READING COMPREHENSION STRATEGIES AS A MEANS TO HELP

STUDENTS MAKE BETTER DECISIONS ABOUT THEIR FUTURE OCCUPATIONAL

LIFE

JULIÁN ANDRÉS LIÉVANO SALDAÑA

UNIVERSIDAD LIBRE

FACULTY OF EDUCATIONAL SCIENCES

MASTER’S DEGREE IN EDUCATION

WITH EMPHASIS ON ENGLISH DIDACTICS

BOGOTÁ, D.C.

2018

READING COMPREHENSION STRATEGIES AS A MEANS TO HELP

STUDENTS MAKE BETTER DECISIONS ABOUT THEIR FUTURE OCCUPATIONAL

LIFE

AUTHOR

JULIÁN ANDRÉS LIÉVANO SALDAÑA

ADVISOR

CLARA ISABEL ONATRA CHAVARRO

MA in ELT

UNIVERSIDAD LIBRE

FACULTY OF EDUCATIONAL SCIENCES

MASTER’S DEGREE IN EDUCATION

WITH EMPHASIS ON ENGLISH DIDACTICS

BOGOTÁ, D.C.

2018

I

ABSTRACT

The current study was a qualitative research which was carried out in a school located in

Bogotá. The purpose of this project was to promote reading comprehension strategies in English

with tenth graders to contribute for them to make better decisions about their future occupational

life. It was found that students had a low reading comprehension level through the application of

a reading diagnosis and a survey, both instruments showed that some of them were not sure

about what to do after finishing their school life. Several international, national, and local

previous studies were considered and revised with the purpose of reaching the proposed

objective. Moreover, in order to develop the theoretical constructs in this study, literature related

to the following pillars was revised: reading strategies, occupational orientation, and decision

making.

As methodological design, the teacher researcher of this study followed the steps of an

action research, a pre-questionnaire, post-questionnaire, pre-test, post-test, eight reading

workshops and students’ self-assessments for each session were utilized as instruments to collect

data. The data analysis was conducted through the Grounded Theory Approach making use of

the open, axial, and selective coding. Regarding the findings of this research, it was evidenced

that students enhanced their reading comprehension competence through the implementation of

workshops which included a reading strategy per class. Besides, the participants knew some

information by means of reading about different jobs, and they learnt new content about

occupations that are important for their life in order to make good future decisions.

Key words: Reading, reading comprehension strategies, occupational orientation, decision

making.

II

RESUMEN

El estudio actual fue una investigación cualitativa la cual se llevó a cabo en un colegio

ubicado en Bogotá. El propósito de este proyecto fue promover estrategias de comprensión de

lectura en inglés con estudiantes de undécimo grado para contribuir a que ellos tomaran mejores

decisiones sobre su futura vida ocupacional. Mediante la aplicación de un diagnóstico de lectura

se encontró que los estudiantes tenían bajo nivel de comprensión de lectura; y una encuesta

mostró que algunos de ellos no estaban seguros de qué hacer después de terminar su vida escolar.

Varios estudios previos internacionales, nacionales y locales fueron tenidos en cuenta y

revisados con el propósito de alcanzar el objetivo propuesto. Además, para desarrollar los

constructos teóricos en este estudio, se revisó la literatura relacionada con los siguientes

constructos: estrategias de lectura, orientación ocupacional y toma de decisiones.

Como diseño metodológico, el docente investigador de este estudio siguió los pasos de

una investigación acción, y se utilizaron como instrumentos para recolección de datos un pre-

cuestionario, post-cuestionario, preprueba, post-prueba, ocho talleres de lectura y

autoevaluaciones de los estudiantes para cada sesión. El análisis de datos se realizó a través de

un enfoque de teoría fundamentada utilizando la codificación abierta, axial y selectiva. Con

respecto a los hallazgos de esta investigación, se evidenció que los estudiantes mejoraron su

capacidad de comprensión lectora a través de la implementación de talleres que incluyeron una

estrategia de lectura por clase. Además, los participantes fueron informados por medio de textos

de lectura sobre diferentes ocupaciones, y aprendieron nuevos contenidos acerca de trabajos que

son importantes para sus vidas para poder tomar buenas decisiones en el futuro.

Palabras clave: Lectura, estrategias de comprensión de lectura, orientación ocupacional, toma

de decisiones.

III

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

To my dear son Tomás Liévano who, with his birth, encouraged my motivation to finish this

research project.

To my family and parents who love me and encouraged me to start this research project and

have accompanied me during this process.

I wish to express my gratitude to my advisor Clara Isabel Onatra Chavarro for her

contributions and guidance in order to carry out this project.

Especially, I would like to thank my wife Johanna Sánchez for her patience, support,

suggestions, and knowledge during the most difficult moments. Her support was essential for

making this research project possible.

IV

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Abstract…………………………………………………………………………………….I

Resumen…………………………………………………………………………………..II

Acknowledgment………………………………………………………………………...III

Introduction………………………………………………………………………………..1

Chapter I

Literature Review………………………………………………………………………...23

1.1 Previous studies……..……………………………………………………………….23

1.2 Theoretical Framework...……….………………………………………….....……...33

1.2.1 Reading……………….………………………………………………........33

1.2.2 Reading Stages……………………………………………………………..34

1.2.3 Reading Comprehension and Reading Comprehension Strategies...............36

1.2.4 Occupational Orientation and Decision Making.…………………..............42

Chapter II

Proposal………………………………………………………………………………….54

2.1 Objectives……………………………………………………………………………54

2.1.1 General Objective………………………………………………………….54

2.1.2 Specific Objectives………………………………………………………...55

2.2 Research Method and Type of Study………………………..……………………….55

2.2.1 Research Method…….……...……………………………………………..55

2.2.2 Type of Study……….……………………………………………………..56

2.3 Context……………………………………………………………………………….57

2.4 Participants…………………………………………………………………………...58

2.5 Teacher’s role………………………………………………………………………...59

2.6 Instruments for Data Collection……………………………………………………...60

2.7 Pedagogical intervention……………………………………………………………..63

V

Chapter III

Data Analysis…………………………………………………………………………….71

3.1 Grounded Theory…………………………………………………………………….71

3.1.1 Open Code…………………………………..…………………………......71

3.1.2 Axial Code……………………………………..………………………......73

3.1.3 Selective Code………………………………………..……………………74

3.1.4 Core Category……………………………………………………………...75

- Subcategory # 1: Reading for my life………………………………………….76

- Subcategory # 2: Choosing my occupation and making the best decision…….96

Chapter IV

Conclusions…………………………………………………………………………….107

4.1 Suggestions for Further Research…………………...……………………………...108

REFERENCES………………………………………………………………………...111

APPENDICES

VI

TABLES AND FIGURES

Table 1. Teacher’s explanation results……………………………………………………7

Table 2. Students’ pair work………………………………………………………………8

Table 3. Performance scale according to the SIE………………………………………..10

Table 4. Stages of the vocational development process…………………………………47

Table 5. Pre-questionnaire. Results questions regarding reading………………………..77

Table 6. Post-questionnaire. Results questions regarding reading………………………77

Table 7. Pre and post-test results…………………………………………………….......85

Table 8. Workshops. Students’ scores by session………………………………………..87

Table 9. First self-assessment. Students’ responses………………………………….......92

Table 10. Second self-assessment. Students’ responses…………………………………93

Table 11. Third self-assessment. Students’ responses…………………………………...93

Table 12. Fourth self-assessment. Students’ responses……………………………….....94

Table 13. Fifth self-assessment. Students’ responses……………………………………94

Table 14. Sixth self-assessment. Students’ responses…………………………………...95

Table 15. Seventh self-assessment. Students’ responses………………………………..95

Table 16. Eighth self-assessment. Students’ responses………………………………....96

Figure 1. Reading diagnosis results……………………………………………………...10

Figure 2. Number of students grouped by similar grades…………………………….….10

Figure 3. Relation between the two sub categories and the core category………………75

Figure 4. Comparison between pre and post questionnaire results………………………78

Figure 5. Question ninth. Sample students’ opinions about texts of their interest…........79

Figure 6 Question ninth. Sample students’ opinions about texts of their interest……….80

Figure 7. Question tenth. Sample students’ opinion about reading and reading

comprehension…………………………………………………………………………...81

Figure 8. Question tenth. Sample students’ opinion about reading and reading

comprehension…………………………………………………………………………...82

VII

Figure 9. Results pre and post-test…………………………………………………….....85

Figure 10. Pre and pos-test average……………..…………………………………….....85

Figure 11. Question 1. Pre-questionnaire………………………………………………..98

Figure 12. Question 1. Post-questionnaire……………………………………………….98

Figure 13. Question 5. Pre-questionnaire………………………………………………..99

Figure 14. Question 5. Post-questionnaire…………………………………………….....99

Figure 15. Question 6. Pre-questionnaire………………………………………………..99

Figure 16. Question 6. Post-questionnaire……………………………………………….99

Figure 17. Question 7. Pre-questionnaire………………………………………………100

Figure 18. Question 7. Post-questionnaire……………………………………………..100

Figure 19. Question 14. Pre-questionnaire……………………………………………..101

Figure 20. Question 14. Post-questionnaire…………………………………………….101

1

Introduction

Currently through some laws and decrees, the Colombian government recognizes that

education must be adapted to the necessities of the current world and the new generations. This

premise rises in order that educational systems promote the education of citizens who have the

abilities to get on in the world they live in. In the Colombian society, English has been seen for a

long time as a tool which permits people to have better job opportunities, raise as professionals,

travel, create new contacts around the world and so on. Following this premise, through this

study it was sought to foster reading comprehension strategies to enrich students’ knowledge

about different topics in English.

