POR:

MÓNICA LEIVA MONTIEL PROFESOR GUÍA: Sra. Jasna Vukasovic Perovic

Informe final para la obtención de Grado Académico de Licenciatura en Educación y el Título de Profesor de Inglés para Enseñanza Básica y Media.

PUNTA ARENAS – 2004

UNIVERSIDAD DE MAGALLANES FACULTAD DE HUMANIDADES

CIENCIAS SOCIALES Y DE LA SALUD

INDEX

Page

Introduction ........................................................................... 1

Contextualization ................................................................. 2-4

English and the Chilean Education Reform .................................. 5

Class Involved ........................................................................ 6

- Weekly Schedule and List of Students.................................... 7-8

Diagnosis .......................................................................... 9-13

Results of the Diagnosis .................................................... 14-15

Analysis of Strengths and Weaknesses ..................................... 16

Problem ................................................................................ 17

Theoretical Framework Variables: 1. Definition of Reading .......................................................... 18 2. Knowledge and abilities ................................................. 19-22

3. Objectives in Reading ................................................... 22-23

4. Definition of the Communicative Approach ....................... 23-24

5. Competence areas ............................................................. 24

6. Choosing texts ............................................................. 25-27

7. Motivation ................................................................... 27-29

Hypothesis and Objectives ...................................................... 30

Strategy ......................................................................... 31-34

Stages ............................................................................ 35-38

Evaluation ....................................................................... 39-40

Description of the experience ............................................. 41-45

Final Examination ............................................................. 46-48

Results of the Final Examination ......................................... 49-50

Analysis and Interpretation of the Results ............................ 51-52

Bar graphs

- Results of the Diagnosis ..................................................... 53 - Results of the Final Examination .......................................... 54

Comparative Chart Diagnosis / Final examination ....................... 55

Results by objectives .............................................................. 56

Conclusion ....................................................................... 57-58

Projections ............................................................................ 59

Bibliography .................................................................... 60-61

Appendix .............................................................................. 62

1

INTRODUCTION

The following report shows the development of the project

“ACHIEVING EFFECTIVE READING”, which was carried out during

the second semester of the year 2004 in the Liceo Experimental in the

second ‘D’ of this High School.

This project started in August of 2004 and it finishes in November of the

same year. The main objective of this project was to improve the

reading skill of the students, in this way they would be able to read a

text in an effective and comprehensive way, avoiding the translation of

every single word.

The project started with a diagnosis that showed that students had

difficulties in approaching a written text comprehensively due both to

weaknesses in the abilities of scanning and inferring, and to a poor

command of syntactic elements; and it finished with a final evaluation

that shows the level of improvement and progression that the students

reached along the project.

In this inform you will see a complete description of the project, as well

as the different techniques and strategies used to carry it out.

2

CONTEXTUALIZATION

Liceo Experimental UMAG is the result of an educational project

originated in 1996 in Universidad de Magallanes, whose first objectives

were to create a scientific–humanist school and also a technical-

professional one.

In 1999 the project is activated, but this time the attention is focused on

the scientific-humanist education. Dr. Mabel Arratia was in charge of

bringing it about.

In June 07th of 2001 the Secretaría Ministerial de Educación de

Magallanes y Antártica Chilena officially recognized LEUMAG as a

Secondary School.

What makes the education imparted by this high school stand out is its

respect to all the social, cultural, and ideological differences of all its

members. In consequence, its activities are not oriented by any political

or religious doctrine. This follows one of the principles of the Chilean

Education Reform that says that we have to improve the education, and

to achieve a social equality in the distribution of this.

LEUMAG expects their students to develop intellectual, volition,

affective, and social aspects of themselves. To do so, the high school

works with a teaching-learning process orientated by an active

pedagogy, which implies the students’ participation in the achievement

of knowledge, skills, and attitudes in a cooperative way, where the

teacher motivates to learn, to reason, to doubt, and to examine

different points of view. All these support the idea of the student as the

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protagonist of his own learning, which is part of the Chilean Education

Reform.

It is a half-subsidized high school. The students have to pay an amount

for a registration fee, and then they have to pay $24,000 a month, for a

period of ten months in total.

It has 650 students and 18 classes. There are 35 teachers divided into 8

departments, which are the Language and Communication department,

the Mathematics and Computing department, the Social Science and

History department, the Sciences (Biology – Physics – Chemistry)

department, the English Language department, the Arts department,

the Physical Education department, and the Religion – Ethics –

Philosophy department.

The English Language department has 3 teachers. They are Mrs. Patricia

Oyarzo, Mrs. Nelda Ibarra, and Mrs. Rossana Alvarado.

The Headmistress is Dr. Mabel Arratia Fuentes, the Chief of U.T.P. is

Mr. Hugo Vera Sánchez, the Counselor is Mrs. Mavis Oyarzún Vargas,

and the General Inspector is Mr. Cristián Molina Mera.

The high school also has an administrative staff divided into Cleaning

Assistants, Librarians, Administrative Assistants, Inspectors, and

ENLACE and Technical Support.

It also has a Psychologist, a Psychopedagogue, and a Social Worker.

4

The building has 18 classrooms, 1 Biology Lab, 1 Physics Lab, 1 indoor

courtyard, 1 outdoor courtyard, and 1 library.

Among its resources we can list radios, DVD, VHS, Slide projector, 1

photocopier, television, and 12 computers all connected to ENLACES and

Internet. “Schools and High-schools will be equipped with updated

resources. The informational and communicational technologies are

distinguished by the ENLACES project.” (Chilean Education Reform)

LEUMAG does not have the Activities of Free Election (ACLES).

This High School is located at N°17 Angamos Street and its telephone

number is (61) 244524.

5

ENGLISH AND THE CHILEAN EDUCATION REFORM "La educación es la riqueza de Chile y el inglés abre puertas para aumentar esa riqueza" Ministro de Educación, Sergio Bitar. The Ministerio de Educación is promoting a whole plan which, under the

motto “El Inglés Abre Puertas” (English Opens Doors), seek to intensify

the learning of this language, being the main objective that the Chilean

boys, girls, and teenagers have better opportunities in a extended

world-wide.

The command of basic and instrumental English not only gives an extra

value to the general education, but also is indispensable to take labor

advantages, which are offered by the internationalization of the Chilean

economy.

The people who have a command of this language will have more

possibilities to find a job, to get a better remuneration, to get

scholarships, to surf on Internet, to communicate with people from

other countries and cultures, among other benefits. The Reforma

Educacional has contributed with outstanding advances, increasing from

six to eight the years to teach a foreign language, and from two to three

compulsory hours for English in Seventh and Eighth year. However, this

implies to have well-prepared teachers to teach English from Primary

School. At the same time, subsidized schools have been given texts. At

the beginning of the scholar year of 2003, 635,000 new English texts

were distributed to the students from Fifth and Sixth year, together with

19,490 handouts and cassettes for the teachers. In the present year

(2004) the distribution of texts has been extended to Seventh and

Eighth year of Primary School, with this all the students from Fifth of

Primary School to Fourth of Secondary School will have texts for the

learning of this language.

6

CLASS INVOLVED

Second ‘D’ is a class formed by 33 students whose form teacher is Mrs.

Patricia Oyarzo. There are 23 girls and 10 boys, the average age being

fifteen.

The educational level of their parents is 4th medio.

Inside this group, there are four students who are being treated by a

psychologist from first year.

As a class, they have an organization of students in which they work

with different areas such as ornamentation, culture, cleanliness, and

sports. Each area has a student in charge, whose role is to organize

different activities in order to develop these areas for the benefit of their

own class. It is important to mention that this organization has a

president, a vice-president, a secretary, and a treasurer, which are

elected by their classmates. They have Homeroom sessions 2 hours a

week under the supervision of their form teacher.

