Step 4: Practical Assignment 2

Course: Research Project code: 551028A_761

55

10
23
Presented by:

Rosa María Frade Ruiz – CC 52.107.031

Tutor:
Edner Suarez Alomia

Program: BA in Teaching English as a Foreign Language

Open and Distance National University UNAD

Bogotá, May 22nd, 2020

1
Content

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION.................................................................................3
1.1 General background.........................................................................................3
1.2 Statement of problem.......................................................................................3
1.3 Research objectives.........................................................................................3
1.3.1 General Objective:.....................................................................................4
1.3.2 Specific objectives:.....................................................................................4
1.4 Scope of research:...........................................................................................4
1.5 Limitations of the research...............................................................................4
1.6 Significance of the study..................................................................................5
1.7 Definitions of terms:..........................................................................................6
CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW.......................................................................7
2.1 Overview...........................................................................................................7
2.2 Previous studies.............................................................................................10
2.3 Conclusion......................................................................................................10
CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH FRAMEWORK..............................................................11
3.1 Theoretical Framework...................................................................................12
3.1.2 Internal factors:............................................................................................12
3.1.3 Social cultural and pedagogical factors.......................................................13
3.1.3.1 Classroom learning environment..........................................................14
3.1.3.2 Institutional curriculum..........................................................................14
3.1.3.3 Role of the local community..................................................................15
3.1.3.4 Role of national educational policies....................................................15
3.2 Hypothesis......................................................................................................15
3.3 Legal bases....................................................................................................15
3.3.1 Constitution of the Republic of Colombia - Article 67..............................15
3.3.2 Law 115 of 1994 – Article 1 and 4...........................................................16
References:..........................................................................................................17

2
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

1.1 General background

Today, learning English becomes important in our society thanks to the

phenomenon of globalization, among others, which has made this language

common for international communication; this reality has generated the interest of

states, institutions and citizens seeking language proficiency to meet the

requirements of a more competitive society day after day.

In this sense, different academics have focused their research on trying to

respond to the relationship between language learning and its relationship with

different factors such as educational, linguistic, individual and social in the case of

this research.

The development of this project aims to provide information on the impact of

social factors in learning English as a foreign language in a private tenth grade

school and its influence on the success or inability to acquire this language.

1.2 Statement of problem

How do social factors influence English learning in 10th grade students at Santa

Teresita de Lisieux School in Bogotá?

1.3 Research objectives

3
1.3.1 General Objective:

Determining determine the influence of social factors in the learning of the

English language in 10th grade students of the Santa Teresita de Lisieux school in

Bogotá.

1.3.2 Specific objectives:

Establishing the sociocultural level of the students participating in the

research project.

Measuring the level of English mastered by 10th grade students at Santa

Teresita de Lisieux.

Analyzing the data obtained in a descriptive and inferential way.

1.4 Scope of research:

It is descriptive and the purpose is to detail phenomena, situations, contexts

and events of a social nature, to establish how they occur, as well as to establish

the characteristics of the group that will undergo the analysis.

The usefulness of this research will be to show the dimension of this

situation in the context of analysis, collecting information independently on the

concepts that are being studied.

1.5 Limitations of the research

4
• Willingness for students and teachers to provide information based on their daily

occupations.

• The time to collect the necessary information may be insufficient.

• Research may not be taken into account for future research or possible solutions.

1.6 Significance of the study

Due to our academic preparation as English teachers, we have evidenced

the importance of this language at all levels of society due to its great demand in

the globalized world, to achieve this objective, educational institutions have

implemented this theme within their plans of study, even from pre-school age, with

the aim that students acquire the skills to communicate in this language.

Therefore, it is no secret that acquiring this language requires an academic

process that results in some students being much easier to acquire than others for

various reasons, ranging from the individual to the social and through education

and Linguistics, as a result, we found a small number of students in this area, so

we must ask ourselves, what are the factors that influence this trend?

