Language Learner Profile

Author (s): Mara Jos Acua

Pamela Humeres
Course: English as a Foreign Language Methodology
Teacher: Miss Roxanna Correa P.

November, 2014.
INDEX
Introduction_______________________________________________3
Theoretical Framework______________________________________3
Learners Background_______________________________________7
Written or oral diagnose test/task______________________________7
Analysis and Assessment___________________________________ 8
Proposal: LLS Lesson Plan: LLS LESSON PLAN ________________ 12
One to One Lesson________________________________________
Discussion and Conclusions_________________________________
References_______________________________________________17

Introduction
The next is an in-depth analysis of a particular language student of first year of English
pedagogy, which has as a main objective to identify and explain through a theoretical
framework the main linguistic needs of the participant. This analysis conjugate the
vision of several authors such as R. Oxford, H. Brown, A. Chamot, among others
authors . The goal is to identify the main issues through an oral interview with the
participant and provide him with certain recommendations and proposals that could be
apply in their context to improve his weaknesses. Next some key concept will be
defined in order to create a foundation to base on the analysis made.
THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
English as a Second Language or Foreign Language
This term is used to talk about a language which is not the mother tongue and that is
not acquired naturally. When we talk about ESL we are referring to a language that is
used for certain functions within society. As an example non-native speakers who are
in an English-speaking environment.
But if we talk about English as a Foreign Language we are referring to a language
which is not normally used for communication in learners background or his/her society.
It is very difficult to EFL teachers to find access to and provide good English model for
their students. The distinctions between these two concepts are the most influential
concepts in the study because it explains the kind of learning of language of the
participant. Most important is to point out that the lack of exposure to a continuous
amount of English input can obviously affect the learning process of the student
because , as English is being learn by the student as a foreign language the real
language opportunities decrease in some way.
STYLES
The identification of the style of learning of the student interviewed will help us to
developed a proposal settled in the particular context of the students and to create use
his personal style as tool that might help us , to encourage him.
Learning styles are the specific ways that learners use to learn language. There are
many different kinds of learning styles, for example, some learners have a preference
for hearing the language, that type of learners are called Auditory Learners. There is
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another type of learners that prefer seeing language by visual aids, that kind of learners
are called Visual Learners. Some others prefer learning language by discrete bits
(analytic learners). Some for experiencing language in large chunks, those are called
global, holistic or experiential learners. And finally there many learners that prefer to do
something physical while they are studying, that type of learners is called kinesthetic
learners.
STRATEGIES IN LEARNING
Strategies are what learner use to deal with learning process easily and successfully.
Also are the tools used to solve a specific problem given. More specifically strategies
are the techniques used to solve learning problems.
STRATEGIES IN LEARNING LANGUAGES
There are two kinds of LLS the direct and indirect ones. The direct strategies, memory,
cognitive and compensation are the ones that can be developed specifically into the
learning process to help students because they are connected with specific process that
are developed during the learning of a new language.
Furthermore, the indirect strategies are the ones that can be applied to any kind of
learning process, and that contribute indirectly of the learning process of a second or
foreign language.

They are divided into three main subcategories: Metacognitive

Strategies which are mainly related with the awareness of the students own strategies
of learning. According to Purpura (1997) Metacognitive strategy is a term used in
information-processing theory to indicate an executive function, strategies that involve
planning for learning, thinking about the learning process as it is taking place,
monitoring of ones production or comprehension, and evaluating learning after and
activity is completed.

Language is a form of social behavior, it is communication, and communication occurs

between among people. Learning a language thus involves other people, and
appropriate social strategies are very important in this process. Three sets of social
strategies each set comprising two specific strategies, which are: Asking Questions,
Cooperation with Others, and Empathizing with Others.
In addition, there is another type of strategies, which are called Direct Strategies. This
type of strategies is divided in three more types which are memory, cognitive and
compensation.
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According to the British council, Cognitive Strategies are the type of learning strategy
that learners use in order to learn more successfully. These include repetition,
organizing new language, summarizing meaning, guessing meaning from context, using
imagery for memorization. Brown (2000) points out that Cognitive Strategies are more
limited to specific learning tasks and involve more direct manipulation of the learning
material itself.

