1.

1 strategies used to improve reading comprehension in the students of 8 th grade of

escuela normal superior la hacienda trough the images
1.2 DESCRIPTION OF THE PROBLEM.
Every teacher researcher must have a clear idea of the problem he is trying to solve. It
is important to know that a problem is found in a specific group, and it is exactly there,
where we can find its consequences and possible causes. That is why we have used
our experience in this school to identify our problem. This experience has been based
on our observations and the implementation of a diagnostic test. With this we want to
know the English level of the students in 8th grade at the Escuela Normal Superior La
Hacienda, and how they used their knowledge to solve certain situations in a real
context. We did this to know if the students have developed their communicative
competence in the English language and to identify their weakness and strength skills.
When we arrived to Escuela Normal Superior La Hacienda we realized through the
observation that the students had some problems with a reading comprehension
exercise, it had too much letters without images, they were confused and they did not
understand anything, was right in that moment when decided to work or look for an
strategy to help them to make easier the comprehension. After we applied a survey to
know about their likes or dislikes while reading and we realized that they prefer read text
with images about the reading.
But to confirm this theory we had to analyzed the results of our diagnostic test, we could
see the low level students have in the English skills; In speaking we could see the lack
of fluency, coherence and a wrong pronunciation, In writing skills we observed the

mistakes students made in the grammar structures and at using the vocabulary, they
had problems to identify the correct answer ; In listening skills we did not find problems,
they students understood a listening activity and the results obtained were satisfactory. .
At the moment of reading students presented a difficult at identifying the sense of a text,
also we noticed they did not keep up with texts for different reasons, either because the
text was composed just for letters without using images, which make them get bored,
they ignored the meaning of some words, or the text seemed uninteresting for them.
They showed us they knew that it is necessary to learn how to read and understand a
text in English, they considered reading as an uninteresting activity and they think that
their English teacher does not encourage them to read in a funny way. They also
complain about the text their teacher provides them in the classes and her monotonous
tone during the reading activities. This led us to identify a lack of motivation for English
reading activities in the students. Therefore we decided to promote better reading habits
through the use a better and different strategy.

That is why we think that the possible area to intervene could be the reading
comprehension; we are thinking to design a better strategy to make easier the reading
comprehension in students. Nowadays, students are indifferent to read so we want to
make of the reading an enjoyable activity. This strategy will be based on the use of
images in reading. We hope obtain good results and catch the attention of the students.

1.3 RESEARCH QUESTION

What strategies can be used to improve reading comprehension IN EFL at Escuela
Normal Superior la Hacienda 8th grade students?

1.4 OBJECTIVES
1.4.1 GENERAL OBJECTIVE
To design a strategy in order to improve reading comprehension in EFL at Escuela
Normal Superior La Hacienda 8th grade students.
1.4.2 SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES
- To diagnose students in order to identify their weaker skills
- To identify the preferences of the students while working with reading comprehension
- To design a strategy based on their preferences

1.5 HYPOTHESIS
The low level of Reading comprehension that exists in the 8th graders at Escuela
Normal Superior la Hacienda, is due to the teacher lack of usage of tools such as
images in the texts that she gives the students to read. Employing this as strategy to
guide them at the moment of reading, they could have a better Reading comprehension
of these texts

1.6 VARIABLES
1.6.1 DEPENDENT VARIABLE
Low level of the students at the moment of read and understands a text because these
do not have images to guide the lecture
1.6.2 INDEPENDENT VARIABLE
Lack of creativity by part of the teacher at the moment of choose the text to read
No motivation for part of the students to learn English
No enough technological tools in the school to show to the students texts or material to
the students

1.7 JUSTIFICATION.
One of the most important reasons to carry out this project is to take part in the
educational revolution, and to cause a positive impact on Colombian education. The
reasons are not only altruistic but are also legal and coherent to the social needs of our
world. Our main justification do this project is to continue with the purpose of Plan
Nacional De Bilingismo. In addition there are other aspects kept in mind such as the
cognitive, methodological and didactic processes involved in presenting images as a
fundamental tool when teaching a foreign language, especially when we want to
develop reading comprehension in English. The first justification of this project is its
relevance to improve learning process; it has been created after analyzing what public
schools are and what they should be, according to law, especially those related to the
foreign language: English teaching. La ley 115 establishes the goals of education to 8
in the English class: To form students who can use English to describe and analyze
different cultural contexts and contrast them with their own, and who can interpret
codes, situations, comments and dialogues expressed in English. It is also important to
say that one of the suggested purposes by Plan Decenal de Education is the necessity
of implementing Bilingualism: Learning a second language at the beginning of the life is
one of the elements that would allow Colombians to improve the quality of our education
system. El Programa Nacional de Bilingismo is essential in globalization and that a
second language is very important for official, social, commercial and educational
activities. To improve the quality of our education and adapt it to the current and future
requirements of Colombia is one of the objectives presented by educations revolution
with the intention of having better conditions for the social and economical development

According to Mara Cecilia Vlez White (Minister of Education in Colombia 2008), in the
presentation of Standard of competences to foreign language: English. Being aware of
the projects already carried out in Colombia addressing foreign language teaching, in
this project we present the use of images to pursue the goals established in standards ,
because it develops the following skills: listening, reading, writing, monologues and
conversations, taking into account the linguistic, pragmatic and socio-linguistic
competences, the use of images is a didactic learning tool which promotes the language
process, requiring students to be participative, autonomous, critical and active in their
own learning experience. Trough an images we can promote knowledge in every area,
from an image the students could practice an improve vocabulary, reading, speaking,
listening and writing, the strategy we are going to use to achieve it will be explain in the
proposal. All those aspects previously mentioned have allowed constructing the base of
our project, which has appeared from the necessity perceived by research into student
pedagogical experience in the public school. This necessity consists on creating
meaningful knowledge from the English class to any context. It is really important to
impact students lives because we learn from mind, body and heart. That is why we
present the use of images as a promoter of English learning, changing some negative
paradigms still existing in schools.

STRATEGIES USED TO IMPROVE READING COMPREHENSION IN THE

STUDENTS OF 8TH GRADE OF ESCUELA NORMAL SUPERIOR LA HACIENDA
TROUGH THE IMAGES

SOTO JAIRO

REYES ANILLO ANTONIO JOSE

REYES PACHECO VENANCIO JUNIOR