It is worldly known that reading is necessary in the whole life since it is one of the most

important ways to learn or understand new and previous knowledge or information about

different aspects no matter people’s professions or occupations. When people read, they are able

to talk to others and discuss about any topic since it helps to develop the argumentative level and

critical thinking. In order to develop this competence in a formal way, teachers, in many schools,

begin this academic process with some short texts and continue increasing the number of words

and level of argument. Moreover, reading helps people to use their previous knowledge, as well

as the general information presented in each text with the purpose of constructing new ideas.

Furthermore, reading permits people to acquire specific vocabulary through diverse kinds of

texts, and that vocabulary is to be used as a way of thinking about future decisions, which

influence people’s lives.

Considering the importance of promoting reading competence in high school students,

and also taking into account the importance of learning a foreign language in school life, below,

the reasons that support the need to learn English in Colombia are explained. First, according to

the Ministry of Education in its program Colombia Very Well, it is important to learn English in

Colombia since it benefits the personal, social, and economic development. It generates

cognitive development, job opportunities, study opportunities abroad, information access, equity,

2

inclusion, homogeneity, cultural exchange, foreign investment, growth of local business, and

income increase, Ministry of Education (2014). Considering the above information, students may

have interaction in their future lives not only with citizens from the same country, but also with

foreign people who are interested in business or academic programs in other countries for

studying or working issues; since English offers opportunities as a possibility, not as a fact.

Second, some Colombian companies may require people with excellent English language

to work with, in order to receive a better position and salary. For students in need of a job, it is an

advantage that they realize there are small, medium and big companies which may give the

possibility to have job opportunities when people speak English; for instance, The International

Airport, call centers, hotels, and multinationals. Third, the acquisition of the English language

provides personal and work opportunities in people's lives. Following this idea, there are many

companies interested in working not only at a local or national level, but also internationally and

these enterprises are in need of workers able to communicate with people from abroad in a

foreign language.

Similarly, in order to study and have the experience to travel to other countries and

interact with other people, it is indispensable to speak another language. Thus, not only the way

of thinking and perceiving life changes, or people enrich their cultural knowledge, but also their

interpersonal relationship is expanded. In this sense, English has become relevant, since it

provides the possibility to meet, communicate and understand with others all around the world.

In Bogotá, English language learning varies widely depending on the level of depth that

schools give to increase each language skill, and how the students interact with the language in

its context. On the one hand, elite private schools have more economic resources to provide the

best type of education at any level, which generates better results for those students who take

advantage of the benefits offered by the school. On the other hand, public schools are

economically dependent on the government, which means that learning processes are not often

3

developed at the same rate as students who have the greatest tools for acquiring a foreign

language.

Thus, public schools do not have the same number of hours to study a foreign language

and the only subject, in which students learn another tongue is the English class. On the contrary,

there are private schools whose subjects of the academic program are learned in English. In

addition, the schools’ environment offers constant interaction language among all members of

the institution, which generates that the appropriation of the language is carried out by an almost

natural method.

Considering the previous information, a school located in Fontibón, Bogota, has proposed

a Proyecto Educativo Institucional (PEI) whose name is “Formación y Proyección para la Vida”

which takes into consideration the integration of diverse competences to help students

understand the world in which they live. It provides them with the required competences to grow

as people under a humanistic education that is centered on some aspects mentioned in the

school’s PEI, such as commitment, respect, responsibility, honesty, participation, perseverance,

among others; that are relevant not only at school, but also in the society.

Through its PEI, the school attempts to guide students, so that they learn to make the best

decisions for their lives. By means of guiding students about their future professional life, it was

expected that they identified job opportunities, learnt about the principles for management of

their own finances and the ones of a company, and had the ability for buying and selling products

and services, and the capacity to serve the society through a professional career.

In that school, students took English classes in the morning whose main objective was

based on the one established by the Ministry of Education (2006), in its document named

Estándares de Competencias en inglés which states: “lograr ciudadanos y ciudadanas capaces de

comunicarse en inglés, de tal forma que puedan insertar al país en los procesos de comunicación

universal, en la economía global y en la apertura cultural, con estándares internacionalmente

4

comparables”. It meant that the objective considered the ability to participate through dialogues

where students were able to give opinions about general, personal and abstract topics making use

of a coherent speech, clear and suitable pronunciation.

In addition, and following the projects established by Secretaria de Educación and being

consistent with its PEI, in 2015, the school board implemented a project named “Proyecto 891:

Media Fortalecida y Mayor Acceso a la Educación Superior”, whose main objective was to

encourage school students to access to higher education, and there was a university in charge of

leading the project in the institution, Universidad San Buenaventura. Since that moment the term

Educación Media Fortalecida (EMF) emerged. It was a project whose main purpose was to

promote that school leavers continued their university studies through a choice of certification

granted by the university in charge of the project. As it is described in the main project of EMF:

“Su objetivo es transformar y fortalecer la educación media distrital, mediante la consolidación

de una oferta diversa, electiva y homologable con la educación superior que promueva la

continuidad de los estudiantes en este nivel educativo, para generar en los estudiantes mayores

oportunidades en el mundo socio – productivo.”

Universidad San Buenaventura designed an English exam to be applied in order to

classify school students in different levels according to their proficiency at the end of each

semester as long as they have not failed, due to non-attendance. The number of students who

applied the exam for the English emphasis was 300 participants at the beginning of 2016. The

university proposed the following classification scale for students’ exam results in order for them

to be placed by English levels: from 1% to 69% of the competence the proficiency is low, from

70% to 80% the scale is medium, from 81% to 91% the competence is high, and from 92% to

100% the students’ competence is commendable. According to the classification scale, students

should have answered correctly more than 70% of all the competences and aspects evaluated,

reading, vocabulary, grammar, listening, writing, speaking in order to be classified in A2 or they

had to start from A1 level if their results were under 70% in the whole exam.

5

The following are the results obtained from the exam applied by the university to students

in the observed group selected at the end of the first academic term 2016. From 32 students

(100%), 28 students (88%) did not pass the test, by contrast only 4 students (12%) passed the test

and were promoted to the level A2. According to these results and the university classification

scale of results for the test, 28 students of this group had a low proficiency considering that their

scores were under 70%. The other four students’ results were from 70 to 73 points which meant

that their proficiency was medium.

Specifically, in reading comprehension, students had to get ten or more correct answers

in order to pass that competence for the university exam. The following were the results obtained

at reading comprehension by the students participating in this study (group 2), in the university

placement test. 16 students (50%) passed the test since they got from 10 to 15 correct answers.

However, the other 16 students (50%) got low results at reading, which meant that it was

necessary to analyze deeply the results got at reading comprehension test in order to practice in a

different way that competence during the English classes in the emphasis. Besides, it was

essential for all students to understand and develop reading strategies which permitted them to

learn or compare useful knowledge for their lives, from articles and different sort of texts,

increased their vocabulary, enhanced grammar, spelling and so on.

After the university applied the exam in the first academic term 2016, 10th and 11th

graders were organized according to their final scores in different groups of A1 level. The

university main idea was to organize students’ groups with same English level, so that they

developed their skills with classmates of similar proficiency and pace. With this in mind, the

university certificated participants according to their English level at the end of the forth

semester (11th grade). Each group was comprised by 32 students considering the number of

learners required per classroom according to the university program.

When the teacher researcher of this study began his classes with the groups in February

2016, he realized that students lacked certain vocabulary in various skills, but especially when

6

they were doing reading activities in class. In order to analyze that situation, he decided to get

more information about the reading comprehension level of students in one of the groups of 10th

grade (group 2) which presented more lacks on reading. That is why, the researcher designed and

applied a class observation grid for checking students’ participation, a reading workshop

about professions and a survey in order to know their interests.

The purpose of applying these instruments was to realize how students participated

during classes and if their participation and better progress throughout the classes depended on

pair work or there were some changes during the teacher’s explanation and the classwork. The

teacher researcher planned to know some aspects related to their reading learning process, to find

out possible lacks of vocabulary and how this affected any competence during their English

learning process, considering that without enough vocabulary there is not a good comprehension

of texts, and therefore there is not a good reading and learning process.

Furthermore, the teacher expected to identify some aspects to develop students’ learning

process regarding their opinions about English language perception and its influence in their

future life. The following are the descriptions of the instruments utilized to collect data at the

piloting phase in order to validate the problem, the design, implementation and results of

applying these instruments are shown below:

● Class observation (piloting phase):

The observed students at this phase were part of the English emphasis “group 2”, and it

was sought to know their level of participation during the class, both the teacher’s explanation

and the pair work were observed if students asked questions or answered them, raised hand to

participate continually, paid attention to explanations or instructions given in class, or helped

each other. The teacher conducted an initial and a final class observation to verify possible

changes in the students’ participation and attitude towards the class. Then, the grids were

compared and analyzed in order to report similarities or differences.

7

Cohen and Manion (2007) point out that observation is an appropriate technique so that

data collection is accurate as it is done based on live events capturing the experience of the

moment in a natural way. When using this technique, you must plan what, how, when and where

the observation will be. Since it is a technique where the researcher may fall subjectively, it is

recommended that the facts be recorded as soon as possible, considering that these data have no

inferences from the researcher.

It was the first instrument to be applied in the piloting phase. It sought to get the number

of students who participated during the English class in both aspects teacher’s explanation and

pair work. Besides, the teacher wanted to realize how the level of attendance of the observed

group was. In the following charts, the number of sample students (15) who participated during a

class taking into account some aspects considered essential in participation during the teacher’s

explanation and the pair work is explained.

