This article presents the preliminary results of an enquiry on the work experience of Colombian language teachers who have entered the workforce in foreign countries. The study aims at unveiling aspects of the personal and professional experience of those graduates that might be relevant for pre-service teachers in local degree programs ahead of their potential move abroad in a growing international mobility context. The study includes data from surveys and personal interviews carried out with a group of 26 participants whose narratives of experience invite one to consider the variables that may either facilitate or hinder one’s teaching practice in a foreign workplace and the intercultural communication issues that language teachers may need to deal with. A reflection is brought forward on the needs that teacher training programs at university level in Colombia should address to broaden the scope of their graduates’ likely move abroad.
{"title":"Colombian Language Teachers Abroad: An Overview of Their Professional Experience","authors":"Liana Mercedes Torres-Casierra","doi":"10.19183/HOW.28.1.579","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.19183/HOW.28.1.579","url":null,"abstract":"This article presents the preliminary results of an enquiry on the work experience of Colombian language teachers who have entered the workforce in foreign countries. The study aims at unveiling aspects of the personal and professional experience of those graduates that might be relevant for pre-service teachers in local degree programs ahead of their potential move abroad in a growing international mobility context. The study includes data from surveys and personal interviews carried out with a group of 26 participants whose narratives of experience invite one to consider the variables that may either facilitate or hinder one’s teaching practice in a foreign workplace and the intercultural communication issues that language teachers may need to deal with. A reflection is brought forward on the needs that teacher training programs at university level in Colombia should address to broaden the scope of their graduates’ likely move abroad.","PeriodicalId":43460,"journal":{"name":"How-A Colombian Journal for Teachers of English","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2021-02-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44621265","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
This qualitative case study seeks to understand the importance of interaction in an A1-English language course at a public university in Colombia. Data were collected through six non-participant observations and four semi-structured interviews. Data were organized and analyzed by using MAXQDA software. These instruments provided enough information of the participants’ perspectives about the importance of interaction when learning a new language. With these instruments, it was also possible to find the types of interaction that occurred between the participating teacher and students in the observed foreign language classroom. The findings reveal five different interaction patterns that emerged depending on its purpose, who started them, when they occurred, and how they were given.
{"title":"Understanding Basic English Users’ Classroom Interaction: A Case Study","authors":"Ximena Rocío Contreras-Espinosa, Karen Michell Villamizar-Mantilla","doi":"10.19183/HOW.28.1.577","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.19183/HOW.28.1.577","url":null,"abstract":"This qualitative case study seeks to understand the importance of interaction in an A1-English language course at a public university in Colombia. Data were collected through six non-participant observations and four semi-structured interviews. Data were organized and analyzed by using MAXQDA software. These instruments provided enough information of the participants’ perspectives about the importance of interaction when learning a new language. With these instruments, it was also possible to find the types of interaction that occurred between the participating teacher and students in the observed foreign language classroom. The findings reveal five different interaction patterns that emerged depending on its purpose, who started them, when they occurred, and how they were given.","PeriodicalId":43460,"journal":{"name":"How-A Colombian Journal for Teachers of English","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2021-02-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43466877","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Self-assessment for accreditation purposes requires follow-up of graduates and feedback with academic programs. As part of the improvement actions, this study was done to characterize graduates’ methodologies in English language teaching. The data, gathered through questionnaires, showed that graduates privilege the communicative and eclectic methods; the criteria for selecting methodologies are based on their relevance in the teaching context and students’ learning needs; furthermore, there is a need and expectation to be updated in methodologies according to the guidelines of the National Bilingual Program. It would be relevant that these results were considered in the curricular development of modern languages and in graduates’ professional development activities.
