Assignment 3

Language Learner Profile

Name: Valentina Acua Z.

Teachers names: Carolina Rojas

Amar Dhillon

Subject: EFL Methodology

November 8th, 2016

INDEX

1. Theoretical Framework on Language Learner Strategies

2. Background of learner
3. Interview of learner
4. Phonetics transcription (3 lines)
5. Analysis and Assessment
5.1 General analysis
6. Discussions and Conclusions
8. References

Theoretical Framework on Language Learner Strategies

When developing the term of education, we can use a huge number of

mechanisms which help us understand how people learn better. For instance, this
Language Learning Profile (LLP) is one of those instruments, which main objective
is to identify a certain students background in respect to his or her efficiency and
acquisition of the English language. Some researches have established diverse
types of strategies, which can make learning process prosperous (Chamot, 1999
[et al.] ; Oxford, 1990; Renandya, 2012). As we know, in our time people is required
to manage languages efficiently and for that reason, the language learning has
growth. Chamot (1990) research on strategy instruction which suggest that it can
deeply support to teachers work and also to students inside the classroom
because learning a new language requires an effective development of four skills
and other certain systems.
Firstly, I would like to make an essential differentiation within two concepts which
are generally confused: Learning Styles and Learning Strategies. According to
OMalley and Chamot (1990) [et al.], the Learning Styles are influences which
affect how students learn, how teachers teach and how both interact. On the other
hand, Chamot (1999) [et al.] described Learning Strategies as the procedures or
techniques that learners can use to facilitate a learning task (p.2). In addition to
this, Oxford (1990) estates that they are some operations used by students to
support the storage of new content; at the same time, make the act of learning
more enjoyable. Thus, LLS has the objective of help students while learning, not
only with content, but especially with the language itself.
Secondly, Oxford (1990) makes an important classification between some types of
strategies that students can implement. In the first place, she distributes the
concept. Direct Strategies- which mean including new language directly- and
Indirect Strategies- which propose an indirect support for learning. After this, she
separate both into three according to how they are used: The Direct Strategies;
Cognitive,

Comprehension

and

Memory

strategies;

Indirect

Strategies:

Metacognitive, Affective and Social. On the other hand, Chamot (1999) [et al.] does

not show any arrangement for these strategies but Oxford does, actually, her
model is called The Metacognitive Model of Strategy Learning. Additionally, there
could be a clear comparison between these two authors considering that some of
these strategies are considered as social or memory by Oxford (1990) and are
called metacognitive by Chamot. Nonetheless, these strategies are organized
relating to four different phases of the instructing process: planning, monitoring,
problem-solving and evaluating.
Thirdly, we can study Oxfords (1990) theory as future teachers. due to the fact that
she gives the specification of how each skill of the language works, also she
provides diverse examples of how these strategies can be developed. Still, though
Chamot (1999) [et al.] does not make differentiation between the skills, she arrives
into the classroom. She suggests a lesson plan model which we, as future
teachers, can use in order to organized our future classes for encouraging our
future students to be aware of some techniques that they can use for a more easy
learning, designating steps to follow with examples of activities for each student.
Moreover, the lesson plan created by Chamot (1999) [et al.] is called The cognitive
Academic Language Learning Approachand it main objective is to instruct learner
explicitly on learning strategies, which going from activities guided by teachers to
students autonomous use of them. Besides, the main goal of teaching language
emphasized by her, is assisting student by giving significance to prior knowledge
and collaborative learning, developing awareness of their metacognition and
controlling their own learning. thereby becoming independent learners.
According to my own perspective, during my training process as future teacher, I
have learned that teaching and learning are not seen as processes of just
delivering information from the teacher to the student, it more than that, it is a set of
actions where we as teachers help people to be the best version of them in every
aspect of life.
Learners have the advantage of counting with a great variety of strategies which
gives them the opportunity to practice with all of them until they found the correct

one, the one that fits them matching their abilities and metacognitive processes to
each task. To sum up, I would like to highlight that explicit strategies instructions
have a huge impact since through this, learners self-regulation and autonomous
work rise. As Chamot (1999) [et al.] and Oxford (1990) say that students need to to
develop their autonomy, self-efficacy and prevent frustrations in a future time, due
to not being able to accomplish a task.

