Acquisition and Learning of English as a Foreign Language

22.06.2015
Iris Roa

Research paper.

Tools to improve team work and learning process.

Lucas Salas Ferrada.

Acquisition and Learning of English as a Foreign Language

22.06.2015
Iris Roa

Description of the problem:

This research paper reports on an investigation to explore some learning

strategies to overwhelming speaking fears. This investigation suggests potential
tactics to decrease language anxiety and encourage oral communication in the
classroom. To emphasis on the main issue of this research, it is important to
answer the main question: What kind of strategies can be helpful to students to
overcome their fears to express themselves orally? As we know, the speaking skill
is for most students the hardest ability when we are talking about communication,
but now we are be able to answer the main question and why students feel
uncomfortable when they trying to speak in English.
According to my experience in practice at the school, learners of the 3 rd year in
high school, students know a short vocabulary but they can create sentences to
communicate an idea. Nonetheless, when they need to speak, the case is different.
Students look insecure and not available to produce a sentence in order to speak.
In some cases, the learners look nervous about this situation, but in other cases
the problem is they are not interested in the speaking activities.
Throughout my school practice experience as an English teacher, I have
deliberated that speaking is one of the most necessary skills that students want to
cultivate. In addition of this point, Bygates (1987) declares speaking deserves
more attention due to its importance in students current lives (pg. 37).
In case of my practice, the 3rd year of high school, they have 4 hours of English
classes per week. Students are children with social and economic problems and
they are not interested in the English classes during the week because they
believe they not need learn a second language. Adding an important issue, most of
them just started to learn English when they started the 7th grade in primary school.

Acquisition and Learning of English as a Foreign Language

22.06.2015
Iris Roa

Theory linked to research problem:

The most important aspects found are: the obligation to modify the
methodology, a concern helping oral communication, the practice of games and
pleasant activities to generate a relaxed mood that helps the learners overpass
their uncertainties, insecurity and nervousness regarding speaking English inside a
helpful atmosphere. In addition, educators are worried about how to involve the
students in this issue, providing them a starring role.
Castrilln (2003) demonstrates that actions like theatre, songs, draw, little tasks
presentation, are useful tools for the students to help to increase their active
participation and require them to work cooperatively in a compulsory way. She also
proposes taking into consideration important issues when using games for learning
purposes such as the learners skills, their family life, interests about life, and their
background in order to define and:
Contextualize the language through the use of concrete activities related to the
childrens lives (p. 64).
In some cases the use of games to develop the learners motivation to study
English or as a teachers, we use these activities at the end of a class. These
activities are with a pedagogical orientation to loose and create a relaxed
atmosphere for the students in order to make them feel comfortable in the school
context. The games we use are related to a pedagogical context and as teachers,
we use them to know if the students are learning about what the unit is in the
classroom and if it was promoting skills production according to the skill we are
teaching.
Additionally, Gonzlez (2001) says it is good to develop the speaking skill creating
work in groups between students to increase cooperative work and socialization
through speaking. Besides, Gonzlez gives some options about how work teams
can be create it to be conscious about how learners can work together. This helps
3

Acquisition and Learning of English as a Foreign Language

22.06.2015
Iris Roa

to finish the common classes structure where students learn individually and they
are not permitted to work in a group because some teachers think they are just
fooling around. It is important to create a new conscience when we are thinking on
teaching. Cooperative learning is more helping and demanding when we are
talking about time, but, this work structure is more useful in order to work with the
learners and explain to them how to work in groups or helping each other to
overcome the shame when they need to speak English and fixing when they make
a mistake when they are talking, being their own monitors and making decisions to
answer their problems in the task.
According to Nunan (1989), cooperative learning is confronting a challenge and
turning. In cooperative learning, students are not considered as moderately
passive subjects of knowledge, but fairly active persons and responsible for their
own education when they are studying.
Kohonen (2000) associates the old structure of schools with the new scholar
model. This theory states according to Nunan, (1989):
In cooperative learning situations learners work together to accomplish
shared goals can foster learner growth both in terms of academic achievement,
personal growth and the development of social and learning skills (p.33).

Acquisition and Learning of English as a Foreign Language

22.06.2015
Iris Roa

Kohonen stance:

In addition to Kohonen explain, he highlights some very important aspects to

produce successful cooperative learning:

Sense of work together as a group for the same goal and worried about

each others learning and knowledge.

