PROFILE

Issues in Teachers Professional Development

FACULT FACULTAD DE CIENCIAS HUMANAS DEPAR ART DEPARTAMENTO DE LENGUAS EXTRANJERAS UNIVERSIDAD NACIONAL DE COLOMBIA Rector Dean of the Human Sciences Faculty Head of the Foreign Languages Department Marco Palacios Rozo Germn Melndez Acua Norma Chavarro Casas

PROFILE
Issues in Teachers Professional Development

Editor Melba Libia Crdenas Beltrn, Universidad Nacional de Colombia Assistant to the Editor Garzn, Xatl Zuleta Garzn Universidad Nacional de Colombia Editorial Advisory Board Kathy G. Short, Ph D, University of Arizona, U.S.A. Clelia Pineda Bez, Ph D, Universidad Externado de Colombia Jess Alirio Bastidas, Ph D, Universidad de Nario, Colombia Carmen Cceda Crdova, UTSA, University of Texas at San Antonio, U.S.A. Alex Poole, Ph D. Western Kentucky University, U.S.A. Amparo Clavijo, Ph D, Rosemary Rosemar y C.C. Douglas, Ph D, University of Edinburgh, U.K. Leyla Mara Rojas, Universidad Nacional de Colombia Juana Mahissa Reyes, Universidad Nacional de Colombia Vera, Esperanza Vera,

Universidad Distrital, Colombia Adriana Gonzlez, Ph D. Universidad de Antioquia, Colombia Rosalba Crdenas, Universidad del Valle, Colombia
Editorial Committee Mara Claudia Nieto, Universidad Nacional de Colombia

Universidad Pedaggica Nacional, Colombia Claudia Helena Lombana, Universidad Nacional de Colombia Review Editors Gordon Alexander xander, R andall Barfield, Neil Gordon Alexander, Alitia Best and Spencer. Nicholas Spencer.

Universidad Nacional de Colombia

This publication is registered in Ulrichs periodicals directory Cover Design Julin Ricardo Hernndez R. Printing Unidad de Publicaciones, Facultad de Ciencias Humanas Design Nadeyda Surez M. Unidad de Publicaciones, Facultad de Ciencias Humanas

Please send all correspondence to the journal editor: Departamento de Lenguas Extranjeras - Universidad Nacional de Colombia. Ciudad Universitaria, Bogot Phone/Fax: (1) 3165000 Ext. 16773 / 16774 / 16780 e-mail: mlcardenasb@unal.edu.co
All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission.

Number 5 2004
CONTENTS
5 5 Editorial Introduction ISSUES FROM TEACHER RESEARCHERS 7 Implicit and Explicit Teaching of Grammar: An Empirical Study Edgar Mendoza Lpez

ISSN 1657-0790

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23 Teacher Correction versus Peer-Marking Mariana Correia Mourente Miguel

29 Interactive Communicative Teaching and the Young Indian Learner Deepti Gupta 37 Elementary English Language Instruction: Colombian Teachers Classroom Practices Isabel Cristina Cadavid Mnera, Mara Mcnulty and Diana Isabel Quincha Ortiz

Issues in Teachers English Component of the 2002 Entrance Examination of the Federal University of Professional Development 56 The
Amazonas: An Analysis of its Reliability and Validity Nilton Hitotuzi 83 Reading Aloud Activities as a Way to Determine Students Narrative Template Jos Aldemar lvarez Valencia

ISSUES FROM NOVICE TEACHER RESEARCHERS 98 Strategies to Support High School Students Reading Comprehension in the English Language Freddy Oswaldo Zabala Palacio

INNOVA ISSUES BASED ON INNOVATIONS AND REFLECTIONS 110 Ethnography in Foreign Language Teaching Ilona Huszti 117 Developing Plurilinguism in Slovakia: The CLIL Method, A Starting Point Silvia Pokrivckov and Eva Mal 128 Key Aspects for Developing Your Instructional Materials Astrid Nez Pardo, Clelia Pineda Bez and Mara Fernanda Tllez Tllez 140 Curricular Units: Powerful Tools to Connect the Syllabus with Students Needs and Interests Aleida Ariza Ariza 158 The Hidden Curriculum 48 Amparo Onatra and Mireya Pea 162 Is the Hidden Curriculum a Relevant Issue in Educational Processes? Esther Patarroyo, Juan Carlos Daz and Susana Barreto de Quintero 166 Guidelines for Contributors 169 Subscriptions 52

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EDITORIAL INTRODUCTION
There is a lot of writing already published from classroom teachers across the world; many topics have been covered beautifully by teachers in the past. But we wouldnt be encouraging you if we didnt know that most teachers do have something to contribute through writing and publishing.1
It is well-known that research is thought to be valuable if findings are made public. The same could be said of innovations. Publishing our projects allows other researchers and teachers to try to evaluate and replicate them. Thus, we deepen and refine our knowledge about the English language teaching field and the factors that influence it. This is the way professional development takes place. As mentioned above, the main purpose of publishing is sharing knowledge. Researchers report what they have found and other people can examine the results and methods, and even carry out similar studies to confirm the results. If the new studies get different results, the results of both studies can be re-examined to find out the reason for the differences. Errors may be found, or the influence of other variables may be better understood. In this way, knowledge is developed. This journal has as its main goal the dissemination of research and innovations carried out by teachers in the Colombian context. It is a pleasure to see that this attempt is shared by professionals from different parts of the world. As you will see in this number, PROFILE will spread issues in teachers professional development beyond our country. I am very glad to share with you papers sent by contributors from Brazil, India, Slovakia, and the Ukraine as well as from our country, whose contributors have been engaged in carrying out research and innovations in wideranging contexts. This, I am sure, will give us the chance to get in touch with a wider community so that we can examine our thoughts and local teaching conditions and contrast them with what happens elsewhere.
Hubbard, R. S. and Power, B. M. (1999). Living the questions. A guide for teacher researchers. York, Maine: Stenhouse Publishers, p. 183.
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We begin this issue with five reports from teacher researchers. First, we have an empirical study that investigated whether the methodologies of implicit and explicit EFL instruction account for the improvement of university students on a performance test for two grammar topics. Then we find an experiment aimed at assessing the two most widely-used methods of correction for compositions, traditional teacher correction and peer marking, and their effect on the frequency of errors. After that, a case study shows that reforms, in classrooms where English is not the mother tongue and where age-old teaching methodologies are predominant, can be self-defeating if they are imposed without an attempt at a gradual, gentle and well-thought-out implementation. We continue with an ethnographic research project which tells us about the complex task of teaching English to children in public elementary schools in Colombia. This is shown in the analysis of class methodology in terms of activities, materials, and teacher and student roles. Following that, we can read a study of the reliability and validity of the English component of the 2002 Entrance Examination of the Federal University of Amazonas, in Brazil. Afterwards, we can get acquainted with a methodological innovation implemented in a beginners English class at university level in Colombia, which aimed at exploring the role of reading aloud activities in the teaching of English and describing the narrative template students use when retelling a story via writing. The section concerning issues from novice teacher researchers includes a report on a case study carried out by a pre-service teacher when doing his teaching practice in

a public high school in Colombia. It accounts for the students views on English reading comprehension, their handling of strategies to develop reading competence in English, and their progress in the reading comprehension process. The last section of this number includes reflections and innovations concerning ethnography, literacy processes in an adult English class, materials design, and the hidden curriculum. A description of ethnography, the various tasks of the ethnographer, and the values and limitations of this qualitative approach are presented in the first paper. The second article of this part of our publication deals with a Slovakian experience. It refers to the introduction of the CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning) -a newly invented and officially recommended method for the teaching of foreign languages in the European Union. The third article gathers fundamental aspects for the elaboration of materials to support the instructional design component of our English classes. Then, we can read about the framework that guided the design and implementation of a curricular unit for university students. Lastly, we can find some reflections regarding the hidden curriculum and its relevance in educational processes. Once more, we hope that you will find the contents of this number relevant to your teaching context and cordially invite you to consider sharing your reflections, innovations, and research experiences through this publication. Crdenas Melba Libia Crdenas Beltrn Journal Editor

Implicit and Explicit Teaching of Grammar: An Empirical Study *

Enseanza implcita y explcita de la gramtica: Un estudio emprico

Lpez** Edgar Mendoza Lpez Universidad Autnoma de Bucaramanga emendozl@unab.edu.co

This is a report on the experimental phase of a two-stage study on the effects of implicit-explicit grammar instruction regarding EFL students performance. The purpose of this phase was to investigate whether the methodologies of implicit and explicit EFL instruction account for the improvement of university students performance on a test over two grammar topics. Three groups were selected. Students in the implicit language classes had no explicit instruction on these topics which were taught through meaningful and contextualised listening, speaking, reading and writing activities. Students in the explicit language classes were taught the regular course plus additional exercises and drills in order to practise the grammatical features, and a control group was taught the regular course. The results indicate that students in the explicit instruction group achieved significantly higher scores than both the students in the implicit instruction group and the students in the control group on the performance tests. words: Key words: Grammar-Input, Implicit-Grammar, Explicit-Grammar, GrammarTeaching, Quantitative-Research ste es un informe de la fase experimental de un estudio en dos etapas sobre los efectos de la enseanza implcita y explcita de la gramtica en el desempeo de los estudiantes. El propsito de esta etapa era investigar si las metodologas implcita y explcita se relacionaban con el mejoramiento de estudiantes universitarios en una prueba sobre dos temas gramaticales. Se seleccionaron tres grupos: los estudiantes en el grupo de instruccin implcita no tuvieron ninguna instruccin explcita en los dos tpicos que se ensearon a travs de
* Findings reported in this paper are based on the research project Funciones de las conductas orales de los profesores de lenguas en el desarrollo de clases de ingls como lengua extranjera funded by grants from Universidad Autnoma de Bucaramanga-UNAB and the Instituto Colombiano para el Desarrollo de la Ciencia y la Tecnologa-Colciencias, a Colombian research granting institution. ** Edgar Mendoza Lpez Ph.D. (University of Manchester), M.Ed. (Universidad Pontificia Javeriana-Universidad Autnoma Lpez, de Bucaramanga), BA in Languages (Universidad Industrial de Santander). Professor in the school of Education at Universidad Autnoma de Bucaramanga, Bucaramanga, Colombia.

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actividades significativas y contextualizadas en escucha, habla, lectura y escritura. El grupo de instruccin explcita tom el curso regular ofrecido por la institucin ms actividades y ejercicios extras con el propsito de practicar los temas gramaticales enseados; y el grupo de control tom nicamente el curso regular. Los resultados indican que los estudiantes en el grupo de enseanza explcita lograron resultados significativamente ms altos que los estudiantes en el grupo de enseanza implcita y que los estudiantes del grupo de control. Palabras claves: Input-Gramatical, Gramtica-Implcita, GramticaExplcita, Enseanza-Gramtica, Investigacin-Cuantitativa

INTRODUCTION Grammar has been and is at the core of the teaching of English as a foreign language (EFL) and the way it is taught depends on the methodologies and approaches teachers make use of. There is perhaps no subject more hotly debated by language teachers than the place of grammar in language teaching; it has been in and out as the trend of fashion has fluctuated back and forth. Some second or foreign language professionals do not consider grammar to be an important element in second or foreign language learning or teaching. They believe that grammar can be learned holistically through context without explicit instruction in grammar. Krashen (1992: 410) claims that the effect of grammar is peripheral and fragile and that direct instruction on specific rules has a measurable impact on tests that focus the performer on form, but the effect is short-lived. Others believe that grammar is the only substance in second or foreign language teaching. They would equate language learning and teaching with grammar.

Learning a foreign or second language is learning the grammar of that language. The traditional grammar-translation method is a typical example. If you can translate the target language according to its grammar into your own language, you are learning that language. But there is a consensus that grammar input given by teachers to learners could influence L2 acquisition. The counterpart notion concerning the learner is that those learners who initiate interactions will derive more benefit from the input than if they are exposed to the input in a more indirect manner. Furthermore, grammar input not only can be explicit or implicit but also needs to be comprehensible. Comprehensible input is a term popularised by Krashen. It refers to the fact that not all the target language to which foreign language learners are exposed is understandable: Only some of the language they hear makes sense to them. Input to the learners is the result of unplanned factors as well as the planned implementation of the syllabus. Research theory and practical experience all point to the fact that input is crucial to language

learning. Input refers to the language which the learners hear (or read) -that is, the language samples to which they are exposed. Conceiving second language acquisition without input in some way or other is impossible. Models of language acquisition differ in the type of input which is regarded as most facilitative to second language development. On the one hand, induction models (Krashen, 1985) see acquisition as a result of informal, message-focused input and bring into prominence the role of implicit acquisition of a second language. On the other hand, instructional models (Ellis, 1990) emphasise the role of explicit acquisition and therefore formal instruction as an important part in second language acquisition. Implicit and explicit acquisition, as McLaughlin (1990) has indicated, are controversial constructs in the theoretical study of foreign language (FL) teaching and learning, as are other terms such as conscious, unconscious, incidental, intentional, deductive, and inductive, mainly because they refer to language learning strategies and mental operations that cannot easily be identified. Implicit acquisition of grammatical structures is a language learning process in which grammatical principles and lexical understanding are acquired by the language learner through experience with the second language (Krashen, 1981). A number of premises underlie the instructional strategy of implicit language acquisition of which the following three are

the most frequently cited. First, according to Winitz and Reeds (1975), thorough, accurate and comprehensive knowledge of grammatical principles is achieved best through implicit language acquisition. This claim is made because the grammatical rules in introductory FL textbooks are regarded as incomplete and inaccurate as well as their use as comprehensive statements regarding the linguistic knowledge a speaker must know in order to speak a foreign language. These limited sets of rules contain only a small number of the large number of grammatical rules that linguistic research has uncovered. Second, the grammatical principles of an FL require knowledge of semantics and pragmatics. Textbook descriptions of grammatical rules are primarily restricted to statements of syntax and morphology. The grammars of semantics and pragmatics are usually limited in scope and respectively provide the basis for the interpretation of sentences and for the understanding of discourse principles. Nonetheless, there is support for the position that semantics and pragmatics can be acquired through experience with L2, generally in the context of communicative situations (Loveday, 1982). Third, psycholinguistic investigation has indicated that language acquisition involves the use of lexico-grammatical strategies that do not directly correspond to the grammatical principles of a language (Taylor and Taylor, 1990). These strategies are presumably put into operation by language learners without their conscious awareness and without an explicit understanding of when and under what circumstances they are used.

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Over the past two decades there has been an open discussion about the role of teaching grammar and the main focus of L2 instructional research has shifted from whether or not instruction makes a difference to what types of instruction are most effective for fostering second or foreign language learning in formal contexts. The debate has led to theoretical issues such as how grammar should be taught: implicit or explicit grammar (called by Scott (1989) implicit exemplification and explicit explanation respectively). McDermott (1999: 32) points out that implicit teaching is not or at least should not be the opposite of implicit learning. The teacher should know what s/he is doing and why, and s/he should remember what s/he did so s/he can either repeat or avoid it the next time. Implicit teaching is simply providing opportunities for language use without any attention to form. In relation to explicit teaching, he states that it is teaching that overtly points out some feature of the language. In DeKeysers words (1994: 188), implicit teaching of grammar means that no rules are formulated; explicit means rules are formulated (either by the teacher or the student, either before or after examples/practice). It is worth noting that, according to Ellis (1997: 84), explicit and implicit instructions are not to be confused with explicit and implicit learning. On the contrary, explicit and implicit instruction means it involves intentional learning on the part of learners they are aware they are learning grammar. Consequently, both explicit and implicit instruction imply explicit learning while implicit learning ascribes to

learning that takes place without intention and, possibly, without awareness. On the one hand, support of the implicit method of grammar instruction has been made on the basis that the development of the grammar competency needed to communicate effectively from exposure to comprehensible, meaningful linguistic input- is done naturally. Krashens distinction between learning (a conscious process) and acquisition (a subconscious process) provides the basis for his theory of implicit teaching strategies. He states that second language acquisition can take place in the classroom without any explicit study of grammar if the students are exposed to enough comprehensible input and adds that the conscious study of grammar does not aid in the natural acquisition process (Scott, 1989, p. 14). Winitz (1996) conducted a study to investigate whether the methodologies of implicit and explicit language instruction make a difference in the identification of grammatically well-formed sentences. One hundred and thirty-nine college students enrolled in the first semester of college Spanish at a university in the U.S.A. participated in the study. The subjects were divided into two groups: the implicit instructional group and the explicit instructional group. The former, comprised of 67 students, was taught the comprehension of Spanish sentences through the use of pictures, gestures, context-based materials and Total Physical Response activities; the latter, with 72 students, was instructed in the grammartranslation approach wherein explicit

statements of the rules of grammar were taught. The data analysis was based on a grammaticality judgement test administered in the final week of the first semester of the course and on the students high school experience in Spanish. Overall, the results show that students in the implicit instruction group achieved significantly higher average scores than students in the explicit instruction group on this test. Also, it was found that students in the implicit group who had had high school Spanish did better on the test. Krashen (1999) reviews some studies (Master, 1994; Leeman et al., 1995; Robinson, 1995, 1997; De Graff, 1997; Manley and Calk, 1997) claiming to show an effect for grammar and that grammar study is good for students. He raises some objections to these studies on the impact of formal instruction. Firstly, all the subjects were experienced ESL learners such as intermediate or advanced foreign language university students. Secondly, some implicit groups doubtfully had an acquisition-rich environment during their instruction and some others were focused on form. Finally, subjects were focused on form on all tests. He concludes that these studies consistently show that more instruction result in, at best, modest increases in consciously-learned competence (p. 245) and that predictably, more focus on form and more information presented about rules result in more conscious learning. On the other hand, there is also support for the explicit method of grammar instruction as Ellis (1994, 1997) has pointed out. He states that grammar

teaching is more than providing learners with opportunities to produce target structure, initially under controlled conditions, and, then, increasingly in free or communicative activities (Ellis, 1993, p. 69). Scotts (1989) study compares implicit and explicit grammar teaching strategies with thirty-four advanced French conversation learners studying French as a foreign language at a university in the U.S.A. The class of students was divided into two groups and both groups were exposed to both implicit and explicit teaching conditions of two target structures, relative pronouns and subjunctive both form and usage. The students taught through the explicit method heard rules and example sentences of relative pronouns while the students taught through the implicit method heard a story which contained the same grammar structure present in the text naturally and frequently, and heard ten times more examples than the explicit grammar group. For the second target structure, subjunctive, the group taught under the implicit condition was taught this time under explicit conditions, and vice versa. All the students in both groups were given a written and oral pre-test and post-test covering the relative pronouns or the subjunctive. Overall, the results show that the students under the explicit teaching condition performed better than the implicit teaching condition group. On the written section of the test, the students under the explicit teaching condition performed better than the ones under the implicit method, t(33) = 1.74, p<.05. However, on the oral section of the test there was no significant difference in performance; the students performed

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equally well under both conditions, t(33) = 1.05, p>.05. Scott herself explains that the differences between the written and oral performance are related to the students concentration in both the implicit and the explicit teaching conditions. Students under the implicit method concentrated more on the content of the message they heard while the students under the explicit one concentrated on the form. However, she adds that the students will focus their attention on content of the message they hear regardless of whether it is a story or grammar rules. Scott (1990) replicated her experiment described above but, in order to provide new empirical data, some changes were implemented. Thirty-four advanced students of French as a foreign language at the same university in the U.S.A. were divided into two groups and were taught two target grammar structures, relative pronouns and subjunctive. As was done in the former experiment, both groups were exposed to implicit and explicit teaching conditions. During the first part of the experiment, one group was exposed to the implicit teaching condition and the other group to the explicit one; and for the second part, the former was exposed to the explicit teaching condition and the latter to the implicit one. Two changes in both the teaching and testing procedures were made. The change in teaching procedure involved telling the implicit method group that they were hearing grammar structures in context episodes full of relative pronouns for the first part of the experiment and episodes using plenty of subjunctive structures for the second part of the experiment. The change in testing

procedure involved eliminating the oral exam in both the pre-test and the post-test (for the difference between the pre-test and the post-test was not significant in Scotts first experiment) and incorporating both convergent and divergent items such as multiple choice, completion exercises and open-ended questions. The results of this study show almost identical results to Scotts first experiment, and demonstrate that when explicit teaching of grammar is used in the classroom, students performance is significantly better. Scott (1990: 785) points out that these data also provide basis for continuing to develop explicit grammar teaching which are creative and efficient and which prepare students. Similar results to the above are shown by DeKeysers (1994) exploratory study under laboratory conditions which aimed at clarifying the role of explicit teaching of different kinds of rules. He tried out three hypotheses on six FL undergraduate learners, three for the explicit and three for the implicit conditions who were administered a judgement and a production test. The results show that the first hypothesis (prototypes are harder to learn than categorical rules) was supported by two of the explicit subjects; and for the other ones, there was no difference between prototypical and categorical rules. The second hypothesis (and the most significant piece of evidence for the present study in which explicit learning is better than implicit learning for categorical rules) was fully confirmed: The three subjects in the explicit teaching condition did significantly better than the implicit group. And the third hypothesis (implicit learning is at least as good as explicit for prototypical rules) was

confirmed; however, all subjects performed poorly on the prototypes. In general, the study supports the idea that learners do better when grammar is taught under explicit conditions. Due to the bias and limitations of this pilot study, DeKeyser (1995) conducted a full-scale study with 61 college students, in which feedback was given during the learning sessions in order to increase students performance. Moreover, explicit knowledge of grammar was formally tested. Overall, the results show that explicitdeductive learning was more effective than implicit-inductive learning for the acquisition of categorical rules. Green and Hecht (1992) refer to one of their former studies where they looked at the grammatical competence and performance of learners and native speakers of English. The results show that FL learners achieved a good level of competence understood as the degree of accuracy achieved by learners when their attention was focused on form and that they did better than the group of native speakers, while their performance the degree of accuracy achieved when the focus was on the transmission of meaning was not as good as the native speaker group. For their current investigation, Green and Hecht (1992) replicated their former study but, realising the German learners of English as a foreign language were bringing conscious rules into play, they also looked at the rules themselves and not only at the products of them, by asking learners to make explicit the rules they were using or thought they were using. The results show that in 96 per cent of the possible cases, the native speakers of English produced the correction anticipated, as was expected. In relation to

one of the expectations of Green and Hechts study, native speakers are worse at rules than FL learners. It was found that the former were less successful at formulating rules (42 per cent) than the latter (46 per cent), though not strikingly so. However, despite the slight difference, this piece of evidence lends support to the idea that explicit grammar does help FL learners. Norris and Ortega (2000), in their research synthesis and quantitative metaanalysis on the effectiveness of L2 instruction of 77 experimental and quasi-experimental study report publications published between 1980 and 1998, found that explicit types of instruction are more effective than implicit types. In conclusion, research provides ground to the voices who advocates either the implicit or the explicit instruction of grammar. There is no debate as to whether or not it is necessary to teach grammar but how it should be taught. There is not only enough evidence which supports either the implicit or the explicit teaching of grammar, but also enough scholars who advocate both as the most effective way of enhancing and improving FL learning. METHOD Teachers and Subjects Prior to the semester course work, two teachers from the department of languages at Universidad Autnoma de Bucaramanga, Colombia, with an experience of about 15 years in EFL teaching, decided to use the implicit and the explicit system of instruction

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in their regular courses. These instructors, who were non-native English speakers and held a bachelors degree in language teaching (Spanish, English, and French) and an M. Ed., also took part in the planning of the activities and the designing of the class materials and tests for the experiment. Sixty-six students aged 18 to 20 from three intermediate EFL classes during the second semester of 2003 took part in the experiment. The course is available to students who have completed two previous courses beginners and pre-intermediate. arget Target Structures Two target structures were chosen for their level of difficulty as well as for their difference: If-Clauses: Real Conditions and Past Simple -Past Continuous, both form and usage. Procedure Three groups of students in preintermediate EFL classes were taught by a different instructor. Each group was taught three sessions of two hours each for each one of the two target structures. The second structure was taught four weeks after the first one. The students involved in the research were not aware of the nature of the experiment. There was a pre-test (Appendix 1) and a post-test (Appendix 2) for each target structure. All the students in the three groups were given the same pre-test before the teaching of each target structure. Following the intervention, the students were given the same post-test.

One group, 24 students total, was exposed to an implicit teaching methodology during the teaching of both structures. The course content consisted of material specially designed for this experiment by the researcher and the two teachers in charge of the implicit and the explicit instruction groups. The target structures were taught through meaningful and contextualised listening, speaking, reading and writing activities. No explanation of or reference to the structure was made. The students were given the pretest and the post-test on each structure. The second group, 22 students in all, was exposed to an explicit teaching methodology during the teaching of both structures. The course content consisted of the current textbook selected by the language department at the university for the regular courses. Both the students book and the workbook were used for the teaching of each of the target structures. Additional exercises and drills on the structures were given to the students in class in order to practise them. The students were also given the pretest and post-test on each structure. The third group, 20 students, was the control group. The students in this class were taught the regular course at this university. The course content consisted of the current textbook selected for the courses by the language department. Both the students book and the workbook were used for the teaching of each of the target structures. No additional exercises or drills were given to the students. The students were also given the pre-test and the post-

test on each structure. The instructor of this group did not take part either in the planning or the designing of the study and the material used for the implicit and the explicit conditions. She was informed of the experiment and asked to participate as the control group instructor. FINDINGS Un-paired, two-tailed t-tests were used to compare the mean gain scores of the three groups for the If-Clauses: Real Conditions and Past Simple -Past Continuous under the implicit, the explicit, and the control conditions.

Table 1 shows the raw score and gain score means for the If-Clauses: Real Conditions section of the experiment. The results of a two-tailed test show a statistically significant difference in performance of the three groups: The group under the explicit teaching condition performed better than both the group under the implicit teaching condition t=2.8, p<.05 and the control group t= 2.7, p<.05. The group under the implicit teaching condition did not perform better than the control group. Pre-test, post-test and gain score means for subjects on If-Clauses: Real Conditions tests under implicit, explicit, and control conditions: Gain Imp. exp. contr. .14 1.2 .13

Imp 2.5

Pre-test exp. contr. 2.5 2.7

Post-test Imp. exp. contr. 2.7 3.7 2.8

Table 1. Pre-test, post-test and gain score means for subjects on If-Clauses: Real Conditions Tests Table 2 shows the raw score and gain score means for the Past Simple -Past Continuous section of the experiment. The results of a two-tailed do not show a statistically significant difference in performance of the three groups, being p>.05. Only the group under explicit teaching condition did better than the group under the implicit teaching condition at the 0.1 level, t= 1.6, p<.1. Pre-test, post-test and gain score means for subjects on Past Simple -Past Continuous tests under implicit, explicit, and control conditions:

Imp 3.1

Pre-test exp. contr. 2.6 2.6

Post-test Imp. exp. contr. 3.1 3.4 3.2

Gain Imp. exp. contr. -.06 .77 .65

Table 2. Pre-test, post-test and gain score means for subjects on Past Simple - Past Continuous Tests

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CONCLUSION CONCLUSION The purpose of the experimental stage of this study was to investigate whether the methodologies of implicit and explicit language instruction account for the improvement of university students on a performance test on two grammar topics. Overall, the findings indicate that at the end of the experiment, students in the explicit instruction group achieved significantly higher average scores than both the students in the implicit instruction group and the students in the control group on the performance tests. This demonstrates that when teachers use explicit grammar teaching strategies in the classroom, the students performance is significantly better. The difference in grammar teaching instruction has theoretical and practical implications. First, the difference in performance among the three groups provides indirect evidence that language instructional procedures of the implicit and explicit instruction result in the use of different language processes. Second, the better performance of the students in the explicit instruction group suggests that explicit instructional strategies are very important in the development of foreign language educational programmes. Also, these results support the value of explicit grammar instruction and suggest that the role of explicit grammar teaching strategies in the classroom has to be re-considered and re-defined. In relation to the Colombian EFL context, grammar teaching still remains a debate. Also, there are many issues for teachers to consider in an attempt to render the

teaching of grammar both more learnercentred and more effective, not least their own role in the choice, modification and pacing of tasks. Teachers should retain an eclectic and open-minded approach, whereby, with a degree of experimentation and sensitivity to and close vigilance of their students, they can attempt to create the best possible conditions in which accuracy and fluency of language use can be developed simultaneously and complimentarily. Further study is needed in order to value the overall effectiveness of explicit instruction in the long term and to determine which kind of linguistic structures are more suitable to be taught under explicit or implicit conditions. REFERENCES
De Graff, R. (1997). The eXperanto experiment: Effects of explicit instruction on second language acquisition. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 19, 249-276. DeKeyser, R. (1994). Implicit and explicit learning of L2 grammar: A pilot study. TESOL Quarterly, 28: 1, 188-194. DeKeyser, R. (1995). Learning second language grammar rules: An experiment with a miniature linguistic system. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 17: 3, 379-410. Ellis, R. (1990). Instructed second language acquisition. Oxford: Blackwell. Ellis, R. (1993). Interpretation-based grammar teaching. System, 21: 1, 69-78. Ellis, R. (1994). The study of second language acquisition. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Ellis, R. (1997). SLA research and language teaching. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Green, P S. and Hecht, K. (1992). Implicit . and explicit grammar: An empirical study. Applied Linguistics, 13: 2, 168-184. Krashen, S. D. (1981). Second language acquisition and second language learning. Oxford, England: Pergamon. Krashen, S. D. (1985). The input hypothesis: Issues and implications. London: Longman. Krashen, S. D. (1992). Under what conditions, if any, should formal grammar instruction take place? TESOL Quarterly, 26, 409-411. Krashen, S. D. (1999). Seeking a role for grammar: A review of some recent studies. Foreign Language Annals, 32: 2, 245-257. Leeman, J., Aregagoitia, I., Fridman, D., and Doughty, C. (1995). Integrating attention to form with meaning: Focus on form in content-based Spanish instruction. In R. Schmidt (Ed.). Attention and awareness in foreign language learning. Hawaii: University of Hawaii Press, 217-258. Loveday, L. (1982). The sociolinguistics of learning and using a non-native language. Oxford, England: Pergamon. Manley, J. and Calk, L. (1997). Grammar instruction for writing skills: Do students perceive grammar as useful? Foreign Language Annals, 30, 73-81. Master, P (1994). The effect of systematic . instruction on learning the English article system. In T. Odlin (Ed.). Perspectives on pedagogical

grammar . (pp. 229-252). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

McDermott, J. E. (1999). Implicit and explicit learning of languages. Dialog on Language Instruction, 13, 27-44. McLaughlin, B. (1990). Conscious and unconscious learning. TESOL Quarterly, 24, 617-634. Norris, J. M. and Ortega, L. (2000). Effectiveness of L2 instruction: A research synthesis and quantitative meta-analysis . Language Learning, 50: 3, 417-528. Robinson, P (1995). Aptitude, awareness, . and the fundamental similarity of implicit and explicit second language learning. In R. Schmidt (Ed.). Attention and awareness in foreign language learning. Hawaii: University of Hawaii Press, 303-357. Robinson, P (1997). Generalizability and . automaticity of second language learning under implicit, incidental, enhanced and instructed conditions. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 19, 223-247. Scott, V. (1989). An empirical study of explicit and implicit teaching strategies in French. The Modern Language Journal, 73: 1, 14-22. Scott, V. (1990). Explicit and implicit grammar teaching strategies: New empirical data. The French Review, 63: 5, 779-789. Taylor, I., and Taylor, M. M. (1990). Psycholinguistics, learning and using language. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall. Winitz, H. and Reeds, J. (1975). Comprehension and problem solving as

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strategies for language training. The Hague, The Netherlands: Mouton.

Winitz, H. (1996). Grammaticality judgment as a function of explicit and implicit instruction

in Spanish. The Modern Language Journal, 80: 1, 32-46.

PRE-TEST APPENDIX 1: PRE-TEST If-Clauses: Real Conditions correct word(s) Choose the correct word(s) to fill in the blank. 1. I _______________ come to the university if I feel better today. a. will be b. might c. am d. was If there _______________ a nuclear war, many people will die. a. be b. is c. will be d. were If a store is out of a sale item, you _______________ get a rain check. a. could have b. would c. were d. can I dont answer the phone if I _______________ in the shower. a. were b. was c. am d. will be _______________ you see a red light, stop. a. Even b. If c. Unless d. Were If you dont do the homework, you _______________ get a good grade. a. wouldnt b. not c. wont d. werent I _______________ my friend if I have some free time tonight. a. call b. will call c. were called d. would call If the weather _______________ nice this weekend, Ill go to the park. a. were b. will be c. is d. would be If you are married, you probably _______________ longer. a. will live b. are live c. would have lived d. would be lived Ill go to the library if the teacher _______________ come tomorrow. a. not b. wouldnt c. doesnt d. werent

2.

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Past Simple - Past Continuous correct word(s) Choose the correct word(s) to fill in the blank. 1. I was watching TV. I heard a knock on the door. When I heard the knock on the door, I _______________ it. a. open b. am opening c. opened d. was opening

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2.

Boris lost his wallet while he _______________ through the park. a. will be jogging b. was jogging c. jog d. were jogging I _______________ TV when Gina called last night. We talked for an hour. a. watch b. watched c. was watching d. am watching Mike was in his bedroom last night. He _______________, so we needed to be quiet. a. is sleeping b. sleeps c. slept d. was sleeping Kate _______________ an accident yesterday. She was standing at the corner where the accident happened. a. saw b. see c. sees d. was seeing Paul broke his arm while he _______________ in the ocean yesterday. a. swim b. was swimming c. were swimming d. was swimming _______________ the telephone ringing? Im sorry but I didnt hear anything. a. do b. did c. were d. was While I _______________ dinner last night, I burned my fingers. a. cooking b. cook c. was cooking d. was cook I _______________ home at 10:00 p.m. My brother was playing his guitar. a. arrived b. will arrive c. was arriving d. arrive My cat jumped on the table while we _______________ dinner. a. eat b. were eating c. ate d. will eat

3.

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POSTAPPENDIX 2: POST-TEST If-Clauses: Real Conditions correct word(s) Choose the correct word(s) to fill in the blank. 1. We _______________ late if you dont hurry. a. will be b. were c. are d. would If I _______________ well tomorrow, Ill stay at home. a. will feel b. didnt feel c. felt d. dont feel Well play tennis if it _______________ tomorrow. a. has rained b. doesnt rain c. will rain

2.

3.

d. has been raining

4.