ASKS

QUESTIONS

TO THE

TEACHER

RESPONDS

TO

QUESTIONS

IS ON TASK RAISES

HAND

HELPS

OTHERS

NUMBER OF

STUDENTS

PARTICIPATING

4 10 13 8 5

NUMBER OF

STUDENTS NON-

PARTICIPATING

9 3 0 5 8

Table 1. Teacher’s explanation results.

In the previous table, the sample students’ results during the teacher’s explanation are

shown considering that the day of the class observation attended only 13 of the sample students

which represented 100% of the sample group. The class was divided in two parts: teacher’s

explanation and pair work. During the explanation of the class and activities to be done, the

researcher observed students’ sample interventions through the following categories: ask

questions to the teacher, respond to questions, be on task, raise hand, and help others. As it can

be seen in the previous table, 13 students (100%) were on task, it meant that they were paying

attention while the teacher explained the topic of the class without interruptions or distractions.

8

ten of them (77%) responded to the questions in Spanish or they sometimes participated in

English while three of them (23%) did not answer the questions.

Also, eight students (62%) raised their hand in order to participate in both asking

questions to the teacher or responding his answers during the explanation. Only four (31%) were

able to ask questions to the teacher sometimes in English or even in Spanish, but they were not

afraid to speak in front of the others. In contrast, there were more students who were afraid to

speak, since nine of them (69%) did not ask questions during the teacher’s explanation.

Similarly, there were less students helping others during the class’s explanation, five of them

(38%) supported their classmates when the teacher asked them questions to encourage their

participation.

In table 1 (p. 7), it is evident that during the explanation phase the number of students

who were afraid to participate was higher, and it was since many of them did not feel

comfortable when speaking in front of the others and they were being observed. Sometimes,

students were nervous to speak, because of many of their classmates did not respect their

opinions, questions or made jokes of it. However, sample students paid attention in class and

tried to participate of the class, and this was evident when most of them (77%) responded the

teacher’s questions or raised hand to speak.

Asks

Questions To

The Teacher

Responds To

Questions Is On Task Raises Hand Helps Others

Number of

students

participating

11 11 13 13 12

Number of

students non

participating

2 2 0 0 1

Table 2. Students’ pair work.

In table 2 students’ pair work, it was evident that although there were not students

participating in some categories, there was a higher number of sample students participating in

9

all the categories in comparison to table 1 teacher’s explanation. In two of these categories: ask

questions to the teacher and respond to questions, there were 11 participants (85%) participating,

and there were only two students (15%) who neither ask nor respond the teacher’s questions. In

other two categories, there was a same number of students participating, since 13 of them

(100%) were doing the activity in pairs and, raising hands to ask questions. All of them were

developing the workshop, but not all of them were helping each other, since one person (8%)

was not helping his/her classmate at all, there were 12 sample students (92%) helping others

during the workshop.

Comparing both tables (1 and 2), it is observed that students’ participation was higher

when they worked in pairs than during explanation. It was evident that many learners felt more

comfortable to participate and speak only in front of the teacher, but not when his/her classmates

were paying attention. Although, most of the sample students were participating during the pair

work, there were still learners who did not participate neither in the teacher’s explanation nor

during the pair work which made essential to encourage those learners to participate, so that they

integrated with the rest of the class. It was necessary to balance the results of both tables to get

better results in the students’ learning process through the growth in their interest and

participation. Besides, students’ attendance was good since from the entire group (32 students),

there were 30 students (94%) attending to class by the day the class observation was conducted.

● Reading workshop (piloting phase):

The purpose with the implementation of this activity was to do an English reading

diagnosis in order to realize students’ weaknesses or strengths in that competence. The workshop

is a unit of knowledge which is translated into reality and in such a way to transform it, Maya

(2007), the workshop also integrates theory and learning becomes practical. By means of the

application of workshops, the participants can strengthen their knowledge and put them into

practice. This instrument was applied since, during the class observation phase some students’

participation was probably limited by lacks of vocabulary. Also, students frequently asked for

the meaning of words in order to understand some texts or reading workshops done. Students

10

took more time completing a reading workshop than doing writing or speaking activities which

affected the time scheduled for doing the other activities. The following chart shows the scores

obtained in the reading workshop applied during the researcher’s English classes of Media

Fortalecida:

Table 3. Performance scale according to the SIE

Figure 1. Reading diagnosis results. Figure 2. Number of students grouped by similar grades.

In order to categorize and analyze the results obtained from the reading workshop, the

teacher researcher took into consideration the Sistema Institucional de Evaluación (SIE)

established by the school for EMF. When the mark is from 1,0 to 2,9, it is called desempeño

bajo, from 3,0 to 3,9, it means desempeño básico, from 4,0 to 4,4, it is desempeño alto, from 4,5

to 5,0, it represents desempeño superior. This scale of classification is based on the regulations

of the Ministry of Education.

SCHOOL PERFORMANCE

SCALE BASED ON SISTEMA

INSTITUCIONAL DE

EVALUACIÓN

NUMBER OF

STUDENTS

LOW 2

BASIC 8

HIGH 14

VERY HIGH 4

11

The day of the reading workshop, there were 28 participants attending from the group

observed. The workshop was applied to 10th graders of group 2 during teacher’s researcher class

of the English emphasis. The main purpose of that workshop was to verify whether the students

knew previous vocabulary related to jobs and occupations, notice if they used any reading

strategies to understand any kind of text, and observe their interest about the reading topic

chosen for that session. In order to realize how good students were at reading competence and

classify the scores according to the school SIE from low to very high (see table 3, figure 1; p.

10), a reading workshop with information about jobs and five activities to do were assigned, so

that students answered in pairs.

The following conclusions were found in the results of the workshop. These conclusions

were analyzed based on the SIE of the school explained above. From 28 students (100%)

attending that class, two students (7%) got a low average in the workshop, since their marks were

not over 3,0. It was also found that eight students (29%) got basic average, since their marks

were from 3,0 to 3,9. Other students were classified in a high level, since 14 of them (50%) got

results from 4,0 to 4,4. Finally, there were four students (14%) who got results over 4,5 which

means that their level of performance was very high, (see table 3, p. 10)

Taking into account these results, it can be observed that there were many students (50%)

with a high level according to the school SIE, and there were others (14%) who had got a very

high level. However, there were still students in basic (29%) and low (7%) levels which was not

consistent taking into consideration the results of most of them, (see figure 2, p. 10). Thus, it was

necessary to work more reading workshops with those learners in order to help them develop

their reading competence and guide them through their learning process to achieve better results.

Taking advantage of the students with high levels, many activities could be done in groups with

the low-level students in order that they enriched their reading competence as well.

12

● Survey (piloting phase):

Through the application of this instrument, it was expected to know students' opinion

about English language. Besides, it was sought to recognize the students’ beliefs about the

English competences. Also, it was important to know the students’ conception about their future

professional or occupational life. The survey is a method to collect information from a

population; the survey allows the researcher to determine how to direct the research process and

implement improvements. As mentioned by Fowler (2014), the objective of the survey is the

production of statistics and the way to obtain this is through the elaboration of questions that

generate data to support the research. Also, the author mentioned that a sample survey has three

different methodologies: sampling, designing questions and data collection

The survey contained 15 questions and was applied to 32 students of 10th grade at English

EMF during the piloting phase to identify their beliefs, interests and perspectives about the

future, considering the English subject. It was sought to know students' opinion about English

language in order to work and contribute through the English classes to strengthen their reading

strategies and guide them to make good decisions about their future. The following are the

explanation and analysis of the results obtained in each question and the analysis done by each

one. Questions and answers were written in Spanish in the survey format, but they were

translated into English by the researcher to be presented in this study:

From 32 students (100%), in the first question of the survey, it was found that 24 of them

(75%) considered English as very important. Other 8 students (25%), chose that English was

important, and none of them chose the other options. It means that students' conception about

English was positive and they were really interested in learning it, because they knew how

important it was in their local context, school or life, (see appendix B).

In the second question, the students' opinion was more general, since 23 students (72%)

agreed that English was important for all aspects given in this question, and for that reason most

of them chose the option "todas las anteriores". However, there were students who marked other

13

options. For instance, 6 students (19%) considered that English was important, as it helped to get

more and better labor opportunities. Other 3 students (9%) chose the option that refers about the

English importance because of the academic prizes and scholarships. It means that most of the

respondents considered English necessary in both, better labor opportunities and academic life,

which was important, since it encouraged them to learn it, as it would affect in any way their

future life, (see appendix B1).

In the third question, many students considered that English was not quite easy, since 21

people (66%) chose the second option. Other people agreed that English was difficult to learn, as

5 students (16%) chose that option. However, 6 students (19%) agreed that English was an easy

subject to learn. It means that English was important; though, it had not been understood by

many of the students asked yet. Something to highlight about this question was that most

students were not apathetic about the English language, for that reason they did not consider it as

difficult or very difficult, but sort of easy, (see appendix B2).

In the fourth question, each respondent had to organize the four skills given in the options

with numbers from 1 to 4, taking into consideration that one meant easy and four meant the most

difficult skill for them. From 32 students (100%) it was found that 15 people (47%) considered

listening as the most difficult skill for them, since listening was marked with the number four for

many of the students asked. It was followed by other 11 students (34%) who considered reading

as the second more difficult skill in comparison to the others, since it was chosen with the

number three in the survey for some of them, and it represented that reading was almost difficult

for some of them. In contrast, there were other 10 people (31%) who considered the reading

competence as the easiest of the four options given, because it was marked with the number one

in the survey.