An individual responsibility, where member of the group feels in charge of
their own and their teammates knowledge and creates an active impact to

the group.
Verbal interaction between the members of the group, where students
explain, create, produce, link, etc., the topic with they are working during

they project.
Developing social abilities, producing an active participation of the learners
and sufficient control, message and resolution skills so that the team can
work effectively. This issue helps for students that are not feel confident
when they need to talk in front of the class but they feel better talking with

people of their same level.

Reflection as a group. In this case, the groups occasionally evaluate what
they have learned, how good they are working as a team and how they
might do it better as a learning team instead of work by their own.

When we think on the Chilean reality of education in case of English as a second

language, we know how difficult it is to motivate learners to study and learn a new
language because most of them started to learn English just for two hours per
week since 7th grade. According to the previous authors, it is good to change the

Acquisition and Learning of English as a Foreign Language

22.06.2015
Iris Roa

old fashion style of how learners study and this issue should be starts with new
models of education inside of the classroom.
Human beings are social and this is why students should not be able to learn by
their own a new topic, especially when we are trying to teach them a foreign
language. Children need to learn English talking and interacting with their
classmates and teacher and not only following the grammatical rules and what the
teacher explains in the classroom.
According to the previous authors mention in their studies, cooperative learning is
a suitable and important tool to develop self-confidence and self-esteem to
communicate between learners that feel anxious and ashamed about their
grammar or pronunciation in English, but as the authors said before, they can work
and learn more working with classmates as a personalize way to learn.

Jones (2004) defines this issue in language learning circumstance as the fear
provoked when the learner is asked to speak in the foreign language in front of the
class, with the risk of learners of their same level should laugh about the student
because he or she could make a mistake and they will notice it. Oxford (1990),
Jones (2004), Von Worde (2003) and Turula (2004) states that anxiety has a
negative effect in language learning. Fears, nervousness, insecurity and lack of
self-confidence are related to language anxiety.
Learners can make a mistake for different reasons as the authors said, but the
most common issue in this topic is because they feel insecure with their English
level. And different cases are because students feel learn a second language is a
boring issue and they do not need it in their future life. According to the previous
information, the cooperative learner can be a good tool to add in the Chilean
educational program to help students to learn the second language through
cooperative work in groups making the students work as their own monitors to
correct their mistakes and makes learner aware about their personal and collective

Acquisition and Learning of English as a Foreign Language

22.06.2015
Iris Roa

work. Teachers have the role to ask and suggest some ideas to students to know if
they are learning and how good are the work groups. The teacher provides
feedback to them and helps when learners do not know the answer when they
have a doubt. The cooperative learner skill can be used in different activities during
the class, for example, creating a role playing, a tale, producing different stages in
a talent show, etc., and students need to be adapted to the activities that teacher
asked to do.
As many new studies say, learners need to work in groups to share their
knowledge and help them each other and correct them when someone inside of
the team have a mistake or answer it if they have a doubt. In addition, teacher
have an important role directing the groups and giving them feedback when the
teams are lost or do not know something.

Acquisition and Learning of English as a Foreign Language

22.06.2015
Iris Roa

References:
Bygate, M. (1987). Speaking. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Castrilln, O. (2003). Encouraging the development of childrens oral
competences through play.
Gonzlez, S. (2001). Encouraging interaction by applying cooperative
learning.
Jones, J. F., (2004). A cultural context for language anxiety. EA Journal,
21(2). Retrieved June 17, 2007 from
http://qa.englishaustralia.com.au/index.cgi?
E=hsvalidatortemplate=journalefile=adminX=SLev1=5Lev2=3
Kohonen, V. (2000). Experiential learning in foreign language education.
London: Pearson Education.
Nunan, D. (1993). Collaborative language learning and teaching. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press.
Oxford, R.L. (1990). Language learning strategies: What every teacher
should know.
Turula, A. (2004). Language anxiety and classroom dynamics: A study of
adult learners. English Teaching Forum Online, 40, 1-10. Retrieved June
26, 2007, from http://exchanges.state.gov/forum/

Acquisition and Learning of English as a Foreign Language

22.06.2015
Iris Roa

Von Worde, R. (2003). Students perspectives on foreign anxiety. Inquiry, 8, 117. Retrieved June 28, 2007, from http://www.vccaedu.org/inquiry/inquiryspring2003/i-81-worde.html