The National Bilingual Program 2004-2019 of the Ministry of National

Education, specifically a specific objective that determines the students of grade

10, intermediate level (B1) of English as a foreign language (MEN, 2004)

According to the annual report published for 2019 by EF (Education First) to

measure the level of English in the global context, Colombia occupies the 68th

position above Iran, Nepal and Panama among others, down 8 positions compared

5
to the previous year. In Latin America, Colombia is ranked No. 17 among 19

countries evaluated, with Ecuador and Venezuela occupying positions 18 and 19

respectively (Education First, 2019).

Keeping in mind the objectives set by the MEN to get students to acquire the

4 English language skills, we demonstrate from the above that these goals are far

from reality and as teachers we wonder what could be the cause of this problem.

Among the many reasons we could mention the lack of training of teachers to

develop effective methodologies in the area of English. Another of them may be

the lack of support from parents in the educational process, poor motivation and

interest in the subject among others.

Undoubtedly each of the arguments expressed may be the main cause but

there are also factors external to the educational aspect that can affect academic

progress, which is why among many and for the purposes of this research we have

chosen the social factor because consider affects the student's academic

performance (social class, economic and cultural level) and can make big

differences.

1.7 Definitions of terms:

MEN: The Ministry of National Education of Colombia (Min Education) is the

ministry in charge of formulating the national education policy and promoting the

development of a competitive and quality education.

6
Education First: It is an international language teaching company abroad; which

has more than 430 schools in 50 countries. It is the largest private education

company in the world present throughout the globe, including countries like Spain.

Competences: It is known as academic competencies to all those actions that

allow identifying the knowledge that a student should have.

Social Factors: They are factors that are related to feelings, relationships, and

communication that must be established for effective achievement of the learning

process.

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Overview

When we talking about factors that influence English learning there are

several to take into account for example attitude, culture, economical aspects, age,

among others these things determine the way as a student assimilate and develop

information.

Different researchers have developed investigations in order to understand

these phenomena; Luke Prodromou in 1992 studied the intercultural factors in

Language Learning to comprehend issues related to bicultural teaching, the

cultural context of the lesson, students' perceptions and he concluded that the

knowledge of target culture is an important element in this process, by the reason

of causing pleasure to discover more about a new culture.

7
 Additionally Reza Gholami from the University of Putra in Malaysia affirmed

that there are social or cultural aspects in a Language that can be totally different

or contrary to things in the same language or also missing, these are some

reasons because it is important to teach cultural aspects. In 2012 Gholami

researched the social context as an indirect causing in EFL contexts, the author

tried to comprehend the social context value and the role in learning English.

Corresponding to Gholami, the social context influence the students' attitude

and motivation because this element brings opportunities that improve students'

results; for this reason, students acquire a language through social interaction with

speakers of that language, however, the relevance to social context is

underestimated in many countries according to the author.

In addition Masanori Matsumoto, from Bond University, Australia managed a

study related to motivational changes and its factors that could affect students from

different cultural backgrounds. The base of the study was a group of 140 students

that were studying English in Australia to find out if their learning experiences in a

course of 12 weeks changed their motivation and perceptions about the factors of

the classroom that affect motivation.

This study resolved that the culture in an educative environment when the

learning of a second language is produced it has a positive or negative effect on

students' motivation, also the distance between the student language and the

target language it has a positive effect in the learning process, this study also

concluded that the relationship between the students' cultural background and their

8
motivational issues are more complex than ever, in this sense the author

considered that students' motivation could be stronger or not according to they

perceive daily events of learning and its variables in a learning context.

In the same way Bilal Genc and ErdoganBada from Çukurova University in

Turkey did a study in 2005 to research the relationship between the culture in

language learning and teaching, in this study he had the participation of students to

ELT department to know their opinion related to the effect of the culture class they

attended. In this sense, they realized that culture is benefit related to linguistic

skills, raising cultural awareness, change attitudes towards native societies.

In line manner, Merce` Bernaus, Anne-Marie Masgoret, Robert Gardner and

Edith Reyes from the University of Barcelona, developed in 2004 a study in which

they wanted to analyze the cultural effects on immigrant children in their English

learning process; they worked with 114 students from 12 to 16 years old, they

asked a questionnaire based on Gardener’s Attitude- Motivation Test Battery in

which attitude, motivation, and anxiety towards English learning was evaluated, at

the end of the study determined that there were few differences about cultural

background.

