Outcome skills in english language in the subject technical english ii, at universidad pedagogica de

UNIVERSIDAD PEDAGÓGICA DE EL SALVADOR EDUCATION SCHOOL

“OUTCOME SKILLS IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE IN THE SUBJECT TECHNICAL ENGLISH II, AT UNIVERSIDAD PEDAGÓGICA DE EL SALVADOR,IN THE YEAR 2009-2010”.

FINAL DRAFT

PRESENTED BY: ARGUETA ANGEL, MARCOS NELSON ARIAS MANCIA, JOSÉ ÁLVARO TORRES GARCIA, ANGELA YESSENIA

GRADUATION WORK TO OBTAIN A DEGREE OF BACHELOR IN ARTS SPECIALIZATION ENGLISH

SAN SALVADOR, EL SALVADOR, CENTRO AMERICA

INDEX OF CONTENTS Introduction..................................................................................................... i Objectives ....................................................................................................... ii

Chapter I: Theorical Background ...................................................................... 1-6 Justification .........................................................................................7 Problem Statement ........................................................................... 8-9 Findings and Limitations .................................................................. 10--11 Concepts and categories...................................................................12-13

Chapter II: Theoretical Framework…………………………………………………14-28 Empirical Framework …………………………………………………. 29-68 Formulation of the Methodological Theory of the Research…….....69-72 Development and Theoretical Definition………………………….…. 73-75

Chapter III: Operative Framework: Description of the Investigation subjects………………………..……. 76

Procedures for Gathering Data………………………………………... 76-77 Especification of the Technique to the Data Analysis……………… 77 Chronogram……………………………………………………………… 78-82

Description of the Resources……………………………….………..… 83 Preliminary Index about the Final Report…………………………… 84-85

Bibliography…………………………………………………………….. 86

INTRODUCTION In El Salvador the English language has taken a big importance in the last years. In that way, the labor field is demanding the knowledge of the English Language. For this reason people who don’t have the knowledge of this language are taking into account to learn it, to get better opportunities to work.

The government is considering this demand, and it is making efforts to help the Salvadorean population. Some of these efforts are: English teacher’s learning, with the purpose to bring better teachers for their students. Another implementation from the government are international companies, with the objective to give more opportunities to work using the English Language.

Universidad Pedagógica de El Salvador has taken its own strategies to include English as the second language not only in the School of Education, but it has also included English in the School of Economics. For example, they have added three new subjects, those are called: Technical English I, Technical English II, and Technical English III. All of these subjects are related to the ESP (English For Specific Purpose). Concerning to all the changes, processes, and strategies that the Universidad Pedagògica de El Salvador and the government have taken, it was considered the necessity to do a research in which the learning process is the main factor of it. To carry this out, a poll was taken from the students from the subject Technical English II as an object of investigation.

For this reason, the topic “Outcome skills in the English Language in the subject Technical English II, at the Universidad Pedagógica de El Salvador” is studied in the present research.

The research has been divided in three main parts: Conceptual Framework, Theoretical Framework, and Operational Framework. In the Conceptual Framework, The Theoretical Background is explained. This gives some facts about the origins of Universidad Pedagógica de El Salvador. Also, it gives some information about the School of Economics.

Additionally, this part shows different points of view from different authors on how to classify the different English levels and how to evaluate the four basic

skills. Besides, this research justifies the reasons why the research has been done, and it also provides some explanations about why it is important.

In this first draft the Problem Statement plays an important role in the Conceptual Framework, which shows the main problems of the research.

Findings and Limitations from different authors can also be found in this part. It shows the differences in each author related on the different levels of the English language and also how to evaluate the four basic skills. Concepts and Categories are also included in the last part, which are some meanings and explanations of some words used in the research. It is important to mention that all the information found in this research will analyze the learning process, concerning the Outcome skills in the English Language of the Subject Technical English II. In the Theoretical Framework is included the fundamentation of the methodological theory, which contains the sub-topics reasons for learning English and standard evaluations. Also, it is included the Empiric framework and in this part there is the monograph, description of the course, class description, technical and methodological forms. Another which is the technique and data analysis, shows the final result of the four elements used in the research. Other topics that can be found in this part are the formulation of the methodological theory of the research; and development and theoretical definition.

In the Operative Framework are included the following topics: Description of the investigations subjects, this part describes the subjects of the research. Another topic that is included in this framework is the procedures for gathering data, which show the process that was done in order to achieved the main objective of the research. Especification of the technique to the data analysis, it another topic that can be found in this chapter. This part explains the amount of students that were evaluated and how the students’ score was obtained. The resources contain an explanations of the human and didactic resources used in the development of the research. The last topic that can be found in this chapter is the preliminary index about the final report, which explains the information of each chapter.

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GENERAL OBJECTIVE To establish the English results of the students from the subject Technical English II at Universidad Pedagógica de El Salvador in the semester 02-2009, with the purpose to know if the university goals have being achieved according to the program.

SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES 1- To identify the students’ level by using different resources in the subject Technical English II at Universidad Pedagógica de El Salvador in the semester 02-2009, with the objective to know the outcome result of the students.

2- To define if the University’s goals have being achieved at the end of the subject Technical English II by mean of the program, at Universidad Pedagógica de El Salvador in the semester 02-2009, this is going to be done with the objective to know if the real outcome skills of the class will be coherent with the planned skills written in its program.

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CHAPTER I THEORICAL BACKGROUND Universidad Pedagógica de El Salvador (UNPES) was founded in San Salvador city, in March 26th, 1982; on this date the constitutional act was signed. In July 26th, 1982; the status was approved.

The Universidad Pedagògica de El Salvador, started only with the School of Education, giving the opportunity to the Salvadorean population to study and become teachers. From 1982 to 2003, the School of Education was the only school that the University offered to the students. But, it was not until the year 2004 that the University added a new school, the School of Economics. The purpose of the University by adding this faculty was to diversify the academic offer.

The careers that this school offers are: Public Accounting, Business Administration, Computing Management and Marketing. In the four careers, it was taught the English subject. The School of Economy Dean, in the year 2005 had the idea to change the English Subject to Technical English I and Technical English II. The Dean‟s purposes to make these changes were because “he thought that the program of the English subject was not the most appropriate for the students‟ needs. He wanted to design a program which would contain an appropriate lexical to the students for those careers”. These changes were only for the career Computing Management.

Technical English means: “The

demand for English for Specific Purposes and English for Science and Technology. It works using a variety of applications and tries to cover the terms and concepts of a particular profession or trade engineering for the use of hand tools. They show model forms of technical communication, such as resumes, letters, and reports”1. For the School of Economy Dean, this Subject means: “The approachment of a curricular content guide to a lexical, terms and concepts related to the economy and science areas, to help the students develop their skills in a globalized world”2.

1 2

http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/resources/html/licensors/licensors.html. rd th Interview, to the Economy Faculty Dean. September 3 , 2009 and September 15 2009.

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In the semester 01-2009, the university added the subject Technical English to the careers of Marketing, Public Accounting and Business Administration. The university has divided this subject in three: Technical English I, Technical English II and Technical English III. The main objective of the University of adding these subjects is to prepare the students of the School of Economics to be the best in the labor field.

The language levels of the writing skill of the students may be divided in three levels. These levels could be beginner, intermediate and advanced. Real beginners and false beginners are included in the first three levels. Students that are considered to be between the beginner and intermediate level are classify as elementary. The intermediate level is frequently sub-divided into lower intermediate and upper intermediate and even mid-intermediate.

Sometimes these levels might be used by teachers with their own point of view.

For example, a teacher that considers a student to be intermediate might be considered elementary by another teacher, or someone could describe a student as advanced, but another person might see him or her as upper intermediate. These variations of the language levels are taken into account by the teacher, considering what the students are capable of doing at certain levels.

Recently, the Council of Europe and the Association of Language Testers in Europe (ALTE) have tried to define language levels for learners of a number of different languages. The common European framework is the result of their efforts. This is “a document setting out in detail what students „can do‟ 3

various levels” . Also, a series of ALTE levels ranging from A1

at

“roughly

equivalent to elementary level” to C2 “very advanced”. Also, the ALTE has done some “can do” statements that show students and teachers what these levels mean.

3

Harmer, Jeremy, The Practice of English Language Teaching, Pearson Education Limited, 2007, p. 95.

2

All the levels and “can do” statements that the ALTE has stated are being used more often by course book writers and curriculum designers, not just in Europe but also in the language learning world. The levels and “can do” statements are really useful when they are translated into the students‟ L1. This gives an opportunity to the students to say what they can do, rather than telling the students what standard they measure up against.

It is good to mention, that the ALTE standards are just one way of measuring proficiency. Also, there are many exam systems that have their own level descriptions. The teacher has to know that the students` abilities within any level can vary, for example, they may be much better in speaking than in writing.

According to ACTFL (American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages) it is explained the following about the different levels of the speaking skill.

Novice: It is known by the ability to communicate in a minimum way using the previous knowledge.

Novice Low: It is characterized by the ability to use a few high-frequency phrases.

Novice Mid: The vocabulary is enough to elementary needs and to express basic courtesies. Also it is known by the difficulty to understand the language.

Novice High: Ability to communicate in a basic way, to ask questions or make statements

using

the

learned

vocabulary.

Errors

are

common

and,

pronunciation may still be influenced by the native language.

Intermediate: Ability to start, maintain and close a basic communication, ask and answer questions.

Intermediate Low: Can ask and answer statements, maintain face-to-face conversation. The vocabulary is elementary to express only the most common needs.

Intermediate Mid: Ability to talk about self and family members, participate in simple conversations. Pronunciation may continue to be influenced by the native language.

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Intermediate High: Ability to talk using social situations, ability to start, sustain and close a general conversation.

Advanced: It is characterized by the speaker‟s ability to: start, sustain and close a conversation with an advanced vocabulary. They have the ability to communicate facts and talk about topics of public and personal interest using an advanced vocabulary too.

Advanced Plus: Ability to discuss different topics related to personal interest, ability to support opinions with a remarkable fluency.

Superior: It is known by the ability to participate in formal and informal conversations also in social and professional topics. Supports ideas and be able to speak with a good accuracy are other abilities to be in a superior level.

There are some authors who have written a book or a research, of how to evaluate the four macro-skills. But, each author has a different point of view of how to evaluate the four macro-skills.  For example, Harold S. Mansend, in the book “Techniques in Testing: Teaching Techniques in English as a Second Language”, says:

READING: Reading can be evaluated in different forms with different activities. It can also be evaluated from the simplest thing to something more advanced. For example, from pre-reading texts to reading comprehension texts. In the prereading evaluations, we can find the learning of the Roman alphabet and wordattack skills. In the reading comprehension, we can find evaluations like reading aloud, translations, and reading literature.

WRITING: There are also a lot of ways to evaluate writing. But, the main objective of a writing evaluation is to measure all the writing tasks that the teacher makes in the classroom. Some of the tests that a teacher can use to evaluate writing are: note taking, reports, letters, summaries, translations, advertisings and journals.

All of these kinds of tests can help the teacher measure how well the students 4

are learning the use of spelling, punctuation, vocabulary, grammar, cohesion, and logic.

LISTENING: This skill has only two forms to evaluate the learning of the students. One way is to make the students listen and respond to simple commands such as “Open the door”. The other form to evaluate listening is evaluating the students proficiency in grammar and pronunciation. Listening tests can also help the teacher evaluate more advanced integrative skills, for example, a dictation.

SPEAKING: Speaking is a really challenging skill to prepare, administer, and score. For this reason, a lot of teachers prefer not to measure the speaking skill. They don`t know how to start the task of evaluating the speaking skill. Even though this skill is difficult to evaluate, the teacher can use some activities or tasks to measure this skill. The teacher has to decide what he/she will evaluate, for example: grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, and fluency.  Another author that has a different point of view of how to evaluate the four macro-skills is Adrian Doff. He says in the book “Teach English” that:

READING: Reading is one of the receptive skills. When a teacher evaluates this skill, he/she needs to be carefull not to ask the students to write a lot. Instead, the teacher should make a test that focuses on main points rather than on individual details. Some examples of the tests that a teacher can use to evaluate the reading skill are: True or false, multiple choice, open-ended questions, and information transfer. These kinds of evaluations should give the students a chance to go back to the text and look for the correct answer. Also, they should be focused on the students‟ comprehension of the main idea of the text.

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WRITING: When a teacher wants to evaluate writing, he/she should give the students a test where they can express meaning in written sentences. In these kinds of tests, correct grammatical forms should not be evaluated. Writing tests should give the student an opportunity to write about any topic they want. To evaluate the writing skill, the teacher can ask the students to write: stories, reports, essays, and summaries. The way in which teachers can grade these kinds of tests is by counting all the mistakes they have in their works.

LISTENING: Listening is the other receptive skill, and just like reading, the student should not be asked to write a lot in a test. For this skill the students have to retain what they hear in order to answer the test. The teacher should try to make the tests short and with the vocabulary according to the studentâ€&#x;s level. The teacher can measure the studentsâ€&#x; ability to understand words and phrases. Some examples of the tests that a teacher can use to evaluate listening are: fill the gaps with a suitable word or phrase, write these verbs in correct forms, and inferring information.

SPEAKING: The teacher needs to evaluate the speaking skill from time to time. This will encourage the students to practice their speaking. Teachers that have large classes have difficulties on testing the speaking skill, because speaking tests should be done in turns or in pairs. In order to evaluate this skill, the teacher can use only 2 types of tests: (1) Continuous assesments throughout the year and (2) giving short oral tests to each student.

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JUSTIFICATION The following research has been made for different reasons. Every detail shows the importance why it was necessary to make the research. Some of the main reasons are: There are no prior- studies about this subject, it will analyze the results of the new project, it will identify the negative and positive aspects of the students, and it will show the main factors that interfere with the learning process of the class. All these elements will support this research.