This class has English lessons four hours a week. Their teacher of

English is Mrs. Patricia Oyarzo. The students work with the “Magic

Teens” book for 2nd medio, which is provided by the Educational

Department. Besides, they work with other books provided by their

library.

7

The following is the weekly schedule:

MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY

English Mathematics P.E. Technology Chemistry English Mathematics P.E. Technology Chemistry

Mathematics Religion P.E. Arts Mathematics English Religion English Arts Mathematics

Language Biology Physics Mathematics Language Language Biology Physics

AFTERNOON AFTERNOON AFTERNOON AFTERNOON Homeroom Session Social Science Social Science Language Homeroom Session Social Science Social Science Language

Chemistry Computing Physics Biology Language Computing

LIST OF STUDENTS AND RESULTS OF THE DIAGNOSIS

Students %* Aedo Colivoro María José 88 Barrientos Oyarzo Gabriela Paz 29 Calbuante Reyes Víctor Javier 42 Clasing Paredes Soledad 92 Coyopay Legue Jessica del Carmen 53 Eyzaguirre Andrade Karina Angélica 39 Gallardo Castro Loreto Andrea 42 Gallardo Guerrero Macarena Liliana 45 Godoy Torres Marta Elvira Absent González Godoy Francisca Alejandra Absent Guichapani Oyarzún Macarena Vanessa Absent Hernández González John Heral Pablo 45 Jara Maira José Pablo 78 Lara Huerta Carola Andrea 59 Latorre Díaz Daniela Angélica 41 Leal Gómez Victoria Jocelyn 48 Lomboy Zúñiga Bernardita Pamela 41 Maldonado Oyarzo Walesska Massiel 49 Marilao Ampuero Javiera Victoria Absent

8

Mejías Herrera Constanza Carolina Absent Muñoz Morandé Christopher Raúl 45 Ojeda Paredes Pabel Lautaro 84 Parra Barrientos Pía Valeria Absent Pérez Figueroa Karen Loreto 47 Pizarro Mancilla Marcela Jacqueline Absent Ruiz Contreras Bárbara Romina 49 Saavedra Gómez Gabriela Paz 41 Sepúlveda Moreira Gustavo Adolfo 37 Vásquez Aguayo Jaime Patricio 67 Vera Vera Alexis Fabián 45 Vidal Miranda Carolina Andrea 59 Zamora Barrios Jorge Luis Absent Zamora Barrios Waldo Rafael Absent

* These are the percentages of the objectives achieved by the students in the diagnosis given by their teacher of English at the beginning of the first semester.

9

DIAGNOSIS

The following is the test given to the students:

Diagnóstico de Comprensión Lectora

NAME:.............................................. DATE:..................................

• Lee atentamente el siguiente texto. The Ancient Egyptians lived in a narrow strip of land along the Nile River because the rest of the land in the region was desert. The Nile River was a central part of everyday life in ancient Egypt. Family life was very important to Ancient Egyptians. Most families had a husband, a wife, and children. Children were considered a great blessing to Egyptian families. Wealthier Egyptians had servants in their home to help care children and to help with household duties. Pharaohs, or kings, had several wives. Young boys went to school to learn reading, writing, religion, and arithmetic. There were no schools for girls but many learnt to read and write at home. Egyptians built their homes from bricks of sun-dried mud. These were called adobe homes. During the summers, many people slept on their roofs to keep cool. The Ancient Egyptians relied on the Nile River for drinking water, fish, and water to grow crops. They used clay ovens to bake bread, which was the most common food. Most Egyptians drank beer, and wealthy Egyptians also drank wine. Egyptians bathed in the Nile River. Wealthy families had separate rooms in their homes for baths. Everyone in Ancient Egypt wore make-up and perfume – even men and servants! Clothing was made out of linen. Both men and women wore skirts called kilts, and children usually didn’t wear clothes at all in the warm weather. The Nile River was the place where most people in Ancient Egypt went to relax. They used it for fishing, boating, swimming, and boat games. The Ancient Egyptians also loved music, and they often had parties and festivals with music and dancing.

10

1. Lee nuevamente el texto y encuentra la siguiente información sobre los Egipcios antiguos.

a) 4 formas en que los Antiguos Egipcios usaban el Río Nilo. (2 ptos.) ..................................................................................................... ..................................................................................................... b) Rol de los sirvientes dentro de las familias Egipcias. (2 ptos.) ..................................................................................................... ..................................................................................................... c) Material con el cual las casas eran construidas. (2 ptos.) ..................................................................................................... ..................................................................................................... d) 2 actividades de entretención para los Egipcios. (2 ptos.) ..................................................................................................... ..................................................................................................... 2. Encierra en un círculo el mejor significado para las palabras

subrayadas en cada oración. (5 ptos.) 2.1. Wealthy families had separate rooms.

Las familias (poderosas / ricas / religiosas) tenían cuartos separados.

2.2. Many people slept on their roofs.

Mucha gente dormía sobre sus (techos / escaleras / veredas).

11

2.3. They used clay ovens to bake bread.

Ellos usaban hornos de (piedra / greda / ladrillo) para hornear pan. 2.4. Everyone in Ancient Egypt wore make-up and perfume.

En Egipto todos usaban (talco / jabón / maquillaje) y perfume. 2.5. Servants helped with household duties.

Los sirvientes ayudaban con los deberes (del hogar / de la escuela / religiosos).

3. Escribe números del 1 al 5 al lado de cada tema de acuerdo al orden

en que fueron presentados. (5 ptos.) ............. Entretenimiento ............. Casas ............. Alimentos ............. Vida familiar ............. Ropas y apariencia 4. ¿Cuál es la idea principal del texto? (2 ptos.) ..................................................................................................... ..................................................................................................... 5. Clasifica las siguientes palabras en el recuadro. (8 ptos.) Ancient – wife – consider – wealthy – children – go – learn – reading – religion – roof – keep – warm – narrow – central – servants – husband

Sustantivo Adjetivo verbo

12

6. Escribe el tipo de texto debajo de cada ejemplo. Existe una opción sobrante que no necesitas ocupar. (4 ptos.)

- Newspaper - Letter - Biography - Postcard - Recipe

.................................... ....................................

................................ .......... ................

Ingredient ---- ---------- 1 handful of linguine a cube or two of vegetable bouillon Half a cup of frozen mixed vegetables (corn, green beans, and carrots) 1 egg Soy sauce Fried Chinese noodles

97% say NO

By Trevor Kavanagh Political Editor A MASSIVE 97 per cent of Sun readers yesterday said NO to Tony Blair’s EU dream. A total of 36,392 readers in our EU the Jury survey voted against handing more power to Brussels. Just 987, less than three per cent, were in favor of the...

Dear Paula, Oh, how I missed being with you during the holidays this year! Everything in London is so different from Spain that I don’t know if I’ll ever get used to living here. I’m so glad that my father’s job at the Spanish Embassy will only last until June. That’s all for now. Please write soon. Love, Sandra

Buffalo Bill" (1846-1917)

Born in Scott County, Iowa, in 1846, Cody grew up on the prairie. When his father died in 1857, his mother moved to Kansas, where Cody worked for a wagon-freight company as a mounted messenger and wrangler. In 1859, he tried his luck as a prospector in the Pikes Peak gold rush, and the next year, joined the Pony Express. Cody died on January 10, 1917, and is buried in a tomb blasted from solid rock at the summit of Lookout Mountain near Denver, Colorado.

13

• Lee el siguiente texto.

