MY CLASSROOM PROJECT

DEVELOPING ENGLISH COMMUNICATIVE SKILLS IN PRIMARY SCHOOL CHILDREN THROUGH STILL AND MOBILE IMAGES

ALEXIS FERNEY MONTAÑEZ

PROJECT ADVISOR

MARÍA MARTHA GOMEZ

PROJECT OF CLASSROOM OF DIRECTED PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE

 INSTITUTO POLITECNICO

«MONSEÑOR MANUEL SORZANO GONZALEZ, SEDE “F”»

Málaga

2019

ABSTRAC

The idea of ​​having students able to communicate in English is no longer a dream, it is a reality, because now there are teachers convinced of the ability to bring children to communicate in this language, which implies developing communicative competence, which is the "set of knowledge, knowledge, skills and individual characteristics that allow a person to perform actions in a given context and that implies the ability to use that knowledge about the language in various situations both inside and outside school life ..." (MEN, Estándares de Lenguas Extranjeras. Bogotá: Ed. Espantapájaros, Octubre de 2006. Pág. 12).

     The research project “Developing English communicative skills in primary school children through still and mobile images” an invitation to reflect on this ability of the teacher to motivate the integral learning of a foreign language, using innovative pedagogical strategies that stimulate students.

     Reflecting on the what, the how, and the what for of English teaching-learning, allows all teachers to appropriate more and better tools to fulfill their mission competently and above all to reach the standards of integral education of children who both They proclaim themselves in the educational context.

     The impact of the project will also be felt in the classroom through the improvement in the development of classes, attitudes towards learning English, the active participation of children, their concern to know more and more and more, a learning Significant foreign language, which at the institutional level and after sharing the experience among fellow teachers, will result in optimal results in internal and external tests and in a significant contribution to the foreign language curriculum of the PEI of  Institute Politecnico. 

   The research is carried out in the third and fifth grade of the Polytechnic Institute with a population of 11 students aged between 6 and 11 years, with the aim of strengthening their communicative competence and their (productive) and comprehension (receptive) skills in English through the image. Analysis, planning and production of all types of images.

 

TOPIC

The problem that gives rise to the classroom project is that the children of this educational institution do not reach the expected performance levels for the level they are in, due to social, cultural and pedagogical stories such as being a rural institution; being people with few financial resources and not having an ideal teacher for teaching English as a foreign language.

The population is the primary school boys and girls of the Polytechnic Institute of Malaga.

The selected sample is 11 boys and girls who take their classes at the “F” headquarters of the Polytechnic Institute in the rural area and whose director and teacher in charge is Professor María Martha Gómez

BRAINSTORMING REPORT

 Through a process of direct and indirect observation this problem comes to light, since in the class it is evident that children do not understand what they say or write in English, because they only dedicate themselves to copying vocabulary listings and trying to memorize them but without taking into account the correct pronunciation of the words nor the use of said words in a specific context of communication. The principal teacher must teach the English subject in all grades from preschool to fifth and it is difficult for her to dedicate enough time for each child to satisfactorily reach the competencies of the grade and the level in which they are. This causes the English subject in this school to be another subject that must be taught and not as it should be an important subject to develop communication skills in a foreign language.

“The fundamental purpose in teaching foreign languages ​​is to get them to acquire and develop their competence in that code in such a way that they use the foreign language to relate knowledge, to understand and interpret the surrounding reality and to share Ideas, feelings and opinions in situations of communication in which rules of linguistic and social behavior of the cultures where the foreign language is spoken govern. Similarly in the theoretical approaches related to the development of communicative competence have been the works of Canale and Swain (1980) who generate a construct of communicative competence consisting of four components or subcategories: grammatical, sociolinguistic, discursive and strategic competence . The first refers to the degree of mastery of the linguistic code, including vocabulary, pronunciation, grammar and syntax. The second has to do with the ability to produce adequate statements, both in form and meaning, to the communication situation. In other words, sociolinguistic competence is the knowledge of the sociocultural rules of language. For its part, the discursive competence is the ability to use various types of speeches and to organize according to the parameters of the communication situation in which they are produced and interpreted.Destacamos ahora cinco principios según Brown (1995), son indispensables en la enseñanza-aprendizaje de las lenguas extranjeras.

According to these principles, you must:

- Recognize and take advantage of the intrinsic motivation of the child as soon as possible, his curiosity to learn something new.

- Remember the importance of risky behavior in the development of the foreign language to give students opportunities, take risks in the use of the foreign language, both orally and in writing.

