FSA 1 Universidad Austral de Chile Lead Advisor

COMPREHENSIBLE INPUT STRATEGIES UNDER THE FSA 1

Universidad Austral de Chile

Facultad de Filosofía y Humanidades

Escuela de Pedagogía en Comunicación en Lengua Inglesa

Lead Advisor:

M.S. in Ed. Yasna Yilorm Barrientos

“Comprehensible Input strategies under the FOCAL SKILLS Approach: Their

effectiveness in the acquisition of English as a Foreign Language

in Elementary Schools from Valdivia”

Seminario de tesis para optar al título de Profesor de Comunicación en Lengua Inglesa y al

Grado de Licenciado en Educación

This research paper is part of the research project DID-S-2011-14

María Paz Díaz Villablanca

Catherine Paola Vergara Galindo

Valdivia, Chile

2012


To our families who have always given us their unconditional

support in every step of our lives.


Table of Contents

Acknowledgements…………………………………………………………………... 6

Abstract…………………………………………………………………..................... 8

Introduction…………………………………………………………………............... 9

1 CHAPTER I: Theoretical Framework

1.1 State of the Art: EFL in the Chilean Education…………………………. 12

1.2 Traditional Grammar-based methodologies…………….……………….. 16

1.2.1 Grammar Translation method………………………………. 16

1.2.2 Audio-lingual method………………………………………. 17

1.3 Communicative Competence and Foreign Language…………………… 19

1.3.1 Communicative Teaching Practices………………………… 19

1.3.2 FOCAL SKILLS Approach………………………………….. 21

1.3.2.1 The Monitor Model………………………………... 22

1.3.2.2 Natural Approach………………………………….. 28

1.3.2.3 Total Physical Response…………………………... 31

1.3.2.4 Main Characteristics of the FSA………………...... 32

1.4 Comprehensible Input and Foreign Language Acquisition……………… 40

1.4.1 Comprehensible Input Strategies……………….................... 41

1.4.1.1 Nonverbal Communication………………………... 41

1.4.1.2 Multisensory Teaching Materials………………….. 41

1.4.1.3 Foreigner Talk……………………………………... 44

2 CHAPTER II: Methodology

2.1 Research Purposes and Questions……………………………………….. 46

2.2 Methods and Procedures………………………………………………… 47

2.2.1 Type of study………………………………………………... 47


2.2.2 Subjects……………………………………………………... 47

2.2.3 Materials…………………………………………………….. 48

2.2.4 Design……………………………………………………….. 48

2.3 Data Collection Tools……………………………………………………. 49

2.3.1 Tests………………………………………………………… 49

2.3.2 Surveys……………………………………………………… 50

2.3.3 Questionnaire……………………………………………….. 51

2.3.4 Journal………………………………………………………. 52

2.3.5 Interview…………………………………………………….. 53

2.4 Data Analysis Methods………………………………………………….. 53

2.4.1 Quantitative Data Analysis………………………………….. 54

2.4.2 Qualitative Data Analysis…………………………………… 55

3 CHAPTER III: Data Analysis

3.1 Quantitative Results……………………………………………………... 57

3.1.1 Listening Tests……………………………………………… 57

3.1.2 Oral Tests…………………………………………………… 59

3.1.3 Surveys……………………………………………………… 60

3.2 Qualitative Results………………………………………………………. 66

3.2.1 Questionnaire……………………………………………….. 66

3.2.2 Journal………………………………………………………. 69

3.3 Discussion……………………………………………………………….. 72

3.3.1 Comprehensible Input strategies (CISs) and the acquisition of

EFL……………………………………………………….

72

3.3.1.1 CISs and Students’ Motivation……………………. 72

3.3.1.2 CISs and Students’ levels of affective filer………... 75


3.3.1.3 CISs and Students’ Self-confidence……….............. 78

3.3.1.4 CISs and Students’ Listening Proficiency………..... 81

4 CHAPTER IV: Conclusions

4.1 General Reflections………...………...………...………...………...……. 84

4.2 Recommendations for Further Research………...………...……….......... 87

5 REFERENCES………...………...………...………...………...………...……… 90

6 APPENDIX………...………...………...………...………...………...………….. 99

6.1 Listening Tests………...………...………...………...………...………… 99

6.2 Surveys………...………...………...………...………...………………… 107

6.3 Questionnaire………...………...………...………...………...………….. 108

6.4 Interview………...………...………...………...………...……………….. 118


Acknowledgments

We would like to deeply acknowledge and show our total respect to our teachers of

Universidad Austral de Chile, particularly to our beloved teacher M.S. in Ed. Yasna

Yilorm, for having taught us innovative methodologies that will allow us to contribute to

our Chilean educational field. Furthermore, we would like to highlight her valuable

support from the very early stage of this research which would not have been possible

without her experience and remarkable professionalism. Finally, we would like to

recognize her patience, cooperation and priceless advice that helped us to believe in our

capacities.

We are also indebted to Dr. Hastings, author of the FOCAL SKILLS Approach, for

having enlightened our academic knowledge through his innovative teaching proposals. In

the same manner, we wish to thank Escuela Alemania, Escuela El Laurel, Escuela Helvecia

and Escuela México, especially their students and teachers of English: Liliana Martínez,

Pedro Fredericksen, Raquel Poblete and Gabriela Quijada for believing in our capacities

and for giving us the opportunity to apply the FOCAL SKILLS Approach in their

classrooms.

We do owe our deepest gratitude to our families, Díaz-Villablanca and Vergara-Galindo,

for supporting us in every moment throughout our academic lives. We would like to thank

our parents Cecilia, Fernando, Paulina and Raul for the significant values they have taught

us during our lives. Fernando, Cristian and Javier are specially thanked for their

understanding and company at all times.


We also would like to thank our dear research team partners, Katherine Zuber, Daniela

Bennett and Yasna Yilorm for their invaluable support and commitment to carry out this

significant study.

To all of them, our true appreciation.

María Paz and Catherine.


Abstract

The teaching of English as a foreign language in Chile requires to be urgently improved.

As a result, this action research attempts to demonstrate the effectiveness of

Comprehensible Input strategies under an adapted version of the listening module of the

FOCAL SKILLS Approach (Hastings, 1980). Hence, this approach was applied in three

elementary schools from Valdivia, Chile where fifth grade students were exposed to great

amounts of comprehensible input strategies. After the application of this approach, the

research yielded positive results. Firstly, students’ levels of anxiety were at an appropriate

level and secondly, their attitudes towards the subject proved to be significantly high.

Consequently, in general terms, students increased their command of the English language

and particularly showed a considerable improvement in their listening skills, reaching the

level of proficiency established by the FOCAL SKILLS Approach and communication

standards expected by the Ministry of Education.

Keywords: listening skills, comprehension, FOCAL SKILLS Approach (FSA),

comprehensible input strategies (CIS), English as a Foreign Language (EFL), language

acquisition, communication.


Introduction

It has been widely acknowledged by the Ministry of Education (MINEDUC) that

Chilean students need to communicate in English (EducarChile, 2005, para. 3) since it

allows interaction among people around the globe. Consequently, in order to achieve this

purpose, an important amount of resources have been invested into the process of teaching

and learning English as a Foreign Language (EFL). Inevitably, this issue has led to an

urgent need to change the use of teaching methodologies in the EFL classrooms, switching

from explaining how the language works to actually using the language to communicate.

Therefore, the teaching of EFL has become one of the priorities in the Chilean educational

setting.

According to Fernando Vera (2008), in the last decades, teacher training did not provide

educators with tools to update their teaching practices through time. Instead, EFL teachers

were trained to use the textbook as the core of the lesson, to give lectures that promoted

passive students and to maintain a distant teacher-student relationship (p. 5). In this sense,

there is still a significant amount of EFL teachers that are currently working with traditional

methodologies in the EFL classroom. Thus, inevitably the “major problem is not the lack

of instruction on grammatical features, but the lack of opportunities for communicative

language use” (Fotos, 2007, p. 301). Given these facts, the SIMCE’s results (2010) have

shown that students are not able to communicate properly in the foreign language. Also,

the SIMCE’s outcomes regarding listening and reading comprehension skills (2010), have

demonstrated that the majority of the students cannot comprehend simple sentences and

expressions in the target language. Hence, the FOCAL SKILLS Approach (FSA), framed

under the communicative teaching practices; responds appropriately to the current situation

presented in Chile. Particularly FSA provides evidence that when comprehensible input is


used in natural contexts, it allows students to reach the language proficiency needed to

communicate in the foreign language accurately (elt-methods, n.d., para. 5). On account of

the factors previously mentioned, the Chilean EFL teaching needs to experience major

changes with regards to updated methodologies that promote students’ language acquisition

process.

In order to provide contributions to the situation previously exposed, this action research

attempts to prove the effectiveness that Comprehensible Input strategies under the FOCAL

SKILLS Approach have in the process of language acquisition. In order to accomplish this

purpose, researchers propose the implementation of an adapted version of the listening

module of the FSA through the use of multisensory teaching materials, nonverbal

communication, and foreigner talk. Furthermore, affective issues such as motivation, levels

of anxiety and self-confidence are considered as relevant factors for this research mainly

because they foster students’ command of the English language (Hastings, 2005).

Therefore, this document is divided into four chapters. The first chapter, Theoretical

Framework, depicts the current situation of the Chilean EFL teaching context. Then, it

provides a description of the FOCAL SKILLS Approach, the principles under which is

based and the teaching methodologies promoted. This section also explains the purposes

and implications that Comprehensible Input strategies have in the process of language

acquisition. The second chapter, Methodology, tackles the methods, procedures and tools

that the researchers employed to collect information regarding Valdivia’s EFL situation, to

promote acquisition and the improvement of the listening skills. The third chapter, Data

Analysis, presents the results obtained after the research process through pie charts and

tables. Consequently, this chapter also describes the main findings that this research had in

connection to the impact that Comprehensible Input strategies under the FOCAL SKILLS


Approach had on the students’ acquisition process. Finally, the fourth chapter provides

general conclusions obtained from the research process and also, in the following section,

recommendations for further research will be proposed.


1. CHAPTER I: Theoretical Framework

1.1 State of the Art: EFL in the Chilean Education

Nowadays, English language represents one of the most important tools to communicate

with people around the globe. This instrument plays an important role in our society since

it allows the exchange of ideas and cultural issues, transmitting traditions, customs and

beliefs. Additionally, David Graddol (2005) acknowledges that English “(. . .) has

become sufficiently universal that it can be used as a global lingua franca for

communication between speakers of many languages” (para. 2). Consequently, it is

essential that people develop communicative competence in English as a second or foreign

language in order to be connected with the world.

As an attempt to give a response to this requirement, the Ministry of Education

(MINEDUC) has implemented a program called ‘English Opens Doors’. This initiative

was developed in 2003 with the aim of promoting the EFL teaching and learning; in that

manner, Chile could become a bilingual country by the year 2010 (Romero, 2010).

Besides, this initiative was also executed with the purpose of fostering teachers’

professional development, training student teachers in international programs and

approaching English to students. Thus, throughout the implementation of debates, public

speaking competitions, and summer and winter camps, it is believed that teachers and

students practice and enhance their abilities in the target language. All of these programs

and activities attempt to develop teachers and students’ communicative proficiency in

English as a Foreign Language.

In order to identify the Chilean EFL reality, the Ministry of Education made a request

for a diagnostic test in the year 2004. Eleven thousand students belonging to 8th

and 12th

grades from 299 different schools and socioeconomic status were assessed in order to


identify their command of the English language (Resultados Nacionales del Diagnóstico en

Inglés, 2004). The designing of the test was in charge of the University of Cambridge

ESOL Examinations and according to the results of this assessment and to the parameters

of the Association of Language Testers of Europe (ALTE), “sixty-seven percent of eighth

graders and 45 percent of twelfth graders scored at the “Lower Breakthrough” level,

meaning they can only understand simple oral and written instructions in English, read

short messages and recognize words and expressions by ear” (Hirschmann, 2005, para. 3).

It is worth mentioning that most of the students were not able to reach ALTE’s official

levels of language proficiency; thus, the examining entity created two lower categories so

as to reflect the Chilean EFL reality, Lower Breakthrough and Pre Breakthrough. These

issues, evinced that Chilean EFL students are still far from reaching appropriate standards

to demonstrate language competence.

Then, with the data derived from the diagnostic test, the MINEDUC implemented a

SIMCE1 test of English in 2010 for all 11

th graders of the country in order to diagnose once

more, the students’ proficiency levels and the quality of the EFL lessons in Chile

(EducarChile, 2011). The format of this test was the TOEIC Bridge “that measures the

emergent receptive skills (listening and reading comprehension) of early learners in an

international environment” (Educational Testing Services, 2007). Particularly, the English

SIMCE test yielded unfortunate results; only 11% of the students obtained a certification

that ensured the understanding of brief expressions related to daily topics and short texts

with frequent-use vocabulary (EducarChile, 2011). Furthermore, 65% of the certified

students belonged to a high socioeconomic status and to private educational institutions

1 SIMCE: Measuring System of the Quality of Education. The main purpose of this test is to contribute to the

improvement of the Chilean education by evaluating the students’ performance in different areas of learning

(SIMCE, 2010, para. 1).


(Resultados SIMCE Inglés, 2010). Summing up, it has been acknowledged that based on

the results of this test, it might be possible to make changes in the curriculum, especially in

public education through the increase in the amount of hours assigned to the EFL lessons

(Joaquín Lavín2, 2010, para. 12).

As it has been widely acknowledged in this document, the main objective of the

Ministry of Education is that Chilean students be able to express ideas with people

worldwide (Bases Curriculares, 2012, p. 1). In this sense, communicative teaching

practices respond effectively to this demand and they need to be implemented in all EFL

classrooms. The FOCAL SKILLS Approach, as one of these communicative practices, is

based on the principles of Stephen Krashen’s Second Language Acquisition Theory (1982),

promoting the Total Physical Response (Asher, 1960) and the Natural Approach (Krashen

& Terrell, 1977) teaching methodologies. Besides, according to research (Global Language

Education Services [GLES], 2011, para. 3), the FSA has demonstrated to enhance learner’s

communicative competence. Consequently, it can be an effective tool able to fulfill the

MINEDUC’s expectations with regards to the improvement of students’ command of

English as a foreign language.

Research in the area reflects the importance that the FOCAL SKILLS Approach has on

the acquisition of the target language. Firstly, according to GLES (2010), a significant

number of studies carried out in the U.S indicate that students exposed to the approach

increase their ability to communicate in 35% more than those who are part of other types of

ESL programs (as cited in Yilorm & Lizasoain, 2012). Secondly, Yasna Yilorm carried out

a FSA pilot study in the Universidad Austral de Chile in the year 2007. The results

2 Ministry of Education in 2010.


revealed that 100% of the surveyed subjects3 appreciate the use of innovative

methodologies and teaching materials during their English lessons. Thirdly, a pilot study of

the FSA listening module indicates the effectiveness of the approach in the development of

communicative competence. This study was comprised of 125 students from the same

university4; in which 75 students were part of the experimental group

5 and 50 belonged to

the control group (Yilorm & Lizasoain, 2012). Finally, the subjects exposed to the

approach showed positive attitudes towards the innovations carried out in the English

lessons. Besides, 95,8% of the students improved their listening comprehension skills and

62,5% showed listening command of the target language according to the FSA guidelines

(Yilorm & Lizasoain, 2012).

Finally, in relation to the dramatic results obtained in the diagnostic and SIMCE tests

listed above, EFL Chilean education needs to be urgently improved. The efforts that the

MINEDUC has made have not been sufficient to ensure students’ EFL acquisition; thus,

according to the results of the assessments carried out by the MINEDUC, it is possible to

establish that the majority of the Chilean students do not develop communicative

competence by the time they graduate from school (Resultados Nacionales del Diagnóstico

en Inglés, 2004). In this sense, communicative teaching practices, such as the FOCAL

SKILLS Approach, respond efficiently to this demand due to the emphasis placed on

creating communicative instances inside the EFL classroom. Besides, the use of

comprehensible input strategies, namely multisensory teaching materials, non-verbal

3 Students from four majors: Business Engineering, Business Administration and Tourism, Law, and English

Teaching. 4 Students from two majors: Business Engineering and Accountancy.