One of the most famous protest campaigns in Britain was the Suffragette Movement. At the beginning of this century women (and some men) couldn’t vote in British elections. The Suffragettes wanted to change this. They were led by Emmeline Pankhurst. She organized meetings and protest marches to demand ‘votes for Women’. At first the protests were peaceful, but they became more and more violent. Speeches in Parliament were interrupted and the windows of public buildings were smashed by Suffragettes. In turn, eggs and tomatoes were often thrown at Suffragette speakers. In 1913 Emmeline Pankhurst was arrested and sentenced to three years in prison. She was released when she started a hunger strike. But she was arrested again after she had chained herself to the railings outside Buckingham Palace. We will never know how successful the Suffragettes were, because in 1914 the First World War started and the protests were stopped. During the war many men’s jobs were done by women, because the men were in the army. The war changed people’s ideas about many things. When it ended in 1918 the vote was given to all men over twenty-one and to women over the age of thirty. A few years later it was given to all adults over the age of twenty-one.

7. Contesta las siguientes preguntas.

a) ¿Por qué los representantes del Movimiento Sufragista interrumpían en el Parlamento y además quebraban las ventanas de los edificios públicos? ..................................................................................................... b) ¿Por qué las mujeres querían votar? ..................................................................................................... c) ¿Por qué Emmeline Pankhurst se encadenó a las rejas del Palacio Buckingham? ..................................................................................................... d) ¿Por qué el derecho a voto fue dado a todos los hombres mayores de 21 y a las mujeres mayores de 30 años de edad?

........................................................................................................

14

RESULTS OF THE DIAGNOSIS

Students

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 A NA

María José Aedo A NA A A A A A 6 1 Gabriela Barrientos NA NA A A NA A NA 3 4 Víctor Calbuante NA NA NA A NA A NA 2 5 Soledad Clasing A A A A A A A 7 0 Jessica Coyopay A NA A A NA A NA 4 3 Karina Eyzaguirre NA NA A A NA A NA 3 4 Loreto Gallardo A NA NA A NA A NA 3 4 Macarena Gallardo NA NA A A NA A NA 3 4 Marta Godoy A NA A A A A A 6 1 Francisca González A NA NA A NA A A 4 3 Macarena Guichapani NA NA NA A NA A NA 2 5 John Hernández A A NA A NA A NA 4 3 José Jara A A A A A A A 7 0 Carola Lara A NA A A NA A NA 4 3 Daniela Latorre NA NA A A NA A NA 3 4 Victoria Leal A NA A A NA A A 5 2 Bernardita Lomboy * * * * * * * * * Walesska Maldonado A A A A NA A A 6 1 Javiera Marilao * * * * * * * * * Constanza Mejías NA A A A NA A A 5 2 Christopher Muñoz * * * * * * * * * Pabel Ojeda A A A A NA A NA 5 2 Pía Parra A NA A A A A A 6 1 Karen Pérez A NA A A NA A NA 4 3 Marcela Pizarro NA NA NA A NA NA NA 1 6 Bárbara Ruiz A NA A A NA A A 5 2 Gabriela Saavedra NA A A A NA A A 5 2 Gustavo Sepúlveda NA A NA A NA A NA 3 4 Jaime Vásquez NA NA A A NA A NA 3 4 Alexis Vera * * * * * * * * * Carolina Vidal NA NA NA A NA A NA 2 5 Jorge Zamora NA NA NA NA NA A NA 1 6 Waldo Zamora NA NA NA NA NA NA A 1 6

TOTAL A 15 8 10 27 5 27 17 TOTAL NA 14 21 19 2 24 2 12

15

Objectives: 1. Provide specific information from a text 2. Infer meaning of new words from context 3. Recognize the sequence of events 4. Discover the main idea 5. Recognize the function of parts of speech 6. Identify different types of text 7. Infer information from a text * Absent A = Achieved

NA = Not Achieved

16

ANALYSIS OF STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES

According to the diagnosis applied to this class, the students are able to

read a text in a general form. In consequence, they are able to

recognize the main idea of it. However, they have problems in scanning

and skimming when reading. Due to this, they do not know how to

provide specific information mainly because they try to translate every

single word in the text which in the long run causes troubles when trying

to read comprehensively.

When recognizing different kinds of texts, the students had absolute

clearness. However, when they had to infer the meaning of words and to

sequence events, they had some difficulties to do these tasks and

eventually, most of them did not achieve these goals.

Their weakest point is the command of syntactic elements. The

problems in this stage may be two: on the one hand, they probably did

not know the meaning of ‘noun’, ‘adjective’, or ‘verb’; on the other, they

probably did not know the meaning of the words given to classify, which

is something really possible.

17

PROBLEM

Students have difficulties in approaching a written text comprehensively

due both to weaknesses in the abilities of scanning and inferring, and to

a poor command of syntactic elements.

18

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

The importance of this theoretical work is to find out about the most

relevant aspects of reading. To inquire into its backgrounds and

principles in order to improve the weaknesses that students have when

reading. It will also show the relationship existing between reading and

learning a foreign language under the basis of the Communicative

Approach, as well as the relationship among reading and the different

skills (writing, listening, and speaking).

1. DEFINITION OF READING

Reading is defined as “A process whereby one looks at and understand

what has been written” (Williams, 1984). Another definition is “A

complex system of deriving meaning from print that requires certain

abilities” (National Institute for Literacy of United States, 2004).

There are another three definitions of reading. According to the first

definition, learning to read means learning to pronounce words.

According to the second definition, learning to read means learning to

identify words and get their meaning. According to the third definition,

learning to read means learning to bring meaning to a text in order to

get meaning from it. (Foertsch, 1998).

“Reading is an active process. The students work with the text in order

to create meaningful discourse” (Silberstain, 1994)

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2. KNOWLEDGE: - Grammar

ABILITIES: - Predicting - Skimming - Scanning - Inferring

- Paraphrasing - Cohesion

- Coherence

Most of the time we tend to think that reading is a passive process but

according to Thorndike (cited in Venezky, 1984) reading is an active

process related to the problem solving. According to the Psycholinguistic

perspective developed by Goodman and Smith efficient readers develop

predictions about the content of a text (experience and knowledge help

with this process), and efficient readers also read rapidly to confirm or

refute what they have predicted.

Reading is not a simple process; students need to have some knowledge

and abilities in order to develop this skill in a successful way.

Several researches agree that students should have certain knowledge

and abilities to foster the process of reading:

To understand how phonemes (set of smallest distinctive speech

sounds that distinguish one word from another) are connected to

print. This characteristic will help the students to recognize words in

a written text. (NIFL, 2004) (Williams, 1984)

To decode unfamiliar words. This ability is related to inference

where the students use their previous knowledge with the

information given in a text to predict the meaning of a word that

they have not seen before. (NIFL, 2004) (Williams, 1984)

20

Knowledge of the language. Students should know the rules of

grammar in order to make easier the process of reading. (NIFL,

2004) (Williams, 1984)

Sufficient background information and vocabulary to foster reading

comprehension. (NIFL, 2004)

Sufficient knowledge and experience of the world. This will mainly

help the development of reading comprehension. (Williams, 1984)

To develop motivations and reasons to read. If students are

motivated through texts of their interest they will comprehend

faster and besides they will enjoy learning the target language.

(NIFL, 2004)

Reading is an activity with a purpose either for getting information or

for enhancing knowledge of the language, which is being read.

Reading is also an interactive process between the reader and the

text, which eventually results in comprehension. The reader uses

knowledge, skills, and strategies to determine what the meaning is.