LLS IN TEACHING LANGUAGES

Language Learning Strategy
Specific actions, behaviors, steps, or techniques that students (often intentionally) use
to improve their progress in developing L2 skills. These strategies can facilitate the
internalization, storage, retrieval, or use of the new language. Strategies are tools for
the self-directed involvement necessary for developing communicative ability (Oxford,
1992/1993, p. 18). Language Learning Strategies are very useful in developing the
abilities involved in learning a second language process and their use is fundamental in
the development of communicative abilities.
ROLE OF LLS IN TEACHING AND LEARNING EFL
For teachers who are focused in helping to develop their students communicative
competence and language learning, an understanding of LLS is needed. As Oxford
(1990a) puts it, LLS "...are especially important for language learning because they are
tools for active, self-directed involvement, which is essential for developing
communicative competence" (p. 1).
Moreover, in order to develop students communicative competence, LLS are important
because training students to use LLS encourage them to improve their proficiency and
become better language learners.
It is important to point out that LLS are interconnected, both direct and indirect, and also
the support they can provide one to the other.
All of the concepts presented before are the ones that provide the net in which based
the information identify in the interview.

LEARNERS BACKGROUND
The learner is 20 years old; he is a first year student of English Pedagogy at Catlica de
la Santsima Concepcin University. The interviewee is from San Pedro de la Paz,
which is a place located in Concepcin city, in the 8th region. The participant had her
first formal instruction on English in fifth year of elementary Carlos Mahns Choupay
School, which is located in Tom city. The student attended that school along three
years, then at first year of high school he attended the Andalien A:32 high school,
which is located in Concepcion. He had France as a foreign language classes in first,
second and third year of high school and in fourth year, he had English as a foreign
language classes again. It is important to point out that the interviewee had never been
abroad.
WRITTEN OR ORAL DIAGNOSE TEST/TASK
INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT
What do you think about the Chilean Educational movement, do you agree or disagree
and why?
-

I think that Chilean educational movement is a good thing, for all of us all the
chilean students and in general all the Chilean people, they are trying to change
the education for the best , and I agree with them because I really believe, I really
think that we need a change education.
What were your motivations to started studying to become a teacher?
-

Because I have always think that teachers have the power to change minds and
(...) for the best they have the power to improve the (..) to change not to
improve the ability of their students if a child doesn't like their teacher.
How do you think you can contribute to society by being a teacher?
-

I personally believe I can contribute to society motivating the students students

to study and improve their abilities and their skills to became a successful person
and professional in the future.

How important is the class environment for the development of a class?

-

Class environment is very important for the development (..) development of

class , because if there is a lot of noise students can't hear very well , especially
in english classes (...) ammmm one students don't considerate .. concentrate.
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When students don't.. does not. concentrate they start to talk between them and
no one 't pay attention to the class , so.
Do you considerer that teachers are agents of change? And why?
-

Yes I believe that teachers are agents of change because we have the power to
like I said to improve the skills of our students to become a successful persons
and we've got the power to teach them vowels .. no .. values . to be a .. to be
good persons and to teach them we have the power to teach them how to be
kind and friandly with others.

Is there anything that you would like to talk about to finish with, about your university
experience, as a freshmen or something?
-

Yeah, my experence has been very very good.. and very exciting cause I have
met new people .. and has been a little of , a little bit repetitive because i
already started studied something else two years ago , so the experience doesn't
was doest were.. not does was new for me , but yeah has been very exciting.

ANALYSIS AND ASSESSMENT

Scoring Instrument
Category

Grammar

Pronunciation/

Needs
Improvement
1pt
Students speech
was difficult to
understand and
had a hard time
communicating
their ideas and
responses
because of
grammar
elementary
mistakes, which
unable him to
express his
opinions.

Satisfactory
2 pts

Good
3pts

Excellent
4pts

Student was
able to express
their ideas and
responses
adequately but
often displayed
inconsistencies
with their
sentence
structure and
tenses.

Student was
able to
express their
ideas and
responses
easily in
proper
sentence
structure and
tenses.

Student was

Student was

Student was
able to
express their
ideas and
responses
fairly well but
makes
mistakes with
their tenses,
however is
able to correct
themselves,
and express
his ideas and
opinions.
Pronunciation,

Pronunciation
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Stress
/Intonation

difficult to
understand, quiet
in speaking,
unclear in
pronunciation,
stress and flat
intonation.

Vocabulary

Student had
inadequate
vocabulary words
to express his/her
ideas properly,
which hindered
the students in
responding.