5 Students from the experimental group were exposed to the listening module of the FSA, while the control

group worked with traditional resources, e.g. explicit grammar end vocabulary exercises.


communication and foreigner talk serve as a necessary complement to reach the acquisition

of the foreign language. In brief, English language teaching in Chile has started to

experience changes, but it is necessary to undergo major adjustments considering EFL

teaching methodologies.

1.2 Traditional Grammar –Based Methodologies

According to Yasna Yilorm (2012), the Grammar-translation Method (GTM) and the

Audio-lingual Method (ALM) are the teaching methodologies most frequently used in the

EFL context from Valdivia. In Chile, these practices, along with other factors, have

hindered the development of students’ communicative competence (Vera, 2008, pp. 11-12).

This is mainly because the GTM was developed in order to make learners to attain “a

reading knowledge of foreign languages by studying a grammar and applying this

knowledge to the interpretation of texts with the use of a dictionary” (Chang, 2010, p. 15),

and the ALM, to drill them into “the use of grammatical sentence patterns” (Larsen-

Freeman, 2000, p. 35). Besides, Malcolm Marsh (1987) acknowledged that if the main aim

is to acquire English, it is counterproductive to expose young learners to grammar based

methodologies (as cited in Mogahed, 2011, para. 5). Consequently, these teaching

methodologies are not the most appropriate manner to approach the target language to

students or to reach communicative competence.

1.2.1 Grammar-translation Method.

The Grammar-translation Method or Classical Method; developed in the 19th

century, is

one of the oldest methodologies used to teach a second or foreign language. Initially, this

method was created with the purpose of teaching languages such as Greek and Latin and it

was also used to “[help] students read and appreciate foreign language literature” (Larsen-

Freeman, 2000, p. 11). Then, according to Michael Byram (2004), the GTM was used to


teach and learn modern languages; thus, the introduction of grammar rules in a textbook

became a very used practice. It has been acknowledged that in this method,

“communicative skills are neglected; [and] there is a great deal of stress on knowing

grammatical rules and exceptions, but little training in using the language actively to one’s

own meaning even in writing” (Byram, 2004, p. 251). Therefore, it is worth mentioning

that in spite of being an obsolete practice, GTM is still used in many countries for the

teaching and learning of modern languages (ibid. p. 252).

Furthermore, the lessons based on the GTM establish the roles of teachers and students

very clearly. On the one hand, the teacher is the authority in the classroom since s/he

possesses the linguistic knowledge (Centro Virtual Cervantes, 2012); also, s/he uses their

mother tongue in order to give their EFL lessons; and s/he corrects the students’ mistakes

explicitly (Rosenthal, 2000, p. 86). On the other hand, the students’ role can be depicted as

passive and submissive subjects who follow the teacher’s instructions. Besides, they are

required to transform passages into the target or mother tongue, for the reason that

translation is the central focus of this kind of method (Center for Applied Linguistics

[CAL], 1992, para. 11). Furthermore, as learning is deductive, the activities carried out in

class involve the explanation of grammatical rules that students have to memorize and then

practice in grammar drills (Centro Virtual Cervantes, 2012). Summing up, as GTM mainly

promotes the reading and writing skills, it is not appropriate to lead students to language

acquisition.

1.2.2 Audio-lingual Method.

The Audio-lingual Method (ALM) or Aural-oral Approach was developed in the 1950s

and it was created by the “U.S. Defense Forces language programs during and after World

War II” (Flowerdew & Miller, 2005, p. 8). The creation of ALM was influenced by factors


such as “the emergence of several international languages, the greater mobility of people

and the expansion of education programs (ibid.). Besides, the basis for this method was

the Behaviorist Theory (Skinner, 1957) that posits that human beings learn through patterns

of stimulus-response-reinforcement that can be either positive or negative (Beltrán, Hobbs,

House, Llinares, Motteram, Paran, Sánchez-Reyes, Whittaker, 2011, p. 32). In this sense,

ALM was created under the belief that “the fluent use of a language was essentially a set of

“habits” that could be developed with a lot of practice” (Yule, 2006, p. 190). According to

Diane Larsen-Freeman (2000), the aim of this method is to make students communicate in

the target language (p. 45) “[involving] a systematic presentation of the structures of the

L2, moving from the simple to the more complex [ones]” (Yule, 2006, p. 190).

Nevertheless, this method has been criticized mainly because it avoids students to create

useful meanings (Beltrán, et. al., p. 32).

In the ALM, the role of the teacher is fundamental due to the fact that s/he directs and

controls students’ learning process (Larsen-Freeman, 2000, p. 45). The teacher is also in

charge of providing students with accurate utterances, focusing on pronunciation,

intonation and articulation of words that students have to imitate in order to learn the target

language (ibid.). Students, consequently, become imitators of the teacher as well as of the

recordings played in class (ibid.). Furthermore, as “the language is taught by systematic

attention to pronunciation and by intensive oral drilling of its basic sentence pattern”

(Richards & Rodgers, 1987, p. 2,), students mainly receive decontextualized examples of

the target language, hindering the acquisition process (Beltrán, et. al., p. 32).

Summing up, grammar-based methodologies give significant importance to grammatical

structures, placing meaningful communication at the end of their objectives. Besides, “the

overuse of these traditional teaching strategies are now obsolete and can dangerously


produce a lack of appropriate quantitative and qualitative input, high students and teachers’

affective and output filters, and the acquisition of incorrect forms” (Krashen, 1988, p. 43).

Consequently, in order to make a transition from grammar learning to language acquisition,

communicative teaching practices are more suitable methods due to the fact that they focus

on both, language use and form (Hall & Hewings, 2001, p. 2).

1.3 Communicative Competence and Foreign Language

1.3.1 Communicative Teaching Practices.

The growing necessity of mastering the English language created a demand for more

suitable teaching practices that could foster communication. In this sense communicative

teaching practices (CTP) play an important role in the development of updated EFL

teaching methodologies or approaches whose main objective is to enhance communicative

competence in learners. Therefore, communicative teaching is focused on “[providing]

students with an environment in which they are surrounded by messages in the target

language that communicate interesting, relevant information in a language they are able to

understand” (Pearson Education, 2009, p. 3). Consequently, communicative teaching

practices refer to the methodologies or approaches that teachers use to promote

communicative exchanges in their EFL classrooms.

In the early 1970s, a group of British applied linguists thought that language teaching

needed to focus “(. . .) on communicative proficiency rather than on mere mastery of

structures” (as cited in Ludescher, 2010, para. 2). This innovative idea expanded rapidly to

other parts of the world, specifically to the United States. In fact, experts declare that CTP

“[aim] to (a) make communicative competence the goal of language teaching and (b)

develop procedures for the teaching of the four language skills that acknowledge the

interdependence of language and communication” (Ludscher, 2010, para. 5). In addition,


communicative teaching practices, “make use of real-life situations that necessitate

communication” (Galloway, 1993, p. 1). For carrying out that task; “[the] teacher sets up a

situation that students are likely to encounter in real life” (Ibid.). In this sense, it is

recommended that teachers “[use] a variety of interesting activities that meet students’

needs, proficiency skills, and class objectives” (Ariza, Morales-Jones, Yahya, & Zainuddin,

2002, pp. 231-232). Accordingly, the power that the teacher has now is shared with

students in these communicative-oriented lessons, thus, classrooms become cooperative

and collaborative (Richard-Amato, 2004, p. 75).

Furthermore, the final goal of the Communicative Teaching Practices is to provide

learners with tools to communicate; that is, to be able to be successful when speaking in

real contexts with others. Consequently, the main reason why CTP focuses on the

acquisition of language is due to the fact that it “requires meaningful interactions in the

target language-natural communication-in which speakers are concerned not with the form

of their utterances but with the messages they are conveying and understanding” (Krashen,

1988, p. 1). Hence, communicative strategies are based on the comprehensible input shared

in games, role-plays, dances, among others. Furthermore, there are several6 teaching

methodologies whose objective is to promote acquisition; one of them is the FOCAL

SKILLS Approach (Hastings, 1980). The FSA shares the principles of communicative

teaching practices mainly because it “[enables] rapid language acquisition through massive

amounts of comprehensible input using authentic materials” (International Center for

FOCAL SKILLS [ICFS], 2012) allowing students to use the language in context in order to

achieve communicative competence.

6 Total Physical Response (Asher, 1970), Natural Approach (Krashen & Terrell, 1980), Communicative

Approach, Community Language Learning (Curran, 1970), among others.


1.3.2 FOCAL SKILLS Approach

The FOCAL SKILLS Approach was developed by Dr. Ashley Hastings in the 1980s and

up to the year 1997, it has been used and executed in over eight institutions in the United

States and in two other countries (Hastings, 1997). Besides, this approach focuses on

acquisition rather than on the learning process, it explains that “by guessing and interfering

the meaning of linguistic information embedded in the communicative context, learners are

able to comprehend grammar and vocabulary that would otherwise be too difficult for them

to understand” (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1998, para. 2). Therefore, as

EFL is taught implicitly it allows students to acquire the language instead of learning it.

Besides, the Global Language Education Services (GLES) states that “research indicates

that students in FOCAL SKILLS programs acquire English language proficiency faster than

students in most other types of IEP [Individualized Education Program]” (2011, para. 3).

Furthermore, it has been proven that ESL learners have obtained higher scores on the

FOCAL SKILLS placement tests and on the TOEFL (Hastings, 2003), also, in words of its

founder, FOCAL SKILLS Approach mainly intends “to accelerate the acquisition of

intermediate – level language proficiency” (Hastings, 1995, p. 29) through the use of a

program based on natural approaches.

According to the international Center for FOCAL SKILLS (ICFS) (2011), the program

focuses on progressive functional skill integration through a series of modules focused on

key language skills. In other words, FSA creates “(. . .) a sequence of skill-focused

instructional modules configured in such a way as to take the greatest possible advantage of

the functional skill relationships” (Hastings, 1995, p. 32). Consequently, FSA establishes a

logical order that starts with the development of the listening skills; thus, once students

reach the proficiency required, they move to the reading module and the same situation


replicates in the writing stage in order to finish the process in the immersion module. This

approach is based on Stephen Krashen’s Monitor Model, he states that the most appropriate

manner to acquire a language is through the exposure to comprehensible input strategies

complementing them with motivation, self-confidence and low levels of anxiety.

1.3.2.1 The Monitor Model

The Monitor Model of Stephen Krashen (1979) is a Second Language Acquisition

(SLA) theory compounded of five hypotheses: the Acquisition/Learning Distinction, the

Natural Order, the Monitor, the Input and the Affective Filter. These hypotheses are meant

to explain which are the most important issues connected with the process of Second

Language Acquisition. With regards to SLA, Krashen points out that “[acquisition]

requires meaningful interaction in the target language (. . .) in which speakers are

concerned not with the form of their utterances but with the messages they are conveying

and understanding” (Krashen, 1981, p. 1). Nevertheless, in spite of Krashen’s

contributions, this theory has received the criticism of many researchers. For instance,

Barry McLaughlin (1978) states that “Krashen’s theory fails at every juncture (. . .) [he]

has not defined his terms with enough precision, the empirical basis of the theory is weak,

and the theory is not clear in its predictions” (as cited in Al-Musallam, 2006 p. 6).

However, the reason for the success of this theory is mainly because it offers guidance to

classroom practice (Colegio Nueva Granada, 2007, p. 650).

The Acquisition/Learning Distinction Hypothesis

The acquisition - learning distinction states that ESL adult learners possess two different

ways to develop competence in the target language, one of them is through language

acquisition and the other, through language learning (Krashen, 1982). Language

acquisition, on the one hand, is a subconscious process that very much resembles children’s


first language process of acquisition. Language acquisition is subconscious because

learners do not realize that they are using grammatical structures; in fact, they do not even

realize that they are acquiring a language since they are only focused on communicating

with others rather than on being aware of the use of language rules. When ESL learners

acquire a language they “(. . .) have a "feel" for correctness. Grammatical sentences

"sound" right, or "feel" right, and errors feel wrong, even if we do not consciously know

what rule was violated” (Krashen, 1982, p. 10). Implicit learning, informal learning and

natural learning are different names for which language acquisition can be known.

Language learning, on the other hand, is a conscious process in which there is not only

awareness of grammatical structures when using the language, but also, the ESL learner is

capable of explaining the reason of its different uses and purposes. This competence is

also known as explicit learning (Krashen, 1982).

Moreover, the acquisition-learning hypothesis has a reduced effect in terms of error

correction. This hypothesis states that it is negative in subconscious learning, but that it can

be useful on conscious learning. Furthermore, Krashen acknowledges that “[error]

correction supposedly helps the learner to induce or “figure out” the right form of a rule”

(Krashen, 1982, p. 11). However, this practice seems to be accurate, but its effectiveness

has not been proven yet.

The Natural Order Hypothesis

Latest discoveries on the field of Second Language Acquisition (SLA) have proven that

the acquisition of grammatical structures is given in a predictable order (Krashen, 1981).

Studies on grammatical morphemes (Bailey, Madden & Krashen, 1974), found out that “(.

. .) adult second language acquirers (ESL students at Queens College) showed a “natural

order” for eight grammatical morphemes (. . .)” (as cited in Krashen, 1981, p. 52).


Therefore, this is the main reason why it is stated that “[acquirers] of a given language tend

to acquire certain grammatical structures early, and others later” (Krashen, 1982, p. 12).

According to Krashen (1982), the average order of acquisition of grammatical morphemes

for English as a second language in both children and adults are “progressive -ing, plural -s,

copula ‘to be’, auxiliary (progressive, as in ‘he is going’), article (a, the), irregular past,

regular past, third person singular -s, possessive -s” (p. 108). Nonetheless, the natural order

hypothesis does not posit that this should be the order of the contents when teaching

English as a foreign language but that these morphemes should be included in a context in

which learning or acquiring is seen as a natural process (ibid. p. 14).

The Monitor Hypothesis

In connection with the first hypothesis above, the acquisition-learning distinction, it can

be posed that the Monitor Hypothesis is concerned with how adults make use of the

acquisition and learning competences. It is stated that learners acquire when they

communicate; thus, the acquired language “‘initiates’ (. . .) utterances in a second

language and is responsible for our fluency” (Krashen, 1982, p. 15). While the learnt

language has only one purpose, which is to monitor. In other words, this process edits

everything students have learnt and consciously analyzes the output provided by the

learner. Thus, the Monitor process “(. . .) may be used to alter the output of the acquired

system, sometimes before and sometimes after the utterance is produced. We make these

changes to improve accuracy (. . .)” (Krashen, 1981, p. 2).

Furthermore, the ESL learner can only use the Monitor when three characteristics are

encountered; time, form and knowledge of the rules (Krashen, 1982). Firstly, learners need

time to think about the rules of the language as they are using a conscious process.

However, it can lead to problems when having a conversation because the performer might


not pay attention to what is being said or his /her style of talking can be difficult to

understand by the other person. Secondly, if learners are only concerned about what they

are saying, they will not pay much attention to how they are saying something. Thus, in

order to “use the Monitor effectively, time is not enough. The performer must also be

focused on form, or thinking about correctness” (Dulay & Burt, 1978). Thirdly, the

knowledge of the rules is basically knowing about the grammatical part of the language,

and as this is a conscious process, the learner is aware of how and where to use the

language or place the words (Krashen, 1982). Therefore, the Monitor or Editor is a

technique which is used when ESL performers have consciously learnt the language, and so

they are more prone to use the three characteristics mentioned above. In addition to that, it

can be said that ESL learners might feel more secure making use of these techniques when

producing in the target language.

Furthermore, there are three types of ESL monitor users, Monitor Over-users, Monitor

Under-users and Optimal Monitor-users. First, Monitor Over-users are described as people

who monitor their production constantly, always paying special attention to grammar and to

all the conscious knowledge they possess regarding the target language. Consequently,

when speaking, these learners tend to hesitate in their speech, they also tend to correct

themselves in the middle of a sentence experiencing a lack of fluency in their speech

(Krashen, 1982, p. 19). Then, the Monitor Under-users are people who have not

consciously learnt the target language, which means that they have acquired it; thus, they

prefer to leave the monitor aside and be focused on the production of their utterances.