There are no prior- studies about this subject; this means that no one has studied this topic before. All the information presented in the research concerning the topic is something new. So, everything used in the process of the research will be useful to analyze the outcome skills of a group of students.

Another main reason why this research was made is to analyze the result of a new project. This new project was applied to the school of Economics two semesters ago. It consists that the students of the school of Economics have to course three English subjects, Technical English l, Technical English ll and Technical English lll. So, this research will define if this project is reaching its objectives. In other words, this research will determine if the planned objectives in the program are being achieved. Also, it will show if some objectives are not been achieved and a possible explanation for it.

Another main factor why this research is important is because it will show the main factors that interfere with the learning process of the students. Some factors that can interfere with the learning process could be: the teacherâ€&#x;s methodology, the studentsâ€&#x; interest, large groups, space, time, and the program. All of these factors can obstruct or help in the learning process.

So, this research will determine if the development of these factors can cause a significant problem in the expected outcome skills. Also, this research will show if some of these factors can be modified in order to get better results and how.

All of these reasons show the importance in the development of this research.

This means, that all of these reasons are important to achieve the main goal of it. At the end of this research, some ideas will be provided to the University on how to improve its new project in a better way.

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PROBLEM STATEMENT The subject Technical English II, at Universidad PedagĂłgica de El Salvador of the semester 02-2009 is a new English subject that was included to The School of Economics in the careers of: Public Accounting, Business Administration, Computing Management and Marketing. It has the particularly to be taught in a second language in a technical way of communication. This could be an opportunity for the students to learn the English language and develop the four basic skills according to their career. As a new project it could have some advantages and also some disadvantages, but in this case the problematic studied is directly related with the outcome skills of the students.

This appoints some doubts for the reason that this is a new project and probably the hardest difficulty or challenge faced could be found in the following statement Can a new English subject be taught in a different context and provide the conditions to accomplish the real outcome skills of the students in the subject Technical English II, having the planned skills written in its program in relation with the objectives? It is important to take into account the University objectives in order to get good results in the objectives of the Technical English subjects. It means that the teacher has to try to accomplish these objectives during the learning process. If the teacher accomplishes the objective at the end of the course, it is going to be stated if the planned objectives have coherence with the outcome result.

In order to accomplish the objectives the teacher needs to analyze the studentâ€&#x;s skills. The teacher has to check the studentâ€&#x;s knowledge at the beginning of the semester. This will help the teacher identify the correct methodologies in order to develop the class. Using the correct methodologies, the teacher will help the students increase the four basic skills.

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The four basic skills play an important role in the learning process. These skills are:

READING: “Specific abilities which enable a reader to read the written form as meaningful

language,

to

read

anything

written

with

independence,

comprehension and fluency, and to mentally interact with the message”.4.

WRITTING: “Specific abilities which help writers put their thoughts into words in a meaningful form and to mentally interact with the message”5.

LISTENING: “Is the receptive skill in the oral mode. When we speak of listening what we really mean is listening and understanding what we hear”6.

SPEAKING: “Is the productive skill in the oral mode. It is more complicated than it seems at first and involves more than just pronouncing words

4

By American Council for the Teaching of Foreign Languages March 1999, ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines, Hudson, NY, ACTFL Materials Center. http://www.sil.org/lingualinks/LANGUAGELEARNING/OtherResources/ACTFLProficiencyGuidelines/ ACTFLProficiencyGuidelines.htm 5 Idem.

6 Idem.

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FINDINGS AND LIMITATIONS There are different authors who have classified the English Levels in a different way. For example Jeremy Harmer in the book “The Practice of English Language Teaching” states that the levels must be divided in three: Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced. He thinks that real beginners and false beginners should be included in the beginner level as one. He also believes that between beginners and intermediates. There is another category that is “Elementary”, and that the intermediate level is usually sub-divided into low intermediate and upper intermediate.

Another author called Douglas Brown has a different opinion on how to classify the English levels, because in the book “Teaching by Principles, an Interactive Approach to Language” he proposes different English levels. For example, he classifies the levels in four: Novice, Intermediate, Advanced, and Superior. In the Novice level, it is included the following sub-levels: Novice-Low, Novice-Mid and Novice High. Also, Douglas Brown divided the Intermediate level into three: Intermediate-Low,

Intermediate-Mid

and

Intermediate-High.

The

other

classification that he made was in the Advanced-level, so he suggests that it should be classified in Advanced-Plus. The last one is the Superior level but, there are not sub-divisions in it.

READING: Harold S. Madsend thinks that a teacher should evaluate this skill from the simplest thing to something more advanced. In the other hand, Adrian Doff, in the book “Teach English”, says that students should not be asked to write a lot in a evaluation, instead a test should be focus on the students comprehension.

WRITING: For this skill, Harold S. Madsend believes that the evaluations, help the teacher see how well the students write, in other words the teacher can measure how well the students are learning the use of spelling, punctuation, vocabulary, grammar, cohesion and logic. But, Adrian Doff thinks that the

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teacher should give an opportunity to the students to make a free writing and he thinks that the teacher should not evaluate grammatical forms in these evaluations.

LISTENING: Harold S. Madsend infers that there are only two ways that the teacher can use to evaluate this skill. The first one is to use direct commands and the second one is to evaluate the students`proficiency in grammar and pronunciation. But, Adrian Doff realizes that for this skill the students should not be asked to write a lot, instead, the test should concentrate on measuring the students`ability to understand words and phrases.

SPEAKING: For this skill, Harold S. Madsend esteems that it`s difficult for teachers to prepare an oral exam, because teachers don`t know how to start the task of evaluating this skill. When a teacher evaluates this skill, he/she can use different types of evaluations. For these, tests teachers should decide what he/she will measure, for example: grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation or fluency. Adrian Doff concludes that the teacher should make evaluations for this skill constantly over the years. To encourage the students to practice their speaking skill. Continuous assesments throughout the year and giving short oral tests to each student, are the two types of test, that Adrian Doff recommends the teacher to use to evaluate this skill.

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CONCEPTS AND CATEGORIES CATEGORIES: The students‟ knowledge may be divided in different levels. A Level means “The standard of someone‟s ability”. In these levels it is important to take into account the students‟ skills. A Skill is “The ability to do something well, usually as a result of experience and training”. In the learning process, it is necessary to use different resources to support the teacher and the students in the class.

Resources which mean “To provide a person or an organization with the instruments they need in order to operate effectively. The teacher has to do an evaluation from time to time to measure the student‟s knowledge. Evaluation is “to think carefully about something before making a judgement about its value, importance, or quality”.

CONCEPTS: In order to classify the students‟ level, it is necessary to know the meaning of each level. Beginner is “Someone who has just started to learn or do something”. Intermediate means “At an academic level below advanced”.

Advanced is “At a high academic level”. Superior means “Better than someone or something else is quality or skill”.

There are four basic skills in the English language. Reading: “To look at and understand words in a letter, book, newspaper, etc”. Writing: “To create something such as a story or song by putting words together”. Listening: “To pay attention to a sound or to try to hear a sound”. Speaking: “To express your ideas, thoughts, or opinions about something”.

There are different resources in order to develop a class. For example, a Teacher is “Someone whose job is to teach”. A Program which means “A course of study in a school, college, or university”. Book is “A set of printed pages fastened together inside a cover, that may contain a story, information, poems, or other forms of writing”. A Classroom is “A room where you have classes in a school”. A Board, “A flat wide surface such as a bulletin board or black board placed upright and used for showing information”. Poster, “A large

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printed notice or picture that you put on a wall for decoration or to announce or advertise something”.

In order to measure the students knowledge teachers can use different instruments for example, a test. A test is “A set of written or spoken questions used for finding out how much someone knows about a subject”. Another instrument that teachers can use to measure the student‟s knowledge is the exam. An exam is “a paper on which questions are printed or on which you write your answers”. And also, the teacher can use a quiz. A quiz is “to ask someone a lot of questions, often in an urgent or angry way”.

In the learning process there are different tests than can be used to evaluate the English skills. For example, the ABCD Technique can be used to evalaute the reading skill. In this technique “the students read the questions and alternatives are given to choose”. Another type of test that can be used is the ABCD Test. In this test, “the teacher reads a story and gives statements that have been completed by choosing one of the four options. The students circle a letter”. A Variation of Number 2, is another type of test that can help to evaluate the English skills. For this test, “the teacher says a statement for example: the cat is walking after the girl. After that, he/she shows two pictures.

Picture one shows a girl after a cat while picture two shows a cat walking after a girl. Then, the students choose the picture related to the statement”. Also, the teacher can use the test The Body Motion Test, to measure the English skills.

In this test, “the teacher orders to the students to do something for example, go to the door, rise your left hand”.

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CHAPTER II THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK 2.1 FUNDAMENTATION OF THE METHODOLOGIC THEORY The process in where people learn a second language is called Second Language Acquisition or Second Language Learning. There are different terms used to refer to any language learned after the native language, for example, target language, Second language or L2. “SLA”, “LSA”, for “L2 acquisition” there are abbreviations used for the Second Language Acquisition.

Interlanguage looks to understand the learner language on its own terms, as a natural language with its own consistent set of rules. Interlanguage students reject the view of learning language as merely an imperfect version of the target language. Interlanguage is viewed as an attitude towards language acquisition, and not as a distinct discipline. By the same token, interlanguage work is a vibrant microcosm of linguistics. It is possible to apply an interlanguage perspective to learners' knowledge of L2 sound systems (interlanguage phonology), and language-use norms found among learners (interlanguage pragmatics).

2.2 Reasons for Learning English: Nowadays, students from around the world are learning English as a second language. But, each student has different reasons to learn the language. In some cases, students learn English because it is on the curriculum at elementary, high school or university. Also, for some students, studying the language reflects some kind of a choice. They feel motivated to study it, and they also have the access to such kind of education.

When someone visits or moves to a foreign country, they need to learn the language of the community in order to communicate. “A target-language

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community is a place where English is the national language – for example, Britain, Canada, New Zeland, etc.”8 Sometimes, students learn English for a specific purpose. For example, they need to learn legal language, the language of tourism, banking or nursing. Many students learn English for Academic Purposes (EAP), for example, to study at an English – speaking university or college, and they need to access to English language academic texts.

Some people think that learning English will be useful for international communication and traveling. But, students of general English not always have a reason for going to English classes. They only wish to learn the language effectively because this could be useful and give them better opportunities in their lives.

Whatever reason students have for learning English will influence what they want to learn and need to learn. For example, the Business English students would like to concentrate on using the language needed for specific business transactions and situations.

The students who live in a target – language community would have to learn English in order to achieve their immediate practical and social needs. Students from medical school would want to learn the English used in clinics or hospitals.

Of course, students of general English won`t have such specific needs; and their lessons and didactic material have to be different from those students with more identifiable needs.

There are many reasons why students want to learn English nowadays. But, no matter the reason, students learning English need to manage the four basic skills of the English language, which are:  Reading  Writing  Speaking  Listening.

8

Harmer, Jeremy, How to Teach English, Pearson Education Limited, 2007, pp. 11-12.

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When the teacher evaluates the students‟ knowledge, it is important to take into account the four macro-skills in order to identify the students‟ level. Each level is divided in sub-levels, and sometimes these levels are called in different forms.

WRITING The language levels of the writing skill of the students may be divided in three levels. These levels could be beginner, intermediate and advanced. Real beginners and false beginners are included in the first level. “Students that are considered to be between the beginner and intermediate level are classified as elementary”9. The intermediate level is frequently sub-divided into lower intermediate and upper intermediate and even mid-intermediate.

Sometimes, these levels might be used by teachers with their own point of view.

For example, a student that is considered to be intermediate by a teacher might be considered elementary by another teacher, or someone could describe a student as advanced, but another person might see him or her as upper intermediate. These variations of the language levels are taken into account by the teacher, considering what students are capable of doing at certain levels.

Recently, the Council of Europe and the Association of Language Testers in Europe (ALTE) has tried to define language levels for learners of a number of different languages. The common European framework is the result of their efforts. This is “a document setting out in detail what students „can do‟ at various levels”10. Also, a series of ALTE levels ranging from A1 “roughly equivalent to elementary level” to C2 “very advanced”11. Also, the ALTE has done some “can do” statements that show students and teachers what these levels mean.

9

Harmer, Jeremy, The Practice of English Language Teaching, Pearson Education Limited, 2007, p. 95 idem 11 idem 10

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All the levels and “can do” statements that ALTE has stated are being used more often by course book writers and curriculum designers, not just in Europe but also in the language learning world. The levels and “can do” statements are really useful when they are translated into the students‟ L1(native language).

This gives an opportunity to the students to say what they can do, rather than telling the students what standards they measure up against. It is good to mention, that the ALTE standards are just one way of measuring proficiency.

Also, there are many exam systems that have their own level descriptions. The teachers have to know that the students` abilities within any level can vary, for example, they may be much better in speaking than in writing.

STATEMENTS FOR WRITING Jeremy Harmer in the book “The Practice of English Language Teaching”, gives some statements to show the students and the teachers what these levels mean.

LEVELS:

Beginner

Elementary

Pre-

STATEMENTS: Can complete basic forms and write notes including times, dates and places.

Can complete forms and write short simple letters or postcards related to personal information.

Can write letters or make notes on familiar or predictable matters.

Intermediate

Intermediate

UpperIntermediate

Advanced

Can make notes while someone is talking or writing a letter including non-standard questions.

Can prepare professional correspondence, take reasonably accurate notes in meetings or write an essay which shows an ability to communicate.

Can write letters on any subject and full notes of meetings or seminars with good expressions or accuracy.