Background of learner

The person who was interviewed for this Language Learner Profile has 25 years
old and currently lives in Talcahuano, Concepcin. During his learning process at
primary school, he had English classes since 5 th grade for two hours a week. On
the other hand, he mentioned that he was not so satisfied with his primary English

classes. When he was on secondary school, he moved from Liceo Comercial to La

Asuncin high school. On the contrary of their first English lessons, he said that he
likes English at this high school but he does not care too much about paying
attention to his lessons just because he distracted and get bored when he finished
their tasks. Furthermore, I believed that it is important to mention that he said he
noticed the huge gap between studying on private schools and public schools, due
to the fact that he developed his education in both realities of Chilean schools. He
also remembered that in his years of schooling, the listening skill was developed
more deeply than the other skills in his English classes. Currently, he is a third year
student of English Teaching at UDLA (Universidad de las Amricas) which is
located in the downtown of Concepcin. If we summarize the years in which this
person has been exposed to the English language until today, there will be ten
years between primary, secondary and university learning.
According to the interviewee, he explains that even if he does not feel a hundred
percent comfortable or sure when speaking English, he decided to study this major
for three different reasons: The first one is he would like to improve his level, learn
more and of course, feel more comfortable being exposed to the Language. The
Second reason is related with the fact that in a couple of years, when he finishes
his studies he wants to travel abroad and get exposed to the language in a country
with the English has its mother tongue, if it possible to England. And the last
reason and most important, because he loves teach.

Interview of learner
Email address of the interviewee: mcasanovao@gmail.com
Questions:
A: Interviewer - B: Interviewee
1) A: Do you like learning English? Why?

B: Yes, I do like learning English. Mmm.. Firstly, because its fun jaja and..
Because its.. Es.. The most important language in the world, so most of 50% of the
content of internet is in English, so knowing English and learning English, Im also
learning some other stuff, books, films, music, so, so much information, and so its
great, its great to learn English, I mean for that reason. And also because emm...
You get the chance to have better job opportunities so... If I'm not teaching in a
future, may be I will be using my english skills in some other job or some other way
or some other country or something.
2) A: When did you start studying English?
B: I started in 2012, I was studying psychology before that then I get bored and I
change, emm It was definitely better English than psychology, I mean
psychology is fun anyway but it's not something I.. I see myself doing for the rest of
my life.
3) A: Why did you decide to study English Teaching?
B: I decided when I was in psychology amm.. My friends use to tell me that I was
good with kids and teaching things, so and I was also very interested in English
when I was in highschool so its.. it feels like the right thing to do.
4) A: Which of the four English skills is the easiest for you?
B: Writing, definitely because... I think its because Im shy and I tend to get
nervous when I speak in front o In front of.. In front of somebody, so yeah, writing
and... You dont have to worry about pronunciation when writing so its easy and its
suitable with my own personality,
5) A: What did you do last summer and who did you go with?
B: Last summer my girlfriend and I went to La Serena, we stay there for like a
week, seven or eight days, something like that. We went with her family and it was
great, it was really really beautiful.. amm.. Ive never been in the north before so
and I have never been in an airplane before so it was great, we have a great time.

6) A: Where do you want to go this summer and why?

B: Emm.. I definitely dont want to go to the north, I want to go to the south with my
girlfriend. We dont know yet where we going to Where we going to go but I think
it will be something like Villarica or Pucon or something but we dont know where to
stay and but Im.. just the two of us, Im just gonna go with her and nobody else.
7) A: How do you get to the University every day?
B: I have classes in the afternoon so I usually take the bus around three, three
thirty or something and then I walk like four blocks, yeah four blocks and thats it,
thats how I get to the university by taking the bus everyday in Tuesdays,
Wednesdays and Thursdays.
8) A: If you could travel abroad someday, which place would you like to visit?
Why?
B: Thats a very difficult question, because when you see on internet different
countries or different places to go you get.. there is so many so many many
countries and many cities and many destinations but one of my favourites its... its
Liverpool I think, because of the docks its like relaxing and peaceful so... and its
the hometown of the beatles which its my favorite band so, it would just.. it would
be great to go there, just to visit there.
9) A: What is your favorite movie? Why? And what it is about?
B: My favorite movie is the shining by Stanley Kubrick I think its great, it's a great
great history and not just the visual. not just the music.. its an overall think.. its, its
about a writer that its lock inside a hotel for the entire winter with his wife and his
son and he goes crazy, he drives to murder then... And its some other things about
ghost and hallucinations is really really weird and I think thats why I like it, its a
really really weird movie.
10) A: Who is your best friend and how does he/she describe you?
B: My girlfriend is my best friend, I think its important that the person you are in
love with its also your best friend.. and she said Im quite, she said Im... she saids

that Im I laugh about everything dont take things seriously, but I think its a good
thing amm.. shes surprise by the fact that Im always relaxed, so thats how she
describes me.
Phonetic transcription: Question number 10
/ ma glfrnd s ma bst frnd, a k ts mptnt t psn ju r n
l v
w ts ls j bts frnd.. nd i sd am kwat, i sd am... i sds t am a
lf bat vr dnt tek s srsli, bt a k ts gd /

Correct phonetic transcription: Question number 10

/ ma glfrnd z ma bst frnd, a k ts mptnt t psn ju r n
lv w ts ls j bst frnd.. nd i sd am kwat, i sd am... i sdz t
am a lf bat vr dnt tek srsli, bt a k ts gd /

Analysis and Assessment

When I decided of choosing a student para desarrollar este LLP, I instantly thought
in an ex English classmate, who I always found a bit shy and quiet but also very
clever and hard worker. During the interview, I was able to find positive and
negative aspects, but I must add that the positives ones were more than the
others. For instance, some of this positives issues were that the interviewee follows
the instructions accurately; moreover, he was able to speak fluently despite of his
nervous, also another important point was he showed himself pretty secure when
speaking. Nonetheless, I also noticed a few mistakes from part of the learner like
mispronunciations in some words, or incorrect use of possessive adjectives,
among others.