{"title":"English Teaching Methodologies of Modern Languages Graduates from a University in Colombia","authors":"Carmelina Encarnación Mosquera","doi":"10.19183/HOW.28.1.581","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.19183/HOW.28.1.581","url":null,"abstract":"Self-assessment for accreditation purposes requires follow-up of graduates and feedback with academic programs. As part of the improvement actions, this study was done to characterize graduates’ methodologies in English language teaching. The data, gathered through questionnaires, showed that graduates privilege the communicative and eclectic methods; the criteria for selecting methodologies are based on their relevance in the teaching context and students’ learning needs; furthermore, there is a need and expectation to be updated in methodologies according to the guidelines of the National Bilingual Program. It would be relevant that these results were considered in the curricular development of modern languages and in graduates’ professional development activities.","PeriodicalId":43460,"journal":{"name":"How-A Colombian Journal for Teachers of English","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2021-02-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42764988","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
This paper reports a descriptive case study developed in an English language teaching program at a public university in Colombia. The purpose of this study was to disclose what knowledge a group of pre-service teachers had about intercultural communicative competence and how they considered their approach to this competence in the English classes they had planned during their final pedagogical practicum. The instruments used to collect data were documents, interviews, and a survey. The outcomes were meaningful for the participants as well as for the researcher since it was possible to identify that pre-service teachers understand this competence as a visible concept to be approached in the classes, mainly to refer to and learn about other cultures different from the Colombian and Boyacense ones. It was also identified that the intercultural communicative competence was considered, by these pre-service teachers, as the “dressing” to change the taste of the class.
{"title":"Pre-Service Language Teachers’ Knowledge and Practices of Intercultural Communicative Competence","authors":"María Teresa Esteban-Núñez","doi":"10.19183/HOW.28.1.596","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.19183/HOW.28.1.596","url":null,"abstract":"This paper reports a descriptive case study developed in an English language teaching program at a public university in Colombia. The purpose of this study was to disclose what knowledge a group of pre-service teachers had about intercultural communicative competence and how they considered their approach to this competence in the English classes they had planned during their final pedagogical practicum. The instruments used to collect data were documents, interviews, and a survey. The outcomes were meaningful for the participants as well as for the researcher since it was possible to identify that pre-service teachers understand this competence as a visible concept to be approached in the classes, mainly to refer to and learn about other cultures different from the Colombian and Boyacense ones. It was also identified that the intercultural communicative competence was considered, by these pre-service teachers, as the “dressing” to change the taste of the class.","PeriodicalId":43460,"journal":{"name":"How-A Colombian Journal for Teachers of English","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2021-02-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45520266","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
This article reports the results of a study that took place at a private university in Bogota, Colombia. An English language course was the scenario for applying a set of sessions that sought to determine how blended learning could influence the development of digital skills for creativity and communication via a pedagogical intervention during an academic term. A quasi-experimental design was carried out to measure the variable ‘communication and content creation skills’ by conducting a pre- and post-test survey. From the statistical test, the general hypothesis was accepted for the scope of this study, stating that the b-learning model did not develop the skills chosen in this implementation meaningfully. These findings imply that creativity and communication skills can be influenced by this model; also, thought-content-creation skills received a major influence according to the internal statistical tests. However, the statistical tests that comprised this method also suggested that the impact was not high enough to prove the main hypothesis. Furthermore, findings provide an opportunity to explore research designs that are not common in this field of education.
{"title":"Digital Skills for Communication and Content Creation: Can B-learning Greatly Influence Them?","authors":"Yeimmy Rubiela Gómez-Orjuela","doi":"10.19183/HOW.28.1.568","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.19183/HOW.28.1.568","url":null,"abstract":"This article reports the results of a study that took place at a private university in Bogota, Colombia. An English language course was the scenario for applying a set of sessions that sought to determine how blended learning could influence the development of digital skills for creativity and communication via a pedagogical intervention during an academic term. A quasi-experimental design was carried out to measure the variable ‘communication and content creation skills’ by conducting a pre- and post-test survey. From the statistical test, the general hypothesis was accepted for the scope of this study, stating that the b-learning model did not develop the skills chosen in this implementation meaningfully. These findings imply that creativity and communication skills can be influenced by this model; also, thought-content-creation skills received a major influence according to the internal statistical tests. However, the statistical tests that comprised this method also suggested that the impact was not high enough to prove the main hypothesis. Furthermore, findings provide an opportunity to explore research designs that are not common in this field of education.","PeriodicalId":43460,"journal":{"name":"How-A Colombian Journal for Teachers of English","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2021-02-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49183784","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
In this pedagogical proposal, we utilized Feminist Pedagogy and narratives to reveal women’s skills that they had silenced in their cover letters for employment. Five females’ narratives were analyzed using aspects of the grounded theory method to answer the question: What do women’s narratives reveal about their personal skills otherwise silenced in their cover letters? The results showed that women find strength in their spirituality, as well as demonstrating loyalty, flexibility, respectfulness, and resilience. All of the women wrote about their decision-making abilities, which included organization, responsibility, and problem-solving. Finally, the stories revealed that women’s ability to make choices defined their freedom and their future.