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SPEAKING The speaking skill is divided in four important levels: novice, intermediate, advanced and superior. These levels are subdivided in order to identify how much the speaker develops the speaking skill. In order to know the student`s level, it is important to take into account the following: The novice level is subdivided in, novice low, novice mid and novice high. In this level students have the ability to communicate minimally using the learned vocabulary. This vocabulary is sufficient only to express simple sentences. Also, in this level the pronunciation may still be strongly influenced by the native language, and errors are frequent.

The intermediate level contains the following sublevels: intermediate low, intermediate mid and intermediate high. In this area students are able to initiate, sustain, and close in a simple way basic communicative tasks. Also, they have the ability to ask and answer questions; they can talk about self and family members. Speakers can initiate, sustain, and close a general conversation or one about social situations.

The advanced level is divided in: advanced and advanced plus. In this level students are able to converse in a clear way. They can narrate and describe with some details, communicate facts, and talk casually about topics of public or personal interest.

The superior level is characterized by the speaker`s ability to speak the language with sufficient accuracy. Errors do not disturb the native speaker or interfere with communication. They are able to participate effectively in formal and informal conversations on social and professional topics. Also, the superior level is known by the speakerâ€&#x;s ability to discuss special fields of competence and interest.

18

READING The reading skill has five levels and also some of them are divided in sublevels. The first level is called Novice, and it classifies some of the main skills of a novice learner and the basic knowledge of him or her at the beginning of this level. The novice level has three sub-levels that are: Novice –Low, Novice-Mid and Novice-High. A student starts occasionally identifying some words and phrases, to continue working and dominating the alphabet and written system to interpret a written language in areas of practical needs.

The second level is called Intermediate, and this is similar to the Novice level in the format, because it has the same sub-level classification. The Intermediate level has some characteristics, for example; it says that a student is able to understand the central thought, read consistently texts that are still linguistically noncomplex, and get some main ideas and information from texts.

The third level is called Advanced, and it implies two sub-levels: Advanced and Advanced Plus. The Advanced level says that students read and understand the prose in familiar sentence patterns, and also, they get the main idea and facts easily in some details. The Advanced Plus level says that a student is able to comprehend the facts to make appropriate inferences and also to know and distinguish parts of texts which are conceptually abstract and linguistically complex.

The fourth level has not any sub-level, and it is named Superior. This classifies that the studentâ€&#x;s comprehension is in a normal speed. At this level, due to the control of vocabulary and structure, the reader is almost always able to match the meaning derived from extra linguistic knowledge with meaning derived from knowledge of the language.

The last level that a student can obtain is the distinguished level. In this level, students read fluently and accurately most styles and forms of the language pertinent to academic and professional needs. For that reason, this is the most complex level to learn.

19

LISTENING The listening is divided in five main levels that are also divided in branches or sub-levels. The first level is called Novice, and it describes some of the main characteristics of a novice student and the limited knowledge presented at the beginning of a learning process. The novice level has three sub-levels that are: Novice –Low, Mid and High. These levels give a parameter to the teachers to apply different techniques to obtain a good outcome listening skill, and that a student passes to the next level.

The next level is called the Intermediate level, and this is like the Novice, because it has the same sub-levels classification. The Intermediate level requires skills based on the repetition, spontaneous face-to-face conversations, and topics pertaining to different times and places; but misunderstanding is common but less than a Novice level.

The third level is called Advanced, and it is divided in two: Advanced and Advanced Plus. The Advanced level classifies that a student is able to understand main ideas and most specific details of connected discourse on a variety of topics. The Advanced Plus level says that a student is able to understand the main ideas of most speeches in a standard dialect.

The fourth level doesn`t have any sub-levels, and it is named Superior. This classifies that a student can understand the essentials of long discourse which is propositionally and linguistically complex, as in academic/ professional settings, in reports, speeches, and lectures.

Finally, the last level that a student can obtain is the Distinguished level. In this level; students are able to understand all forms and styles of speech pertinent to personal, social, and professional needs adapted to different audiences.

Students understand without any problem any kind of lectures given by native speakers in an academic environment.

20

2.3 STANDARD EVALUATIONS What is an standardized test? It is a test in which the questions, conditions for administering, scoring procedures and interpretations are consistent. They are also administered and scored in an standard way. Multiple-choice, true-false and essay questions are some standardized test designs.

The standardized evaluations have an special answer sheet done by computer or not. Sometimes, these kinds of evaluations have short-answer or essay writing tasks which are assigned to special evaluators. But, the majority of the standardized evaluations are not scored by people; people scored these exams when the items are not able to be scored easily by a computer, for example, the essays. The standardized evaluations are used by teachers with a different purpose. Sometimes to measure the students progress in school, to measure the students knowledge against each other, to see if a student has a good level of knowledge to enter to an specific school or University or to place students in programs according to their abilities. Nowadays, there are a lot of standardized exams that are being used by teachers. For example, the International English Language

Testing

System,

The

Test

of

English

for

International

Communication, The Test of English as a Foreign Language, The Test of Spoken English, The Test of Written English and The Placement Testing Program.

In order to achieve the main objective of the research: “Outcome Skills of the English Language in the Subject Technical English II, at Universidad Pedagógica de El Salvador, 2009”; it was used a standardized evaluation which is: The Interchange Passage Third Edition (the Placement Testing Program).

This testing program is designed to measure and identify the students‟ optimal level. It is based on three main parts: an Objective Placement Test, a Placement Conversation; and a Placement Essay. The objective placement test has three versions: Test A, B, and C. Also, the Placement Essay has three versions: Test A,B, and C. But, each version of the objective Placement Test and the Placement Essay covers exactly the same areas.

21

Each part has a different structure, for example, the Objective Placement is a 70-item multiple-choice test. The Placement Conversation is a plan for eliciting and rating a brief sample of spoken language. The Placement Essay outlines the process of giving and evaluating a writing sample. Listening, reading and grammar are measured in the Objective Placement Test. On the other hand, speaking and writing are measured in the Placement Conversation and the Placement Essay. The three exam parts are designed to complement one another and together they provide a comprehensive picture of the students‟ language ability.

These tests can be administered individually or in groups and in any order. For example, if the there is a large group of students who have to be tested, the students may be divided in three groups. Each group taking a different part of the Placement Testing Program. As the groups complete one part of the test, the teacher should give the next part to the students in rotation until all groups have completed the entire test.

In non-intensive English classes or in language courses, with limited objectives, it may be appropriate to use only one or two components of the Placement Testing Program. For example, “a conversational program with a near exclusive emphasis on developing listening and speaking skills may obtain satisfactory results by using only the Placement Conversation”12.

In order to obtain a final grade or to know the student‟s level the teacher has to: (1) add the individual rating on the Objective Placement Test, the Placement Conversation, and the Placement Essay.

(2) and then divide it by 3.

The resulting number corresponds to a particular placement level.

12

Tay Lesley with Christa Hansen and Jean Zukowski/faust, Interchange Passage Testing Program, Cambrige University Press, 2005, p. 5.

22

Example: TEST

RATING

Objective Placement Test

3

Interchange Third Edition Level 1

Placement Conversation

4

Interchange Third Edition Level 1

Placement Essay

4

Interchange Third Edition level 1

Total Rating

11

Total divided by 3.

3.7

Placement recommendation

LEVEL

Interchange Third Edition Level 1, second half

Placement Guidelines:

Rating

Placement

CEF

Levels

1

Interchange Third Edition Intro, first half

A1

Low Beginner

2

Interchange Third Edition Intro, second half

A1

High Beginner

3

Interchange Third Edition Level 1, first half

A2

Elementary

4

Interchange Third Edition Level1, second half

A2

Elementary

5

Interchange Third Edition Level 2, first half

B1

Low Intermediate

6

Interchange Third Edition Level 2, second half

B1

Intermediate

7

Interchange Third Edition Level 3, first half

B2

Upper Intermediate

8

Interchange Third Edition Level 3, second half

B2

High Intermediate

9

Passage Level 1, first half

C1

Advanced

10

Passage Level 1, second half

C1

Advanced

11

Passage Level 2, first half

C2

Mastery

12

Passage Level 2, second half

C2

Mastery

23

FACTORS THAT INTERFERE IN THE LEARNING PROCESS In the learning process, it is important to measure the studentâ€&#x;s efficiency in order to know how much they are increasing their learning. There are different ways to know the studentâ€&#x;s ability, one way is the evaluation like an exam which contains questions and the students have to answer them. The result of this exam helps the teacher know how much the students are learning.

However, in each learning process, it is important to take into account some factors that interfere in it. Something very important to know is that these factors are not included in a test. So, these factors could cause an impact in the learning process. It is mandatory to highlight them due to the fact that they affect directly the outcome skills produced in any learning context. These factors are divided in two: extrinsic factors and intrinsic factors.

1.Extrinsic factors: The study of learner-extrinsic factors in SLA (Second Language Acquisition) is primarily concerned with the question: How do learners get information about the target language? The study has been focused on the effects of different kinds of input, and on the impact of the social context. Some extrinsic factors are: 1.1 Social effects: The process of language learning can be very stressful, and the impact of positive or negative attitudes from the surrounding society can be critical.

Community attitudes toward the language being learned can also have a deep impact on SLA. Where the community has a broadly negative view of the target language and its speakers, or a negative view of its relation to them, learning is typically much more difficult. For example, Universidad de El Salvador during the war.

Other common social factor includes the attitude of parents toward language study, and the nature of group dynamics in the language classroom.

Additionally, early attitudes may strengthen motivation and facility with language in general, and particularly with early exposure to the language.

24

1.2 Input and intake: Learners' most direct source of information about the target language is the target language itself. When they come into direct contact with the target language, this is referred to as "input." When learners process that language in a way that they can contribute to learning, this is referred as "intake."

1.3 Interaction: Long's interaction hypothesis proposes that language acquisition is strongly facilitated by the use of the target language interaction. In particular, the negotiation of meaning has been shown to contribute greatly to the acquisition of vocabulary. The use of words in new contexts stimulate a deeper understanding of their meaning.

Many countries, but especially China, have far more people studying English than native English speaking residents they could practice with. This can leave students with good writing and comprehension skills unable to bring their spoken English up to the same level. People in this situation are said to be users of "Mute English".

1.4 Pedagogical effects: The study of the effects of teaching on second language acquisition seeks to systematically measure or evaluate the effectiveness of language teaching practices. Such studies have been undertaken for every level of language, from phonetics to pragmatics, and for almost every current teaching methodology.

“Research has indicated that many traditional language-teaching techniques are extremely inefficient”13. However, today a broad consensus of SLA scholars acknowledge that formal instruction can help in language learning.

13

"Intrinsic Motivation, Extrinsic Reinforcement, and Inequity", Journal of Personality and Social Psychology pg. 113–120”.

25

1.5 Extrinsic Motivation: Extrinsic motivation refers when someone or something else motivates a person to do any activity. In a class, students can be motivated by the teacher through different activities.

2. Intrinsic factors: The study of learner-intrinsic factors in SLA is primarily concerned with the question: How do learners gain competence in the target language? In other words, it is given an effective input and instruction. There are some intrinsic factors that exist in a learning process; these factors can interfere in a positive or in a negative way. It is important to take them into account in the development of a second language to get better results.

2.1 Language aptitude: Tests of language aptitude have proved to be extremely effective in predicting which learners will be successful in learning. However, considerable controversy remains about whether language aptitude is properly regarded as a unitary concept, an organic property of the brain, or as a complex of factors including motivation and short-term memory. Research has generally shown that language aptitude is quite distinct from general aptitude or intelligence.

Language aptitude research is often criticized for being irrelevant to the problems of language learners, who must attempt to learn a language regardless of whether they are gifted for the task or not.

2.2 Age: In the learning process of a second language is important to take into account the age of the learners, in order to apply the correct methodology to get better results in the learning of a target language (English). It is commonly believed that youngsters are better suited to learn a second language than when they are adults.

26

2.3 Strategy use: The effective use of strategies has been shown to be critical to successful language learning. Strategies are commonly divided into learning strategies and communicative strategies. Learning strategies are techniques used to improve learning, such as using a dictionary. Students use communicative strategies to get meaning across, even when they lack access to the correct language.

2.4 Affective factors: Affective factors are related to the learner's emotional state and attitude toward the target language (English). Researchers believe that language learners all possess an affective filter which affects language acquisition. If a student possesses a high filter, he is less likely to engage in language learning because of shyness, concern for grammar or other factors. Students possessing a higher affective filter will be more likely to engage in learning because they are less likely to be impeded by other factors. The affective filter is an important component of second language learning.

2.5 Anxiety: Although some continue to propose that a low level of anxiety may be helpful.

Anxiety damages students' prospects for successful learning a second language. So, this could interfere in their learning process. Anxiety is often related to a sense of threat to the learner's self-concept in the learning situation, for example if a learner fears being ridiculed for a mistake.

2.6 Personality Factors: Second language acquisition is defined as the learning and adopting of a language that is not your native language. Studies have shown that extraverts (or unreserved and outgoing people) acquire a second language better than introverts (or shy people). Logically, fear will cause students not to try and advance their skills, especially when they feel they are under pressure. Just the lack of practice will make introverts less likely to fully acquire the second language.

27

2.7 Intrinsic Motivation: Intrinsic motivation refers to the desire to do something for an internal reward.

Most studies have shown to be substantially more effective in long- term language than extrinsic motivation.

28

3.0 EMPIRICAL FRAMEWORK 3.1 MONOGRAPH I- Geographic Facts: a- Department: San Salvador b- Municipality: San Salvador c- Ruling Party: ARENA d- Number of cities: 19 e- Population

Total: 316,090

II-Historical Data:

The city of San Salvador is the capital of El Salvador. As the nation's capital, the city hosts the headquarters of the Government and the Council of Ministers of El Salvador, the Legislative Assembly, the Supreme Court and other State institutions and agencies, as well as the official residence of the President of the Republic. The origins of the city can be traced to before the Spanish Conquest.