The purpose for reading and the type of text determine the specific

knowledge, and skills that students need to apply to achieve

comprehension. Reading comprehension will be successfully achieved

when students are able to recognize which skills to use according to

the text. Students should also be able to identify relevant and non-

relevant information, as well as, to tolerate less than word by word

comprehension. (Williams, 1984) (NCLRC, 2004)

21

We must help our students develop these strategies, which will lead

them to a more effective reading. Let us review more deeply which

these strategies are.

Previewing, which consists in reviewing titles, sections headings,

and photo captions to get a sense of the structure and content of a

reading selection. (NCLRC, 2004)

Predicting, which consists in using knowledge of the topic to make

predictions about content, vocabulary, and type of text. (NCLRC,

2004) (ENGLISH CHANNEL, 1999)

Skimming, which is to read quickly without pausing to study the

details. This is used to identify what kind of text is being read, what

the author’s purpose is, and the general content of a text. (NCLRC,

2004) (ENGLISH CHANNEL, 1999) (Williams, 1984)

Scanning, this means to read the text in more detail, more slowly

and carefully, and looking for specific information. (NCLRC, 2004)

(ENGLISH CHANNEL, 1999) (Williams, 1984)

Inferring from context, here the student uses previous

knowledge of the subject as clues to the meaning of unknown

words, instead of looking them up. (Keene & Zimmerman, 1997)

(NCLRC, 2004)

Paraphrasing, to stop at the end of a section to check

comprehension by restating the information and ideas in the text.

(NCLRC, 2004)

22

Cohesion “can be thought of as the grammatical and lexical links

that link one part of a text to another. This includes use of

synonyms, lexical sets, pronouns, verb tenses, time references,

etc.” (University Of Cambridge)

Coherence “can be thought of as how meanings and sequences of

ideas relate to each other.” (University Of Cambridge)

3. OBJECTIVES IN READING

The process of reading should be orientated to the achievements of

reading comprehensively and according to a purpose; using language

and contents in order to keep on learning.

Students should be able to identify the main idea of a text as well as the

way it has been written. It is also important that they identify the aim of

the text. These features will lead students to a more comprehensively

reading, since they will know what the text has been written for and

what they will be able to get from it.

Students should be flexible according to their reasons for reading. They

will probably be given texts for different purposes either for specific

information or for general information. To do so, they have to develop

and to use different abilities and techniques. Here we have skimming,

scanning, intensive reading (requires the student’s concentration

throughout the text), and extensive reading (requires that the student

understands the text as a whole).

23

We must get our students familiar with these abilities and techniques, in

this way they will be able to develop the process of reading faster.

(Williams, 1984)

4. DEFINITION OF THE COMMUNICATIVE APPROACH

We have seen some abilities and techniques that students need to

develop in order to succeed in the reading process. Furthermore, if

these are applied under the Communicative Approach students will be

able to interact with the writer, in other words, the reader will try to

understand the writer’s intentions and the writer will write with the

reader’s perspective in mind. (Larsen-Freeman, 1986)

The Communicative Approach “involves being able to use the language

appropriate to a given social context. To do this, students need

knowledge of the linguistic forms, meanings, and functions.” (Larsen-

Freeman, 1986)

The Communicative Approach is based on the idea that the goal of

language acquisition is communicative competence, that is, the ability to

use the language correctly and appropriately to accomplish

communications goals. This approach does not look for the students to

use the language exactly as native speakers do but to get students to

communicate competently. (NCLRC, 2004)

Central to the communicative approach is the perception that language

is not just a system of rules, but also “a dynamic source for the creation

of meaning” (Nunan, 1989). Communicative Language Teaching tends

to place more importance on the needs of learners as they actually use

24

the language than on the abstracted study of the language itself.

This approach can also be defined as “a method of teaching that focuses

on helping students communicate meaningfully in the target language.

The communicative approach is designed to give the students

meaningful activities. The aim is to teach the students to use ‘real-world’

language." (Macmillan English Dictionary, 2002)

5. COMPETENCE AREAS OF THE COMMUNICATIVE APPROACH

The Communicative Approach is made of four competence areas:

linguistic, sociolinguistic, discourse, and strategic.

Linguistic competence means “to know how to use the grammar,

syntax, and vocabulary of a language.” (NCLRC, 2004)

Sociolinguistic competence means “to know how to use and

respond to language appropriately, given the setting, the topic, and

relationships among the people communicating.” (NCLRC, 2004)

Discourse competence means “to know how to interpret the larger

context and how to construct longer stretches of language so that the

parts make up a coherent whole.” (NCLRC, 2004)

Strategic competence means “to know how to recognize and repair

communication breakdown, how to work around gaps in one’s

knowledge of the language, and how to learn more about the

language and in the context.” (NCLRC, 2004)

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6. CHOOSING TEXTS

When teaching reading is very important to have very clear what kinds

of texts we are going to work with. To do this, we have to have in mind

which are the necessities of our students. If possible, we should use

different kinds of texts because this will develop a variety of reading

styles, it will also encourage reading for different purposes, and students

will eventually familiarize with the features of different text types.

(Williams, 1984) (Silberstein, 1994)

There are some tips that will help us choose the texts we should use in

our classroom. These are:

It would be helpful if we determine strategies and skills that our

students could already have in their mother tongue which could help

them in the reading process. (Silberstein, 1994)

Determine if our students require explicit instruction in different

aspects of reading: skimming, scanning, inferring, etc. (Silberstein,

1994)

Activities can be organized to reflect the kinds of abilities our

students most need to practice. (Silberstein, 1994)

“Use texts that are Realistic in terms of the Students’ Reading Needs

and Abilities, and that are Authentic.” (Silberstein, 1994)

Reading Needs. Texts should be consistent with the type of reading

students will need to do in English. (Silberstein, 1994)

26

Students Abilities. Texts are more meaningful if they are somehow

challenging, that is, they should demonstrate that students can

accomplish something they might not have thought possible.

Authenticity. Reading text should be authentic in the sense that they

are similar to the real world. (Silberstein, 1994)

There are different kinds of texts but this time we will see just three of

them because they are more likely to be found in present schools.

1. INTEGRATED COURSE BOOKS. Generally present schools use

these kinds of texts. Students are given a text that contains several

units divided into different units. These books contain activities to

develop the four skills: speaking, listening, writing, and reading.

(Williams, 1984)

2. AUTHENTIC TEXTS. It refers to any text that was not written

specifically for language learning purposes. That is, it is a text

written to say something to convey a message, and not only to

exemplify language. The advantage of using this kind of material is

that students have the opportunity to experience real instances of

language use. (Williams, 1984)

3. SIMULATED AUTHENTIC TEXTS. These are texts that imitate

authentic material. These kinds of texts replace difficult words for

those that the students may know, retell the text as a simple

account, omit some parts of the text which may require a special

knowledge of the world and not very important to the task, and

27

reorganize the text so as to make its structure clearer. (Williams,

1984)

It is worth to mention that Authentic and Simulated Authentic

material are more closely related to the Communicative Approach.