It was followed by other 15 people (47%) who considered writing as the second easier

skill in the survey, because it was marked with the number two which represented this skill was

quite easy for them. We notice that the reading and speaking competence were unbalanced, due

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to 10 students considered that reading was the easiest, other 11 learners’ opinion was that it was

almost difficult, however. In speaking, 9 students considered it is easy, but for 10 of them it was

almost difficult. This situation shows that these competences may be the ones in which most

students felt insecure to know, and for that reason they avoided practicing them, (see appendix

B3).

In the fifth question, the most common answers were joined, and the results are shown in

the previous table. Students considered that reading was helpful since it was a way to learn new

vocabulary. This option was chosen by 19 students (59%). The other options had fewer people

which meant that the reading skill was more used for students to get new vocabulary and

expressions. However, 5 students (16%) agreed that reading helped them to write better, since it

gave them tools such as grammar structure, vocabulary, and spelling, to strengthen their English

language level. In addition, 6 students (19%) considered that reading was a way to develop

pronunciation, it meant that that competence helped to develop itself, and also other learning

skills such as writing and speaking. Finally, 2 people (6%), considered that reading was a way

for learning information about new topics. Perhaps, students may be more conscious about what

they might learn through reading, and not leave it only to mere vocabulary learning, as that

aspect was secondary in the reading comprehension process. Nevertheless, reading provides the

opportunity to learn about many topics which can provide a sort of new information to students,

(see appendix B4).

In the sixth question, many students chose the option in agreement, as reading about

specific topics was a way to learn not only vocabulary, or grammar, but also it was important to

the extent that topics can be learnt through reading in English. For that reason, 14 students (44%)

chose that option. Also, other students considered it further important, but the percentage was

smaller, due to 8 students (25%) chose the option totally in agreement. However, there were

some students who were not sure about how readings about specific topics in English can help to

develop their learning process, for that reason 8 of them (25%) marked the option neither in

agreement nor disagreement. Finally, 2 students (6%) stated that disagree and totally in

disagreement with the question, (see appendix B5).

15

In the seventh question, many students considered that their reading competence level

was not the expected, for that reason 22 people (69%) marked the option regular in that question.

In contrast, 9 of them (9%) considered their reading comprehension level in English as good.

Besides, one student (3%) marked the option low which means that the skill had to be more

practiced during classes in order to enrich it, (see appendix B6). In the eighth question, the

option with more marks was the one about people read in English few times, since 21 students

(66%) chose that option. It meant that most of them were not interested in reading, did not like it

or did not have that habit. Other 8 people (25%) stated that they sometimes read, and other 3

students (9%) agree that they never read, (see appendix B7).

The ninth question sought to explore students' interest and likes about readings. Here, the

most common answers obtained by the students were classified and shown. 8 students (25%)

agreed that suspense was the kind of readings that some of them preferred. Then, 6 people (19%)

agreed that their favorite readings were the ones about culture. 10 students (32%) preferred

reading about stories, novels, adventures and showbiz more than others. Also, 3 students (9%)

stated that their favorite genre was sports, and other 5 students (16%) did not have a favorite

genre or did not answer to this question, (see appendix B8).

In the tenth question, the option with more marks was professional life topics, since 15

students (47%) chose it. The second option was close to the first one in terms of percentage, 13

people (41%) marked that cultural topics in English are of their interest. 4 students (12%)

marked the option others, since their interests were focused on sports and daily life according to

their written answers, (see appendix B9).

In the eleventh question, it was interesting to realize that some students were focused on

studying as soon as they graduated from school, since 12 of them (37%) chose the option to

study. There was one person (3%) who chose the option to work, but the other 19 people (59%),

which represented the highest percentage in this question, chose the option none of them, which

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was worrying taking into account the importance of doing something after graduating from high

school, (see appendix B10).

In the twelfth question, students wrote their own options for academic programs based on

their interest, some of the most common answers were joined. It can be inferred that many of the

students asked had thought about keeping on studying after they ended their high school studies.

However, there was a contradiction at this point from some students taking into consideration the

previous chart’s results. According to those answers, 16 students (48%) were considering

studying academic programs related to sports, medicine, languages or criminology. There were 3

people (9%) who wanted to study mechanics. Other 4 people (12%) wrote occupations such as

police officers or journalists. The other 7 people (21%) were thinking to study different

academic programs by separate such as psychology, aviation, physics, hotel and tourism

management, marine biology, gastronomy or interior design. However, there were also 2

students (6%) who were not sure about what to study or do in their future. It was interesting to

notice that many of the respondents were worried about what to do in their future and had sort of

ideas about careers in which they could take advantage of their time and knowledge, but it was

important to get all of them worried about it without having people who were not sure or did not

answer, because they did not have any perspectives about their future lives, (see appendix B11).

In the thirteenth question, students wrote their own options for work based on their

interest, some of the most common answers were joined. Many students were not sure about the

job they wanted to do, and others showed that they wanted to work in any job or the one of their

interest. For that reason, 10 students (31%) did not answer that question and they were marked as

"no sabe, no responde". Other students wrote some occupations they were interested in such as

police or children work, since 8 people (24%) wrote those jobs. Other 9 students (27%)

coincided in works such as electronic maintenance, call center operator or employee in any

company. 4 other people (12%) wrote jobs such as soccer player, singer or announcer. Other

occupation written by another person (3%) was translator, (see appendix B12).

17

In the fourteenth question, many students agreed that English is necessary for their future

careers or jobs with the difference that some of them marked it as regular and others with a lot of

influence. 22 students (69%) agreed that the influence was high, since they chose the option a lot

of influence. 6 of them (19%) considered that the influence was regular. There were 3 students

(9%) who stated the English influence in their careers or jobs was low. There was only one

person (3%) who confirmed that there was no exist any English language influence in his/her

future career or job, (see appendix B13).

In the last question of the survey, it could be seen that most of the students recognized

that their English language learning level was not the expected by them and the school, since 29

people (91%) stated that their English level was not developed enough for some universities or

companies’ requirements. They felt that their English language level should be more advanced in

order to achieve their needs and the ones of a company. There were a few students, 3 (9%) who

considered to have already developed the expected level to work or study using the second

language, (see appendix B14).

Taking into account the application of the three instruments during the piloting phase in

the current study, the teacher researcher found out the following conclusions in order to validate

the problem: According to the class observation results obtained by the 15 sample students, the

researcher realized that many of them were conscious about the English language importance

and they demonstrated that interest during classes, considering the categories explained in table 1

(see table 1, p.7). The obtained results through the implementation of that instrument showed

that (100%) of the students were on task during the teacher’s explanation, it meant that they paid

attention to the explanation. It may be compared with the survey’s results in the first question,

due to from 32 students, 24 of them (75%) considered English as very important and the other 8

people (25%) assumed that is important.

The researcher observed comprehension problems in the reading competence, during the

activities: reading diagnosis, group activities, tests, and exams. It was observed that students’

18

lack of vocabulary hinders an appropriate development of their reading competence. They had

stated not to know many words from the activities and it had interrupted their progress. The

reading comprehension workshop applied in class showed that some students were above

average for their group, whose result was four. Taking into consideration that analysis, from 28

students who presented the reading workshop, 18 students (64%) had final scores over four

which meant that some students’ reading comprehension was better than their expectation during

the survey answers.

According to the survey’s results, reading was the most unbalanced competence in terms

of the students’ opinion, since there was a high number of students who considered it easy, but

there were people who considered it almost difficult, which meant that some of those students

were not sure about their answers and they may have marked wrong or they considered their

classmates marks. In comparison, the other competences had a higher number of marks only in

one of the options giving to the researcher clearer ideas about their choices.

Likewise, the survey showed that reading was a competence that students did not practice

with much frequency; however, students considered that it was a way to learn vocabulary which

helped them to understand more the other competences. Besides, many students agreed that

reading was a way to learn about new topics in English; nevertheless, they considered their

reading English level was regular based on the survey’s options. All these opinions could be

found in students’ responses in the survey formats.

Regarding to the obtained results in questions about the professional and occupational

life, it made sense to find that most students did not know what to do after finishing school.

Based on the survey’s results, it was found that from 32 students asked, 19 respondents (59%)

were not interested neither study nor work as soon as they graduated. However, 12 of them

(37%) had still thought in studying a career. Also, many of the participants were conscious about

the importance of English in the professional and occupational job, and they considered it

essential to achieve the goals in any field, since from 32 students, 22 of them (69%) thought that

19

English influence in their professional or occupational life was a lot. Besides, most of them

considered that their current English level was not the expected for a company or a university,

but they were interested in developing it through the English emphasis process. In fact, the

students’ interest about developing their English level was also analyzed during the classes by

means of the class observation done which was other of the instruments to collect data.

The justification for doing this research study rises from the necessity that has existed for

a long time, in which school leavers need to make good decisions after graduating from school.

Most students at the end of their school life do not know what to do about their future and

making a decision about what academic program to study or what occupation to work at is

something that takes a long time, since it is a process that should be carried out in a conscious

way. However, many young people do not realize the importance and time to make any choice as

it should be and end up doing what their parents suggest or sometimes even leave it to chance.

As teachers, it is helpful to guide students, so that they make those hard choices considering that

we have more experience and we know our students’ strengths and weaknesses.

We as teachers must provide learners some strategies that allow them to make better

decisions in their future. In addition to that, the opportunities to have better working conditions

depend not only on making good decisions but also on the management of a foreign language,

since currently it is required in many jobs to speak English for business, travel, contacts with

other people, culture, among others. Specifically, the English classes are a way to obtain

information related to work or study options that help students to reflect on the abilities that each

one has to be able to perform a profession or occupation, and this can be achieved through the

reading of texts in English about occupations or academic programs.