It is near the present location of San Salvador that Pipil groups, established their capital, Cuscatlรกn. Not much is known about this city, since it was abandoned by its inhabitants in an effort to avoid the Spanish rule.

Under the orders of Pedro de Alvarado, Gonzalo de Alvarado and Diego de Holgiun were ordered to take the settlement they found and develop it. Diego de Holgiun became the first mayor of San Salvador after the town was founded on April 1, 1525. However, later in the sixteenth century, it was rebuilt and changed locations twice in 1528 and 1545. Originally founded in what is now the archaeological site Ciudad Vieja, north of the present-day city, it was moved to the Valle de Las Hamacas or the Acelhuate Valley, named so due to the intense seismic activity that characterizes it. The new site was chosen as it had more space and more fertile land, thanks to the pristine Acelhuate River. As the population of the country remained relatively small up until the early twentieth century, the city grew very slowly.

29

III- Demography: San Salvador is the country's most populous city and the second largest in Central America with 1,566,629 inhabitants themselves, and

316,090

inhabitants in the great San Salvador or AMSS (Metropolitan Area of San Salvador).

San Salvador is a department located in central El Salvador. Its area is 886.15 square kilometers and its population is 1,567,156 inhabitants.Is divided into three districts (Santo Tomas, San Salvador and Tonacatepeque), which are divided into 19 municipalities.

IV-Hydrografy:

The hydrography of the department of San Salvador, includes the rivers: Lempa, Las Cañas, Sucio, Amayo, Matizate or Viejo, Acelhuate, Guaycume, Guazapa, San Antonio, Tomayate, Mariona, Ilohuapa, Tihuapa, Huiscoyolate, Papaleguayo, Chichicalapa, Huizen, Quezalate, hutias, Jutillón, El Coco, chichiguiste,

El

Muerto,

Guacuchillo,

Cuitapán,

shuti,

Cuaya,

Cuapa,

Cusmajapa and Lake Ilopango.

V- Survey Data:

1- Design and development of map:

30

VI- Economic and social structure, according to access to services: 1- Basic Services: A) Electricity B) Water C) Drains D) Paving E) Garbage collectors F) Telephone

2- Local Resources: A) Market B) Parks and squares C) Government Offices D) Post Offices E) Public and private Telephones F) Sport Fields G) Telephone Companies H) Banks I) Political Parties

3- Indicators of Education Services: 1- Public Schools: A) Centro Escolar “Barrio Belén” B) Centro Escolar “Cantón Veracruz” C) Centro Escolar “Católico Corazón de Maria” D) Centro Escolar “Católico Santa Ana” E) Centro Escolar “Fabio Castillo” F) Centro Escolar “Francisco Gamboa” G) Centro Escolar “General Ramón Belloso” 31

H) Centro Escolar “José Matías Delgado” I) Centro Escolar “Republica de Corea” J) Complejo Educativo “Nuestra Señora del Rosario” K) Complejo Educativo “Tomas Cabrera” L) Instituto Nacional “Albert Camus” M) Instituto Nacional de San Marcos N) Instituto Nacional de San Martín o) Instituto Nacional de Soyapango P) Instituto Nacional “Simón Bolívar” Q) Instituto Nacional de Ciudad Delgado

2- Private Schools: A) Colegio Angloamericano B) Colegio Don Bosco C) Colegio García Flamenco D) Colegio Internacional E) Colegio Laura Lehtinen F) Colegio Montessoriano G) Colegio Temach H) Escuela Americana I) Escuela Bilingüe Maquilishuat J) Externado San José K) Instituto Emiliani 32

L) Instituto Hermanas Somascas M) Instituto Técnico EXSAL N) Instituto Técnico Ricaldone O) Liceo San Benito “House of Learning”

4- Health Services Indicators: A) Public Hospitals: 1- Hospital Nacional Rosales 2- Hospital Nacional de Maternidad “Dr. Raúl Arguello E.” 3- Hospital Nacional Zacamil “Dr. Juan José Fernández” 4- Hospital Nacional General y de Psiquiatría “Dr. José Molina Martínez” 5- Hospital Nacional de Niños “Benjamín Bloom”

B) Private Hospitals: 1- Hospital de Diagnostico Colonia Medica 2- Hospital Centro de Cirugía Farela 3- Hospital Instituto de Ojos 4- Hospital Centro Ginecológico 5- Hospital de Ojos, Otorrino y Especialidades 6- Hospital Merliot 7- Hospital Paravida 8- Hospital Pro-familia 9- Hospital Centro de Emergencias

C) Clinics: 1- Clínicas Medicas 2- Clínica Comunal Zacamil 3- Clínica Medica la Esperanza 4- Clínica Pro-Familia 33

5- Clínica Parroquial Inmaculada Concepción 6- Clínica de Salud Mental y Sexual 7- Clínica Medica Hermanos de Asís

D) Laboratorios: 1- Laboratorios López 2- Laboratorios Paill 3- Laboratorios Arsal 4- Laboratorios Lainez 5- Laboratorios Phermedic 6- Laboratorios Vijosa 7- Laboratorio Pro-Familia

3.2 Description of the Course: In order to develop the research “Outcome skills of the English language in the subject Technical English II, at Universidad Pedagógica de El Salvador, 2009”, it was necessary to follow a process to obtain all the possible information to support everything related to the outcome skills. In that way, there are different elements that are shown to understand their own importance and the relation among each of them. It is important to mention that every single element is a complement of all, as a learning process that is determined by the efficacy or good function of their parts. Each element in the process has given the research a big support. These elements are: -

The teacher

-

The students

-

The program

-

Didactic resources.

In the following paragraphs, it will be developed in detail a deep description of the main factors that constitute the empiric framework.

34

THE TEACHER: It is known that a teacher is responsible for providing an educational atmosphere where students have the opportunity to fulfill their potential for intellectual, emotional, physical, spiritual and psychological growth.

This person is responsible for organizing and implementing an instructional program that will result in students achieving academic success. In this case, the responsible in charge was Glenda Valiente MagaĂąa a bachelor graduated of the Language School in the career of Bachelor of Arts in English at Universidad TecnolĂłgica de El Salvador (UTEC). She developed the classes using different methodologies and strategies based on the program; she worked hard to design an appropriate environment to develop the studentsâ€&#x; skills. One important thing was that she always showed the correspondent respect to the students, and also she showed security in front of the class. She was opened to the students` opinions, listened to them and treated them with respect, and she created the conditions to learn in a adequate environment. When some students made something out of place, she made emphasis in the rules given at the beginning of the semester. The only difficulty expressed by her, was concerning to the little space in the classroom, because she always considered the possibility to change and move to a more appropriate classroom to develop different activities. In all the cases she followed the rules according to the Evaluation System that is implemented for all the English teachers of the Education School.

The Evaluation System states that the teacher in charge must: -Elaborate the curriculum according to the guidelines of the appropriate syllabus that corresponds to the professional profile wished.

-Include in the program the objectives, topics, methodology, bibliography and the activities of evaluation with their specifications.

-Elaborate the instruments of evaluation according to the previous objectives.

-Register the results of the different evaluations in the original correspondent formats.

35

-Present the reports of the evaluations to the Direction of Academic Administration in the due dates, indicated in the academic calendar.

THE STUDENTS: There were thirty-eight students. They were between the ages of 18-30 years old, eleven male and the rest were female in the class. All of them coursed the subject Technical English I in the semester 01-2009. The majority of the students didn‟t know anything about English, that´s why it was a challenge for them to learn a new language that somehow is out of place for them. There were some students, that said concerning to these new subjects implementation (Technical English I, II and III) that it wasn´t necessary to learn a new language. They just considered fair to learn some technical vocabulary related to their careers. In the semester 02-2009, it corresponded to Technical English II. They were a little bit more prepared to handle the subject, and it was noticed that some of them were very conscious that they were going to have better opportunities to find a good job with the acquisition of a second language.

In other words, they had some motivation to follow this line of Technical English subjects. In the classroom, they showed positive attitudes, participating, giving opinions, accomplishing homework‟s, and involving in the activities presented by the teacher. There was just one student that was failing with his academic responsibilities, but Miss. Valiente talked seriously to him, and he was able to retake his responsibilities and get success in Technical English. Another problem was the book used in the class; its name was “Global Links”. The problem was that just nine students bought the book and some others just were making copies. Another problem was that at the beginning they were using the book that they used in Technical English I (Global Links 1), and almost at the end of the semester they started with the book Global Links 2 for Technical English II, that´s why they didn‟t want to spend money, buying a book that was going to be used in few classes.

THE PROGRAM: The program designed for the subject Technical English II in the semester 02-2009 is divided in nine parts, which are:

36

Generalities: Subject`s name, code, term, pre-requisite, hours per term, practical hours per week, time per class, credits and professors in charge.

Description of the Course: In this part it is mentioned that this class is the continuation of a previous learning in which the students got a low intermediate level in communication and that they pretended to reach the intermediate level.

General objective: The general objective is oriented to reach the low intermediate level in oral and written forms, using terminology related to their majors.

Specific objectives: They mention the importance to use the business, accounting or marketing terminology in short conversations applied in real situations. To read and write using functional language and understand business English in their professional lives.

Competences: The competences are focused to the communication in oral and written form in English of the students at the end of the course.

Methodology: There aren´t any explanations about a specific method, but some important details like the learning of grammar rules and the application of the workbook activities are mentioned.

Table of contents: The table of contents shows the different units to study and obviously the contents. It is also divided because everything is based mainly in two books: “Global Links 1” (from Unit ten to Unit fourteen) and “Global Links 2” (from Unit one to Unit five).

References: the references are oriented to the author of the book used (Global Links 1 and 2). Besides, there are some others: Gomm, Helena and the book “In Company”, and concluding with Murphy, Raymond, “Basic Grammar in Use”, to support the grammar taught. There is another title mentioned just at the end: it is a “Spanish-English Dictionary”, but it doesn‟t mention any author or major reference.

Web-sites: There are several sites which are included in the program and these are:

37

http://www.isabelperez.com/ http://www.englishclub.com/ http://www.eslcafe.com/ http://www.longman.com/globallinks/

THE DIDACTIC RESOURCES: During the development of the class, the teacher used different didactic resources in order to create a better environment and to teach in a better form so students participated in the different activities previously prepared, for example: I. THE BOOKS: I.I The first book used was:”Global Links 1 English for International Business”, and it was taken from Unit 10 to Unit 14.

Description Using authentic material about real companies, this two-level series program teaches the basic language and grammar structures that busy professionals need to communicate effectively in the international business world. A four-skill course with emphasis on the speaking and listening skills, Global Links meets the needs of low-language level students while acknowledging the high level of sophistication that business people bring to their study of English. Authentic texts, documents, graphs, and charts offer realistic practice models, while the texts provides an international focus relevant to cultural information for doing business worldwide.

The Student Audio CD Contains selected models and listening activities; included in the Student Book …………………………………………………………………………....

Phrase Book: A portable reference to key language structures, expressions, and vocabulary plus a glossary of business terms; included in the Student Book.

38

Complete Audio Program CDs and Audiocassettes: All the listening activities, recorded at a natural speed with a variety of native and nonnative accents.

Teacher´s Manual: Overall and page-by-page teaching suggestions including instructional scripts, answer keys, transcripts of the audio program, and expansion activities which are photocopiable for each unit.

Test Package: Unit-by-unit assessment quizzes and mid-term/final exams featuring TOEIC®-type questions, as well as placement tests.

I.II The Second book used was:”Global Links 2 English for International Business” and it was taken from Unit 1 to Unit 5.

Global Links: English for International Business is part of a two-level course that teaches the basic language and grammar structures needed to communicate in business. It is designed for adult students on the false beginner and lowintermediate levels who are employed as executives and are studying to enter the business world in that capacity. “Global Links covers all four language skills, with special emphasis on the speaking and listening skills that managers need in international language”14.

Focus and Approachmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm The goal of Global Links is to teach students the English they will need to communicate effectively in a professional environment. Students learn key vocabulary, social language, and structures through a progression of models and practice activities.

Key language is recycled from module to module and from unit to unit. Realistic tasks provide opportunities for students to produce the language they will need in common business situations.

14

http://www.longman.com/globallinks/

39

“Global Links is designed to meet the specialized needs of business people and the instructors who teach them”15. Its modular design can flexibly accommodate students who are executives or managers and whose busy schedules may cause them to attend class irregularly. Although units are sequenced and reinforce previous learning, each can stand on its own. Within each unit, content is organized into self-contained two-page modules so that each lesson can be completed in a single class.

“Global Links is written with small classes in mind”16. All speaking activities in Global Links center on pair work or tasks for small groups. “The Teacher's Manual provides suggestions and alternative activities for teachers in one-toone teaching situations and for teachers with larger classes who may want to expand activities”17. So, global links has the flexibility to be applied to both small and big groups.

Features 

Low-level language for high-level business people. The clear, controlled pedagogical design Global Links meets the language needs of lowerlevel students. But its sophisticated business content also acknowledges the

high

level

of

real-world

knowledge

and

experience

that

businesspeople bring to their study of English. 

International Focus. Global Links exposes students to English as an international mean of communication.



Authentic material about real companies. Global Links offers authentic texts, documents, graphs, and charts with information about real companies and activities that have practical, real-world application.

15

http://www.longman.com/globallinks/

16

idem

17

idem

40



Cultural information for doing business worldwide. Global Links provides interesting, relevant information about doing business internationally and interacting with businesspeople from around the world.



Practice with numbers: Many business situations involve numbers, which businesspeople need-to set dates for meetings, discuss prices, and understand sales results. Global Links makes sure that businesspeople are comfortable using numbers in English by providing systematic practice with numbers as used in business contexts.