That is why they are the most appropriate if we want our students to

develop effective reading. Within these groups of materials are

informative articles, biographies, fiction, poetry, songs, and

script among others. (Williams, 1984) (Silberstein, 1994)

7. MOTIVATION

One of the most important learning determinants is motivation. If

students are motivated, if they are interested in understanding what

they are studying and in acquiring knowledge and abilities, they will

be more concentrated in what they are doing, they will persist in

searching solutions to the problems they may have, and they will also

dedicate more time and effort than those who lack the appropriate

motivation. Those students who are not well-motivated do not believe

that their effort will lead them anywhere, they take a long time to

start working, they concentrate less and study in a superficial way,

and they tend to persist less in their effort to solve and to overcome

difficulties and problems. (Jesús Alonso Tapia, UAM)

According to Eddie Williams a good method of approaching the

problem of learners lack of motivation is to look at the reading session

in terms of three phases: pre-reading, while-reading, and post-

reading. The goal of pre-reading is to arouse interest in the topic by

28

drawing on the learners’ knowledge of the world and on their

opinions. It can also generate relevant vocabulary. It is carried out

before the students have seen the text. The aim of while-reading is to

help students understand the structure and content of the text and

the writer’s purpose. It may involve language work, and it may try to

give the students a relevant reason to read. Post-reading is meant to

help students consolidate and reflect upon what has been read.

It is important to help our students develop abilities to read

effectively. In that way they will be eventually able to achieve the

target language. Though, it is not an easy task. Nowadays students

are not so interested in reading. Maybe the main reason for this is

that they are not given the texts of their interest. So every time they

have to read they feel they are being ‘obliged’ to do it and they do not

really enjoy reading at all. It is fundamental to motivate students by

asking them what kinds of topics they would like to read; it is

probable that not all the students have the same tastes. However, it

is also probable that they have similar ones as they share similar

environments, and most of the time they have a great understanding

as a class group that they end up enjoying almost the same topics.

(Williams, 1984) (ERIC Clearinghouse, 1996)

There are many reasons why students do not feel motivated by

reading. For instance, if one student has had a negative experience

with reading he will certainly view reading as a process of getting the

word right rather than an act of making sense of the material.

Another reading problem for the students is lack of experiential

background. When a text refers to things or concepts with which the

students have no familiarity, they will not comprehend the material,

and they will end up being discouraged.

29

What students need is to be shown that the skills they need to

succeed are within their grasp. They also need work that stimulates

their curiosity and that allows them to express their autonomy and

originality. Of course, they also need work that allows them to

interact with their peers. Maybe these are the first steps to motivate

our students in the process of reading. (ERIC Clearinghouse, 1996)

30

HYPOTHESIS

If students work in the use and development of reading abilities through

texts of their interest and following the principles of the communicative

approach, they will eventually achieve comprehensive and effective

reading as well as a way to develop communicative competence.

OBJECTIVES

GENERAL OBJECTIVE:

• Achieve effective reading at the level expected

SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES:

• Identify the function of parts of speech

• Predict the content of a given written text

• Infer meaning of new words from context

• Identify specific information

• Recognize the sequence of events

CROSS CURRICULAR OBJECTIVES:

• Promote the interest and the capacity of knowing the reality, use

previous and present knowledge and select outstanding information

• Develop the capacity of solving problems, creativity, and self-

learning capacities

31

STRATEGY

According to some authors cited along this project, students need

some abilities to develop effective reading. It is important to establish

which strategies are going to be used to develop these abilities. In this

case, the plan will be focused on the kinds of texts and the reaction

these may provoke in the students. In other words, if they work with

texts of their interest and besides if these texts contribute to the

increase of their knowledge of the ‘world’, they will be more willing to

acquire reading abilities; therefore, to become effective readers.

Let us see which these strategies are:

USE OF TEXTS THAT EVOKE STUDENTS’ FEELINGS

The reason to use these kinds of texts is that students may feel touched

by the feelings expressed by these. In consequence, they may feel more

interested in keeping on reading and in acquiring reading strategies.

According to Maley and Duff (cited in Techniques and Resources in

Teaching Reading) there are three reasons to use literature and songs:

1. UNIVERSALITY. “Literature and music are universal in human

cultures.” (Maley and Duff)

2. NONTRIVIALITY. “These texts often address fundamental issues of

the human condition.” (Maley and Duff)

3. MOTIVATION. “The individual responses engendered by literary

texts and music can prove motivating in the language classroom as

32

can the pleasure and variety afforded by these texts.” (Maley and

Duff)

I will mainly work with poems, songs, and fables. Let us see how

these two branches of literature contribute to the development of

reading abilities.

POEMS: depending on the poem, students may read for different

purposes such as general senses, detailed understanding, etc. Poems

also clarify the use of syntax and vocabulary.

SONGS: “songs are a window on a culture. Through music, students

encounter the rhythm of a language, infer meaning of vocabulary and

concepts from context.” (Silberstein, 1994)

FABLES: the advantages of fables are that they are familiar to most

readers. They look for capturing universal human truths, “often placed

within a particular cultural perspective. Fables invite cross-cultural

comparisons, especially as students work to predict the moral.”

(Silberstein, 1994)

USE OF EXPOSITORY PROSE

Expository writing is meant to inform the reader. For example

newspaper articles, biographies, advertisement, etc.

The reasons to use these kinds of texts is that reading informational

texts provide the motivation the students need to persevere in the

33

development of the abilities to become effective readers. In other

words, when students are interested in what they read, their reading

develops better and faster.

Informational texts also allow the students to apply and build world

knowledge. Having high background knowledge of a topic “highly

supports that reading on that topic.” (Wilson and Anderson, 1986)

CLASSROOM ARRANGEMENT

It has been said that interaction among students is very important

because it is a way to motivate students when carrying out activities.

That is why it is relevant the position and the way we organize the

positions of the students in the classroom.

Where the students sit in a classroom can determine:

• Their attitude to each other and to the teacher.

• Our attitude to them.

• How they interact.

All these texts will be authentic and simulated authentic

materials since they are more closely related to the

Communicative Approach. However, some material may be

not authentic since I will also work with the students’ book

‘Magic Teens’ and some other material written especially for

EFL students.

34

• The type of activities they can do.

(Gower, Phillips, and Walters, 1995)

E.g.:

“This arrangement ensures that, with minor adjustments, students are

in position to change to pairwork or groupwork.” (Gower, Phillips, and

Walters, 1995)

35

STAGES

First Stage : Getting familiar with syntax and vocabulary

Objective : Identify the function of parts of speech

Time : August 16th –23rd – 30th

Activities:

• Classifying words

Students will classify in a chart examples of parts of speech with its

correct function.

• Scrambled sentences

Students are given words to form sentences in mixed-up order. They

will have to re-arrange the words to form a correct sentence.

• Analyzing sentences

Students will be given several sentences in which there will be an

underlined word. They will have to determine what function that

word has in the sentence.

• Fill in the gasps

Students will have to complete a text with missing words.

• Underlining words

Students will have to underline words related to characteristics,

objects, and actions.

• Drawings

These will be used to figure out the meaning of words.

36

Second Stage : Time for predictions

Objectives : - Predict the content of a given written text

- Infer meaning of new words from context

Time : September 06th – 08th – 27th – 29th

October 18th – 20th

Activities:

• Inferring from illustration

Students will be shown pictures to guess the topic of a text.

• Guessing the topic

Students will be given a text and they will have to illustrate the topic in

order other students to guess it.

• Using previous knowledge to predict the content of a text

Students will be given the title of a text and they will have to say what

information they think they may find in the text.

• Brainstorming

Students will have to name the words they think they could find in a

certain topic.

• Giving personal opinion about a topic

• Students think aloud

The students express what they think about the reading while the

process of reading is taking place.

37

Third Stage : Scanning

Objective : Identify specific information

Time : October 25th

November 08th – 15th

Activities:

• Completing tables

Students will have to complete a table with the required specific

information from a text.

• Multiple choice items

Students will have to choose the answer that responds to the specific

information it is being asked.

• True or false exercises about specific information in a text

Students will have to determine if the information is True or False

according to the text.

• Answering questions

Students will have to answer questions about specific information

found in a text.