{"title":"Write On, Women! Discovering Personal Skills through Feminist Pedagogy and Narratives","authors":"Ana Olga Rallón, Anna Carolina Peñaloza-Rallón","doi":"10.19183/HOW.28.1.567","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.19183/HOW.28.1.567","url":null,"abstract":"In this pedagogical proposal, we utilized Feminist Pedagogy and narratives to reveal women’s skills that they had silenced in their cover letters for employment. Five females’ narratives were analyzed using aspects of the grounded theory method to answer the question: What do women’s narratives reveal about their personal skills otherwise silenced in their cover letters? The results showed that women find strength in their spirituality, as well as demonstrating loyalty, flexibility, respectfulness, and resilience. All of the women wrote about their decision-making abilities, which included organization, responsibility, and problem-solving. Finally, the stories revealed that women’s ability to make choices defined their freedom and their future.","PeriodicalId":43460,"journal":{"name":"How-A Colombian Journal for Teachers of English","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2021-02-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44815189","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
This study investigated the effects of teaching vocabulary through the lexical instructional approach in EFL intermediate level students. Ninety-five (95) students participated in a non-equivalent pre-test-post-test quasi-experimental design study. The participants were given vocabulary competence pre-test in order to check their homogeneity in terms of their vocabulary knowledge. Then, following the similitude of the results they scored, the participants were randomly assigned as experimental group and the control group. For sixteen (16) weeks, the experimental group was taught by providing students with chunks and/or collocates of words through using collocation dictionaries, concordance programs, chunk-for-chunk translation activities, and corpus-based activities etc. Whereas, the control group was taught the new words in isolation with conventional teaching techniques; for example, translation at single word level, synonyms, antonyms, and definitions. After the instructional intervention, both groups participated in a vocabulary competence post-test. The Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) software version 22 was employed to analyse the results. In this regard, an independent Samples T-test was run and the findings of the study showed that the experimental group outperformed the control group in the post-test which implies that teaching vocabulary with a lexically-based instruction can improve EFL learners’ vocabulary competence or knowledge. Furthermore, the study results suggest that the lexical instructional approach should be the focus of future experimental research.