Course

Lengthmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm,

Each level provides 40 to 45 hours of instruction, but the material may also be adapted to classes as short as 20 to 25 hours or as long as 50 to 60 hours of instruction. “The course duration is flexible and is determined by the learning pace of the students, the attention and time given to writing in class, and the teacher's use of other supplementary materials”18.

Organization of Student Books The Student Book consists of fourteen units. Each has three, two-page modules: 

Business Talk



Business Connections



Global Communication

Objectives for each module appear on the page to focus students' attention on their language learning target.

Each unit includes contextualized number exercises. Most students are familiar with the basic numbers in English, but they may have difficulty using them with ease in business situations. The listening and speaking exercises in this section improve students' ability to use numbers in a business context.

18

http://www.longman.com/globallinks/

41

The Student Book concludes with the Activity File for pair work; the Language Summary, which presents key vocabulary, expressions, and grammar for each unit; and a glossary of important business terms contained in the text.

Components of the Didactic Resources:

Complete Audio Program 

CDs and cassettes provide recordings for the Getting Started, Conversation, Pronunciation Focus, Listening, and Number sections contained in the Student Book.

Student`s CD 

Included in the Student Book.



Provides recordings of the Conversation sections (with the exception of the alternate phrases), the Pronunciation Focus, and one of the exercises in the number section.

Phrasebook 

Included in the Student Book.



Provides a portable, easy-to-use reference guide to the key language and structures needed in most business situations and a glossary of business terms.

Teacher's Manual 

Provides general and page-by-page teaching suggestions.



Teacher's script of short, easy-to-understand instructions that may be used in class.



Includes tape script of all recordings on the Audio CD.



Provides answer keys to activities in the Student Book.



Includes expansion activities and photocopiable for each unit.

42

Tests 

Test Package included in each level.



Provides unit-by-unit assessment quizzes and two longer exams, one designed to assess students at mid-course, the other at the end of the course.



All tests include TOEIC-type questions, which familiarize students with the format of this widely used test in the business world.



A set of Placement Tests will assist in placing students at the most appropriate level of the Global Links program.

3.3 CLASS DESCRIPTION The class Description is based on the subject Technical English II, semester 02, 2009 given by Miss Valiente the teacher in charge. The class was given only on Fridays from 6:30 am to 9:00 am in the classroom number 22-B. The Class Description is also determined by the observation, which is an instrument applied from the beginning to the end of the semester. The teacher always used a big amount of activities to motivate the students since the class began. These activities motivated the students to move, also she always tried to create a good environment in which the students were trying to participate in classes, and they also listened to the different opinions from the students.

At the beginning, the teacher tried to sit students in a semicircle, but at the end she couldn‟t due to the limited space of the classroom. She motivated the students to create their own sentences in certain topics. Besides, they performed their own researches concerning to the different companies. Another very important point was that she always spoke English and rarely used Spanish to communicate. She usually remembered them the rules when it was considered necessary.

At 6:30 Miss Valiente arrived to the class which means on time, and the first thing that she made was to write the Agenda on the whiteboard. Next, she used to write the date and started with a review of the last topic taught before. After finishing the review, she passed the attendance list, and during that time she 43

asked the students that were coming late their excuses in English. By the way, when it was a student the same case every Friday, she usually had a small talk with her or him in order to make them more conscious to fulfill the established rules.

Miss Valiente used different examples to teach, and she compared the theory of the book with the reality lived in the society and the companies in the order of their functions. She also emphasized the main points that could be better to apply in the business environment, and she encouraged students to continue their studies in a deeper and more active form by adding different exercises and activities. Every Friday this was the common routine, of course, the activities and exercises were changing constantly.

3.4 TECHNICAL AND METHODOLOGICAL FORMS In order to accomplish the goals of this research it was necessary to follow a process. Some of the elements that were used in this process were: classroom observation, interview to the students, the teacher and evaluation to the students. These elements are going to help to know the outcome skills of the students.

The observation was an essential element in this process. The observation was done from the beginning to the end of the semester 02-2009. It was done in the classroom number 22-B, at UNPES, from 6:30 am to 9:00am on Fridays. The purpose of the class observation was to visualize how the students could grow up their English knowledge from the beginning to the end of the semester. Also it helped to see how the students develop the four macro skills. At the same time, it was known the teacher`s methodology, activity development, and the students motivation. According to the program, the students had to begin with a low intermediate level and at the end of the semester they had to have an intermediate level. But, the instrument of evaluation (the placement testing program) will determine the real outcome knowledge from the students.

Another element that was used in the research process is the interview to the teacher and the students. These interviews were made with the purpose to 44

know the teacher`s opinion about the student`s knowledge, and also to know the students opinion about their own knowledge. The interview was conducted on November 20th 2009. The students and the teacher`s interviews were administered on December 4th 2009. Some of the questions that were asked to the students were concerning to their own level, difficulties faced in the subject and previous knowledge in English. Some of the questions asked to the teacher were the student‟s knowledge at the beginning of the semester, book utility, and her opinion about the student‟s level for each basic skill. These elements will contribute to identify the outcome skills of the students.

The evaluation is another important element that is included in this process. The Placement Testing Program will provide enough information to establish a level for the students. The Placement Testing Program is a standardized exam that is used at Universidad Pedagógica de El Salvador to know the English level of the students.

All these elements mentioned above are used with the same objective, which is to know the students` outcome knowledge.

3.5 TECHNIQUE AND DATA ANALYSIS: After gathering the result of the Placement Testing Program, the teacher‟s interview, the students` interview and the classroom observation, a deep analysis of the results was needed. In order to present the analysis, it was necessary to do a chart with the results, and they will be shown in a graphic representation. The techniques used in this research were defined as a descriptive on one hand and explanatory on the other.

The descriptive technique is based on the standardized exam done to know the outcome result of the students. And the explanatory technique is the result of the each element used in the development of the research.

45

 One important instrument that has been taken into account is “the interview to the teacher”. This was made with the objective to know the teacher`s opinion about the students knowledge. The questions that are included in this instrument are the following: 1. Do you believe that at the beginning of the semester the students had the correct English level to attend Technical English II? Explanation: This question was made with the objective to check if the teacher agreed if the students had the correct English level to attend Technical English II, according to their outcome knowledge of the subject Technical English II. 2. Do you consider that the book used in the subject Technical English II, has helped the students to increase their English level?

Explanation: This was asked to know if the book used was correct to teach the Subject Technical English II. 3. How much do you think that the students from the subject Technical English II, can write in English?

Explanation: The purpose of this question was to know how much the students of the subject Technical English II had increased their writing skill.

4. How much do you think that the students from the subject Technical English II can read in English?

Explanation: This was made with the objective to know how much the students of the subject Technical English II had increased their reading skill.

5. How much do you think that the students from the subject Technical English II can listen in English?

Explanation: The objective of this question was to know how much the students from the subject Technical English II had increased their listening skill.

6. How much do you think that the students from the subject Technical English II can speak in English?

Explanation: The goal of this question was to know how much the students from the subject Technical English II had increased their speaking skill.

46

7. Which of the following levels do you consider that the students from the subject Technical English II had at the beginning of the semester?

Explanation: This was asked with the purpose to know the students‟ level at the beginning of the semester.

8. Which of the following levels do you consider that the students of the subject Technical English have?

Explanation: The main objective of this question was to know how much the students increased their English level in the subject Technical English II. 9. Which were the factors that interfered in the development of the class?

Explanations: This question was made to determine the factors that affected the learning process of the students.

10. Which difficulties do you consider that the students have had in the subject Technical English II? Explanation: The purpose of this question was to identify which were the difficulties that the students faced in the development of the learning process.

TEACHER’S INTERVIEW

SCHOOL OF EDUCATION NAME: Glenda Valiente Magaña

DATE:December 4th 2009

Directions: Answer the following questions.

1- Do you believe that at the beginning of the semester the students had the correct English level to receive Technical English II? YES

NO X

Why? Because they were in a difficult situation

with basic vocabulary that they neede to reinforce in Technica English I. 2- Do you consider that the used book in the subject Technical English II, has helped the students increase their English level?

X

YES

NO

Why? Because the book has a lot of technical

vocabulary that they will use in their careers.

47

3- How much do you think that the students from the subject Technical English II can write in English?

X

A lot

A little

Nothing

Why? Well, at the beginning it

was a little, but now they can write a lot because they increased their level.

4- How much do you think that the students from the subject Technical English II can read in English?

A lot

X

A little

Nothing

Why? At the beginning they

couldnâ€&#x;t read too much, but later they increased their reading skill by reading articles that they had in their books.

5- How much do you think that the students from the subject Technical English II can listen in English?

A lot X

A little

Nothing

Why? At the beginning was

not possible because they were not familiar with the listening skill, but later they were listening to conversations and articles in the activities that they were doing in classes.

6- How much do you think that the students from the subject Technical English II can speak in English?

A lot

X

A little

Nothing

Why? Well, most of them speak

because they were taking some free English courses previously, but some of them speak basic vocabulary effectively.

7- Which of the following levels do you consider that the students of the subject Technical English II had at the beginning of the semester?

Basic Basic

Intermediate

X

Intermediate

Advaced

Basic

Basic

Intermediate

Intermediate

Advanced

Advanced

Advanced

Why? Because most of them didnâ€&#x;t have enough vocabulary not even basic one. Students were not in the same level at the beginning.

48

8- Which of the following levels do you consider that the students of the subject Technical English II have?

Basic Basic

Intermediate Basic

X

Intermediate Advanced

Advaced Basic Intermediate

Intermediate

Advanced

Advanced

Why? In general almost all of them are in this level.

9-Which were the factors that interfere in the development of the class? (time, book, etc.) One of the factors that I realized has influenced the process was time because we were in class just once a week three hours, and I consider that they needed to be thrice a week in a more intensive course.

10-Which difficulties do you consider that the students have had in the subject Technical English II? Well, I consider that students had difficulties in their vocabulary, speaking skills because of the lack of practice and some mispelling mistakes they had been taught, according to them.

ANALYSIS OF THE TEACHER’S INTERVIEW According to the teacher‟s interview at the beginning of the semester the students didn‟t have a correct English level in order to receive the subject Techncial English II. She thought the students had basic vocabulary. For this reason she considers that at the beginning of the subject Technical English II, the students had a Basic English level. Also, she believes that there was a factor that interfered in the learning process of the students, and this factor is the time. She thinks that three hours per week are not enough for the students to increase their English level. But, she said that the students were able to increase their English knowledge through out the development of the subject.

Because she thinks that the book used in the course had technical vocabulary that the students will use in their careers. Through the development of the class, the students were able to increase the four basic skills in a better way. For that

49

reason she considers that at the end of the semester, the students increased the English level from basic to low intermediate.  Another instrument that has been used is the “Interview to the students”.

This was used with the goal to know the students´ opinions about their own knowledge. The questions that are found in this instrument are the following: 1. Do you have previous English knowledge based on your high school studies?

Explanation: This question was made with the objective to know if the students had learned any English in High School.

2. Did you course Technical English I in the semester 01-2009?

Explanation: The purpose of this question was to verify if the students had previous Technical English knowledge.

3- How much do you consider that you can speak in English?

Explanation: The objective of this question was made to know how much the students consider that they can speak in English.

4- How much do you consider that you can write in English?

Explanation: This was asked to know how much the students consider that they can write in English.

5- How much do you consider that you can read in English?

Explanation: The objective of this question was to know how much the students consider that they can read in English.

6- How much do you consider that you can listen and understand in English?

Explanation: The goal of this question was to know how much the students can understand the English language.

7- In general in which of the following English levels do you consider yourself?

Explanation: The purpose of this question was to identify in which English level the students consider themselves.

8- Which of the following resources could help you learn better the English language?

50

Explanation: This question was asked in order to know which resources could help students facilitate the learning process of the target language.

9- Which was the major difficulty that you faced in the subject Technical English ll?

Explanation: This was made with the purpose to identify the main difficulty that the students had in the learning process of the subject Technical English ll.

10- Have you received English courses at UNPES or in another place?

Explanation: The purpose of this question was to know if the students were interested in learning English out of class or if the real outcome was affected by other factors.

Students` Interview

SCHOOL OF EDUCATION NAME: ____________________________________________________ DATE: ___________ Indications: Answer the following questions.

1- Do you believe that at the beginning of the semester the students had the correct English level to receive Technical English II? YES

NO

Why? ____________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________ 2- Do you consider that the used book in the subject Technical English II, has helped the students increase their English level?

YES

NO

Why? ____________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________ 3- How much do you think that the students from the subject Technical English II can write in English?

A lot

A little

Nothing

Why? _________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

51

4- How much do you think that the students from the subject Technical English II can read in English?

A lot

A little

Nothing

Why? ________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________ 5- How much do you think that the students from the subject Technical English II can listen in English?

A lot

A little

Nothing

Why? ________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

6- How much do you think that the students from the subject Technical English II can speak in English?

A lot

A little

Nothing

Why? _________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________ 7- Which of the following levels do you consider that the students of the subject Technical English II had at the beginning of the semester?

Basic

Intermediate

Advaced

Basic

Basic

Basic

Intermediate

Intermediate

Intermediate

Advanced

Advanced

Advanced

Why? _______________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________ 8- Which of the following levels do you consider that the students of the subject Technical English II have?

Basic

Intermediate

Advaced

Basic

Basic

Basic

Intermediate

Intermediate

Intermediate

Advanced

Advanced

Advanced

Why? _______________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________ 52

9-Which were the factors that interfere in the development of the class? (time, book, etc.) __________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________ 10-Which difficulties do you consider that the students have had in the subject Technical English II? _________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________

GLOBAL RESULTS FROM STUDENTS’ INTERVIEWS #

QUESTIONS

1

Do you have previous English knowledge based on your high school studies?