Comprehension Student had

difficulty
understanding the
questions and
topics that were
being discussed.

Fluency

TOTAL

Speech is very
slow, stumbling,
nervous, and
uncertain with
response, except
for short or
memorized
expressions.
Difficult for a
listener to
understand
11 pts

slightly unclear
with
pronunciation
at times, but
generally is fair
in stress and
intonation with
slightly
variations.
Student was
able to use
broad
vocabulary
words but was
lacking,
making
him/her
repetitive and
cannot expand
on his/her
ideas.
Student fairly
grasped some
of the
questions and
topics that
were being
discussed.

stress and
intonation was
good and did
not interfere
with
communication
of ideas and
personal
opinions.
Student
utilized the
words learned
in class, in an
accurate
manner for the
situation given.

was very
clear and
easy to
understand.
Stress was
clear

Student was
able to
comprehend
and respond to
most of the
questions and
topics that
were being
discussed.

Speech is slow
and often
hesitant and
irregular.
Sentences
may be left
uncompleted,
but the student
is able to
continue.

Speech is
mostly smooth
but with some
hesitation and
unevenness
caused
primarily by
rephrasing and
groping for
words.

Student was
able to
comprehend
and respond
to all of the
questions
and the
topics that
were being
discussed
with ease.
Speech is
effortless and
smooth with
speed that
comes close
to that of a
native

Rich, precise
and
impressive
usage of
vocabulary
words
learned in
and beyond
of class.

GENERAL ANALYSIS
In this part of our language learner profile, students needs will be analyzed in a general
way, according to the interview that was applied as a diagnose in order to identify
interviewees biggest needs.
First, according to the rubric applied, we were able to identify some grammar issues that
make a little bit difficult to understand the message, an example of this is pointed out in
this extract of the interview
- so the experience doesn't was doesnt were.. not does was new for me , but yeah
has been very exciting.
Here we can notice that the student is not able to use and differentiate correctly the
structures of don't and does not in a fluent way, which shows a low level of
management.
In addition, another thing that we were able to notice is that the student seems to be a
little bit redundant at times, which can be explained because of a lack of vocabulary in
which based his ideas.

The most relevant mistakes that we were able to identify were the ones related with
pronunciation. These mistakes were consistent and very frequent during the interview;
there were words that seem to sound like different ones. A clear example of this was the
use of student which the interviewee pronounced /stdnt/ and the actual
pronunciation is /stjudnt/
- I personally believe I can contribute to society motivating the students
students to study and improve their abilities and their skills to became a
successful person and professional in the future.-
Another example of recurrent pronunciation issues is with the word experience which
the interviewee pronounced /eksprins/ and the actual pronunciation is /ikspirins/

Yeah , my experence has been very very good.. and very exciting cause I
have met new people .. -

Fluency, intonation and stress was a major issue also , because the speech does not
sound fluent at times, and this can be notice in most parts of the interview. The
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intonation and stress was also affected because you can immediately notice that the
statement tend to have a rising intonation because of the lack of confident, which makes
them sound like questions instead of statements. This issues can be solve with practice
and increasing the listening input.
PROPOSAL
During the analysis we were able to identify the learner's linguistic needs, which we
classified related with grammar use of tenses and misuse of prepositions and problems
of fluency. The fluency and pronunciation issues that are mainly caused for the lack of
exposure to the language, can be fixed for example by listening podcasts every,
basically by increasing the input of the second language English, because as we know
we acquire speaking through Listening, Imitation and Immersion, as the immersion in
the present context of the learner is not possible, we propose to improve the different
English sources through listening in order to encourage the imitation of the learner, and
the development of the right pronunciation.

Related with the problems of grammar, the only way to learn about tenses in English is
by memorizing and practicing them; once the structure is understood practice it again
and again in order to acquire it. Another strategy is through reading, because as we
read we embrace the language on an unconscious way. The proposal for our
interviewee will be to basically improve his input through listening and reading, in order
to increase his vocabulary, grammar, pronunciation and fluency, and to be able to show
these improvements through his productive skills or output, speaking and writing

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Learning Strategies Lesson Plan

CONTENT AREA: Phonetics and Phonology
LEVEL: Pre-Intermediate
TOPIC: Pronunciation
AIM: Improve pronunciation and correct mistakes made by focusing on the
pronunciation of specific phonemes.
LANGUAGE OBJECTIVE: By the end of the lesson the student will be
able to express his opinions about personal interest topics clearly and
distinctively
COMMUNICATION TASK:
Pronounce correctly and distinctively specific English sounds, in order to
improve student speech.
Make the student able to be well comprehended.
LINGUISTIC CONTENT: Pronounce correctly English sounds as (//, /e/,
/^/), that interferes with speech comprehension.