Im sure theyll understand if you _______________ wear a coat. a. have b. wont c. dont d. will be If I can get a flight, I _______________ fly home on Sunday. a. will b. will have c. wasnt d. was It _______________ nice if you can come to the party. a. wouldnt b. not c. wont d. will be Have something to eat. If you _______________ eat now, youll be hungry later. a. not b. will c. dont d. would If I _______________ you tomorrow, Ill phone you. a. was seen b. will see c. wont see

5.

6.

7.

8.

d. dont see

9.

What _______________ you do if you dont pass your examinations? a. will b. are c. would d. were If you _______________ any problems, Ill try to help you. a. has b. had c. have d. dont have

10.

Choose the correct form of the verb 11. It will be difficult to find a hotel if _______________ late. a. we arrive b. well arrive c. we arrived d. we havent arrived 12. _______________ surprised if _______________ married. a. Im b. they get c. Ill be d. theyll get

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13. _______________ to the party if _______________ you? a. Do you go b. Will you go c. they invite Past Simple - Past Continuous correct word(s) Choose the correct word(s) to fill in the blank. 1. When we _______________ out, it was raining. a. go b. do go c. was d. went

d. theyll invite

2.

_______________ television when I phoned you? a. will you watch b. you were watching c. were you watching will watch

d. you

3.

Jane wasnt at home when I went to see her. She _______________ . a. was working b. does work c. will work d. has been working The postman _______________ while I was having breakfast. a. come b. came c. doesnt come d. will come We met Joan at the party. She _______________ a red dress. a. does wear b. wears c. will wear d. was wearing The boys _______________ a window when they were playing football. a. break b. broken c. broke d. were broken When the accident happened, Pat _______________ fast. a. not drive b. wasnt driving c. not driving

4.

5.

6.

7.

d. drives

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While I was doing my homework, my little sisters _____________ in the back garden. a. were playing b. played c. dont play d. play I got up at 7 oclock. The sun _______________, so I _______________ for a walk. a. shines e. was going b. was shining f. will go c. will shine g. go d. shone h. went
This article was received on February 17th, 2004 and accepted on August 24th, 2004.

9.

Teacher Correction versus Peer-Marking*

Correccin del maestro versus correccin por revisin de pares

Miguel** Mariana Correia Mourente Miguel

Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Brazil mariana_mourente@yahoo.com.br Written language is undoubtedly more often used than oral language in a variety of contexts, including both the professional and academic life. Consequently, developing strategies for correcting compositions and improving students written production is of vital importance. This article describes an experiment aimed at assessing the two most widely used methods of correction for compositions traditional teacher correction and peer marking and their effect on the frequency of errors. Data was collected by asking students to write and revise a text. Statistical tests were performed to analyse it. At the end of the experiment, it was found that no significant difference in efficiency existed between the two methods, contradicting expectations (cf. Davies, 2002; Levine et al., 2002 and Ward, 2001). words: Key words: English-Teaching, Foreign Language-Teaching Writing, Evaluation, Assessment El lenguaje escrito es sin duda usado con ms frecuencia que el lenguaje oral en una variedad de situaciones o contextos, incluyendo tanto la vida profesional como la acadmica. En consecuencia, el desarrollo de estrategias para corregir composiciones y mejorar la produccin escrita de los estudiantes es de suma importancia. Este artculo describe un experimento cuyo objetivo es evaluar los dos mtodos ms usados para la correccin de composiciones, la correccin tradicional por el maestro y la correccin por revisin de pares, con respecto a su efecto en la frecuencia de errores. Se recogi informacin haciendo que estudiantes escribieran y revisaran un texto y sobre esos textos se aplicaron pruebas estadsticas para analizar los errores. Contrario a lo esperado, al final del experimento, no se encontr ninguna diferencia significativa entre los
* This research project was carried out as part of a non-mandatory internship undertaken by the author during 2002-2003. This internship was offered by an institutional project called Projeto Cursos de Lnguas Abertos Comunidade and was funded by Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro. ** Mariana Correia Mourente Miguel is a graduate student and teacher whose main interest lies in written production in English as a foreign language as well as its evaluation and assessment. She has co-edited a collection of essays on foreign language teaching in 2003 and is currently co-editing another volume to be published this year.

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resultados encontrados por los dos mtodos, (cfr. Davies, 2002; Levine et al., 2002 y Ward, 2001). Palabras claves: Ingls-Enseanza, Idioma Extranjero-Enseanza, Composicin, Evaluacin

INTRODUCTION Nowadays, a great importance is attached to written language by many institutions since it is needed in order to succeed academically. Entrance exams for both undergraduate and graduate university courses require mastery of it. Written English is also more common than spoken English for many people both in their personal and professional lives. In Brazil, the federal government has helped to give prominence to written over spoken language by publishing the National Curriculum Programme for the teaching of foreign languages (Secretaria de Educao Fundamental, 1998). This document instructs teachers to focus on skills related to written language and states many reasons why they should be emphasised even when teaching students as young as ten years old. This state of affairs naturally leads teacher trainers and teacher trainees to consider the methods of correction for compositions. If teachers are supposed to devote a great part of their courses to the written language, they should equally make attempts to optimise the learning process of skills related to it. In this article, two of the most common methods of correction for written production traditional teacher marking and peer marking will be empirically assessed.

THEORETICAL BACKGROUND Several studies such as Ward (2001), Levine et al. (2002), and Davies (2002), state that peer-marking is more efficient than traditional teacher marking. According to these researchers, peer marking presents students with more opportunities to assume an active role in the evaluation process. In order to be able to detect mistakes in colleagues compositions, students must be at least familiar with the vocabulary and structures that were taught in class. Besides that, these authors claim that students are more likely to pay attention in order not to make the same mistakes again. These authors also claim that this method provides students with opportunities to reflect on the learning process and critically evaluate it. Last but not least, students are also exposed more to the foreign language they are studying and may learn new vocabulary items or grammar points. HYPOTHESIS In the present research project, the objective is to verify which method is the most efficient: the traditional correction, when only the teacher has the authority to correct students mistakes, or peer-marking, when the students themselves evaluate their colleagues production. The aspect under analysis is the efficacy of these methods

concerning the decrease in the frequency of errors after revision. The research question that was drawn from the cited bibliography is: Would students who practised peer marking commit fewer mistakes when revising their texts? METHODOLOGY In order to verify this hypothesis, two activities were conducted with groups of students belonging to the same level in order to gather the data required for our research. The students had had approximately 200 guided learning hours, being situated at the A2 level (or Key English Test level) according to the Common European Framework (see Cambridge ESOL). All students were adults, from 18 to 27 years old. They were attending a general English course aimed at developing the four abilities. This course was offered by
Step 1: Students were instructed to write a composition

a public institution with an especially low fee to attract disadvantaged students. The activities designed to gather data involved the writing of a composition by the students working individually. After the compositions were written, they were collected. Then each class was assigned a different procedure. In Class A, the traditional method was used while in Class B peer marking was chosen as the way of correcting the compositions. The corrected compositions were then given back to the students who were asked to check the mistakes that had been highlighted, as well as to try to assimilate the right answers. The next step for both classes was to give them an uncorrected copy of their compositions and ask them to rewrite it, eliminating the errors that had been corrected. This procedure is further clarified in the diagram below:

Step 2A: Teacher collected compositions and corrected them

Step 2B: Each student corrected a classmates composition

Step 3: Students received their compositions and checked the markings

Step 4: Students revised their compositions

Diagram 1. Procedure for collecting data

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Both the original and the revised versions of the composition were carefully read and compared by the researcher in order to determine how many mistakes had been made in the original and in the revised versions. The data collected from this activity were then submitted to statistical analysis because this type of analysis allows the detection of tendencies and the comparison of groups, which proved useful given the aims of the experiment. The data were not normally distributed, as one can see in the histogram below (Graph 1), where Erorig stands for the number of mistakes found in the first version

of the composition (Erorig is erros no original, or mistakes in the first version, shortened due to software limitations.). Considering the data distribution, the next step was to perform the chi-square test to see whether there was a significant difference between students performance before and after the correction (cf. Robson, 1975, for a detailed account of how to structure empirical research). As shown in the table below (Table 1), the difference for both groups was not significant, which means that neither of the methods tested in this experiment was considerably more efficient than the other in making students able to identify and correct their errors.

Graph 1

Table 1 DISCUSSION From the data analysed in the previous section, one can infer that the assumptions made about peer marking are not entirely well founded. The experiment did not have the deep impact it was expected to have on students use of the foreign language. Mistake identification did not improve significantly when compared to students exposed to traditional evaluation methods, since there was roughly an equal improvement for both groups. Therefore, it may be more appropriate for teachers to include both styles of correction in their courses. This way, students who eventually feel inhibited with one of the methods will be given opportunities to profit from the other. A shortcoming in this research that has to be acknowledged is the fact that it dealt specifically with Brazilian students. As a result, this experiment does not account for the impact cultural background may have on students reaction to different evaluation methods. Further research, including other English as a foreign language teaching contexts such as other Latin American countries, is thus needed in order to reach a better understanding of how assessment functions during the foreign language acquisition process. It would also be pertinent to verify if these two methods vary in any other relevant aspect. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The author would like to thank fellow teacher Nara Figueiredo Costa Monteiro de Almeida, for kindly discussing the design of the experiment in its early phase and helping to collect data as well as all the students who willingly participated in the experiment and consented on its publication under anonymity. The author would also like to thank in advance those who take an interest in this research and decide to conduct similar projects in their schools. REFERENCES
Cambridge ESOL. How many hours of study are needed to reach the levels of the Main Suite exams? Retrieved from http://www.cambridgeesol.org/faq/ ms_gen_faqs.cfm#1 Davies, P Peer-assessment: No markings, . just feedback? Retrieved from http:// www.comp.glam.ac.uk/pages/staff/pdavies/ caa.htm

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Levine, A., Oded, B., Connor, U., and Asons, I. (2002). Variation in EFL-ESL response. TESL-EJ, Berkeley 6: 3. Retrieved December 2002, from http://www-writing.berkeley.edu/TESL-EJ/ ej23/a1.html Robson, C. (1975). Experiment, design and statistics in psychology. Harmondsworth: Penguin Education. Secretaria de Educao Fundamental. (1998). Parmetros curriculares nacionais:

Terceiro e quarto ciclos do ensino fundamental: lngua estrangeira. Braslia: MEC/SEF Retrieved . from http://www.mec.gov.br/sef/estrut2/pcn/pdf/ estrangeira.pdf
Ward, A. (2001). Experimenting with webenabled peer assessment. Retrieved from http:/ /www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/~ashley/Research/ OASYS/forumarticle.html

This article was received on May 11th, 2004 and accepted on August 23rd, 2004

Interactive Communicative Teaching and the Young Indian Learner

Enseanza comunicativa e interactiva y el joven estudiante de la India

Deepti Gupta*
Panjab University deptipu@eth.net In classrooms where English is not the mother tongue and where age-old teaching methodology rules the roost, it is not easy to make changes, especially radical ones. This case study shows how these reforms can be self-defeating if they are imposed without an attempt at a gradual, gentle and well thought out implementation. This is a slightly modified and revised version of a paper presented at the Language in the Mind International conference organized by the Singapore University, Singapore in September 2000. Key words Communicative, Task-based, Interactive, Learner-centered, words ds: Structural, Lecture-based, Pedagogy En las clases en las que el ingls no es la lengua materna y en las que predomina una metodologa anticuada de enseanza, no es fcil efectuar cambios, especialmente cambios radicales. Este caso demuestra cmo estas reformas pueden fracasar si se las impone repentinamente sin una implementacin gradual y bien planificada. Esta es una versin modificada y revisada de un documento presentado en la conferencia internacional Idioma en la mente organizada por la Universidad de Singapore en Singapore en septiembre de 2000. Palabras claves: Enseanza-Lenguas Extranjeras, Enfoque Comunicativo, Enfoque basado en Tareas, Enfoque Interactivo, Enfoque centrado en el Estudiante, Enfoque Estructural

Deepti Gupta is one of the first Indian C.A. teachers, setting up the first undergraduate language laboratory in Chandigarh. An M.Phil: in stylistics and a PhD in ELT, interests are methodology, classroom observation and action research. With 19 years of teaching experience, she teaches postgraduates and supervises research.

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INTRODUCTION The development of English language teaching methods bears close resemblance to a cone, as shown in figure 1. The apex of the cone begins with the Reform Movement when applied linguists and teachers worked together to give a scientific orientation to ELT in the 1880s. Communicative language teaching, language -literature integration

and interactive teaching form the broad end of the cone. Emphasis on the individual led to the widening of the cone, a widening that continues to be evident in classrooms everywhere. The learner became the pervasive factor in language teaching. With the advent of communicative language teaching and interactive teaching came an awareness of new modes of teaching.

1880-W 1880-W ORLD WAR I DIRECT METHOD PRIMACY OF SPEECH APPLIED

INTERWAR INTERWAR YEARS TO 1940 ELT AS AN AUTONOMUS PROFESSION

W ORLD WAR II TO 1970 STRUCTURAL LINGUISTICS LANGUAGE LABORATORY

1970 TO THE PRESENT CLT LANGUAGE LITERATURE INTEGRATION INTER-ACTIIONAL APPROACH

Figure 1. The ELT Cone

Colleges in North India, in Chandigarh and Punjab were quick to pick up the change and introduced two new courses at the bachelor degree level English as communication and functional English. Although much still needs to be worked out in terms of the perfect implementation of communicative and interactive teaching, it can be said with a reasonable degree of confidence that changes in ELT pedagogy and methodology are around the corner. Five signposts of these changes were identified in an earlier study (Gupta, 1993).

1. Reduction in chalk-talk routines. 2. More active participation by learners in classroom interaction. 3. Better acceptance of new teaching techniques by teachers. 4. Increased frequency of inter-active tasks in the classroom. 5. Improvement in fluency levels of college students. Changes in teaching pedagogy found their way to the schools too. In the 1990s schools in Chandigarh, the city of my birth,

went through a process of introspection with a special focus on their teaching methods. There were workshops on learner-centered teaching, seminars on task-based teaching and discussions on teaching without the traditional textbooks. An over-riding concern was the heavy school bag. The development that is of interest here was a questioning of old teaching methods. After these sessions came a virtual blitzkrieg on school teaching. School boards prepared English textbooks that were communicative-task based. Schools prescribed these. In some schools, English came to be taught through worksheets and assignments. By 1992, most schools had introduced changes in their teaching methods and teachers could look forward to better-equipped students at the masters level. The first batch of students taught under the new methods reached the masters level in 1998. As a teacher, one had high expectations of this group. They had only been thirteen-years-old in Class VIII, when the changes had been introduced in schools. They had also taken functional English in college. Functional English in the Indian context is an English course designed as per the communicative approach. METHODOLOGY Surprisingly, these learners had not reached the level of communicative competence expected. Through classroom observation, a set of tendencies emerged in these learners, namely: 1. Heavy dependence on guidebooks and reference books to tackle literary texts.

2. Use of minimal language to achieve the bare minimum of communication. Paul Seedhouse1 calls this tendency indexical interaction i.e. context bound, inexplicit interaction. 3. Constant repetition of utterances like you know, I mean, as to say and so on, as fillers. 4. Low level of enthusiasm for reading literary texts outside the curriculum. 5. Avoidance of long, written assignments that demand a good command of language and a well-developed critical faculty. By no means do learners display these tendencies for the first time, but this situation was unique because here was a batch of learners who came from schools where taskbased teaching is the norm, where communicative methods have replaced the traditional chalk-talk methods and the textbooks provided have been prepared by ELT experts well-versed in the latest currents of change. To get to the crux of the matter, in the summer vacation of 1999, this author got together a group of 20 learners from 13 to 15 years old. They were from 10 schools in Chandigarh. Over a period of five weeks, there was interaction with them, inspection of their school textbooks and elicitation of
Seedhouse writes: What we also find in task-based interaction is a tendency to produce very indexical interaction, i.e. interaction that is context-bound, inexplicit, and hence obscure to anybody reading the extracts without knowledge of the task in which the participants were engaged. Interactants in a task seem to produce utterances at the lowest level of explicitness necessary to the successful completion of the task L2 teachers who are reading the tasks tend to find the actual language produced in task-based interaction to be impoverished and esoteric (1999: 153).
1

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information from them. This exercise revealed that their schools had worked hard in the following areas: 1. Generation of ELT Materials ELT Materials: Teachers regularly planned interactive tasks for their classrooms. Well-stocked school libraries with seminal works in ELT and the latest pedagogy were at the teachers disposal. Worksheets were also generated for classroom use on a regular basis. 2. Teaching Methods: ELT experts conducted workshops and orientation programmes regularly to update the teachers methodology. 3. Mode of Examination Examination: Schools cut down on long-winded occasional examinations and introduced shorter, more frequent examinations. 4. Method of Evaluation Evaluation: Through constant discussion and exchange of ideas, teachers were encouraged to change fixed notions about good and bad answers. 5. Introduction of Diagnostic Strategies and Error Analysis: Teachers decided to keep track of learner errors by maintaining records for individual learners and going through them regularly. This made the rectification of learner errors easier. All this information was collected after visits to the 10 schools and conversations with principals and teachers. The situation seemed an ideal learning situation. If the

scenario continued, one could imagine the production of perfect language learners after some years. But this did not tally with the learners who came to this author at the masters level. They were also the products of the same system and represented a wide spectrum of learners. By now, it was clear that the situation demanded a closer analysis. Providentially, St. Johns High School, a boys school of Chandigarh, organized an orientation programme on learner-centered education in December, 1999. The special interest of the programme was ELT. As a part of the exercise, parents of the schoolboys were invited to a session. A discussion and interaction with the resource person ensued. During this event, very strong parental opposition to any change in teaching methods emerged. It was more than obvious that the parents were opposed to any kinds of changes in the traditional classroom methods, an amalgam of structural and lecture-based approaches. They wanted the teacher to lecture at least eighty percent of the time. Task-based teaching met with complete rejection and stiff opposition, even as an idea. Worksheets were given a skeptics welcome. The fact also came to light that this particular school was the only one that invited parents to be a part of the process of change. In other schools, teaching methodology had been changed overnight without any notice given to parents. Interaction with parents afterwards revealed that parental approval is indispensable if any change is to be made in teaching methodology. If this approval is not granted, young learners cannot benefit from new methods because they are not encouraged to discuss classroom interactive tasks at

home, which gives them the idea that interactive tasks are not real education. FINDINGS The learner in this part of North India is already at a disadvantage due to being part of a bilingual and, at times, trilingual2 society. If the learner has the advantage of being able to understand two or three languages, s/he also faces the distinct disadvantage of living in an environment where English is not a language for everyday communication. Using English outside the classroom is essential in order to develop fluency in the language skills, but the environment, coupled with parental disapproval, may make the learner feel inhibited and out of place while doing so. In India, parental intervention still remains a part of the education structure in schools. Education is still assessed in terms of marks and positions. In this scenario, tasks and interactive teaching seem to be a waste of time to most parents. This results in a situation where parents cannot perceive how fluency can be transcribed into good marks in the examination. Therefore, whenever some activities require inputs beyond the classroom or are not connected with the prescribed textbooks, they are frowned upon. This problem can be remedied if parents are taken into confidence in advance and schools take the trouble to explain in detail the rationale behind task-based, interactive teaching.
1 North Indian society uses both Punjabi and Hindi in social interaction. Day by day, English is becoming a part of everyday conversation, but only in exclusive areas like banking or education. By and large, Hindi and Punjabi remain the mother tongue and it is not surprising to find smatterings of Urdu in families who have parents or grandparents who lived in Pakistan before the partition (1947).

In the area of teacher training, some distinct shortcomings emerged. As mentioned earlier, the virtual bombardment of workshops, seminars and orientation programmes gave a rosy tinge to the whole picture. It seemed as if, overnight, teachers and classrooms had undergone a sea-size change. The actual situation was somewhat different. One, for years these teachers had relied upon the lecture method and their teaching had been examination-oriented for achievement type testing. The need of the hour was a systematic training programme spread over weeks, with practical demonstration lessons and lesson plans to show the efficacy of the new methodology. Instead, teachers were pelted with information and training without being given the time to judge for themselves the rationale behind this changeover. The school administration in every school invited resource persons without formulating a clearcut plan for the teacher training. The result was that one week was devoted to learnercentered teaching, another to evaluation strategies, yet another to tasks and the teacher became a sort of jack-of-all-trades, master of none. These teachers had been in the profession for a good twenty years or so, and had not kept in touch with the winds of change in ELT. Two, teacher training, in order to be effective, has to be an ongoing process. The concept of preset and inset teacher training is still foreign to India. Once the resource persons had left, there was no one to coordinate the teaching programme and the only guidance came from libraries stocked at random. Three, in theory, reams of paper bore witness to teachers being trained in ELT material generation, but, in practice, they felt at sea when faced with the

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task. Left to fend for themselves, they turned to their old methods or restricted themselves to the limited range of tasks provided by the textbooks. Since the teachers were a confused and overburdened lot in the absence of welldirected training, they could not drum up enough enthusiasm in the learners for the changed methodology. Students for years had divided their classroom materials into two groups required for examination and not required for examination. Unfortunately, in the absence of parental encouragement and proper teacher guidance, they catalogued communicative tasks and interactive activities under the heading not required for examination. These were performed for the satisfaction of the teacher and were look upon as purposeless, entertaining, less educational and conveniently relegated to the back burner. In spite of so many changes in other areas, curriculum development still remains an ivory-tower exercise in schools. There is a communication gap between those who teach and those who frame the syllabus, those who implement it and those who evaluate. The teacher has no autonomy. The syllabus-framer is one person, the policymaker another, while the paper setter and the examiner still others. Even when the examination is not one conducted by a high school board, all schools follow this hierarchical system. Over a span of time, it is possible to train teachers in a different teaching methodology, but to make mindset changes in a complete hierarchy is a next to impossible task. And unless the whole system is ready to accept and adopt changes,

the learner cannot be blamed for being suspicious of new classroom techniques. The level of implementation of new methodology is an important factor, too. Some schools introduced task-based, interactive teaching for six-year-old learners, some for ten and some for thirteen. Postevaluation results were most encouraging with very young learners. The relationship is one of inverse proportion: the younger the learner, the greater the success achieved through teaching in the interactive, taskbased mode. To quote Rivers (1998: 13), Collaborative activity of this type should be the norm from the beginning of language study (Rivers, 1998). Once the learner gets used to the audio-lingual, structural, lecture method approach, weaning is difficult and learners take quite a long time to get used to a changed classroom environment in which the teacher is the facilitator and not the boss of the whole show. Young and unconditioned minds are best for innovations. CONCLUSION CONCLUSION This study has helped me, as a teacher, to understand the tendencies shown by my students in the classroom. When some schoolteachers learnt about this research, they expressed their interest in classroom observation as a tool for applying diagnostic strategies. Later on, this can lead to remedial teaching, too. The relationship among the student, teacher and research has been emphasized often enough. Teachers and students can be co-researchers in the process. Indeed, they are the ultimate beneficiaries in any research.

When it is an established fact that every classroom is unique and, as such, has unique demands, no methodology or pedagogy can be thrust lock, stock and barrel upon a set of learners. Surely, one cannot simply lift a model for language teaching and impose it upon a classroom without tr ying to understand the environment in which the model would be expected to take root. If changes are imposed without due thought and planning, the result is a goodly apple rotten to the core. In the newspapers and journals, the adoption of a communicative, task-based, interactive methodologies look and sound very good. But without the requisite optimal conditions to support them, constant research to modify them and increase their efficacy, it can lead to confused teachers and learners, giving rise to disappointing outputs. GLOSSARY 1. Blitzkrieg: an intense series of inputs. 2. Chalk-Talk routines: the method of teaching with the teachers lecture at the centre, that perceives teachers as givers of a package called education; learners are purely at the receiving end with no expectation or opportunity of interaction. 3. Communicative language teaching: method of teaching that aims to develop communicative competence, as opposed to simple knowledge of grammatical and similar structures. 4. Fluency level: measure of the ability to express oneself accurately and articulately in a language. 5. Interactive teaching: method of teaching that treats language as a tool for the creation and maintenance of

interpersonal relationships and social transactions. 6. Learner-centred teaching: learners are not treated as passive participants at the receiving end; they are a part of the whole classroom experience and contribute actively to it through tasks and activities. 7. Lecture-based: the antithesis of learner-centred teaching; learners are totally passive listeners. 8. Pedagogy: the method and practice of teaching, especially as an academic subject or theoretical concept. 9. Preset and inset teacher training: training of this kind is the norm in the West, where English is the mother tongue. Preset refers to pre-service training and inset refers to in-service training for teachers. 10. Structural: the approach or method that views language as a system of structurally related elements for the encoding of meaning; in which the system of speech is primary. 11. Task-based teaching: based on the communicative approach, it uses tasks and activities as the core units of planning and instruction in language teaching. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The author would like to thank Alastair Murray for translating the abstract of this article. REFERENCES
Allwright, D. (1988). Observation in the language classroom. London: Longman. Gupta, D. (1993). The teaching of English literature and communicative language teaching

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Interactive Communicative Teaching and the Young Indian Learner

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in the Indian classroom. Unpublished Doctoral Dissertation. Chandigarh: Panjab University.

Mc Donough, J. and Mc Donough, S. (1997). Research methods for English language teachers. Great Britain: Arnold.

Rivers, W.M. (1998). Interactive language teaching. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Seedhouse, P. (1999). Task-based interaction. ELT Journal. 53 (3), 149- 155.

This article was received on May 10th, 2004 and accepted on August 27th, 2004

Elementar y English Language Instruction: Colombian Teachers Classroom Practices*

Enseanza del idioma ingls en primaria: Prcticas de aula de docentes colombianos

Isabel Cristina Cadavid Mnera Mnera**

ccadavid@idiomas.udea.edu.co

McNulty*** Mara McNulty

mariam@idiomas.udea.edu.co

Ortiz**** Diana Isabel Quincha Ortiz

dquinchia@idiomas.udea.edu.co
Universidad de Antioquia

An in-progress ethnographic research project about teachers who are facing the complex task of teaching English to children in 7 public elementary schools in the metropolitan area of Medellin is presented in this article. First, the need for this research is outlined by researchers; second, the methodology of the project is described; third, up-to-date findings which include a profile of the 12 teachers who are participating in this study, and an analysis of their class methodology in terms of activities, materials, teacher and student roles are reported. Lastly, implications of this research project related to early foreign language instruction are highlighted. words ds: Key words Public Elementary-English-Language Instruction, EnglishForeign Language, Ethnography-Research-Method, Teaching-Methodology Este artculo presenta los resultados preliminares de una investigacin etnogrfica acerca de las estrategias metodolgicas utilizadas por profesores de bsica primaria que ensean ingls como lengua extranjera en 7 escuelas pblicas del rea metropolitana del municipio de Medelln. En la primera parte se resalta la importancia de esta investigacin en nuestro medio y en la segunda,
*Project developed by the Grupo de Investigacin en Enseanza y Aprendizaje de Lenguas Extranjeras, School of Languages, Universidad de Antioquia. **Isabel Cristina Cadavid Mnera Master in TESOL, West Virginia University. Teacher-researcher in the undergraduate Mnera, Isabel FL teaching program at the School of Languages, Universidad de Antioquia. ***Maria McNulty Visiting professor at Universidad de Antioquia. Diploma in TESL, University of Toronto, Canada. Maria McNulty, Honours B.A. in Psychology, Wilfrid Laurier University, Canada. Teacher-researcher in the undergraduate FL teaching program at the School of Languages, Universidad de Antioquia ****Diana Isabel Quincha Ortiz B.A. in Teaching Foreign Languages. Teacher-researcher in the undergraduate FL Ortiz, Diana teaching program at the School of Languages, Universidad de Antioquia.

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se describe la metodologa empleada en el proyecto. La tercera incluye un perfil de los 12 profesores participantes y un anlisis de la metodologa empleada por ellos con respecto a las actividades de clase, los materiales y el rol del estudiante y del profesor. Finalmente, se discuten algunas de las implicaciones de este proyecto de investigacin en la enseanza de lenguas extranjeras a nios. Palabras claves: Ingls-Enseanza-Bsica Primaria, Lengua Extranjera-Ingls, Estudio Etnogrfico-Investigacin, Enseanza-Metodologa

INTRODUCTION Ten years ago, the teaching of English as a foreign language (EFL) in public elementary schools started to be introduced in Colombia as a result of a general educational law related to early foreign language instruction. This educational endeavour would extend over five years of study from Grades 1 to 5 and include a space for foreign language instruction in public elementary schools each year. To date the Colombian government has undertaken efforts to help schools and teachers. Curriculum guidelines for foreign language instruction have been established and promoted by the ministry of education (Ministerio de Educacin Nacional: 1999). Teachers have access to teacher education programs and professional development courses concerning early foreign language instruction. University-public elementary school partnerships through the teaching practicum have been encouraged and developed. Additionally, some schools have enriched their teaching resources to include computer-based technology and training to teachers. The government has recognized the need for curriculum design, academic

preparation of teachers, university-schools pre-service and professional development initiatives, and technology-based instruction. Colombian public elementary schools and teachers have responded to this exciting challenge but not without encountering difficulties. Crdenas (2001) reports that teachers may have studied the foreign language and/or how to teach foreign languages, but they often lack specialized academic preparation for teaching children. The author recognizes governmental support but claims a lack of planning and standards in the implementation of foreign language programs at the regional and national level. This finding has also been cited by Gonzlez et.al. (2001) in their study designed to assess the professional needs of EFL teachers who work in the public and private sector in Colombia. Public school teachers consider themselves lacking an adequate level of proficiency in English, background knowledge of the subject matter and previous training. In addition to the need for pre-service and professional development, inadequate funding to implement government educational policies in Latin America, Asia and North America,

has been cited by Nunan (1999) as an adverse factor affecting schools and teachers. Murphey (2003) labels this challenge for professionals as the cartbefore-the-horse situation where teachers are required to teach English before they are capable of doing so. Although previous studies have explored who English language teachers are in different contexts and the limitations they have, there is a need for Colombian studies which explore the reality of teaching English in the public, elementary school classrooms. Given the above situation in Colombia, researchers proposed the following questions for their research project: How have schools assumed this educational mission? Who are the public elementary EFL school teachers in Medelln? Which methodological practices do these teachers use to teach English? How do the teachers understand their own practices? What methodological principles do they report as forming their teaching practices? Is there a relationship between the teachers practices and principles, and the governments curricular guidelines concerning early foreign language instruction? In order to answer these questions, a group of researchers in the School of Languages at the University of Antioquia are conducting a small-scale, particularistic ethnographic investigation with 12 EFL teachers in Grades 1, 3 and 5, in seven public elementary schools in the metropolitan area of Medelln. Researchers are carrying out field work that includes observations and teacher interviews about the teachinglearning processes in context. The data from

the teacher interviews will give researchers the teachers points of view about their classroom and their principles which guide their actions in class. A qualitative approach to the data collection and analysis is being used in order to enable researchers to describe, understand and reflect on the teacher s classroom methodology, influenced by the class activities, the materials in class, the teacher and student roles, and the grouping arrangements. DESCRIPTION OF THE PROJECTS METHODOLOGY To address the above questions raised, the project was designed with four overlapping stages. Prior to the first stage, the number and the location of schools were decided based on a preliminary list of public elementary schools where English is being taught in Medelln. The schools were chosen based on their typicality or common characteristics i.e. the schools are public and are located throughout Medelln in the north, south, and central areas. Furthermore, schools were selected based on their convenience in terms of transportation for each researcher. In the first stage, researchers began to analyze important documents related to foreign language instruction. They read and discussed the Lineamientos Curriculares to find out how the Ministry of Education is promoting the teaching of English as a foreign language in public elementary schools. In addition, they started to review the literature related to early foreign language instruction.

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The second stage consisted of researchers contacting the schools to give them information about the project, confirm their participation, and determine which teachers would participate in this study. At that time, researchers began to gather a profile of the teachers concerning their educational background and teaching experience with a questionnaire. The third stage consisted of observing and interviewing teachers about their classes. Each teacher was observed 3 times in each grade reaching a total number of 63 observations. While observing, researchers wrote detailed objective descriptions of class events in a diary (see Appendix 1: Classroom Observation Format). After observing, researchers interviewed teachers in a semistructured interview format to find out what principles guide their actions in class (see Appendix 2: Teacher Interview Format). The majority of the interviews were recorded and transcribed to facilitate the data analysis. In the fourth stage, researchers are completing the data analysis of the observations and interviews. Researchers have completed the class observations but are currently analyzing the teacher interviews. To analyze the data from the observations, a thematic analysis was used. In the data gathered, researchers identified and named thematic codes using a theorydriven approach. For example, researchers categorized the data concerning class activities using a taxonomy of language teaching techniques proposed by Brown (2001), Richards and Lockhart (1996), and Vale and Feunteun (1995). To analyze the data from the teacher interviews, a datadriven approach is being used.

During the last step of the research, the findings will be shared with the participants in this study and the community at large. FINDINGS This section will begin with a profile of the teachers in this project. The questionnaire showed the following information which has been divided into two parts: teachers personal information, their work and educational experience, and information about their English classes. Teachers Concerning the Teachers Education Work and Work Experience The teachers ages range from 20 to over 50 with the majority of teachers in the range between 31 and 50 years of age. Concerning the teachers academic preparation, all of them hold Bachelor of Education degrees in different areas: Five teachers hold a B. Ed. in elementar y, preschool or childhood education; four in areas such as mathematics, Spanish, methodology and social studies; and three in foreign languages. Seven out of the twelve teachers have completed a specialization, but not one is related to teaching English. Regarding the teachers with degrees in foreign languages, although they possess the language preparation and the theoretical and practical preparation related to the methodology of teaching English, they neither possess knowledge about pedagogical principles and procedures in teaching children nor have the background in child language development, or experience in teaching groups of children. This situation has been previously reported by Crdenas (2001) as she questions who is

in charge of teaching English to children in Colombia. In her study, she found that the majority of elementary English teachers were lacking in pedagogical and linguistic preparation. Although Crdenas describes the situation in Colombia, it is striking to see how similar characteristics of teachers in other countries have been found. For example, Murphey (2003: 1) has described the situation in Asian countries as follows: The reality of the EFL situation in many Asian countries is that ministries are demanding that regular content teachers in primary schools teach English to their students with little or no training in English. Likewise, Crooks (1997: 68) has stated that Almost all the public sector elementary FL instruction in my home state of Hawaii is conducted by untrained teachers because there are no permanent full-time positions. Many of the teachers in our study have taken professional development courses related either to learning the English language or to the methodology of teaching English. With respect to learning English, just 1 teacher with a B. Ed. in languages, 5 elementary and preschool teachers, and 2 teachers from different areas were involved in this type of instruction. Those with a B. Ed. in languages and in other areas did not pursue any English language training. Concerning professional development related to the methodology of teaching English, two teachers with a B. Ed. in languages and one from a different area did have this type of training. Teachers with a B. Ed. in elementary or preschool did not pursue this kind of training because of the nature of their undergraduate programs. A

few teachers have had no further academic preparation at all. The majority of teachers have had from 10 to 29 years of general teaching experience, while only a few have been teaching for fewer than four years. Most teachers have had a least 1-to-4 years of experience teaching English at the school where they are working now. In addition to teaching English, many teachers are required to teach other subjects such as physical education, mathematics, Spanish, social studies, etc. In terms of job stability, most teachers have a permanent teaching position at their school while a few are working with yearly contracts.