A LOT

SOME

A LITTLE

NOTHING

8

11

17

2

3

How much do you consider that you can speak in English?

6

7

19

6

4

How much do you consider that you can write in English?

8

10

16

5

5

How much do you consider that you can read in English?

0

9

20

9

4

9

20

5

6

How much do you consider that you can listen and understand in English?

#

YES

NO

2

Did you course Technical English I in the semester 01-2009?

30

8

10

Have you received English courses at UNPES or in another place?

9

29

53

7

8

9

In general, in which of the following English levels do you consider yourself?

Beginner

Intermediate

Advaced

Low: 12

Low: 5

Low: 0

Intermediate: 11

Intermediate: 4

Intermediate: 0

Advanced: 2

Advanced: 4

Advanced: 0

Which of the following resources could help you Teacher: 8 learn better the English Book: 2 language?

Program: 2 More hours: 7

Motivation: 3 All:

16

Which was the major Number of students: 1 Number of hours: 5 difficulty that you faced in the subject Technical Teacher: 11 Schedule: 5 Low level: 10 Book: 6 English II?

QUESTION # 1: Do you have previous English knowledge based on your high school studies?

5% 21% A LOT SOME A LITTLE

45%

NOTHING 29%

The graphic above shows the results obtained on question #1. 21% of the students selected the A LOT option, 29% of the students selected the SOME option, 45% of them declined to the A LITTLE option, and just 5% of them chose the NOTHING option. It means that the majority has a previous English knowledge based on their high school studies. Also, it is known that a previous knowledge is not enough to face a new vocabulary needed for a subject like Technical English I or II, but it is considered as a good requirement to start a new subject related to a second language.

54

QUESTION # 2: Did you course Technical English I in the semester 01-2009?

21%

YES NO

79%

The graphic above shows the results from the answers obtained in the question #2. 79% of the students selected the Yes option and 21% of the students selected the NO option. It means that the majority of these students have a previous technical English knowledge because they coursed the subject Technical English I in the semester 01-2009. These students have followed lineabily of the two subjects, which provides a better outcome or more accuracy on the results, it is considerate a deep of learning English as a second language or any other language the consistency plays an important role to obtain better results.

QUESTION # 3: How much do you consider that you can speak in English?

16%

16%

18%

A LOT SOME A LITTLE NOTHING

50%

The graphic above refers to the results obtained in question # 3. The 16% of the students selected the option A LOT; the 18% chose the SOME option, the 50% declined to the A LITTLE option. In addition, the 16% chose the NOTHING option. It means that 32 students believe that they can speak the English language after the end of the instruction (2 semesters). The rest that are 6 students think that they don`t feel sure to express the English language in a communicative way, but it could not be stated that they cannot speak at least

55

the simplest words in English, because through the observation it was watched that the 100% of those students could be able to say something in English .

QUESTION # 4: How much do you consider that you can write in English?

13%

21%

40%

26%

A LOT SOME A LITTLE NOTHING

The graphic above shows the result obtained from the question # 4. 21% of the students selected the A LOT option, 26% of them chose the SOME option, 40% of the students declined to the A LITTLE option and 13% of them said NOTHING. According to these results, the majority of those students can write from a little to a lot in English.

QUESTION# 5: How much do consider that you can read in English?

0% 24%

24%

A LOT SOME A LITTLE NOTHING

52%

The graphic above refers to the results obtained in the question #5. In which 0% of the students declined to the A LOT option, 24% chose the SOME option, 52% chose the A LITTLE option, and the 24% said they cannot read in English.

It means that 76% of them think they are able to read in English. In addition, it means that these students are able to receive the subject Technical English II.

56

QUESTION# 6: How much do you consider that you can listen and understand in English?

11%

13%

24%

A LOT SOME A LITTLE NOTHING

52%

The graphic above shows the results in percentage for the answer obtained on question # 6. The 11% of the students selected the A LOT option, 24% declined to the FEW option, 52% said A LITTLE and 13% chose the NOTHING option. It means that most of them have the ability to listen and understand the English language. On the contrary, it means that just 13% of these students believe they are not able to listen and understand the English language. The rest (87%) think they have the necessary knowledge to understand spoken English. Taking into account these results it means that the students will develop the listening skill in a better way.

QUESTION # 7: In general, in which of the following English levels do you consider yourself?

LOW BEGINNER

11% 11%

31%

MID BEGINNER ADVANCED BEGINNER LOW INTERMEDIATE

13%

INTERMEDIATE 5% 29%

ADVANCED INTERMEDIATE

The graphic above refers to the results obtained in question #7. 31% considered that they have a LOW BEGINNER level, 29% thinks they have a MID BEGINNER level, on the other hand, just 5% consider that they have an ADVANCED BEGINNER level. But, 13% of the students consider they are in a LOW INTERMEDIATE level, 11% think they have an INTERMEDIATE level and 11% of these students consider they have an ADVANCED INTERMEDIATE level. This means that not all the students have the same English background.

57

For this reason the 31% of the students considered that they have a low beginner level.

QUESTION # 8: Which of the following resources could help you to learn better the English language?

5% 23% TEACHER PROGRAM MORE MOTIVATION 41%

5% 8%

MORE HOURS ALL BOOK

18%

The graphic above shows the answers obtained on question #8. the 23% students considered the TEACHER option, 5% choose the PROGRAM option, 8% selected the MORE MOTIVATION option, 18% declined to the MORE HOURS option, and just 5% choose the BOOK option. On the other hand, the 41% of these students considered that ALL those resources (teacher, program, more motivation, more hours, and book) could help them learn better the English language. The data shows the different important aspects to be taken care in future editions of the same class.

QUESTION# 9: Which was the major difficulty that you faced in the subject Technical English II?

16%

NUMBER OF STUDENTS

3% 13%

NUMBER OF HOURS TEACHER SCHEDULE 26%

29% LOW ENGLISH LEVEL BOOK 13%

The graphic above describes the results obtained on question #9. 3% of the student selected the NUMBER OF STUDENTS option, 13% of them chose the NUMBER OF HOURS option, on the contrary 29% of the students selected the TEACHER option, 13% chose the SCHEDULE, and 26% of them said the LOW ENGLISH LEVEL and 16% selected the BOOK option. It means that all these factors somehow affected the learning process of the students in the subject Technical English II. Also, it is important to take into account these results in 58

order to help the students to improve the learning process and have a better result at the end of the semester.

QUESTION #10: Have you received English courses at UNPES or in another place?

24%

YES NO

76%

The graphic above describes the answers from the question #10. 24% of the students selected the YES option. On the other hand, 76% of the students replied NO. It means that not all the students have received English courses in the University or in another place. So, the English knowledge that they have is because of the high school studies and the subjects Technical English I and II. ď ś The observation in the classroom was another important instrument that was taken into account in the process of this research. The main objective of this instrument was to know the development of the students through out the semester. The classroom observation gave an important support to identify the students` English level.

This instrument was applied from the beginning to the end of the semester. It was done every Friday from 6:30 am to 9:00 am. The subject Technical English ll was developed in the classroom number 22-B. The observation also showed the kind of methodology that the teacher used during the development of the class. Through observation, it was known if the teacher motivated the students to learn a second language. So, the observation has been a really important instrument to know the outcome skills of the students from the subject technical English ll.

59

CLASSROOM OBSERVATION – CHECK LIST

Teacher Name: Glenda Valiente Class Observation:

CATEGORY

RESPONSIBILITIES

Content:

The information she gave was interesting or important to the students. she was well informed about the topics. she used an effective and appropriate attentiongetting device. she used emotional or persuasive appeals where appropriate. she added supportive detail to the main point(s). she correctly answered most questions from the students.

Delivery:

she maintained eye-contact most of the time. she spoke to the students. her rate of speech was not too fast or too slow. her voice could be heard easily by the students.

Her voice varied in pitch; it was not monotone.

Her body language was not too tense or too 60

relaxed.

She maintained good posture.

She used meaningful gestures.

Organization:

She organized ideas in a meaningful way.

The introduction included a clear statement of the main topics.

She included necessary background information about the topic.

The students could predict the presentationsâ€&#x;s basic structure from the introduction alone.

Ideas flowed logically from one to the next.

Presentation Aids:

Presentation aids were relevant to the speech.

Presentation aids improved the presentation or reinforced main topics.

Presentation aids were creative.

Audio aids were easily heard by the students.

Visual aids contained no spelling or grammatical errors.

Resources:

She used resources that addressed the topic thoroughly.

She used credible print resources.

She used credible electronic resources.

61

A bibliography was available.

ANALYSIS OF THE CLASSROOM OBSERVATION-CHECK LIST The subject Technical English II was taught by the teacher Glenda Valiente Magaña. She used different activities in order to develop the class to help the students increase their English level. Sometimes the teacher made the students work in groups in order for them to practice their speaking skill. During this activity, the teacher went around the class to check that the students were speaking English. Other activities were done with the purpose of helping the students practice their reading and writing skill. For example, the teacher made the students read conversations, reports, and other reading material from the book (Global links 1 and Global Links 2). And in other occasions the teacher made the students write sentences and paragraphs using the taught grammar in class. Also, the teacher helped to increase the listening skills of the students.

Because, she made them listen to conversation in English. It could be stated that all the different activities observed in the development of the class helped the students increase their English level  Another important instrument that was taken into account in the development of this research is the evaluation. This is a standardized test designed by the Interchange Company, and it is used by the Universidad Pedagògica de El Salvador to measure the student‟s English level in order to study an English career. The purpose to use this kind of evaluation in this research is to know the outcome knowledge of the students from the subject technical English ll. This evaluation will be focused on the four basic skills (writing, listening, speaking and reading). So, through this test, it is going to be known if the real outcome is according with the established objectives in the program.

FINAL PLACEMENT FORM Student’s Name: __________________________________ Date: _______ 62

TEST

RATING

LEVEL

Objective Placement Test Placement Conversation Placement Essay Total Rating Total divided by 3 Placement recommendation

Placement Conversation Rating Form  Low beginner to High beginner (1-2 points): Tasks: 1- Greetings, introductions:   

—

+



—

+



—

Tell me a little about yourself.

Why are you studying?

What‟s your schedule like?

Do you have a job?

3- Talk about your free time:   



Hello, How are you?

What`s your name?

Where are you from?

2- Talk about yourself:    

+

What do you do in your free time?

Do you like sports?

Can you play tennis (volleyball/soccer, etc)

 Elementary (3 - 4 points) Tasks: 4- Talk about likes and dislikes:

+



—

 Do you like movies (TV/music, etc.)?  What kinds of movies (TV programs/music, etc.) do you like?

63

 What‟s your favorite movie (TV programs/music, etc.)

5- Talk about the past:  Where did you grow up?  Did you study English in elementary school?  What was your favorite class?

6- Talk about plans:



—



—

+



—

+



—

+

+

—



 What are you doing later?  Are you doing anything special tonight?  What are you going to do this weekend?  Low Intermediate to Intermediate ( 5-6 points): Tasks: 7-Talk about foods:    

+

Have you ever eaten Thai (Vietnamese/Mexican, etc.) food?

Where did you eat it?

How did you like it?

What kind of unusual foods have you eaten?

8- Talk about your home:   

Do you live in a house or an apartment?

What is ir like?

Compare your home with someone else‟s home.

9- Give advice:   

What advice would you give to a tourist?

What do they need to do to be prepared?

What places should they visit?

PLACEMENT ESSAY FORM B

Directions: Please write about one of the following topics. Do not write about all three. Write a well-organized paragraph about the topic you choose. When you finish your essay, read it over and correct any mistakes you find.

Topic 1: Describe your plan for the future. What do you plan to be doing in ten years?

Topic 2: Where would you go if you could visit anyplace in the world?

Why would you want to visit this place?

Topic 3: What are the advantages and disadvantages of owning a car? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________

64

____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________

1

Ardon, Alma Dalila

4.7

X

____________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________

FINAL RESULTS OF THE STANDARIZED EVALUATION 65

2

Arenivar, Wendy Xiomara

4.8

3

Arias, Anabel Guadalupe

3.2

5

Callejas, Ángel Alexander

5.3

5

Callejas, Gloria Maritza

3.4

X

6

Cruz, Jorge Alberto

3.7

X

7 N.

Domínguez,NAME Dora Alicia

8

García Cáceres, Javier

4.8

9

Hernández, María Odilia

4.7

10

Jiménez, Mónica Roxana

3.3

11

Martínez, Misael Arnoldo

4.7

12

Mendoza, Gladis

4.0

X

13

Mendoza, Wendy Raquel

3.0

X

14

Portillo, Jessica Yamilet

3.2

X

15

Ramírez, María Teresa

4.7

16

Ramos, Claudia Beatriz

2.7

17

Regalado, Felicia Lissette

4.6

X

18

Ruiz Cruz, Karla Imelda

5.0

X

19

Villacorta, Alejandra

3.6

X

X

X X

X X

X

“PLACEMENT TESTING PROGRAM” Analysis: According to the result of the Placement Testing Program, it could be stated that the outcome skills of the students from the subject Technical English II are from 2.7 to 5.3. Which means that 53% of these students are in the elementary level. And 47% of them are in the low intermediate level, this is based on the Placement Testing Program guideline. The results imply that the university goals have being achieved, according to the program. Because it is established that the students have to have a low intermediate level at the end of the subject Technical English II. It is important to mention that based on the results there is no one in the low beginner or the high beginner level. It also could be established that the learning process is correctly applied and the students from 66

Mastery

High Intermediate Advanced

X

Intermediate Upper Intermediate

LEVELS Low Intermediate

X

Elementary

High Beginner

X

Low Beginner

3.5 SCORE

X

the subject Technical English II are ready to course the subject Technical English III. This could be stated based on different elements used in the learning process. For example, the program which established that the students had to get a low intermediate English level, at the end of the semester. Another element used in the learning process is the time, which were three hours weekly. This means that these three hours were enough for the students to increase their English level. It could be stated that the teacher used three hours in correct way. The didactic resources are another element used in the learning process in the subject Technical English II. This helped the learning process of the students through out the semester.