• Oral and written reports in Spanish about a text

38

Fourth Stage : Sequencing

Objective : Recognize the sequence of events

Time : November 08th – 15th

Activities:

• Arrange sentences in chronological order

Students will be given a text in disorder and they will have to

enumerate paragraphs in order to create a logical text.

• Scrambled paragraphs

Students are given paragraphs to form a complete text in mixed-up

order. They will have to re-arrange the paragraphs to form a correct

text.

• Oral and written reports in Spanish about a text

39

EVALUATION

Students will be evaluated through Portfolio. According to Arter and

Spandel (1992) Portfolio is defined as a significant collection of the

student’s work, which shows his effort, progress, and achievements in

a determined area.

The use of portfolio offers the following advantages:

1. Encourage collaboration between the students and the teacher, and

students and their peers.

2. Provide a context for the development of authentic tasks.

3. Promote a sense of property and motivation on requiring self-

evaluation, and taking decisions during the process.

4. Offer a context to integrate teaching, learning, and evaluation.

5. Establish a quantitative and qualitative inform along the learning

process.

According to Wolf and Sin-Runyan (1996) there are three kind of

portfolio:

Portfolio of property

Portfolio of feedback

Portfolio of responsibility

40

I will use the Portfolio of Feedback, which provides continuous

documentation and evidence of the learning. These are used to identify

learning and strategies to get a wide vision of the students’ strength

and necessities.

The Portfolio includes self-evaluation, co-evaluation from the

students and from the teacher.

- Self-evaluation. This evaluation is done by the students. They self-

evaluate their fulfillment in the learning process. It is supposed that

when they evaluate themselves they reflect, they express opinions,

and they inform about their own fulfillment. They learn to be

responsible for the teaching-learning process. Furthermore, self-

evaluation gives a clear evidence of the students’ strength and needs.

- Co-evaluation of group. This is done by the classmates. It is

necessary to do it with seriousness, and without deceiving the student

who is being evaluated.

- Co-evaluation from the teacher. This type of evaluation does not

present any kind of difficulty for the students since they are used to

being evaluated by the teacher. The teacher plays an important role as

counselor and mediator of the process of evaluation.

(Montecinos, 2000)

41

DESCRIPTION OF THE EXPERIENCE

The project “Achieving Effective Reading” was carried out as it was

planned, except for some activities that could not be done because of

the time. There were some holidays, some rehearsal for a festival, I had

a medical leave, among others; however, these did not affect the good

results obtained at the end of this project.

I mainly worked with songs and fables as well as biographies and

informative articles. At the beginning of this project I had also

considered to work with poems; however, I did not use them since it

was difficult to find one appropriate to work on the objectives I wanted

the students to achieve.

At the beginning of the first class I asked them to sit in groups of four or

five people. The people they chose would be their classmates for all the

activities done during the project. They seemed to enjoy this, because

this gave them the chance to talk to their friends at the same time they

were working.

The first activity I did when I started this project was to read a text.

After each paragraph I asked them in Spanish “what did you understand

from this paragraph?” but I did not get any reply. I read the whole text

and I answered my own questions because none of them participated. I

realized that they were not confident enough about what they had

understood from the text, and that was the reason why they did not

answer. They were so used to translating word by word that if they did

not know the meaning of a word they thought that they were not able to

comprehend what they were reading. Fortunately, they internalized that

42

the most important was not to understand every single word but to

understand the text as a whole. This happened after repeating class

after class this idea. From then on, they were more confident and they

started participating every time I asked what the text was about or what

they had understood from a paragraph.

The first stage lasted nine pedagogical hours. In this stage the

students had to be able to identify the function of parts of speech,

specifically adjectives, nouns, and verbs. At the beginning, most of the

students did not know what these words meant and what their functions

were. They were not familiar with these terms both in English and

Spanish.

Once I had explained to them that adjective was to qualify people,

things, animals, etc.; noun was to name people, animal, things, etc.;

and verb was an action, it was easier for them to recognize these parts

of speech in a text. They were asked to give examples every time we

read a text, in that way, they would keep on exercising on this

objective, and their positive results would be soon more and more

visible.

Some of the activities I included in this stage were:

Matching exercises

Scrambled sentences

Fill in the gasps

Underlining and classifying words

43

The second stage lasted twelve pedagogical hours. In this stage, they

were expected to predict the content of a given written text and to infer

meaning of new words from context. In my opinion, this phase was very

entertaining because the students had the opportunity to show how

creative they were.

It was not a big problem for them to achieve the goal of predicting the

content of a text. I can say that they were ready to give their opinion

when they were asked to tell what they thought a text was about.

In this stage, for example, they were given the title of a text and then

they had to express that title through drawings, they were asked to

create a fable according to a drawing they were shown, they created a

three-part document giving pieces of advice to prevent stress, etc.

We also analyzed text together. I read aloud and after each paragraph I

asked them what they had understood. The answer to this exercise was

very satisfactory, especially because some students who did not seem to

be interested in the subject felt like participating, contributing with their

right analysis of the texts presented. I think that they were motivated

because they realized that they could understand what they were

reading. Of course, encouraging words such as: “right!”, “good!” among

others, helped to give them self-confidence.

When they had to infer meaning of new words, they used their previous

knowledge of the topic, or they related words to the topic seen.

Some activities included in this stage were:

Inferring from illustration

Guessing the topic

44

Brainstorming

Students think aloud

The third stage lasted ten pedagogical hours. In this stage, the

students had to achieve the goal of providing specific information from a

text. This phase seemed to be easy for them. They took less time

(comparing to the last two stages) to develop a handout with exercises

related to this objective. They seemed to find very quickly the

information they were being asked. The reason for this may be that, at

this stage they were already able to read comprehensively. They made

less use of the English-Spanish dictionary since they were able to infer

the meaning of some words.

Some activities included in this stage were:

Completing tables

Multiple choice items

True or False exercises

Written Reports in Spanish

The fourth and last stage lasted ten pedagogical hours. This stage

was carried out together with the third stage because the time was not

enough to work on this stage apart. Fortunately, the time did not affect

the achievement of the specific objective: Recognize the sequence of

events.

45

I focused this stage on recognizing how things happen. So in this stage

the students did activities such as enumerating sentences or paragraphs

in order to create a logical text, and re-arranging paragraphs in mixed-

up order to form a correct text.

It is important to mention that the students exercised more than one

specific objective of the project during all the stages, that is, every time

we worked on a reading I asked them to identify and to classify

adjectives, nouns, and verbs; I asked them to infer the meaning of new

words; to find specific information; to tell what they had understood

from a text, etc. I also made good use of the ‘normal’ classes where I

had to work with the book. We tried to analyze every text found in the

corresponding unit, that way the students had the chance to reinforce

what they had learnt through the stages of the project.

At the beginning of this project I had thought that the best way to

evaluate the progress of the students was through a Portfolio. However,

according to the experience I decided that the best way to evaluate

them was class to class. I read a text aloud and after each paragraph I

asked them in Spanish what they had understood, their answers had to

be in Spanish also in order to check if they had really understood. After

this, they could start answering the written questions about the whole

text.

In order to evaluate all the specific objectives proposed in this project, I

applied a final written examination with exercises similar to those

exposed in the diagnosis. In this way, I would be able to obtain a real

comparison between the results obtained in the diagnosis and in the

final examination.

46

Evaluación Final de Comprensión Lectora

NAME: ........................................................................ CLASS: ................