Consequently, even if my interviewee has shown some weaknesses while

developing speaking skill, these mistakes can be improved with practice and
patience, since this ability is one of the most complicated skills to develop with a
high level of proficiency.
On the other hand, I would like to point out another aspect that I noticed whereas
interviewing. Although this person did not indicate plenty mistakes, he did
constantly hesitations while speaking using some fillers like amm, emm or
when he expanded the word the in some sentences. I presume that these
hesitations problems, which my interviewee used, are related with the fact that he
did not remembered all the vocabulary for expressing the ideas he wanted to
describe.
I also found mother tongue influence in answer number one. ... because its.. Es..
The most important language This was just one mistake, but I would like to
describe what this mother tongue mistakes happen. even for those who has years
and years of practising. According to Rasekhi (2009), most of the pronunciations
made by native speakers of Spanish when learning English, are caused by the
interference between their Language 1 (L1) and the Language 2 (L2).
During the analysis of this particular spoken mistake, I considered that he tried to
avoid the use of Spanish words, due to the fact that this was just one mistake in
their whole discourse.
According to the mispronunciation problem, I selected 3 lines of the interview,
which are highlight in the phonetic chart corresponded to question number ten. I
used this stract due to the fact that I had heard, while interviewing, wrong
pronunciations. The lack of the phoneme /z/ in some words pronounced by my
interviewee, could be related to the lack of words with this phoneme in our
Language or American Spanish. In fact, in Spanish we have words written with
consonants -s- or -z-, but these words are just pronounced with /s/ sounds;
therefore, we make no differentiation in consequence of the spelling. Thus, the /z/
sound has turned into a poorly used phoneme in Chilean culture.

A mistake related to tenses, can be found on answer number 3. The interviewee

said My friends use to tell me Instead of say My friends used to tell me. In this
case, the word use should be in past, due to the fact that this person was
describing an event which took place some years ago. Probably, this mistake and
some others are related to his anxiety or nervous at the moment to speak.
In addition, another mistake that this student did was related to answer number 8,
the beatles which its my favorite band

CHAMOTS LESSON PLAN

Skill: Speaking

Target Language: English.

Topic: Future Life. Tourism.

Grade: 3rd year University student.
Strategy: Making predictions.
Language Objective(s): At the end of the class, students will be able to talk about
what visitors (in this case, their classmates) can found interesting in different cities
from Chile.
Strategy Objective: By the end of the lesson, students will be able to use some
strategies like the use of different resources to find the crucial information and

vocabulary to develop a tourist team who will guide the visitors around different
places.
Communication Task: Students are going to use role play, situating themselves
as tourist guides in groups with no more of 3 students.
Preparation: Show to students some ppts about places around Chile which are
famous for their beautiful landscapes, their history, among others. Make students
relate the topic with the places in the presentation and asking them what do they
know about this, in order to activate their previous knowledge.
Presentation: Tell to students they are going to prepare a ppt presentation or a
prezi where they are going to guide and explain us some cities and their most
significant places.
Practice: Students are going to start making this presentations, searching
vocabulary related to the topic, making predictions about the city they are going to
choose and practising their speaking skill with their partners.
Evaluation: Students gives some tips to the class and asking if they know
something about this places in order to make connections with the predictions.
Then they share their presentations to their classmates, giving some main topics
about the places, showing interesting facts and pictures about it.
Expansion:

Discussions and Conclusions

According to what I found with this assignment, in general terms I must say that
lessons plans focus on some strategies which need and requires external help
from different resources, dictionaries, internet and the teacher. Furthermore, I think
that one of the most important factors while teaching are the students eager to
learn and to be part of the whole class, as an individual and as a part of a group.
Moreover, I estimate that I have to prepare my classes and making students
interested about the topics and, most of all, about the language. While doing my
interview I noticed that my interviewee was a bit nervous; for that reason, I tried to
create a more relaxed atmosphere, because I knew that this person does not feel
comfortable when speaking in English and I believed that the atmosphere and the
affective filter are another incredibles and significant points for learners, because
that happen with me too; thus, my future lessons will be better taking into account
all the strategies and the meaningful points that I can teach to my students.

References

Chamot, A., et al. (1999) The learning strategies handbook. White plains,
NY: Longman.

Oxford, R. (1990). Language Learning Strategies: What every

teacher should know. Heinle & Heinle: Boston.
Rasekhi, V. (2009). ESL/EFL learners perception of their pronunciation
needs and strategies. Fresno: California State University. Retrieved
November 6, 2016
http://64.8.104.26/11kolokdaragh.pdf