Concerning the English Class Teacher Activities, Materials and Teacher and Students Roles As it is the case in many public schools in our country, the English classes in the schools researchers visited have approximately 40 to 49 students and the classes are offered once a week for 45 minutes. Interesting issues were identified when researchers started exploring the different ways in which teachers spend this time with their students. The activities observed were classified according to their purpose within the framework of the class as a whole. As previously stated in the methodology section, in order to carry out such analysis, we designed a chart using and adapting taxonomies presented by various authors (see Appendix 3: Chart of Observed Classroom

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Activities). The broad categories in the chart are presentation, practice, memorization, comprehension, application, affective, feedback, strategy, assessment, and organizational. Within each broad category, there is a list of different activities which teachers use in the foreign language classroom. Based on the data analysis, other activities that were recurrent in the observed classes needed to be added to the chart such as giving instructions, praising, assigning homework, peer correction, building sentences, and translation as a strategy for presentation, etc. Even though some of them are not activities per se, we found that they are widespread practices among teachers and therefore need to be included in the chart. Researchers also found that most of the class period is spent on activities that are either organizational (giving instructions or disciplinary actions), presentational (introducing the lesson topic) or affective (warm-ups). Even though giving instructions and organizing the children are paramount in the elementary school context, these are carried out in Spanish and therefore children are being exposed more to Spanish than English in class. Teachers tend to use the target language only when presenting a topic or reviewing vocabulary with children in class. Another common characteristic of these classes is that the presentation activities, mentioned above, often take place in the middle of the class period and are not usually accompanied by practice or application exercises in the same lesson. A very common strategy for presentation of topics or related

vocabulary is the use of flashcards and translation at the same time. Translation seems to play a very important role in these classes. It is used as a strategy to present new material, to explain content, or to check comprehension. It is interesting to note that activities we expected the teachers to use in class were either not frequently used or they were not observed in the number of classes we visited. Games and singing songs are not so frequently used by the teachers. There were only two games with an affective purpose; one as a practice activity, and another as an application activity. Singing songs were used as both practice and affective activities. Other activities that are not being used by teachers include role-plays, story-telling, referential question-answer exercises, meaningful drills, problem-solving activities, and information exchange activities, etc. This might be due to the fact that most of these activities are so specifically related to the field of foreign language teaching that probably the teachers participating in this study are not familiar with them. Finally, if we look at the activities in terms of language skills and sub-skills, we can see that classes are focused mainly on vocabulary, pronunciation and grammar. Reading and writing are seen as recognition of words and copying them down. In very few cases is there comprehension of oral or written texts. Resources Concerning Resources In terms of resources, although the schools have equipment such as televisions,

VCRs and tape recorders, they are lacking video or audio tapes that can be used with this equipment. Classroom materials such as worksheets and paper products are available, but books, posters, flashcards, and games are scarce in most of these schools. Teachers often have to adapt and/or create materials like flashcards, worksheets, or booklets, using their own abilities and resources. A small percentage of the schools have computers and multimedia. Confronted with this lack of resources, teachers try to do their job mainly with visual aids like the board, classroom realia, and a few teacher and/or student-made flashcards. Vocabulary is presented through these materials and then worksheets or exercises in a booklet are used to practice the words. In some schools, even though there are audio or videotapes, listening comprehension is not developed with these aids, and it is the voice of the teacher that students listen to most of the time. It is important to note that children are exposed mainly to isolated words and not to complete sentences or texts. In many cases, a textbook becomes the basis of the course. Teachers rely on it to establish the sequence of contents, to structure the lessons, to design activities and even to choose the interaction patterns to be used in class. Teachers Role of Teachers and Students According to Richards and Lockhart (1996), the roles of teachers can be considered from two different perspectives: One is the role of the teachers within the institution and the educational system in

general, and the other is their role inside the classroom. Concerning the first aspect, it is interesting to see how these teachers are alone in their duty of teaching English. School principals and even the Ministry of Education recognize the importance of including a foreign language in the regular school curriculum, but they have not promoted the establishment of clear guidelines to help teachers design syllabi, materials or activities to be used in their classrooms. The Ministry of Education published the Lineamientos Curriculares (general guidelines for the teaching of foreign languages) and school principals have given teachers the autonomy to make all the decisions about how English is taught at their schools. Teachers are, therefore, free to do what they consider best, but they are also alone, without any support to do their job appropriately. Concerning the role of teachers and students in the classroom, researchers observed that the teacher is mainly the model, class organizer and class controller. Children are usually repeating individually or chorally after the teacher, answering the teachers questions or responding to the instructions s/he gives. Individual work in their notebooks, booklets or worksheets is a general pattern. As there are many students in the classes, the most common interaction patterns are whole-group and individual work, with little pair or group work. SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY This research project is an attempt to become aware of our reality and understand

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it in order to find ways to work with teachers to improve what they do. We recognize that our view as outsiders is important but not sufficient in this endeavor. However, our purpose goes beyond exploring and describing the reality observed. We want to work together with the teachers on the basis of what we have learned through this research experience and what they know about their own classrooms, their experience and pedagogical knowledge. Based on these aspects, we are planning to offer a professional development course for those teachers and simultaneously carry out an action research project with them. This study is also a contribution to research in the field of teaching English as a foreign language to children that is scarce in our country where most of the literature available deals with teaching English as a second language, and/or research in this field. A brief reference to the concepts of ESL (English as a Second Language) and EFL (English as a Foreign Language) might be useful here to support this point. When we speak about ESL we refer mainly to the situation of learners who learn a second language in a country where the language is used in commerce, education and politics. A Colombian who is learning English in the United States is an example of this concept. In this scenario, learners can have varied opportunities being exposed to the language and using it out of the classroom. In Colombia, we refer to EFL because learning English takes place in formal classroom situations and is not within the target language culture. This foreign language context offers the learners ver y few

opportunities to be in contact with the language outside the classroom. Therefore, the concepts of ESL and EFL imply very different approaches to language teaching and learning. Even though second language acquisition and teaching have been explored, more research on foreign language teaching in Colombia and its specific characteristics is needed if our aim is to improve the quality of education we are providing our children. This study is also an invitation to teachers, teacher educators and administrators to become more sensitive and critical towards our own reality. Educational policies should not be implemented blindly without a careful analysis of our contexts, and without knowing the real needs of our teachers and students. CONCLUSION CONCLUSION This study has shown that even though public elementary schools in Medelln have adopted the New Education Act, their teachers who are willing, enthusiastic and committed, require encouragement and support in this endeavor. Teachers with either limited or unrelated educational preparation, and insufficient training and target language preparation are working against all odds. Educational processes in Colombia need to be observed from a reflective perspective that will lead to a determination of characteristics of such a process, its strengths and weaknesses, and suggestions for improvement. Exploring teachers methodological practices through class observations and

teacher interviews can provide a starting point for this task. Several methodological issues have come to light as a result of this process. We found that the English that is being taught to children in public elementary school is rather limited, or is comprised of basic vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation. Also, the use of English in the classroom is restricted to affective activities, presentation of vocabulary items by the teacher, and repetition of simple words or phrases by students. Comprehension of these items is often done through translation in class. Therefore, students exposure to English in class is reduced because of this and also a high incidence of teacher talk (for example, organizing the classroom, giving instructions, disciplining students, and assigning homework, etc.) which is carried out in the native language. This is not surprising, given the teachers low proficiency in English. Supportive actions directed towards the teachers could focus on target language development and pedagogical enhancement related to teaching-learning strategies as well as resources, and teacher and student roles in the foreign language elementary classroom. Even though the importance of teaching English as a foreign language in the regular elementary school curriculum is undeniable, it is also important to be aware of the broader implications that go hand in hand with this. This means that education policies should no longer come only from the analysis of literature on the topic, but also from a realization of actual needs of teachers and students. Classrooms, schools, and the education system at large need to become a community in which the voices of students,

teachers, administrators and policy-makers are heard. Thus, a process of inquiry should enlighten not only the learning processes of students inside the classroom, but also all the decisions made by schools, by municipal education boards, and by the Ministry of Education as well. Teachers cannot become reflective if they are not given the chance to participate in decision making; they cannot be agents of change if their voices are not heard. A process of critical reflection leading to principled actions is required in our schools. In Murpheys (2003: 1) analysis of a similar situation facing English teachers in Asia, he states that we need to develop materials and methods to acknowledge the situation of these teachers and to support and encourage them as they grow more professionally through their own learning and teaching of English. In some cases, this will require a shift in beliefs, strategies, and methods, our own as well as those of the teachers and local administrators. In Colombia, it is important for elementary school English teachers and policy makers to gain understanding of our reality if we are to attend our real needs and the specific challenges of teaching English as a foreign language in elementary public schools.

REFERENCES
Brown, D. (2001). Teaching by principles. New York: Addison Wesley Longman. Crdenas, R. (2001). Teaching English in primary: Are we ready for it? HOW: A Colombian Journal for English Teachers, 8, p. 1- 8.

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Crooks, G. (1997). What influences what and how second and foreign language teachers teach. The Modern Language Journal, 81, p. 67- 69. Gonzlez et al. (2001). EFL teachers look at themselves: Could they grow together? HOW : A Colombian Journal for English Teachers, 9, p. 27- 33. Ministerio de Educacin Nacional de Colombia. (1999). Lineamientos Curriculares: Idiomas Extranjeros. Santaf de Bogot. MEN. Murphey, T. (2003). NNS primary school teachers learning English with their students.

Retrieved April 2004, from http:// www.tesol.org/pubs/articles/2003/tm13-402.html Nunan,D. (1999). Does younger=better? TESOL Matters, 9: 3. Richards, J.C. and Lockhart, C. (1996). Reflective teaching in second language classroom. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Vale, D. and Feunteun, A. (1995). Teaching children English. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

CLASS OBSERVA FORMAT APPENDIX 1: CL ASS OBSERVATION FORMAT Investigacin: Estado de la enseanza del ingls en la Bsica Primaria del sector pblico del rea metropolitana. Escuela de Idiomas, Universidad de Antioquia.

DATE TIME GRADE

SCHOOL TEACHER OBSERVER

ITEMS: Activities; teacher/student roles; grouping arrangements; materials

Interpretation/Reflection Narrative

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FORMAT APPENDIX 2: TEACHER INTERVIEW FORMAT Investigacin: Estado de la enseanza del ingls en la Bsica Primaria del sector pblico del rea metropolitana. Escuela de Idiomas, Universidad de Antioquia. Entrevista para los profesores de ingls en la escuela primaria El propsito de esta entrevista es identificar y entender los principios que fundamentan su proceso de enseanza y aprendizaje en su clase de ingls. Nos gustara tener informacin acerca de la planeacin de sus clases, las actividades, materiales y patrones de interaccin. Esta informacin ser confidencial y se usar solo con propsitos investigativos. Gracias por sus comentarios y su tiempo. A. Qu razones lo llevaron a usted a ensear ingls en la bsica primaria? Es importante para usted la enseanza de ingls en la bsica primaria? Si_ No_ Por qu? Cules dificultades cree usted que tiene para la enseanza del ingls en esta institucin y por qu? B. Existe en el colegio un plan de estudios para el rea de ingls? Si_ No_ Por qu? Si su respuesta es positiva, cmo es ese plan? Si su respuesta es negativa, cmo decide el contenido del curso? Est su colegio planeando con base en lineamientos curriculares propuestos por el MEN? Qu criterios tiene usted en cuenta para la enseanza del ingls en cada uno de los grados? Qu logros espera alcanzar a travs de la clase de ingls? C. Cmo describira su forma de trabajar el ingls con nios? Cules son las actividades que usted utiliza con mayor frecuencia para la enseanza del ingls y por qu? Qu tipo de actividades le parecen efectivas y por qu? Cules son las materiales que usted utiliza con mayor frecuencia para la enseanza del ingls y por qu? Qu tipo de materiales le parecen efectivos y por qu?

Qu tipos de interaccin utiliza con mayor frecuencia en sus clases de ingls y por qu? Qu tipos de interaccin le parecen ms efectivos y por qu? D. Qu estrategias usa para el manejo de la disciplina en la clase de ingls? Integra usted el trabajo de unas materias con otras? (opcional)

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CHART CLASS APPENDIX 3: CHART OF OBSERVED CL ASS ACTIVITIES

Investigacin: Estado de la Enseanza del Ingls en la Bsica Primaria del Sector Pblico del rea Metropolitana. Registro General de Recurrencias de Actividades Profesor
Observacin 1 Observacin 2

Colegio

Grado
Observacin 3

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Warm-up Setting Content explanation Role-Play Demonstration Dialogue/Narrative presentation Brainstorming Story telling Question-answer/ referential. Games Translation Copying Question/Answer display

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P R A C T I C E

Reading aloud Copying Meaningful drill Cued narrative/Dialogue Information exchange Preparation Dialogue/Narrative recitation Recognition Simulation Games Drill Repetition(word/ sentence) Building Sentences

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M Drill E Copying M Narration/exposition O Games R Songs I Z A T I O N

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A P P L I C A T I O N

Questionanswer/referential Information transfer Narration/exposition Role-play Report Problem solving Simulation Interview Discussion Composition A propos Games

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S T R A T E G Y

Setting Role-Play Demonstration Identification Translation Questionanswer/referential Wrap- up Preparation Association Peer-correction Homework Explanation

CADAVID, McNULTY AND QUINCHA

A F F E C T I V E

Warm-up Story- telling Questionanswer/referential Wrap-up Games Report Problem- solving Drama Praising Songs

F E E D B A C K

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Checking Review Testing Information exchange Wrap-up Interview Translation Praising Peer-correction Checking homework Teacher correction

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This article was received on May 15th, 2004 and accepted on August 23rd, 2004.

A S Dictation S Testing E CuedS Narrative/Dialogue S Discussion M Grading E N T O R Songs G Giving instructions A Greetings N Disciplinary actions I Seating Z Monitoring A Taking attendance T Assigning homework I Collecting homework O N A L

Elementary English Language Instruction: Colombian Teachers Classroom Practices

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The English Component of the 2002 Entrance Examination of the Federal University of Amazonas: An Analysis of its Reliability and Validity
El componente de ingls del examen de admisin de la Universidad Federal del Amazonas: Un anlisis de su confiabilidad y validez

Nilton Hitotuzi*
Federal University of Amazonas nhitotuzi@uea.edu.br The study reported in this paper was: to estimate the reliability and validity of the English test administered to the candidates sitting the 2002 entrance examination for undergraduate courses at the Federal University of Amazonas (UFAM/2002). The tests reliability was estimated in the form of the correlation coefficient found with the test-retest method, and its validity was established on the basis of face validity and content validity. The sample population consisted of students completing their education at a high school in 2002. The results indicated that, albeit significantly generalisable to the entire population of examinees, the UFAM/2002 English test had neither reliability nor face or content validity. words: Key words: English-Examination, Research-Reliability, Research-Validity El estudio reportado en este documento tuvo como finalidad estimar la confiabilidad y validez de un examen de ingls administrado a los candidatos del ao 2002 al examen de admisin para cursos de pregrado en la Universidad Federal de Amazonas (UFAM/2002). La confiabilidad del estudio se estim mediante la correlacin de coeficiente encontrado con el mtodo test-retest y la validez se estableci a partir de la validez de forma y de contenido. La muestra poblacional consisti en un grupo de estudiantes que estaba culminando sus estudios de secundaria en el 2002. Los resultados indicaron que a pesar de la generalizacin significativa a toda la poblacin de examinados, el examen de ingls de la UFAM/2002 no tuvo ni confiabilidad ni validez en su contenido. Palabras claves: Evaluacin-Ingls, Confiabilidad-Investigacin, ValidezInvestigacin
Nilton Hitotuzi holds an MA in TEFL/TESL from the University of Birmingham and a BA in Liberal Arts from the Federal University of Amazonas. Currently he holds a lecturing position at the State University of Amazonas. He is interested in Teaching Methodology and Pronunciation Teaching.
*

1. INTRODUCTION

(Bachman, 1990), the results herein described are tentative at best. The reliability of the UFAM/2002 English test was estimated in the form of the correlation coefficient found with the testretest method, and its validity was established on the basis of face validity and content validity. The sample population consisted of students completing their education at a secondary school in 2002. The results indicated that, albeit significantly generalisable to the entire population of examinees, this test had neither reliability nor face or content validity. LITERATURE 2. LITERATURE REVIEW Traditionally, tests have been considered the commonest measurement instruments used for assessing learners language abilities (Bachman, 1990; Cohen, 1994; Harris, 1969; Henning, 1987; Hughes, 1989). Carroll (1968: 46, quoted in Bachman, 1990, p.20) defines a test as a procedure designed to elicit certain behaviour from which one can make inferences about certain characteristics of an individual. However, when devising tests for language learners, test developers should consider a number of crucial aspects and conditions such as the focus of the test in terms of the language abilities being tested, the method employed, and the issues of reliability, validity and feasibility. In this brief review, each one of these facets will be expanded on with a focus on learners of English as a foreign or second language.

There will always be some tension between reliability and validity. The tester has to balance gains in one against losses in the other (Hughes, 1989, p. 42).
The first institution of higher education established in Brazil, the Federal University of Amazonas (UFAM), was founded in 1909 in the State of Amazonas ( UFAMPSM2001- Manual do Candidato, 2000, p. 1, 7). UFAM is home to twenty thousand students attending undergraduate courses (US) in the main city, Manaus, and in other municipalities of the State. Recently the University has increased its intake from 1,785 to 1,941 students (UFAM-PSM2003 Manual do Candidato, 2002, p. 1, 6). Nonetheless, EFL teachers have informally argued that the English component of the entrance examination to UFAM technically has no influence on the selection of candidates for its undergraduate courses: candidates can completely fail the test, and still enter the University (UFAM-PSM2002 Manual do Candidato, 2001, p. 4). Seeing that the rationale behind this policy may entail an array of sociocultural, political and economic factors, any attempt at verifying such expostulation would be likely to adopt a bottom-up approach. Thus it was decided that the reliability and validity of the test merited priority in the investigation, being the English test administered to the candidates sitting the 2002 entrance examination for undergraduate courses of this University (UFAM/2002) a good starting point. However, considering the involved dimensions of these concepts

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Testing Language 2.1. Testing Learners L anguage Abilities An important factor in determining the language abilities to be tested is the purpose of the assessment. Cohen (1994: 23) suggests three general purposes, and twelve specific purposes (Figure 1), but maintains that the major split is often between proficiency tests intended for administrative purposes and achievement tests for
General purpose of the assessment

assessment of instructional results. The marking difference between these two types of tests is that the former is theory-based (e.g., TOEFL, Cambridge CPE, and ELTS), and the latter is syllabus-based (Bachman, 1990; Henning, 1987). Moreover, while proficiency tests may also be administered to assess students achievement in a particular course, achievement tests can rarely be suitable for assessing general learner proficiency (Cohen, 1994).
Specific reason for the assessment

Administrative

general assessment placement certification exemption promotion diagnosis evidence of progress feedback to the respondent evaluation of teaching or curriculum evaluation experimentation knowledge about language learning and language use

Instructional

Research Research

Figure 1. The Purpose of Assessment (Cohen, 1994, p. 23) Another vital distinction between achievement tests and proficiency tests is that, while there seems to be no irreparable damage to examinees when results diverge greatly from their actual language competence (either due to temporary instability on their part or inadequacy in achievement test construction), the profile and number of examinees and examiners, examiners limitations regarding candidates, and the purpose of the assessment make a large margin of error by both examinees and

test developers in respect to proficiency tests unavoidable (Harris, 1969). In the last part of the 1960s, focusing mostly on proficiency tests and achievement tests, Dr. David P Harris proposed a six-way . division of language test contents, namely: listening, speaking, reading, writing, grammatical structure, and vocabulary. The first four categories being labelled complex skills, and the last two components which may merit separate testing by virtue of their general importance and applicability to all four skills areas (Harris, 1969). While no substantial change has affected the range of categories in language tests since Harriss six-way division, there have been major developments in the mapping of communicative language abilities as a result of a number of research studies conducted in this area. This is amply exemplified by the comparison between Harriss (1969) and Cohens (1994) Sociocultural ability

descriptions of components of oral communicative ability. For one thing, the former suggests that either four or five components are generally recognized in analyses of the speech process: 1. Pronunciation (including the segmental features vowels and consonants and the stress and intonation patterns) 2. Grammar 3. Vocabulary 4. Fluency (the ease and speed of the flow of speech). (Harris, 1969, p. 81). Whereas the latter divides components of communicative ability into four different categories: (sociocultural ability, sociolinguistic ability, grammatical ability, and strategic ability (Figure 2), in passing, it seems worth observing that these categories characterise some of the essential elements of communicative competence (Stern, 1992; Bachman, 1990)).

The appropriateness of the strategies selected for realising communicative functions in given contexts, taking into account (1) the culture involved, (2) the age and sex of the speakers, (3) their social class and occupations, and (4) their roles as status in the interaction.

Sociolinguistic ability The linguistic forms that respondents use to express the intent of the communicative act (e.g. the grievance in a complaint). Vocabulary, morphology, syntax, and phonology. Grammatical ability Strategic ability Following Bachmans (1990: 100) suggestion, Cohen divides this ability into three components: (1) set of communicative goals, (2) retrieval of relevant items from language ability, and (3) planning of use of items retrieved.

Figure 2. Cohens Communicative Ability (Cohen, 1994, p.10- 11)

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For another thing, while Harriss view of oral proficiency seems to focus strictly on surface structures of the target language, Cohen clearly recognises other important aspects involved in communication, such as exophoric relationships (Brown and Yule, 1983), schemata (Bransford et al., 1984; Steffensen and Joag-Dev, 1984), and strategy (Bachman, 1990). Bachman (1990) also dismisses the skill/ component model (to put it in his words) as being seriously limited. His (1990) detailed mapping of language abilities susceptible to testing underscores the increase in research achievements in the field towards the end of the millennium (Figure 3). This seems to suggest that assessing learners language abilities, be it for administrative or instructional purposes, requires the development of tests so comprehensive as to embrace as much of the vast range of language competencies catalogued to date as possible. Testing 2.2. Testing Methods There is a large variety of language testing methods (LTM) especially designed for assessing each and every language ability (For a detailed description of LTM, see Harris,

1969; Cohen, 1994; Henning, 1987; and Bachman, 1990). Bachman (1990), for one, seems to have a broad view of LTM. So much that, in his framework of test method stet (Bachman, 1990, p. 116), aspects, other than the type of test administered, are considered important variables influencing test results. One such is time allocation: examinees not used to working under pressure may panic and thus score very little on their exams if they are told that they have, say, 42 seconds to answer a question, as is typical of speed tests (Harris, 1969: Pearson and Buffa, 1994). The nature of the language, in terms of vocabulary, for example, is another influential aspect in test results: tasks having specialized jargon, for instance, may be too daunting for test takers. Finally, the format of the test both in terms of input and output should be yet another concern for test developers. This is the case when examinees are asked to respond in writing to listening comprehension tests, for example. If, because of physical debility, psychological problems, or other latent factors, they have a short retention span, they will fail the test, not so much for failing to understand the target-language items, but because of memory problems.

Language Competence Organisational Competence Pragmatic Competence

Grammatical Competence

Textual Competence

Illocutionary Competence Ideational Function

Sociolinguistic Competence
Sensitivity to Dialect or Variety

Vocabulary

Cohesion

Morphology

Rhetorical Organisation

Manipulative Function

Sensitivity to Register Sensitivity to Naturalness

Cultural References and Figures of Speech

Syntax

Heuristic Function

Phonology/Graphology

Imaginative Function

Figure 3. Bachmans mapping of language abilities susceptible of testing (Bachman, 1990, p. 87) 2.3. The Matter of Credibility Notwithstanding the existence of a number of types of tests and a variety of aspects that can distinguish one test from another, there are some specific characteristics inherent in a test that make it reliable, valid, and feasible. 2.3.1. Reliability Reliability, in simple terms, is the precision of a measuring instrument (Bachman, 1990; Cohen 1994; Harris, 1969; Henning, 1987; Hughes, 1989). Other things being equal, as much as there are various types of such instruments, so are the ways in which their reliability can be estimated. One way the reliability of a test, for instance, can be established is by finding its reliability coefficient (RC). Harris (1969) argues that while a reliability quotient of 1.00 would indicate that a test is perfectly reliable, a quotient of zero would denote a complete absence of reliability. Testing experts make the point that the test-retest method (TRM) is a practical way of finding RCs (Henning, 1987). It consists of the administration of the same test to the same subjects twice, and its RC can be obtained through the Pearson Product Moment coefficient of correlation (PPM) formula (Henning, 1987):
rtt = r =

NXY XY
[NX2 (X)2] [NY2 (Y)2]

x,y

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where, rtt = the reliability coefficient using the TRM r x,y = the correlation of the scores of the number of respondents (N) of the first administration (X) with those of the second administration (Y) of the same test. In statistics books, one can find detailed explanations on how to use this formula on paper. Fortunately, with the help of personal computers or certain types of calculators, precious time can be saved, and laborious work can be avoided when determining rtt (Owen et al., 1997). Practical as the TRM may be, one should be quick to recognise its inadequacy to account for the various facets posing a threat to test reliability. Bachman (1990), for instance, maintains that the computation of reliability by this method can be undermined by two factors: practice effect and change in ability. The former occurs if, when taking the test for the second time, examinees become acquainted with the questions or the test format. The latter is characterised by an increase or decrease in respondents proficiency in the target language. This usually results from broadening the time span between the two administrations as an attempt to avoid practice effect. On account of that, Henning (1987) suggests an interval of no more than two weeks following the administration of the first test. Other variables that can jeopardise test reliability are examinees psychological state and physical health (Cohen, 1994). Normally one would not be expected to perform well on a test on the day of their mothers funeral, or when having a splitting

headache, for example. Similarly, administrative environment may also lead to inconsistency of test results (Henning, 1987). Overcrowded rooms, lack of proper ventilation, pneumatic hammers rattling outside test centres, room acoustics (in the case of verbal instructions or listening comprehension tests) are some examples of administrative elements that can pose a threat to test reliability. Furthermore, raters estimates of examinees language ability may be subjective (Bachman, 1990), which is another important variable affecting scores. Many would agree that this may be even more evident with components such as written compositions and interviews. Perhaps, the frequent use of multiple-choice test formats characterises an attempt at minimising subjectivity (Bachman, 1990). Finally no suggestion of being exhaustive intended the inadequacy of the sampling of tasks is bound to render a given test unreliable. As a countermeasure to this problem, Harris (1969) maintains that, generally, the more samples of examinees performance are taken, the more reliable will be the assessment of their language competency. Validity 2.3.2. Validity Testing specialists elaborate on a considerable number of types of validity (Bachman, 1990; Cohen, 1994; Harris, 1969; Henning, 1987; Hughes, 1989), from which only four types will be examined in this paper, namely, face validity, content validity, construct validity, and criterionrelated validity. The first type, face validity, is established on the basis of impression; therefore,

without any empirical evidence, one assumes a given test measures what it is supposed to. However, although this is not validity in the technical sense, as Harris (1969) suggests, one significant aspect of face validity relates to how testees may translate teacher or school policy on the basis of test formats. Thus, tests that look silly, for instance, are likely to undermine teachers or institutions credibility. The second type, content validity, relates to the representativeness of the knowledge a given test is designed to measure. If, for example, a group of L2 students have covered adjective building involving prefixes and suffixes in a given course, and the test they sit is restricted to adjective building only in terms of suffixation, one can hardly argue the content validity of such a test. Likewise, if the test includes questions involving items such as a two-hour journey and caramelcum-butterscotch-cum-coffee-cum-toffee spread (Kay and Jones, 2001, p. 76), which are types of adjectives that have not yet been taught in the imaginary course, the test is said to have no content validity. Nevertheless, a satisfactory paradigm for judging whether or not a test has content validity seems to be a specification of the language abilities which are bound to be covered in a course. Hughes (1989: 22) maintains that such a specification should be made at a very early stage in test construction. He also argues that although not all of the language items listed in the specification may appear in the test, this typology will provide the test constructor with the basis for making a principled selection of elements for inclusion in the test.

Briefly, the third type, construct validity, is verified by testing given abilities or subabilities in various ways. If, as a result, test scores correlate highly in line with the researchers theory of what the frameworks of those abilities or sub-abilities are, then the test is said to have construct validity (Cohen, 1994; Henning, 1987; Hughes, 1989). Nevertheless, while arguing that there is no sufficient evidence for determining construct validation in testscore correlations, Bachman (1990) draws on Messick (1988, cited in Bachman, 1990, p. 258) to suggest other types of empirical evidence: These may include any or all of the following: (1) the examination of patterns of correlations among item scores and test scores, and between characteristics of items and tests and scores on items and tests; (2) analyses and modelling of the processes underlying test performance; (3) studies of group differences; (4) studies of changes over time, or (5) investigation of the effects of experimental treatment (Bachman, 1990, p. 258). Finally, the fourth type of validity, criterion-related validity, embraces two other types: concurrent validity and predictive validity. The determination of the first is on the basis of the relationship between a given test and a construct-validated external criterion measure administered concurrently. The second is normally conveyed as a correlation coefficient with some future criterion measure, as Cohen exemplifies: As an example of predictive validation, a language aptitude test may be validated by a test of a students achievement in the language class in which the student was

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placed on the basis of the aptitude test (1994: 39- 40). There are some caveats, though, involving these varieties of criterion-related validity. In the case of concurrent validity, even if the criterion measure has construct validity and highly correlates with a given test, no guarantee is given whether or not test scores, indicators of a given ability, are not influenced by other abilities (Bachman, 1990). On the other hand, tests developed to predict future performance cannot be considered valid indicators of ability (Bachman, 1990). In a sentence, the author underscores the limitations of criterionrelated validity: information about criterion relatedness concurrent or predictive is by itself insufficient evidence for validation (Bachman, 1990, p. 253). Validity Reliability versus Validity Generally speaking, reliability and validity are closely related concepts and useful tools for test analysis (Bachman, 1990, Hughes, 1989). However, they can on certain situations be completely unconnected. Thus, for example, a test that is considered reliable because of high correlation of scores may be dismissed as invalid due to lack of consistency in terms of its purported measurement objective. In other words, all valid tests are reliable, but not all reliable tests are valid (Henning, 1987). 2.3.3. Feasibility While reliability and validity are regarded by testing experts as essential measurement

qualities, feasibility seems to be, as Harris (1969) puts it, another sine qua non, without which the other two are rendered useless. This is mainly due to such things as administrative costs, availability of equipment, manpower, and appropriate facilities. While one cannot overlook other potential factors that may render a test unviable, in the last analysis, it seems the less costly the more feasible a test becomes, notwithstanding the danger of sacrificing quality for the sake of economy. 3. METHOD 3.1. Subjects The subjects were two groups of secondary school (SS) students (N 45) in the 17 to 20 age bracket. When the investigation was conducted, these 45 students were sitting their SS final examination at Colgio Amazonense Dom Pedro II, a State school for primary (EF) and secondary (EM) education1 in the State of Amazonas (Brazil). 3.2. Materials For data collection, ninety copies were made of the UFAM/2002 English test (Appendix A). Additionally, a copy of the candidate handbook (CH) was examined in terms of whether or not that particular English test sampled adequately the abilities (or sub-abilities) it purported to measure (Figure 4).

Ensino Fundamental (EF) and Ensino Mdio (EM) respectively .

Study guide for the foreign language test (Spanish, French or English)

For the foreign language test (FLT), there is no specific study guide. The objective of this test is just to verify whether or not the candidate has basic knowledge of the selected foreign language. Therefore, the FLT will involve the experience the candidate may have acquired in secondary school (ensino mdio). It will include reading comprehension, basic vocabulary, and grammatical structure of the target language. Para a prova de Lngua Estrangeira, no h um programa especfico. O que se pretende apenas verificar se o candidato possui os conhecimentos fundamentais do idioma que escolheu. Assim sendo, a prova procurar levar em considerao a experincia que o Ensino Mdio, geralmente, proporciona aos estudantes. Ela versar sobre o domnio de um vocabulrio bsico e sobre a estrutura gramatical da lngua.

Guia de estudo para a prova de lngua estrangeira (Espanhol, Francs e Ingls)

Figure 4. PSM/2002 Candidate Handbook: study guide (UFAM-PSM2002 Manual do Candidato, 2001, p. 9) (My translation of the study guide in the PSM/2002 Candidate Handbook) 3.3. Procedure On the basis of the test-retest method, the UFAM/2002 English test was administered twice to the forty-five students concluding SS at Colgio Amazonense Dom Pedro II. In agreement with Hennings (1987) suggestion on time lag between test administrations, the first testing was held on 18 November 2002, and the retesting was sat on 26 November 2002, seven days after the first administration. The test was then rated on a scale of zero to ten marks, and its reliability was estimated on the basis of the PPM formula (see section 2.3.1). As more than twenty thousand candidates sat the 2002 entrance examination to UFAM, 45 respondents is obviously an insignificant sample of the entire population of examinees. Therefore, so that the level of significance, or the pvalue of the statistic (Henning, 1987) could be verified, the Critical Values of the Pearson Product-Moment Correlation Coefficient (reproduced in Henning, 1987, p. 170) was used (Table 1, in Appendix B). Additionally, on the grounds that the correlation between the scores of respondents representative of the entire population aforementioned should be positive, a one-tailed test of significance was conducted. Yet, if a positive or negative correlation would be equally acceptable, then a two-tailed test of significance would be adequate (Henning, 1987).

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The content validity of the test was verified by comparing the UFAM/2002 English test both with the specifications for the test outlined in the CH (Figure 4) and the parameters for the teaching of modern foreign languages (PCN) found in the

National Curriculum Parameters for Secondar y School Modern Foreign Languages ( Parmetros Curriculares Nacionais: ensino mdio PCN, 1999, p. 147- 153; see Figure 5).

