A proposal to teach english to eighth graders in a public school in Cali through curriculum contents [recurso electr?nico]

This monography seeks the improvement of the teaching of English in an eighth grade from a public school in Santiago de Cali, INEM Jorge Isaac, through the implementation of a proposal based on the integration of this language with some disciplinary fields that are part of the curriculum; and to design, plan, prepare and evaluate a unit of teaching founded on Content-Based Instruction (CBI), through the Communicative Approach, some Task Based Learning procedures, Project Work, and Cooperative Work.

A critical approach to reading comprehension in english: teaching intervention with group of teenagers at a non-formal education institution [recurso electr?nico]

The following paper is an action research made with a group of 6 teenagers aged 11-13 from the city of Cali. The project was carried out at a non-formal education institution and basically describes the process of a teaching intervention in which the concepts of Critical Pedagogy and Task-Based Learning were the protagonists. The results show first, that students really need to feel motivated in order to accept a critical approach; second, that the role of the teacher in the achievement of the objectives is extremely relevant; it is necessary for them to have a critical perspective before working on this field besides the constant seeking of information in order to innovate in their classes; third, that the TBL (Task Based Learning) and the critical pedagogy are processes that need some time in order to bear fruits; and fourth, that a needs analysis is essential for the quality of the intervention.

Evaluaci?n y mejoramiento del Syllabus de ingl?s del grado primero de primaria de un colegio monoling?e privado de Cali [recurso electr?nico]

Esta investigaci?n consiste en la evaluaci?n del programa de ingl?s del grado primero de primaria del colegio Mixto San Vicente de la Ciudad de Cali y su redise?o con base en los principios del enfoque de aprendizaje a trav?s de tareas (Task-Based Learning). El desarrollo de este estudio se inscribe bajo los principios metodol?gicos de la investigaci?n cualitativa en educaci?n, en tanto que busc? optimizar la calidad de un plan de estudios. En este sentido, su realizaci?n implic? el uso de diferentes t?cnicas etnogr?ficas de recolecci?n de datos, tales como: entrevistas, charlas, an?lisis de documentos, observaciones de pr?cticas de ense?anza y pruebas piloto, para llegar a la propuesta de un plan de estudios mejorado y la construcci?n de algunas conclusiones y sugerencias para provecho de la instituci?n. Se trat? de un trabajo de pedagog?a aplicada, ya que se cont? con la presencia de los investigadores en el campo.

Dise?o, implementaci?n y evaluaci?n de una secuencia did?ctica para el mejoramiento de la comprensi?n de lectura en estudiantes de medicina y cirug?a de la Universidad del Valle [recurso electr?nico]

Esta investigaci?n-acci?n se enmarca dentro del ?rea de ESP (English for Specific Purposes). La investigaci?n se realiz? en un curso de Textos Acad?micos I para estudiantes del programa del programa de Medicina y Cirug?a de la Universidad del Valle. El objetivo principal de la investigaci?n es dise?ar una secuencia did?ctica siguiendo la metodolog?a Task-Based Learning con el prop?sito de mejorar la compresi?n de lectura de textos especializados en los estudiantes del programa de medicina y cirug?a. La investigaci?n retoma varios aspectos importantes dentro del aula de clase como la metodolog?a de ense?anza, la motivaci?n por parte de los estudiantes y los procesos de compresi?n de lectura. Durante el proceso de investigaci?n y el dise?o de la secuencia did?ctica se identificaron diferentes aspectos que favorecen y desfavorecen la relaci?n ense?anza-aprendizaje en un curso de ESP. En el dise?o de la secuencia did?ctica se tuvo en cuenta el aprendizaje basado en tareas, los contenidos del curso de Lectura de Textos Acad?micos en ingl?s I y el ?rea espec?fica de conocimientos de los estudiantes. Despu?s de analizar los resultados de las cuatro actividades aplicadas se evidenci? una mejor?a notable en la comprensi?n de lectura de diferentes textos especializados, en relaci?n a la exploraci?n inicial realizada a trav?s del test diagn?stico.