Mehrdad Rezaee, from Azad University in Iran, considered social and

cultural aspects in learning and teaching English, and his idea was to understand

one more time the , through this study the author deduced that to learn or to

teach another language is necessary to take into account aspects like vocabulary,

pronunciation, grammar, but is significant socio-cultural aspects also.

9
2.2 Previous studies

Social Context as an Indirect Trigger in EFL Contexts: Issues and Solutions,

this document researched the value of social context and its role in the learning of

a second language in different contexts according to Gholami (2012): "Social

context is believed to be able to influence attitude and motivation. It also provides

learning opportunities that give rise to learner’s outcomes. In fact, students acquire

a language by using it in social interaction with speakers of that language." (p.73).

Along with, Gardner (1985) in his studies The Attitude/Motivation Test

Battery: "The goals of any second language program are partly linguistic and

partly nonlinguistic. The linguistic goals focus on developing competence in the

individual's ability to read, write, speak and understand the second language, and

there are many tests available with which to assess these skills." (p. 1).

Moreover, the study Motivational changes and their affecting factors among

students from different cultural backgrounds developed by Matsumoto (2012)

found that: ""cultural and/or regional backgrounds can be an important factor to

validate the discussion about motivation and also the learning experience may

affect learners' perceptions in different ways, depending on where the learners

come from, where they learn what target languages."

2.3 Conclusion

Secondary education is understood as a crucial period, because the

academic performance of students may decrease (Benner and Graham, 2009). In

10
addition to this situation, some students face risk factors that make them

vulnerable to poor academic performance at this significant stage in their future life

path.

Good quality education has a prominent role that benefits all students, so it

is important to develop educational policies and other interdisciplinary and cross-

cutting actions that involve both educational institutions and parents. School and

family environments are related, so the actions taken in one environment or

another will benefit both.

In the same sense, students exposed to social risk factors, it is necessary to

consider the union between the pedagogical and the social, therefore the

development of intervention programs must relate these two aspects (Herrera-

Pastor and De Oña-Cots, 2017).

Education continues to be the most effective means of contributing to equal

opportunities in academic results; therefore, outreach activities should be carried

out with parents, because in the end, academic results are a responsibility shared

between school and parents.

CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH FRAMEWORK

This research process has been based on the article written by Bastidas &

Muñoz (2008) Factors Influencing English Language Learning of High School

Students in Colombia, Folios, 51, pp. 163-181.

11
3.1 Theoretical Framework

The phenomenon of the low level of English learning of Colombian high

school graduates continues to be persistent, as reported in Bastidas and Muñoz

(2018) due to internal and external factors as explained below:

3.1.2 Internal factors:

To understand this problem, which is not only national, but also

international, one must resort to a review of the literature on the field of learning

and teaching English, for this case on external and internal factors that apparently

affect the learning process, in the contexts of Learning English as a Second

Language and as a Foreign Language.

The factors that have been identified as those that can affect the process of

learning English according to a variety of investigations are biological, cognitive,

affective, linguistic, and psycho-socio-affective.

Among the biological factors, the age and gender of the students

predominate. Cognitive factors include learning styles, learning strategies, aptitude

to learn an L2 and to a lesser extent attention and working memory (Sanz, 2005).

The most prominent affective factors are anxiety, self-esteem, extroversion

and introversion, empathy, inhibition and risk taking, tolerance of ambiguity, fear of

rejection and self-efficacy. On linguistic factors Brown (2007) highlights: errors,

fossilization of errors, transfer, interference and interlanguage; Regarding psycho-

12
socio-affective factors, motivation and attitude towards learning English are

mentioned.

3.1.3 Social cultural and pedagogical factors.

According to Ellis (1994) these factors probably do not influence learning

directly, but through the mediation of other variables, such as attitude towards

learning. Others like perceptions, beliefs, motivations and states affective factors

can indicate the effects of external factors Bastidas and Muñoz (2018).

Regarding sociocultural factors, according to Brown (2007) the following

stand out: social class, identity, ethnicity, cultural stereotypes and social distance.

In the same sense, Ellis (1994) and Sanz (2005) indicate factors of the social

context, both natural and instructional, such as the quality of the language to which

the language is exposed and processed student (in English: language input),

interaction, errors and their feedback and linguistic production (in English:

language output).