♦ Lee atentamente el siguiente texto. Brazil, the largest country in South America and the fifth largest country in the world, is located in the eastern half of South America. The people of Brazil are famous for their outgoing, friendly, and fun-loving nature. They love to sing, dance the samba, and sunbathe. And on the beach, both men and women wear the briefest bikinis! Brazilian women are considered to be among the best dressed in the world. Brazil is a federal republic with 23 states. The capital city is Brasilia. Portuguese is the official language, and it is spoken with a distinct Brazilian accent. Brazil has a population of over 138 million, which is made up of people of many different races and ethnic groups. People of Portuguese and African descent and of mixed blood make up the vast majority. In addition, there are immigrants from Germany, Italy, Japan, and many other countries. Eighty percent of the population is Roman Catholic. A number of industrial products are manufactured in Brazil, including cars, chemicals, ships, machines, and military weapons. Mining is also an important industry, and Brazil is the world’s second largest exporter of iron ore. Precious stones and metals, such as emeralds and gold, are also mined. Agriculture is another important industry. Many crops are exported, including coffee (Brazil is the largest grower in the world), cotton, soybeans, sugar, cocoa, rice, corn, and fruit. 1. Encuentra 6 adjetivos, 6 sustantivos, y 6 verbos. Luego clasifícalos en la

siguiente tabla: (9 ptos.)

Adjetivos Sustantivos Verbos

2. Encierra en un círculo el mejor significado para las palabras subrayadas en

cada oración. (6 ptos.) 2.1. The people of Brazil are famous for their outgoing nature.

La gente de Brasil es famosa por su naturaleza (viajera / extrovertida / optimista)

47

2.2 Both men and women wear the briefest bikinis!

Tanto hombres como mujeres usan los bikinis más (pequeños / coloridos / largos)

2.3 Mining is also an important industry.

(La madera / La minería / El maní) es también una industria importante.

2.4 Brazilian women are considered to be among the best dressed in the world.

Las mujeres Brasileñas están consideradas entre las mejores (diseñadoras / deportistas / vestidas) del mundo.

2. 5 Precious stones and metals, such as emeralds and gold...

(Joyas / Piedras / Perlas) preciosas, tales como esmeraldas y oro...

2. 6 Many crops are exported... Muchos (cultivos / cristales / animales) son exportados... 3. Encuentra la siguiente información sobre Brasil: a) Ubicación (1 pto.) ......................................................................................................................... b) 3 actividades que los Brasileños disfrutan. (3 ptos.) ......................................................................................................................... ......................................................................................................................... c) Religión que predomina en Brasil. (1 pto.) ......................................................................................................................... d) Nombra 4 productos que la industria agrícola exporta. (4 ptos.) ......................................................................................................................... .........................................................................................................................

48

4. Escribe números del 1 al 5 al lado de cada tema de acuerdo al orden en que fueron presentados. (5 ptos.)

............... Productos ............... Personalidad ............... Idioma ............... Ubicación ............... Población 5. Enumera de 1 a 7 las siguientes oraciones para formar una carta. (6 ptos.) Dear Jane, ................ We rode the cable cars, saw Chinatown and Fisherman’s Wharf, and took a cruise around San Francisco Bay. ................ Then we rented a car and drove to Palm Springs. It’s about three hours from Los Angeles. We played golf there and took a tour. ................ Well, that’s about all for now. I’ll tell you about the rest of my trip when I get back. ......1......... We had a great vacation in California! ................ After San Francisco, we went to Los Angeles. We loved Hollywood and Universal Studios, but I didn’t care much for the city itself. ................ From Palm Springs, we went to San Diego. It’s a beautiful city, and the zoo is really interesting. ................ We started our trip in San Francisco.

Vocabulary Cable cars = teleféricos Wharf = muelle Care for = preocuparse de

49

RESULTS OF THE FINAL EXAMINATION

Students 1 2 3 4 María José Aedo A A A A Gabriela Barrientos A NA A A Víctor Calbuante * * * * Soledad Clasing A A A A Jessica Coyopay A NA A NA Karina Eyzaguirre A A NA A Loreto Gallardo A A A A Macarena Gallardo A NA A A Marta Godoy A NA A A Francisca González A A A A Macarena Guichapani A NA A NA John Hernández * * * * José Jara * * * * Carola Lara NA A A A Daniela Latorre NA NA NA A Victoria Leal A A A A Bernardita Lomboy NA A NA A Walesska Maldonado NA A A A Javiera Marilao A A A A Constanza Mejías A A A A Christopher Muñoz NA A NA NA Pabel Ojeda A A NA A Pía Parra A A A A Karen Pérez A A A A Marcela Pizarro A NA A A Bárbara Ruiz A A A NA Gabriela Saavedra A A A A Gustavo Sepúlveda NA A A NA Jaime Vásquez A A A A Alexis Vera NA A NA NA Carolina Vidal * * * * Jorge Zamora NA A A NA Waldo Zamora * * * *

TOTAL A 20 21 22 21 TOTAL NA 8 7 6 7

50

Objectives: 1. Identify the function of parts of speech 2. Infer meaning of new words from context 3. Provide specific information from a text 4. Recognize the sequence of events

* Absent A = Achieved NA = Not Achieved

51

ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF THE RESULTS

According to the diagnosis applied at the beginning of the semester, the

students were able to read a text in a general form. That is, they could

recognize the main idea of the text. However, they had problems in

scanning and skimming when reading. Due to this, most of them did not

know how to provide specific information and how to infer meaning of

new words from context mainly because they tried to translate every

single word which was something that prevented them from reading

comprehensively.

They also had some problems when sequencing events; however, their

weakest point was the command of syntactic elements. They were not

able to recognize and classify some parts of speech (adjectives, nouns,

and verbs). Unexpectedly, this problem was not only in the target

language but also in their mother tongue.

According to the results obtained from the final examination, we can see

that the number of specific objectives achieved increased considerably.

The first step to improve their reading comprehension was to help them

internalize that they did not need to translate every single word to

understand a text. Eventually, this happened successfully.

The first specific objective was ‘Recognize the function of parts of

speech’. In the diagnosis only 17,2% (5 out 29 students) achieved

this goal, while in the final examination a total of 71,4% (20 out of 28

students) achieved it. This improvement may have been achieved

because I explained them what adjective, noun, and verb mean, as well

as what they are used for. Another reason may be that they had to find

and classify these parts of speech every time they read.

52

The second specific objective was ‘Infer meaning of new words from

context’. In the diagnosis only 27,6% (8 out of 29 students) achieved

this objective, while in the final examination 75% (21 out of 28

students) achieved it. The reason for this increase may be that every

time they read a text they had to name words they associated with the

title of the reading or with a picture related to the reading. So in this

way they got familiar with some words. Another positive aspect may be

that they also made use of their previous knowledge about the reading

they were working on.

The third specific object was ‘Provide specific information from a

text’. At this stage, a total of 51,7% (15 out of 29 students) achieved

this goal in the diagnosis. In the final examination 78,6% (22 out of 28

students) achieved this objective. The reason for this improvement

should be that the students got used to looking for a key word in the

question in order to look for that word in the text, that way it was easier

for them to provide the specific information they were being asked for.

Another reason may be that by this time I could see the positive results

on them. At this stage they were already able to read effectively as well

as comprehensively.

The fourth and last stage was ‘Recognize the sequence of events’. In

the diagnosis 34,5% (10 out of 29 students) achieved this goal, while

in the final examination 75% (21 out of 28 students) achieved it. I

think that the increase of students who achieved this objective was due

to the same reason of the former specific objective, that is, the students

were able to read comprehensively, so they could realize in which order

the events happen.