Representation and communication National Curriculum Parameters Secondary for Secondar y School: Modern Foreign Language competencies and abilities to be developed

Choose the adequate register and vocabular y for the occasion when communication occurs. Use coherence and cohesion devices in the oral/written production. Use verbal and non-verbal strategies to compensate for lack of ability in the target language both in production and reading. Know and use modern foreign languages as a means to have access to other cultures, and other social groups.

Investigation and comprehension

Understand the various ways a given expression can be interpreted on the basis of socio-cultural aspects. Analyse verbal language expression resources considering the nature, function, organisation and the structure of the target language (TL). Such analysis should be carried out on the basis of the proper conditions for production/reception of the TL (intention, time, place, interlocutors, and available technological resources). Distinguish linguistic variants. Understand to what extent oral/written texts reveal speaker traits such as behaviour, thought, and mood.

Socio-cultural Contextualisation

Representao e comunicao

Competncias e habilidades a serem desenvolvidas em Lngua Estrangeira Moderna Investigao e compreenso

Escolher o registro adequado situao na qual se processa a comunicao e o vocbulo que melhor reflita a idia que pretende comunicar. Utilizar os mecanismos de coerncia e coeso na produo oral e/ou escrita. Utilizar as estratgias verbais e noverbais para compensar as falhas, favorecer a efetiva comunicao e alcanar o efeito pretendido em situaes de produo e leitura. Conhecer e usar as lnguas estrangeiras modernas como instrumento de acesso a informaes a outras culturas e grupos sociais. Compreender de que forma determinada expresso pode ser interpretada em razo de aspectos sociais e/ou culturais. Analisar os recursos expressivos da linguagem verbal, relacionando textos/ contextos mediante a natureza, funo, organizao, estrutura, de acordo com as condies de produo/recepo (inteno, poca, local, interlocutores, participantes da criao e propagao de idias e escolhas, tecnologias disponveis).

Contextualizao scio-cultural

Saber distinguir as variantes lingsticas. Compreender em que medida os enunciados refletem a forma de ser, pensar, agir e sentir de quem os produz.

Figure 5. The National Curriculum Parameters for Secondary School Modern Foreign Language (Parmetros Curriculares Nacionais: ensino mdio, 1999, p. 153. My translation).

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RESULTS CORRELA 4. RESULTS OF CORREL ATIONAL DOCUMENTAL ANALYSES AND DOCUMENTAL ANALYSES 4.1. Estimating the Reliability of the UFAM/2002 Test UFAM/2002 English Test On the basis of the PPM, the reliability coefficient of the UFAM/2002 administered to the forty-five respondents at Colgio Amazonense Dom Pedro II was rtt = 0.57 (Table 2, in Appendix B). Furthermore, assuming that the sample of respondents was potentially comparable with samples chosen at random from the real universe of UFAM/ 2002 candidates, and that the correlation of their scores should be positive, the onetailed level of significance was established. Following Table 1 (Appendix B), the value of the PPM found with the sample would have to exceed 0.2428 at a desirable level of significance for one-tailed tests (p < 0.05) so that generalisation of the UFAM/ 2002-candidate population could be made. Since rtt emerged as 0.57, this correlation coefficient is considered significant and thus it could be generalised to that population if the respondents were a random sample of it. Additionally, to achieve a level of significance of p < 0.01, which represents 99 percent confidence in the generalisation (Henning, 1987), the PPM of the UFAM/ 2002 sample would have to exceed 0.3384. As the correlation coefficient found with the sample did exceed those figures, it can be considered highly significant, thus highly generalisable to the entire population, were the samples chosen from the real universe of UFAM/2002 candidates.

Validity 4.2. Estimating the Validity of the UFAM/2002 Test UFAM/2002 English Test For the sake of operational viability, the validity of the UFAM/2002 was checked against the two simpler types of validity: face validity and content validity. The analysis based on impression has revealed important facts about this all-reading comprehension test. Following the typical multiple-choice format of four alternatives (Cohen, 1994), the UFAM/2002 English test was based on two texts: the first, a 211-word excerpt, apparently part of a newspaper feature article; the second, a 290-word passage, which might have been quoted from a magazine. Furthermore, the former text was followed by three items and the latter by two items. However, as one of the items of the first text had eventually to be declared void (there was no correct alternative in it), the test was reduced to four items, most of which were badly written. For one thing, besides the fact that the respondents native language was the language of response (Bachman, 1990), some distractors were either clearly absurd, or conflicting with one another: (26) According to the text: A. All of them are the same size, and larger than Earth. B. There is no certainty about the discovery of these planets. C. There is certainty only about the existence of three new planets. D. Theres certainty about the discovery of eight new planets.

E.

All of them can be seen from Earth with the naked eye.

(UFAM PSM2002, Prova 1, 2001, p. 5; see Appendix A for complete translation of items my translation) The prime example of this is the use of the word prprio (own) in choices A and D, which admits the assumption that a celestial body can borrow other celestial bodies nucleus. Similarly, the word interior (interior) combined with ncleo (nucleus) in choice A generates blatant redundancy in Portuguese. Choice C is exemplary of the nonsensical quality of the item. Additionally, while choice E is the correct answer, its opposition to choice B seems to undermine test credibility (Harris, 1969). These facts appear to be crucial to determining the face validity of the UFAM/2002. The comparison between the content of the UFAM/2002 with the study guide outlined in the candidate handbook and the parameters in the PCN manual has also provided valuable data for estimating the content validity of this test. In the CH study guide it is claimed that For the foreign language test (FLT), there is no specific study guide. The objective of [the UFAM/2002 English test] is just to verify whether or not the candidate has basic knowledge of the selected foreign language. Therefore, the FLT will involve the experience the candidate may have acquired in secondary school (ensino mdio). It will include reading comprehension, basic vocabulary, and grammatical structure of the target language ( UFAM-PSM2002 Manual do Candidato, 2001, p. 9 My translation; Figure 4).

(UFAM PSM2002, Prova 1, 2001, p. 5; see Appendix A for complete translation of items my translation). B and E represent the only real choices in this item for two reasons. One is that choice A can be instantly dismissed without reference to the excerpt (Appendix A), since the idea of a planet being the same size as another seems as untenable as the existence of the perfect circle. The other is that choices B, C, and D eliminate one another. Thus, one might choose B on the optimistic assumption that no celestial body that can be seen with the naked eye from Earth has escaped astronomers records. For another thing, other distractors could also be easily eliminated particularly owing to bad semantics: (28) The text mentions brown dwarfs. Brown dwarfs are: A. Small stars similar to Earth, but which have their own interior nucleus (sic). B. Small planets which have little interior nuclear power source. C. Stars which have nuclear mass interior (sic) above normal. D. Celestial bodies without a nucleus of their own (sic), but which have large mass. E. Celestial bodies lacking interior nuclear power source, and having less mass than planets.

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Nevertheless, irrespective of the sentence structuring system and the load of Latinate words typically found in academic texts written in English, which in passing favours Portuguese speakers a great deal, no meticulous examination is required to notice that the two texts selected for the UFAM/ 2002 are patently loaded with somewhat involved syntactic and morphological structures, and complex lexical items, thus demanding from the candidates far more than basic knowledge of the target language. In terms of lexis, for instance, words and expressions such as stars, hunt for, scan the heavens, pull brown dwarfs, lack, in the first text; and hard, ought to, set up, entire, too early in the second seem to be challenging for most Brazilians whose English was learnt solely at regular schools. Regarding the complexity of syntactic and morphological structures found in the UFAM/2002 English test, an example from the first text is: European astronomers on Monday reported detecting signs that eight planets, some of them larger than Jupiter, may be orbiting stars outside our own solar system. (UFAM PSM2002, Prova 1, 2001, p. 4; Appendix A) The inexistence in the Portuguese language of a structure similar to the type underlined here which would fit this particular co-text seems to contribute to potential misinterpretation of the sentence by Brazilian learners of English. In this environment, the English -ing form would most certainly be replaced by the Portuguese compound personal infinitive (infinitivo

pessoal composto), e.g., terem detectado sinais (Cunha, 1986, p. 387).

In the third paragraph of the second text, the sentence Because everyone has Internet access, older people participate as much as younger ones, and everyone can visit distant libraries and museums as easily as nearby ones (UFAM PSM2002, Prova 1, 2001, p. 5; Appendix A) appears to be a good example of complex sentence structuring, mainly concerning the use of comparatives. A more complicating factor, however, seems to be the instances of test-writing negligence, which is transparent in this same paragraph: where and and are written as whwre and end respectively. This inattentiveness is indeed more markedly noticed in the construction of item two following the first text, which was declared void for lacking a correct alternative. About the experience the candidate may have acquired in EM, this is a rather involved issue, inasmuch as, regardless of the PCN (Figure 5), the EFL classroom reality, especially in state schools, seems to indicate that students finishing EM have only superficial knowledge of English this is yet to be empirically investigated though. 5. DISCUSSION UFAM/ 5.1. The Reliability of the UFAM/ Test 2002 English Test The reliability coefficient of the UFAM/ 2002 found with the 45 respondents (rtt = 0.57) through the TRM indicates an extremely low level of reliability. Harris (1969) maintains that tests designed to

select candidates should have a reliability quotient of at least 0.90, and preferably even somewhat higher. Nevertheless, as he points out, the limitations of this method should be considered when making decisions on the basis of correlation coefficients. In the case of these respondents, for instance, I noticed that some of them returned the test far sooner than the estimated time for them to answer it. Considering the degree of difficulty of the passages, it was established that the respondents should be able to answer the test in twenty minutes. However, some of the respondents returned the test in about seven minutes after they were given it. This phenomenon seems to constitute a different source of inconsistency other than the classic ones: differential practice effect and differential changes in ability (Bachman, 1990, p. 182). Perhaps these respondents attitude is an indication of disappointment. It is possible that they may have felt that the English they had been learning so far at school was not enough for them to understand the texts in the UFAM/2002 English test. Hughes (1989) seems to endorse this view: Now it might be argued that to base test content on objectives rather than on course content is unfair to students. If the course content does not fit well with objectives, they will be expected to do things for which they have not been prepared (1989: 12). Validity UFAM/2002 5.2. The Validity of the UFAM/2002 Test English Test In the light of the evidence provided in the previous section, it seems reasonable to

say that the UFAM/2002 English test lacks both face validity and content validity. In regard to the former, although the wordcount of the two selected texts fluctuates within the range of acceptable text length, both the number of texts, and items per text are far below testing experts prescription for this type of test. Harris (1969) suggests about five passages, each ranging from 100 to 250 words, and followed by four to seven items or more. Furthermore, the badly written items and the two spelling problems detected in the second passage also undermine the face validity of the UFAM/2002 English test. At this point, it is important noting that the lead in (26) is rather vague, thus requiring that them be replaced by a noun phrase in choice A (or A could be swapped for B), so that A could be clearly understood in isolation. This appears to be endorsed by Harris (1969: 62): The vocabulary and syntax of the items should be kept as simple as possible so that the real problem is the interpretation of the passage, not of the questions that are asked about it. Importantly, on the basis of Harriss (1969) advice on item writing, a suggestion for items following the first passage of the UFAM/2002 English test is outlined in Appendix C. To consider the next point, the content validity of the UFAM/2002 English test, one has to partly assume a speculative stance, inasmuch as a study is yet to be conducted on whether or not the PCN are in fact followed in the EFL classroom at both private and state schools in the State of Amazonas. Nevertheless, when collating the CH study

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guide with the two texts of the UFAM/2002 English test there can hardly be any doubt about the gap between what is stated in the CH, and the actual level of proficiency required by those texts. This nonetheless seems to be mitigated by both the choice of the candidates native language as the language of response and the unchallenging quality of the items. Albeit the suggestion in Appendix C seems to offer more reliable items for the first passage of the UFAM/2002 English test, many would be likely to agree that the test would still have no validation considering the argument on the comparison between the UFAM/2002, the CH study guide and the PCN. As testing experts suggest, a test is valid only insofar as it constitutes a sample of what it purports to measure (Bachman, 1990; Cohen, 1994; Harris, 1969; Henning, 1987; Hughes, 1989). CONCLUSION 6. CONCLUSION According to the results presented in this paper, the expostulation of ELT teachers working at state schools in Manaus was confirmed: the English component of the entrance examination to the Federal University of Amazonas administered in 2002 was neither reliable nor valid. In other words, the UFAM/2002 English test was considered dispossessed of basic requirement to be qualified as a serious screening test of English. However, the weight of this conclusion is put into question on account of sample reliability. Thus, to validate the findings reported here, the repetition of this investigation under more reliable conditions appears to be necessary.

Nevertheless, as tentative as this study may be, it is felt that, once confirmed, these results seem to have serious implications particularly for the English undergraduate course (EUC) of this University whose unstated required level of proficiency in the target language is at least two years of comprehensive and continuous study EUC freshmen have to deal with New Interchange 2 (Richards and Sandy, 1998) in a classroom where English is supposed to be the language of instruction. Unfortunately, considering the length of the EUC, the adoption of such a tacit policy is understandable: it is rather unlikely that beginners could become advanced learners in only eight terms of study. One can suggest two alternative solutions to this dilemma though. One solution would be the addition of two more terms to the EUC, so that freshmen could start studying English as real beginners. Hopefully, they would achieve advanced level proficiency by the end of the course. The other solution would be the development of a reliable and valid screening test for candidates applying for the EUC. However, this measure could be dismissed by both the University and the local community for different reasons. For one thing, lack of manpower and money to operate the logistics involved in the administration of such a test may potentially be UFAMs strong claims. For another thing, this new policy may attract widespread criticism from the Amazonian community. For instance, one might argue against the discriminatory quality of the process, claiming that the seven years of EFL learning at state schools (as well as private schools) fail to prepare candidates to succeed in this

type of test. From this perspective, then, it is likely that only those who could afford to study in a language institute would be apt to attend the EUC at UFAM. Since no empirical study has been conducted on this issue to date, the suggestion that Amazonian students cannot achieve an intermediate level of proficiency in English after having studied this subject for fourteen terms at state and private schools can only be speculative. However, the results presented in this paper seem to lead to a number of questions about the role of English (or any other modern foreign language) in the Brazilian formal educational system, which may merit further research. For one thing, one might want to investigate, for instance, the extension to which the PCN are based on sound principles of foreign language teaching, or the validity of the assumptions underlined in Figure 5 about the level of proficiency of EM students. Another concern is how closely the PCN are followed in the EFL classroom of state and private schools. One way of verifying this would be through an analysis of the ELT material used in these schools. This might determine whether or not the EFL classroom of EF is conducive to the development of the target language in EM. For another thing, assuming the English component of the entrance examination to the Federal University of Amazonas were decisive to admission not only to the EUC, but also to the other undergraduate courses offered by this University, how would English compare with other subjects in the EF and

EM curricula? How seriously would EF and EM students take it? What influence would these conditions have on school policy concerning the selection of EFL teachers, and adequacy of environment for EFL teaching? REFERENCES
Bachman, L. F. (1990). Fundamental considerations in language testing. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Bransford, J. D. et al. (1984). Learning from the perspective of the comprehender. In Anderson, J.C. and Urquhart, A. H. (eds.) Reading in a foreign language. London: Longman. Brasil. (1999). Ministrio da Educao, Secretaria de Educao Mdia e Tecnolgica. Parmetros Curriculares Nacionais: Ensino Mdio. Brasla: Ministrio da Educao. Brown, G. and Yule, G. (1983). Discourse analysis. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Carroll, J.B. (1968). The psychology of language testing. In: Bachman, L. F Fundamental . considerations in language testing. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Cohen, A. D. (1994). Assessing language ability in the classroom. (2nd ed.). Boston, Mass: Newbury House. Cunha, C. F (1986). Gramtica da lngua . portuguesa. (11 ed.). Rio de Janeiro: FAE. Harris, D. P. (1969). Testing English as a second language. New York: McGraw-Hill.

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Henning, G. (1987). A guide to language testing: Development, evaluation, research. Boston, Mass: Newbury House. Hughes, A. (1989). Testing for language teachers. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Kay, S. and Jones, V. (2001). Inside out upper intermediate: Students Book. Oxford: Macmillan Heinemann. Owen, C., et al. (1997). Testing . Birmingham: Centre for English Language Studies (CELS). Pearson, L. and Buffa, L. (1994). The Princeton review: Cracking the TOEFL, 1995 edition. New York: Villard Books. Richards, J. C. and Sandy, C. (1998). New Interchange 2: Students Book. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Steffensen, M. S. and Joag-dev, C. (1984). Cultural knowledge and reading. In Anderson, J. C. and Urquhart, A. H. (eds.). Reading in a foreign language. London: Longman.

Stern, H.H. (1992). Issues and options in language teaching. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Universidade Federal do Amazonas. (2000). Processo Seletivo Macro PSM2001: Manual do Candidato. Manaus: Imprensa Universitria. Universidade Federal do Amazonas. (2001). Processo Seletivo Macro PSM2002: Prova 01, Conhecimentos Gerais I. Manaus: Imprensa Universitria. Universidade Federal do Amazonas. (2001). Processo Seletivo Macro PSM2002: Manual do Candidato. Manaus: Imprensa Universitria. Universidade Federal do Amazonas. (2002). Processo Seletivo Macro PSM2003: Manual do Candidato. Manaus: Imprensa Universitria.

UFAM/2002 APPENDIX A: THE UFAM/2002 Processo Seletivo Macro Psm2002 Prova de Conhecimentos Gerais I Lngua Estrangeira - Ingls (Passage one) PLANETS DETECTED RESPONDA LEIA O TEXTO EIGHT NEW POSSIBLE PL ANETS DETECTED E RESPONDA ADEQUADAMENTE: WASHINGTON (Reuters) European astronomers on Monday reported detecting signs that eight planets, some of them possibly larger than Jupiter, may be orbiting stars outside our own solar system. These discoveries bring the number of potential extrasolar planets to more than 40. The hunt for these planets candidates has intensified in the last year, as space scientists from around the world scan the heavens for Sun-like stars and planets that might orbit them. The newest candidates were detected by astronomers working with the European Southern Observatorys La Silla observatory in Chile. The scientists are based in Geneva, Switzerland. None of the planet candidates have ever been seen by humans, but scientists believe they are there because of the gravitational pull they exert on the stars they orbit. Two of the eight new candidates may not be planets at all, the European scientists said in a statement, but could instead be brown dwarfs, which have a bit less mass than stars and completely lack a stars interior nuclear power source. Three of the new planet possibilities are about the size of Saturn or smaller, three are one to three times the size of Jupiter and two are 10 times the size of Jupiter or larger. All of these are far larger than Earth. 26. De acordo com o texto: a) Todos so do mesmo tamanho e maiores do que a Terra b) No h certeza quanto descoberta desses planetas c) H certeza s quanto existncia de trs novos planetas d) H certeza quanto descoberta de oito novos planetas e) Todos podem ser vistos da Terra a olho nu. 27. Os sinais detectados indicam que: (NULA) a) os oito planetas seriam maiores do que Jpiter e estariam fora de nosso sistema solar. b) os oito planetas seriam menores do que Jpiter e estariam dentro de nosso sistema solar. c) os oito planetas seriam iguais a Jpiter e estariam na orla de nosso sistema solar.

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d) e)

os oito planetas so, na verdade, maiores do que a Terra e dentro de nosso sistema solar (sic). os oito planetas so bem maiores do que a Terra e prximos de Saturno (sic).

28. O texto faz meno a brown dwarfs. Brown dwarfs so: a) pequenas estrelas semelhantes a Terra, mas com ncleo interior prprio (sic). b) pequenos planetas com pouca fonte de energia nuclear. c) estrelas com interior de massa nuclear acima do normal (sic). d) corpos celestes sem ncleo prprio(sic), mas grande massa. e) corpos celestes desprovidos de fonte de fora nuclear interna e possuem menos massa do que os planetas. (My translation of instructions and items for the first passage) READ THE TEXT EIGHT NEW POSSIBLE PLANETS DETECTED AND ANSWER ADEQUATELY: 26. According to the text: a) All of them are the same size, and larger than Earth. b) There is no certainty about the discovery of these planets. c) There is certainty only about the existence of three new planets. d) Theres certainty about the discovery of eight new planets. e) All of them can be seen from Earth with the naked eye. 27. The detected signs indicate that: (VOID 1 VOID). VOID a) The eight planets would be larger than Jupiter and would be out of our solar system. b) The eight planets would be smaller than Jupiter and would be inside our solar system. c) The eight planets would be similar to Jupiter and would be bordering our solar system. d) The eight planets are in reality larger than Earth and inside our solar system (sic).* e) The eight planets are by far larger than Earth and next to Saturn (sic).*
1

Because the existence of the eight planets is assumed in all choices, this item was cancelled. * In Portuguese ser and estar (to be) convey different meanings.

28. The text mentions brown dwarfs. Brown dwarfs are: a) Small stars similar to Earth, but which have their own interior nucleus (sic). b) Small planets which have little interior nuclear power source. c) Stars which have nuclear mass interior (sic) above normal.

d) Celestial bodies without a nucleus of their own (sic), but which have large mass. e) Celestial bodies lacking interior nuclear power source and having less mass than planets. (Passage two) REPLACE RESPONDA LEIA O TEXTO WILL TECHNOLOGY REPL ACE SCHOOL? E RESPONDA ADEQUADAMENTE: Some people believe that soon schools will no longer be necessary. These people say that because of the Internet and other new technology, there is no longer any need for school buildings, formal classes, or teachers. Perhaps this will be true one day, but it is hard for me to imagine a world without schools. In fact, we need to look at how we can use new technology to make schools better-not to eliminate them. We should invent a new kind of school that is linked to libraries, museums, science centers, laboratories, and even corporations. Corporations ought to create learning programs for schools in their area of expertise. Independent experts could give talks on video or over the internet. TV networks and local stations could develop programming about things students are actually studying in school. Laboratories could set up websites to demonstrate new technology so students could view it on the Internet. Is this just a dream? No. Already there are several towns whwre (sic) this is beginning to happen. Blacksburg, Virginia, is one of them. Here the entire city is linked to the Internet, end learning can take place at home, at school, and in the office. Businesses provide programs for the schools and the community. The schools provide computer labs for people without their own computers at home. Because everyone has Internet access, older people participate as much as younger ones, and everyone can visit distant libraries and museums as easily as nearby ones. How will this new kind of school change learning? It is too early to be sure, but it is very exciting to think about. Technology will change the way we learn; schools will change as well; and we will all learn something in the process. 29. Leia as colocaes abaixo e assinale aquela com as quais o autor concordaria. 1. Escolas no so necessrias. 2. As novas tecnologias iro substituir as escolas. 3. O uso de novas tecnologias positivo. 4. A aprendizagem deveria se dar s nas escolas. 5. As empresas deveriam se envolver com a educao. a) 134 b) 3 5 c) 45 d) 1 - 2 5 e) 34

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30. Na frase perhaps this will be true one day... (1o. pargrafo), this refere-se: a) a um mundo sem mestres, s tecnologia. b) necessidade de acabar com as aulas e com os professores. c) a no necessidade de prdios escolares, aulas formais ou professores. d) inveno de uma nova escola sem estrutura e) dominao dos prdios escolares pelos computadores (My translation of instructions and items for the second passage) READ THE TEXT WILL TECHNOLOGY REPLACE SCHOOL? AND ANSWER ADEQUATELY: 29. Read the statements below, and indicate the ones with which the author would agree. a) Schools are not necessary. b) New technologies will eventually replace schools. c) The use of new Technologies is positive. d) Learning should take place only at school. e) Companies should participate in the educational process. a. 134 b. 3 5 c. 45 d. 1 - 2 5 e. 34 30. In the sentence perhaps this will be true one day... (1st paragraph), this refers to: a) a world without teachers, only technology. b) the necessity to banish lessons and teachers. c) the fact that school buildings, formal lessons or teachers are not necessary. d) the creation of a new school, without structure. e) the supremacy of computers in school buildings.

TABLES APPENDIX B: TABLES

Table 1. Critical Values of the Pearson Product-Moment Correlation Coefficient (reproduced in Henning, 1987, p.170)

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UFAM/2002 APPENDIX C: NEW ITEMS FOR THE UFAM/2002 Here is a suggestion of items for the first reading passage of the UFAM/2002 English test. After this passage, you will find five unfinished statements about it, each with five You suggested ways of finishing. You must choose the one which you think fits best. EIGHT NEW POSSIBLE PLANETS DETECTED WASHINGTON (Reuters) European astronomers on Monday reported detecting signs that eight planets, some of them possibly larger than Jupiter, may be orbiting stars outside our own solar system. These discoveries bring the number of potential extrasolar planets to more than 40. The hunt for these planets candidates has intensified in the last year, as space scientists from around the world scan the heavens for Sun-like stars and planets that might orbit them. The newest candidates were detected by astronomers working with the European Southern Observatorys La Silla observatory in Chile. The scientists are based in Geneva, Switzerland. None of the planet candidates have ever been seen by humans, but scientists believe they are there because of the gravitational pull they exert on the stars they orbit. Two of the eight new candidates may not be planets at all, the European scientists said in a statement, but could instead be brown dwarfs, which have a bit less mass than stars and completely lack a stars interior nuclear power source. Three of the new planet possibilities are about the size of Saturn or smaller, three are one to three times the size of Jupiter and two are 10 times the size of Jupiter or larger. All of these are far larger than Earth. 1. According to the information given in the passage about stars, one can argue that A. they can be larger than planets such as Jupiter and Earth. B. normally their gravitational field is less extensive than that of the planet Earth. C. their interior nuclear power source is exhaustible. D. they are especially orbited by planets. E. they can be sun-like celestial bodies smaller than the Sun. 2. The writer suggests that these discoveries A. evidence that celestial bodies can be precisely measured. B. may be stars orbiting outside our solar system. C. may be celestial bodies with narrow gravitational fields. D. increase the number of extrasolar planets to more than forty. E. were made from Chilean ground.

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3.

The scientists who discovered the celestial bodies are A. Swiss. B. Spanish native speakers. C. North Americans. D. South Americans. E. Europeans. According to the text brown dwarfs A. are larger than Earth. B. can be larger than some stars. C. can be characterised by their similarity with distant planets. D. can be confused with stars. E. are ten times the size of Jupiter or larger One may conclude from the passage that these celestial bodies A. are orbiting outside our solar system. B. are planets that can be confused with stars. C. total eight extrasolar planets. D. could be seen from the observatory thanks to modern technology. E. are planets which have more mass than Earth.

4.

5.

This article was received on May 12th, 2004 and accepted on August 22nd, 2004

Reading Aloud Activities as a Way to Determine Students Narrative Template

Actividades de lectura en voz alta como una forma de determinar el modelo narrativo de los estudiantes

Valencia Jos Aldemar lvarez Valencia*

Universidad Pedaggica Nacional aldecho@hotmail.com This article focuses on the description of a methodological innovation implemented in a beginners English class at university level in Bogot, Colombia which had two aims: First, to explore the role of reading aloud activities in the teaching of English, and second, to describe the narrative template students use when retelling a story in writing. Data collection sources for this smallscale project incorporated class observation during the reading aloud activity, students written samples as the means for them to retell the story, and interviews that were held at the end of the research process. This experience allowed both the teacher and the learners to approach English and see themselves playing a different role in the classroom. Moreover, it helped students foster their communicative competence as well as their motivation toward English language learning. Thus, this study promotes pedagogical debate about literacy processes in English in adults and the applicability of this kind of innovation in an EFL context. Key words: Literacy, Reading Aloud, Storytelling, Narrative Template, English words: Innovation, Foreign Language-Innovation El objetivo de este artculo es describir una innovacin que se implement en un curso de ingls bsico a nivel universitario en Bogot, Colombia y el cual tuvo dos objetivos: primero, explorar el rol de de las actividades de lectura en voz alta para el aprendizaje del Ingls y segundo describir el modelo narrativo que usan los estudiantes cuando narran una historia. Los mtodos de recoleccin de datos para este proyecto a menor escala incorporaron observacin de clases durante las actividades de lectura en voz alta, produccin escrita de los estudiantes como un medio para que ellos narraran las historias y entrevistas al final del proceso de investigacin. Esta experiencia permiti al profesor y a los
Valencia Jos Aldemar lvarez Valencia is a teacher of English graduated from Universidad Pedaggica Nacional. Currently he is a fourth semester student of the Master in Applied Linguistics at Universidad Distrital in Bogot. He works at Universidad Pedaggica Nacional and Universidad de Ciencias Aplicadas y Ambientales U.D.C.A as a teacher of English.
*

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estudiantes acercase al ingls de una manera diferente y verse a s mismos asumiendo otro rol en el aula de clase. Adems, incentiv el desarrollo de la competencia comunicativa as como la motivacin hacia el aprendizaje de la lengua. En consecuencia, este estudio promueve la discusin pedaggica acerca del proceso de desarrollo de lectura y escritura en ingls en adultos y la aplicacin de este tipo de innovacin en un contexto de enseanza del ingls como lengua extranjera. Palabras claves: Proceso Lecto-escritor, Lectura en voz alta, NarracinHistorias, Modelo Narrativo, Ingls-Innovaciones, Innovacin- Lengua Extranjera INTRODUCTION This paper describes the development of a small-scale project that was part of the assignments of two seminars of the Master in Applied Linguistics of the TEFL program of Universidad Distrital. The interdisciplinary work on both subjects the seminars on Discourse Analysis and Classroom Interaction and Teacher Preparation about Theory and on Methodology of Foreign Language Teaching prompted carrying out an innovation grounded on the articulation and generation of pedagogical knowledge between these two areas in order to enrich the teachinglearning task. The study carried out during the second semester of 2003 aimed at promoting the literacy process not only in its linguistic dimension (reading and writing) but also in its socio-cultural dimension since any literacy practice constitutes a social practice (Baynham, 1995). Next, I describe the background and the basic constructs that support this study; then I report on the methodology, participants and site, the data collection procedure, and analysis. Later, I discuss the findings in order to describe, first, the components of the narrative template that students use to retell a story and second, the impact of the reading aloud activity upon the students and language learning. Finally, I examine the conclusions and pedagogical implications of the experience. LITERATURE REVIEW OF LITERATURE When I started thinking about the innovation that I was required to develop in my teaching context, I became interested in providing my students with exposure and interaction in a different language source. My first step was to carry out an informal needs analysis whose results revealed the students felt that reading aloud activities gave them more possibilities to interact with the foreign language. Thus I found it interesting to integrate reading aloud with discourse analysis. Hence, the reading aloud of a story would act as the input to enable students to use the components of the narrative genre. In this sense, I posed these two research questions: What are the components of the narrative template students deal with when they retell a story in writing?

 What is the role of the reading aloud activity in the foreign language teaching-learning process of a beginners class? Reading aloud as part of a literacy process attempts to encourage students oral and written production. In this sense it agreed with the basic concept that literacy is the mastery of the written and oral language forms. Nevertheless, being literate is not only having the ability to read and write; it is a social practice (Kramsch, 1998; Baynham, 1995). As stated by Zuiga (2001), it is a social and cultural construction built up within the interaction of individuals. Therefore, literacy is interpreted either in a linguistic dimension or in a socio-cultural dimension. Thus, reading aloud nurtures both dimensions in a teaching-learning context. The Process that Underlies Read-Alouds According to Ellis and Brewster (2002), a person can retell a story in several ways; for instance, s/he can tell a tale without a book, an anecdote, a joke or can tell a story from a book by reading it aloud. When you read aloud, you open a space for retelling a story. Retelling is part of our culture and daily life; we retell jokes, songs, poems, plays, and stories. For this reason, reading aloud comprises the bases for students to start performing retelling little by little in the second language (Wright, 1997) thus prompting at a more interactional rather than transactional approach (McCarthy, 1991). As such, it will enhance the establishing

of roles and relationships between and among the teacher and the students, the teaching and the learning process. During my experience as a language teacher, I have noticed that reading aloud or read-alouds, as named by Campbell (2001), is a term that is generally used to refer to childrens literacy processes. However, I consider that the scope of this activity goes beyond this limited perception. It can provide an innovative approach to literacy instruction not only for children but also for adults (Nurss, 2000 as cited in Smallwood, 1992). Readings can be adapted to any kind of language command and the characteristics of the students. Childrens literature, for example, widely used with elementary ESL students can be adapted to teach literacy skills to adult ESL learners as well (Smallwood, 1992). Read-alouds help the literacy process of foreign language learners in many ways according to Ellis and Brewster (1991). Some of these are as follows: Stories are motivating and funny and can help develop positive attitudes toward language learning. They exercise the imagination as listeners become engaged and interpret and infer issues related to the narration. They constitute a source for sharing social experiences different from the individuality that the writing and reading activity demands. This agrees with Trealease (1989), as cited by Campbell (1998), who claims that story reading supports emotional, social, and psychological development.

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Students learn more because they learn about language -new words, new syntactic forms, new meanings, and new ways of organizing discourse (Dombey, 1988 as cited by Ellis and Brewster, 1991). They also support the teacher whenever s/he wants to address any kind of topic because stories provide cross-curricular links. They allow the teacher to convey her/ his love and excitement for both reading and learning and that starts building up the knowledge required for eventual success in reading (Cooper, 1993). It helps us to change traditional classes into perhaps very interesting ones (Barreto, 2002, p. 55). There are different aspects that play a paramount role in the reading aloud activity. They are the kinds of stories the teacher chooses and the procedure used to carry out the reading. The former refers to the types of storybooks. According to Ellis and Brewster (1991) you can select humorous, rhyming, animal and everyday stories. The latter relates to the reading aloud model utilized in this study. Ellis and Brewster (2002) propose a model made up of three components: Plan (pre-activity), Do (whileactivity) and Review (post-activity). The pre-activity refers to all of the strategies the teacher uses to introduce the story, creating an environment and raising interest and motivation toward the reading aloud of the story. The while-activity is the reading aloud activity itself in which the teacher prompts students to infer, make relations, draw

conclusions and so forth. During the postactivity, students will engage in different activities of retelling orally or in writing, discussions, games, presentations, etc. Essentially, reading aloud constitutes a great source to enable students to improve in regards to their learning of the foreign language (reading, writing, grammar, spelling, listening, speaking, socio-cultural issues, etc.). In other words, learners will not be learning the language but living it when engaged in meaningful activities. Narrative Genre on the Spot of Discourse Discourse analysis is defined as a variety of procedures for examining chunks of language, whether spoken or written, that are the product of different interactions in different contexts (Allwright and Bailey, 1994; Hatch, 1992; McCarthy, 1991). In this sense, discourse is made up of the pragmatic context and it embraces various domains such as socio-cultural, political and ideological issues. Hatch (1992) describes three streams that function as the umbrella terms that cover the different approaches to analyzing discourse. First of all, those streams that explain the structure of a text (linguistic cognitive templates); second, those that show the text structure as the result of the speakers or writers goals and intents (linguistic and cognitive processes); and finally, those that depict structure as evolving from socially and cooperatively built communication (social, linguistic and cognitive processes).