{"title":"The Effectiveness of Using the Lexical Approach to Developing Ethiopian EFL Learners’ Vocabulary Competence","authors":"Addisu Sewbihon-Getie","doi":"10.19183/HOW.28.1.586","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.19183/HOW.28.1.586","url":null,"abstract":"This study investigated the effects of teaching vocabulary through the lexical instructional approach in EFL intermediate level students. Ninety-five (95) students participated in a non-equivalent pre-test-post-test quasi-experimental design study. The participants were given vocabulary competence pre-test in order to check their homogeneity in terms of their vocabulary knowledge. Then, following the similitude of the results they scored, the participants were randomly assigned as experimental group and the control group. For sixteen (16) weeks, the experimental group was taught by providing students with chunks and/or collocates of words through using collocation dictionaries, concordance programs, chunk-for-chunk translation activities, and corpus-based activities etc. Whereas, the control group was taught the new words in isolation with conventional teaching techniques; for example, translation at single word level, synonyms, antonyms, and definitions. After the instructional intervention, both groups participated in a vocabulary competence post-test. The Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) software version 22 was employed to analyse the results. In this regard, an independent Samples T-test was run and the findings of the study showed that the experimental group outperformed the control group in the post-test which implies that teaching vocabulary with a lexically-based instruction can improve EFL learners’ vocabulary competence or knowledge. Furthermore, the study results suggest that the lexical instructional approach should be the focus of future experimental research.","PeriodicalId":43460,"journal":{"name":"How-A Colombian Journal for Teachers of English","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2021-02-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43553445","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
When referring to peace, peacebuilding, and peace education, among others, some similarities and differences among them appear. Although some consider ELT as a peripheral field regarding peace construction, diverse enunciation modalities profile this interest. Inquiring into what, where, when and who, I analyzed 55 articles and 36 presentation abstracts for this qualitative study to unveil what is understood as peace construction in ELT. This revision presents six tendencies. Gaps and opportunities of research action for teachers are synthesized. Time/space coordinates of enunciation modalities in peace construction are displayed. I describe who the teachers behind some studies might be, regarding their locus of enunciation. Conclusion remarks around the diverse nature of peace construction are discussed, as representing those links between imagined separated fields.
{"title":"Possible Impossibilities of Peace Construction in ELT: Profiling the Field","authors":"Yeraldine Aldana-Gutiérrez","doi":"10.19183/HOW.28.1.585","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.19183/HOW.28.1.585","url":null,"abstract":"When referring to peace, peacebuilding, and peace education, among others, some similarities and differences among them appear. Although some consider ELT as a peripheral field regarding peace construction, diverse enunciation modalities profile this interest. Inquiring into what, where, when and who, I analyzed 55 articles and 36 presentation abstracts for this qualitative study to unveil what is understood as peace construction in ELT. This revision presents six tendencies. Gaps and opportunities of research action for teachers are synthesized. Time/space coordinates of enunciation modalities in peace construction are displayed. I describe who the teachers behind some studies might be, regarding their locus of enunciation. Conclusion remarks around the diverse nature of peace construction are discussed, as representing those links between imagined separated fields.","PeriodicalId":43460,"journal":{"name":"How-A Colombian Journal for Teachers of English","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2021-02-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44440636","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"July/December","authors":"","doi":"10.19183/how.27.2","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.19183/how.27.2","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":43460,"journal":{"name":"How-A Colombian Journal for Teachers of English","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2020-09-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45583693","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
This research study assesses the levels of attitude and motivation that tenth-grade students manifest during English Language classroom activities. The study follows the Self Determination Theory to analyze these students’ levels of attitude and motivation in the classroom activities proposed by an English Language teacher at a public school in Bogota. Findings demonstrate that there are four different types of activities presented and developed by the participating teacher. The students express their levels of motivation with a high percentage in perceived competence, and their levels of negative attitude with a low percentage in pressure and tension. An emergent result displays teachers’ imposition, students’ attention, and obtaining rewards or punishments during the classroom activities process.
{"title":"Motivation and Attitude as the Fuel to Develop English Language Classroom Activities: A Self-Determination Study","authors":"Yendli Soranny Molina-Leal, Paola Lizeth Peña-Cerón","doi":"10.19183/how.27.2.557","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.19183/how.27.2.557","url":null,"abstract":"This research study assesses the levels of attitude and motivation that tenth-grade students manifest during English Language classroom activities. The study follows the Self Determination Theory to analyze these students’ levels of attitude and motivation in the classroom activities proposed by an English Language teacher at a public school in Bogota. Findings demonstrate that there are four different types of activities presented and developed by the participating teacher. The students express their levels of motivation with a high percentage in perceived competence, and their levels of negative attitude with a low percentage in pressure and tension. An emergent result displays teachers’ imposition, students’ attention, and obtaining rewards or punishments during the classroom activities process.","PeriodicalId":43460,"journal":{"name":"How-A Colombian Journal for Teachers of English","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2020-08-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41584000","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}