Also, we ought to encourage students’ reflection, so that they think in a conscious way

about their decisions in the future through the implementation of English texts not only enhance

their decision making, but also help them to increase their level of vocabulary, learn about a

topic that is important for their life, and boost their English reading comprehension level.

20

Moreover, through the implementation of the current study, apart from impacting the students’

decision making in the future, it is expected to contribute to the development of their English

level, more specifically, to their reading competence.

However, as teachers and based on our experience as professionals, we must also

transmit our knowledge to guide students in order to make decisions that will serve their life with

respect to what profession to study or occupation to perform. Also, the researcher of this study is

convinced that with good implementation of English reading strategies, students not only read

and understand texts better, but also enhance their English level, and besides learn new content

through readings that may be useful for them in the future or in any moment of their life

achieving better academic and professional opportunities.

Considering the previous context, there rises the problem that tenth graders from one

group of the English emphasis in the school did not seem to be engaged enough during reading

texts in English. Their reading results were low, and it was found in their exam results, and

activities as workshops during the English class. The reading competence in the observed group

is basic according to the workshop results, as well as the survey results showed that students

were conscious about their basic reading level which was a perfect contrast between the

workshop results and their survey answers about reading. Besides, the students were not sure

about what profession or occupation to perform after graduating from school, which was a

problem since they were close to graduate and their professional success depends on whether or

not to take an early decision about their future.

As well, it existed a contradiction between what the school expected through its PEI,

“Formación y Proyección para la Vida”, and students’ perception, since students’ answers in

the survey showed that 10th graders still did not know what to do in their future which was

worrying taking into account that they were close to graduate from school, and as it was

mentioned at the beginning of this study, the world is changing from a size medium to size small

which means that people have more possibilities to study or work not only in Colombia, but also

21

abroad; what makes learning of a second language important. That is why, English is essential

for any profession and opens doors, generating opportunities even more when a second language

is spoken. Consequently, there is a need to apply reading comprehension strategies in order to

help students make better decisions about their future occupational life.

Given the previously description and considering the importance of the current project,

the following are the research question and objectives that this study seeks to achieve, the

previous is considering the possibilities and variables that may be presented throughout the

implementation. The research question was established as: How may reading comprehension

strategies help students make better decisions about their future occupational life? Consequently,

Object of study is reading comprehension strategies, and the field of study is students’ making-

decision process about their future occupational life.

As a General Objective it was established to apply reading comprehension strategies

to help students make better decisions about their future occupational life. In order to

achieve it the following specific objectives were laid down:

1. To identify students’ opinions about: reading comprehension, vocational orientation, and

occupational choice.

2. To design a proposal based on reading comprehension strategies and vocational orientation.

3. To analyze how much the implementation of reading strategies actually helped students in the

process of making decisions regarding their occupational life.

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Chapter I

Literature Review

1.1 Previous Studies

In this section, some studies that address similar problems to this research project were

included. These works were carried out, after reading and analyzing their content, since they

provided information that may be relevant because of the way in which they were developed. It

was also considered that its structure and results may be useful for the construction of this

research study.

The following international, national and local studies were closely related to the problem

established in this study, so that the information was important to follow the structural

development, make a similar use of the data collection instruments and the methods to obtain and

analyze the findings.

● International Studies

In this sense, the teacher researcher analyzed four studies related to reading

comprehension and occupational choice in an English class environment, and the enhancement

of English reading strategies that permitted students to comprehend and learn new information

about specific topics obtaining diverse results and considerations which were a starting point for

the development of this research.

First, a study titled “Reading comprehension and strategy awareness of Grade 11

English second language learners” developed by Cekiso (2012), whose project sought to

examine the reading strategies and how these helped the participants in order to enhance the

reading skill in the English language. In order to obtain the results, the researcher implemented

the project with 60 learners from 11th grade in a high school, located in East London in the

23

Eastern Cape. The author emphasized on the importance of understanding what reading is; thus,

he pointed out that the reading process must be conscious.

The research approach used in that study was quantitative, the design was quasi-

experimental, and in that way the data analysis was through statistics. Cekiso (2012) applied

reading comprehension tests and strategy questionnaires. The theory stated that strategy

instruction had two different approaches to teach reading strategies which were explicit

instruction and implicit instruction. According to Hall (2009, cited in Cekiso 2012) “explicit

instruction is a systematic instructional approach that includes a set of delivery and design

procedures derived from effective schools’ research merged with behavior analysis”, (p. 2).

Therefore, Cekiso (2012) highlighted explicit instruction as the best means to work on reading

strategies, considering that this approach promoted the student's interaction with the text.

This study concluded that by implementing reading strategies students obtained better

results in their reading process; that is why, the student should be aware of the applied strategy.

Considering that reading comprehension skills tend to improve with the use of reading strategies,

the author indicated the importance of implementing strategies for reading by teachers focusing

on how to apply these strategies in a specific text. This previous study was considered for this

project, as it helped to demonstrate how the use and implementation of reading strategies

provided the students with characteristics that helped them in the comprehension process, and

thanks to the research of Cekiso (2012), it is understood that not only the application of a certain

reading strategy is important, but also the reader must be aware of the strategy that will be

applied in reading comprehension.

Second, Mahon & Packman (2011), explained in a journal titled “Focused Career

Choices: How Teacher Educators Can Assist Students with Purposeful Career Decision-Making

throughout a Teacher Education Program”, that there were few academic programs which

helped students to make decisions about what academic program or occupation to choose. As

students do not receive guidance about what to do after graduation, the following aspects are

24

noticed: students make a choice about a career without reflecting whether the career or

occupation is what they expect to do during their lives or not.

The students felt they are socially pressured to choose a career in order to be accepted in

society, on the contrary, job and career opportunities will be taken by others with better

aspirations. The fact is that sometimes pressure generates people to choose professions or

occupations they dislike, but it does not matter, since the essential to society is workforce.

Besides, the lack of knowledge makes people spend their time in activities that are not related to

people’s professional vocation.

As a conclusion, the authors suggested that there should be more academic programs that

offer students information about decision-making, so that they find good reasons to choose a

university course in order to make better decisions about what to study in the future. Besides,

teachers ought not only to teach content or focus their attention on assessment or techniques, but

also help students to make sense of what they are studying for making good decisions when

choosing a career. This article helps to understand the importance of vocational guidance in the

future occupational life of students; it is decided to consider this journal for the current study,

since we are struck by the relevance that the authors give to the formation of teachers in

vocational guidance processes and the implementation of a guide that directs students to become

aware of your future choices in the labor field.

Third, Lowenstein (2015), in his work “General education, advising, and integrative

learning. The Journal of General Education”, stated as objective in a journal that advising

should be part of the curriculum and not only a way to inform students about education and job

demands. Moreover, family and friends suppose that high school students are sure about

occupation or studies to pursue, since some of them assume that teachers know their interests,

and guide students during their school life in order to make good decisions about their future.

However, the issue is that sometimes teachers are not interested in helping students to decide it,

or they do not have enough knowledge about vocational orientation to support them. Hence,

25

vocational counsellors or advisers are more prepared than traditional teachers, as they teach not

only about their subject, but also offer tools or useful information of different topics, which may

be necessary for future students’ lives.

The author concluded stating that academic advising is helpful for students to reach

academic institutional goals. Thus, students are more engaged when they are guided by advisors

than only teachers who handle specific information about a subject, since they develop their

learning skills and get information about other topics using resources which are given during the

class. It is decided to take into account this study, since it is clear the idea that teachers,

counselors and coordinators must have academic training in the vocational aspect, which will

permit teachers to do a better vocational accompaniment. If the teachers in charge of acting as

vocational guides do not have the academic training to carry out this work, the student will be

affected in his choice and decision making.

Fourth, Staff (2010), carried out a study in the United States called “Uncertainty in early

occupational aspirations: Role exploration or aimlessness?” in which, the consequences of not

having a clear idea about the career or occupation to be done are described. Those consequences

not only harm the adolescent, but also have repercussions in adults. When students do not have

clear ideas about their professional orientation and future expectations, they often change

teachers and schools; take much more time in graduating, and move from schools with

frequency, fact that harm people about their salary, job conditions, life expectations, and so on.

However, this is not the only aspect that affects the career or occupational choice, since there are

other circumstances involved in this decision, for instance: economic position, gender, goals, and

interest.

Taking into account the above, it is possible to state that students’ economic position is

important for occupation or career selection, since on the one hand, families with good economic

stability have more opportunities to stay in a long-term academic program; students with higher

level can blend their interests and talents with their career choice, too. On the other hand,

26

families with lower economical position do not have possibilities to give their kids school

options. For that reason, when these students have the option to study, skills, talents and future

expectations are not reflected in their career or occupational choice. In some occasions, as they

do not have any professional career opportunity, they make the decision to get a job without the

professional training.

In that study was also mentioned that the gender was an aspect that affected the career or

occupational choice, due to some jobs were not equally paid according to the genre. In some

societies, men as women choose the profession depending on the job level of acceptance

according to genre. For that reason, some societies enclose women activities in certain types of

jobs; women are focused on selecting a job to develop their talents and get new abilities. Besides,

women take into consideration the importance of having a family, but in contrast men are more

oriented to competitive jobs.

Despite that, it is an established paradigm for the society that should not restrict the

choice of a profession depending on the genre. Precisely, what is proposed is to give students the

option to make a good career choice regardless of the prejudices of society. It is the teacher's role

to guide the reflective process, in which students put into consideration not only the economic

aspect in the profession but rather to develop as a suitable person to society. This research is

important for the current study, since the teacher researcher considered that occupations should

not be chosen to get a good salary, but each person has to consider his or her abilities to be able

to perform a job well taking into account his or her labor interests.

