MONTESSORI METHOD FOR STRENGTHENING COMMUNICATION SKILLS IN ENGLISH AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE IN YOUNG CHILDREN / MÉTODO MONTESSORI PARA EL FORTALECIMIENTO DE LAS HABILIDADES DE COMUNICACIÓN EN INGLÉS COMO LENGUA EXTRANJERA EN NIÑOS PEQUEÑOS
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.46827/ejel.v7i1.3987Keywords:
English as a foreign language, didactic material, motivation for reading and writing, educational innovation, reading and writing / inglés como lengua extranjera, material didáctico, motivación para leer y escribir, innovación educativa, lectura y escrituAbstract
This work aims to strengthen the communication skills in English as a Foreign Language of young children in Ecuadorian elementary schools. It used the action research method and a combination of qualitative and quantitative research approaches. The sample consists of 10 children of the second grade of elementary school and their parents. All they have permanent residence in the province of Manabi, Ecuador. The researcher team designed an educational intervention based on the Montessori Methodology to improve participants’ communication skills in English as a Foreign Language. The educational intervention lasted 6 months and used the contains of the second grade of the elementary education curriculum of Ecuador. The instruments used for data collection were in-deep interviews, class observation, and the vocabulary acquisition test of Windi (2017). The results showed that all participants improved in 3-4 points their scores of English communication skills from pre-test in comparison to post-test. It concluded that 100% of young children that participated in this research improved their communication skills in English as a Foreign Language when supported the instruction with Montessori Methodology.
Este trabajo tiene como objetivo fortalecer las habilidades de comunicación en inglés como lengua extranjera de los niños pequeños en las escuelas primarias ecuatorianas. Utilizó el método de investigación de acción y una combinación de enfoques de investigación cualitativos y cuantitativos. La muestra está compuesta por 10 niños del segundo grado de primaria y sus padres. Todos ellos tienen residencia permanente en la provincia de Manabí, Ecuador. El equipo de investigadores diseñó una intervención educativa basada en la Metodología Montessori para mejorar las habilidades comunicativas de los participantes en inglés como lengua extranjera. La intervención educativa tuvo una duración de 6 meses y utilizó los contenidos del segundo grado del currículo de educación básica del Ecuador. Los instrumentos utilizados para la recolección de datos fueron entrevistas en profundidad, observación de clases y la prueba de adquisición de vocabulario de Wendi (2017). Los resultados mostraron que todos los participantes mejoraron en 3-4 puntos sus puntajes de habilidades de comunicación en inglés desde la prueba previa en comparación con la prueba posterior. Se concluyó que el 100% de los niños pequeños que participaron en esta investigación mejoraron sus habilidades comunicativas en inglés como lengua extranjera cuando se apoyó en la instrucción con la Metodología Montessori.
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