FINAL REFLECTION In the development of the research “Outcome skills in English language in the subject Technical English II, at Universidad Pedagógica de El Salvador in the year 2009-2010”, there were different elements that helped to accomplish the main objectives of the research. These elements are: classroom observation, teacher‟s interview, students‟ interview and a standardized evaluation. Based on the analysis of each element it could be stated that the students were able to increase their English level in the development of the class. Also, it could be stated that based on the program of the subject Technical English II, the objectives were accomplished, to do so, the teacher played an important role to achieve these objectives. Related to the evaluation Miss Valiente says that those kind of evaluations in which the students are exposed to show their potential applied to the four basic skills are important, because the students realize their own grow in a second language acquisition. Based on the elements used it could be mentioned that the books used (Global Links 1 and Global Links 2), the established time and the resources were correctly applied in order to help the students increase their English level.

The Class observation gave a big support to the research, because through it, it was known the elements of the research. Also it was easer to obtain all kind of information related to each of them and the development of the student´s skills from the beginning to the end of the semester and as a result the obtaining of 67

the planned objectives. In the other hand, the evaluation results confirm the outcome skills hoped by the teacher and the program; it means that the learning process has given good results. Related to the educative process students thinks that it is a real challenge to handle the learning of a second language, but they also consider it‟s needed and necessary to have good opportunities to find a job and also to establish a strong company. So, in conclusion the learning process of the subject Technical English II, is being correctly applied to the students‟ needs. All the above is helping the students from the School of Economics learn a second language.

4. FORMULATION OF THE METHODOLOGICAL THEORY OF THE RESEARCH During the process of the research “Outcome skills of the English language in the subject Technical English II at Universidad Pedagógica de El Salvador, 2009”, was used different theory that gave a big support to the research. This theory was based on the elements that are included in the fundamentation of the methodological theory of the research. These elements are: how the language is learned, description of each level, standardized exams, extrinsic and intrinsic factors. Based on the reality it was necessary to create a new theory with all these elements.

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There might be a lot of reasons why students learn a second language nowadays. But, for some students is a must to learn a second language. This is because they have to course an English subject during their career. This is the case of the students from the subject Technical English II. They all belong to a career where English is not their specialty. But, in their curriculum is stated that they need to course three English subjects (Technical English I, Technical English II and Technical English III). Their curriculum was designed like this because nowadays for a lot of jobs the English is required. This will give better opportunities in the labor field to these students. Having to course three English subjects will help and motivate students to learn the language.

Based on the classroom observation it could be stated that all the students had a different opinion with this rule(to course three English subjects). For some students, the idea to course an English subject was good. That is because they had received English courses, or they like the language. For these students, the learning process wasn`t so difficult. On the contrary, they felt that they increased their English knowledge, and this was going to help them in the future.

But, for other students this idea wasn`t exciting. These students felt scared and thought that they were going to fail the subject. This was because they didn`t like the language or they didn`t have any English knowledge or both.

They thought it was going to be difficult to learn the language in three semesters.

At the end of the semester, all the students agreed that having a good teacher and using the correct methodologies and using didactic resources help a lot to learn a second language. So, it could be stated that it matters the reason why a person learns a second language and his level can increase depending on different factors.

Another element that is mentioned in the fundamentation of the methodologic theory is the students`level. It is stated that each level is sub-divided. Each level has different statements of what the students can do. But in fact, this might be different. The statements can say one thing, but the fact is totally different.

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For example, the writing skill is sub-divided in Beginner, Elementary, Preintermediate, Intermediate, Upper Intermediate and Advanced. Each subdivision has a different statement of what the students can do.

The beginner level says that the students are able to complete basic forms and write notes including times, dates, and places. But in reality, this might be different because not all students are or have the ability to accomplish this.

Some students are fast learners and others aren`t. Another thing that could interfere with this is the established time to develop the program. In a lot of cases, the established time is divided in wasted time and the standard time. The wasted time could be when the teacher is late, when the students are late, when the teacher doesn`t apply the correct methodologies and when the students don`t pay attention in class. Standard time could be when the teacher uses the time in a correct way, when the students participate in class and when the teacher uses the correct methodologies. This could also happen with the sub-levels for the speaking, reading and speaking skill.

The administration of Standardized exams another element that is mentioned in the fundamentation of the methodological theory. It is stated that this is a test in where the questions, conditions for administering, scoring procedures and interpretations are consistent. They are used by teachers for special occasions, for example, to measure the studentâ€&#x;s progress in school, to measure the studentâ€&#x;s knowledge against each other or to see if the students have a good English level.

But, there are a lot of teachers who don`t use these kinds of exams because they believe that is not a good way to measure the students knowledge. They also believe that these exams don`t give an opportunity to the students to express their own opinions. That`s why in reality a lot of teachers prefer to do their own exams to give the students an opportunity to show their own knowledge. One exam that the teachers use is the open-ended questions, in where the students have the opportunity to write their own opinions.

It is important to mention another element, and it is the extrinsic motivation which is included in the extrinsic factors. The extrinsic motivation is when someone motivates a person to do something, in order to get a reward.

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Students from the subject Technical English II were motivated by the teacher to learn English. So, students were interested in classes because the teacher used different strategies in the learning process. For example, students are rewarded if they achieve a specific goal. The teacher gives them prizes, candy, or higher grades. Through these activities students are more interested in the learning process.

In the intrinsic factors are included the personality factors in which studies have shown that extravert people acquired a second language better than introverts.

This means that people, who have the ability to express what they think about any topic, will learn a second language (English) in an easy way. On the other hand, for shy people, it will be more difficult to learn a second language (English). The students from the subject Technical English II were interested to learn a second language. These students have the ability to answer when the teacher asks them. Also, they asked the teacher when they had doubts related to the taught topic.

Another element that is included in the intrinsic factors is the intrinsic motivation.

This motivation refers to the desire to do something for an internal reward. This means that it is a personal motivation, when a person wants to do something, it is important to be motivated to get it. The students from the subject Technical English II were interested in the development of the class. These students were motivated by themselves because they knew the importance that a second language has. Also, they recognize that the used vocabulary in classes will be necessary in the development of their careers. And also there are two forms that the students can feel intrinsically motivated: (1) Believe they can be good professional by reaching specific objectives. (2) They are motivated to learn a topic, instead of learning something just to get a grade. So, in order to get something it is important to be motivated internally.

All this new theory was made by the fundamentation of the methodologic theory and it is really important for the research. It shows a contrast between the theory and the reality. So, in the development of the research “Outcome skills of the English Language in the subject Technical English II at Universidad PedagĂłgica de El Salvador, 2009â€?, it was necessary to create this new theory.

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5.0 DEVELOPMENT AND THEORETICAL DEFINITION During the development of the second chapter of the research “Outcome skill of the English language in the subject Technical English II, at Universidad Pedagógica de El Salvador, 2009”, were found new concepts related to the topic. The Evaluation is a systematic determination of merit, worth, and significance of something or someone that using criteria against a set of standards often is used to characterize and apprise subjects of interest in a wide range of human enterprises. In that way, to evaluate is an important instrument but it depends of the different factors, in order to define the outcome knowledge. These Factors are considered as a constituent or an element that brings about certain effects or results, it also indicates a specific multiple, number, or quantity. There exists different factors that interfere in an educative 72

process; also those factors can be classified in two specific branches, for example the extrinsic factors coming from outside or not related to something and the intrinsic factors being an extremely important and basic characteristic of a person or thing, these factors are linked in different ways and also depending in different times, spaces, moments or circumstances. Those affect in the outcome knowledge in a determined instant. It is true that the factors play an important role, but there are some other elements that can interfere in the way to exteriorize the knowledge and those are related with the form, type, format, size, or shape in which an evaluation can be presented, one of them is the multiple choice that is a form of assessment in which respondents are asked to select the best possible answer (or answers) out of the choices from a list. The multiple choice format is most frequently used in educational testing, in market research, and in elections. Another one is the closed-ended question, which presents a form of question that can normally be answered using a simple "yes" or "no", a specific simple piece of information, or a selection from multiple choices. Fill in the Blank for this type of question the student can input a range of possible correct answers. For example if there are abbreviations commonly used they can include them, with all possible varieties of punctuation - if Saint Peter was the answer, you could allow for St Peter; Saint Peter; and St. Peter.

True or False is another format that presents alternative choice in which the student or examinee indicates whether each of several statements is true or false. Essay question is a format of a test question that calls for a written answer of a specified length, especially a short essay. The match or matching, with this type of question you are asking the quiz taker to match pairs; for example countries and capital cities or heroes and heroines. The quiz taker will be able to drop and drag one element of the pair to make the match.

Sequencing, In this type of question you will be asking the quiz taker to place a selection of statements in the correct order. Another one is the Multiple Response as with the multiple choice question, you enter a range of answers for the quiz taker to choose from. Explanation, the explanation question is not really a question type. You can use it to add text and/or an image to a page in

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the quiz, without needing to have an interactive element of score. This is useful if you want to: 

Add an introduction to a section



Give the quiz taker a break in the middle of a long quiz, or provide some reading material for a comprehension question.

Apart from the form, type, or format of an evaluation or test is necessary to add that there are different kinds of them like the Standardized test which is a test designed in such a way that the questions, conditions for administering, scoring procedures, and interpretations are consistent and are administered and scored in a predetermined, standard manner. After finishing a standardized test there will be a Score that is divided in two types of standardized test score interpretations, like for example: a norm-referenced score interpretation or a criterion-referenced score interpretation. Norm-referenced score interpretations compare test-takers to a sample of peers. Criterion-referenced score interpretations compare test-takers to a criterion (a formal definition of content), regardless of the scores of other examinees. These may also be described as standards-based assessments as they are aligned with the standards-based education reform movement. Norm-referenced test score interpretations are associated with traditional education, which measures success by rank ordering students using a variety of metrics, including grades and test scores, while standards-based assessments are based on the belief that all students can succeed if they are assessed against standards which are required of all students regardless of ability or economic background.

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CHAPTER III 6.0 OPERATIVE FRAMEWORK 6.1 DESCRIPTION OF THE INVESTIGATION SUBJECT: In the semester 02-2009, in the subject Technical English II the outcome skill of the students are the main objective of this research. There were 38 students taking the subject Technical English II. They were between the ages of 18-30 years old. There were 11 men and 27 women. These students are studying in the School of Economics and all of them belong to the following careers: Public accounting, Business administration, Computer management and Marketing. At the end of the subject Technical English II, all passed the subject according to the teacher`s grades.

In the subject Technical English I, they felt that it was not necessary to learn a second language; they just considered good enough to learn some technical vocabulary related to their careers. But, in the semester 02-2009 in the subject Technical English II, they were more prepared to face the English language.

Also, they were more conscious that learning a second language would give them more opportunities in the work field. The teacher in charge provided them different methodologies. The teacher in charge was Glenda Valiente Magaña. A bachelor gratuated of the Language School in the career of Bachelor of Arts in English at Universidad Tecnológica de El Salvador (UTEC).

6.2 PROCEDURES FOR GATHERING DATA: In order to accomplish the main objective of the research “Outcome skills of the English language in the subject Technical English II, at Universidad Pedagógica de El Salvador, 2009-2010”, it was necessary to follow a process. In this process four elements were used: the class observation, the interview to the students, the interview to the teacher, and student evaluation.

The first thing that was done at the beginning of the research was to ask permition to the teacher in charge of the subject Technical English II in order to observe the development of the class. Having her permition, the class observation was done from the beginning to the end of the semester 02-2009, on Fridays from 6:30 to 9:00am.

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The second element used was the student’s survey. This interview was for the students of the subject Technical English II, and it was done in the semester 022009. It was applied on November 20th 2009. This survey contained 10 multiple choice questions. The questions were related to the student’s English knowledge. The third element used was the interview to the teacher. This interview was for the teacher in charge: Glenda Valiente Magaña, and it was applied on December 4th 2009. The interview contained 10 open questions. All the questions were related to the learning process of the students.

The last element used was the evaluation. It is a standardized evaluation called Placement Testing Program from Cambridge University Press, which evaluates the four basic skills (reading, writing, listening and speaking). This evaluation is divided into three parts (1) an Objective Placement Test, (2) a Placement Conversation, and (3) a Placement Essay. This evaluation was administered on March 22nd 2010.

6.3 ESPECIFICATION OF THE TECHNIQUE TO THE DATA ANALYSIS: All the elements used in order to know the outcome results of the students from the subject Technical English II were enough to achieve the main objective of the research. But, the main element that provided the outcome result was the evaluation. Through this evaluation, it was known the English level of the students. Also, the results of the evaluation helped to prove that the university goals were achieved. It is known that there were 38 students in the subject Technical English II. In order to know the outcome result it was taken an evaluation sample of 19 students. It means that half of the class was evaluated.

In order to know exactly the level and the score of each student it was necessary to: 1- To check and score each part of the Placement Testing Program (Placement objective test, Placement conversation and Placement essay).

2- Having those scores they were added and the total was divided by three.

3- The result of that division was verified in the placement guideline, to see the level that corresponded to that score.

Even though only half of the class was evaluated, the 38 students were exposed to the students’ survey and to the classroom observation.