It is important to consider what was established by Staff (2010), since some people often

make their vocational or professional choice to demonstrate a high status or economic level, and

in that sense, there are students who choose careers or jobs that demand a lot of money to sustain

themselves. It is necessary that students consider their economic possibilities in order to make a

correct vocational choice without being economically affected in the future by a bad professional

or occupational choice.

27

● National Studies

As national experiences, the teacher researcher considered the following two works:

First, Acosta & Ferri (2010) carried out a paper titled: “Reading strategies to develop higher

thinking skills for reading comprehension” which was an action research and examined eighth

graders reading comprehension in a school located in Envigado, Colombia. The main objective

of this study was to enhance thinking skills through the implementation of reading strategies in

diverse texts. The study was developed with 30 students from ages between 13 to 15 attending to

classes in a public high school and they were divided into three groups randomly. The data were

collected using a teacher’s journal, students’ feedback, reading worksheets, and a cooperating

teacher (CT), practicum advisor (PA) checklist for revising attitude and rating during the session.

As conclusions of that study, the authors found out that the use of reading strategies

permitted students to be more encouraged to read, learn, and understand from texts. Furthermore,

participants considered that diverse readings helped them to increase thinking skills, learn new

vocabulary, enhance their grammar and pronunciation, and learn new information. Interactive

reading material and interesting reading strategies moved students to be more motivated to read,

learn and increase their thinking skills, so that the authors invited other EFL teachers who were

interested in enhancing reading comprehension to take into consideration the obtained results in

the study in order to keep the research on that topic.

That study considered the following reading strategies for the improvement of the

comprehension of texts: activating students’ background knowledge, having students make

predictions, complete graphic organizers, and answer questions; obtaining favorable results, in

which the participants evidenced the improvement in the reading process and acquisition of new

skills thanks to the good choice of reading strategies. For that reason, the researcher of this study

took as contribution the application of reading strategies, since they help to understand texts

easily, people learn more from texts, the information is more organized to focus the attention in

specific details, among others.

28

Second, a study titled “Guía de orientación vocacional para estudiantes del grado

undécimo, de las instituciones educativas municipales de Facatativá”, was conducted by

Guzmán (2016), in Facatativa, Colombia. It was a mixed action research which had as purpose to

foster vocational orientation strategies. The project was directed to eleventh graders in public,

rural and urban schools. As main objective, the authors proposed a vocational orientation guide

applied to eleventh graders in order to identify their strengths for future careers or occupations.

The results of that research project illustrated that the student population was benefited through

the implementation of the study as the vocational orientation guide provided the necessary tools,

so that young people make better decisions regarding the labor or academic choice.

However, it is important to include the vocational orientation within the academic

curriculum from the PEI to the curricula of each subject, since it is a key component in student

development, and likewise, the conditions of the current working world, the needs and interests

of the young people and their context must be considered. Finally, the author suggested that the

school and teachers should do the planning of vocational guidance, keeping in mind some phases

such as: self-knowledge, skills, talents, vocational choice.

This project is considered important for the teacher researcher, as it made contributions to

understand the importance of different aspects such as: life project, personality, interests, skills,

among others, in each of the students and how they should be taken into account in making

vocational or occupational decisions. In agreement with Guzman (2016), the current project

considered the student's internal and external circumstances in order to bring them closer to

make a good decision in their occupational future, the above was developed in the theoretical

framework chapter.

● Local Studies

As local studies, the following three studies were consulted:

29

First, Quiroga (2010), conducted an action research titled “Promoting tenth graders'

reading comprehension of academic texts in the English class”. The participants were tenth

graders in a public school in Bogota, in which, reading strategies were taken into consideration

based on the school PEI whose emphasis was on the improvement of reading comprehension. In

order to collect data, the author implemented the use of observations, journals, interviews and

two questionnaires at the beginning of the research project. The purpose of using these

instruments was to provide information about the students’ advances in reading comprehension

and to demonstrate the progress obtained by them through the reading of academic texts.

The main objective that moved the development of that study was to implement reading

strategies to have students comprehend academic texts in English taking into consideration that

students’ interests were related to reading and understanding the content of diverse texts such as,

reading instructions, information from the internet, admissions to the university, getting jobs, and

so on. In addition to those instruments to collect data, the author applied a diagnostic workshop,

a diagnostic test, and an evaluation, so that students were able to check their performance at the

end of each lesson

The results of that study showed that most of the students could understand more than

half of the text in the middle of the development of the project. In addition, they considered that

their level of English had increased and could also remember information contained in a text.

The implementation of the five strategies and the use of academic texts were essential in order

that students understood the texts. Moreover, the use of academic texts permitted learners not

only to increase the English language level, expand their vocabulary or strengthen the knowledge

about the topic in the text, but also contributed to have more interactive classes.

Given the above, this thesis considered the relationship that may be established between

development reading strategies and academic texts, for this reason the information on

occupations was presented with academic texts, thanks to which the vocabulary of the student

was enriched.

30

Second, a master’s thesis named “Analyzing secondary students perception regarding to

the use of reading comprehension strategies through the interactive model”, developed by

Zabala (2017). This research project was conducted in a public school located in the city of

Bogota directed to seventh graders. According to the author, this research aimed to foster reading

comprehension strategies through the interactive model, in which, the author sought to develop

some reading strategies using the DU (Didactic Unit) as an instrument to promote reading

strategies.

This study followed a qualitative design methodology using the details, fundamental part

to obtain answers. The data collection techniques used by the author were the DU, the focus

group, field notes, interviews, questionnaires, tape scripts and evaluations. Considering that

Zabala (2017) implemented a case study research method, six stages that corresponded to

activities when doing a case study research, according to Yin’s (1998) model were taken into

account, they were: plan, design, prepare, collect, analyze and share.

The findings of this study showed how strategies such as scanning, skimming,

paraphrasing, cloze, and so on, used by Zabala (2017) in the didactic units, helped students to

strengthen some skills in reading comprehension. However, in order to promote reading

comprehension, personal and social aspects of the individual must be considered, that is why, it

is evident that the interactive model helped students to interact between them in a better way.

The author highlighted the importance of reading in the mother tongue and developed different

reading strategies focused on the interactive model.

Taking into account that Zabala’s research (2017) stated that for a good reading

comprehension it is important not only to make use of reading strategies, but also to emphasize

the importance of grammatical, semantic and syntactic analysis, in addition to the correct

handling of vocabulary, which allows the reader to have a greater understanding. Therefore, it

was decided to keep this study in mind, which contributed to the current research the idea of

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analyzing the text in a complete way, where all the aspects mentioned above influenced for such

understanding.

The third research study is a master’s thesis named “Género y orientación vocacional en

la educación media”, developed by Barrera (2011), in a public school located in the city of

Bogota. The population were ninth, tenth, eleventh grade students; seven teachers and one

counselor. In this study, the author analyzed how the institutional process of vocational

orientation is aimed to students. Besides, the author sought to identify how the gender

perspective influences the occupational decision making.

To achieve the above, this thesis used the qualitative and ethnographic method to address

the problem. Through case analysis, they sought to interpret imaginary constructs of students and

teachers, about the idea of gender. In order to obtain the conclusions, the author also applied

some techniques such as interviews, focus groups and observation in the classroom. Barrera

(2011) considered the analysis of dialogue in order to give interpretations about the imaginary

meanings that participants had about certain concepts.

Finally, Barrera (2011) evidenced that in her school the gender difference is not

considered at the moment of the pedagogic practice. However, the imaginary, in terms of

vocational choice, follows traditional patterns, in which are the tasks and occupations that a

person should carry out according to whether is woman or man. The hidden curriculum of this

educational institution reveals how, for vocational guidance, teachers apply this teaching

depending on their previous experiences and their own criteria without considering the ideology

of gender and personal interests of students. Therefore, the author suggested to include the

gender ideology in the planning and development of the formal curriculum and vocational

orientation.

This study contributed to the current research, since it allowed us to understand how in

the occupational choice influenced the imaginary of gender ideology that the student had,

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following in several cases patriarchal patterns in their vocational choice. Therefore, in the current

study the vocational information is presented, taking into account personal interests and likes

regardless of the gender of the person who performed it.

1.2 Theoretical Framework

This section introduces and discusses some important authors’ ideas about their theories

and their contributions to the topics of this study: reading comprehension strategies, vocational

counselling and another aspect that is considered relevant inside the second construct which is

decision making. Regarding the research problem of this study and taking into consideration the

context in which it was observed, it was essential to gather all the relevant theoretical support

that allows a deeper understanding of the problem that was observed. Besides, the researcher of

this project seeks to contrast the theoretical framework of this study with the findings in the data

analysis in order to give support to this research project.

1.2.1 Reading

The first construct that will be developed in this theoretical framework is reading, as it is

essential to understand the generalities of this, and then to deepen aspects such as, reading

comprehension and reading comprehension strategies. Wallace (2004) argues that reading is

a process that has to be done in a focused way, although many students do not do it, for that

reason, there are poor results at reading competence. According to this author, before reading, it

is essential to think about the reasons for doing it; for instance, whether the text is academic or

not.

Thus, thinking about the purpose for reading and the way people read is important in

order to establish connections between the actors. Besides, Wallace (2004) suggests that good

readers do not always read the whole text in order to understand every word, but they are able to

use reading strategies (skimming, scanning) that allow them to save time, get a general

33

impression of the article, and look for specific information that the reader is sure is included in

the text.

