Incorporating Advising Strategies into One-to-One Tutoring: Effects on the Awareness Towards Vocabulary Learning

Language advising helps a language learner discover different ways of learning and enables him/her to make decisions for better learning. This paper reports on an inquiry conducted with one English language learner who had difficulty with vocabulary acquisition which led to a perceived lack of progress in learning. The main purpose of the research was to observe and interpret the experience of the learner in terms of how different teaching and learning strategies appeared to affect her vocabulary learning. Qualitative research instruments including a semi-structured interview and a diary were used for this study. The results showed an increase in the learner’s control over her vocabulary learning process which was likely facilitated by the incorporation of language advising strategies into individual private tutoring.

THE EFFECTIVENESS OF QUIZIZZ WHEN WORKING WITH DESCRIPTIVE ADJECTIVES

Deficient use of vocabulary in learners is common when they use English to express their ideas. The use of technology to motivate students learning is an ally for teachers when they want to innovate and develop new strategies. The aim of this action research study is to assess the effectiveness of using the Quizizz online platform to improve one participant’s listening skill to recognize descriptive adjectives. The participant was one English language learner from an A1 level in a semi private school from Concepción, Chile. During 5 sessions he used and played on the Quizizz platform, there he listened to words, simple phrases and complex sentences. He had to choose the correct picture that represented that the descriptive adjectives that he had heard. To identify and analyze the results of the Quizizz platform, it was used an observation checklist. Then, at the end of each session, a multiple choice task with similar questions to Quizizz was used. To identify the participant’s perception about the Quizizz platform it was used a Likert scale. The findings showed that the use of the platform didn’t contribute to the participant’s improvement of his listening skill related to descriptive adjectives. In addition, the participant perceived the Quizizz platform positively. For these reasons, the Quizizz platform is recommended to be used for educational purposes. El uso deficiente del vocabulario en los estudiantes pequeños es común cuando usan inglés para expresar sus ideas. El uso de tecnología para motivar el aprendizaje de los estudiantes es un aliado para los docentes cuando quieren innovar y desarrollar nuevas estrategias. El objetivo de este estudio de investigación-acción es evaluar la efectividad del uso de la plataforma en línea Quizizz para mejorar la habilidad de escucha de un participante para reconocer adjetivos descriptivos. El participante fue solo un estudiante de inglés de nivel A1 de una escuela semi privada de la ciudad de Concepción, Chile. Durante 5 sesiones él utilizó y jugó en la plataforma Quizizz, allí escuchó palabras, frases, oraciones complejas y tuvo que elegir la imagen correcta que representaba el adjetivo descriptivo que había escuchado. Para conocer y analizar los resultados de la plataforma Quizizz se utilizó un checklist de observación, luego al final de cada sesión se utilizó una tarea de opción múltiple con preguntas similares a las del Quizizz. Para identificar la percepción del participante sobre la plataforma se utilizó una escala Likert. Los hallazgos mostraron que el uso de la plataforma no contribuyó a que el participante mejorara su habilidad de escuchar en relación a los adjetivos descriptivos. Además, el participante percibió positivamente la plataforma. Por estas razones, se recomienda utilizar Quizizz con fines educativos. <p> </p><p><strong> Article visualizations:</strong></p><p><img src="/-counters-/edu_01/0790/a.php" alt="Hit counter" /></p>

The Information Search Process of English Language Learner (ELL) Students in a Guided Inquiry Project

This study seeks to understand the information-to-knowledge experience of English Language Learner (ELL) students in a Guided Inquiry project undertaken by the librarian and subject teachers. As a pilot study, it provides an in-depth examination of two Korean 11th grade students in a biology class of a high school in New Jersey, U.S. During the project, data were collected through questionnaire, surveys, search journals, search sessions, observation, students’ papers, and interviews. The findings of this study will facilitate the understanding on the information seeking and knowledge construction process of ELL students so that school environments, including school libraries, can provide meaningful instructional and service interventions for them.