However, these types of learners use a different technique to correct themselves when they

think that something has been said wrongly. Monitor Under-users rely on the knowledge

that they have acquired and only when having a “feel’ for correctness (e.g. “it sounds


right”)” (ibid.), they correct their mistakes. Finally, Optimal Monitor users are people who

“use the Monitor when it is appropriate and when it does not interfere with communication”

(ibid.). Krashen also holds that ESL teachers should encourage students to be this type of

users so they can carefully monitor their speech and be close to a native performance when

writing in the target language.

The Input Hypothesis

The Input Hypothesis explains the importance of Comprehensible Input in the

acquisition of second or foreign language. This hypothesis claims that “humans acquire

language in only one way, by understanding messages or by receiving ‘Comprehensible

Input’” (Krashen, 1985, p. 2). In fact, this means that the message not only has to be

understandable but challenging as well. This is precisely what the hypothesis states when

posing that “(. . .) the input must approximate the student´s i+1. It must be

comprehensible in that it is near the student’s actual development (i), but then it includes

concepts and structures that the student has not yet acquired (i+1)” (Richard- Amato,

2003, p. 58). In addition, the emphasis of the formula i+1 is on the comprehensibility of

the input that comes from the outside either auditory or visual. However, in order to be

successful when delivering the input teachers should be careful since the perfect

circumstance here is that “(. . .) students ideally must be in a situation in which all the

interlocutors desire to understand and be understood” (Richard- Amato, 2003, p. 58).

Therefore, comprehensible input (CI) is accomplished “(. . .) when the meaning is

successfully negotiated, i+1 will be present automatically” (Krashen, 1982, p. 22). Then, it

should consider that “five minutes of talk, or a single paragraph of reading, has little chance

of including a given student´s i+1” (Krashen, 1982, p. 71). Hence, the more students are


exposed to the CI, the more quickly they acquire a second language since the amount of

exposure is one of the key factors in the process of acquisition.

The Affective Filter Hypothesis

Nowadays, education should be focused on learners rather than on teachers’ needs. For

this reason Krashen points out that affective issues such as motivation, self- confidence and

anxiety are factors that need to be considered when teaching EFL due to its importance in

the process of acquisition. Furthermore, it is a fact that “[the] Affective Filter Hypothesis

captures the relationship between affective variables and the process of second language

acquisition by positing that acquirers vary with respect to the strength or level of their

Affective Filter” (Krashen, 1982, p. 31). Such an assertion can be supported with the

argument that if the Affective Filter is high, the acquisition process cannot be reached

(Richards & Rodgers, 2001, p. 183). So, the fundamental aim of teachers should be to

start using different strategies in order to motivate, encourage and foster learners to acquire

English as a second or foreign language. Also, teachers need to provide the acquirers with

a non-stressful environment, offering EFL learners a place in which they can feel free to

express themselves without feeling afraid of making mistakes.

Finally, on the one hand, teachers should help students to promote a good self-

confidence by encouraging them to acquire English language. Owing to “[low] motivation,

low self-esteem, and debilitating anxiety can combine to ‘raise’ the affective filter and form

a ‘mental block’ that prevents Comprehensible Input from being used for acquisition. In

other words, when the filter is ‘up’ it impedes language acquisition” (Schütz, 2005, para.

16). On the other hand, “Krashen claims that learners [referring to acquirers of second

language] with high motivation, self-confidence, a good self-image, and a low level of

anxiety are better equipped for success in second language acquisition” (Schütz, 2005, para.


16). All the arguments stated lead to the conclusion that these issues are really significant

in the process of acquisition, so teachers should include them when designing and

performing their teaching practices.

1.3.2.2 Natural Approach

Natural Approach (NA) is a method developed in 1983 by Tracy Terrell and Stephen

Krashen. It is mainly based on Krashen’s theories about Language Acquisition and on

Terrell’s ideas of classroom implementations. The basis of this approach states that “(. . .)

students must acquire the second language in much the same way that people acquire

language in natural situations (therefore the term “natural approach)” (Richard-Amato,

2003, p. 83). In order to accomplish this statement, NA is developed in stages that enhance

students’ acquisition. Besides, it establishes four teaching principles necessary to boost

learners’ production of the target language.

As it has been mentioned before, NA is comprised by three stages. The first one is

‘comprehension’, which posits that “[during] the first stage students are allowed to go

through a silent period” (Richard-Amato, 2003, p. 89). In this stage, learners receive input

in order to develop the listening skills since they first need to comprehend. The second

stage is ‘early speech production’, in this stage acquirers are expected to give “(. . .)

simple responses to the comprehensible input” (Ibid.). e.g. these responses “may be made

by gesturing, nodding, using the L1, answering yes and no, giving names of people or

objects as answer to questions (. . .)” (Ibid.). It is worth mentioning that during this stage,

“[the] teacher’s speech is little slower than usual” (Ibid.), this is mainly because teachers

need to give clear and comprehensible speeches to the learners so as to be understood.

Finally, the third phase is named ‘speech emergence’, in this stage learners start producing

the language and it “(. . .) can take up to three years but usually the student is reasonably


fluent before that if the input has been of high quality, if it was given sufficient quantity,

and if the students have been receptive to it” (Ibid.). Also, there is a fourth stage now

recognized by Terrell as ‘intermediate fluency’ which is referred to it as the introduction of

“toward full production” (Ibid.). In the final analysis it can be stated that “[the] length of

the time spent in any one stage varies greatly depending upon the individual, upon the

amount of comprehensible input received, and upon the degree to which the affective filter

has been lowered” (Ibid). Given these facts, the acquisition is more natural; thus, students

can reach an appropriate command of the target language.

Furthermore, the Natural Approach is composed by four principles. Firstly, according to

Krashen and Terrell (1988), learners require time for a ‘silent period’ in which they listen to

all the input teachers provide. The objective of the class is to provide learners with great

amounts of comprehensible input (i+1), bearing in mind that it needs to be appropriate to

the learners’ level of performance, so that they can comprehend what the teacher is

communicating in the target language. Secondly, learners need time to start producing, that

is, the ‘speech production’ will develop in subsequent stages throughout the acquisition

process. Thirdly, according to the principles of this approach, teachers should center the

attention on the development of the speaking skills instead of the grammatical expertise.

Fourthly, the ‘affective filter’ is a very important factor in the NA because teachers need to

focus on the creation of instances which promote the lowering of learners’ affective filter

(Richard-Amato, 2003).

Comprehension Precedes Production

When starting the process of acquisition, the Silent Period gives great benefits to the

learner. The Silent Period maintains that learners do not need to be forced to speak, which

means that “[students] speak when they are ready (. . .)” (Richard-Amato, 2003, p. 83).


Thus, this is a factor that helps students to develop their self- esteem. This issue results in

active students who use the language not because they are required to do it, but because

they want to do it. During this period of time, teachers need to provide learners with

Comprehensible Input and also with lots of instances in which they can interact with each

other using the target language mainly because it allows students to acquire more complex

structures. Finally, it cannot be denied that all the activities, speeches and instructions the

teacher presents to the learners need to be contextualized and adapted to the kind of

students that teachers have (ibid.).

Production must be allowed to emerge in stages

In this stage, learners’ “[responses] will generally begin with nonverbal communication,

progress to single words, then to two- or three-word combinations, next the phrases and

sentences, and finally to complex discourse”(Richard-Amato, 2003, p. 83). It is

recommended that learners’ errors are not corrected since the idea is to make them feel

comfortable with the practice of language because the process of acquisition is the most

relevant for the objectives they might have (Ibid.).

The Course Syllabus Focuses On Communicative Goals

With the aim of communicating in the target language, NA maintains that the instruction

requires focusing on activities and instances that allow learners to use the target language

because the learning process is basically focused on oral production and practice. These

instances should be centered on learners’ interest since “[it] is felt that grammar will be

acquired mainly through the relevant communication” (Richard-Amato, 2003, p. 84).

The Activities are Designed to Lower the “Affective Filter”

In order to lower the learners’ affective filter, the activities should be concerned with

what learners like, for instance, topics which are appealing to them because a learner “(. .


.) who is engrossed in interesting ideas will apt to have less anxiety than one who is

focused mainly on form” (Richard-Amato, 2003, p. 84). Moreover, they should be carried

out in a flexible and positive context with lots of visual aids and realia since they are a good

support when trying to represent and display examples for helping learners to understand

the language.

In brief, NA is one the approaches that is mainly focused on fostering the learners’

communicative skills, for that reason, “teacher’s chief responsibility during class hours is to

communicate with the students about things that are of interest and relevance to them”

(Ibid.) It cannot be denied that at first, when learners are becoming involved with the target

language, teachers are the ones that are constantly working with the purpose of making the

language comprehensible for students, nevertheless, “ (. . .) as the students become more

proficient, they take over and the teacher’s role becomes predominantly that of an organizer

and a facilitator” (Ibid.).

1.3.2.3 Total Physical Response

Total Physical Response (TPR) is a language teaching method developed by James

Asher in the 1960s. TPR is based on the idea that “(. . .) the human brain has a biological

program for acquiring any natural language on earth - including the sign language of the

deaf. The process is visible when we observe how infants internalize their first language”

(Asher, 2001, para. 2). Asher based the TPR method on George Katona’s (1940) Trace

Theory of memory in psychology, it establishes that “(. . .) the more intensively a memory

is traced, the stronger the memory association will be and the more likely will be recalled.

Retracing can be done verbally (e.g., by rote repetition) and/or association with motor

activity” (Richards & Rodgers, 2001, p. 73). Consequently, all of these features focus on


developing the students’ listening skills in order to construct abilities to produce utterances

in the target language.

In relation to teaching, TPR pays special attention to the learner’s acquisition process

and to the natural course of language learning. The method emphasizes the development of

a ‘detailed cognitive map’ in order to avoid abstractions, i.e. grammar rules (Ludesher,

2010b, para. 8-9). With the purpose of accomplishing this requirement, TPR works with “(.

. .) the coordination of speech and action [and] it attempts to teach language through

physical (motor) activity” (Richards & Rodgers, 2001, p. 73). Consequently, as the

learner’s role is that of listener and performer; the lessons are mainly based on games in

which students must follow instructions or commands given by the teacher or classmates

(Ludesher, 2010b, para. 32). All these characteristics allow students to naturally acquire

the language in a positive environment.

1.3.2.4 Main characteristics of the FOCAL SKILLS Approach

Emphasis on rapid acquisition of practical proficiency

Programs of the FOCAL SKILLS Approach emphasize on acquisition rather than on

conscious competences, “[instead] of studying about English in order to learn it, our

students would study in English in order to acquire it” (Hastings, 1997, para. 13). Taking

into consideration that most of the ESL/EFL students are enrolled in traditional programs

because they need to improve their command of English, both language acquisition and

proficiency are a priority. This is the main reason why FOCAL SKILLS students improve

their target language skills. Therefore, in order to achieve such objectives, the organization

of FS programs establish a series of modules whose aim is the development of specific

language skills.


Powerful techniques for delivering comprehensible input

Programs of the FOCAL SKILLS Approach are, to a large degree, based on the

principles of Krashen’s Monitor Model. That is the reason why FS places special

emphasis on the delivery of comprehensible input so as to give appropriate instruction to

ESL learners. In order to provide students with comprehensible input, FS develops a

variety of techniques that cover all the language skills in detail.

Firstly, the ‘FOCAL SKILLS Movie Technique’, which in connection with authentic

materials, uses motion pictures “(. . .) to bring an immense variety of meaning into the

classroom” (Hastings, 2011). Specifically, when using this technique, the role of the ESL

teacher is fundamental due to the involvement s/he has when developing the activity. In

order to carry out this activity, the teacher is asked to narrate or paraphrase the plot of the

story at an appropriate level of complexity which allows EFL learners to understand and

acquire English in a much more natural manner. While developing this activity, students

can also establish a relationship with the context and the affective impact the movie might

have on them (ibid.).

Secondly, ‘The Talk Show’ is an activity where two teachers are required to maintain a

conversation with the rest of the class while carrying out an activity in which realia can be

used. It is important to highlight that ‘FOCAL SKILLS Movie Technique’ and ‘The Talk

Show’ are activities that belong to the listening module and that are suitable for the

beginning of the instruction when the listening skill is still weak (Hastings, 2011).

Thirdly, ‘Interactive Reading’ is another technique that enables comprehensible input.

While doing this activity, the teacher reads out an authentic text which is of interest for the

EFL learners so then, they are asked to identify words or phrases they did not understand.


Besides, they are also invited to ask questions regarding the reading reviewed (Hoge,

2004). It is worth mentioning that depending on students’ interests, teachers need to select

the most appropriate material (short stories, tales, comics, among others) in order to

enhance students’ motivation (ibid).

Fourthly, ‘Personal Reading’ is another FS technique and it was inspired in Krashen’s

Free Voluntary Reading. In this technique, students can freely choose a book from the

class-library and read it on their own consulting the teacher only when they might have

major difficulties understanding the text. When ESL learners are in the reading module and

have appropriately developed their listening skills, ‘Interactive Reading’ and ‘Personal

Reading’ are extremely recommended techniques which are meant to introduce the reading

skill (ibid).

Fifthly, ‘Free Writing’ is a technique which consists basically of keeping a frequent-

pace of writings on topics of interest for the students. The role of the teacher is showed

through a ‘Focused Rewrite’ in which sections of the learner’s writing are not only

corrected but also, rewritten in an appropriate level of English. The aim of this feedback is

to provide “(. . .) personalized comprehensible input, because the rewritten material

expresses the student’s thought, while the language elements modeled in this way are likely

to contain a hefty sample of the student's personal i+1” (Hastings, 2011). Likewise the

previous procedures, when the learners have developed the listening and reading skills,

‘Free Writing’ along with ‘Focused Rewrite’ are the most suitable techniques to establish

the transition and start working on the writing module.

Finally, when EFL learners possess a good level of listening, reading and writing skills;

they can start the advanced module using the sixth technique, which is ‘Mini-Course’.

This technique involves readings, media material, discussions, and presentations, among


others. As the main objectives of the FS program are language acquisition and

proficiency, this course is focused on fully developing the skills needed to improve

students’ academic performance (Hoge, 2004).

Classroom atmosphere encouraging low affective filter

This principle is based on Stephen Krashen’s affective filter hypothesis and it sets a

number of well-developed strategies in order to keep ESL students’ affective filter to a

minimum level. Consequently, regarding assessment, FS program posits that EFL learners

must not be evaluated with the same materials that they have worked with. Instead,

students ought to be assessed only through specially designed placement tests. This

procedure lowers the anxiety levels and “whatever anxiety this generates is associated with

the infrequent placement procedure, not with the daily classroom environment” (Hastings,

2011). Moreover, concerning the speaking skill, as FS programs promote the Natural

Approach (Krashen & Terrell, 1983) and TPR (Asher, 1960) teaching methodologies, it

encourages students to produce only when they feel they are ready. Therefore, if speaking

is voluntary, students avoid embarrassment when they produce and it is much more natural

and authentic.

In relation to the use of teaching materials, the aim of the FSA is to avoid the

employment of all types of materials which have been made with the purpose of teaching

English as a foreign language, as in the case of EFL textbooks, for example. Instead, it is

recommended to use motion pictures, newspapers, magazines or any other sort of authentic

material in order to take advantage of the sources used in reality. In the same manner,

exercises, drills or other types of artificial material are not utilized to practice the English

language. As an alternative, FS programs encourage the use of “(. . .) meaningful


language about people, places, things, ideas, stories, and so on. Such activities (. . .) are

universally accepted as normal [and] basic modes of human interaction” (Hastings, 2011,

para. 5).

With reference to the teachers’ role, it is fundamental that they act as mentors and

partners instead of testers and judges. In order to prevent the negative perception from

students towards teachers, all the tests are made at a program level so as to avoid seeing

teachers as threatening entities (Ibid.) Finally, in order to receive feedback on learners’

needs regarding their learning process, placement tests are frequently applied.

Furthermore, this practice is of a great help when trying to hold good relationships among

students because all of them are in a module in which learners share similar abilities; thus,

they feel more comfortable when producing and carrying out the activities done in class.