Project work in a Basque L2 classroom: students’ perceptions

[EN] Project Work has been acknowledged as an efficient medium for language learning for more than two decades (Stoller, 2006) according to the numerous successful applications of project-based programmes that have been reported. In spite of the lack of sufficient controlled studies to assess the benefits of project work, and the existence of some studies giving evidence of students discontent with project work, the reports given by second language (SL) and foreign language students (FL) who have experienced project based instruction give support to the success attributed to project-based learning, as they recognised having improved language skills, learnt content, developed real life skills, as well as gained in self-confidence and motivation (Sierra, 2008 and 2011; Stoller, 2006). The aim of the present study is to explore some key issues involved in implementing a project-based programme focusing on the students’ perceptions of learning gains, their views on the collaborative assessment scheme used in the programme, and the students’ overall evaluations of the implementation of project work in a post-compulsory secondary education context in Navarre, Spain, with students learning Basque as a second language. A group of 12 students enrolled in a project work based programme participated in the study. Results showed that the students’ perceptions were very positive concerning doing projects, learning gains and group work, although more grammar instruction and teacher-fronted activities were requested by the students. However, the collaborative assessment process and the use of a Notebook/Diary as a reflection tool bore mixed evaluations.

Beyond human and intellectual capital: Profiling the value of knowledge, skills and experience

The concept of human capital is associated mainly with the Nobel Laureate Gary Becker and, in his usage, has a clear conceptual basis as investment in the costs of formal education. By contrast, this paper suggests that ‘intellectual capital’ is a re-branding of knowledge, skills and experience rather than re-conceptualisation of resource based learning. Becker also chose not to include informal knowledge, skills or experience within his concept of human capital, which remains limited by its constrained premises. This paper submits that both human capital and intellectual capital advocates fail to identify or measure the tacit knowledge and implicit learning which increasingly is recognised as a key to the competitive advantage of organisations. It first focuses on the conceptual basis of claims made for human capital and intellectual capital, outlines limits in their methodology, and contrasts these with insights from theories of tacit knowledge and implicit learning and the central role within them of informal or non-formal skill acquisition. It develops and illustrates instances of interfacing tacit and explicit knowledge before introducing a methodology for profiling the acquisition of knowledge, ability and skills. It does so by introducing the concepts of non-formal learningfrom- work (LfW) and informal learning-from-life (LfL), with evidence from a four country EU case study commissioned within the lifelong learning remit of the Lisbon Agenda.

Analysis of english teachers' perceptions related to strategies studied in a in-service course in Cuenca

El presente estudio describe las percepciones de los profesores fiscales de inglés en relación a las estrategias aprendidas durante una capacitación realizada en el año 2012 por un grupo de investigadores de la Facultad de Filosofía de la Universidad de Cuenca. En el año 2014, este grupo de investigadores inició un proyecto para analizar el impacto de dicha capacitación. Este es el marco contextual en el cual se desarrolla el análisis de la percepción docente. La propuesta está basada en el método exploratorio. El instrumento de investigación fue la entrevista personal a diez profesores que participaron de la capacitación en el año 2012. Los resultados fueron analizados con la ayuda del Software Atlas ti. Se identificaron catorce códigos diferentes que fueron agrupados en cuatro grupos de familias: estrategias comunicativas, aprendizaje significativo, percepciones de las necesidades e inconsistencias. Todas estas familias de códigos convergieron alrededor del Aprendizaje Basado en Tareas (ABT), el cual permitía generar un outcome, cuyo significado específico es la generación de un producto a partir del uso del idioma inglés por parte de los estudiantes. Un hallazgo importante fue que casi todos los profesores recordaron varias estrategias aprendidas en la capacitación, mismas que sumaron un total de nueve, además la mitad de docentes estaba usando el outcome en sus clases, ello da cuenta de la percepción positiva que tienen los docentes sobre el curso, a pesar de haber transcurrido dos años de su clausura.