1.2.2 Reading Stages

Considering that the reader should be an active subject in the reading process, which

processes information, brings new ideas to the text, and builds new knowledge from the

information read; it is important to establish appropriate strategies for the correct understanding

of a reading. Solé (2009) divides the reading process into three sub processes which are called:

pre, while, post reading, this author defines these processes as follows:

Pre-reading

- It is necessary to determine the objectives that are sought by means of reading.

- It is the moment to activate previous knowledge about reading.

- Predictions can be made about the content of the text from the title, images, genre, etc.

- In certain contexts, a dialogue can be made that allows the exchange of previous ideas about the

topic of reading.

- Collective, silent, and shared reading may be articulated in order that the process is meaningful

to the reader.

-It can be understood that reading, in addition to being informative and formative, is an

instrument of enjoyment.

While - reading

- During the reading of the text, shared reading activities can be encouraged; ask questions about

what has been read, clarify possible doubts, and summarize ideas from the text.

- As a way to verify that a reading is being understood, it is convenient at this stage to take

breaks in order to ask for clarification, ask questions or reread something if it is not understood.

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- Unknown vocabulary can be identified from the context through matching activities

- Mental images may be created to visualize descriptions made in the text.

- Activities can be carried out where the comprehension of the text is evidenced, for example

false and true activities, summaries, multiple selection questions, etc.

- It is important that the reader takes the habit of summarizing, posing questions, solving

problems; this makes it an active role in reading and learning.

- It is possible to resort to the use of reading strategies to strengthen the comprehension of the

text such as (scanning, skimming, summarizing, etc.).

Post - reading

- An incorporation of new information is made to the previous knowledge.

- Individuals can develop activities to synthesize what they have learned in a text such as mental

maps, macrostructures, summaries, etc.

- The subject can make statements, questions and self-question about their reading process. The

above not only serves to evaluate the subject of reading but also evaluates the reading process

and recognize the acquisition of new knowledge.

- New texts, drawings or different expressions can be produced from the read text.

- The formulation of different questions can be done to arrive at a better global comprehension of

the text such as: literal answer questions, think and look questions and personal elaboration

questions.

- The student is able to retell the meaning of the text with his own words.

Considering that Solé (2009) divides the reading process in three sub processes pre,

while, post reading, this proposal was taken into account in the reading process, since in each of

the steps different strategies, activities, and exercises in class are integrated, which, when are

applied correctly in each reading phase provide optimal results in reading comprehension. In

addition, it is evident that the role of the reader is more active, making reading a more

autonomous and enriching process. Also, it is perceived that students widen their knowledge and

35

put it into practice through the activities in class. The teacher researcher of this study considers

the three reading phases explained above essential, so that students apply them during the

reading of any texts, since they encourage readers to contrast new and old information, learn

content through English, have clearer ideas about a text, and are able to answer question about

any article; so on. In addition, the teacher knows if students did correct understanding of reading

in general way. It is a good method for the verification and confrontation of the acquisition of

information with the real content of the reading.

1.2.3 Reading Comprehension and Reading Comprehension Strategies

According to Ashby & Rayner (as cited in Grabe, 2009), an essential objective with

reading is to support students learn how to read naturally. When students do that, they can focus

their attention on the content more than in the reading process. In this sense, it is expected that

students learn more from content in English while making use of reading comprehension

strategies, which help them to pay more attention to specific details along the texts. As the topics

of this study were based on students’ interests, the texts selected for the implementation were

chosen accordingly, that is why it was expected that students’ commitment and motivation

during reading English texts to enhance. Reading comprehension also implies that learners

recognize an extensive number of words; not only that but also to practice with those words.

Therefore, in the current study it is essential to rehearse reading and activities to pay especial

attention to the following aspects suggested by Grabe, (2009 p. 36):

a. Letter-sound correspondences.

b. Words and word parts.

c. Rapid identification of words.

d. Range of fluency activities.

36

The teacher researcher of this project considers the importance that has for this study to

help students, not only to understand the general idea of the text, but also an important aspect is

to expand the vocabulary supported by the different proposed readings.

Grabe (2009) also mentions that: “(...) reading comprehension is not possible without a

rapid and automatic word recognition of a large vocabulary. Researchers also say that word

recognition represents the part of comprehension that is unique to reading” (p. 23). From this

point of view, it is essential to notice the importance of learning new vocabulary and recognize it

in practice, as this allows students to learn and understand much easier the content of a text. That

fact makes the reading exercise productive and effective. Considering the above, it was sought to

implement this postulate during the interventions through reading workshops with specific

vocabulary about occupational life.

As it was established by Young and Hadaway, (as cited in McLaughlin, 2012), we as

teachers need to encourage our students to be more active and motivated during the classes, in

addition to recognizing vocabulary and learning new words, since learners may be more

interested in their learning process while the teacher helps them become engaged readers.

Likewise, McLaughlin (2012, p. 432) states 10 teaching principles for teachers to follow and

apply in their classes to become more active and engaged student readers:

● Base your understanding of comprehension on social constructivist nature of reading.

● Understand students’ roles in the reading comprehension process.

● Be an influential teacher.

● Motivate and engage students.

● Teach reading comprehension strategies.

● Foster the development and use of vocabulary.

● Provide students with a variety of types and levels of text.

● Encourage students to use multiple modes of representative thinking.

● Embed formative assessments in your everyday teaching.

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● Teach students to comprehend at deeper levels.

Considering the above information, it is possible to argue that we as teachers ought to

carry out the development of these principles during the sessions, since it allows students to be

worrier and more engaged with their learning process. In addition, new vocabulary is fostered,

old knowledge is compared, and new content is learnt through the implementation of reading

strategies. Such as scanning, skimming, reading aloud, among others. Thus, students are more

aware that are learning not only to read, but also acquire content through English.

As McLaughlin (2012), states: “research supports that the explicit instruction of

comprehension strategies increases students’ comprehension” (p. 435), referring specially to one

of her teaching principles which has to do with teach reading comprehension strategies. That is

why, this theoretical support, as well as the others mentioned above, were used during the

implementation of this project, as it is sought to provide students with the necessary tools to

enhance reading comprehension and obtain knowledge with specific content through reading in

English.

Following the idea of Grabe (2009) about providing teaching principles, so that teachers

use in classes to have more active students, Duke (2011, p.52) proposes the following elements,

which are similar to Grabe’s (2009) ideas, but also includes others that are relevant for the

reading comprehension process:

1. Built disciplinary and world knowledge.

2. Provide exposure to a volume and range of texts.

3. Provide motivating texts and contexts for reading.

4. Teach strategies for comprehending.

5. Teach texts structures.

6. Engage students in discussion.

7. Built vocabulary and language knowledge.

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8. Integrate reading and writing.

9. Observe and assess.

10. Differentiate instructions.

Moreover, taking into consideration that teaching reading comprehension strategies is

relevant in order to increase students’ reading comprehension and learn new content about

occupational life during the implementation of this study, the researcher of this study, also,

considers pertinent some of the following eight effective reading comprehension strategies

suggested by Grabe (2009, p. 209), which help students to have a better understanding of text:

● Summarizing.

● Forming questions.

● Answering questions and Elaborative Interrogation.

● Activating prior knowledge.

● Monitoring comprehension.

● Using text-structure awareness.

● Using visual graphics and graphic organizers.

● Inferencing.

The main purpose of these strategies is that readers have a wider range of possibilities

which allow them to understand diverse texts, and appropriate new knowledge. These are the

eight strategies that provide the most support during the reading comprehension process, Grabe

(2009). We as teachers have to encourage students to read any kind of texts by making use of the

strategies suggested by the theory, in order for them to enrich not only their knowledge about a

topic from reading in English, but also to learn strategies which will permit them to acquire

diverse tools which may help the reader to internalize the knowledge acquired from reading to

then externalize that acquired information.

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In agreement with Grabe (2009), and McLaughlin (2012), Duffy (as cited in Ness, 2011

p. 99) establishes that: “through explicit strategy instruction, teachers intentionally and directly

teach comprehension strategies in efforts to help students monitor and build their understanding

of text”. This author also adds that there are some reasons why reading strategies are not usually

deepen in class.

First, many teachers do not understand the active reading components that are the critical foundation of

reading comprehension. Additionally, comprehension instruction may lead to student-teacher interactions

that are quite different from the status quo. Typically, teachers ask questions and evaluate students on the

correctness of their answers, thus controlling the majority of interactions. Comprehension instruction

requires conversation that is less controlled by the teacher; the teacher’s role may simply be to prompt

students on how to make meaning of text. Pressley (as cited in Ness, 2011 p. 100).

According to this fragment, it can be seen how the teacher works as a guide collaborating

with students while interacting with the text and with the learned content. If the importance of

teaching reading comprehension strategies is not considered by teachers, the same results are not

obtained from the reading of a text, and the teacher-student teaching model does not change,

since the teacher is in charge of imparting knowledge without considering the opinions of

students regarding the content and importance of any text. In such a way, as teachers we must

encourage interaction among students and teacher-students to make the learning process more

meaningful and take more advantage of the contents learned in the classroom.

Considering the previous information about the importance of the reading comprehension

strategies, there will be mentioned and explained the reading strategies that were used for the

implementation of this research:

● Guessing meaning from context: In this strategy, readers take into account the complete

text, paragraphs, sentences or words that help them to have a general idea of the topic of

reading. If the reader does not understand the whole text can use familiar vocabulary to

try to guess the general idea of reading. As Spack (1998) claims, "Using vocabulary to

interpret what they read gives them the practical means to apply what they learn” (p. 2).