Ellis (1994) and Sanz (2005) express that some pedagogical interventions in

the classroom, among which factors such as effects of teaching methods,

interaction, are identified, facilitate the natural development of English.

According to the research results, the existence of external contextual

factors that relate to and explain the academic performance of high school

students is established through standardized tests or academic achievement tests

of an institutional nature. Among these factors we have: social class (Madrid,

13
1995); socioeconomic factors (López, Quesada and Salas, 2014; Misbah et al.,

2017) and early learning of English (Alsayed, 2003).

Instructional factors are also distinguished such as: little preparation of

teachers, both in English and in teaching methodologies (León, 2013; Quesada et

al., 2017; Souriyavongsa et al., 2013) inadequate, lack of instructional resources

and large groups.

The studies by Bastidas and Muñoz (2018), whose intention was to

understand the phenomenon of the low level of English learning of high school

graduates, allowed us to discover four categories: classroom learning environment,

institutional curriculum, role of the local community, role of national educational

policies and role of the international community.

3.1.3.1 Classroom learning environment

In the learning categories in the Bastidas and Muñoz (2018) identify factors

related to poorly prepared teachers in the English area, with an inappropriate

teaching methodology and with inappropriate use from textbooks.

3.1.3.2 Institutional curriculum

With regard to large and heterogeneous institutional groups, the low weekly

intensity of hours, the absence or insufficiency of instructional materials, such as

textbooks and audiovisual aids, the inadequate planning of the English area, the

frequent change of level teachers.

14
3.1.3.3 Role of the local community

As for the role of the local community, it does not facilitate the use of the

English for communication purposes, and the socioeconomic conditions of the

parents do not allow the acquisition of texts and other aids.

3.1.3.4 Role of national educational policies

In the category of national educational policies, certain characteristics of

institutional curricula and that can generate a low level of English learning for high

school graduates, such as: failures in planning the area such as analytical

programs, objectives, content, methodology and recommended texts from the

menu, lack of investment in physical infrastructure of schools, lack of supply of

training courses and teacher updating, low salaries, and the devaluation of the

teaching profession.

3.2 Hypothesis

Social and family factors play an important role in the academic life of

students, both directly and indirectly and strongly influencing the child's cognitive

functioning and motivation and, consequently, having an important weight on their

educational performance.

3.3 Legal bases

3.3.1 Constitution of the Republic of Colombia - Article 67

15
 The legal bases of this investigation are represented, in the first place, in the

Constitution of the Republic of Colombia, where article 67 stands out, which

establishes that it corresponds to the State to regulate and exercise inspection and

supervision of education, always having as one of its main purposes to ensure its

quality, the fulfillment of its purposes and the best moral, intellectual and physical

training of students.

3.3.2 Law 115 of 1994 – Article 1 and 4

The article1 determines the object of education as a process of permanent,

personal, cultural and social formation, which is based on an integral conception of

the human person, his dignity, his rights and his duties, also determines the object

of education as a process of permanent, personal, cultural and social formation,

which is based on an integral conception of the human person, his dignity, his

rights and his duties.

The article 4 establishes that "the State must permanently attend to the

factors that favor quality and improve education".

LINK OF THE VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MizRmSnKDbU

16
References:

Alsayed, M. (2003). Factors that contribute to success in learning English as a

foreign language. Damascus University Journal, 19(1-2), 21-52. Recuperado de
http://www.damascusuniversity.edu.sy/mag/human/ images/stories/03230

Article 67 (16/04/2020). Political Constitution of Colombia (Blog) Retrieved from:

https://www.constitucioncolombia.com/titulo-2/capitulo-2/articulo-67

Bastidas & Muñoz (2008). Factors Influencing English Language Learning of High
School Students in Pasto, Colombia, Folios, 51, pp. 163-181. doi:
10.17227/folios.51-8676. Retrieved from: file:///C:/Users/Admon/Downloads/8676-
Texto%20del%20art%C3%ADculo-27780-2-10-20200227.pdf

Benner, Aprile y Sandra Graham (2009), “The Transition to High School as a

Developmental Process among Multiethnic Urban Youth”, Child Development, vol.
80, núm. 2, pp. 356-376. http://www.statmodel.com/download/cdv80.pdf

Brown, H. D. (2007). Principles of language learning and teaching. Fifth Edition.