- Recognize that language and culture are closely related.

- Foster students' self-confidence because it is important for the development of the foreign language.

- Finally, bear in mind that successful students are the ones who make a strategic investment in their own learning.

The playful factor is an element of great importance in the student's life because it establishes a connection between their usual activities at home and in the neighborhood with what happens in the classroom. Recreational activities have the advantage of having previously known schemes for boys and girls and therefore provide a family framework for developing new learning. They also lead to the creation of a context shared and recognized by all that allows students to significantly anchor the new elements in something they already dominate. ” (MEN, Lineamientos curriculares de idiomas extranjeros, pág. 14).

CENTRAL TITTLE

DEVELOPING ENGLISH COMMUNICATIVE SKILLS IN PRIMARY SCHOOL CHILDREN THROUGH STILL AND MOBILE IMAGES

GENERAL OBJECTIVE OF THE RESEARCH

Generate and develop actions for change in the face of low levels of performance in the English area through innovative teaching-pedagogical tools such as still and mobile images in boys and girls in fifth grade of primary elementary school of the Polytechnic Institute headquarters "F".

AIMS

1. Identify the levels of communicative competence in English that children reach through observation and a diagnostic test to specify the research problem and its causes.
2. Build a novel pedagogical proposal that responds to the needs for improvement in the performance of boys and girls of 3rd and 5th in the English language communicative competence.
3.  Fundamental and will support research through the construction of a referential framework, thus ensuring its relevance for PEI and local, regional, national and international development plans.
4. Determine the impact and scope of strategies to solve the need for student training.
5. Socialize and publish the results obtained in the application of the strategy, guaranteeing its relevance and coherence.

METHODOLOGY

The methodology to follow in this classroom project is:

1. Use in all lessons different types of still and mobile images for the presentation of the contents, for the description of places, objects and people.
2. Each class is developed taking into account a lesson plan that includes: warm-up, openness, development and conclusion.
3. During these stages activities are developed based on the use of images of all kinds in the presentation and analysis of the conceptual and practical contents.
4. Activities of each of the communicative language skills as they are are also introduced. Listening , reading , writing , speaking .
5. Finally, each class session is evaluated through a workshop that contains images of all kinds and the development of questions for each type of communicative ability.
6. Then each workshop is qualified and subsequently socialized with the children to make a feedback that generates reflection in the children and continuous improvement processes.

The following is the action plan to follow: 