Progressive functional skill integration

As it is widely known, listening, speaking, reading and writing, are the four skills

language acquirers must develop in order to be proficient regarding their performance in

the English language. Nevertheless, the FOCAL SKILLS program develops its foundations

on the improvement of a single skill to start the acquisition process, such skill is listening

comprehension. This matter does not imply that the FS programs leave aside the rest of

the skills; moreover, the FOCAL SKILLS Approach works with the abilities that learners

already possess and it uses them as instruments so as to start working on the listening

comprehension module. In other words, “progressive functional skill integration refers to

the logical, systematic integration of the skills in accordance with their potential uses in the

classroom” (GLES, 2011, introductory section, para. 2).


The author of the FOCAL SKILLS Approach, Dr. Ashley Hastings acknowledges that

listening comprehension is the basis when acquiring English as a second language. The

most fundamental reason that supports his claim is that lessons are taught in English, and

that in order to understand oral English and to develop the three other skills is necessary to

use Comprehensible Input strategies as complements. The connection that is made among

all language skills is that “reading ability is essential to the growth of writing ability.

Speaking skills are built gradually on the foundation of the other skills, especially listening.

All four skills contribute to academic performance” (Hastings, 2011).

Modular design

The FOCAL SKILLS program bases its module design on the principles mentioned

before. It consists of four modules in which the top three are devoted to cover listening,

reading and writing skills while the fourth is in charge of polishing all the skills previously

developed in the Advanced Module stage (ICFS, 2012).

Skill Profile Assigned Module Primary Activities

Weak listening LISTENING Movie Technique

Talk Show

Good listening

Weak Reading READING

Interactive Reading

Personal Reading

Good listening

Good reading

Weak writing

WRITING

Personal

Free Writing with

Focused Rewrites

Good listening

Good reading

Good writing

ADVANCED Mini-courses

Academic preparation

Source: International Center for FOCAL SKILLS, 2012.


Simple and intuitive placement system

As it has been explained before, FOCAL SKILLS placement system focuses on working

on one language skill at a time. Therefore, students only move forward when having

developed a focal skill fully. According to this, while being in the FOCAL SKILLS

program, students are required to start their process in the listening module, where they first

have to take a listening assessment in order to move forward to the reading module.

Nevertheless, if the student does not achieve an acceptable score in such assessment s/he is

required to repeat the module and to take a different version of the FS listening test. This

process can be repeated as many times as needed, therefore, the program can make sure the

student is reaching all the FOCAL SKILLS program objectives (ICFS, 2012).

Individualized curriculum

In this principle, students are required to stay in a determined module as long as they

need it. For instance, a student might spend only a few sessions in the listening module due

to her/his abilities in listening comprehension while others might need to attend the

maximum amount of sessions so as to move to the reading module. This type distribution

fosters the acquisition process and provides students with the tools that each of them need

to become independent learners. Consequently, “it seems reasonable that students should

progress faster if they are given curricular sequences that closely match their individual

strengths, weaknesses, and aptitudes” (Hastings, 2011).

Flexible electives

FOCAL SKILLS curriculum covers all the necessary language areas that a second

language student must work with in each of the skill modules. Nevertheless, the program


incorporates a system of flexible elective courses inside the curriculum, which could be of

interest for the students. It is important to mention that these courses are not part of the

modules; instead, they are seen as extra hours devoted to serve as a complement for the

acquisition process of a second language (ICFS, 2012).

The FOCAL SKILLS Approach states that, elective courses should be as flexible as

possible, allowing students to change their elective every week if the conditions allow it to

happen. In general, electives can cover any topic of interest and any topic that teachers

would be willing to dictate (GLES, 2011). Moreover, some of the subjects can vary from

grammar workshops, pronunciation classes, cinema or even photography classes; but,

keeping the idea of reinforcing English language all the time (Ibid.). This particular

characteristic of the program gathers all the principles and foundations in which the

FOCAL SKILLS Approach is based on. Besides, it takes into account aspects of

Communicative Approaches as well as of Krashen’s Second Language Acquisition theory

(Ibid.).

Authentic materials

One of the most outstanding features of the FOCAL SKILLS Approach is the delivery of

contents through comprehensible input and the use of authentic materials. According to

Hastings (2011), the importance given to this type of material is supported by the

effectiveness of such tools in terms of motivation, interest and availability. Moreover,

Nunan and Miller (1995) state that authentic materials are “those which were not created or

edited expressly for language learners” (as cited in Brinton & Wong, n.d.). In this sense,

authentic materials can be magazines, newspapers, TV shows, radio programs, restaurant

menus, brochures, among others. Furthermore, Dr. Ashley Hastings (2011) posits that


authentic materials engage students’ attention, keep the affective filter to the minimum, and

provide great amounts of comprehensible input. Therefore, this type of material is very

accurate when working with the FOCAL SKILLS program mainly because it provides

teachers with innovative ideas to carry out lessons.

Creative teaching

Regarding teaching materials, the FSA proposes that teachers should enjoy producing

their own interesting pieces of work; thus, in that manner, they are able to contextualize

their lessons. Besides, when working with FOCAL SKILLS programs the familiarity that

teachers should have with their materials is highlighted as well as the different uses they

might have. In short, authentic materials, teachers’ creativity and all the features of the

FOCAL SKILLS Approach should encourage “meaningful language experiences for the

students” (Hastings, 2011); in this sense, all English learners can easily achieve their

objectives and become competent users of the language.

1.4 Comprehensible Input and Foreign Language Acquisition

According to research, there are two manners to be trained in a language, the first is

related to the conscious learning and the second is connected with an unconscious process.

On the one hand, language learning is centered on the grammatical rules of the language.

(Krashen, 1981). Hence, in this process learners are acquainted with the rules of the

foreign or second language and error correction is done explicitly. On the other hand,

language acquisition focuses on meaningful communication in the foreign language, that is

to say, natural communication. Therefore, error correction and the process of teaching

grammatical rules are corrected and taught implicitly. The messages that speakers covey

are centered on the ideas not in the forms (Gass & Selinker, 1994).


1.4.1 Comprehensible Input Strategies

1.4.1.1 Nonverbal Communication

Communication is a process that people undergo when sending or receiving messages in

order to share or express ideas, opinions or emotions. In this sense, one of the most

common features of communication is speech. Nevertheless, people can also communicate

nonverbally which is usually defined as communication ‘without words’. Thus, facial

expressions, gestures, paralinguistic, body language and posture, proxemic, eye gaze,

haptics and appearance are ways of communicating with others (Elfatihi, 2005, p. 4). Both,

verbal and nonverbal communication, are used in EFL contexts in order to mean and

convey ideas to others. However, nonverbal communication can express emotions and

behavior as well as values (The Psychologist, 2001).

Hence, nonverbal communication is a very useful and valuable tool to use in the

teaching and learning due to the fact that teachers can prepare activities that involve acting.

Besides, they can also set the mood of the lesson by using appropriate gestures in order to

keep the students’ affective filter low (Ibid.). Also, it is particularly suitable for developing

tasks related with communicating thoughts and ideas through the body. Given these facts,

this is not just a different manner of communicating; instead, it is an additional source,

which is part of communication itself (Ibid.). Hence, this can be recognized as a significant

strategy to be used in EFL classrooms.

1.4.1.2 Multisensory Teaching Materials

Multisensory teaching materials refer to a variety of teaching resources used in the EFL

classrooms. Therefore, according to its name, these resources are closely related to the


human senses. Authentic materials, realia, flashcards and audio-visual aids are used by

teachers in order to stimulate students’ senses and engage them with their learning process.

Hence, Nigel Hardwood (2010) acknowledges that multisensory teaching materials

facilitate students’ retention and acquisition. Besides, it is stated that teaching materials

“approach the nature of language and of language teaching and learning” (p. 5) and that the

design facilitates the contextualization of the contents (Ibid.). Given these facts, EFL

teachers make use of them for catching students’ attention and for addressing all types of

learning styles.

Firstly, authentic materials “simply means using examples of language produced by

native speakers for some real purpose of their own rather than using language produced and

designed solely for the classroom” (Cook, 1981, para. 2). Thus, these types of resources

catch students’ attention, engaging and enhancing the motivational aspects of the process of

acquiring a language. Then, according to Alejandro Martínez (2002), authentic materials

“have in common one idea: “exposure”” (para. 1. That means that they provide students

with real and actual instances for capturing the real behavior the language in specific

settings. Finally, these appealing, valuable and factual illustrations keep students’

motivation high due to the fact that students start feeling involved with the language the

material possesses.

Secondly, audio-visual aids are used not only for supporting the teachers’ messages, but

for providing students with graphic examples of the contents. Therefore, in André

Lestage’s words (1959), teachers employ audiovisual aids in order “to materialize their

thoughts in the form of graphic or sonorous images or to give their thoughts a concrete

frame of reference” (p. 1). In spite of the advantages exposed, “audio-visual aids have

great possibilities in the teaching of English, but it should never be forgotten that they are


primarily aids to a teacher and that they can never replace a good teacher, who teaches with

her effective voice, her sparkling eyes, her facial expressions and her gestures, and whose

presence is more important than any teaching aid” (Kumar, 2006, p. 153). Thus, it can be

said that these didactic and audiovisual materials can serve as a manner of clarifying and

reinforcing ideas with explicit illustrations of them.

Thirdly, flashcards are attractive and useful tools since they facilitate students’

internalization of words and phrases. Consequently, teachers can create and make use of

them because they “can take material that is difficult to teach and break it down into

digestible segments that are easy to learn” (Flashcards secrets, para. 2, 2012). Thus,

students can internalize and store the information “from [a] short- to[a] long-term memory”

(Ibid., para. 4, 2012), in order to use it later. Additionally, according to John Browne and

Helen Stutz, flashcards “provide not only a multitude of avenues for learning,

reinforcement, and drill, but they are fast and fun to use” (Stutz, 1992, p. 132,). Hence,

these kinds of teaching resources make the teaching and learning process entertaining for

students and what is more, they foster the rapid acquisition of the vocabulary throughout its

use.

Finally, realia is used in order to stimulate students’ interest and curiosity. Since, it

represents “all those objects, actions, concrete materials, “real” factors, and activities of

every sort that can offer a value in establishing a closer relation between the concepts or

idea and the words or group of words” (Pfeffer, 1937, p. 1). These appealing objects can

“motivate as well as enrich” (Morthole, 1960, p. 825,) students’ learning experience, since

pupils are allowed to use their senses being able to interact through their senses and the

objects they can see, hear, and touch; at the same time, promote cultural understanding

(Chiarantano, 2005) .


Finally, multisensory teaching materials are necessary resources in EFL lessons due to

the fact that they represent graphic examples of the verbal ideas. These, kinds of sources

not only sustain but encourage students’ acquisition, and thus, the process of acquiring a

language can be facilitated (Birsh, 1999). Moreover, the teaching and learning, is

entertaining; and therefore, become significant for all age learners. Likewise, since these

kinds of materials deal with senses, they can serve as tools for teaching all kinds of styles.

Given these facts and because of the benefits of multisensory materials, students can have a

better comprehension of the contents and accomplish a significant acquisition process.

1.4.1.3 Foreigner Talk

Studies have revealed that the linguistic environment to which the learner is exposed

plays a pivotal role in the acquisition of a second or foreign language (Brulhart, 1986, p.

29). In this sense, it has been evinced that “(. . .) native speakers (NSs) adjust their speech

in conversation with non-native speakers (NNSs) in various ways” (Ibid.). Charles

Ferguson(1971) coined this adapted register Foreigner Talk, and defined it as a “register of

simplified speech (. . .) which is used by speakers of a language to outsiders who are felt

to have very limited command of the language or no knowledge at all” (p. 143).

This modified register possesses several features that can be applied to the EFL teaching

context. According to Ferguson (1975) in phonology, Foreigner Talk characterizes

by a slow rate of delivery, loudness, clear articulation, pauses, emphatic stress, and

exaggerated pronunciation. In lexis, it is [characterized] by occasional use of words

from other languages, substitutions of items by synonyms, or paraphrases. In

syntax, modification is presented through omission, expansion and replacement or

rearrangement. Omission is exemplified by deletion of articles, copula, inflectional

morphology, conjunctions and subject pronouns. Expansion is illustrated by the

addition of unanalyzed tags to questions (“OK”?, “Yes?” “No?”) and insertion of

subject pronoun “You” before imperatives. Replacement and rearrangement

include such features as forming negatives without auxiliaries (“no like”), replacing

subject with object pronouns (“him go”) (as cited in Hasan, 2008, p. 34).


Consequently, Foreigner Talk has become an effective strategy to make the input delivered

to EFL learners more comprehensible due to the fact that it delivers more simple

vocabulary, less complex grammar structures and shorter utterances (Hasan, 2008, p. 38).


2. CHAPTER II: Methodology

2.1 Research Purposes and Questions

2.1.1 Research Purposes

Determine if comprehensible input strategies are being used in elementary EFL

classrooms from Valdivia.

Evaluate if comprehensible input strategies under the FOCAL SKILLS Approach

reduce elementary EFL students’ affective filter and increase motivation levels.

Prove the effectiveness of comprehensible input strategies in elementary EFL

students’ English acquisition process under the FOCAL SKILLS.

2.1.2 Research Questions

Main research question

Do comprehensible input strategies under the FOCAL SKILLS Approach

significantly develop elementary EFL students’ listening skills in Valdivia?

Sub-questions

How do students respond to comprehensible input strategies under the use of

FOCAL SKILLS Approach?

Do comprehensible input strategies under the FOCAL SKILLS Approach have an

impact on elementary EFL students’ oral production?


2.2 Methods and Procedures

2.2.1 Type of study

Since the main purpose of this study is to provide possible solutions to current

educational problems in the Chilean EFL context through the implementation of innovative

teaching methodologies and materials, authors have determined to carry out an action

research in three elementary schools from Valdivia, fulfilling the basic principles of this

kind of research. Stephen Kemmis and Robin McTaggart (1988) acknowledge that action

research is firstly “(. . .) carried out by practitioners [for our purposes, classroom teachers]

rather than outside researchers; secondly, that it is collaborative; and thirdly, that it is aimed

at changing things” (as cited in Nunan, 1992, p. 17). With the purpose of intending to

prove the main hypothesis of this project, investigators “proceed[ed] through a process of

planning, action and reflection upon action” (Waters-Adams, 2006).

2.2.2 Subjects of study

This quasi-experimental study, in which “(. . .) the participants have NOT been

randomly assigned to treatment” (Cook & Campbell as cited in Mitchell & Jolley, 2010, p.

583), was designed to be carried out with 77 students from 4 elementary schools of

Valdivia, Región de Los Ríos, Chile, that were divided into two groups: experimental and

control groups. The experimental group was composed of 54 students from two public and

one subsidized7 elementary schools, and the control group was comprised of one public

elementary school.

Since this research paper supports the principle of “comprehension precedes production”

(Krashen & Terrell, 1983, p. 20), researchers implemented an adapted version of the FS

7 It refers to “a sum of money granted by the government or a public body to assist an [entity] so that the price

of a commodity or service may remain low” (Oxford Dictionaries, 2012).


listening module in which all of the subjects belonged to fifth grade level. It is worth

mentioning that in most of the Chilean public and subsidized schools, English lessons begin

in fifth grade; consequently, the participants of this action research had never been formally

exposed to the foreign language before, which guarantees that subjects are beginners and,

therefore, firstly require to develop their listening skills in order to acquire the target

language in a near future.

2.2.3 Materials

A variety of multisensory teaching materials was designed, selected and adapted to be

implemented in the experimental group EFL classrooms. The main teaching materials

consisted in: 1) studio and homemade audios (interviews, recipes, songs, daily

conversations and descriptions) extracted from You Tube and motion pictures; 2) realia

(food, classroom objects, clothes and household items); 3) flashcards8 to cover all of the

contents and 4) teaching materials designed and created by the researchers for classroom

management purposes (classroom rules poster, mouse race, behavior cards and direction

signs).

2.2.4 Design

The design of the implementation of the adapted version of the FS listening module was

divided into three stages: observations, class intervention, and students’ assessment.