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6.5 CHRONOGRAM Actividades: AGOSTO SEPTIEMBRE OCTUBRE Investigación Documental / 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 Investigación de Campo

NOVIEMBRE DICIEMBRE

ENERO

1 2 3 4

2

1

2 3 4 1

3

FEBRERO 4

1

2

3

MARZO 4

1

2

3

4

1

Investigación documental 1.1 1.2 1.3

1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7

Selección de bibliografía a utilizar Lectura y selección de citas bibliográficas Fichas bibliográficas y de resumen (fichas elaboradas en SI y actualizadas) Fichas de conceptos / categorías Introducción Antecedentes del Problema Justificación

X X X X X X X X X X X X X X

X X X

X X X X X

78

AGOSTO SEPTIEMBRE OCTUBRE Actividades: Investigación Documental / 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 Investigación de Campo 1.8 1.9 1.10

1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15

Planeamiento del problema Alcances y limitaciones Recuento de conceptos y categorías a utilizar.

Redacción Primer Avance.

Entrega Primer Avance.

Corrección de observaciones.

Entrega Primer Avance corregido Reunión con Asesor

NOVIEMBRE DICIEMBRE

ENERO

1 2 3 4

2

1

2 3 4 1

3

FEBRERO 4

1

2

3

4

MARZO 1

2

3

4

X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X

2

Investigación de Campo 2.1

Fundamentación teóricometodológica.

X X X X X X X X X X X X

79

2.2

Construcción del marco empírico.

2.3

Observación Campo.

de

2.4

Planificación Instrumento.

de

2.5

Aplicación Instrumento.

de

X X X

XX X X X X X X X X X X X X X

X X X X

Actividades: AGOSTO SEPTIEMBRE OCTUBRE Investigación Documental / 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 Investigación de Campo 2.6

Procesamiento de la Información.

2.7

Análisis de Información.

la

2.8

Elaboración Informe

de

2.9

Formulación teóricometodológica de lo investigado Desarrollo y definición teórica.

Redacción Segundo avance.

2.10 2.11

X X X

NOVIEMBRE DICIEMBRE

ENERO

1 2 3 4

2

1

2 3 4 1

3

FEBRERO 4

1

2

3

4

MARZO 1

2

3

4

X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X

80

2.12 2.13 2.14 2.15 3 3.1 3.2

Entrega Segundo Avance.

Corrección de observaciones.

Entrega Segundo avance corregido.

Reunión con Asesor Marco Operativo Descripción de sujetos de Investigación.

Preparación instrumentos recopilación datos.

3.4 3.5 3.6

X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X

los la de de

Actividades: AGOSTO SEPTIEMBRE OCTUBRE Investigación Documental / 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 Investigación de Campo 3.3

X

Desarrollo de la prueba piloto Análisis de datos Cronograma Recursos

X

X X

X X X NOVIEMBRE DICIEMBRE

ENERO

1 2 3 4

2

X X X

1

2 3 4 1

3

FEBRERO 4

1

2

3

4

MARZO 1

2

3

4

X X X X X X X

81

3.7

3.8 3.9 3.10 3.11 3.6

Preparaci贸n informe final

de

Redacci贸n informe final.

Entrega informe final.

Correcci贸n de Observaciones.

Entrega informe final corregido.

Reuni贸n con Asesor

X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X

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6.6 DESCRIPTION OF THE RESOURCES HUMAN RESOURCES: The human resource is an important part related to the function of all institution.

The people are the main element, because they interact, prepare, organize, manage and control all the activities to be carried out in a short or long period, inside an organization. Concerning to the topic “Outcome Skills of the English Language in the Subject Technical English II, at Universidad Pedagógica de El Salvador, 2009” there were a lot of people involved in the research and all of them played an important role in the development of a process to obtain the outcome results of the students from the subject Technical English II. Some of the people involved in this research are the teacher, in this case Miss Glenda Valiente Magaña, the thirty eight students from the subject Technical English II, The School of Economics Dean, and The Coordinator of the English Career Mister Estanley Oviedo. All of them are linked in this educative process.

INSTITUTIONAL RESOURCES: During the development of the research “Outcome skills in English language in the subject Technical English II, at Universidad Pedagógica de El Salvador in the year 2009-2010”, there were used different resources. One important resource used was the library, because there were found the books used to support the research. Another resource used was the teacher’s permission to observe the development of the class. Because, the classroom observation gave an important support to obtain the main goals of the research. Another resource that was used in the development of the research was the internet.

This resource was used to obtain extra information about the research. It was also needed the permission from the Dean, the School Coordinator and the English area Coordinator in order to start the research. It’s neccesary to mention the student´s accessibility and cooperation to do the evaluations and all the helped given by them.

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6.7 PRELIMINARY INDEX ABOUT THE FINAL REPORT CHAPTER I CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK In the first part of the research “Outcome skills in the English language in the subject Technical English ll at Universidad Pedagógica de El Salvador, 022009-2010” it is found the introduction and the objectives of this project. Also in this chapter, it is included the theoretical framework which contains information about different points of view from different authors on how to classify the different English levels. Then, it is the justification, which justifies the reasons why the research has being done. The Problem Statement shows the main problem of the research. Findings and Limitations show the differences in each authors’ points of view related to the different levels of the English language.

The Concepts and Categories section contains some meanings and explanations of some words used in the research.

CHAPTER II THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK The second part of this research refers to reasons for learning English, the four macro- skills and sub- level classification, standard evaluations, extrinsic and intrinsic factors. Also in this chapter, it is included the monograph, description of the course, technical and methodological forms, description of the used instruments. These instruments are the students` interviews, teacher`s interview, the class observation (check list), and the standardized evaluation. All these instruments were used in order to accomplish the main goal of the research. Other important ideas that are included are the formulation of the methodological theory of the research (this part contains a contrast between the theory and the reality) and the development and theoretical definition (it explains different meanings of some words that have being used in the research).

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CHAPTER III OPERATIVE FRAMEWORK In the last part, there is a description of the subjects of this research, the procedures to get the information in the development of the research, the techniques used, and the chronogram where it is mentioned the different activities developed and the resources used which are human and didactics.

The human resources are the ones that have helped in the development of the research, for example the students, the teacher and the advisor. The didactic resources are the ones which have been used in the development of the research for example, the books and the internet.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY  Adrian Doff. 2006. Teach English. First edition. Cambridge University Press. Printed in the United Kingdom.  Alice Omaggio Hadley, 2001, Teaching Language in Context, Third Edition, Malloy Lithographing, Inc. Printed in the United States of America.  Cambridge University. Catalogue 2009, 2009. Third Edition. Cambridge University Press. Printed in Mexico.  Douglas Brown, 2001, Teaching by Principles An Interactive Approach to Language, Second Edition, Copyright by Addison Wesley Longman, Inc. Printed in the United States of America.  http://www.eric.ed.gov  http://www.sil.org/linguaLinks  Jeremy Harmer, 2007, The Practice of English Language Teaching, fourth Edition, Pearson Education Limited, Printed in China.  Madsen, Harold S. 2000. Techniques in Testing: Teaching Techniques in English as Second Language. First edition. Oxford University Press.

United States of America.  Tay Lesley with Christa Hansen and Jean Zukowski/faust, 2005.

Interchange Passage Third Edition (Placement Testing Program). Third Edition. Cambridge University Press. Printed in Hong Kong, China.

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ANNEXES

SCHOOL OF EDUCATION NAME: _____________________________________________ DATE: ___________ Indications: Answer the following questions.

1- Do you believe that at the beginning of the semester the students had the correct English level to receive Technical English II? YES NO Why? ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ 2- Do you consider that the used book in the subject Technical English II, has helped the students increase their English level?

YES NO Why? __________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ 3- How much do you think that the students from the subject Technical English II can write in English?

A lot A little Nothing Why? _______________________ ______________________________________________________________________ 4- How much do you think that the students from the subject Technical English II can read in English?

A lot A little Nothing Why? ______________________ ______________________________________________________________________ 5- How much do you think that the students from the subject Technical English II can listen in English?

A lot A little Nothing Why? _______________________ ______________________________________________________________________ 6- How much do you think that the students from the subject Technical English II can speak in English?

A lot A little Nothing Why? _______________________ ______________________________________________________________________ 7- Which of the following levels do you consider that Technical English II had at the beginning of the semester?

Basic Intermediate Basic Basic Intermediate Intermediate Advanced Advanced

the students of the subject Advaced Basic Intermediate Advanced

Why? _________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________

8- Which of the following Technical English II have?

Basic Basic Intermediate Advanced

levels do you consider that the students of the subject Intermediate Basic Intermediate Advanced

Advaced Basic Intermediate Advanced

Why? _________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ 9-Which were the factors that interfere in the development of the class? (time, book, etc.) __________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ 10-Which difficulties do you consider that the students have had in the subject Technical English II? _____________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________

School of Education Tema: “Outcome Skills of the English language in the Subject Technical English II, at Universidad Pedagógica de El Salvador, 2009”.

Entrevistadores: Marcos Nelson Argueta Angel, José Álvaro Arias, Angela Yessenia Torres García Lugar: UNPES Fecha: 20/11/2009 Indicaciones: Lee detenidamente las preguntas y marca con una “X” una de las opciones según tu criterio.

1-¿Tienes conocimientos previos del idioma Inglés según tus estudios realizados en bachillerato?

Mucho Algo Poco Nada 2-¿Cursaste Inglés Técnico I en el ciclo 01-2009?

No Si 3-¿Cuánto consideras que puedes hablar en inglés?

Mucho Algo Poco

Nada

4-¿Cuánto te consideras que puedes escribir en inglés?

Mucho Algo Poco

Nada

5-¿Cuánto te consideras que puedes leer en inglés?

Mucho Algo Poco

Nada

6-¿Cuánto te consideras que puedes oír y entender el idioma inglés?

Mucho Algo Poco Nada 7-¿En general, en cuál de los siguientes niveles de inglés te ubicas?

Principiante Intermedio

Avanzado

Bajo

Bajo

Bajo

Medio

Medio

Medio

Avanzado

Avanzado

Avanzado

8-¿Cuál de los siguientes recursos podría ayudarte a aprender mejor el idioma Inglés?

Maestro Programa Más Horas Libro Mayor Motivación Todos 9-¿Cuál fue la mayor dificultad que enfrentaste en la materia inglés Técnico II? Maestro Horario Cantidad de horas Libro Bajo Nivel Cantidad de estudiantes 10-¿Has recibido cursos de inglés en la UNPES o en algún otro lugar?

Si No hasta que nivel: ________________________

FINAL PLACEMENT FORM

Student’s Name: __________________________________ Date: _______ TEST

RATING

LEVEL

Objective Placement Test Placement Conversation Placement Essay

Total Rating Total divided by 3 Placement recomendation

Placement Conversation Rating Form  Low beginner to High beginner (1-2 points): Tasks: 1- Greetings, introductions:  Hello, How are you?  What`s your name?  Where are you from?

2- Talk about yourself:  Tell me a little about yourself.  Why are you studying?  What’s your schedule like?  Do you have a job?

3- Talk about your free time:  What do you do in your free time?  Do you like sports?  Can you play tennis (volleyball/soccer, etc)

+



—

+



—

+



—

 Elementary (3 - 4 points) Tasks: 4- Talk about likes and dislikes: +  —  Do you like movies (TV/music, etc.)?  What kinds of movies (TV programs/music, etc.) do you like?  What’s your favorite movie (TV programs/music, etc.)

5- Talk about the past: +  —  Where did you grow up?  Did you study English in elementary school?  What was your favorite class?

6- Talk about plans: +  —  What are you doing later?  Are you doing anything special tonight?  What are you going to do this weekend?  Low Intermediate to Intermediate ( 5-6 points):

Tasks: 7-Talk about foods: +  —  Have you ever eaten Thai (Vietnamese/Mexican, etc.) food?  Where did you eat it?  How did you like it?  What kind of unusual foods have you eaten?

8- Talk about your home: +  —  Do you live in a house or an apartment?  What is ir like?  Compare your home with someone else’s home.

9- Give advice: +  —  What advice would you give to a tourist?  What do they need to do to be prepared?  What places should they visit?

PLACEMENT ESSAY FORM B Directions: Please write about one of the following topics. Do not write about all three. Write a well-organized paragraph about the topic you choose. When you finish your essay, read it over and correct any mistakes you find.

Topic 1: Describe your plan for the future. What do you plan to be doing in ten years?

Topic 2: Where would you go if you could visit anyplace in the world?

Why would you want to visit this place?

Topic 3: What are the advantages and disadvantages of owning a car? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________

Indicaciones: Contesta las siguientes preguntas.

Nombre: _____________________________________________________________ Dirección: _____________________________________________________________ Municipio: __________________ Departamento: _______________ Zona:

Rural

1- La casa donde vives es: Propia

Urbano

Edad: _________

Alquilada

Otros: _____________

2- Cuantas personas habitan en la vivienda: __________________________ 3- Servicios con que cuenta la vivienda: Teléfono Agua potable Acceso a Internet Aguas Negras

Energía Eléctrica Tren de Aseo

4- Cuantos años tienes de vivir en la comunidad: _________________________ 5- Quien paga por tus estudios: Papá Mamá

Ambos Padres

Tu mismo

Otros

6- Estudiaste tu bachillerato en una institución: Publica Privada 7- Que opción de Bachillerato estudiaste: General Técnico 8- Actualmente trabajas: Si

Contador

Otros: ________________

No

9- El lugar donde trabajas se encuentra en una zona: Rural Urbana 10- Cuanto tiempo llevas trabajando en ese lugar: Meses: _________________ Años: _____________________ 11- Con que infraestructura cuenta la comunidad donde vives: Gimnasios Cancha de Fútbol Parque Cancha de Basketball Parqueos Casa Comunal Otros: ________________ 12- Que instituciones están presentes en la comunidad donde vives: Escuela Unidad de Salud ONG’S Puesto de PNC Iglesias Partidos Políticos Otros: _______________________