PLAN	TOPIC	STRATEGY	ACTIVITIES	PERFORMANCE	RESOURCES
1	• Presentation of pedagogical proposal • Commands	IMAGES VIDEOS	·         Warm-up activity ·         Opening Introducing the lesson. ·         Development In this part of the lesson, students will: 1.   Work on activities to practice the language (input). 2.   Use their knowledge in activities or situations that require use of language (output). 3.   Assessment and evaluation of the activities; based on the ones established in the unit. ·         Closure Ending the lesson. State the homework that will be assigned to the students	·         Develop strategies that help you understand some words, expressions and sentences you read	Video beam Computer Paper Workshop file
2	·         Numbers from 0 to 50	IMAGES VIDEOS	·         Warm-up activity ·         Opening Introducing the lesson. ·         Development In this part of the lesson, students will: 1.   Work on activities to practice the language (input). 2.   Use their knowledge in activities or situations that require use of language (output). 3.   Assessment and evaluation of the activities; based on the ones established in the unit. ·         Closure Ending the lesson. State the homework that will be assigned	·         Recognize and use the vocabulary of cardinal numbers from 0 to 50	Video beam Computer Paper Workshop File  notebooks
3	·         Verb to Be (am, is, are, ) Positive	IMAGES VIDEOS	·         Warm-up activity ·         Opening Introducing the lesson. ·         Development In this part of the lesson, students will: 1.   Work on activities to practice the language (input). 2.   Use their knowledge in activities or situations that require use of language (output). 3.   Assessment and evaluation of the activities; based on the ones established in the unit. ·         Closure Ending the lesson. State the homework that will be assigned to the students	·         Start structuring the writings using pronouns, nouns and verbs	Video beam Computer Paper Workshop File  notebooks
4	·         The house	IMAGES VIDEOS	·         Warm-up activity ·         Opening Introducing the lesson. ·         Development In this part of the lesson, students will: 1.   Work on activities to practice the language (input). 2.   Use their knowledge in activities or situations that require use of language (output). 3.   Assessment and evaluation of the activities; based on the ones established in the unit. ·         Closure Ending the lesson. State the homework that will be assigned to the students	·         Understand basic language about the house	Video beam Computer Paper Workshop File  notebooks
5	·         The house and furniture	IMAGES VIDEOS	·         Warm-up activity ·         Opening Introducing the lesson. ·         Development In this part of the lesson, students will: 1.   Work on activities to practice the language (input). 2.   Use their knowledge in activities or situations that require use of language (output). 3.   Assessment and evaluation of the activities; based on the ones established in the unit. ·         Closure Ending the lesson. ·         State the homework that will be assigned to the students	·         Understand a basic language about the house and the furniture of the house.	Video beam Computer Paper Workshop File  notebooks
6	·         Food	IMAGES VIDEOS	·          Warm-up activity ·         Opening Introducing the lesson. ·         Development In this part of the lesson, students will: 1.   Work on activities to practice the language (input). 2.   Use their knowledge in activities or situations that require use of language (output). 3.   Assessment and evaluation of the activities; based on the ones established in the unit. ·         Closure Ending the lesson. State the homework that will be assigned to the students	·         Understand, speak and write in English with words and short phrases to express descriptions about food	Video beam Computer Paper Workshop File  notebooks
7	·         Foods, fruits and vegetables	IMAGES VIDEOS	·         Warm-up activity ·         Opening Introducing the lesson. ·         Development In this part of the lesson, students will: 1.   Work on activities to practice the language (input). 2.   Use their knowledge in activities or situations that require use of language (output). 3.   Assessment and evaluation of the activities; based on the ones established in the unit. ·         Closure Ending the lesson. ·         State the homework that will be assigned to the students	·         Understand, speak and write in English with words and short phrases to express descriptions about food	Video beam Computer Paper Workshop File  notebooks
8	·         Clothes	IMAGES VIDEOS	·         Warm-up activity ·         Opening Introducing the lesson. ·         Development In this part of the lesson, students will: 1.   Work on activities to practice the language (input). 2.   Use their knowledge in activities or situations that require use of language (output). 3.   Assessment and evaluation of the activities; based on the ones established in the unit. ·         Closure Ending the lesson. ·         State the homework that will be assigned to the students	·         Understand, speak and write in English with words and short phrases to express descriptions of clothing	Video beam Computer Paper Workshop File  notebooks
9	·         Prueba final	IMAGES VIDEOS	·         Warm-up activity ·         Opening Introducing the lesson. ·         Development In this part of the lesson, students will: 1.   Work on activities to practice the language (input). 2.   Use their knowledge in activities or situations that require use of language (output). 3.   Assessment and evaluation of the activities; based on the ones established in the unit. ·         Closure Ending the lesson. ·         State the homework that will be assigned to the students	·         Start structuring the writings using pronouns, nouns and verbs	Video beam Computer Paper Workshop File  notebooks

TIMELINE

ACTIVITIES	MONTHS YEAR 2019
	AUGUST				SEPTEMBER				OCTOBER				NOVEMBER
	WEEKS
	1	2	3	4	1	2	3	4	1	2	3	4	1	2	3	4
1.       PROBLEMATIZATION
2.       PREPARATION OF THE REFERENTIAL FRAMEWORK AND ADJUSTMENTS AND CORRECTIONS OF THE PROJECT
3.       PREPARATION OF THE WORKSHOPS OF THE WEEK 1
4.       RESEARCH DEVELOPMENT
5.       PRESENTATION OF THE REPORTS TO THE ADVISORS
6.       EXHIBITION OF RESULTS

PROCESS EVALUATION

KWL

This pedagogical practice in elementary school was a great opportunity to reflect on my performance as an English teacher. It was an interesting and challenging process. In the beginning there were some delays on the part of the practice direction but later these problems were overcome and the practice began satisfactorily.

At school, the work was very nice. First, they attended the hours of direct and indirect observation to learn first-hand the problems and strengths of children and their teachers in terms of learning in general and in terms of teaching English language learning. They were very beneficial hours, to understand the urgency of implementing a new way of approaching English teaching and enriching the school's curriculum with new methodologies that help both teachers and children to see English as something easy and fun to learn

After the observation process, classes began to be planned according to the institution's English area plan and the recommendations of the university's practice directors. Many books and many interesting websites were consulted. The children began the activities with great enthusiasm and the supervising teacher encouraged them to take advantage of this great opportunity to have a new teacher who knows more interesting things about teaching English, which she may not know, but which will be of much benefit.