This study is grounded in a rhetorical genre analysis that comprises part of the first group of methods of discourse analysis. Rhetoricians have traditionally divided genres into narrative, descriptive, procedural and persuasive discourses (Hatch, 1992). Since this particular study focuses on storytelling, I decided to work on the narrative genre; hence, narrowing down its scope towards the narrative text. Narration is thought to be the most universal genre because all cultures have storytelling traditions. According to research done in this area (Labov, 1972; Labov and Waletsky, 1967) and Mandler (Mandler, 1978; Mandler and Johnson, 1977; and Mandler et al., 1980) as cited by Hatch (1992), there is a basic universal template for the narrative based on the analysis of storytelling tasks of different languages. Narrations usually begin with an orientation that includes the time, the spatial setting and the characters as well as their role in the story. Later, when the story setting is complete, the storyteller sets up the story line. In general, the story lines revolve around a hero who has a goal which involves a problem, an adversary and some steps to resolve it. In addition, there is a resolution and a coda that includes a possible moral which represents an evaluative component that might also occur at various points throughout the narrative. As a final component of the narrative template we have the abstract. This is what we know as the title of the story. The components of the narrative template can either be described in an oral or written text; however, the current study decided to concentrate only on the written text.

METHODOLOGY The researcher acted as a participant observer and followed a qualitative study under the scope of a social constructivist approach as the means for students to grow as language learners and social beings who construct meaning through their interaction. Social constructivism deals with the construction of knowledge and understanding that the learners make out of the social and interactional environment in a classroom context (Wells, 1995). Participants and Site The participants of this study were 19 EFL students from the extension courses at a public university in Bogot. The class, a beginners English level, was made up of 13 female students and 6 male students whose ages ranged from 16 to 40. In general, the target participants were professionals or students of different majors. Data Collection and Analysis The data collection procedure was made up of class observations that were carried out during the four reading aloud activities, the students written samples, summaries of the stories read, and a semi-structured interview at the end of the semester. Data analysis aimed at describing the incidence of the reading aloud activity regarding students language development and also to determine their narrative template. To this end, I used a coloring code in order to see the common patterns in all the instruments applied.

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FINDINGS In order to analyze the data gathered, I took written samples that the students had completed after the reading aloud activity was carried out (see one sample in annex 1). Narrative components Abstract Characters Goal and problem Steps to resolve the problem Climax and resolution

In addition, I used class observation sheets (see annex 2) and three interviews (see annex 3). The chart below displays the categories found in order to answer the two main questions.

Language issues Speaking Pronunciation Writing Listening Grammar Vocabulary

Interactions Teacher-student Student-student

Table 1. Categories found when analyzing the data Narrative Components In the table above we can see that for the first category the students included in their written texts only four of the seven components of the universal narrative template proposed by Labov. With few exceptions, the samples included an abstract: Summary of the story Leo and Pip.1 There was always the introduction to the characters: They are a family; there are three billy goats Although in some of the samples the students incorporated the time and setting, it was only in a few of the retold stories that these components were included. The stories always presented a goal, a problem and, therefore, a hero: Three billy goat, They are hungry The small billy goat sees grass. In addition, the written samples showed cohesion through the components of the steps to resolve the problem: The
During the class I read four stories: Leo and Pip, Going to School, The Raven and the Fox and The Three Billy Goats Gruff.
1

hunter ran and he found a fisherman they planned to catch the lion with the fishermans net and fish. Leo fell in the net and her mouse friend cut the net with the teeth . In reference to the climax or resolution, I saw that the students considered it an important component as a way to bring the story to a conclusion. He hits the troll and continues his road. Finally, the last component of the narrative template, the coda, was barely included in some of the papers.
In short, the written samples showed that the students took into account what they considered most important to retell the story in writing. For example, they ignored some characters that are not significant for the development of the story or omitted places and actions that would scarcely affect the meaning of the story. This finding was also validated through the interviews in which they talked about the beginning, the plot and a resolution:

- Qu aspectos debe tener una historia para que sea fcil de entender o para poderla narrar? What aspects should a story have for it to be easy to understand or narrate?

- Hay unos personajes que hay que definir, qu pensamos acerca de ellos y qu pueden hacer Una historia tiene un inicio, que es donde se atrapa a la persona para crear inters y un problema principal; una trama, que es lo que acontece para desenredar el problema principal y un desenlace, un final feliz para los buenos. - There are some characters that we need to define, and say what we think about them and what they can do A story has a beginning which is where the interest of the person is captured and where there is a principal problem; there is a plot that happens to disentangle the principal problem, and there is a resolution that is a happy ending. (Interview in Spanish)
This interview also showed that the setting and the time were not a concern in the kind of narrative template that they dealt with. Although not all of the summaries included the setting and the time, they were accurate in describing and contextualizing the reader in order to guide her/him through the process of finding a goal, a problem, some steps to resolve the problem and a resolution. By the same token, the coda is not mentioned as an important factor in the development of a story. This one component could tell more about the amount of reflection that a story stimulates when

listening to it or when retelling it. In general, the lack of reflection displayed in the writings uncovers the shallow or literal kind of reading and interpretation that students do when they are involved in this kind of literacy event. This outcome represents a call for teachers to consider critical reading an important tool in the development of reflective minds that go beyond what is at first sight visible in a written or oral text. To sum up, I would assert that the narrative template posed by Hatch is to a certain point universal, yet it is shaped by the different literacy processes that make up the experience of every learner of a given culture. Language Issues Now I will concentrate on the second category language issues. The analysis of the students written samples and their dynamics during the reading aloud shed light on this category and sub-categories. Considering that the second question refers to the role of reading aloud in the students language development, I came up with the sub-categories of speaking, pronunciation, writing, listening, grammar and vocabulary. First of all, I will deal with the subcategory of speaking. The application of the model proposed by Ellis and Brewster (2002) to carry out the reading aloud activity Plan (pre-activity), Do (while-activity) and Review (post-activity), represented the best strategy for students to improve their oral skills. The pre-activity allowed students to recall previous knowledge in terms of experiences and predictions; and because of this activity,

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they used vocabular y, structures or expressions they knew beforehand. The while-activity exposed them to new grammatical structures, lexicon, stress and intonation patterns where they interacted asking and answering different kinds of questions. During the post-activity, the students discussed and gave their opinion about the story and finally wrote a summary of it. The reading aloud model applied served the purpose of increasing the students oral interactions. This is one excerpt taken from the first reading activity of the story Leo and Pip:

they inferred, guessed, agreed or disagreed when constructing meaning through negotiation. Thus, the dynamics of participation and inquiry about new vocabulary enhanced the possibility for them to improve their pronunciation. In general, all the unknown words were written on the board and were pronounced by the teacher. The students asked for repetition either of the teacher or of their classmates or they looked up the words in the dictionary. At the end of every activity the teacher often required the students to read the words aloud by themselves. He would only correct when it was necessary.

Teacher (T): (Showing the cover of the book) What do you see? Student (S): A lion and a mouse. T: (reads the title) Leo and Pip. Who is Leo and who is Pip? S1: Leo is the lion and Pip is the mouse T: What is the story about? S1: The lion and the mouse friends. S2: The lion eats the mouse. T: What do you imagine when I say lion? (They all started recalling different words as long as the teacher wrote them down on the board: big, furious, wild, jungle, hunter) What happened to the hunter? (The teacher asked individually) - S3: The lion eat the hunter. - S4: The hunter run - S5: Escape
The excerpt shows how the students participated using what they knew about the L2 and feeling free to take risks and make mistakes since the teacher was not overcorrecting. Additionally, we observe how

Finally, I ask for the repetition of the words that I wrote down on the board. They read them and I only have to correct the pronunciation of the words: anxious, disease and rabies. (Excerpt from the first class observation)
In brief, they achieved better results in terms of their oral production and pronunciation. They interacted among themselves and with the teacher and that helped them improve in terms of their accuracy and fluency. The next sub-category shows that their listening understanding increased during the process. Although this ability draws upon other language issues such as knowledge of grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation, I consider their level of understanding grew not only when they listened to the teachers register but also to their partners register. Moreover, another indicator is their capacity to rephrase what the teacher had just read. In the two last reading aloud activities the use of the board was not very necessary on

account of the understanding they were depicting as the reading was being done. This is one extract from a class observation: the students are not asking me to write the words on the board as they used to. Some of them write what they hear and confirm with their classmates. In regards to the writing sub-category, I would say that this aspect of the literacy process in L2 experienced a major improvement. The students were always making notes on what I read or wrote on the board. They asked for the spelling when they did not know how to write a word. However, the part that most contributed to their improving their writing skill was the postactivity of the reading aloud exercise. During this phase they were asked to write a summary of the story which they successfully did. Writing is the conjunction of what one knows about grammar and vocabulary and it also constitutes a way to check on students understanding through their cohesion and coherence. Due to the relevance of vocabulary and grammar for the writing task, I will address these other two sub-categories. The summaries of the different stories comprised the best source of information to find out about grammar and vocabulary. The reading aloud served as the means to introduce new syntactical items and vocabulary related to them. The students tried to make use of the structures learned in class:

The excerpt above describes how the students used prepositions, one of the topics that had been studied the previous classes in the reading aloud activity. In addition, they utilized a great deal of the vocabulary introduced during the reading: Once upon a time three Billy Goats Gruff in the forest. They are very hungry, but in this place there is no food. They have to cross a bridge because in the other place there is grass green. However, in the bridge is the troll, a hungry monster This passage from the third read-aloud presents different issues related to vocabulary, grammar and management of written devices such as cohesion and punctuation. Although the introductory sentence needs the inclusion of the expletive there is, we can see the use of the narrative device once upon a time that the students retained from the reading aloud. Besides, this group of students used connectors such as but and however as well as punctuation and capitalization in order to give cohesion to the story. By the same token, there is a considerable use of vocabulary like Billy Goats Gruff, bridge, troll and grass taken directly from the story read. The written production shows how students profit from the readings-aloud to reinforce or approach new vocabulary, grammar and written devices. This is also expressed through the interviews:

T: Where is the lion? S4: Near the tree. S5: Behind the tree. (Other students nod their heads agreeing with him)

T: Qu opinin tiene de las actividades de lectura en voz alta? What do you think of the reading aloud activities?

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S: Muy bien, muy acordes con el nivel que estamos utilizando, poco a poco se introdujo el vocabulario. Con las ltimas historias era mucho ms fcil participar y se entenda ms. Very well, very in accordance with the level we are dealing with, little by little the vocabulary was presented. In the last stories it was much easier to participate and more understandable. T: En qu manera relacionas el uso de estas actividades (lectura en voz alta) con respecto a tu aprendizaje del ingls? How do you relate the use of these activities (reading aloud) regarding your English language learning? S: Enriquece el vocabulario, crea estructuras bsicas para crear oraciones, se relacionan imagen y palabra y se utilizan. La pronunciacin tambin mejora. Vocabulary is enriched, basic structures are provided to create sentences; image and words are related and used. Pronunctiation is also improved. T: Te ayud a mejorar en esos aspectos, cierto? En algn otro aspecto? It helped you improve in those aspects, right? Any other aspect? S: La escritura con la actividad (la escritura del resumen), el habla uno se atreva a decir cosas, a inventar, a inferir. Tambin, la pronunciacin y la escucha cuando se narra la historia. The writing with the activity (The writing of the summary), the speaking, one dares to say things, invent, infer. Also, the

pronunciation and the listening when the story is narrated. (Interview in Spanish)
Broadly speaking, the reading aloud activity contributed as the means to promote the development of the students receptive and productive skills. Likewise, it helped them approach English language in an unconventional way so as to have a more accurate and fluent command of it. Compared to previous classes that I had, there was more improvement regarding language issues such as speaking, pronunciation, writing, listening, grammar and vocabulary. I could see how throughout the process of the reading aloud the students began to write and utter longer and better constructed sentences: There are three goats and they are hungry. They have to cross a bridge because in the place there is grass green. They made fewer spelling mistakes and showed more listening understanding as long as the reading-aloud activities were carried out. On the other hand, the sense of achievement that students experienced fostered different interactions in the classroom that I discuss in the third category. Interactions The third category that I established was interactions. There are two sub-categories that underlie this last category: studentstudent and teacher-student interaction. During the read aloud activities the students interactions tended to be more collaborative and supportive. They felt confident to ask questions among themselves. An excerpt from a class observation illustrates this:

Some of them are asking the partners for any meaning of words. Not only did they interact to ask their classmates about a words meaning or pronunciation, but also to play jokes about the reading. There was a lively and enthusiastic environment that facilitated their participation and promoted cooperative learning among the students. For instance, when they gathered in groups to write the summary of the story, they helped each other and divided the tasks such as using the dictionary, drawing and writing. Also, they clarified doubts among themselves or shared different experiences related to the story.
The interaction depicted in the classroom allowed the students and I to see ourselves playing a different role as participants of an educational process. I acted as a facilitator and promoter of an appropriate classroom environment. The aim of the reading was to encourage students to participate in an informal and voluntary way since they were not being graded or overcorrected. In this sense, students perceived me as a support during the classes where I would sit down to work with them as another participant of the work group. As a whole, I found myself as a co-participant (Wells, 1995) who should provide a suitable context for students to interact in the L2 without any kind of pressure. To conclude, I would like to quote some extracts from two interviews where the students refer to my participation and their roles:

narracin fue muy buena entonces uno se siente seguro de participar. S2: bien, todos participaban y uno pone atencin. S1: I felt good, I tried to participate, it was a good environment, your attitude towards the narration was very well so one feels confident to participate. S2 : ... good... everybody participated and one pays attention. (Interview in Spanish)
There is a positive outcome concerning the last category of student-student and teacher-student interactions. Students accomplished a different role where they supported each other cooperatively. They considered the teacher an important factor in the encouragement of a favourable environment for the class. Therefore the role of the teacher was that of a facilitator for students to improve as language learners and human beings. The experience helped the teacher grow as a professional. Besides, it provided both the teacher and the students with a different view of how to approach foreign language teaching-learning. CONCLUSIONS CONCLUSIONS IMPLICA AND IMPLICATIONS This study has provided information regarding students narrative components through the use of reading aloud activities in the language classroom. The written samples analyzed showed that students omitted narrative components which would not affect the general understanding of a story. On the other hand, it described how the use of reading aloud activities improved

S1: Me sent bien, trat de participar, hubo un buen ambiente. Su actitud frente a la

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the students learning process of L2. The data collected pointed out that students made progress in order to handle different language aspects like speaking, pronunciation, writing, listening, grammar and vocabulary. In short, read alouds helped determine the students narrative template; nevertheless, it can also be used to enhance the inclusion of the elements that students disregard when they retell a story. It can become a way for students to enrich the way they handle the narrative genre and represent another source for language improvement. The interaction among and between the students and the teacher; and the learningteaching process projected a sense of classroom community. There was a supportive and cooperative environment that played a significant role in students motivation. They learned in a social constructivist way sharing and helping each other. As a result, this small-scale research provides worthwhile input for further study and poses some pedagogical implications that I discuss below. First of all, there seems to be a belief that reading aloud is an activity exclusively regarded for children. It is easy to find masses of literature about reading aloud for children; however, it is not so for adolescents or adults. Perhaps there is a belief that only children enjoy this activity and consequently, that it is uniquely used in the process of first language acquisition. The experience described illustrates how this kind of activity motivates students and provides another way to approach language. Likewise, it is necessary to pinpoint the relevance of read alouds to promote the reading literacy

process in L2. It constitutes the point of departure for learners to start negotiating meaning, constructing knowledge and reaching an understanding of what reading is conveying. There are some other issues that are to be considered regarding reading aloud. First, we need to bear in mind the role of the teacher. The teacher as the reader will in part determine the students role. His/her attitude toward the activity of reading aloud has to aim at the creation of an enjoyable atmosphere. The use of different intonation and kinesthetic patterns as strategies will contribute to the students understanding and enrollment in the activity. Second, it is advisable to think about the type of reading. Illustrated books of short stories can provide a good source for introducing or rehearsing grammar, vocabulary or pronunciation items. As a third aspect, using a reading procedure helps obtain better response from the students. For this purpose, Ellis and Brewsters (2002) model for reading aloud may supply an organized and logical sequence for the activity. Time is another component that needs to be addressed. In this specific study, time constituted a constraint. I had initially planned five reading aloud activities but only four were carried out due to the little space that a daily one-hour class leaves for other activities different from the completion of a textbooks units. Although reading-aloud can be adapted to any English learning program, it is necessary to make a balance between the amount of time the teacher spends on this activity and the fulfillment of the program of any institution. Thus, read-alouds

can work as a very valuable complementary activity for any program. This article only presents the results of the implementation of read-alouds as a complementary activity in an English program that uses an EFL text. It opens the doors for further research to explore on the development of a reading aloud-based program. REFERENCES
Allwright, M. and Bailey, C. (1994). Focus on the language classroom . Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Barreto, G. (2002). Story-telling: A path to imagination and creativity in the primary English class. PROFILE 3, 55- 57. Baynham, M. (1995). Literacy practices: Investigating literacy in social contexts. London, New York: Longman. Campbell, R. (1998). Facilitating pre-school literacy. United Kingdom: International Reading Association. Campbell, R. (2001). Read-alouds with young children. United Kingdom: International Reading Association. Cooper, D. (1993). Literacy: Helping children construct meaning. USA: Houghton Mifflin Company. Ellis, G. and Brewster, J. (1991). The storytelling handbook for primary teachers of

English. England: Penguin Books.

Ellis, G. and Brewster, J. (2002). Tell it again: The new storytelling handbook for primary teachers. Edinburgh Gate: Penguin English. Hatch, E. (1992). Discourse in language education . New York, CUP: Cambridge University Press. Kramsch, C. (1998). Language and Culture. Oxford: Oxford University Press. McCarthy, M. (1991). Discourse analysis for language teachers. Great Britain: Cambridge University Press. Smallwood, B. (1992). Childrens literature for adult ESL literacy. National Clearinghouse on Literacy Education, Washington DC. Adjunct ERIC Clearinghouse on Literacy Education for Limited-English-Proficient Adults, Washington DC. Retrieved from http://www.ericfacility.net/databases/ ERIC_Digests/index/ Wells, G. (1995). Language and the inquirybased curriculum. Curriculum inquiry. Cambridge and Oxford: Blackwell Publishers, 233-269. Wright, A. (1997). Creating childrens stories. London: Oxford University Press. Zuiga, G. (2001). Constructing literacy from reading in first and second languages. Neiva: Oti Impresos.

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ANNEX 1: SAMPLE OF A SUMMARY

STORY STORY: The Three Billy Goats Gruff (Used with permission)

OBSERVA ANNEX 2: OBSERVATION SHEET Date ________ Time ______ Place __________ Class Observation No. ______ Teacher _________________________ Number of students ________ Male___________ Female _________ Activity _________________________________________________

OBSERVATIONS

ANNEX 3: INTERVIEW * Objetivo: Saber acerca de las percepciones de los estudiantes con relacin a las actividades de lectura en voz alta de cuentos que se realizaron a lo largo del semestre e identificar los componentes del modelo narrativo que son mencionados como necesarios para narrar una historia. Students name: ______________________________ Date: ____________

1. Qu opinin tiene de las actividades de lectura en voz alta que se realizaron en clase? 2. Cmo se sinti durante este tipo de actividades? 3. En qu manera relaciona el uso de estas actividades (lectura en voz alta) con respecto a su aprendizaje del ingls? 4. En qu habilidades o reas del Ingls cree que mejor? 5. Qu aspectos debe tener una historia para que sea fcil de entender o para poderla narrar? * The interview was of a semi-structured type; therefore, these questions only constituted the general guidelines for the interviewer. This format was not submitted to the interviewee.
This article was received on April 6th, 2004 and accepted on August 23rd, 2004.

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Strategies to Support High School Students Reading Comprehension in the English Language
Estrategias de apoyo para la comprensin de lectura del idioma ingls en estudiantes de educacin secundaria y media

Freddy Oswaldo Zabala Palacio*

Universidad Nacional de Colombia fredzabalpa@hotmail.com

Teachers are often concerned about the low reading level of their students in both English and Spanish. One way to solve this problem is by using reading strategies. Promoting the development of reading competences in English will offer the students tools that allow them to comprehend texts and will contribute to a closer relation with the second language culture. This article reports on a study carried out when doing my teaching practice in a public high school in Bogot, Colombia, in 2002. The main objective of my research project was to support the development of eleventh graders reading comprehension competence in English. Hence, I refer to the groups views on English reading comprehension, their handling of strategies to develop reading competence in English and their progress after having applied those strategies. words: Key words: Foreign Language-Teaching, Reading Strategies El bajo nivel de lectura en los estudiantes de ingls y espaol es una de las preocupaciones comunes de los docentes. Una forma de solucionar este problema es a travs del uso de estrategias de lectura. De tal manera, promover el desarrollo de competencias lectoras en los estudiantes de ingls les ofrecer herramientas que les permitirn comprender los textos y contribuir a crear una relacin ms cercana entre ellos y la cultura de la segunda lengua. Este artculo reporta un estudio llevado a cabo durante mi prctica docente en una escuela pblica de Bogot, Colombia, en el ao 2002. El objetivo principal de mi proyecto de investigacin fue apoyar el desarrollo de la competencia en comprensin de lectura en el idioma ingls en estudiantes de undcimo grado. Por lo tanto, menciono los puntos de vista de los estudiantes sobre la comprensin de lectura, la forma como utilizan las estrategias para desarrollar esta competencia en ingls y su proceso despus de su acercamiento a la comprensin lectora a travs del uso de las mismas. Palabras claves: Lengua Extranjera-Enseanza, Estrategias de Lectura
*

Freddy Oswaldo Zabala Palacio holds a B. Ed. in Philology and Languages from Universidad Nacional de Colombia.

INTRODUCTION While doing my teaching practice, I explored the area of reading comprehension in English. Through a sur vey I found information about the way teachers incorporated learning strategies, their reasons to incorporate them, the frequency of working with reading strategies, and the contribution of the reading strategies in supporting the development of students reading competence (see annex 1). In relation to students perceptions of the methodology introduced by the teachers, they stated that lessons were taught mainly through reading workshops and definitions on the blackboard. Students said that contents were introduced according to their own difficulties, the topic of the class and their preferences. Regarding the frequency of working with reading strategies, most of the students mentioned that the teacher rarely incorporated new reading strategies. Additionally, students acknowledged the contribution of reading strategies in the development of reading competences. They highlighted the use of the following strategies when reading texts in the foreign language: passage completion, scrambled stories, cloze tests, hypothesis identification, propositions extraction, argumentative nets construction, and semantic relations. RESEARCH PROBLEM Based on the results mentioned above, my interest in examining the groups views regarding reading comprehension experiences in the English class, the way they handled strategies to develop reading

competences and their progress after approaching reading comprehension using those strategies, led me toward a main question: How to support the development of the reading comprehension competences in the English area for eleventh graders? In order to answer that query, I posed two related questions, namely: * How could I incorporate the use of reading strategies to support the development of reading competences in the students? * What kind of competences do students develop through the use of reading strategies? Likewise, the main objective of the study was to support the development of reading comprehension competences in English for eleventh graders. This, in turn, guided me to achieve two specific objectives: To foment the use of reading strategies application by the students and, second, to promote the development of reading competences through situations related to the social context of the students. RESEARCH FRAMEWORK This research has followed the qualitative case study principles. This kind of research allowed me to study an aspect in depth for a period of time. In particular, qualitative case studies are ideal designs to understand and to interpret the observations made on an educational phenomenon in a second language acquisition (Merriam, 1998, p. 40). The data techniques used were: questionnaires, recordings, diaries and interviews. The participants were eleventh

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graders at a public school in Bogot, Colombia, and who had only studied English for six years in a non-intensive program (three hours per week). The institution belongs to a social zone of the 2, 3 and 4 strata. The course was made up of 31 students: 24 males and 7 females. The average age was seventeen years old. In connection with the foreign language school project, I took into consideration the following achievement indicators that were part of the English area for the eleventh course and which had to do with reading comprehension processes, namely: 02 Analyze information provided by different types of texts in English. 05 Deal with reading comprehension strategies in English. 06 Go in depth in the argumentative, propositional and interpretative aspects in the foreign language. 09 Identify the main topic of the different English readings and apply new vocabulary to daily life. I did this study during my teaching practice. I made an agreement with the teaching practice director, the class teacher and students to apply a plan that allowed them to develop their reading skills. I developed 13 workshops in which we used texts with topics such as Holy Week and international conflicts. To approach these texts I designed materials applying different reading strategies discussed by Tanner and Green (1998). They were: skimming, scanning, contextual guessing, outlining, paraphrasing,

scrambled stories, extensive reading and cloze. (Relevant guidelines on extensive reading are also provided by Bamford and Day, 1998). I also included three of the six levels of reading decodification proposed by Miguel de Zubira (1995): the primary, secondary and third decodification. Moreover, I considered the auxiliary mechanisms that operate in each of the previously mentioned levels. The auxiliary mechanisms were the synonymy, the antonymy, which constitutes part of the primary decodification; the pronominalization, the propositional inference and the chromatism from the secondary decodification; and the proposition extraction, and the semantic structure discovery, levels that make part of the third decodification. These mechanisms were complemented following the ideas proposed by Julia Baquero (1994, 2002) in the courses on text comprehension and production. From those courses, I adapted two types of reading: first level reading and functional reading. The former is approached through different types of questions like referent questions and contextual questions both used in this research. In the latter, the student should be able to extract the hypothesis and the argumentative propositions that support the reading. The students were guided at theoretical and practical levels. At the theoretical level, I explained a determined number of strategies by session. Practical guidance was given in workshops composed of a reading followed by exercises related to it in which the students had to put in practice each one of the explained strategies in order to decode the reading passages. (See a sample workshop, in Annex 2).

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK I took into account the following aspects that made up part of this research: the notion of the concept of competence and communicative competence as well as the analysis of competence in the school and a revision of the aspects of reading, reading comprehension and reading strategies. Also, I found practical recommendations for handling reading lessons in the studies carried out in Colombian public schools by Correales, Mendivelso and Santacruz (2000) as well as by Santoyo and Morales (2000). Regarding the concept of competence, Chomsky relates it to grammatical rules and to the generation of knowledge. This author, as pointed out by Maldonado (2001), founded two dimensions which are competence as an inherent capacity to know grammatical rules and to demonstrate it in concrete speech events. On the other hand, Maldonado (Ibid.) states two definitions of competence: The first relates competence with terms such as achievement, indicator and capacity, whereas from the labor point of view, competence is defined as production, honesty and efficiency. According to Torrado (2000), competence can be understood as the knowledge someone has and the use s/he makes of that knowledge to solve a task in a specific

situation and in relation to context, needs and concrete demands. Miguel de Zubira (1995) points out the different mechanisms that occur in the reading process and proposes that the teacher should introduce them instead of teaching them. Due to the fact that decodification mechanisms play an important role in the reading process, my main interest was to reinforce these in the belief that students could find in them the strategies that allowed them to comprehend an English text. In my opinion the strategies proposed by Tanner and Green (1998) support the development of reading competences, particularly when dealing with the form of the text (aspects of textual cohesion) while the strategies stated by De Zubira (1995) look for a semantic approximation. Likewise, I consider the strategies stated by these authors to be similar in their functioning as can be observed in the following chart. Contextual guessing keeps up a relation with propositional inference. On the other hand, outlining and unscrambling stories correspond in a certain way to the macro-propositions extraction mechanism and semantic structure discovering, respectively, because they all support the readers comprehension at a structural level of the text.

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proposed Tanner Strategies proposed by Tanner and Green

Strategies proposed by De Zubira

Contextual Contextual guessing: To make conjectures about the meaning of the words meaning looking at the words that surround the unknown word or situations that are being dealt with.

Propositional inference: Its goal is to discover the meaning found in phrases and sentences.

Outlining: It is a note taking strategy that helps us to see the organization of the overall text.

Macro-proposition extraction: It consists of extracting the macropropositions and eliminating the remaining information. The macro-propositions structure must explain the relationships among phrases/sentences. discovering: Semantic structure discovering It is the system of the linked macro-propositions respecting the linkage among them.

Unscrambling stories: The reader must re- organize the mixed pieces of a text to show that s/he understands how the components fit together.

1. Chart 1 Comparison of some reading strategies proposed by Tanner and Green (1998) and De Zubira (1995) FINDINGS To collect data, I used questionnaires to diagnose the students reading comprehension domain in English, their knowledge of reading strategies in a second language and the reading strategies effectiveness. Field-notes were also used to register aspects such as students progress and difficulties, evidenced skills and attitudes, and their success when working with reading strategies. Through videorecordings I looked for identifying students problems, participation, differences among students performance, their progress in reading, their reasoning, and the use of meta-language in the English class. An analysis of the data gathered through the procedures mentioned above led me to the subcategories shown in the following diagram under a core categor y: Incorporation of strategies for the pedagogic process.

INCORPORATION STRATEGIES PEDAGOGIC INCORPORATION OF STRATEGIES FOR THE PEDAGOGIC PROCESS

Strategies used by students to comprehend the readings in English

Students difficulties in the reading process

Progress shown by the students after a theoretical and practical approach to reading comprehension in English

Students acceptance of the workshops Interest in reading

Handling of implicit information Difficulties found regarding students mistakes

Progress in using formal strategies Progress in semantic strategies

Diagram 1 Categories found when analyzing data on reading comprehension 1. Within the core category incorporation of strategies for the pedagogic process, I found three important subcategories. The first one is related to the strategies used readings. by students to comprehend the readings Results showed that the strategies most used were studying vocabulary and analyzing the main idea. This can be seen in one of the students testimonies, to wit: Well, first at all the words I more or less knowto have an idea, if it has dates, by the dates one can have a guide, translation also and to translate to comprehend the text and by the words that one more or less knows how to guide oneself and by the title (Anibal Andrs). The use of the dictionary and imagination was also evidenced: My strategy is to imagine every action of the text in English (Isauro). In addition, students turned to prediction, translation, and attempted to use inference to make sense of what they read. I could also observe the students acceptance of the workshops when I adapted the argumentative model proposed by Baquero (2002). This acceptance could be evidenced through the familiarization of strategies such as semantic structure discovering and their interest in reading processes. As I wrote in my journal, students were motivated when they found functionality in the different topics as evidenced by the following: As every point of the exercise was explained, students found this exercise practical for the reading comprehension in English.

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I could note that students motivation for the functionality of the topics was due to the application of topics from different fields such as biology, history and anthropology. This shows us that, as stated by Maldonado (2001: 22), we have to promote the development of cross-curricular competences which implies decoding technical language that characterizes areas like physics, chemistry and linguistics. In addition, the students were motivated when a new strategy was introduced as shown by the following: When I taught some types of questions such as referential and contextual ones, the students were amazed because these types of questions had not been commonly used in the English class (Field-note, April 1). They also got engaged in reading activities when these were not too long or when exercises were not too numerous. A second important subcategory has to do with students difficulties in the reading process. I could observe that the students had difficulty with the handling of implicit information as shown by this statement: Even they have not comprehended that there is implicit information that is also relevant. The students also showed difficulties with the intensive reading, outlining and unscrambling stories strategies. In relation to this point, I think that the students are guided unconsciously and easily toward prediction than toward the fulfillment of strategies whose objective is the comprehension of the structure of the text (including intensive reading). This might be due to the nature of language itself because, as Torrado (2000) states, language is more than a system of signs that allows us to communicate and to decompose the sentences in their grammatical

elements. Language is used to live reality in other ways, from multiple and magical possibilities of approaching, removal and construction of the world. Difficulty in making outlines was another pattern found as revealed by the following: Outlining was another strategy used to comprehend this text; however, most of the students did not make an outline. For the comprehension of a text, the students were asked to make an outline of the text; however, a great number of the students left this point out of the workshop (Field-note, April 1). They had also difficulties with the domain of the grammatical tenses. On several occasions I found that students had not understood clearly the concept of proposition. Lastly, they also demonstrated problems identifying the hypothesis and main idea, as shown in the following excerpt from a video recording:

T: Underline the main idea of the text The students start to speculate (Later on) T: Which is the main idea? Other students look at their texts to find the main idea and to express themselves in English Steve: That a couple goes to a party, and then the girl, and then the girl looks quite beautiful to them T: And assign titles And the title?. You can give an option for the title A student raises her hand T: O.K. Can you write it please? ... The student writes a title for the outline T: All agree? Some students do not agree T: Why not? They do not answer.

The students also evidenced difficulties concerning their own mistakes. For instance, they answered meaninglessly with parts of the text as can be seen in this extract from a video-recording: Well, actually what is this paragraph talking about? Yeah, that a lot of salmon is foundIn Spanish we will say that the main idea of the text is? A girl. Some students answer. On the other hand, it should be pointed out that sometimes low achievers copied answers from high achievers. This could be seen as a strategy to fulfill the tasks and not necessarily as an application of the reading strategies being promoted in class. In other cases, they copied bits from the text itself and no real extracts of propositions. Obser ving their own difficulties, I identified some students attitudes towards reading comprehension. Some students simply did not continue working in class when they faced difficulties, to wit: Juan Camilo continues working and checking with the text. Andrs quits (From video recording). Another reaction to difficulties was evidenced by fear, to wit: Let us listen to Paolas conclusion. Do you have any idea? Who has another idea? Who wants to come to the board to write a logical conclusion? A volunteer. German, can you pass? All of us are going to help him (Video recording). In brief, I could notice that prediction was the main mechanism used by students to solve their difficulties. They analyzed the text superficially and from this analysis predicted its possible meaning. This showed they had not worked effectively in the use of those

reading strategies that could guide them to a deeper analysis of the text. As a third category, I can talk about students progress. The students showed progress as a result of using strategies like prediction and scanning. This was seen in their ability to complete outlines and to correct wrong sentences by using the cloze strategy. With respect to the process evidenced by the students in the fulfillment of certain strategies, I could say that there was progress in their argumentation skills and in establishing connection among propositions, illustrated as follows: Here we have the bears can not survive without a forest but could not prosper without it. That is because the bears eat salmon and provide nitrogen for the forest when they defecate or take parts of bitsWhen this passes defecations or parts of meat three times faster than others (Juan Camilo). Students also showed progress in the comprehension of the concept of proposition and recognition of argumentative texts characteristics, to wit: It has a hypothesissome propositionsthat argue(Steve). Through the data analysis, I could conclude that imagination, prediction and translation were the most important mechanisms used by the students to comprehend the reading texts. Dealing with the incorporation of strategies into the classroom, I could notice three elements such as a preference for the novelty of new strategies; their functionality, and the students preference for short tasks. It was in the incorporation of unknown strategies

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in which students presented bigger difficulties and evidenced fear. CONCLUSIONS CONCLUSIONS The results showed that reading comprehension competences in eleventh grade can be supported through the incorporation of strategies which strengthen those mechanisms they already use to comprehend a text; which raise their awareness regarding the utility of the reading strategies; which follow a systematic methodology that promotes the application of reading strategies, and which motivate them to read texts. It is also important to take into account the role of the teacher as a guide and the students as protagonists of reading processes. Moreover, we should bear in mind that the importance given to the students previous knowledge and to the English reading skills is an essential part in the learning process of a foreign language as it constitutes an important support for the development of reading competences in English. As pointed out previously, by incorporating the reading strategies, we can witness development of competences like the improvement of oral and writing skills, the increase of the capacity to organize texts as well as to establish relations between propositions and terms, a better performance in workshops and presentations, and the enrichment of vocabulary.

