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Additional language learning : effective approaches to supporting newcomers learning English in British Columbia and Spanish in Chile

University of British Columbia

This qualitative research study is a comparative study of instructional strategies that subject content teachers in Canada and in Chile use to teach additional language learners. The goal was to identify the most used and effective strategies. The study was framed within the research literature on additional language teaching and learning related to the constructivist view of learning. Qualitative methods were used, including a self-study carried out by the researcher, an open-ended questionnaire, and semi-structured interviews. The self-study consisted of a written journal based on classroom observations in a Canadian middle school, which allowed the researcher to witness the instructional strategies that teachers used in their classes and to reflect on their effectiveness in the additional language learning process. For the questionnaires and the interviews, the participants were six language specialists (three from each country) who responded to questions about the strategies that teachers use to support language learners in the four main skills (listening, reading, speaking, and writing) and the ways they assess student performance in those skills. The data gathered were coded and analyzed in search of patterns and themes oriented to answer the research question. The results of this study showed that teachers were aware of the modifications they needed to implement in the subject-specific, language, and social areas to support language learners by implementing instructional strategies related to differentiated instruction, comprehensible input, and cooperative learning, along with the use of technology to enhance learning experiences. It was also found that given the great number of approaches and instructional strategies available when planning the tasks and assessments, teachers can take and blend the aspects and elements that best fit their learners’ characteristics and learning profiles, a process grounded in the concept of principled eclecticism. It is hoped that the findings of this research help teachers to evaluate the instructional strategies they currently use and to obtain information on the most effective ones to modify and improve their praxis. It is also hoped that the findings can be used to set possible criteria for the implementation of Spanish as additional language programs in Chilean schools.

Text

2020-07-13

10.14288/1.0392352

Master of Arts - MA

Education, Faculty of; Education, School of (Okanagan)

2020-09

Graduate