Firstly, the observation process was carried out during the first two weeks. Secondly, the

class intervention period was divided into eight lessons of 90 minutes each one. Finally,

the students’ assessment stage was developed into two phases, the pretest and the posttest,

which were applied at the beginning and at the end of the research process. The

8 FSA does not promote the use non-authentic teaching materials; however, as the listening module was an

adaptation, researchers used flashcards considering students’ needs and preferences.


appropriate organization of the listening module allowed the researchers to wisely use the

time to obtain the expected results.

2.3 Data Collection Tools

In order to obtain a deeper understanding of the local EFL reality as accurately as

possible, diverse tools and methods for data collection and data analysis were employed

respectively. Within the data collection stage, the tools that were used consisted in: a

questionnaire, surveys, observations, tests, a focus group and an interview.

2.3.1 Tests

In order to evaluate students’ listening and oral EFL competence, pre and post tests were

applied to both the experimental and control groups. These tests were carried out due to the

fact that they “[offer] a value-added perspective of measuring student learning in a course

or program (. . .) to see if students’ skills significantly improve after course learning and

instruction” (Community College of Allegheny County [CCAC], n.d). These two skills

were assessed in the adapted version of the FS listening module in order to support Krashen

and Terrell’s principle of “comprehension precedes production” (1983, p. 20). Thus, the

researchers attempted to measure the impact that this module had on the listening and oral

skills. It is worth mentioning that the contents assessed in the pre and post tests were based

on the Unit 3, ‘Food and Drinks’ established in the Planes y Programas9 of the Ministry of

Education for the fifth grade students. Therefore, the data gathered allowed researchers to

establish a comparison between the teaching practices followed and their effectiveness in

the experimental and control groups.

9 Unit 3 Contents: Imperatives (wash your hands; brush your teeth and Simple Present). Vocabulary: Food

and Drinks (countable and uncountable nouns), daily meals (breakfast, lunch and dinner). Grammar: Simple

Present, a/an/some, there is/are, how much/many, likes and dislikes.


On the one hand, the listening pre and posttests were designed to evaluate the same

contents; however, they were presented differently. Therefore, different audios and

questions were provided to students who were allowed to listen to the recordings twice.

The listening pretest included two items with a maximum score of 32 points, while the

listening posttest was composed of five items with a maximum score of 47 points. Both

tests included multiple choice questions illustrated by images to supply students with

comprehensible input. On the other hand, the oral pre and posttests subsumed four

sections: warm –up (personal information questions), short answer questions, following

instructions and finally, describing pictures. To evaluate the students’ oral competence, the

researchers employed Andrew Sheehan’s English language proficiency rubric which

measured four parameters: fluency and cohesion, grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation.

These test designs provided the researchers with valid and reliable information to be

analyzed later.

2.3.2 Surveys

Surveys were selected as one of the main tools to ask questions to the students who were

part of this research. According to Arlene Fink (2008) “Surveys are information-collection

methods used to describe, compare or explain individual or societal knowledge, feelings,

values, preferences and behavior (…)” (p. 1). Regarding Fink’s definition of surveys, it can

be stated that they are the best method to gather information in order to determine the

“starting point” (Hubbard & Power; 2003, p. 62) of the students’ perceptions about English

lessons and language. Consequently, the application of surveys in this action-research

provided enough data to draw significant conclusions mainly on students’ perceptions and

commitment towards the English language.


Two surveys were applied to the participants of this study. The first one was applied

before the researchers’ intervention and the second one after the process had finished.

Through surveys, researchers collected information related to students’ opinions, attitudes

and motivation towards the English Language. Specifically speaking, students were asked

if they like English language, if learning English represents a big challenge for them, if they

have learnt so far, if they consider that learning English is useful for them now, and if it

would be useful in the future. These surveys consisted of four questions and, as they were

designed to be answered by fifth grade students, the questions were short, direct, with very

simple language and with alternatives to make the students’ task of answering the questions

as friendly as possible. Thus, surveys were valuable tools to gather information since the

design was not time consuming for the surveyed subjects and also allowed them to express

their opinions.

2.3.3 Questionnaire

A questionnaire was given to EFL teachers of the three elementary schools belonging to

the experimental group. This questionnaire was designed with different kinds of questions

such as: close-ended questions which provided specific answer choices, ordered close-

ended questions which could be easily answered, and partially close-ended questions which

included the option ‘other’ in order to include “(. . .) some flexibility and [provide] the

opportunity to add information not otherwise captured by the instrument” (Willem, 2007).

These kinds of questions were selected due to the fact that they can help the researchers to

carry out the data analysis process effectively.

This questionnaire was applied to obtain general information about the teachers’

methodologies, approaches, and strategies used to carry out their lessons. Likewise, it

included questions related to teaching materials and resources employed in classes.


Furthermore, the questionnaire asked teachers about students’ attitude towards English.

Finally, this tool attempted to establish the amount of comprehensible input provided by the

teachers during class time. Consequently, the information collected in the questionnaire

contributed to understand and evaluate the way in which contents are taught and to set the

weaknesses and strengths between the EFL teachers’ methodologies and the FOCAL

SKILLS Approach.

2.3.4 Journals

Observations

In addition to the previous data collection tools, the researchers carried out a two week

observation process following the 2011 Teaching Practice Rubric10

. The main objective of

this process was to look for some precise, detailed and valid characteristics regarding

students’ behavior and teacher’s performance in the classroom. Based on Dawson Hancock

and Robert Algozzine’s (2006) contributions, observation of the setting can provide more

objective information about the topic that is being investigated. These observations mainly

included information related to ‘instruction’, ‘the English language’, ‘teaching

methodologies’, ‘teaching materials’, ‘classroom environment’, and ‘professionalism’. The

impact of the use of teaching materials and the amounts of comprehensible input delivered

by the observed EFL teachers were particularly considered. All of this data was classified

using an adaptation of the Meyer’s Anecdotal Record model (Hubbard & Power, 2003).

Journal Sections

The information collected during the observation and class intervention processes was

registered in a journal that according to Joseph Maxwell (1996) serves as a “forum for

10

Rubric developed by M.S. in Ed. Yasna Yilorm Barrientos.


reflection where ideas [are] generated and explored”; thus, it generates reflective writing

for later analysis (Borg, 2001, p. 160). This tool was divided into four sections; firstly, a

description about the school and subjects was included. Secondly, a reflection about the

observation process was developed. Thirdly, a detailed report on the unit of study,

objectives, activities, teaching materials, teaching methodologies and reflections that

expressed strengths or weaknesses of the activities were also registered in this tool. Finally,

conclusions from the entire process were drawn. These sections allowed investigators to

have a written and organized source of the information gathered.

2.3.5 Interview

In order to have a deep understanding and knowledge of some important concepts for

this research, an interview to Dr. Ashley Hastings, the author of the FOCAL SKILLS

Approach, was conducted. According to Jennifer Mason “interviews of individuals or

groups allow the researcher to attain rich, personalized information” (as cited in Hancock,

Algozzine, 2006). Thus, this interview contained eight questions related to activities,

authentic materials, comprehensible input, FOCAL SKILLS assessment, and his opinion

about the viability of using an adapted version of FS listening module with children.

Summing up, the use of the interview allowed the researchers to have access to high quality

information obtained from an expert in the area of the topic concerning this research.

2.4 Data Analysis Methods

After having collected the information needed, the researchers used different data

analysis methods with the aim of obtaining reliable and relevant information. Data analysis

was carried out in several steps in order to have a clear organization of the information

collected in surveys, a questionnaire, a journal, pretests, posttests, and an interview. The


information obtained from these tools was analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively, both

were represented graphically, the former in pie diagrams and the latter in tables11

. The data

was interpreted and analyzed focusing on the general impact that FOCAL SKILLS

Approach had on the classrooms, and not only on teachers but on students’ performances

as well. The results led the researchers to make important contributions in the EFL

educational field. Consequently, the research provided insights into the application of the

FOCAL SKILLS Approach in the Chilean context.

2.4.1 Quantitative Data Analysis

In the case of the pretests and the posttests, grades of both, the experimental and the

control groups, were grouped decreasingly. Besides, it is worth mentioning that in the

Chilean grading system students have to achieve a 4,0 in order to approve a test;

nevertheless, the minimum grade required by the FSA assessment criterion is a 5,6 to

demonstrate listening proficiency (A. Hastings, personal communication, June 18, 201212

).

A Microsoft Office Excel document was used to tabulate the gathered information and to

establish a class average which was represented in pie charts. The researchers had to

analyze the tests in order to determine several factors such as improvements,

generalizations and exceptions. Thus, once these data were analyzed, researchers were able

to provide evidence on the effectiveness of FOCAL SKILLS Approach and the impact that it

has on language acquisition.

In the case of surveys, it was needed to turn these results into numbers by using

measures of central tendency which, according to Fink (1995), are used to establish an

11

Adaptation of Meyer’s Anecdotal Record Model (Hubbard & Power, 2003, p. 122) 12

Dr. Hastings states that in order to demonstrate listening proficiency, the learner must have 80% of the

questions correctly answered which in the Chilean grading system is equivalent to 5,6 (Yilorm & Lizasoain,

2011).


average among the answers collected. By having this average in each category, the

researchers used a pie diagram, which are “(…) representative relative proportions of

percentages” (Peck, Olsen and Devore, 2009, p. 885), that can be used to organize

information. After this process, the researchers compared the students’ answers of the first

survey with the second one with the aim of knowing if there was any variation between

them once the research process finished.

2.4.2 Qualitative Data Analysis

The information obtained from the focus group, a questionnaire, journals and an

interview were analyzed qualitatively following Krueger and Casey’s pattern about

quantitative data analysis (2009). Hence, researchers considered five main steps: a) data

grouping: similar answers were grouped; b) information labels: referred to organization and

classification of the answers into categories; c) knowledge (findings): whether the

information responded the research objectives; d) theory: whether the information coincides

with the theoretical framework; e) implications: referred to the main topics that aroused

from the information collected. Therefore, it was essential to follow the steps mentioned

above in order to develop a fluent and organized analysis of the information.

The qualitative analysis was employed in order to examine observations, a questionnaire

and an interview, since in this manner, researchers could “(. . .) understand why certain

results were achieved or not achieved [and] explain unexpected outcomes (. . .)” (National

Resource Center, 2009, p. 5). Hence, the observations were registered, discussed and

analyzed focusing on the use of English, teaching methodologies, teaching materials,

classroom environment, and classroom management; using the categories mentioned in an

adaptation of the Meyer´s Anecdotal Record model (Hubbard & Power; 2003, p. 122).


Besides, since the focus group’s main aim is “to draw out the vital clues that explain

behavior and attitudes” (Dobney, 2011, para. 6), researchers made use of an adaptation of

Meyer´s model in order to collect all the impressions of the application of the FOCAL

SKILLS Approach. Additionally, Dr. Ashley Hastings’ perception of the application of the

approach in the Chilean educational setting was provided. The use of this particular

analysis allowed investigators to obtain reliable first-hand data which was useful to develop

and support this research project.


3 CHAPTER III: Data Analysis

3.1 Quantitative Results

3.1.1 Listening Tests

Experimental Group Listening Pretest Results

After taking the FOCAL SKILLS Listening pretest, the experimental group of students

obtained an average grade of 3.6 out of 7.0. Results showed that 89% of the subjects could

not reach 5,6 , the minimum grade required by the FOCAL SKILLS Approach assessment

criteria in order to demonstrate listening proficiency. It is worth mentioning that 11% of

the students obtained a higher grade than 5,6 (see fig. 1) and none of them could achieve

the highest grade.

Figure 1: Experimental group listening pretest results

Control Group Listening Pretest Results

The control group was assessed with the same listening tests taken by the experimental

group. Their scores showed that none of the students could reach the minimum grade

required by the approach under study due to the fact that the listening pretest results

89%

11%

Pretest Results Experimental Group

Failed

Passed


exhibited an average grade of 3,5. Contrary to the experimental group’s final results, the

highest grade obtained by the control group was 4,3 (see fig. 2).

Figure 2: Control group listening pretest results

Experimental Group Posttest Results

After being exposed to 8 EFL lessons under the FOCAL SKILLS Approach, this group

of students completed a posttest. Results proved their average grade increased to 6,2,

showing a 38% of improvement in their listening comprehension skills. As a conclusion,

94% of the students succeeded in taking the listening posttest, obtaining a grade between

5,6 and 7,0. Therefore, 6% of the tested population failed the test (see fig. 3).

Figure 3: Experimental group results listening posttest

65%

35%

Control Group Listening Pretest

between 2,7 and 3,7

between 3,8 and 4,3

6%

94%

Experimental Group Results Listening Posttest

between 4,4 and 5,5

between 5,6 and 7


Control Group Posttest Results

With regards to the posttest results, 39% of the students reached grades between 2,5 and

3,0. As a result, none of them managed to pass the listening posttest. In spite of this fact,

this group showed a 9% of improvement in comparison to the listening pretest results (see

fig.4).

Figure 4: Control group listening posttest results

3.1.2 Oral Tests Results

The oral pretest was taken during the first week of this action research and the posttest at

the end of the process. None of the students could attain the minimum score of the rubric,

which means that they were not able to produce at the lowest level. However, during the

oral posttest, the majority of the students could understand the questions and could produce

a few utterances at a very basic level. It is necessary to mention that in spite of their

notorious improvement, the answers provided by the experimental group could not be

classified under Andrew Sheehan’s Proficiency Rubric (see table 1) due to the fact that not

even the elementary level could be achieved.

39%

52%

9%

Control Group Listening Posttest

between 2,5 and 3,0

between 3,1 and 4,0

achieved a 4,3


Question: What is your favorite fruit?

First Version Second Version

Apple I like Strawberries

Question: How many oranges do I have here?


(Without response) Five

Question: Describe the picture.


Orange It’s orange

Table 1: Students responses in the first and second version of the oral test

Even though the pretests results exhibited by both the experimental and control groups

were similar in terms of performance, the posttest evinced wide disparity in students’

performance. Students belonging to the control group did not understand most of the

questions. Thus, they could not provide any answers in the target language.

3.1.3 Survey Results

Experimental Group First Survey Results

The information collected in the first question revealed that 42,3 % of the students liked

English lessons mainly because they had achieved good academic results (77,5%), (See fig.

5), while 57,7% of them did not because the target language could not be understood during

instruction (50%) and because they did not enjoy activities presented by the teachers (50%)

(see fig. 6).


In the second question, students had to answer whether they felt inclined towards the

foreign language, thus, 57,7% of them replayed that they did, while 42,3% of the subjects

expressed their rejection towards English (see fig. 7).

57,7%

42,3%

Do you like English lessons?

Yes

No

50% 50%

Alternatives

Because I do not like the

activities

Because I do not understand the

lessons

57,7%

42,3%

Do you like the English language?

Yes

No

Figure 6: First Survey Negative answer

Question 1- Do you like English lessons?

Figure 5: First Survey Question 1- Do you

like English lessons?

Figure 7: First Survey Question 2 - Do you like the

English language?


The third question of the survey attempted to collect information about the expectations

that students had regarding the interest in continuing learning the language and the reasons

they might have. In this opportunity, 51,9% of the surveyed subjects demonstrated interest

in extending their studies of the English language, and 48,1% of them felt reluctant to the

idea (see fig. 8). The former stated that the main reason of their response was due to the

fact that they considered English a relevant tool to become competent professionals; while

the latter declared that in Chile, it is not necessary to learn English in order to communicate

with others.

In the last question, students were asked to assess the challenge that the English lessons

represented in their learning process. 78,8% of the students expressed that throughout their

English lessons, their cognitive potential was not properly developed since students’

expectations regarding their learning process were not achieved. Whereas, the remaining

21,2% stated that they experienced significant learning during class time (see fig. 9).

51,9%

48,1%

Would you like to continue learning

English? Yes

No

Figure 8: First Survey Question 3


Experimental Group Second Survey Results

With regards to the first question, 94,2% of the surveyed subjects expressed that they

liked the English lessons for the reason that the activities carried out in class fulfilled their

expectations and interests. Whereas the remaining 5,8% acknowledged the opposite, since

they were disappointed with both the activities carried out in class and their academic

achievement (see fig. 10).

21,2%

75%

3,8%

After my English lessons I feel that:

I learned a lot

I learned little

I learned nothing

94,2%

5,8%

Do you like English lessons?

