela privada en Santiago, Chile. El propósito del mismo fue observar las funciones que cumplía la lengua nativa en la interacción de los estudiantes y cómo esto afectaba al desarrollo de la segunda lengua en alumnos de octavo básico con alto nivel de inglés. Los participantes de este estudio fueron involucrados en dos actividades de escritura colaborativa sobre el libro que estaban leyendo en las clases de literatura inglesa, donde sus discusiones fueron grabadas en audio y luego analizadas. Se utilizó un método cuasi experimental para observar la influencia que tuvieron sus discusiones grupales –utilizando su primera lengua—en el desarrollo del vocabulario en la segunda lengua. Se aplicaron evaluaciones pre y post con el fin de tener un registro del desarrollo del vocabulario de los estudiantes y las funciones que la lengua materna cumplió fueron codificadas como sugirieron DiCamilla y Antón (2012). Los resultados demostraron que la lengua materna de los estudiantes jugó un rol mayor en su interacción mientras desarrollaban en conjunto actividades colaboración, y sirvió para el desarrollo del vocabulario de la segunda lengua. Más aun, los resultados sugieren que la forma en la que alumnos contribuyeron individualmente en las discusiones afectó los resultados en sus aprendizajes

Characteristics of quality teaching for students in New Zealand schools whose first language is not English

The current paper draws on the findings of two recent research reports commissioned by the New Zealand Ministry of Education (Alton-Lee, 2003; Franken & McComish, 2003) in order to generate a synthesised statement of characteristics of quality teaching for students for whom English is not the first language (referred to from here as NESB students1) in New Zealand schools. Alton-Lee (2003, see Ministry of Education website, www.minedu.govt.nz) provides a synthesis of research-based evidence addressing the nature of quality teaching in schooling for the full range of diverse students. In this work, diversity encompasses “many characteristics including ethnicity, socio-economic background, home language, gender, special needs, disability, and giftedness” (Alton-Lee, 2003, p. v). Because her synthesis addresses diversity in the student population, she focusses on what is common to diverse students and thus does not specify particular conditions that pertain to any one sub-group of diverse students. Franken and McComish (2003) on the other hand, is a research report into the English language support for NESB (Non English Speaking Background) students in New Zealand schools. It includes a literature review of evidence-based research into second language teaching and learning, particularly classroom based research. It also reports on observations and analysis of practices in New Zealand schools, and discusses how these documented practices relate to the research findings from the literature

Principles of effective literacy practice for EAL students in New Zealand classrooms.

The New Zealand Ministry of Education has recently identified the need for teachers to be prepared to meet the needs of English as an additional language (EAL)² students in New Zealand schools more effectively. This paper offers a number of principles to guide policy, practice and teacher development. The paper draws on Alton-Lee's (2003) best evidence synthesis of quality teaching for diverse students, and Franken and McComish's (2003a, 2003b) observations and analysis of provisions for EAL students in New Zealand schools. The principles, grounded in second language and literacy acquisition research, point to the need to provide particular enabling conditions for the literacy development of EAL students if they are to achieve as well as their English-speaking peers

The role of international student interactions in English as a lingua franca in L2 acquisition, L2 motivational development and intercultural learning during study abroad

Crossing borders features prominently as a theme in study abroad, not only in terms of students’ physical border crossings but also in their intercultural interactions with second language (L2) speakers whose background (linguistic and otherwise) they may perceive as markedly different from their own. Researchers have had a long-standing interest in study abroad participants’ interactions with other L2 speakers abroad for their perceived potential to enhance L2 development, L2 motivation and intercultural learning processes. The focus of existing studies in this area has been on the interactions of study abroad participants with host national students, while their interactions with other international students who are also L2 users abroad have received far less attention, despite the ever-growing international student populations at European universities. This study examined students’ views regarding the role that lingua franca (LF) interactions with other international students played in their L2 acquisition, their L2 motivational development and their intercultural learning during study abroad. The data were derived from an empirical study that involved 81 German ERASMUS students who were studying in the UK for up to one academic year. The students’ views were elicited at the end of their stay with open-ended questionnaire items, and their verbal responses were analyzed using thematic content analysis. The analysis of the students’ reflections revealed a number of functions in each of the three areas, highlighting the potential of international student interactions as a viable source of L2 acquisition, L2 self-motivation, and intercultural learning during study abroad

The implementation of graphic organizers to teach reading comprehension skills to second graders of the sur oriental Boston Branch School

El propósito del siguiente proyecto fue seguir una secuencia didáctica y aplicar mapas mentales tal como un organizador gráfico como herramienta de entendimiento y al mismo tiempo mejorar las habilidades de lectura en el L2 con el fin de guiar los aprendices a localizar y clasificar información usando un mapa mental como un organizador gráfico para mejorar las habilidades de lectura