REFERENCES
Bamford, J. and Day, R. (1998). Extensive reading in the second language classroom. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Baquero, J. (2002). Apuntes de clase. Bogot: Universidad Nacional. Baquero, J. (1994). Textos cientficos y argumentativos. Una didctica para su comprensin y resea. Bogot: Lambda. Correales, R., Mendivelso, O. and Santacruz, F (2000). Reading comprehension: A viable . challenge for public school students. PROFILE Journal, 1, 38- 41. De Zubira, M. (1995). Teora de las seis lecturas. Bogot: Fondo de Publicaciones Bernardo Herrera Merino. Maldonado, M. (2001). Las competencias. Una opcin de vida. Bogot: Ecoediciones. Merriam, B. (1997). Case study research in education . San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publications. Santoyo, B. and Morales, L. (2000). Reading: A motivating and interactive process. PROFILE Journal, 1, 59- 60. Tanner, R. and Green, C. (1998). Tasks for teacher education. Essex: Longman. Torrado, M. (2000). Educar para el desarrollo de las competencias: Una propuesta para reflexionar. Competencias y proyecto pedaggico. Bogot: Universidad Nacional. CD ROM.

ANNEX 1: DIAGNOSTIC SURVEY Objective: To identify options according to the methodology carried out during the incorporation and development of reading strategies in the classroom. INSTRUCTIONS: Read the following questions and choose the option(s) that apply to you. 1. In which way has your teacher introduced reading strategies in the classroom? a- Defining them on the board b- Through reading workshops c- As investigation carried out by the students d- Other(s). Specify ________________ 2. How often does your teacher incorporate new reading strategies in English? a- Every class b- Once a week c- Rarely d- Seldom 3. The teacher introduces the use of reading strategies depending on: a- The topic of the class b- Students difficulties in comprehending a text c- Students request d- Other(s). Specify ________________ 4. What do you understand by competence in reading comprehension? a- To know a lot of vocabulary b- To handle grammatical structures c- A set of skills that allows you to comprehend a text d- Other(s). Specify ________________ 5. What reading competences do you believe you can develop when you read a text? Grade them from 1 to 4. Note: 1= The least important and 4= The most important __ To determine relations that are present among the different terms of the text __ To be aware of established relations among the texts propositions __ To know the overall organization of the text __ To make outlines of the text __ Other(s). Specify ________________

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6. Which reading strategies have contributed to the development of reading competences? Note: 1= The least important and 4= The most important __ Fill in the gaps __ Unscrambling stories (paragraph organization) __ Hypothesis extraction and argumentative nets creation __ Semantic relations (e.g. synonyms, antonyms) __ Other(s). Specify ________________

ANNEX 2: READING WORKSHOP

Notes: 1. The strategies proposed by Tanner and Green (1998) and the mechanisms proposed by Baquero (2002) were used through interdisciplinary topics: ecology, biology and chemistry. 2. Text adapted from the Text comprehension and production course taught by Prof. Gloria Mora, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, 2002. 1. Organize with numbers the paragraphs of the text. __ Barry Gilbert, ecologist of the State University of Utah, and ___ colleague Arthur Morris penetrated the forest that borders the Koeye river, in British Columbia, and discovered that the feces of the bears and the terrain around ____ contained high concentrations of a heavy isotope of nitrogen, found usually in the meat of salmon. __ Jim Helfield, of the University of Washington, found that the trees nearest to the rivers with plenty of salmon in Alaska grew three times faster than the ones nearest to the rivers without great quantities of that ____. __ Gilbert and Morris believe that the bears ___ salmon and provide the forest with nitrogen when they defecate or leave parts of uneaten fish. ________ is a powerful fertilizer. __ The brown bears of the Pacific northwest in the United States cannot survive without a forest as home. But a forest could not prosper without them ______. text words: 2. Fill in the gaps in the text above with the following words: his either fish them eat nitrogen

3. Extract the hypothesis and the argumentative propositions from the text. 4. Construct the argumentative net. 5. Complete. a. The brown bears and the forest... b. Gilbert and Morris analyzed... c. The trees nearest to the rivers grow faster because... 6. Predict a logical conclusion related to the future of the brown bears and the forest.

This article was received on April 15th, 2004 and accepted on August 24th, 2004

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Ethnography in Foreign Language Teaching

Etnografa en la enseanza de lenguas extranjeras

Ilona Huszti*
Transcarpathian Hungarian Pedagogical Institute in South Ukraine huszti@kmtf.uz.ua The aim of the present article is to describe ethnography as a qualitative approach frequently applied in foreign language acquisition research (Pollard, 1985; Smith, 1992; Robinson-Stuart and Nocon, 1996). Reviews of two studies having used ethnographic techniques are presented in the paper to highlight the theoretical background for such an investigative method. The first study discusses issues about participant observation, while the second depicts the language learner in the role of the ethnographer. The paper also tries to throw light on the various tasks of the ethnographer as well as the values (emic and holistic view) and limitations (the insider/outsider dilemma) of ethnography. words ds: Key words Culture, Ethnography, Ethnographer, Qualitative ResearchTechniques, Participant Observation El objetivo de este artculo es describir la etnografa como un mtodo cualitativo que es utilizado frecuentemente en la investigacin de la adquisicin de una lengua extranjera (Pollard, 1985; Smith, 1992; Robinson-Stuart and Nocon, 1996). En el documento se presentan reseas de dos estudios que implementaron tcnicas etnogrficas, con el propsito de resaltar los antecedentes histricos de este tipo de mtodo de investigacin. El primer estudio trata acerca de temas relacionados con la observacin de los participantes, mientras que el segundo estudio presenta al aprendiz de lengua en el rol de etngrafo. El documento tambin da varias pautas sobre las tareas del etngrafo, as como los valores (el punto de vista mico y holstico) y las limitaciones (el dilema interno y externo) de la etnografa. claves: Palabras claves Cultura, Etnografa, Etngrafo, Tcnicas Investigacin Cualitativa, Observacin Participativa

Ilona Huszti is an English teacher at the Transcarpathian Hungarian Pedagogical Institute in South Ukraine, where she has taught for eight years. Her research interests include teacher training, teaching and developing reading skills, and the use of oral reading in lessons of English as a foreign language.

1. INTRODUCTION Without being aware of it, every person is an ethnographer in that he or she tries to make sense of the environment surrounding him or her through observation, listening and eventually talking (Barro, Jordan and Roberts, 1998, p. 76). People learn how to behave or what to say in different situations and how to act within their own social milieu. This is very close to the tasks of ethnography, with the difference that ethnography is the study of other people and the social and cultural patterns that give meaning to their lives (Ibid.). Ethnography is tightly linked with culture because the main purport of ethnography is to describe it (Spradley and McCurdy, 1972, in Hornberger, 1994). Ethnography is a research approach widely used in foreign language investigations (see, for example, Pollard, 1985; Smith, 1992; Robinson-Stuart and Nocon, 1996). The present paper discusses issues regarding ethnography as an important tool in foreign language teaching and acquisition research. It also aims at emphasizing the crucial role of this technique by reviewing two recent studies that have used ethnographic research techniques. 2. ETHNOGRAPHY AND THE TASKS OF THE ETHNOGRAPHER 2.1 What is Ethnography? Before making an attempt to define ethnography as a research approach, one should look at the definition of culture because the target of ethnographic investigations is the description of culture.

Geertz (1975) defines culture as an historically transmitted pattern of meanings, embodied in symbols, a system of inherited conceptions expressed in symbolic forms by means of which men communicate, perpetuate and develop their knowledge about and attitudes towards life (pp. 89; cited in Byram, 1989, p. 60). According to Valette (1986), this historically transmitted pattern of meanings consists of two major constituents. The first component is what she calls anthropological or social culture: the attitudes, customs and daily activities of a people, their ways of thinking, their values, their frames of reference (p. 179). Valette describes the second component of culture as the history of civilisation. She states that the first components framework is formed by the second component itself, which symbolises the heritage of a nation and as such must be appreciated by the students who wish to understand the new target culture (Valette, 1986, p. 179). In order to obtain information on the culture of this or that people, one can make use of an anthropological method which can prove to be of help in this intention. This descriptive technique is ethnography. It is a qualitative type of research that makes use of non-quantitative techniques (e.g. openended interviews) and/or naturalistic data (e.g. diary studies, participant observation, etc.) (Larsen-Freeman and Long, 1991; Nunan, 1991). It is a common view (considered to be a major problem by quantitative researchers) that qualitative studies (ethnographic ones, too) do not result in hard, replicable and generalisable data as do quantitative studies.

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An answer to this criticism is the view of Davis (1995), who believes that just as with experimental or statistical research designs, each and every legitimate qualitative method is dependent on particular conceptual and methodological procedures to ensure credibility, dependability, and transferability (p. 432). In Robinsons view (1985), ethnography is a method of describing a culture or situation from the emic or natives point of view, i.e. from the point of view of the cultural actor (p. 73). Therefore, the ethnographer (i.e. the person carrying out an ethnographic research) is present in the daily lives of people either explicitly or implicitly for an extended period of time, watching what happens, listening to what is said, asking questions, in fact collecting whatever data is available to throw light on the issues with which he or she is concerned (Hammersley and Atkinson, 1983; cited in Wallace, 1991, p. 76). Sperber (1985) thinks that ethnography as an anthropological approach to culture answers the legitimate curiosity as to what it is like to belong to another culture (p. 10). He believes that ethnography is a curiosity which focuses on how facts are experienced by the individual and which requires interpretations of these facts rather than only their descriptions. What is more, Byram (1989), in his comparison of reading an ethnographic account and reading a critical analysis of a novel or a film, argues it is descriptions, photographs and films by which the writer of the ethnographic account tries to make the reader understand the object described.

Tasks 2.2 The Tasks of the Ethnographer It has been mentioned that the ethnographer is the participant of the culture he attempts to depict and that he describes it from the insiders perspective at an emic level. He has to explain and interpret the significance of particular phenomena as they operate within the semantic system of a particular culture at the emic level (Guthrie and Hall, 1981, in Byram, 1989, p.66). Thus, the tasks of the ethnographer are to participate in a culture and observe it, then interpret what he has seen or heard or experienced. One may criticise this kind of observation as being subjective. Robinson (1985) responds to this criticism by saying that to the extent that the ethnographer loses objectivity and interprets things from the natives point of view, we are getting an inside, emic account of culture (p. 74) which is the aim of those interested in ethnographic accounts. PEDAGOGY AGOGY: 3. ETHNOGRAPHY IN PEDAGOGY: A REVIEW OF TWO STUDIES Teacher 3.1. The Teacher in the Role of Ethnographer Pollard (1985) reports of a teacherethnographer who conducted an ethnographic study of his own school while teaching full-time teacher at the same institution. The account aims at giving a thorough description of what it means to be a participant-obser ver, and what opportunities and difficulties a teacherethnographer has when trying to fulfil the duties of the teacher and of the researcher.

The research method applied in this study was that of participant observation. It was evident from the circumstances that the investigator could easily function as a participant because of his teaching position. He also had to fulfil the role of the observer (Pollard, 1985). When doing so, it was essential to avoid going native, which meant that while the investigator got very much involved in the whole research and identified himself with its participants, he did not manage to meet the requirements of the investigation itself. Before the investigation began, permission from the head teacher, who was very supportive throughout the research, was obtained. The attitudes of the teachers and children regarding the study were similar to that of the head teacher i.e. both teachers and children were helpful and willing to participate, although some teachers had fears when being interviewed. They were afraid because they thought the head teacher would not like their answers about the school and the administration of the school, even when they were told that the interviews were anonymous. Some major difficulties emerged while teaching full-time and conducting the research at the same time. One of these was time. Although the researcher had easy access to classrooms for observation, his biggest problem was that during teaching time he himself was fulfilling his teacher role. This he thought to be the origin of a considerable methodological weakness, because, for some parts of the research, he had to depend solely on data from interviews (Pollard, 1985).

Data were collected from seventy-five Caucasian children and fifteen children of Asian parentage via one and a half hour long interviews during dinner breaks. During the data collection procedure, the researcher was helped by children who volunteered to play the part of interviewers and be the member of the Moorside Investigation Department (MID) (the study was conducted at Moorside Middle School, England, between 19761978). The reason for having children interviewers help in collecting the data was that the respondents would answer questions like What do you think of your school? or Who is your favourite teacher? more sincerely from children interviewers (i.e. their peers) than from a person who is a teacher at the institution where they studied (Pollard, 1985). The conclusion Pollard draws is that to carry out a study in which the researcher is a full participant-observer is exhausting and difficult, but at the same time it is fascinating and rewarding to identify patterns in the data (Pollard, 1985, p.105) and to arrive at an in-depth understanding of events and surroundings in which the researcher participates. 3.2. The Language Learner in the Role of Ethnographer The second study introduced in this section is about second culture acquisition and the use of ethnographic interviewing techniques in the language learning process to promote positive attitudes towards the speakers of the language studied (RobinsonStuart and Nocon, 1996, p. 431). The study was conducted at San Diego State University,

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San Diego, USA, in a multinational and multicultural area, where knowledge of a language other than English was a useful tool in understanding cross-cultural interactions. The participants were twenty-four students in a third semester university Spanish class (Robinson-Stuart and Nocon, 1996). The subjects task comprised of conducting interviews with a native Spanish speaker (these usually were Mexican friends or acquaintances of the students living in the San Diego area). The writing up of the findings was the students term assignment. They were pre-trained in order to be able to conduct an inter view involving the ethnographic technique of active listening (Robinson-Stuart and Nocon, 1996). Concerning this interviewing technique, one must bear in mind that the questions in an ethnographic interview are open ones. There is no pre-composed inter view protocol. The questions are built upon the utterances of the interviewee The interviewer must continually listen to and interact with what the speaker has said (Robinson-Stuart and Nocon, 1996, p. 436). After each answer of the interviewee, the interviewer has to probe by asking the question What do you mean? (Ibid.). Before students carried out their tasks, they were pre-surveyed, and after they had done the practical part of their assignment, they were also post-surveyed. To be able to compare pre- and post-survey results, the subjects were given codes. This was also useful for preserving anonymity. In these sur veys, students were asked questions like Why did you begin to study

Spanish?, Do you have Mexican friends? or How would you describe your goal in your study of Spanish?, etc. There was a separate post-survey in which the researchers wanted to know how the subjects perceived the task of doing an ethnographic interview and whether their attitude towards the Spanish language and the Mexican people living in San Diego changed because they had undergone such a task. The findings proved that a positive change occurred in the students attitudes towards the speakers of the target language and their culture, and what is more interesting, greater desire emerged to learn the target language itself. Another important conclusion was that by taking part in the ethnography project, students acquired the life skill of active listening, which can make communication between various cultures better and make understanding of the other culture easier (Robinson-Stuart and Nocon, 1996). VAL ALUE LIMITA 4. THE VALUE AND LIMITATIONS OF ETHNOGRAPHIC RESEARCH So far it has been shown how ethnography works in real life situations in educational contexts and what responsibilities the ethnographer has. This section intends to show the value and limitations of ethnography as a research approach. In Hornbergers (1994) opinion, the value of ethnography lies in its holistic and emic view (p. 688). The holistic view is

associated with the objective of the ethnographer, which is to create a full picture of the culture or event he is observing and analysing, a picture that leaves nothing unaccounted for and that reveals the interrelatedness of all the component parts (Ibid). What is appreciated here is that the approach provides the opportunity to compare and contrast what actors of the given culture say and do in order to receive a whole, detailed and realistic description and interpretation of the processes within that culture (Hornberger, 1994). The emic view implies the intention of the ethnographer to show the point of view of the insider, the cultural actor. He tries to depict the thoughts, feelings, experiences of the members of the given culture. The value in this perspective is the potential for new, unexpected, and unpredictable understandings to emerge (Hornberger, 1994, p. 689). One of the most obvious limitations of ethnographic studies is the insider/outsider dilemma (Hornberger, 1994) i.e. how the two perspectives can be balanced. Hornberger mentions several dimensions as part of the dilemma e.g. being too familiar with the culture under examination may cause distortion in interpretation, while the insider explanation and understanding may be inhibited by the ethnographers being a total stranger to the culture. Another issue that is raised by Byram (1989) when discussing the value and limitations of ethnographic research is that of representativeness in ethnographic studies. He states that ethnographers do not

select their subjects applying statistical sampling; therefore, their informants cannot be representative of the population. In contrast, Boster claims that individuals acquired cultural competence is a version of societys shared culture (Byram, 1989, p. 118). If so, then the informants in an ethnographic account can be considered representatives of their own culture. 5. SUMMARY The present paper has intended to throw light on what ethnography as a research approach in the educational context means. It is the study of the other people and the social and cultural patterns that give meanings to their lives (Barro, et al., 1998). The main task of the ethnographer is to explain these social and cultural patterns to those who have never experienced them (Byram, 1989). The paper has given summaries of two ethnographic studies. In one of them, the purpose was to show the problems the participant-observer has to face when carrying out such a research type. The other summary was an account of a study, the findings of which showed a positive change in the subjects attitudes towards members of another culture. The value and limitations of ethnographic research were also described in the paper, the main value being in its emic and holistic view, while a major limitation being the insider/outsider dilemma.

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REFERENCES
Barro, A., Jordan, S., and Roberts, C. (1998). Cultural practice in everyday life: the language learner as ethnographer. In M. Byram and M. Fleming. Language learning in intercultural perspective: Approaches through drama and ethnography. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Byram, M. (1989). Cultural studies in foreign language education. Clevedon, Philadelphia: Multilingual Matters Ltd. Davis, K. (1995). Qualitative theory and methods in applied linguistics research. TESOL Quarterly, 3, 429-453. Hornberger, N. H. (1994). Ethnography. In A. Cumming. (Ed.). Alternatives in TESOL research: descriptive, interpretative and ideological orientations. TESOL Quarterly, 4, 673-703. Larsen-Freeman, D., and Long, M. H. (1991). An introduction to second language acquisition research. New York: Longman. Nunan. D. (1991). Methods in second language classroom-oriented research: A critical review. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 13, 249-274.

Pollard, A. (1985). Opportunities and difficulties of a teacher-ethnographer: a personal account. In B. Burgess. (Ed.). Field methods in the study of education: strategies of educational research. New York: The Falmer Press. Robinson, G.L.N. (1985). Cross-cultural understanding. New York: Prentice Hall. Robinson-Stuart, G., and Nocon, H. (1996). Second culture acquisition: ethnography in the foreign language classroom. The Modern Language Journal, 80, 431-449. Smith, D. (1992). Anthropology of education and educational research: CAE presidential address. Anthropology and Education Quarterly, 23, 185-198. Sperber, D. (1985). On anthropological knowledge. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Valette, R. M. (1986). The culture test. In J. M. Valdes. (Ed.). Culture bound: bridging the cultural gap in language teaching. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Wallace, M. J. (1991). Training foreign language teachers. A reflective approach. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

This article was received on February 12th, 2004 and accepted on August 20th, 2004

Developing Plurilinguism in Slovakia: The CLIL Method, A Starting Point

Desarrollo de plurilingismo en Eslovenia: El mtodo CLIL, un punto de partida

Pokrivck okrivckov Silvia Pokrivckov* spokrivcakova@ukf.sk Eva Mal emala@ukf.sk Constantine the Philosopher University in Nitra, Slovakia The paper deals with an introduction of the CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning) - a newly invented and officially recommended method for the teaching of foreign languages in the European Union. The authors describe its general characteristics and benefits as well as give examples of its application in Slovakia, one of the new member states of the EU. Since Slovakia is not widely known in Colombia, the authors have added a description of the situation in teaching foreign languages in their country, thus providing an important context for teaching objectives and conditions of applying the CLIL. words: Key words: Plurilinguism, Foreign Language Teaching-Young Learners, CLILMethodology Este documento trata sobre la introduccin del mtodo (Contenido y Lenguaje integrados en el aprendizaje) CLIL una nueva metodologa diseada y oficialmente recomendada como mtodo de enseanza de lenguas extranjeras en la Unin Europea. Las autoras describen las caractersticas generales del mtodo y sus beneficios, as como ejemplos de su aplicacin en Eslovenia, uno de los nuevos miembros de la UE. Debido a que Eslovenia no es muy conocida en Colombia, las autoras han incluido una descripcin de la situacin de la enseanza de lenguas extranjeras en su pas. De tal manera, proveen un contexto importante para los objetivos y condiciones de la enseanza en la aplicacin de esta metodologa. Palabras claves: Plurilingismo, Enseanza-Lenguas ExtranjerasEstudiantes-Jvenes, CLIL-Metodologa

Silvia Pokrivckov and Eva Mal are teacher trainers in the Department of Foreign Languages of the Faculty of Education Constantine the Philosopher University in Nitra, Slovakia. They are editors of the series Foreign languages at school 1 (2003) and Foreign languages at schools 2 (2004).

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INTRODUCTION The aims of this paper are as follows: 1. To introduce the situation regarding teaching foreign languages in Slovakia, one of the countries which has recently joined the European Union; 2. To explain current trends and priorities in the field (including the latest methodological concepts); and 3. To illustrate the application of the CLIL method in language classrooms for young learners as an example of an innovative method leading to the development of plurilinguism. HISTORICAL CONTEXT O F LANGUAGES TEACHING FOREIGN L ANGUAGES SLOVAKIA IN SLOVAKIA (THE EU) Slovakia, one of the smallest and youngest countries in Europe (established in 1993 after the disintegration of the former Czechoslovakia and inhabited by 5 million people), has during the last 3 years witnessed radical changes in teaching foreign languages in general, and in teaching languages to young learners in particular. However, its long history is interesting as well. Up to 1989, when the country was a part of the former Communist block in Europe, the only compulsory language in Slovak schools was Russian. Pupils started

learning it from the 5 th year of their compulsory elementary school attendance (while being 10+, i.e. ISCED 2 level1). Other languages were taught in very limited circumstances because they were considered to be instruments of imperialistic propaganda. The only language that could be taught more extensively in those times was German (because of the existence of the former German Democratic Republic). After November, 1989, when the socalled Velvet Revolution in Czechoslovakia defeated the communist government, the situation in teaching languages started to improve. The schools (mostly secondary) offered a wider scale of foreign languages that included English, French, Spanish and Italian. But, paradoxically, language education became available to a radically lower number of students. Russian as a foreign language was generally refused by learners, although it was the only foreign language taught by qualified teachers. Other foreign language teaching suffered from an extreme lack of teachers, even unqualified. The following table shows the amounts of pupils learning a foreign language on ISCED 2 level in Slovakia in 1989 and 1991 (based on the data of The Statistic Annual Book of Education, 1991):

ISCED 2 according to International Standard Classification of Education (revised in 1997) it is a lower secondary level that forms an integral part of compulsory schooling. In Slovakia it starts after finishing 4 years of ISCED 1 level. It lasts 5 years and its end corresponds with the end of compulsory full-time education .

FOREIGN L ANGUAGES TAUGHT AT SLOVAK AT SLOVAK SCHOOLS

Russian German English French

NUMBER OF PUPILS LEARNING A FOREIGN LANGUAGE IN 1989 (IN %)

NUMBER OF PUPILS LEARNING A FOREIGN LANGUAGE IN 1991 (IN %)

100 12.3 1.4 0.8

14.0 22.5 17.6 1.8

Table. 1 Number of pupils learning foreign languages at Slovak schools in 1989 It is clear that together with a decline in learning the Russian language, the number of pupils learning all other languages increased more or less rapidly. The alarming fact was that more than 44.1% elementary school pupils were not, at that time, learning any foreign language. Another very important impact on the teaching of foreign languages in Slovakia occurred after 1993 when Czechoslovakia split up and Slovakia (as well as the Czech Republic) applied for membership in the European Union. Together with the opening of windows and doors to Europe, the necessity of effective foreign language
FOREIGN L ANGUAGES TAUGHT AT SLOVAK AT SLOVAK SCHOOLS
English German French Russian

teaching has been emphasised. State educational institutions created an enormous activity to increase the number of qualified teachers of the most frequent/ popular foreign languages in Slovakia (English, German, Spanish, Italian, and French) and to improve conditions for providing more available and effective language teaching at state schools on all levels. The first results became visible in 2000. Table 2 shows the number of pupils learning foreign languages at Slovak elementary schools in 2000 (according to The Statistic Annual Book of Education, 2000):
NUMBER OF PUPILS LEARNING A FOREIGN LANGUAGE IN 2000 (IN %)

51.3 45.1 1.8 7.0

Table 2: Number of pupils learning foreign languages at Slovak schools in 2000

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A higher number of learners appeared in all the languages except Russian; moreover, the number of pupils who did not learn any foreign language decreased to 0.4%. However, the situation was not so favourable in teaching/learning foreign languages on ISCED level 1 (primary level of education starting in Slovakia at the age of six and lasting 4 years). By 2000, only 14.5 % of young learners in Slovakia were learning one foreign language, which means that 85.5 % of pupils between the ages 6 and 10 were not taught foreign languages at elementary schools at all.2 SITUATION CURRENT SITUATION The preparatory processes regarding Slovakias entering the EU included extensive and intensive education in foreign languages. Although the Slovak language (the national language of the Slovak people) has become one of the 25 official languages of the EU, the necessity to acquire appropriate skills for communication with other member countries (there are currently 450 million Europeans) has increased significantly. An interesting position is that the European authorities do not favour efforts to establish one official language of the Union. The European document, Promoting Language Learning and Linguistic Diversity: Action Plan 20042006 (2003), declares that learning one lingua franca alone is not enough; on the contrary, it stresses the necessity of language diversity, stating that diversity of languages is the richness of Europe (Action Plan, 2004, p. 4) and encourages people to learn,
2

in addition to their mother tongue, at least 2 foreign languages on a level of mastery. Moreover, the teaching/learning of rarelytaught languages (i.e. languages of small communities with a constantly decreasing number of speakers) is highly valued and extra-funded by European educational programmes. The reality is, however, a little bit different: The range of foreign languages frequently used by citizens is much narrower than the authorities would wish. The group of foreign languages most widely taught/ learned at European schools includes English, French, German, Spanish and Russian. In recent years, the European Council extended its recommendations and declared an objective called M+2 to improve the mastery of basic skills, in particular by teaching at least two foreign languages from a very early age. In an adult age, the command of these two languages should be on an advanced level and, in addition to this, it is also recommended that Europeans know another European language on the level of basic communication strategy. This rationale is connected with other important tasks to be fulfilled within national educational systems such as - to build language-friendly schools and language-friendly educational environments, - to extend the possibilities of teaching/ learning a wide range of foreign languages, - to prepare qualified teachers for a wide range of foreign languages, - to develop effective instruments for testing language skills,

Precise numbers with detailed interpretations dealing with the situation in all the member states of EU were published in statistics annuals, or in EURYDICE and EUROSTAT reports.

- to apply the ICT in teaching more effectively, - to develop new highly-effective methods of foreign language teaching/learning leading to so-called European plurilinguism (i.e. the ability of European citizens to speak at least 3 languages). The above EC development has manifested itself in the Slovak educational system by the fact that the beginning of foreign language teaching has been permanently descending to lower age categories. This can be illustrated by the latest research carried out by a team from Constantine the Philosopher University in
FOREIGN LANGUAGE IS TAUGHT AS A SUBJECT

Nitra which showed that in 2003, the number of schools where pupils learn at least one foreign language on ISCED level 1 as a compulsory subject increased to 79.8% (see Table 3); as an optional subject to 41.7%; and that there was no elementary school in Slovakia which did not provide foreign language teaching for young learners, which is a radical change when compared to the situation in 2000. (Precise data and their detailed interpretation, which will result from the long-term research conducted by the research team of the Department of Foreign Languages at the Faculty of Education of the CPU in Nitra whose members are also the authors of this paper will be published in November 2004.)
OPTIONAL IS NOT TAUGHT

C OMPULSORY
79.8

(in %)

41.7

0.0

Table 3. The number of Slovak elementary schools teaching foreign languages as a compulsory subject in 2003 (preliminary results) It is curious that the main propelling forces behind the above changes are the parents of pupils. However, the rule is very clear: If an elementary school does not offer foreign languages, parents refuse to sign up their children and the school loses its state subventions. This pressure helps extend possibilities of foreign languages teaching. On the other hand, the range of taught languages is extremely narrow: It is obvious that Slovak parents are enormously interested in English lessons for their children (It is roughly estimated that nearly 92% of Slovak pupils learn English.), dismissing other foreign languages that were popular in the past. CLILAN EFFECTIVE INSTRUMENT LANGUAGE OF FOREIGN L ANGUAGE LEARNING The most relevant aspects of the European strategy for language learning, or building European plurilinguism, include the development of language diversity, application of learner-centred approaches as well as respecting learners autonomy autonomy. They are the reasons why the European authorities singled out CLIL from among

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numerous methodological approaches as one of the most effective, and thus recommended, methods in foreign language education (The White Paper, Teaching and Learning Towards the learning society, 1995). At the same time, it was recognized as an appropriate approach for the teaching of foreign languages to young learners. Historically, CLIL as an approach using content (subject matter) for the purposes of foreign language teaching continues in the tradition of English for Specific Purposes (ESP) and Content-Based Instruction (CBI). Unlike other teaching methods, it integrates subject matter learning, which is usually provided in the mother tongue, and foreign language learning in which the foreign language is not a goal of learning, but a medium for the communication of its content. It thus enables students to practise foreign language communication skills through contextualized tasks. It means that through CLIL, a particular foreign language (in the European context it is usually English) is not taught/learned as only a subject, but as a crucial instrument for teaching other subjects (mathematics, geography, history, etc.) (CLIL Compendium, 2001). More than other methodological approaches, the CLIL effectively fulfils the following important learners needs: It provides learners with meaningful and everyday input (Learners are not learning language for the sake of language alone, but language for learning, e. g. Slovak pupils are learning about typical weather in Great Britain through appropriate English vocabulary, or Spanish students are

learning about English history through the English language.); It gives learners opportunities to use language meaningfully and productively (Learners communicate in a foreign language not for the sake of pure communication, but to give and receive new information.); It gives learners opportunities to use a foreign language in natural or very close-to-real circumstances (While giving and receiving new information, learners really communicate!); It shifts the attention of learners from a foreign language itself to the communicated content that could encourage less-skilled students to communicate in a foreign language. Thus, one can ask whether CLIL is not too demanding for language teachers by asking them to become language teachers and content teachers in one person. It is important to note here, however, that at elementary schools (ISCED level 1), the curriculum content is not so demanding that language teachers cannot manage it. On higher levels, standard preparation of language teachers for ESP is adequate. PA PLURILINGUISM CLIL AS A PATH TO PLURILINGUISM Former definitions of CLIL stressed teaching non-language content. However, today CLIL is used also for teaching combinations of foreign languages (one target language and several complementary languages, e.g. teaching French through English for pupils speaking Slovak as their mother tongue). In such a case, this approach integrates target language learning and content that

is created by selected items (vocabulary, phrases, or functional elements not grammar!) of complementary languages. As a typical example, a lesson in which learners collect familiar greetings in various languages (Good morning! Guten Tag! Zdravstvujte! Dobr den!, etc.) could be used. The main aim of CLIL in such context is to motivate young Europeans through functional introductions of new foreign languages and to learn more foreign languages resulting in the development of plurilinguism and multiculturalism. The main benefits of such application of CLIL can be summarized as follows: improving overall target language competence; deepening the awareness of the mother tongue, target language and a wide variety of other languages; increasing learner motivation for language learning through creating realistic, educational circumstances in the language classroom; facilitating the EU integration and further internationalisation; developing intercultural communication skills; developing intercultural knowledge and tolerance; getting informed about other countries, regions, cultural communities and minority groups (developing multicultural attitudes and interests); learning how to live in a wider cultural context; developing communicative skills in a target language as well as in other languages (developing plurilingual competences);

preparing for future studies and/or working life. The application of CLIL as an instrument of plurilinguism raises demands for foreign language teachers as they themselves should be able to speak several languages, or, at least, master selected elements. It must be noted here, however, that so far there are just a few of such teachers in Slovakia. To cope with the new situation, special courses in complementary languages are prepared and provided for in-ser vice teachers, widening the scale of their plurilinguism. At the same time, curricula of faculties of education are being adjusted by increasing the number of foreign languages as well as the number of lessons dedicated to foreign languages (Currently every graduate of a faculty of education must have a command of at least two foreign languages.). Since the best way to explain something is to give a concrete example, we would like to present a lesson plan of a model lesson applying the CLIL method. The lesson was prepared for Slovak pupils learning English as a target language, and, at the same time, getting basic vocabular y of other (complementary) languages. In a good teaching practice of CLIL, max. 2 complementary languages are required to avoid overloading childrens attention and memory. To better illustrate the example, we have decided to use in our model lesson 4 complementary languages: Czech and Polish are languages of the countries neighbouring Slovakia, their sounding being very close to that of the Slovak language; French and German languages are representatives of the most popular foreign languages in Slovakia

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(in addition to English, understandably). Although the lessons also introduce new vocabulary of complementary languages, the main aim is to improve communicative skills of pupils in the target language. In applying CLIL, it is important that the teacher be able to communicate not only in the target language, but s/he must know

basic vocabulary and pronunciation of the complementary languages as well. To meet this condition, multilateral international partnerships of elementary schools (within the EUs Socrates programme) are created, with each partner school usually preparing suitable CLIL materials for both itself and its partner schools.