During the practice process, communication skills in English were strengthened. Importance was given to the methodological suggestions of the supervising teacher to apply the workshops. The children took advantage of the resources presented to them, such as videos, songs, images, photocopies, games, dynamics, common phrases among others.

In a nutshell, it can be said that the project implemented with the children of the headquarters of            the Polytechnic Institute "F" was very pertinent and the expected results were obtained. The children reached the levels of performance proposed for each lesson satisfactorily and those who had difficulties also had the opportunity to overcome them with the help of their peers and the support of the teachers.

WHAT THEY KNEW

   The children belong to the Polytechnic Institute of Malaga. They oscillate between the ages of 5 to 10 years. At this stage they tend to be very given to concrete operations and abstract operations are difficult for them. Their learning depends on the visual stimuli and motivation they have for the subject they want to teach. As for learning the English language, children are accustomed to the method of translation. They need to know all the time that literally means each word in Spanish to be able to use it in English.

   Most children like the English course because they like to learn new words and feel that they can express ideas in another language. Several children find English language very difficult because they realize that the way to write and pronounce it is different. All children are familiar with basic English commands. They know the numbers, they like to say hello and say goodbye from time to time in English. The use of the direct translation method can be seen in their English notebooks.

   It is also seen that the evaluation exercises are based solely on determining how much the child memorized the writing or how much he managed to memorize the pronunciation of the words. However, its use in a context of real communication, such as dialogues or monologues, is almost never evaluated.

WHAT THEY WANTED TO LEARN

   Generating expectations towards learning represents a challenge for the teachers of this new century. With so much surrounding technology and access to information in such an easy and fast way, almost the students are not surprised by anything as innovative as it may be. The key to this issue is to be able to do a lot with little, that is, to capture children's attention with strategies that involve play and visual and auditory stimuli.  

   The expectations of the children were great when starting the project. Some said that if the teacher was going to teach them to pray in English, if they were going to learn games or sing in English and things like that. Perhaps the most important thing in their expectations when socializing the project with the children, was that they wished they could understand the meaning of an image in English, related to the graphic representation and the written or pronounced word. They also wanted to be able to create simple and common phrases that express something they would like or would not like and be able to interpret the key idea to create an image. Through mobile or video images, children would learn not only meanings but also ways of expressing an idea following the example of the characters who spoke or acted in a particular video.

   What a child who is learning English in primary school most desires is to be able to understand when they speak to him, but also to be able to express a need or a desire in English and to be able to do it with the proper pronunciation, in a timely manner and to be able to use the vocabulary He learns every day in his English class.

WHAT THEY HAVE LEARNT

   To determine the degree of use of a pedagogical strategy implemented teachers must take into account what was at the beginning and the final results of the learning process. But we must not forget the evaluation during the process that also helps to understand the effectiveness of the activities.

   On this occasion the children learned that not only is there a communicative ability in English but that there are four skills and that all of them are important and must be developed simultaneously. No emphasis should be placed only on writing or reading. Although it is true that these are basic in the traditional processes of teaching the English language, however, in order for them to be achieved in a full way, one must work hard on the correct pronunciation and on the comprehensive listening of the English language.

   While children learn vocabulary lists, at the same time they have fun talking with their classmates asking for or giving oral and written information on topics such as the house, house furniture, cardinal numbers, food, fruits, vegetables , the use of the verb “TO BE” in the affirmative form, the colors, the hours, the clothes.

   The images turned out to be a very good strategy to ensure that children were able to correctly interpret the meaning of a word or a complete sentence in English. The videos with mobile images integrated with audio served as an example to the children to use the language in a more comprehensive way while repeating or while performing a song or a game in English.

LINK TO WATCH THE PRACTICE VIDEO ON YOUTUBE

REFERENCES

CANALE, M. and SWAIN, M. Theoretical Bases of Communicative Approaches to Second Language Teaching and Testing. Applied Linguistics. 1, 1047, 1980.

MEN, Lineamientos curriculares de Idiomas extranjeros. Ed. Delfín. Bogotá, 1999. Pág. 12)

MEN, Estándares Básicos de Competencias en inglés. Ed. Espantapájaros Taller, Bogotá, Octubre de 2006. Pág. 5,6).

MEN, Lineamientos curriculares de Lenguaje. Ed. Delfín, Bogotá, 2006. Pág. 95).

QUINTERO, Luis Hernando. Psicología del desarrollo, Pamplona: ed. 1994.pag 202).