Yes

No

Figure 9: First Survey Question 4

Figure 10: Second Survey - Question 1


In the second question, 94,2% of the subjects expressed their preferences towards the

English language; while 5,8% demonstrated scarce interest for the foreign language (see

fig. 11).

The third question revealed that 98,1% of the subjects declared their willingness to

continue learning English in the future. The main reason stated was the interest in reaching

higher educational achievements. Furthermore, 1,9% claimed not to be concerned about

studying another language (see fig. 12).

94,2%

5,8%

Do you like the English language?

Yes

No

Figure 11: Second Survey Question 2


Finally, in the fourth question regarding the evaluation of their learning process at the

end of the English lesson, 88% of the subjects asserted that they felt content with the

cognitive challenge experienced in class. In turn, the remaining 12% of the students

confirmed that the lesson failed in the attempt to reach their personal and academic

purposes (see fig. 13)

98,1%

1,9%

Would you like to continue learning

English?

Yes

No

88%

12%

After my English lessons I feel that:

I learned a lot

I learned little




3.2 Qualitative Results

3.2.1 Questionnaire Results

Question 1: Have you done any training course in the last five years?

Teacher A Teacher B Teacher C

Teacher A indicated that he

had completed a training

course in order to update

his knowledge about

English language, and

improve his linguistic

competence.

Teacher B stated that she

had not accomplished any

training course during the

last five years since she

relies on her teaching

practices and language

skills.

Teacher C claimed that she

had not undergone any

training course during the

last five years. It is worth

mentioning that this

teacher finished her

university degree only

three years ago.

Table 2: Have you done any training course in the last five years?

Question 2: What are the main teaching resources you use to carry out your lessons?


Teacher A affirmed that

the teaching resources he

uses the most are the

board, computers, internet,

the textbook, movies and/

or videos, magazines,

Teacher B claimed that in

order to develop her classes,

she employs the board,

flashcards, the textbook,

worksheets and teaching

supplies. In addition, she also

Teacher C established

that so as to carry out her

lessons, she makes use of

the board, flashcards, the

textbook, worksheets,

and power point


objects (realia), music,

worksheets, and teaching

supplies (such as scissors,

paper, etc. )

exaggerates the accent and

speaks making pauses with the

aim of making the language

more comprehensible for her

students.

presentations.

Table 3: What are the main teaching resources you use to carry out your lessons?

Question 3: Without considering your utterances in English, what is the percentage of

listening comprehension activities you carry out during your lessons?


Teacher A stated that 50%

of the activities he carries

out during his lessons

correspond to listening

comprehension activities.

In the case of teacher B, she

claimed that 50% of the

activities executed during

instruction are focused on

listening skills.

Teacher C affirmed that

she includes 20% of

listening comprehension

activities in her lessons.

Table 4: Without considering your utterances in English, what is the percentage of listening comprehension

activities you carry out during your lessons?


Question 4: What are the main strategies you incorporate in your classroom management

plan?


Teacher A affirmed that

the main teaching

strategies he uses in his

classroom management

plan are giving the students

positive comments13

,

providing positive

reinforcement, prizing,

giving surprise tests, giving

verbal warnings, and

carrying out playful

activities.

Teacher B stated that the

teaching strategies she

uses the most are giving

the students positive and

negative comments, and

providing positive

reinforcement as well as

verbal warnings.

Teacher C claimed that the

strategies she uses as part of

her classroom management

plan are giving the students

positive and negative

comments in the class book,

providing positive and negative

reinforcement, verbal

warnings, and referring

students to the principal’s

office.

Table 5: What are the main strategies you incorporate in your classroom management plan?

Question 5: Do you think it is possible to replace the textbook by authentic and

multisensory teaching materials?


According to teacher A’s Teacher B answered that it Teacher C also agreed with

13

In the Chilean education system, each class has a book where the teacher is allowed to write positive and

negative comments regarding students’ behavior.


perception, it could be

possible to replace the

textbook by authentic and

multisensory teaching

materials in English

lessons.

is absolutely possible to

replace the textbook by

authentic and multisensory

teaching materials.

the possibility of replacing

the textbook by authentic

and multisensory teaching

materials.

Table 6: Do you think it is possible to replace the textbook by authentic and multisensory teaching materials?

3.2.2 Journal

PARAMETERS OBSERVATION

Teacher A

OBSERVATION

Teacher B

OBSERVATION

Teacher C

1. What methodology (s)

does the teacher use? (e.g.

Audio-lingual Method,

Grammar-translation

Method, Natural Approach,

TPR, etc).

The teacher used

Grammar- translation

and Audio-lingual

Methods.

The teacher used the

Grammar-translation

Method.

The teacher used the

Grammar-translation

Method.

2. How does the teacher

correct errors/mistakes?

(e.g. directly, indirectly)

Errors are corrected

directly.


directly.


directly.

3. Are students’ levels of

anxiety high, medium or

Students’ levels of

anxiety are low.

Students’ levels of

anxiety are extremely

Students’ level of

anxiety are high.


low? low, up to the extent of

being absolutely

uninterested in the

subject.

4. What does the teacher

do to keep students’ levels

of anxiety

low/high/medium? (e.g.

funny activities, relaxed

classroom atmosphere, etc)

He promotes a

positive classroom

atmosphere by

respecting all his

students’ opinions.

The teacher attempts to

establish a relaxed

atmosphere by using

sense of humor.

The teacher tries to

implement group

work during class

activities.

5. Does the teacher

communicate in the foreign

language all the time?

No, he does not use

the target language;

however, he makes

use of some isolated

words which are

translated into Spanish

immediately.

The teacher

communicates in the

foreign language, but

she immediately

translates what has been

said.

The teacher hardly

ever communicates

in the foreign

language.

6. What resources does the

teacher use?

He mostly uses the

whiteboard and the

course book.

The teacher mainly uses

the whiteboard and

markers, as well as lots

of handouts and

textbooks.

The teacher mainly

uses the board and

worksheets.


7. Does the teacher use any

strategy in order to deliver

comprehensible input?

No, the teacher does

not use English nor

comprehensible input

strategies.

No, the teacher does not

use CI strategies.

The teacher never

uses CI strategies.

8. What kind of activities

does the teacher include?

How much time do they

take?

The activities used by

the teacher are those

suggested by the

course book. These

activities are long and

not varied, almost all

of the time, the

activities take half of

the class time to be

accomplished.

The teacher only uses

handouts and the

textbook. She relies on

the textbook to carry

out all her activities.

The teacher only

uses worksheets and

dialogues to develop

her lessons. Her

activities are long

and repetitive.

9. What strategies does the

teacher use to motivate or

engage students?

He encourages his

students by giving

them verbal positive

reinforcement.

Also, he sets some

goals at the beginning

of the year, so they

know what they have

to do to achieve their

The teacher tries to

motivate her students

by telling them how

important this class is

and she also used verbal

positive reinforcement.

The teacher

motivates her

students by giving

them positive

comments and verbal

reinforcement.


objective and to obtain

the prize the teacher

has for them.

10. How often does the

teacher use the English

language inside the

classroom?

He rarely uses the

English language

fluently during class

time. Nevertheless, he

uses some words, but

he does not explain

the content by using

any C.I. strategy,

instead of that he uses

Spanish.

20% of the lessons is

delivered in the foreign

language.

The teacher hardly

ever uses the foreign

language.

Table 7: Journal results

3.3 Discussion

3.3.1 Comprehensible Input strategies and the acquisition of EFL

3.3.1.1 Comprehensible Input strategies and motivation

Comprehensible input strategies used during the intervention process were pivotal in

motivating students towards the acquisition of EFL. As students were neither exposed to

innovative teaching materials nor to a variety of teaching strategies, they evinced poor

motivation towards the English subject. During the intervention process students

experienced a substantial change in this matter, as researchers provided them with

multisensory teaching materials, nonverbal communication and foreigner talk; students’


motivation increased notoriously. It is worth mentioning that the motivation showed during

the lessons played a very important role in allowing students to start developing their oral

skills. Besides, as it is stated, students showed “an actual interest or need to learn the

language itself, students of [a] FL also bring past successes or failures with them to the

classroom, along with anxieties and expectations” (Root, 1999, p. 43). In brief, FSA

provides several instances to enhance students’ motivation, due to the inclusion of creative

resources, strategies and techniques it was possible to fully involve learners in their

acquisition process, achieving significant improvements.

First, it can be acknowledged that multisensory teaching materials played an essential

role in students’ positive attitude. As they expressed, the activities carried out in the

lessons fulfilled their expectations (see supra fig. 10); consequently, it can be established

that the materials used to make the contents more comprehensible, were appropriate to

encourage students acquisition. Besides, it is stated that, “multisensory materials make the

language more alive for the students. The use of movies in language teaching (with the

MovieTalk technique) is a perfect example of this, because the students experience

combined visual and auditory input in the context of a story” (A. Hastings, personal

communication, June 17th

, 2012). Thus, it is noteworthy that students demonstrated their

motivation through positive attitude towards the subject and the English language in

general (see supra fig. 10 – 11). Besides, it was noticeable that students responded very

well; especially to authentic materials and realia, mainly because they were able to

appreciate the language in a more contextualized manner and they could also relate

everyday objects and actions to their own day-to-day life. In addition, it is affirmed that

researchers “[used] authentic materials because they can provide students with up to-date

knowledge, expose them to the world of authentic target language, can bring the real world


into the classroom and significantly enliven the class” (Thanh, n.d. p. 1). Moreover, all the

activities and materials used in the lessons provided students with a more positive

atmosphere in which they felt that English was a tool that could be used in several aspects;

thus, this made them more interested in the EFL lessons.

Second, nonverbal communication was a very useful strategy that helped researchers to

complement their teaching practices in order to motivate students inside the classroom.

According to the parameters observed in students’ regular EFL lessons (see supra Journal

section), teachers did not have a positive attitude when teaching English. Hence, this point

resulted in dejected students who did not have any disposition to take advantage of their

learning experience; instead, students were focused on accomplishing any other task but the

English ones. On the contrary, researchers showed always a positive attitude towards

teaching; in this sense, students were able to grasp all the opportunities that the

investigators provided to make them feel more comfortable in the classroom. Furthermore,

as Joan Tough (1984) posits, it is important to support communication through the use of

gestures, facial expressions and actions because these techniques gives children clues to the

meaning of what they hear and so they draw their attention to the sounds, rhythms and

stress of the second language which are different from those of their first language. (as

cited in Holešinská, 2006, p. 8). Therefore, students’ interpretations of the nonverbal

communication techniques used in class were fundamental to keep them interested during

all the lessons.

Third, foreigner talk, served as a strategy that researchers used to enhance students’

motivation by making the verbal messages produced in the target language more

understandable for them. In this sense, it can be acknowledged that as students were able

to easily identify and understand the ideas expressed, they were more interested in


obtaining the necessary tools to express their own thoughts. As their motivation increased,

students took advantage of the all the instances available to unconsciously improve their

English language proficiency; therefore, it was not difficult for the investigators to achieve

an entertaining lesson in which most of the students were willing to participate. Besides, in

order to deliver this strategy, researchers slowed down the speech, focused on key words,

used shorter sentences, and used other nonverbal resources (Terrell, 1990, p. 193).

Foreigner talk was a very useful strategy that was mostly effective with students that

became easily frustrated and had high anxiety levels.

Finally, all of these comprehensible input strategies under the FOCAL SKILLS

Approach significantly increased students’ motivation. As students noticed the change in

the teaching methodologies used before and during the intervention process, they

appreciated all the innovations carried out in their EFL lessons. It is worth mentioning that

due to their high level of motivation, students were able to produce elementary, yet

significant, utterances at the end of the process. Moreover, it is stated that motivation is

always present in students, but the teacher is the one who has to find the appropriate

strategies to finally make students use that element in their own behalf (Winke, 2005). In

brief, this point proved that as long as students first comprehend and form a positive idea of

the target language, their communicative competences can start developing appropriately

and naturally in order to achieve language acquisition.

3.3.1.2 Comprehensible Input strategies and students’ levels of affective filter.

During the intervention process, experimental students considerably lowered their

affective filter. This positive change was due to the implementation of many strategies and

techniques that made students feel more pleased in the classroom. It is worth mentioning


that, factors such as nonverbal communication, multisensory teaching materials and

foreigner talk decreased students’ anxiety levels and consequently fostered their

communicative competence. According to Krashen (1982), “(. . .) low anxiety appears to

be conducive to second language acquisition, whether measured as personal or classroom

anxiety” (p. 31); thus, EFL learners were able to appropriately face their acquisition

process. Moreover, it is acknowledged that, “the FS classroom is based on interesting

comprehensible input and low anxiety, so [teachers] should adopt strategies along the same

lines. To make progress in a language, choose interesting materials” (A. Hastings, personal

communication, June 17th

, 2012). In this sense, it is possible to affirm that not only are

comprehensible input strategies significant for achieving language proficiency, but also the

anxiety levels that students experience are relevant issues to consider.

Firstly, multisensory teaching materials caused a great impact on students’ EFL learning

experience, mainly because the variety of resources impeded them to notice about the fact

that they were acquiring English. According to Krashen (1981), acquirers comprehend and

produce the language not only when the situation is appropriate for them, but also when

they are ready to do so. Therefore, as students were engaged and comfortable while

carrying out the activities with the types of teaching materials mentioned before, they

started to lower their affective filter; consequently, they began to produce simple utterances

in the target language (ibid.). Accordingly, it can be confirmed that “the more

comprehensible input [a student] receives in low-stress situations, the more language

competence that [s/he] will have” (Wilson, 2000).

Secondly, nonverbal communication facilitated the delivery of the researcher’s

messages. This issue can be easily explained because the investigator’s speech was

complemented with gestures, movements, postures, among others; thus, students were able


to rely on this strategy. Therefore, it was easy for them to comprehend the ideas presented

either by listening or seeing the specific performance due to the fact that nonverbal

communication was “considered in order to fully reach language acquisition” (Allen, 1999,

p. 469). Consequently, students were able to infer and reinforce the ideas they obtained

from the researchers’ dialogues. Therefore, when they understood the ideas with ease, they

started to feel relaxed and secure. In brief, the clarification of the verbal messages

throughout the use of nonverbal communication decreased students’ anxiety; accordingly,

students’ allowed themselves the understanding of the target language.

Thirdly, foreigner talk was useful due to the fact that students did not experience

frustration when listening to the investigators. Hence, researchers’ messages were adapted

and modified until the input was comprehensible and suitable for the specific group of

students. Accordingly, students comprehended the target language by avoiding negative

feelings that otherwise could have hindered the acquisition of English. Moreover,

researchers repeated the messages whenever it was needed, supporting the input delivered

with other strategies as well. Consequently, it can be affirmed that this comprehensible

input strategy fostered the negotiation of meaning; hence, it made comprehension possible

(Ferguson, 1975).

Finally, as the FOCAL SKILLS Approach promotes innovative teaching methodologies,

students are required to maintain a low affective filter in order to develop their language

competence. Thus, natural and contextualized methods such as the Natural Approach (NA)

and the Total Physical Response (TPR) were employed to carry out all the lessons in order

to lower students’ affective filter and to reach the acquisition of English. On the one hand,

as these teaching practices were mainly focused on making use of the movements as a

manner to respond to the input delivered, students reduced their anxiety levels (Asher,


2001). On the other hand, as these practices were focused on providing students with

considerable amounts of comprehensible input and with lots of opportunities to apply the

English in real-life situations, students could express themselves when they felt ready to do

it (Krashen &Terrell, 1983). In brief, as these methodologies provided students not only

with lots of appropriate input, but also with possibilities for developing an adequate

proficiency in the target language; the experimental students were able to achieve a suitable

level of anxiety that allowed them to be successful in their acquisition process.

3.3.1.3 Comprehensible Input strategies and self-confidence

It can be totally affirmed that the comprehensible input strategies used with the

experimental students strengthened and enriched students’ self- confidence. For this

reason, students were able to reach an appropriate command of the target language and a

high-quality performance as well. Besides, Thorsten Pisken & MarthaYoung-Scholten

(2009) acknowledge that, “self- esteem is [directly] related to success in language

acquisition” (p. 81). Thus, researchers enhanced and constantly increased students’ self-

esteem throughout the use of multisensory teaching materials, nonverbal communication

and foreigner talk. These types of strategies revealed to be efficient when exposing the

experimental group to the target language, since researchers create appropriate

circumstances not only for practicing English, but for experiencing and making mistakes

without being threatened; hence, students did not experience mental block (Krashen, 1981).