MODEL LESSON opic: Topic WEATHER IN EUROPE Mother language: Slovak Medium language: English pupils: Level of pupils Beginners (after 60 lessons of English) Other languages involved: Czech, Polish, German, French , Objectives: Objectives To learn about weather conditions in Europe through English as a foreign language. The secondary aim is to introduce related basic vocabulary of complementary languages structure: Grammar structure Practicing questions and answers in the target language: What is the weather like in Germany today? It is sunny in Germany today. What is the temperature in the Czech Republic today? It is 19 degrees centigrade. vocabulary revised: Previous vocabular y revised Countries (Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Poland, Germany, Italy, Great Britain, France), numbers (0 30). vocabulary New vocabulary: Sunny, raining, windy, cloudy, snowing, stormy, tornado, degrees centigrade aids: Material aids A map of Europe, cards with weather symbols (see Chart 1), weather forecast from a newspaper (weather map is necessary), multilingual weather chart (see Chart 2).

Chart 1

LANGUAGE

English Czech Polish

sunny sluneno soneczno

rainy d deszcz

cloudy oblano pochmurno bedeckt temps nuageux

snowy snh nieg

stormy boue burza

tornado torndo tornado der Tornado tornade

German Sonnenschein der Regen French Soleil pluie

der Schnee der Sturm

neige

orage

Chart 2 Lesson Steps: 1. Introduction: motivating dialogue about weather (in Slovak), using funny questions: What is the weather like today? What was the weather like when you were born? What was the worst weather you remember? What weather does your dog prefer? Introducing new vocabulary by using weather cards as visual aids, pronunciation drill Talking about weather in the target language (English). Practising grammar structures: What is the weather like today? It is sunny. The teacher asks questions and shows the weather symbols as prompts for a pupil to formulate answers. Talking about weather in Europe according to a weather map that the teacher took from a newspaper weather forecast. What is the weather like in Poland today? It is cloudy. Completing the weather chart:

2. 3.

4.

5.

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EATHER W EATHER EMPERATURE T EMPERATURE IN DEGREES CENTIGRADE

126

C OUNTRY

Slovakia Germany Great Britain ....

....
.... cloudy

.... 16 0C .... ....

....
....

6. 7.

Relaxing activity: mini-pexeso (card game) with weather symbols. Introducing vocabulary of complementary language through English questions: What would Polish people say about todays weather? How do Polish people say it is sunny? (This is the possibility to fix English vocabulary and grammar structure in a very realistic situation: pupils repeat English phrases rather subconsciously as they are more focused on their content and on the sound of the Polish words). Drawing pictures Beautiful/terrible weather in Slovakia for pupils of partner schools. Evaluation of the lesson; assigning homework.

8. 9.

Possible Variations of the Lesson for Pupils of a Higher Level of English Variations Proficiency: 1. 2. Introducing richer vocabulary Practicing tense changes: What was the weather like in Slovakia today? What will the weather be like in Italy tomorrow? 3. Talking about a hypothesis: What would you do if there was a tornado in Nitra today? language integrated learning) which was CONCLUSION proved to be an effective way not only of CONCLUSION foreign language learning, but also for the The aim of our paper was to explain the development of plurilinguism and current situation in foreign language multicultural education; that is, the concepts teaching in Slovakia (in the context of the representing main goals of European European Union), with special emphasis on education for this decade. the development of plurilinguism. We have chosen one of the integrated approaches to Since the CLIL based teaching of foreign languages teaching CLIL (Content and languages is relatively new and not verified

in the context of Slovak education, it has not been possible to offer any empirical research results so far. The Department of Foreign Languages at the Faculty of Education of Constantine the Philosopher University in Nitra is involved in an international Comenius/Socrates project focused on the measurement of effectiveness and identification of key circumstances relevant for a massive application of the method at Slovak schools (using the method in the environment of small languages - where the Slovak language can be ranked, advantages and risks for young children resulting from the learning of several foreign languages simultaneously, psychological and pedagogical conditions of CLIL, a new role of the teacher, new impulses for teacher training, new ways of testing and evaluation, development of materials suitable for CLIL, etc.). The experience of the schools already applying the method has shown its great didactic potential which is, consequently, expected to improve the overall quality of language teaching to younger learners.

REFERENCES
CLIL Compendium. (2001). Retrieved Februar y 2, 2003 from http:// www.clilcompendium.com Education across Europe. Statistics and indicators 1999. (2000). European Commision: Eurostat. Foreign language teaching in schools in Europe. (2001). European Commision: Eurydice. The Statistic Annual Book of Education. (1991). Bratislava: stav informci a prognz kolstva, mldee a telovchovy. The Statistic Annual Book of Education SROV. (2001). Bratislava: IP.

Communication from the Commission to the Council, the European Parliament, the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions. Promoting Language Learning and Linguistic Diversity: Action Plan 2004-2006. (2003). Retrieved November 24, 2003 from http:// europa.eu.int/comm/education/doc/official/ keydoc/actlang/act_lang_en.pdf

This article was received on May 06th, 2004 and accepted on August 27th, 2004

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Key Aspects for Developing Your Instructional Materials

Aspectos cruciales para elaborar materiales instruccionales

Pardo do* Astrid Nez Pardo

faceduc@uexternado.edu.co

Ph.D** Clelia Pineda Bez, Ph.D

clelia1@rocketmail.com

Tllez*** Mara Fernanda Tllez Tllez

mariafer80@tutopia.com Universidad Externado de Colombia This article describes crucial aspects that EFL teachers must consider for the elaboration of materials to support the instructional design component of their classes. It also emphasizes that language educators should not only maintain a balance between theory and practice when developing their didactic resources, but they also should keep themselves updated in terms of the latest research in the language education field. The article also addresses key questions teachers should formulate before beginning the process of design, and provides useful ideas to develop dynamic, content enriching, and visually attractive materials. words: Key words: Course Design, Material Design, Motivational Design, Content Enriching Materials, Attractive Layouts, Teachers Creativity Este artculo describe aspectos cruciales que los docentes de ingls como lengua extranjera deben tener en cuenta para la elaboracin de materiales de apoyo del componente de instruccin de sus clases. Tambin enfatiza que los
*Astrid Nez Pardo, Degree in Hotel and Tourism Business Management, Universidad Externado de Colombia. Postgraduate Pardo, Astrid Diploma in Linguistic Studies, University of Essex, Colchester, England. Currently, English Program coordinator, teacher-researcher and material designer, School of Education, Universidad Externado de Colombia and author of the series Economics and Business Readings for English 1, 2, 3, and 4 (Publicaciones Externado). **Clelia Pineda Bez, PhD in Education and Master of Arts in TEFL, Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, USA. B.A. Clelia in Philology and Languages (Spanish-English), Universidad Nacional de Colombia. Currenlty, English coordinator, teacherresearcher and director of the research group English Didactics, officially recognized by Colciencias, School of Education, Universidad Externado de Colombia. ***Mara Fernanda Tllez Tllez, B.A in Teaching Modern Languages, Universidad de Los Andes, Bogot, Colombia. Mara Fernanda Currently studying for a degree in Business Management, Fundacin Universitaria San Martn, Bogot. Full-time teacherresearcher, and materials designer, School of Education, Universidad Externado de Colombia.

docentes de lengua extranjera no solamente deben mantener un balance entre la teora y la prctica al desarrollar sus ayudas didcticas, sino que tambin deben mantenerse actualizados en trminos de los ms recientes avances de la investigacin en el campo de la educacin en lenguas. El artculo discute preguntas claves que los maestros deben formular antes de comenzar el proceso de diseo y brinda ideas tiles para el desarrollo de materiales con contenidos enriquecedores y que resulten dinmicos y atractivos visualmente. Palabras claves: Diseo de Cursos, Diseo de Materiales, Contenidos Enriquecedores, Esquemas Llamativos, Creatividad Docente WHY DESIGN MATERIALS? YOUR OWN MATERIALS? There are a good number of commercial books that are used as support for the instructional component of many EFL/ESL classes. These textbooks have been developed considering learning principles and research on what works best for learners. There are many advantages to these commercial texts. Inside those we find colourful pictures, nice layouts, variety of designs, etc. However, do we teachers not feel that sometimes the textbook is not enough? This may be due partly to the fact that through everyday experience, we become aware of our immediate realities. Such consciousness allows us to become sensitive to the needs of our students and to examine if the materials employed are helping them to achieve their particular language objectives. According to Kessler (as cited by Menezes, 2001), the need for materials developed by teachers in our field is essential because these individuals are the most immediate experts on the needs of ESOL learners, the cognitive abilities of different age groups and the learning process of their specific learners. Indeed, it is teachers in their contact with learners who perceive their most salient characteristics and needs. Yet, how often do we, teachers engage in the task of adapting and/or creating our own materials? The answer may be that we very seldom do so. This article is intended to encourage teachers to develop their own materials and is an invitation to explore their own capabilities. It focuses on considerations for material design. Developing materials for the EFL/ESL classroom should not be viewed as a task confined to textbook developers. However, we need to consider some limitations. One has to do with the fact that it is a timeconsuming activity that requires dedication, patience and some expertise. According to the CIEL Language Support Network (2000), prospective developers of materials should be skillful in relation to subject knowledge, awareness of language learning pedagogies, technical expertise and editing. In addition, the design of materials could turn into a costly enterprise. Nevertheless, it is a unique experience in which teachers can cater to specific learning objectives and learning styles. Moreover, materials designed by the teachers are more likely to be updated and manageable. That is, they have the possibility of prioritizing the learners and placing them

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at the center of the language program while acquainting them with the current world. Teachers, as innovative professionals, have the potential to explore their creativity by designing materials for their classes. Notwithstanding, there is a word of caution for anyone interested in this field. It should not turn into a meaningless task with the sole purpose of enjoying and keeping the students busy. Certainly, we should develop materials that motivate our learners. Nonetheless, the fact that those activities are enjoyable does not automatically imply that students are learning properly (Dick and Reiser, 1989). As Dewey (1938) once stated, an experience could be enjoyable and yet promote a careless attitude. This implies that the teacher must develop meaningful tasks that emphasize learning which is relevant for students lives and that helps them understand and challenge their own views of the world. PREREQUISITES MATERIAL FOR MATERIAL DESIGN It is also important to highlight that the process of material design is embedded in the sequence of a language course design. Learners should know in advance what their learning process will consist of. Therefore, objectives must be stated in the materials and should be clearly defined so that learners can accurately interpret them. The materials should reflect opportunities for the learners

to achieve the objectives set up. In other words, there must be congruency between the objectives and the materials. Materials designed by teachers should include prerequisites that are indispensable to promote an adequate atmosphere for learning. A crucial aspect here is the activation of prior knowledge. According to Dick and Reiser (1989), it helps students to feel confident when getting in contact with the information to be learned. This activation can be initiated by means of rich activities before the main topic is confronted. Vocabulary exercises, visual aids, mental mapping strategies, and graphs are useful means by which we can explore prior knowledge. In addition to the activation of prior knowledge, we should also keep in mind the type of interaction that our materials foster. Besides individual practice, there must be opportunities for pair and group work that could maximize their chances for exchange of information. Finally, as with any other element of the curriculum, the materials must be constantly scrutinized for their effectiveness. Hence, we can turn again to our point of departure which consists of the learning objectives and make the corresponding adjustments. The following diagram depicts the process and the types of questions we should ask ourselves regarding the role of our supporting materials.

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The sequence shown here implicitly emphasizes the idea that teachers theoretical background must be at the heart of material design. Teachers should posses a grasp of developments in the field of education and particularly in second language acquisition, and the ability to connect theory and research to practice. Teachers must be connoisseurs of their field. They should not only be familiar with theories of foreign language learning and teaching, but also be acquainted with the most recent findings of research. Materials could lack a solid rationale if they are not constructed considering principles in which the teacher believes. It is by combining their theoretical background and their teaching experience in the development of their materials that they create positive conditions for language learning. A combination of experience and theoretical background could guarantee a better developed product.

Assessment and evaluation: Does my material encourage reflection on progress of language competence? How effective is it in terms of achieving my objectives?

Learning/teaching activities: What activities do my materials require the learners to perform? How do they draw upon their background knowledge? What type of participation is included?

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Figure 1. The Process of Course and Material Design

Needs analysis: Which competencies do my learners need to refine?

A central aspect in the design of appropriate materials for our EFL classes is motivation. Ideally, we should call and maintain our students attention by using meaningful, well-elaborated, updated, challenging, enjoyable and relevant materials. They must be designed so that they tap our learners feelings and background, and they should enhance learning acquisition by promoting autonomy. In this respect, Small (1997) cites four elements proposed in the ARCS Model of Motivational Design that we consider pertinent aspects when dealing with ways to encourage our learners to learn. MATERIAL MATERIAL DESIGN AND MOTIVATION MOTIVA
Selection and sequence: What types of tasks, content, and language should I include? What sequence should the activities proposed in the materials follow? Objectives Which skills and what knowledge should my course and my supporting materials aim at?
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Attention

It deals with the creation of the concept of newness. It explores the way teachers activate curiosity among students and how to match students interest and needs through the use of different methods. It focuses on goal orientation, motive matching, and familiarity emphasizing objectives. It is fundamental for students to know what the objectives are and their importance. The selection of objectives should be focused on learners needs. Familiarity takes into account students experiences and values when designing the contents. It is the link established between the learning process and students abilities. It is the enjoyable experience faced by students when objectives are achieved.

Relevance

Confidence

Satisfaction

Table 1. The ARCS Model of Motivational Design It is worth noting that Small capitalizes on the importance of congruency among objectives, tasks and materials. However, the model also implies diversity. More concretely, materials should explore students personalities, learning styles, language development expectations, likes, dislikes, needs and the contexts they are embedded in. Apparently, this seems an overwhelming task, but it is possible if we observe our learners meticulously and learn to appreciate who they are, how they see the world, and how they interact with each other. Age in this sense is fundamental. Generations change and therefore we must bear in mind that contents and purposes in materials can vary according to learners ages. A way to bridge the gap between you as a teachermaterial designer and your students is to plunge into their age and put yourself in their own shoes so that you understand the way they conceive life. CONTEXTUALIZATION CONTEXTUALIZATION OF CONTENT There are two more relevant aspects that teachers should keep in mind when designing materials for their classes. One of them has to do with the contextualization of all activities included in the materials. For instance, vocabulary and grammar exercises should be embedded in the topic that is being studied. Activities should promote exposure to the target language and opportunities to recycle the grammar and vocabulary points to be learned. New words, for example, can be presented in an enjoyable crossword puzzle. Then, students can be asked to use them to complete sentences while working on word transformation. Finally, they can create their own sentences and put them together in a story or use the vocabulary learned in games. There are many options upon which to draw so that new forms can be acquired and put into practice.

They include cartoon stories, matching exercises, memory games, board games such as taboo, stop and simulation of real conversations, games, etc. LAY VISUAL LAYOUT Finally, a crucial aspect in the design of materials concerns the visual layout. Although this is the aspect that requires continuous practice and some familiarization with computer programs such as Word and Paint Work, there are basic tips that aid in the elaboration of attractive materials. We will pinpoint the ones that have been of great usefulness for us: Include clear and short instructions using everyday, plain language. Also, include a name or heading for each activity you plan in your materials. Provide a concise, straightforward example before letting the students work by themselves. In short, model the behaviour. Avoid being stuffy. Distribute the information and pictures in a visuallyattractive layout so that looking at and reading the material do not become tiresome. Use legible fonts that are not too elaborated and can easily be read. Recreate your activities with visuals. Those should portray the meaning of the words or situations meant to be learned. Do

not include pictures just for the sake of it with no relationship whatsoever to the content. Design your own pictures or use resources from the Internet, but be aware of copyrighted material. Include a varied set of activities. Examples are: tic-tac-toe, memory games, lotteries, bingos, jig-saw puzzles, stop and so forth. You can also create materials that promote interaction and teamwork such as hexagon games, contests, wall-dictation and mutual dictation and simulation games. Use eye-catching color in your resources and make sure they are readable. SAMPLES At this point we would like to show materials that have been designed to recycle vocabulary. The first exercise reinforces lexis and helps students categorize words under general headings. It is worth noticing that the content of the template can be adapted for different levels and areas. The second example is a board game in which students are expected to ask for permission, give orders, give advice, express ability and invite politely. In short, it has been designed to internalize modal verbs. The exercise is presented as a game and it allows for grammar and vocabulary contextualization. It also stimulates the learners to create their own sentences.

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ANSWER KEY THEY ARE ALL (1)

1. They are all functions of money 2. They are all imperfect market structures 3. They are all economic growth sources 4. They are all imperfect market features 5. They are all national income variables 6. They are all perfect market features 7. They are all acronyms 8. They are all business cycle phases 9. They are all macroeconomic problems 10. They are all international trade key words 11. They are all negative consumption externalities 12. They are all crimes

ANSWER KEY THEY ARE ALL (2)

1. They are all flowers. 2. They are all family members/ relatives. 3. They are all insects. 4. They are all clothes 5. They are all continents. 6. They are all pieces of furniture. 7. They are all colours. 8. They are all sports. 9. They are all verbs. 10. They are all capital cities 11. They are all vegetables. 12. They are all fruits.

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Play with a classmate. Take turns deciding how to label the features / aspects that appear in each of the petals. If you dont answer, you miss your turn. The winner is the student who labels the highest number of petals.

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

They They They They They They

are all __________________________ are ____________________________ _______________________________ are all __________________________ are ____________________________ _______________________________
9. Unemployment, inflation, economic growth and business cycles. 10. Tariffs, quotas, exports and imports, trade balance, mutually beneficial trade. 11. Cigarette smoke, loud music at 2 A.M. and pollution caused by local automobiles. 8. The peak, the downturn, the trough and the upturn.

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7. IMF, VAT, GDP, GNP, CPI, L&PA, WB or IBRD, GATT and NAFTA.

12. Shoplifting, kidnapping, forgery, smuggling, murder, and rape.

6. Market forces interaction, price takers, many firms, many buyers, and a variety of products.

7. They are all _____________________________ 8. They are _______________________________ 9. They __________________________________ 10. They are all ____________________________ 11. They are ______________________________ 12. They _________________________________
1. Means of exchange, unit of account and store of value.

Key Aspects for Developing Your Instructional Materials

5. Total output, aggregate savings, total consumption and aggregate investment. 2. Oligopoly, duopoly and monopoly. 4. Price makers, market entry barriers, unique product, differentiated products, a multitude of buyers and one, or a few firms.
3. Entrepreneurship, investment in technology and human capital, capital accumulation and institutions that foster growth.

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12. Pear, banana, orange, mango, pineapple and lemon. 1. Sunflowers, roses, irises, carnations, tulips and daffodils.

Play with a classmate. Take turns to decide how to label the things, places, words, names, items, etc. that appear in each of the petals. If you dont answer, you miss your turn. The winner is the student who labels the highest number of petals

NEZ, PINEDA AND TLLEZ

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

They They They They They They

9. To talk, to write, to call, to greet, to love, to enjoy, to give, to forgive, and to admire.

10. London, Rome, Paris, Bogot, Teheran, and Washington.

are all ____________________________ are ______________________________ _________________________________ are all ____________________________ are _ ____________________________ _________________________________
8. Football, ice-hockey, swimming, tennis, basketball, hiking, and skating. 11. Carrots, cauliflowers, onions, cucumbers, green peas, lettuce and garlic. 7. Red, green, mauve, navy, pink, yellow, purple, black, brown, orange and grey.

7. They are all _____________________________ 8. They are _______________________________ 9. They __________________________________ 10. They are all ____________________________ 11. They are ______________________________ 12. They _________________________________
6. Chairs, tables, desks, wardrobes, cupboards, sofas, a puff and an armchair. 5. Europe, Asia, Africa, North, Central and South America, Australia and Antarctica. 2. Uncles, aunties, mothers in-law, cousins, siblings, and nieces.

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3. Bees, ants, mosquitoes, butterflies and grasshoppers.

4. Shirts, jeans, scarves, blouses, underwear and jackets.

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Lets play this board game with a die. Throw the die and do what is asked in each box by using modal verbs correctly. If you fail to do the task, you must start again. The winner must get to the box marked finished.
11. Invite your friends to go for a walk.

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14. Tell your classmates about a possible application for an internship in a multinational firm.

13. Recommend your fellows not to drink and drive because it is dangerous. 12. You are a caring person. Tell your friends to devote more time to their studies.

10. Ask your teacher politely to repeat the last instruction s/he gave.

9. Invite your girlfriend / boyfriend to have dinner at a quite fancy restaurant.

8. Tell your colleague about the main requirement to go to the United States.

15. Say you are able to speak five languages fluently.

7. Tell your classmates about a possible trip to Canada.

I think you should accept that job. Its a nice opportunity.

16. Ask your boss for permission to have a day off.

6. Ask someone politely not to smoke in the hall.

1. Ask your partner politely for a big favour.

2. Tell your little brother/ sister not to play with fire.

3. Ask you mother for permission to stay out late.

17. Your grandfather is recovering from surgery. Tell him to stay in bed.

5. Tell your teacher you were not able to do your homework because of a lack of time. 4. Advise your best friend what to do to stop drinking so heavily.

18. Tell your grandmother there is no need to work so much.

20. Advise your classmates what to do to improve their speaking abilities.

21. Ask the university porter where your classroom is.

22. Tell your best friend there is no need to take/ sit the exam today.

23. Ask the shop assistant to show you some leather jackets.

24. Ask your teacher politely for your English grades.

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19. You have just planted some seeds. Tell your little brother not to step on the soil.

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RECOMMENDA SOME RECOMMENDATIONS Finally, we advise teachers to systematize their process. In other words, keep the template used for further reference so that more information can be adapted later. Teacher-designers should compile their materials in a diskette or CD to have easy access and retrieval. They also should label their designs with pertinent information such as the type of activity and the target audience. Besides, it is advisable to maintain a file with printed laminated copies of all materials and categorize them in a folder. Thus, the process will turn into a versatile resource pack that not only assists teachers in their endeavours, but also helps them to visualize their creative side. It is also important to note that many textbooks and teaching resource packs contain materials that can be adapted according to the needs of the learners. Teachers do not have to reinvent the wheel, and time and energy can be saved that way. However, there are ethical issues that must be considered. We strongly caution teachers about piracy and invite them to become aware of copyrights. Any selected material that is adapted, even if it is slightly modified, must explicitly include a reference to the original sources. According to the Purdue University Online Writing Lab (2004), anybody using others work needs to document the reference when: Referring to somebody elses words or ideas from a magazine, book, newspaper, song, TV program, movie, Web page, computer program, letter, advertisement, or any other medium.

Including information gained through interviews. Copying the exact words or a unique phrase. Reprinting diagrams, illustrations, charts, figures or pictures. Applying ideas that others have given you in conversations or via e-mail. It is by giving credit that we acknowledge and value the work of other people and begin fostering an ethical environment in our job. As can be inferred, creating and adapting materials is a challenging enterprise as it demands serious considerations in terms of curriculum and instructional alignment and ethical issues. It is also time-consuming and demanding. However, it provides teachers with opportunities to explore not only their teaching potential, but also their creative side. REFERENCES
CIEL Project. (2000). Resources for independent language learning: design and use. Retrieved July 7, 2004, from http:// www.lang.ltsn.ac.uk/resources/goodpractice.aspx Dewey, J. (1938). The Theory of Inquiry. New York: Holt, Rinehart & Wiston. Dick , W. and Reiser, R. (1989). Planning effective instruction. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, Inc. Menezes, A. (2001). Reflections on readings. Retrieved August 4, 2004, from http:/ / w w w. g e o c i t i e s . c o m / a n n a _ k m 2 0 0 1 / reflections.html

Purdue University Online Writing Lab. (2004). Retrieved from http:// owl.english.purdue.edu/hadouts/research/rplagiarism.html

Small, R. (1997). Motivation in instructional design. Retrieved July 15, 04 from http:// w w w. i l s . u n c . e d u / D a n i e l / 2 1 4 / MotivationSmall.html

This article was received on May 10th, 2004 and accepted on August 22nd, 2004.

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Curricular Units: Powerful Tools to Connect the Syllabus with Students Needs and Interests
Unidades curriculares: Herramientas poderosas para conectar el programa con las necesidades e intereses de los estudiantes Aleida Ariza Ariza* Universidad Nacional de Colombia aleariza71@yahoo.es A basic component of any language program is the construction of the curriculum. There is a variety of approaches to curriculum planning and implementation from the technical production perspective to the critical view. The current article emerged from the analysis of the syllabus in a Basic English course in the undergraduate program at Universidad Nacional de Colombia and the design and implementation of a curricular unit. Such unit proved to be a powerful tool to connect what was set in the program, what students needed in terms of language and what they were interested in terms of culture. words: Key words: Curriculum, Curricular Unit Platform, Constructivism, TeachingCommunicative Language, Task-Based Approach Un componente esencial en un programa de idiomas es la construccin del currculo. Existe una gran variedad de enfoques en trminos del diseo y la implementacin del currculo; desde una perspectiva reducida a la produccin tcnica, hasta una visin crtica y transformadora. El presente artculo se gesta a partir tanto del anlisis de un programa correspondiente al curso Ingls Bsico I en la licenciatura ofrecida por la Universidad Nacional de Colombia, como del diseo y la implementacin de una unidad curricular. Dicha unidad curricular se caracteriz por convertirse en una herramienta de conexin entre los contenidos y procedimientos planteados en un programa y las necesidades comunicativas e intereses culturales de los estudiantes. Palabras claves: Currculo, Plataforma Curricular, Unidad Curricular, Constructivismo, Lenguas Extranjeras-Enseanza Comunicativa, Enfoque basado en Tareas
Judith Aleida Ariza Ariza, B.Ed in Philology and Languages, English Spanish from the Universidad Nacional de Colombia, has worked with students from kindergarten to university levels. She was a research assistant for the RED project and worked for one year as a Spanish Assistant in The Weald of Kent in Tonbridge, England. She is currently a professor in the Foreign Language Department at the Universidad Nacional de Colombia and a tutor for the PFPD Profile. In addition, she is a Master candidate in the Master Program in Applied Linguistics to TEFL at Universidad Distrital Francisco Jos de Caldas.
*

INTRODUCTION

Schooling is assumed to be a process whose main purpose is to promote or produce learning... Thus, schooling is conceived as a production system in which individual learning outcomes are the primary products. After all, if learning is not what schooling is for, then what could be its purpose? (Posner, 1998, p. 81).
This quote reflects a clear position which develops the idea of the technical production perspective of curriculum. Within this perspective, teachers become technicians who plan and implement activities geared toward students production. One of the main concerns teachers have spins around the way to best plan our lessons so that they are coherent with the objectives set in the syllabus and, at the same time, meet our students needs and interests. One of the options teachers have is the construction of didactic units based on a clear curricular platform. Such platform must tackle key issues such as the theory of education, the theory of learning, the theory of teaching, the approach, the method and the general goals to be achieved. Therefore it constitutes the base on which the curricular unit is built upon. Based on my experience as a teacher and learner of English as a foreign language, and on literature reviewed, I strongly believe in social interaction as the key factor in any learning process. My curricular unit platform has been constructed on this premise and it contains a specific philosophy of education,

a theory of communication, a theory of teaching, a theory of learning and the general goals which will frame the curricular unit design. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK Curricular Platform A curricular platform is conceived as the basic principles underlying the construction and implementation of a curriculum. It emerges from the query of how a curriculum is planned. Thus, a curricular platform construction is led by three main questions as stated by Posner (1998). The first concerns the procedural questions which aim to go deep into the stages a teacher follows to plan a curriculum. The second query leads towards the description of the way a curriculum is planned. Lastly, one should consider the elements present in the curriculum planning process and the way they are related to one another. In order to design and implement a curricular unit, I searched for those principles underlying the curriculum of my educational setting and proposed some elements which guided me in the construction of the platform. Such elements were a theory of education, a theory of learning, a theory of teaching, and an approach. Constructivism Theory as a Theor y of Education The curricular unit I developed had as a general conceptual framework constructivism, and specifically, social constructivism. The philosophical pillars of

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this theory have been set by authors like Bruner, Ausubel, Piaget and Vygotsky, among others. This philosophical position has been influenced by postmodernism supporting the idea that any reality is the mental construction of those who believe they have discovered it. The basic principle of constructivism is that we construct our understanding of the world and its phenomena by reflecting on our experience. Thus the teaching learning dynamics have different principles defining new paradigms in both teachers and learners roles. The two main principles within this philosophy are that knowledge is actively built up by learners and the truth is not found, but constructed through the explanation and socialization of our own experiences. Expanding on the previous statements, Brooks and Brooks (1993) as cited by Morison (1997) defined five main issues within this philosophical position: Use relevant problems for instruction Learning is constructed around primary concepts Value students points of view Adapt curriculum to address students suppositions Assessing students learning in the context of teaching Social constructivism considers that the culture gives the child the cognitive tools needed for development such as cultural history, social context, language and, in these
1

modern times, electronic forms to have information access. It emphasizes education for social transformation and reflects a way of conceiving individuals within a sociocultural context. In the same train of thought, individual development originates from social interactions as cultural meaning are shared by the group and later they are apprehended by the individual. As stated by Schtz (2002), Vygotsky is one of the representative authors within this framework. He emphasizes the importance of culture and social context for individuals cognitive development. There are four main principles supporting social constructivism. First, learning and development is a social collaborative activity. Then, school learning should occur in meaningful context and there should be a connection between the world at school and the real world. The third pillar emphasizes the idea that experiences lived out of school should be connected to those promoted and carried out within the school context. Finally, the Zone of Proximal Development1 (ZPD) can be a guide for curricular and lesson planning. Within this conceptual framework, knowledge is a construction made by each learner regarding what he or she has experienced before and is linked to social interaction. With social constructivism as the theory of education, learning is viewed as a process of adjusting our mental models in order to accommodate new experiences we are exposed to by means of daily social interaction in a cultural context. Within this process, learners invent rules, discover concepts and build representation of the

Zone of Proximal Development: The stage a person can reach when being involved in social interaction.

world going through a process of enculturation into a community of practice. Although Wolffe and McMullen (1996) consider constructivism as a theory of learning due to its essence, there are some important teaching principles to bear in mind when selecting this philosophy of education. A constructivist teacher creates a context for learning where students can engage in interesting activities that promote and facilitate the process. Among the implications this philosophy presents, it is very relevant to mention: The transition of the teachers roles from transmitters to facilitators: Teachers guide students when tackling the learning challenges; they encourage learners to work in groups and support them in their modification of previous cognitive schemes. Teachers are called on to enable learners to learn how to learn: Teachers should provide students with instructional settings in which learners can live the language and use it to modify their world and conditions around them. Thus, autonomy and self-directed learning is encouraged. There are more open-ended evaluations of learning outcomes: Learning is conceived as a process of modification in which there is not one correct way to interpret phenomena around us. APPROACH AND METHOD Brown (1995) cites Anthony (1963) to clarify the difference between an approach and a method. An approach is considered to have a ground assumption dealing with

the nature of language and learning while a method is a general plan for the presentation of language materials. Thus, an approach is more axiomatic while a method is more procedural as it deals with putting theory into practice, it being the level at which choices are made about the particular skills to develop, the contents to be explored, and the order of such exploratory tasks. The view of language within this approach is an interactional one. Language is conceived as a vehicle for the realization of interpersonal relations and for the performance of social exchanges between individuals. According to Richards and Rodgers (1982), as cited by Brown (1995), some of the most relevant characteristics of this vision are that language is a system for the expression of meaning and its primary function is for interaction and communication. Such communication should be meaningful and purposeful within a specific social context. Accordingly, language is perceived as a social practice in which the focus is the empowerment of the learner through the critical analysis of the social situations and the development of skills to face power differences. TaskBased Framework: TaskBased Tasks are conceived as activities where the target language is used by the learner for a communicative purpose in order to achieve a specific outcome (Willis, 1996). This author makes references to six types of tasks: listing, ordering and sorting, comparing, problem solving, sharing personal experiences, and creative tasks. Among the possible starting points for task

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work are learners personal knowledge and experiences, problems, visual stimuli, and spoken or written texts. As proposed by Willis (1996) and highlighted by Rooney (2001), the task based learning framework has three main components: Pre-task, Task cycle and Language Focus. The pre-task component relates to the introduction to the topic and task. The task cycle has three moments. In the first part, students do the task collaboratively; afterwards, during the planning stage, students prepare to report to the whole class the way they developed the task informing on the decisions taken. Finally, students report on the process carried out. The last component refers to the language focus, which contains the analysis and the practice. In the former, students examine and discuss specific features of the texts and in the latter, practice of new concepts is carried out.

One of the advantages this framework offers for learning is the confidence learners develop from trying out the language they know. It also promotes and opens spaces for spontaneous interaction. Furthermore, students are given the chance to notice the way others express similar meanings, getting them engaged in using language purposefully and cooperatively, concentrating on building meaning. Additionally, this framework gives learners more spaces to tr y out communication strategies. CURRICULAR CURRICUL AR UNIT DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTA IMPLEMENTATION Based on the curricular platform previously described, a curricular unit was designed to develop a specific topic: eating habits and food celebrations. The next section of the article will account for the unit design, implementation and evaluation.

Curricular Unit
Unit Author FIRST AND LAST NAME: E MAIL ADDRESS: INSTITUTION NAME: INSTITUTION CITY: Unit Overview Unit Plan Title: Food Time! Aleida Ariza aleariza71@yahoo.es /aleariza71@latinmail.com Universidad Nacional de Colombia Bogot

Curriculum Framing Questions: Essential Question: How different or similar are English speaking countries eating habits compared to Colombian ones? Unit Questions: What do people in the class like eating? What do people in Britain and the United States normally eat? What is the relation between food and a local and an international celebration?

