L2 Reading in Higher Education: Teaching and Evaluation Practices

Due to the importance of the reading skills in the academic field and in the Colombian evaluation system of tertiary education, this research aimed at analyzing how L2 reading is taught and evaluated at tertiary education in the EFL courses of a private university. Therefore, to gather the data from the context and participants it was necessary to choose three teachers as a sample, one of each course, and the students enrolled in them. The data collection tools used were observations, interviews, surveys, and document analysis to triangulate the information collected. The results of this study were directly linked to the objectives proposed for it. The most relevant findings related to the objectives are: first, the role of reading at tertiary education is central for teachers and administrators; however, there are some methodological issues that are not working properly. Second, teachersÕ pedagogical and evaluation practices are adequate in terms of the institutional requirements but insufficient for improving learnersÕ current results. Third, these courses are course book-based, and the text used is grammar/vocabulary-centered. Accordingly, some recommendations are given to improve these coursesÕ pedagogical and assessment practices in order to enhance learnersÕ reading comprehension levels based on PISA (2018) levels. Nevertheless, it is essential to mention that this study suffered some adaptations due to the COVID-19 pandemic and some of the pre-planned items were not able to be carried out.MaestríaMagister en la Enseñanza del Ingle

Enhance students’ learning through GBL approach using laptops in and out of their educational environment

The following research focuses in the English language learning of students at Corporación Universitaria Del Caribe- Cecar. To enhance students’ learning was taken into account the use of laptops in order to apply an active methodology called Game Based Learning (GBL) to foster students to learn and teach with it. The population that was part of this study was eight students from early childhood pedagogy degree in Sincelejo, Sucre. This is a qualitative study to explore, discover and determine the students’ process through direct observations and open interviews to face this problem in and out real context. One of the findings of this research project was that students were able to improve their speaking level through using the significant strategy. To conclude, it is essential to mention that integrating this type of methodology, the change was not just perceived from the students but also for their students’ learners in their pedagogical practicum.La siguiente investigación se enfoca en el aprendizaje del idioma inglés en los estudiantes de la Corporación Universitaria Del Caribe- Cecar. Para potenciar el aprendizaje de los estudiantes se tuvo en cuenta el uso de computadores portátiles con el fin de aplicar una metodología activa denominada Aprendizaje Basado en Juegos (ABJ) para fomentar en los estudiantes el aprendizaje y la enseñanza del mismo. La población que formó parte de este estudio fueron ocho estudiantes del programa de pedagogía en primera infancia de Sincelejo, Sucre. Este es un estudio cualitativo para explorar, descubrir y determinar el proceso de los estudiantes a través de observaciones directas y entrevistas para enfrentar este problema dentro y fuera del contexto real. Uno de los hallazgos de este proyecto de investigación fue que los estudiantes lograron mejorar su nivel de inglés en expresión oral a través del uso de esta estrategia significativa. Para concluir, es esencial mencionar que integrando este tipo de metodología, el cambio no sólo se percibió por parte de los estudiantes sino también en los alumnos de su  práctica pedagógica