Finally, as it was evinced, as researchers made good use of these comprehensible input

strategies in their classrooms, they could easily led students to an elementary language

competence.


First of all, it can be established that multisensory teaching materials were fundamental

resources in which all students’ interests were included. This provided them with

opportunities that highlighted their capabilities, but respecting all types of learning styles.

During the intervention process, it could be confirmed that students became included in

their own learning process; hence, they started to collaborate showing a positive attitude

towards the innovations in terms of teaching materials that investigators presented in the

lessons. Thus, researchers started providing brief and favorable verbal compliments every

time a student was able to face a challenge; all of it, in order to make them experience the

self- confidence required to increase their self- esteem (Birsch, 2011). Hence, students

began to build a solid self-confidence with regards to their abilities and competence in the

target language. Finally, since these resources provided each student with an alternative

for practicing contents through the use of their senses; every one of them significantly

improved his/her self- esteem as well.

Furthermore, it is possible to state that nonverbal communication was a functional

strategy used in EFL lessons since it served as a complementary illustration of the verbal

messages. Therefore, it not only led to greater understanding but also it increased

students’ self- confidence. This comprehensible input strategy clarified researchers’

speech, allowing students to comprehend the verbal input delivered. Therefore, as

students were not frustrated when listening to the audios, their conviction in their listening

skills started to grow and they believed that they were able to comprehend the foreign

language, confirming that self-confidence facilitates acquisition (Krashen, 1982).

Additionally, the confidence experienced increased the possibility of mastering the

language at the level of being fluent and accurate when speaking. Accordingly, as

students’ perception of the target language completely changed because the language


became clearer and approachable for them, students were more likely to be proficient,

rising significantly their self- esteem. Given these facts, nonverbal communication is

required when teaching in EFL contexts since the results yielded in this research,

demonstrated an undeniable improvement on acquirers’ self- confidence when using this

comprehensible input strategy.

Moreover, foreigner talk was used in order to present students more opportunities to

comprehend the verbal messages and to increase their self- confidence. Hence, since

researchers were more focused on making the contents comprehensible, they used the

comprehensible input strategy called, foreigner talk. Thus, pauses, exaggeration and

repetition of the sentences facilitated students’ understanding of the target language;

hence, students’ self-confidence greatly improved. The understanding that students had of

the foreigner talk was relevant mainly because they felt satisfaction when they were

exposed to English. Therefore, they immediately changed their attitude towards the entire

lesson and what is more important, they believed in their listening skills, increasing their

self-confidence. Concisely, it can be totally avowed that students understanding

contributed to a significant improvement of students’ level of confidence.

Finally, the comprehensible input strategies mentioned, reasonably improved and

enhanced students’ self- esteem since they were more eager to provide answers and to give

their opinions about the audios. Since investigators incorporated those strategies students

were encouraged to produce short but accurate sentences in the target language. The issue

mentioned can be confirmed since students’ comments expressed that they were more

comfortable, focused and confident due to the greater comprehension they were able to

achieve in all the lessons. Thus, as they agreed on the fact that they were capable of using

the tools that researchers presented to them, they were willing to participate and be part of


the innovative lessons. Finally, as the results evinced, as students increased their

understanding of the target language thanks to the use of these comprehensible input

strategies, they consequently improved their self- confidence because, as they expressed,

they had the abilities required to start managing the English language.

3.3.1.4 Comprehensible Input strategies and students’ listening proficiency

The experimental students exposed to considerable amount of comprehensible input

significantly increased their listening proficiency. Several factors reflected the substantial

progress achieved in relation to pre and post listening proficiency tests. It is worth

mentioning that the main reasons were the use of several comprehensible input strategies

that consequently built a positive classroom atmosphere. These strategies played a

fundamental role inside the classroom mainly because students had never been greatly

exposed to considerable amounts of comprehensible input. The improvement showed by

this group of students demonstrated the effectiveness of innovative teaching strategies;

thus, it confirmed the principles proposed in the Monitor Model (Krashen, 1988).

After the intervention process, experimental students reached a considerable

improvement in their listening skills (see fig. 14). This was mainly because researchers,

apart from providing students with great amounts of audios and videos, complemented the

lessons with input that was appropriate for their level. The strategies that investigators used

in order to deliver comprehensible input were multisensory teaching materials, nonverbal

communication and foreigner talk. It is noteworthy that the use of these strategies was of

great help in achieving language comprehension that placed students in their first stage

towards production (see supra table 1), as acknowledged in Krashen and Terrell’s Natural

Approach (1977).


Figure 14: Group progress in pre and post listening tests.

Firstly, multisensory teaching materials presented students with a wide variety of

resources that helped them to develop their language competence. In this manner, realia,

flashcards and authentic materials allowed students to start acquiring the language through

their senses. Besides “materials contain plentiful spoken and written texts, which provide

extensive experience of language being used to achieve outcomes (. . .) in relation to

topics, themes, events, and locations likely to be meaningful to the target learners”

(Harwood, 2010, p. 87). This comprehensible input strategy was the most accurate

resource due to the fact that researchers were able to contextualize and adjust it not only to

approach the students’ background, but also the cultural aspects of the English language.

Secondly, nonverbal communication served as an excellent source to support the verbal

messages delivered in the lessons. Consequently, the input that students received through

videos, games, instructions and teachers’ speech facilitated their comprehension of the

target language. Techniques such as gestures, body movements and kind attitudes

approached the language in a more natural way. Moreover, “these gestures can parallel

speech and indicate the same entities or they can complement speech and indicate an image

that is not expressed in speech” (Stan, 2010, para. 1). Therefore, this comprehensible input

strategy caused a great impact on students’ listening skills because even though learners

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

Control Group Experimental

Group

Series1 9% 38%Pr

ogre

ss

Listening Tests Progress


were not familiar with the grammatical structures of the language, they were able to infer

the meaning of the messages shared by the teacher and classmates.

Thirdly, foreigner talk was of great help considering the experimental group learning

conditions. As students had been hardly exposed to spoken input, this strategy was

necessary to make instructions comprehensible. Foreigner talk was useful especially

because “the teacher determines what level of adjustment to implement to negotiate the

meaning best (. . .) [and she adjusts the] speech to suit the linguistic competence of the

class [she is] teaching” (Samburskiy, 2009, p. 5). Hence, the characteristics of this strategy

and its various adaptations made it appropriate to teach learners that were in an early stage

of their acquisition process.

Finally, after the intervention process, it is possible to affirm that the innovations carried

out in the lessons allowed students to develop their listening skills to a great extent.

Specifically, all the comprehensible input strategies were well received by the EFL students

mainly because they agreed that they were able to understand the contents and, at the same

time, they felt the language more approachable to their contexts. Moreover, the use of

activities that involved body movements helped students to realize about the actions they

were performing. Summing up, since students experienced high levels of motivation, low

levels of anxiety and increased their self-confidence, they were able to achieve a good level

of listening comprehension. Besides, as they were able to produce elementary utterances,

they became more active students during the EFL lesson.


4. CHAPTER IV: Conclusions

4.1 General Reflections

The action research carried out ventured to evaluate the effectiveness of Comprehensible

Input strategies under the FOCAL SKILLS Approach in the EFL setting from Valdivia.

This investigation not only attempted to analyze the current EFL educational situation of

public schools but, it also strove to give some responses to the EFL existing situation. In

this sense, the observation process allowed researchers to realize that the Chilean

educational context, specifically the EFL acquisition, requires to be immediately improved.

In relation to this, it can be established that most of teachers are still working with

traditional methodologies which hardly promote the communicative goals of the target

language (Yilorm, 2011). Thus, while having regular lessons, students’ affective issues

were not treated with the importance required, in fact, most of them became either

frustrated when trying to produce oral messages or afraid of using the language in class

time. Briefly, as language competence in the target language is needed, researchers decided

to apply the FOCAL SKILLS Approach which not only leads students’ to the master the

language but it also considers the importance of affective issues in the acquisition process

(Hastings, 2012, personal communication ).

Thus, FSA demonstrated to be an effective and innovative approach that fosters the

acquisition of EFL. Since, the great amount of comprehensible input strategies was

fundamental in students’ acquisition process; their listening skills could increase noticeably

in a short period of time, assuring the rapid acquisition of the language. In the same

manner, this receptive ability was stimulated during every lesson and it led students to

produce short but accurate sentences by the end of the intervention process. Thus, it can be


established that comprehensible input strategies under the FSA encourages students’ oral

performance, allowing them to be more accurate and fluent as well. Therefore, this

innovative teaching practice can represent a possible solution to the impediments and

complications found in Chilean settings regarding to the teaching and learning of EFL.

Accordingly, after the researchers’ interventions, the validity of the FSA in the Chilean

context; specifically in the Valdivian setting, can be confirmed due to the features that the

method possesses. With the considerable amounts of comprehensible input delivered,

students were able to partially acquire EFL in a natural and positive environment. The

appealing and engaging activities which were always contextualized at students’ level of

performance; was a valuable factor that helped researchers to meet students’ interests,

incentivizing students’ curiosity. In addition, the authentic materials and audio visual aids

facilitated students the access to the language in real-life contexts. These unique features

and elements listed before supported researchers’ work, allowing them to enhance and

foster the communicative goals of the English language.

Additionally, it can be confirmed that this method completely changed the experimental

EFL students’ attitude and perception towards the English subject because the method

considered affective issues. The comprehensible input strategies delivered, lowered

immediately students’ level of anxiety due to the fact that they were not forced to produce

the target language, allowing them to have a silent period. Moreover, students’ motivation

was engaged owed to the fun activities carried out during the lessons. Furthermore, as the

materials students’ used, included all learning preferences, they were able to make progress

according their capacities and learning styles; for that reason, students started to increase

their self- confidence. Given these facts, students developed the desire of using the target


language; therefore, it can be affirmed that the affective issues guided the experimental

students towards the acquisition of the language.

According to the data gathered and the results obtained in this research, it can be

maintained that comprehensible input strategies under the FSA are vital and necessary

elements when teaching in EFL settings. Thus, the design of stimulating and innovative

multisensory teaching materials maintained students motivated in the lessons. Then, the

appropriate use of gestures, postures, attitude, among others resources, made students

understand the verbal messages easily, due to the fact that nonverbal communication served

as supporter of the researcher’s speech. Foreigner talk was a very suitable strategy that

facilitated the understanding of the oral messages. Therefore, it caused that the teaching

practices were more significant and engaging for students. Also, the creation of a positive

atmosphere and relationship with students allowed them to acquire the language in a natural

environment that was appropriate for enhancing language competence. The inclusion of

these comprehensible input strategies and techniques in the EFL lessons were not only for

innovating purposes and for reaching the communicative aims of the language; but also for

improving the quality of the current English teaching practices and for demonstrating that

the traditional teaching practices are not as effectives as the approach applied. As a

conclusion it can be said that the use of comprehensible input strategies not only ensured

the rapid language acquisition and the communicative goals of the target language; but also

contributed to the idea of how the current teaching and learning performances can be

improved.


4.2 Recommendations for Further Research

According to the information gathered and presented in this action research, it can be

assured that there is a lack of information regarding innovative teaching practices and EFL

teachers’ reality in the Chilean context. The existence of contextualized and updated

studies on these topics is necessary to contribute to the development of the English as a

Foreign Language teaching. In the same manner, this study provided valuable

contributions in the elementary EFL teaching field; nevertheless, there are some

considerations that should be taken into account in order to improve future research

practices on this topic. Moreover, it is worth mentioning that researchers are committed to

continue applying innovative methodologies when teaching in the future. Consequently,

teaching practices that involve the implementation of comprehensible input strategies as a

pivotal resource in the EFL classroom are worth developing and investigating to gradually

improve the Chilean EFL education.

With regards to the implementation of the research, it can be assured that there are some

factors that need to be improved in order to make the research process less complicated. It

is recommended to previously inform the English teacher and principal about all the

changes or innovations that will be carried out in the EFL classroom. This is mainly

because some activities, that students are not used to, may seem messy or too noisy and the

researcher might be asked to keep students quiet and silent; thus, the method or approach

that is being applied could not be successfully developed. In the same manner, it is

suggested that the researchers maintain an appropriate level of communication with the

school community in order to keep them informed about the changes carried out; also, it

can be useful to collect opinions about the researchers’ practice. Hence, paying attention to


opinions or critiques will definitely improve the research results and further impact on the

educational community.

Moreover, after the research process, the investigators noticed the necessity to continue

implementing innovative teaching methodologies in the EFL classroom. That is the main

reason why researchers will keep contributing to the EFL acquisition from their own

teaching realities. In order to achieve this, investigators are involved in several initiatives

that hopefully will help teachers and students to be more motivated when teaching and

learning. Specifically, researchers will help educators to update their teaching practices

through the collaboration in a program that promotes the use of innovative teaching

methodologies to be applied in the EFL classroom. Accordingly, investigators are part of a

wider group that attempts to make a teaching kit that will include a variety of resources that

can be used in EFL lessons, this, in order to help students to acquire the English language

in a more natural manner. In addition, the publication of this paper is also considered,

mainly because researchers think that it is appropriate to share experiences and information

that can be useful to other colleagues who are also interested in making innovations in the

classroom. In the same manner, it is important to highlight that this research project is part

of a bigger investigation in charge of M.S. in Ed. Yasna Yilorm Barrientos14

. Besides, as

this research yielded positive results, investigators will continue applying the FOCAL

SKILLS Approach in order to approximate the target language to students in a more suitable

manner.

The execution of further research on the topics mentioned above not only contributes to

better teaching practices, but also to more suitable learning conditions for students. It

would be relevant that future research be carried out considering wider samples in order to

14

Experimental research to obtain a Ph. D. degree.


establish a more accurate diagnosis of the EFL educational reality. Furthermore,

continuing this investigation can result in a valuable study to provide EFL teachers with the

necessary tools to face today’s public educational context. Finally, all future sources of

information will inevitably lead Chilean EFL students to language acquisition; this, will

allow them to share ideas and opinions with people from different countries and cultures, as

stated by the MINEDUC (EducarChile, 2005).


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6. Appendix

6.1 Listening Tests

6.1.1 Listening Pretest

UNIVERSIDAD AUSTRAL DE CHILE

FACULTAD DE FILOSOFÍA Y HUMANIDADES INSTITUTO DE LINGÜÍSTICA Y LITERATURA Prof. Yasna Yilorm

Tesistas: D. Bennett, P. Díaz, C. Vergara, K. Zuber.

5th Grade - Listening Test “Unit 3: Food and Drinks”

Name:……………………………………………………………………………………….

Date:…………………………………… Score: ………/32 points.

I. IMPERATIVES

According to the song you listened to, the correct answer. (___/4 pts)

1. What do you have to do before you eat?

2. What do you have to use to wash your hands? (___/4 pts)

A B C

A B C

CIRCLE


3. Circle three things you should do every day. “Health and hygiene song”. (___/6

pts)

A B C

D E F

II. FOOD AND DRINKS

4. What do the people like to eat? (___/4 pts)

5. What did the man bring? 2 things. (___/6pts)

A B C D

A B C

CIRCLE


6. the drink/s you listened to. (___/4pts)

A B C D

7. Did she have the necklace? (___/4 pts)

A B

CIRCLE


6.1.2 Listening Posttest

UNIVERSIDAD AUSTRAL DE CHILE

FACULTAD DE FILOSOFÍA Y HUMANIDADES INSTITUTO DE LINGÜÍSTICA Y LITERATURA Prof. Yasna Yilorm

Tesistas: D. Bennett, P. Díaz, C. Vergara, K. Zuber.

5th Grade - Listening Test “Unit 3: Food and Drinks”

Name:……………………………………………………………………………………….

Date:…………………………………… Score: ………/47 points.