53

1. Identify the functionof parts of speech 2. Infer meaning of

new words fromcontext

3. Provide specificinformation from a

text4. Recognize the

sequence of events

Achieved

Not Achieved

82,8%

72,4%

48,3%

65,5%

17,2%27,6%

51,7%

34,5%

0,0%

10,0%

20,0%

30,0%

40,0%

50,0%

60,0%

70,0%

80,0%

90,0%

PER

CEN

TAG

E O

F ST

UD

ENTS

OBJECTIVES

AchievedNot Achieved

Achieved 17,2% 27,6% 51,7% 34,5%

Not Achieved 82,8% 72,4% 48,3% 65,5%

1. Identify the function of parts of speech

2. Infer meaning of new words from context

3. Provide specific information from a text

4. Recognize the sequence of events

BAR GRAPHS

RESULTS OF THE DIAGNOSIS

* The percentages showed in the chart above correspond to the percentage of students.

54

1. Identify the functionof parts of speech 2. Infer meaning of

new words fromcontext

3. Provide specificinformation from a text 4. Recognize the

sequence of events

Achieved

Not Achieved

28,6%25,0%

21,4% 25,0%

71,4% 75,0% 78,6%75,0%

0,0%

10,0%

20,0%

30,0%

40,0%

50,0%

60,0%

70,0%

80,0%

PER

CEN

TAG

E O

F ST

UD

ENTS

OBJECTIVES

AchievedNot Achieved

Achieved 71,4% 75,0% 78,6% 75,0%

Not Achieved 28,6% 25,0% 21,4% 25,0%

1. Identify the function of parts of speech

2. Infer meaning of new words from context

3. Provide specific information from a text

4. Recognize the sequence of events

RESULTS OF THE FINAL EXAMINATION

* The percentages showed in the chart above correspond to the percentage of students.

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COMPARATIVE CHART DIAGNOSIS / FINAL EXAMINATION

STUDENTS DIAGNOSIS Achievement

FINAL EXAM. Achievement

María José Aedo 85.7% 100% Gabriela Barrientos 42.8% 75% Víctor Calbuante 28.5% Absent Soledad Clasing 100% 100% Jessica Coyopay 57.1% 50% Karina Eyzaguirre 42.8% 75% Loreto Gallardo 42.8% 100% Macarena Gallardo 42.8% 75% Marta Godoy 85.7% 75% Francisca González 57.1% 100% Macarena Guichapani 28.5% 50% John Hernández 57.1% Absent José Jara 100% Absent Carola Lara 57.1% 75% Daniela Latorre 42.8% 25% Victoria Leal 71.4% 100% Bernardita Lomboy Absent 50% Walesska Maldonado 85.7% 75% Javiera Marilao Absent 100% Constanza Mejías 71.4% 100% Cristopher Muñoz Absent 25% Pabel Ojeda 71.4% 75% Pía Parra 85.7% 100% Karen Pérez 57.1% 100% Marcela Pizarro 14.2% 75% Bárbara Ruiz 71.4% 75% Gabriela Saavedra 71.4% 100% Gustavo Sepúlveda 42.8% 50% Jaime Vásquez 42.8% 100% Alexis Vera Absent 25% Carolina Vidal 28.5% Absent Jorge Zamora 14.2% 50% Waldo Zamora 14.2% Absent

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RESULTS BY OBJECTIVES

Objectives

*Diagnosis Achievement percentage

*Final Examination Achievement percentage

1. Identifying the function of parts of speech.

17,2%

71,4%

2. Infer meaning of new words from context.

27,6%

75%

3. Provide specific information from a text.

51,7%

78,6%

4. Recognize the sequence of events.

34,5%

75%

* Percentages of the number of students that achieved each objective.

COMPARATIVE BAR GRAPH OF THE PERCENTAGE OF ACHIEVEMENT

17,2%27,6%

51,7%

34,5%

71,4% 75,0% 78,6% 75,0%

0,0%10,0%20,0%30,0%40,0%50,0%60,0%70,0%80,0%90,0%

1 2 3 4Objectives

Perc

enta

ge o

f stu

dent

s

Diagnosis (% ofstudents thatachieved eachobjective)Final Examination ( %of students thatachieved eachobjective)

1. Identify the function of parts of speech 2. Infer meaning of new words from context 3. Provide specific information from a text 4. Recognize the sequence of events

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CONCLUSION

As it can be seen in the results after the end of this project, the goals

have been clearly reached. As it was stated in the hypothesis the main

problem was to approach a written text comprehensively. Their

weaknesses in the abilities of scanning and inferring, and besides a poor

command of syntactic elements prevented them from achieving effective

and comprehensive reading.

The kind of materials used for this project was appropriate, that is, the

students were motivated by reading and analyzing songs, fables,

biographies, etc. I think that it is important to tell them something

interesting about the reading before they read in order to attract their

attention, that way they feel like keeping on reading.

The most effective and successful activity was analyzing texts in

Spanish. Through this activity the students have the opportunity to

express what they have understood and what their opinion about the

text is. Besides, it is easier for them to develop exercises about any kind

of text after having analyzing it.

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At the end of this project the students were able to communicate ideas

in the target language, mainly in the written form. This is a very

important fact since the students were not only expected to read

comprehensively but also to be able to communicate ideas.

I believe that if this project had started at the beginning of the year the

results would have been even better. Nevertheless, I am very satisfied

by the progress the students made during the time this project lasted.

Finally, I want to remark the importance of motivation in the success of

this project. When students are told their qualities and abilities they feel

more confident of their knowledge. In consequence, they are readier to

contribute to their own learning and thus to achieve big progress.

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PROJECTIONS

As it was proved through this inform, the students achieved effective

reading at the level they were expected. The goals achieved by the

students need to be reinforced, otherwise they will return to the “old

way”, that is, to translate a text word by word in order to understand it.

I expect that students keep on exercising reading abilities, in that way

they will not be limited to read just texts in their mother tongue but also

they will have the opportunity to access to reading written in English.

Thus, they will have the chance of exploring the culture of English

speaking countries through reading. In consequence, they will have

criteria to compare our culture to others.

Students can discover many important information through reading, and

that could be a reason for them to start appreciating English as a

language for communication.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

READING IN THE LANGUAGE CLASSROOM

Eddie Williams Macmillan Publisher Ltd. 1984

TECHNIQUES AND PRINCIPLES IN LANGUAGE TEACHING

Diane Larsen-Freeman Oxford University Press 1986

TECHNIQUES AND RESOURCES IN TEACHING READING

Sandra Silberstein Oxford University Press 1994

Taller: ‘Uso de la evaluación alternativa y auténtica en la

formación inicial de los profesores’ Prof. Carmen Montecinos University of Northern Iowa 2000

TEACHING PRACTICE HANDBOOK

Roger Gower, Diane Phillips, Steve Walters Heinemann 1995

http://www.nclrc.org

National Capital Language Resource Center (NCLRC) 2004

http://www.nifl.gov

National Institute For Literacy (NIFL) US Department of Education 2004

http://www.hio.ft.hanze.nl

English Channel 1999

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http://www.cambridgeesol.org University Of Cambridge

2004

http://www.macmillandictionary.com Macmillan English Dictionary 2002

http://www.indiana.edu ERIC Clearinghouse on Reading English, and Communication Digest 1996

http://dewey.uab.es/pmarques/himotiva.htm

1998

http://www.ncrel.org

http://www.mineduc.cl/reforma Ministerio de Educación de Chile 2004

http://www.ivyjoy.com/fables

http://www.azlyrics.com

http://www.quia.com/mc/65832.html

http://www.levistrauss.com/about/history/founder.htm

http://wa.essortment.com/buffalobillcod_rxdx.htm

http://www.johnsesl.com/printables/holidays/halloween/hwcloze.html

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APPENDIX