Unit Summary This unit was concerned with the topic of food habits and the relation of food and celebration. Students built up new knowledge in terms of some vocabulary and grammatical structures as well as in social and cultural features based on their experiences and those experiences narrated by people from English speaking countries. Subject Areas English, Civilization. Level Students from English Basic I course registered in the undergraduate English program (licenciatura). Key Words: Food, Celebration, Eating habits, Thanksgiving, Meals, Dishes, Eating preferences. Approximated Time Needed Ten hours a week, one week. Previous Knowledge Ability to express existence (There is /there are) Ability to describe objects (is/ are /have got / has got) Reading skills (skimming /scanning to a certain extent)

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Resources Unit Materials and Resources Required for the Unit Food cards. Video (Interchange Pre-intermediate chapter 8 video) Video player. Two texts related to food habits in English speaking countries. argeted Framework Targeted University Framework The following English Basic I course program standards were taken into account: Picks out main ideas and key words in familiar material. Comprehends the gist of the message with adequate competence and confidence. Handles a narrow range of language. Comprehension of most adapted material and simple authentic texts. Needs constant repetition and repair. Responds to simple speech situations in moderate level contexts with limited confidence and competence. Presents false starts and hesitations. Goals Students will construct knowledge by relating new information with previous experiences. Students will interpret phenomena around them through using the target language. Students will be able to interact with certain accuracy in different daily life, academic and personal situations. Students will use the vision given by their culture in order to better understand the world around them and to set a clear position towards the social context which surrounds them. Students Objectives / Learning Outcomes Linguistic: To review structures already studied such as there is /there are, have got/ has got, simple present : do/wh questions To get to know and use vocabulary related to food items To master quantifiers such as a, an, some, any Cultural To acknowledge food habits in Colombian culture To be aware of cultural differences regarding food habits, specially between Colombia and two English speaking countries: The United States and Great Britain. Affective: To share information related to personal preferences in terms of food items To value team work To acknowledge partner skills and the way they can learn from one another

Assessment Assessment was included along diverse tasks within the unit mainly because evaluation should be continuous and systematic. Students used self, co-evaluation and peer assessment. The teacher also collected students sample of the activities developed and gave individual feedback. Samples of the exercises were kept in students portfolios as this means had been used all through the term as an alternative way to evaluate both students performance and materials used to meet course aims. Procedures Type: Task 1 Type: Listing Pretask: The teacher asked students about food items they remembered, wrote them on the board and showed the group of students a poster with a lot of food elements. Students were asked to find out names of food items by predicting, asking each other or by using their dictionaries. The poster was stuck on the wall next to the board. Task. In groups of three, students were asked to write on a piece of paper as many words related to food as possible in two minutes depending on the category mentioned by the teacher (fruit, vegetables, beverages, meat, seafood, dairy products, seasoning). Once time was over, students counted the number of words written and the member of the group with the highest number read aloud their examples. Groups with the same word crossed it out. At the end of each category reading, students counted the number of words left and added each number to get a total score at the end of the game. While students were reading the written words aloud, the teacher wrote the words on the board in two different columns: A/An Some Post task: Students were asked to look at the way the words they had mentioned had been grouped and to express their own hypothesis about the reason for such classification. The language focus was addressed to testing students hypothesis about the use of a , an and some related to those food items. some,

Type: Ordering Task 2 Type: Ordering and Sorting

1. Students were given flashcards with pictures of varied food items and their names. They had to stand up and look for another person who had item characteristics on a card that were similar to his /hers under the criteria given by the teacher (color, size, taste, food category). The teacher asked two students (who may be strong in their language use) to model using different questions such us: Have you got a/an some...? What have you got? Ive got an apple. Ive got some wine. Assessment Students were asked to evaluate three aspects orally: First, the activities carried out up to this stage. Second, they evaluated the material used and finally the most important

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one. If objectives were achieved (to have a reflective look at their own learning process). The most relevant comments on these aspects were written down and kept in their portfolios. Having the space for assessment at this stage of the curricular unit gave me the opportunity to make informed decisions about the process and reorient the teaching learning process.

Type: Personal Task 3. Type: Listing, Sharing Personal Experience, Comparing

1. In a whole class arrangement, students brainstormed about their eating preferences when asked about giving the first idea that came to their minds to the questions: Which type of food do you like the most? What kind of food do you dislike? 2. Students received a chart (see appendix 1) Food I like... Food I dislike. They filled out the first column by writing five things they liked in relation to the topic. In the second stage of this task students constructed the appropriate questions, stood up and found someone to fill out the rest of the chart by searching, through questions, for people in the classroom who liked and disliked the same type of food. 3. Criteria for preparing and assessing the oral account on the information gathered are set in a process of negotiation and construction with students.

Type: Task 4 Type: Skimming / Scanning

Pretask: Pretask In the session before, I asked students to search for information about eating habits in both The United States and Great Britain along with visual support on their findings. Students formed groups of three and exchanged some information they found, then everybody changed groups until they had been part of three different groups. Afterwards, students shared what they had learned through these dynamics in a plenary session. Task: Half the students were given the reading Meals in Britain taken from Headway Elementary on page 66. The other half received the text Food in America taken from Contact USA on page 52. They were asked to read silently, and to deduce the meaning of new words using the context as a first strategy, then to try a second option (using a dictionary, asking a partner, asking the teacher). Students reading the first article were asked to read again in order to match the photographs with the appropriate paragraph and, in pairs, to prepare three comprehension questions for the reading. They gave the small questionnaire to the teacher. At the same time the other half of the course followed the same process with their reading but the mini-task was to write a subheading for each paragraph according to the most relevant piece of information given in each of them. Later students were asked to prepare a small reading comprehension questionnaire based on the text in pairs. Once they had finished, their pieces of work were given to the teacher.

Every student looked for a partner who had read the opposite article and gave a concrete oral account, guided by the questionnaires and paragraph headings they had elaborated previously, of the main aspects tackled in the text. In a whole class session students discussed eating habits in the USA and Great Britain, establishing similarities and differences and what those implied in terms of cultural values. The teacher shared with students some of the anecdotes that she experienced while living in The United Kingdom when she was part of a teacher assistantship in 2000 2001. Students were asked to brainstorm by writing extra questions they wanted to ask on this topic for the following session. A guess speaker was invited to the class for a fifteen-minute period. He was an English citizen named Neil Alexander who was teaching at the university as part of an assistantship program in Colombia. Students used their notes from the brainstorm activity carried out during the session before in order to ask about any interesting aspect related to food habits of the native speaker. Assessment Classroom-based assessment was carried out taking into account both sources of information, notes taken by me during student performance of the activities and students self-written evaluation, guided by the following heading given by the teacher: What I did... what I learned... working in pairs was...What I liked and disliked the most was...

Task 5 Type: Problem Solving Type: Problem

Pretask: Students brainstormed on various types of food from different places around the world. Task: Students were given a copy of an activity adapted from New Headway Elementary (see appendix 2) in which five pictures of dishes are shown. Students made predictions about the countries those dishes were from. They took notes while listening to a tape in which five native English speakers talked about their favorite dishes. They listened to the tape for a second time and completed the chart. They needed to complete information under the headings: Name of the Speaker, Favorite Dish and Additional Information. Post task: Students selected a partner to compare their notes with so they could both comment and complement the information. The teacher displayed an empty model of the same chart on the board and volunteers were required to fill the chart out. Through guided questions the teacher led students to the identification of new vocabulary and the way it supported the topic being developed all through the curricular unit Assessment Students wrote their comments on a sheet of paper to evaluate their performance during the task in terms of quantity (how much information was written individually), and quality (how accurate the listening task was). The piece of paper was collected along with the

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chart and individual written feedback was given. In order to give students space to reflect upon the task and its performance, students sat in a U shape and the teacher asked them to evaluate the activity as a group. Some of the criteria given to do so included degree of difficulty, information interest degree, pair work dynamics, and self-evaluation.

Tasks 6 Type: Listing, Problem Solving Type: Problem

Pretask: Pretask The teacher distributed pieces of paper with words related to Thanksgiving on them. When every student got his/her card, they stood up and read to as many members of the class as possible the words written on the cards in two minutes. Then, students were given five minutes to tell two partners as many words or expressions he/she remembered, so that they exchanged information collectively. In a whole class arrangement students were asked to predict what the video was about based on the information shared before. Students predictions were written on the board. Task: Students received the video guide titled THANKSGIVING! taken from Interchange, Pre-intermediate Video Book (see appendix 3) and followed the procedure explained in it and mentioned below. You Watch Before You Watch Read the two short texts related to cultural aspects in the United States. Is there a similar celebration in Colombia? Which date is it? Look at the vocabulary and put the words given in the appropriate place on the chart. You Watch While You Watch Watch the first part of the video and complete the chart on the board with more information. Students are asked to watch the first part of the video and answer some questions very clearly. Students watch the second section of the video and tick the food product based on pictures of the people who took part in a survey applied in the U.S.A. Participants watch the last part of the video and complete some sentences related to untraditional food. You Watch A fter You Watch Students were asked to think about a special holiday in our country and share their information with a different partner. They had to talk about types of food in those holidays and the way they were related to the celebrations. Assessment: The video guides were collected and individual feedback given. Students were asked to self evaluate the activity under negotiated criteria: importance, pertinence, interest level, positive aspects, negative aspects, and strategies to overcome difficulties.

EVALUATION ALUA EVALUATION CURRICULAR OF THE CURRICUL AR UNIT The current curricular unit was perceived as very complete by students even though some of the activities could not be carried out due to time constraints. All the objectives proposed were achieved in terms of language (regarding cooperative work as well as the cultural ones). Acknowledging students previous knowledge proved to be a very useful part of both the curricular platform and the curricular unit. Students felt more confident when they could tackle a new aspect of English using what they had already mastered and had practiced with along the term. Learning by doing is a key feature in this unit. Students enjoyed the activities in which they could participate actively. Having students competing against each other proved to be an effective tool in terms of motivation and quality in students production. A strength in this curricular unit and, at the same time, a reflection of the curricular platform, is the variety of communicative tasks which involved the four communicative abilities: listening, speaking, reading (not only texts, but pictures and images) and writing. Abilities like ordering, listing, and guessing, among others, were also present.

A drawback observed in the unit by both students and the teacher was the design of too many tasks for the period of time set. Students felt they were in a hurry most of the time and that pressure affected some students pace of learning. This limitation can be overcome when implementing the unit again by means of selecting the best and most complete tasks and adjusting the unit to the time needed to develop it. CONCLUSIONS CONCLUSIONS Working within the framework of curricular units proved to be very beneficial as I could bridge the gap between what was proposed by the curriculum and what was needed by students. It is worth mentioning that decisions made to build the curricular unit were based on the principles underlying the syllabus for the course as well as on students needs in terms of language and cultural knowledge. The curricular unit designed encouraged students to value their own culture in various aspects such as eating habits and festivities. Students were able to reflect upon different cultural expressions in our society while getting to know cultural aspects of the target language communities. As pointed out by the constructivist theory, students recreated the knowledge they had based on their experiences and compared it to the new information worked on in the curricular unit. I consider this process a very enriching one in terms of language learning and cultural awareness. Likewise, the task-based framework

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encouraged students to use the target language for a communicative purpose in order to achieve a specific product. Thus, students faced diverse types of tasks which moved them to use English in purposeful activities. REFERENCES
Abraham, P and Mackey, D. (1989). Contact . U.S.A. Reading and vocabulary book. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, Inc. Brown, D. (1995). The Elements of language curriculum. Boston: Heinle & Heinle Publishers. Morison, D. (1997). Reviews and Commentaries Section. Retrieved April 2003, from http://www.scientificamerican.com/ 1997issue/1997review1.html Posner, G. (1998). Models of Curriculum Planning. In Beyer, L. and Apple, M., The Curriculum: Problems, Politics and Possibilities. Albany: State University of New York Press, 79100.

Richards, J. (1996). New Interchange. Video Activity Book 2. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Rooney, K. (2001). Redesigning Non-TaskBased Material to Fit a Task-Based Framework. Retrieved December 2002, from http:// iteslj.org/Techniques/Rooney-Task-Based.html Schtz, R. (2002). Vygotsky and Language Acquisition. Retrieved May 2002, from http:// www.sk.com.br/sk-vygot.html Soars, Liz and Soars, John. (1993). Headway Elementary. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Soars, Liz and Soars, John. (2000). New Headway Elementary. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Willis, J. (1996). A framework for task-based learning. Essex: Addison Wesley Longman Limited. Wolffe, R. J., and McMullen, D.W. (1996). The Constructivist Connection: Linking theory, best practice and technology. Retrieved April 2003, from ERIC Clearinghouse on Teaching and Teacher Education, Washington DC.

APPENDIX 1: FOOD I LIKE... FOOD I DISLIKE

I LIKE

I DISLIKE

I like chicken

I dont like spinach

FIND SOMEONE WHO HAS THE SAME TASTE Do you like chicken?

SPECIFIC INFORMATION How do you like it?

Carolina C.

roasted

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TASK APPENDIX 2: TASK 5: FOOD ROUND THE WORLD 1. Look at the picture of food below. Where is each dish from? Which do you like?

Pictures taken from New Headway Elementary, p. 72

2. Listen to the tape in which five native speakers talk about their favorite dishes. Take notes. Tapescript: Marian: Well, I love vegetables, all vegetables - I eat meat too but not much. I think this is why I like Chinese food so much. There are lots of vegetables in Chinese food. Yes, Chinese is my favourite food. I like the noodles too. Can you eat with chopsticks? I can! Graham: Now in my job, I travel the world, and I like all kinds of food...but my favourite, my favourite is... er ... I always have it as soon as I come home... Is a full English breakfast. Bacon, eggs, sausage, mushrooms, tomatoes, and of course toast. I love it, not every day but when Im at home we have it every Sunday. Mmmm! Id like it right now- delicious. Lucy: Oh, no question, no problem. I know exactly what my favourite food is. Pasta. All pasta. Especially spaghetti. Pasta with tomato sauce and I like it best when Im in Italy. I went on holiday to the Italian lakes last year. The food was wonderful. Gavin: ...er... Im not sure. No, I know what it is. My... favourite... food is Indian food. Friday night I like to go to the pub with friends from work and ... have a few beers...er... no, not too

many... and after we always go to an Indian restaurant and I have a chicken curry with rice. Its the best! I like it more than chips! Sally: Well! Shhh! But my very, very favourite food is chocolate. Chocolate anything, I love it. Chocolate ice-cream, chocolate biscuits, chocolate cake, but especially just a big bar of chocolate, Mmmmm! Terrible, isnt it? Go on! Have some of this! My friend brought it back from Switzerland for me! Tapescript taken from New Headway Elementary, p. 120. 3. Listen to the tape for the second time and complete the following chart.
No. 1 2 3 4 5 NAME OF THE PERSON Marian Graham Lucy Gavin Sally FAVOURITE FOOD ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

4.

Talk to a partner and swap information so you can finish completing your chart.

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APPENDIX 3: THANKSGIVING! You Watch Before You Watch 1. Culture Read the following text and comment on it with a partner. On the fourth Thursday in November, people in the United States celebrate Thanksgiving. They get together with family and friends, share a special meal, and give thanks for what they have. The tradition goes back to 1620, when the first group of Europeans, called Pilgrims, settled in North America. The Pilgrims didnt know how to grow crops in the New World, so the Native Americans helped them. Later, they celebrated the good harvest with a special meal. Today on Thanksgiving Day, families and friends do the very same thing.

Text taken from Interchange Pre-intermediate p. 30, unit 8

Is there a similar holiday in our country? Comment on it. 2. Vocabulary Look at the chart below. What is main dish, side dish and dessert? Can you give examples of them? Complete the chart with the dish names shown in the pictures. MAIN DISHES SIDE DISHES DESSERTS

Activity adapted from Interchange Pre-intermediate p. 30, unit 8

Pictures taken from Interchange Pre-intermediate p. 30, unit 8

You While You watch 1. Finish completing the chart above while you watch the whole video. 2. Look at the first section of the video and answer the questions below individually: How did Native Americans help the Pilgrims? Where is the best place to find people getting ready for this holiday celebration? Who do people usually invite for this celebration? 3. What do these people eat on Thanksgiving? Tick on the right square.

Chart taken from Interchange Pre-intermediate p. 31, unit 8

4. Untraditional Food! Some people have different types of food to eat on Thanksgiving which are not considered traditional. Watch this section of the video and complete the sentences below. Sopa is ___________________ in a ________________ and garlic sauce. It has carrots, _______________, corn, and sometimes _______________ in it. Greens is a tradition from the _____________________. Dirty rice is __________________ mixed with rice. Exercise taken from Interchange Pre-intermediate p. 31, unit 8 Compare you answers with a partners and complement your exercise. After You watch Think about a special holiday in our country and discuss with a partner the type of food eaten and its importance in the celebration. Write down some of the information from the discussion you consider valuable.
This article was received on May 10th, 2004 and accepted on august 23rd, 2004.

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The Hidden Curriculum

El currculo oculto

Amparo Onatra* Amparo Onatra

chalitaz96@yahoo.com

Pea ea** Mireya Pea

mppryes@yahoo.com Institucin Educativa Distrital Francisco de Paula Santander This article shows the way hidden curriculum goes farther than just being the conscious and unconscious setting within the formal instruction context. It also shapes students personality and assigns to each individual the role they are supposed to play in society. In this process, interaction with the teacher is crucial since he/she is the one who directly moulds and cultivates the singularity of students according to the specific demands of the social class to which they belong. This phenomenon is well described in research conducted by Jane Anyon (1980) which is referred to in this paper as an example of the influence of the hidden curriculum on school life. words ds: Key words Hidden Curriculum, Unconscious Setting, Teachers Role, Singularity, Society Este artculo muestra cmo el currculo oculto va ms all de ser simplemente el escenario consciente e inconsciente en el que se desarrolla la instruccin formal. El currculo oculto define la personalidad del estudiante y asigna a cada uno el papel que se supone debe ocupar en la sociedad. En este proceso, la interaccin directa con el docente es decisiva ya que es ste quien directamente moldea y cultiva la singularidad de los estudiantes segn las exigencias especficas de la clase social a la que pertenecen. Dicho fenmeno se describe

*Amparo Onatra holds a B.A. in Modern Languages from Universidad Distrital and she is currently enrolled in the PFPD Amparo PROFILE. She is working at C.E.D. Francisco de Paula Santander, Bosa. She has been a teacher for the District Secretariat of Education since 2000 as well as other secondary schools. Since she graduated she has been interested in implementing new techniques leading to improve her teaching practice and she has received recognition as one the best proposals for the Premio Compartir al maestro 2003. **Mireya Pea holds a B.A. in Spanish and Languages from Universidad Pedaggica Nacional. Recipient of the scholarship Mireya by University of New Mexico, U.S.A. All her studies have dealt with foreign language teaching including the current PFPD PROFILE. She teaches English at C.E.D. Francisco de Paula Santander, Bosa. She has worked at different universities in Bogot for the last eleven years as teacher of English for in-service/pre-service teachers and other undergraduate professionals.

muy bien en la investigacin adelantada por Jane Anyon (1980), a la cual se hace referencia en este escrito, como ejemplo de la influencia del currculo oculto en la vida escolar. claves: Palabras claves Currculo Oculto, Escenario Inconsciente, Rol del Docente, Singularidad, Sociedad It is clear that learning at a school implies much more than the single fact of transferring a bunch of information, and that we teach not only the things we do but also the ones we avoid doing. The hidden curriculum is that set of attitudes which filter the teachinglearning process during everyday lessons as well as the other activities of school life. The hidden curriculum implies habitual interaction with students having academic knowledge as an excuse for showing off lifestyles and social behavior. Hence, one of the main ideas behind this concept is that students learn not only from what they are being taught through formal instruction but also, as Jackson (1968, in Seaton, 2002) says, from conscious and unconscious settings of the learning process. According to this author, the learning process is organized consciously by having the school itself as a place separate from the home, and the classrooms with the teacher standing at the front and pupils seated in arranged rows, for example. On the other hand, an unconscious organization refers to individual teachers interpreting the behavior of students in class and the expectations that they (the teachers) have facing such behavior. Therefore, it is evident that the hidden curriculum is a very broad concept that entails different theoretical viewpoints because the socialization process underlying education involves the transmission of norms and values as well as a body of knowledge approved by the society in which the school functions. The hidden curriculum may range from the way knowledge is organized in particular subjects to the way teachers and students address each other. In this respect the schoolwork suggests characteristics of education in every social setting that has been worth being studied by different experts. As a matter of example, in research conducted and reported by Jean Anyon (1980), she concluded that students of different economic backgrounds are being prepared to occupy particular ranks on the social ladder and that is thanks to the hidden curriculum that operates in their academic life. Of course, while some schools focus on vocational education, others are geared to produce future doctors, lawyers and business leaders. Anyon describes how in a working-class school the work consists of following the steps of a procedure. The procedure is usually mechanical, involving very little decision-making or choice. The teachers rarely explain how the work might be connected to other assignments or what idea lies behind the procedure. Available textbooks are not always used and teachers prepare their own material or put work

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examples on the board. Most of the rules regarding work prescribe what children are to do. The rules are steps to follow that students copy in their notes and memorize for further evaluation. Teachers continually give orders and control students time. Meanwhile, in a middle-class school, work is done by accumulating right answers to get a good grade. Students follow directions for some figuring or some choice. Answers are usually found in books or the teacher gives them without leading to controversial topics. Teachers decisions are usually based on external rules and regulations. Anyon also observed over the same year some schools that she called affluent professional schools, where work is creative and carried out independently, as well as executive elite schools, where work is developing ones analytical and intellectual powers. Children are continually asked to reason through a problem. A primary goal for them is to conceptualize rules and to prepare for life. This is the only school where the bells do not demarcate periods of time but everybody changes classes because they had made specific plans for each session. Children are not rigidly controlled by teachers but brought in line by reminding them to control themselves as part of their own responsibilities. In classrooms children get the material they need and use it at their convenience. Teachers are polite to the children but never call them honey or dear as she observed in other institutions. We have found the above mentioned situations as an excellent example to illustrate how complex the hidden curriculum is and the way it becomes a tacit preparation for interaction in wider social

contexts. Here we can also deduce the crucial role that teachers play in the school system since we are the closest interactors of our students. We could say that there is like a ghost dialogue, which directs the intention of the adults to the young learners modeling their personality. Dealing with the development of personality in our public schools in Bogot, we could summarize the hidden curriculum into three main aspects: the teachers attitude as possessor of knowledge, the teachers attitude as possessor of authority and the teachers attitude as possessor of acceptance and denial by means of evaluation. That makes our students marked or influenced by the objective and subjective points of view of their tutors. The previous idea makes the hidden curriculum responsible for the process that we would call personalization where we teachers mold the singularity of a plural personality. A defined culture governs our living as citizens; that is to say, the plural personality; but regarding that process each one of our students has his/her own way to live it; that is the singularity we have to cultivate. As a matter of fact, we do so not only as professionals of education but also as human beings with particular likes, desires and viewpoints towards life. Unconsciously, we teach them about ways of living during everyday interaction. Going upwards in our school system we would also have to analyze the same phenomenon on the part of administrators influencing teachers by means of tools such as the PEI (the school project) and the way it

implies the surveillance of a hidden curriculum on a great scale. This could be seen as negative or positive depending on the level of consciousness we had about it. And this conscience makes us socially active citizens but not always intellectually creative because we could just influence new tendencies from other fields borrowing pedagogy. That is the case of the so-called competences, which are concepts officially coined by the business world but because of focused economic demands, they have been assumed by the school as appropriate criteria for evaluation and assessment. In consequence, every member of a social group must be aware of the influence that s/he exerts on the rest of the community

and therefore must assume her/his role responsibly. Hence, we obser ve that although we do not refer all the time to an explicit task, it will always leave its fingerprint in our students lives. REFERENCES Anyon, J. (1980). Social class and the hidden curriculum of work. Journal of Education. 162, 28- 32. Seaton, A. (2002). Reforming the hidden curriculum: The key abilities model and four curricular forms, curriculum perspectives. Retrieved March 23, 2004, from Online Curriculum Home Page http:// online.curriculum.edu.au/mindmatters

This article was received on April 2nd, 2004 and accepted on September 15th, 2004

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Is the Hidden Curriculum a Relevant Issue in Educational Processes?

Es el currculo oculto un aspecto importante en los procesos educativos?

Patarroyo* Esther Patarroyo

espama61@latinmail.com

Daz** Juan Carlos Daz

karlosxuan@hotmail.com

Susana Barreto de Quintero *** Barreto Quintero

susana_barreto_c@hotmail.com Institucin Educativa Distrital Francisco de Miranda, Bogot

This paper explores some ideas about the hidden curriculum as an amount of ideas and beliefs which are implicit in an indirect way into the scholar life. Those ideas are regarding to gender equality, social status and racial difference, among others. We consider teachers are able to integrate the hidden curriculum as a pedagogical strategy in the classroom. Examples of integration include activities such as observation techniques, role-plays, peer modeling and particularly, the portfolio as a useful tool for reflection which reveals the hidden curriculum. words ds: Key words Hidden Curriculum, Pedagogical Strategy, Portfolio, ELT Processes, Stereotypes Este documento explora algunas ideas acerca del currculo oculto como una suma de ideas y creencias que estn implcitos de una forma indirecta dentro de la vida escolar. Estas ideas estn relacionadas con la equidad de gnero, diferencias sociales y raciales, entre otros.

* Esther Patarroyo Amaya: B. Ed. in English and Spanish from the Universidad La Gran Colombia. She has a specialization in Internal Control Strategic Administration from the Universidad Libre. **Juan Carlos Daz Pardo Teacher of English graduated from Universidad Pedaggica Nacional. Pardo do: Juan ***Susana Barreto de Quintero B.Ed. in Philology and Languages from the Universidad Nacional de Colombia. Specialist Quintero: Susana in Applied Linguistics to TEFL at Universidad La Gran Colombia.

Consideramos que es posible para los docentes integrar el currculo como estrategia pedaggica en el aula. Ejemplos de esta integracin incluyen tcnicas de observacin, juegos de roles, modelamiento en parejas y particularmente, el portafolio como herramienta de reflexin que permita hacer evidente el currculo oculto. Palabras claves: Currculo Oculto, Estrategia Pedaggica, Estereotipos, Enseanza de Ingls, Portafolio Many ideas spring up when we, as teachers, talk about curriculum. We think of syllabuses, plans of study, approaches, methodology, evaluation, resources and others. But have you heard about the hidden curriculum? Maybe curriculum? you have, maybe not. We want to reflect on some key ideas concerning this issue. The hidden curriculum refers to all the actions or situations developed in class unconsciously, not prepared by the teacher; they are the product of myths or assumptions people have concerning teaching-learning processes. It involves all the teachings which are presented to students but are not consciously received by them, students never see it so they are not aware of it. Haralambos (1991) defines it as consisting of those things pupils learn through the experience of attending school rather than the stated educational objectives of such institutions. It can be said that some aspects related to the hidden curriculum are constructive and positive, but others can be destructive and negative; that is, some of them help students to learn good and fruitful things unconsciously but in other cases, they learn things or assume wrong attitudes because of stereotyped thinking of teachers or situations concerning school processes. Here we have some patterns regarding the English Language Teaching (ELT) hidden curriculum: Learning a new language gives cachet and style. English is a very strange language; it is very difficult to learn it. State school students have more problems learning a new language; it is easier for private school students. Teachers cannot ask for textbooks to state school students; they are too poor to buy them. Taking into account that education is a socialization process, there are some specific social aspects highly affected by the hidden curriculum such as gender equality, social classes, racial differences and so on. Concerning gender equality, the hidden curriculum generally transmits a lot of ideas, concepts and attitudes that carry out many implications on the treatment given to pupils considering their gender differences. We mention some examples below.

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Boys are more intelligent than girls. Girls are supposed to be more tender and cuter than boys. Girls deserve better treatment than boys. Some sports like soccer are appropriate only for boys while some activities like cooking are more appropriate for girls. Some subjects like math are special for boys; girls must prefer languages and artistic areas. Teachers are more confident with girls than with boys. Girls must behave better than boys. Considering the powerful influence the hidden curriculum has on students learning, the control teachers must exert in their classrooms situations is very important. Since teachers cannot ignore the importance of the hidden curriculum, they must make the best use of it for the benefit of the students. Firstly, they must look for strategies to improve this hidden curriculum by addressing it in a constructive and meaningful way. After detecting cases or situations in which the hidden curriculum is causing a negative influence on students, teachers must change their attitudes or assumptions when trying to better the teaching processes according to each case. They must be more demanding but, at the same time, have more motivated classes; they must also be tolerant and confident with students so that they can be closer to the English teacher, participating dynamically and actively.

Moreover, they must make the hidden curriculum explicit to students; they may use some observation techniques such as diaries and video recording, among others. Thus, teachers collect experiences from their classroom practice and may note what happens there in an unconscious and unprepared way. Consequently they can improve or correct situations they consider negative or inappropriate in the teachinglearning process. Other strategies such as role playing, peer modelling and teacher modelling, are all good tools for teaching some social skills that change stereotyped or ambiguous views about social actions or habits. Taking into account our own experience, we want to remark here on another tool we can use in order to address the hidden curriculum: the portfolio. The portfolio can be used as an evaluation tool in which students participate directly in the processes developed in class. Students collect all the materials (guides, support material, quizzes, essays, etc.) used and produced in class, organize them coherently and meaningfully, and, observing their processes and results, make their own reflection about their strengths and weaknesses in order to seek improvement and commitment plans. Besides, they make comments about the class development and give suggestions or recommendations whenever necessary. Here, we have a great opportunity to watch inside our classroom practice and conduct the hidden curriculum in a useful and correct way. In general terms, we consider the hidden curriculum an issue of great relevance when talking about teaching-learning processes.

A good management of this issue can lead us to better the quality of educational and cultural processes in our schools.

REFERENCES Haralambos (1991). Themes and perspectives. Retrieved April 23, 2004 from http://www.sociology.org.uk/tece1tl1.htm

This article was received on April 1st, 2004 and accepted on September 15th, 2004

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Is the Hidden Curriculum a Relevant Issues in Educational Processes?

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Guidelines for Contributors

OUR PURPOSE The PROFILE Journal is mainly interested in sharing the results of classroom research projects undertaken by primary and secondary school teachers as well as adult teachers while taking part in the Professional Development Programmes carried out by the Foreign Languages Department at the Universidad Nacional de Colombia. It also includes articles written by teacher educators and guest teachers willing to disseminate innovations and research findings. SUBMITTING AN ARTICLE To be considered for publication, you should send three print copies of your manuscript and a magnetic copy. Articles should be sent or brought directly to the journal editor at the Universidad Nacional in Bogot. The manuscript should be saved as a Word document, double-spaced, Times Roman 12, and with margins of at least three centimetres. Do not write your name or biodata in the article. Manuscripts should contain an abstract of no more than 120 words and key words. The abstract and the key words should be both in Spanish and English. Likewise, the complete bibliographic information for each citation must be included in the list of references, following the American Psychological Association (APA) style (see some samples of references afterwards). The length of your article will depend on the topic. Nonetheless, papers cannot exceed 25 pages or 8000 words, including the abstract, key words, footnotes, references, and annexes. One of the requirements to publish articles about teaching or research experiences in which subjects have participated is to have a consent form signed by them in order to authorize the use of the information in the publication. If your article contains information provided by participants, please obtain consent forms and send them to the editor together with your manuscript. Please send the article and the consent forms if applicable together with a letter to the editor specifying: title of the article, the author(s) name(s), institution, address, a short biographical statement (biodata) of no more than 50 words per author, and the date or period of time when the document was written. Additionally, you should include a statement indicating that your article has not been submitted to another publication and that it has not been published elsewhere.

Manuscripts and letters to the editor should be sent to: Departamento de Lenguas Extranjeras - Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Ciudad Universitaria. Carrera 30 No. 45-03, Bogot, Colombia Phone: 57(1) 3165000 Ext. 16780 Fax: 57(1) 3165000 Ext. 16773 E-mail: rprofile_fchbog@unal.edu.co

REFERENCES Footnotes should only be used to clarify ideas, to include further comments or to call the readers attention towards particular aspects. Citations and references in the article should follow the APA system.

Jones (1998) compared student performance In 1998, Jones compared student performance . . . which offered a theoretical backdrop for a number of innovative behaviour modification approaches (Skinner, 1969). Even some psychologists have expressed the fear that psychology is in danger of losing its status as an independent body of knowledge (Peele, 1981, p. 807). References are included at the end of the document and before annexes.

A book: Cochran-Smith, M. and Lytle, S. L. (1993). Inside Outside. Teacher Knowledge. New York: Teachers College Press.

Research and

Chapter in a book: Harlow, H. F (1958). Biological and biochemical basis of behavior. In D. C. Spencer . (Ed.), Symposium on interdisciplinary research (pp. 239- 252). Madison: University of Wisconsin Press. Article: Peele, S. (1981). Reductionism in the psychology of the eighties: Can b i o c h e m i s t r y eliminate addiction, mental illness, and pain? American Psychologist, 36, 807- 818.

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Internet source: When citing anything from the Web, you still use the Basic APA Format for Citing Print Materials and Media -including author, date, title, and publication information -followed by a Retrieval Statement that tells where and when you found it on the World Wide Web. The author may not be readily apparent. It may be an organization rather than a person. Massachusetts Department of Education. (2001, June). Massachusetts English Language Curriculum Framework. Retrieved June 12, 2002, from http:// www.doe.mass.edu/frameworks/0601ela.pdf Shackelford, W. (2000). The six stages of cultural competence. In Diversity Central Learning. Retrieved April 16, 2000, from http://www.diversityhotwire.com/ learning/cultural_insights.html PUBLICA PUBLICATION If your article is accepted (after having been read by members of the editorial committee and the advisory board), you should be ready to revise it if necessary. If major changes are required, either the article will be returned to you for amending or the edited version will be sent to you for approval. Upon publication, authors will receive three complimentary copies of the issue in which their articles appear. COPYRIGHT COP YRIGHT Any copyrighted articles appearing in the PROFILE Journal are reprinted with the permission of the copyright owners. These articles may not be reproduced in whole or in part without written permission of the copyright owners, except as otherwise authorized by applicable copyright law. Acknowledgements and copyright notices, when necessary, appear with the articles. If you wish to use the article again in a publication written or edited by you, you may do so provided that its original publication in the PROFILE Journal is acknowledged. NEXT ISSUE Deadline for contributions for the next edition: April 15, 2005

Subscriptions PROFILE is published once a year. New and renewal subscriptions, and requests for sample copies, should be sent to: Departamento de Lenguas Extranjeras - Universidad Nacional de Colombia Ciudad Universitaria. Carrera 30 No. 45-03, Bogot, Colombia Phone: 57(1) 3165000 Ext. 16780 Fax: 57(1) 3165000 Ext. 16773 E-mail: rprofile_fchbog@unal.edu.co SUBSCRIPTIONS RATES Nos. 1 2 3 4 5 Year 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 Colombia $10.000 $10.000 $10.000 $12.000 $12.000 Other countries US$24.00 US$24.00 US$24.00 US$25.00 US$25.00

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Issues in Teachers Professional Development

The PROFILE Journal is an annual publication for teachers of English interested in increasing their professional expertise. Starting from the assumption that our professional knowledge is enriched by different members of our academic community, this journal is mainly concerned with promoting the publication of articles written by teacher researchers.

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The current issue of PROFILE was printed in November, 2004 in Bogot, D.C. Bakersignet BT 13 point font and Adobe PageMaker 7.0 were used Printed in Colombia