White Plains. NY: PearsonLongman, Inc.

Definición y que es (2020). Definición y que es competencias académicas.

Information from a blog. (25/02/2020). Retrieved from:
https://definicionyque.es/competencias-academicas/

Education First (2019). El ranking mundial más grande según su dominio de

Ingles. Clasificación mundial. Retrieved from: https://www.ef.com.co/epi/

Ellis, R. (1994). The study of second language acquisition. Oxford: Oxford

University Press.

Gholami, R. (2012). Social Context as an Indirect Trigger in EFL Contexts: Issues

and Solutions. Published by Canadian Center of Science and Education, Vol. 5,
No. 3. Retrieved on March 2012, from: www.ccsenet.org/elt , January 2013.

17
Gardner, R. (2004). Attitude/Motivation Test Battery. The University of Western
Ontario, Canada.

Herrera-Pastor, David and José Manuel de Oña-Cots (2017), “Personalizing

educational intervention provides equal opportunities to minors at risk”,
International Journal of Education for Social Justice, vol. 6, no. 2, pp. 149-
165.https://repositorio.uam.es/bitstream/handle/10486/680348/RIEJS_6_2_9.pdf?
sequence=1

Habib, M., Maryam, H., & Pathik, B. B. (2014). Research Methodology --

Contemporary Practices: Guidelines for Academic Researchers. Newcastle upon
Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing. Retrieved
from: http://bibliotecavirtual.unad.edu.co/login?
url=https://bibliotecavirtual.unad.edu.co:2969/login.aspx?
direct=true&db=e000xww&AN=871029&lang=es&site=ehost-live

Hinkel, E. (1999). Culture in Second Language Teaching and Learning. Cambridge

University Press, United States of America.

León, M. I. (2013). Factors that affect the English language teaching/learning

process in Ecuadorian public high school. Tesis de Maestría. Universidad Técnica
Particular de Loja, Ecuador

Ley 115 de Febrero 8 de 1994 (26/04/2020). Articulo 4. Retrieved from:

https://www.mineducacion.gov.co/1621/articles-85906_archivo_pdf.pdf

López, R., Quesada, M. y Salas, J. (2014). Social factors involved in second

language learning A case study from the Pacific Campus, Universidad de Costa
Rica. Revista de Lenguas Modernas, 21, 435-451. Retrieved from
https://revistas.ucr.ac.cr/

Madrid, D. (1995). Internal and external factors affecting foreign language teaching
and learning. Actas de las Segundas Jornadas de Estudios Ingleses. Universidad
de Jaén, Jaén, España. (pp. 59-82). Retrieved from: https:
www.ugr.es/~dmadrid/Publicaciones/Individual%20

18
Matsumoto, M. (2012). Motivational changes and their affecting factors among
students from different cultural backgrounds. Classic 2012: The Fifth CLS
International Conference. Singapore, Dec. 2012. Retrieved from:
http://epublications.bond.edu.au/hss_pubs/675

MEN (2004). Inglés como lengua extranjera. Una estrategia para la

Competitividad. Programa Nacional de Bilingüismo 2004-2019. Retrieved from:
https://www.mineducacion.gov.co/1621/articles-
132560_recurso_pdf_programa_nacional_bilinguismo.pdf

MEN (2010). Creación Ministerio de Educación Nacional. Retrieved from:

https://www.mineducacion.gov.co/1621/article-85243.html

Misbah, N., Mohamad, N., Yunces, M. y Ya’acob, A. (2017). Identifying the factors
contributing to students’ difficulties in the English Language Learning. Creative
Education, 8, 1999/2008.

Sanz, C. (Ed.). (2005). Adult second language acquisition. Washington, DC.

Georgetown University Press.

Souriyavongsa, T., Rany, S., Zainol, M., y Mei, L. (2013). Factors cause students
low language learning: A case study in the National University of Laos.
International Journal of English Language Education, 1(1), 179-192. doi:
10.5296/ijele.v1i1.3100

19