1. What did she buy?

a) Honey b) Bread c) Fruits and vegetables

(veggies)

2. How many kiwis did she buy?

a) a) Ten b) Two c) Five

3. What did she buy?

a) Melons b) Carrots d) Peppers

4. Does she like bananas?

_____________________________________________________


5. Does she like peppers?

_____________________________________________________

6. Does she like hot dogs?

_____________________________________________________

7. What is Katy Perry’s favorite fruit?

a) Apples b) Kiwis c) Pineapples

8. What is Katy Perry’s favorite junk food?

a) Hamburger and

chicken nuggets

b) Nuggets and chips c) Chicken and juice

9. What does her new cat eat?

a) Apples and raspberries b) Raspberries and

blueberries

c) Blueberries and

oranges


10. What is he cooking?

a) Soup b) Fruit salad c) Pasta

11. What fruit is NOT mentioned?

a) Tangerines b) Bananas c) Watermelons

12. What else does he include?

a) Ice cream b) Yogurt c) Juice

13. Circle the fruits you listened to.

Banana

Watermelon

Kiwi

Apple

Orange

Raspberries


14. Circle the fruits that are named in the listening.

Apple

Raspberries

Orange

Pear

Banana

Pineapple

15. What is the woman preparing? A) A snack B) Breakfast C) Lunch

16. What are some of the ingredients she used?

A) Fresh fruit and vegetables.

B) Fresh fruits and cereal.

C) Fresh vegetables and cereal.


17. Circle the fruits the woman used to prepare the meal.

A) Apple, Blackberry

and bananas.

B) Kiwi, watermelon and

bananas.

C) Apple, pear and kiwi.


6.2 Surveys

¿Te gustan las clases de inglés

SI ____ NO _____

¿Por qué?

¿Por qué? Las actividades son entretenidas ____ Las actividades no me gustan ____

Entiendo más las clases ____ No entiendo las clases ____

Me saco buenas notas ____ No me saco buenas notas ____

¿Te gusta el inglés? SI ______ NO____

¿Te gustaría seguir aprendiendo inglés?

SI ____ NO _____

¿Por qué?

¿Por qué? Para entender los video juegos _____ Porque no lo necesito ____

Para entender las canciones y

películas _____

Porque en Chile no se habla inglés ____

Para conocer gente de

otros países _____

Porque no me interesa conocer gente de otros

países ____

Para estudiar en la universidad _____ Porque no se ocupa en lo que quiero estudiar

(cuando sea grande) ____

Después de mis clases de inglés siento que yo:

Aprendo mucho ______ Aprendo poco _______ No aprendo nada ______


6.3 Questionnaire

Cuestionario – Diagnóstico Docente en el Subsector de Inglés

Estimado profesor:

Lo invitamos a responder este sencillo cuestionario de la manera más honesta

posible. Su cooperación nos será de utilidad para entender el contexto escolar de la

unidad educativa a la que pertenece y la manera en que esta influye en la motivación y el

quehacer docente. Asimismo, nos dará luces sobre las metodologías con las que usted se

encuentra familiarizado. La información otorgada en este cuestionario es confidencial y

no será publicada o compartida. Agradecemos su tiempo para responder las preguntas.

Etapa I. Caracterización del docente

1. ¿Cuántos años de experiencia tiene como profesor? ............................

2. ¿Con qué certificación cuenta para enseñar inglés? Marque la mejor opción con

una X.

Título universitario

Certificación por Instituto de Formación Profesional

Perfeccionamiento docente

Designación del Director de su establecimiento

3. Pertenece a alguna organización relacionada con el área de inglés

Sí No

Indique

cuál(es)………………………………………………………………………………………..

……………………………..

4. ¿Ha realizado algún curso de perfeccionamiento en su área durante los últimos 5

años?

Sí No


Indique área:

Perfeccionamiento idioma

Evaluación

Metodología

Material didáctico

Otro (indique)

……………………………………………………………………………………………

………………………………………

5. ¿Le interesaría participar en un curso de perfeccionamiento en enseñanza del

inglés?

Sí No

En caso de marcar opción Sí, ¿Qué carga horaria de perfeccionamiento se

acomodaría a sus intereses y/o necesidades?

20-200 horas (Básico) 250-400 horas (Especialización)

Etapa II. Caracterización de la realidad educativa

6. Marque con una X los niveles a los que imparte la asignatura de inglés dentro del

establecimiento.

1° 2° 3° 4° 5° 6° 7° 8° 1° M 2° M 3°M 4°M

7. ¿Cuántos alumnos por sala tiene en promedio?

___ 10-20 ___ 20-30 ___ 30-40 Otro: ___

8. ¿Cuántas horas cronológicas semanales tiene su jornada de trabajo en este

establecimiento? ..................


9. ¿Se desempeña como docente de la misma área en otro establecimiento

educacional?

Sí No

En caso de marcar opción Sí, ¿Cuántas horas cronológicas semanales tiene su

jornada de trabajo en este establecimiento?........................................

10. Especifique cómo se divide su quehacer laboral de acuerdo al número de horas

cronológicas en este establecimiento. Ej: 2 horas para planificación.

Frente a clase ………

Planificación

Evaluación y corrección

Talleres JEC

Consejo de Profesores

Atención de Apoderados

Reunión de Apoderados

Otras

En caso de existir otras actividades, indique cuáles:

……………………………………………………………………………………………

………………………………………

11. En una escala de 1 a 10 (donde es 1= mala y 10= excelente), ¿cómo definiría la

actitud de sus estudiantes frente a la asignatura de inglés?

1

Mala

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Excelente


12. ¿Cuál de las siguientes características describe(n) MEJOR a sus estudiantes?

(Puede seleccionar más de una.)

SÍ NO

Demuestran interés por aprender.

Demuestran interés por los juegos.

Tienen mucho apoyo en el hogar.

Tienen poco apoyo en el hogar.

Demuestran interés por la asignatura de inglés.

Tienen dificultades para comunicarse en general.

No tienen dificultades para comunicarse en general.

Tienden a sentirse inseguros al hablar en inglés.

Se agotan intelectualmente en la clase de inglés.

Muestran agrado al hablar en inglés.

Poseen un estereotipo negativo de las lenguas extranjeras.

Mantienen una buena actitud hacia el aprendizaje del inglés.

Etapa III. Factores motivacionales del profesor

13. Marque con una X la aseveración que estime correcta de acuerdo a su realidad

como docente.

1

Completamente

en desacuerdo

2

En desacuerdo

3

Ni acuerdo ni en

desacuerdo

4

De acuerdo

5

Completamente

de acuerdo

En el establecimiento 1 2 3 4 5

1. 1. Existe un ambiente de trabajo agradable.

2. El equipo directivo supervisa mi trabajo.

3. Recibo la cooperación de mis colegas en la resolución de conflictos.

4. Se me otorgan oportunidades de perfeccionamiento en mi área.


5. Existe una buena recepción a las ideas que propongo.

6. Las instalaciones de mi escuela facilitan mi trabajo.

Motivación personal

7. Me siento actualizado en mi área de enseñanza.

8. Tengo amplio dominio de la lengua inglesa.

9. Me siento conforme con la remuneración que recibo.

10. Tengo la libertad para diseñar e implementar actividades en mi área.

11. Mis estudiantes valoran mi trabajo.

Etapa IV. Metodología del profesor

14. Los programas de estudio que actualmente está aplicando en cada nivel, están

basados en:

El programa que indica el ministerio

El programa que indica el ministerio con énfasis particulares que interesan al

establecimiento

Un programa propio del establecimiento

15. En una escala de 1 a 10 (donde es 1= nunca y 10= siempre), ¿Con qué frecuencia

habla usted en inglés durante una clase?

1

Nunca

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Siempre

16. ¿Qué porcentaje de actividades de comprensión auditiva realiza usted durante su

clase sin considerar los mensajes producido por el profesor?

10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%


17. Marque con una X. ¿Con qué frecuencia realiza las siguientes tareas en sus clases

de inglés?

Todas

las

clases

En la

mayoría

de las

clases

En

algunas

clases

Nunca o

casi

nunca

1. Exposición de los contenidos

2. Aplicación de lo aprendido en clases en

actividades que involucren contexto real

3. Exposición por parte de los alumnos

4. Actividades grupales de los alumnos

5. Actividades individuales de los alumnos

6. Revisión de contenidos al final de la

clase

7. Uso del inglés oral en la sala de clases

8. Uso de Juegos

9. Uso de técnicas teatrales (juegos de rol,

improvisación, entrevistas, mímica)

10. Uso de traducción

11. Uso de guías de trabajo

18. Marque con una X. ¿Cuál(es) de las siguientes metodologías de

enseñanza/aprendizaje de una lengua extranjera utiliza usted en su sala de clases?

Nunca Ocasionalmente Siempre

1 2 3

Método Gramática-traducción. (Grammar-

Translation Method)

Análisis detallado de la gramática de la lengua,

para después aplicarlo en la traducción de

oraciones y textos. El español sirve como


referencia para el uso del inglés.

Método Audiolingüe (Audiolingualism)

Promueve la adquisición del lenguaje a través

de la repetición y análisis de estructuras

gramaticales. Se entiende la lengua como un

comportamiento que se adquiere con la

práctica y la corrección. Prevalece la precisión

del lenguaje por sobre la fluidez.

Enfoque Comunicativo (Communicative

Approach)

Hincapié en la comunicación oral en contextos

reales mediante la utilización de materiales

auténticos como videos, revistas y diarios.

Prevalece la fluidez del lenguaje por sobre la

precisión.

Enfoque Natural (Natural Approach)

Promueve el uso del inglés en situaciones

comunicativas, sin recurrir nunca al español,

inclusive al momento de enseñar gramática.

Se recalca la adquisición de léxico y el

descubrimiento de reglas por parte del

estudiante.

TPR (Total Physical Response)

Los estudiantes son llamados a responder

físicamente a órdenes verbales. Se intenta

imitar el aprendizaje de los niños de su lengua

materna, a través de la decodificación de

mensajes corporales y orales.

Otro

(indique)………………………………………

……………………….


19. En forma jerárquica, enumere del 1 al 4 los estados que reflejan sus estudiantes al

momento de realizar una actividad hablada. (1= el estado más presente y 4= el estado

menos presente)

Relajación (Ralaxation)

Es cuando el estudiante se siente desmotivado,

aburrido y no muestra preocupación por la actividad.

Relajación Leve (Mild Relaxation)

Es cuando el estudiante experimenta un nivel de

nerviosismo leve mostrando sus manos sudorosas.

Ansiedad Moderarada (Moderate Anxiety)

El estudiante muestra dificultad al producir y/o

compartir ideas y también muestra sus manos

sudorosas.

Ansiedad Severa (Severe Anxiety)

El estudiante muestra mayor dificultad al expresar

ideas, sus mejillas pueden cambiar a un tono rojizo y

puede mostrar sus manos o su voz temblorosas.

Etapa V. Recursos e infraestructura

20. ¿Cuáles de los siguientes recursos utiliza para desarrollar sus clases de Inglés?

Marque con una X todas las alternativas que utilice.

Pizarrón

______

Libros de texto ______ Música ______

Computadores

_____

Películas y/o videos ______ Guías de trabajo ______

Flashcards

______

Revistas ______ Diarios ______

Internet

______

Pizarra digital ______ Diapositiva-Data ______

Juguetes

______

Objetos (realia) ______ Suministros de enseñanza (tijeras,

papel, etc.) _______


Exagera acento y

utiliza lenguaje

pausado para hacer el

idioma más

comprensible

______

*Otros

¿Cuáles?…………………………………………………………………………………………………

………………………

21. ¿Con cuál de las siguientes unidades cuenta usted para realizar sus clases?

Gimnasio

______

Laboratorio idiomas

______

Patio techado

______

Biblioteca

______

Escenario

______

Sala de música

______

Sala de informática

______

Patio descubierto

______

Sala de inglés

______

Hall (diario mural)

______

*Otros. ¿Cuáles?

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………

…………


22. ¿Qué instancias incorpora su plan de disciplina dentro de la sala de clases?

Marque con una X todas las instancias.

Anotaciones negativas en libro de clases

Anotaciones positivas en libro de clases

Refuerzo positivo verbal

Refuerzo negativo verbal

Expulsión de la sala

Premios

Pruebas sorpresa

Amonestación verbal

Actividades lúdicas

Derivación a superiores

Otros (indique):

………………………………………………………………………………………………

23. ¿Cómo es la decoración de la sala de clases? Elija cuál(es) de los siguientes están

presentes:

Diagramas

Mapas

Dibujos

Abecedario

Imágenes

Diario Mural

Otros

(indique cuál/es)………………………………………………………………………

24. ¿Cree usted que es posible reemplazar el uso del texto escolar de inglés por

material auténtico (diarios, videos, canciones) y/o material multisensorial (objetos

reales)?

Si_____ No____

Muchas gracias por responder este cuestionario.


6.4 Interview

Interview to Dr. Ashley Hastings

June 17th

, 2012.

1. What strategies do you suggest to compensate the lack of input in English while

the students are outside the classroom?

The most important strategy is to make sure the classroom itself is rich in

comprehensible input, because there is really no way to control or guarantee input outside

the classroom. Also, anything you can provide in the way of reading materials (at the

appropriate level of difficulty) would be useful. Another idea, if technologically feasible, is

to videorecord your English classes and make the recordings available to students, online or

on disk, so they can repeat and review them at home.

2. How do multisensory teaching materials contribute to reach a good command

of the English language?

Life itself is multisensory, so multisensory materials make the language more alive for

the students. The use of movies in language teaching (with the MovieTalk technique) is a

perfect example of this, because the students experience combined visual and auditory

input in the context of a story. In addition, the use of materials that students can feel, smell,

and taste can strengthen the acquisition of associated vocabulary.

3. We understand that in order to pass a FOCAL SKILLS Listening Test, a

learner must answer 80% of the test correctly (48 points out of 60). Could you

corroborate this information and explain this process to us?

This is correct. In a Yes/No test with 60 questions, we expect a score of around 30 even

if a person understands nothing, because you can get about half the questions right just by

random guessing. Eliminating the 30 “free” points, we see that a person with 48 total

points actually understood 18 of the remaining 30 questions. That’s 60%. In FOCAL

SKILLS, we insist on at least 60% comprehension before allowing a learner to move on to

the next module. For statistical reasons, it’s not a good idea to lower this standard. If a test


is too hard for appropriate placement, we should replace the more difficult questions with

easier ones, until the appropriate level of difficulty is reached.

4. According to your experience, do you consider that the activities carried out

under the FOCAL SKILLS Approach allow teachers to reach all students’

learning styles?

“Learning styles” is not really the issue, in my opinion, because language

ACQUISITION is not the same as learning. In Krashen’s model, which we follow in

FOCAL SKILLS, language is acquired in only one way: by understanding interesting input.

So, by providing such input, we satisfy the needs of all language students.

5. To what extent should teachers use comprehensible input strategies such as

foreigner talk, visual aids, and multisensory materials in their classroom?

To the greatest extent possible. All these strategies promote language acquisition.

6. In what way can teachers provide students with comprehensible input

strategies under the FSA?

I would point out to students that the FS classroom is based on interesting

comprehensible input and low anxiety, so they should adopt strategies along the same lines.

To make progress in a language, choose interesting materials. If a book is boring, put it

down and find another. If it’s too hard, find an easier one. If it’s too easy, find a more

advanced one. Don’t worry about understanding every word or analyzing grammar. If you

use sources like YouTube for input, just watch, listen, and understand what you can, and

focus on material that you can enjoy for its own sake. Effective language acquisition takes

time, so be patient.

7. What do you think about having an adaptation of the FOCAL SKILLS

Approach and about the fact of applying it with children?

I think this is fine. The original FS model was developed for intensive ESL programs at

the university level. It’s logical that various adaptations in materials, techniques, and

program structure would be useful when teaching children, because of their different level


of maturity, cognitive development, and world knowledge. The basic principles, however,

are applicable to all ages. Interesting materials, comprehensible input, low anxiety, focus

on listening with beginners, then add reading, later add writing, don’t require speaking

under pressure.

8. What skills, in general terms, should teachers have in order to apply the FS

approach?

Fluent and accurate use of the language, excellent communication skills, good humor,

enthusiasm, empathy, patience, ability to estimate students’ comprehension, ability to

rephrase so they understand, awareness of linguistic features that may interfere with

comprehension.

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FSA 1 Universidad Austral de Chile Lead Advisor

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