ACTIVITY: Make the student record himself in order to make him aware of
his own pronunciation mistakes.
STRATEGY OBJETIVE: By the end of the lesson, the student will be able
to apply the strategy of Evaluate Yourself for checking his own
pronunciation of the words that he usually mispronounces.

PREPARATION:
Teacher gives a brief introduction about what a strategy is.
Teacher asks the student to reflex about what they do to improve his speaking
ability, by answering a questionnaire with the following questions:
o What do you do when people dont understand what you are trying to say?
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Do you try to understand every word or just the general idea in a listening
activity?
o Do you get stuck while speaking if you do not how to pronounce a word?
o Do you check phonetic transcription when youd not know how to
pronounce a word?
The student expresses their thoughts according to the questionnaire activity.
o

PRESENTANTION:
-

Teacher provides students with the explanation of the strategy that they are
going to use in order to improve student speaking ability, which is Evaluate
Yourself.
During the speaking activities teacher takes notes on the board about the most
common mistakes make by the student.
Teacher models how to use the strategy after speaking activity by showing
students the figure 4.4 (adapted from Chamots Learning Strategies Handbook,
page 61) and asks the student to evaluate himself.
Teacher shows student how to evaluate, through asking him how well they think
that it was his performance in the speaking activity, which were his mistakes and
how can he improve them.
Teacher describes when, how and why Evaluate Yourself is a good strategy to
improve pronunciation.

PRACTICE:
Teacher provides examples in which evaluation can be used.
Teacher gives student a vocabulary list that will be used in a recording activity.
Teacher gives students a checklist which is going to be used after finishes the
activity.
The student pays attention to the mistakes made in the recording in order to
evaluate his own performance in class, according to the checklist give.

EVALUATION:
Teacher asks the student to reflex about the effectiveness of the strategy.
Teacher presents the advantages of using this strategy in order to improve
pronunciation mistakes.
Teacher asks the student to compare their performance before using the strategy
and after to use it.

EXPANSION:
The student creates a brainstorming about possible uses of the strategy.
Teacher asks the student to give his opinion about the usefulness and
effectiveness of the strategy to improve speaking.

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 Teacher makes an advantage list of the use of strategies in general and the use
of the Evaluation Strategy in order to summarize the class.
Required Materials

Questionnaire A
What do you do when people dont understand what you are trying to say?
Do you try to understand every word or just the general idea in a listening
activity?
Do you get stuck while speaking if you do not how to pronounce a word?
Do you check phonetic transcription when youd not know how to
pronounce a word?

Vocabulary List:
1.-Cat
2.-Cut
3.-Stump
4.- Cup
5.- Matter
6.- Bat
7.- Shall
8.- Paddle
9.- Gnat
10.- Mat
11.-Bet
12.-Debt
13.-Never
14.-Shell
15.-Head
16.-Man
17.-Gull
18.-Bud
19.-Pedal
20.-Dead

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 Figure 4.4 (adapted from Chamots Learning Strategies Handbook, page 61)

Note: This survey is going to be adapted to speaking.

The instructions are in the figure.

14

 Figure 7.2 (adapted Chamots Learning Strategies Handbook 121)

Note: This checklist is going to be adapted to speaking.

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References
Brown. D, (2000). Principles of Language Learning and Teaching. 4th ed. New York:
Addison Wesley Longman . Inc .
British Council. (s.f.). Teaching English. Retrieved in November the 6th of 2014, from
http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/knowledge-database/cognitive-strategies

Chamot. A, Barnhardt. S, Beard. P, Robbins. J (1999). The Learning Strategies

Handbook. New York: Addison Wesley Longman, Inc.
Larsen- Freeman D., (2010). Teaching and Principles in Language teaching . 2nd ed.
New York: Oxford University Press.
Oxford. R, (1990). Language Learning Strategies . 1st ed. Boston, United States: Heinle
& Heile Publisher .

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