40

● Scanning: In this strategy the eyes move quickly through the whole sheet, the purpose is

to look for specific ideas or words of relevance for understanding. This strategy is useful

in the search for answers to simple questions, as mentioned by Cramer, (1998). Usually,

this strategy is applied when you know beforehand that you are looking for reading

(word, phrase, and data).

● Skimming: It is the quick glance that is made to a reading, as the glance is done in a

general way it does not focus on reading word by word. Search for the recognition of

words and main ideas, as well as the changes of paragraphs and the explanation of

keywords, so the skimming strategy requires previous reading skills, as pointed out by

Cramer, (1998).

● Read out loud: This strategy helps the reader and whoever listens to the reading, to

construct and interpret the content of the text through mental images that are made in the

brain. For reading aloud to be understood, the reader must consider: rhythm,

pronunciation, intonation, and welcoming the style of the work. This source was found in

a book titled: “A viva voz: lectura en voz alta”, (2013).

● Generating questions: Strategy in which the reader formulates concerns, which are

expected to be answered throughout the reading. This formulation of questions makes the

reader have a better interpretation of the content of the text because through these

concerns reaffirms the general idea of reading. With this strategy, the readers are

immersed and responsible of their reading comprehension process, as Solé (2009) points

out, they not only answer questions from the text, but also have the capacity to ask

questions themselves.

● Understanding reference: In this strategy the student improves and expands the

vocabulary, with it the reader must give reference to the meaning of a word, however that

word is written differently in another part of the text, but referring to the same, for such

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reason, Mokhtari (2016) points out the reader must make inference process based on the

text meaning.

● Paraphrasing: This strategy requires that the reader reproduces the general idea of a

paragraph or text, using his own words. In the previous way, it reconstructs an idea in a

more summarized way without losing the original content. "You retell the story in your

own words", Cleveland (2002. p. 44).

● Summarizing: It is a strategy in which the reader summarizes the most relevant aspects of

the text. You can do paragraph by paragraph, reducing the information in sentences in

which the main sense of the reading is condense. As Cleveland (2002. p. 44) claims,

“(…) in reading, a summary is very similar to a sum in math. When you summarize, you

add up the main points. Then you restate them to form a new sentence or group of

sentences”.

The researcher of this project considers the use of the previous strategies necessary for

the implementation of the proposal, since they guide students in their reading comprehension

process, and provide them with tools for enhancing and understanding texts much better.

1.2.4 Occupational Orientation and Decision Making

The second construct that will be developed along this theoretical framework is

occupational orientation and decision making for high school students since it is relevant for

them to make decisions during their school life about their future occupational or professional

life. Considering that many students are not sure about what to do after graduating from schools,

as teachers, we have to guide learners in the process of making decisions about what to study or

work according to their interests and likes. With this in mind, the concept of vocation is essential

to understand the process that each person carries out in making decisions about an occupation.

According to this idea Oliver (1992), defines vocation as the following:

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“The vocation orientation is the psychological treatment through which the individual is studied and

directed so that he can choose intelligently his occupation, art or profession. Its purpose is to help the

adolescent to explore and discover his or her own aptitudes so that he chooses the preliminary choice of

learning that suits him or her to choose a life plan”, (p.516).

Similarly, Rivas (as cited in Müller, 2004), defines vocation as the mental processes that

a person generates depending on their professional or occupational interests in the future.

Likewise, Super (as cited in Rivas, 1998) states that the vocational process concentrates on the

person as a whole with individualized purposes of life. Taking into account the definition of

vocation, in this section the vocational theory is explained, which is divided into three factors:

psychological approach, non-psychological approach and global approach.

● The psychological approach

Regarding the postulates of the authors that contribute to the vocational theory, it is

possible to define the psychological approach as the individual aspect of the personality, which is

modified throughout life. This approach considers attitudes, aptitudes, interests, and weaknesses,

as important factors in the final decision about which occupation to choose. This psychological

approach helps the person to have a greater knowledge of himself, which is essential at the

moment of making a decision regarding his vocational future. In this approach some

contributions of theorists will be mentioned which will permit to develop the psychological

perspective in the individual.

Parsons (as cited in Walsh and Savickas, 2013), was one of the pioneers in the study of

vocation proposing the vocational theory which is consolidated in his greatest work “Choosing a

Vocation”. He based his work on trait-and-factor theory considering the personality of the

individual. This theory considers the adjustment between individual characteristics and

professional choice. This author proposes the trait-and-factor theory as an important element in

vocational decision making as:

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Trait-and-factor theory comprises three basic steps: (a) assess and understand your attitudes, abilities,

interests, values and personality; (b) learn occupational information (job description, required training

salary, and so forth) about areas that fit your attitude, abilities, interests, values and personality; and (c)

make decisions based on considering both (a) and (b), Walsh and Savickas (2013 p.5).

According to the theory of the trait-and-factor, the person must have a knowledge about

his or her attitudes, abilities and skills in order to identify the kind of profession that favors his or

her qualities. In addition, weaknesses and limitations must be considered in order to delimit the

range of job opportunities to which a person can have access. Since each occupation has specific

work requirements, the person has to adapt his or her skills with those requirements. However,

the more similar the trait-and-factor of the person with the requirements and demands of a

specific profession is, the better will be his or her adaptability and development in the vocational

choice.

Holland (as cited in Walsh and Savickas, 2013), bore in mind the postulates about trait-

and-factor to develop the theory of personality types and work environments. This author divides

the personality types regarding the person’s working environment, his or her vocational interests

about the job, abilities, personalities and other traits. Holland’s six personality types are known

such as: Realistic (R), Investigative (I), Artistic (A), Social (S), Enterprising (E), and

Conventional (C) (RIASEC). These six types of personality allow us to understand the interests

of people according to their professional decisions in order to help individuals in the search and

choice of an occupation.

Realistic (R): These types of people possess motor characteristics which favor manual

work, manipulation of objects, tools and machines; they are male or physically strong prototypes,

these people have motor coordination and realistic skills to solve problems in their work.

However, they lack the ability to verbally and interpersonally socialize. Most of men are used to

develop this type of work based on the skills identified with this type of personality. Some of the

occupations that can develop people with this type of personality are: farmers, mechanics,

electricians; and so on.

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Investigative (I): People who possess these skills often work with abstract ideas,

symbols, language, and intellectual environments. These people are introverted and not sociable,

they prefer to avoid close interpersonal contact. Besides, they rather meditate about the problems

to solve them actively. Given the characteristics of this type of personality the following jobs are

to be performed: computer programmers, physicists, biologists, chemists, anthropologists,

architects, and so on.

Artistic (A): This type of personality needs individual expression through artistic

creations. People with this type of personality are expressive, independent, original, and

sometimes disordered. They are people who generally avoid following a strict or routine order in

their daily life. These people stay away from complex problems that require a lot of physical

effort. The occupations that are identified with these traits are: musicians, writers, actors,

dancers, comedians, designers, and so on.

Social (S): People who are reflected in this personality type have characteristics to help,

serve, and cooperate. They have a high level of empathy with others, they have verbal ability and

tend to seek close relationships, they like to teach and advise others. However, they avoid

solving intellectual problems, strong physical and repetitive activities. They feel themselves as

friendly, reliable, and cooperative people. At a professional level, people with these

characteristics tend to choose occupations such as: psychology, social work, teaching, medicine,

nursing, among others.

Enterprising (E): Enterprising occupations often involve leaders capable of making

decisions, taking risks thinking about their status and attaining power. They possess verbal and

persuasive skills, like competitive environments and avoid intellectual and artistic ones. These

people stay away from work situations that require long periods of intellectual effort. Their

interests are focused on money, politics or business. Considering these traits, the following

occupations may be identified: lawyers, politicians, vendors, administrators, businessmen,

among others.

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Conventional (C): People with this type of trait generally prefer ordered and defined

activities guided by a boss. These types of people have good adaptability and prefer to work with

data in detail rather than ideas. They prefer to follow a clear line of authority to be the leaders

and try to avoid close interpersonal situations or physical activity. They also possess skills of

numerical organizations, for this reason the vocational preferences according to these traits are:

finance employees, accountants, bank employees, secretaries, and so forth.

These six personality types are a general guide since most people experience a

combination between several personality types. For this reason, people feel identified with

different types of occupations, and likewise, people who possess different skills can perform

satisfactorily in different occupations.

Super (as cited in Patton and McMahon, 2014), states the self-concept theory which has

to do with the growth, changes and challenges that an individual experience throughout his or her

life. It implies the development of the self-concept that a person has of him or herself, which is

modified through time with experiences and learning. Moreover, the self-concept is an idea that a

person has about him or herself depending on the different stages being these from childhood to

adulthood. In other words, the self-concept is a continuous and dynamic process. Considering the

above, Super (as cited in Andersen and Vandehey, 2011) postulates a series of stages which are:

growth, exploration, establishment, maintenance and decline. Each of these stages helps the

person to find a vocation for the future. Despite that, these stages are generalities, since the

concept of oneself is a personal process which cannot be pigeonholed only by what is established

in the theory.

Considering the above factors, a person chooses or rejects an occupation according to the

self-concept that he or she has created through the stages of his life, identifying his or her

aptitudes or skills in a given job. On the contrary, a person leaves aside some occupations, since

he or she believes that does not have the necessary skills to carry out such work, supporting his

hypothesis with the concept he or she has of him or herself.

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Super (as cited in Andersen and Vandehey, 2011), points out that it is necessary to know

a person's life cycle to guide him or her with his or her vocational focus. This begins from early

childhood and ends in adulthood through a series of stages, in which the person develops a

progressive self-differentiation, which leads to build a self-concept. In this way, the author

established four stages of vocational development with their respective phases as shown below:

STAGE NAME AGE CHARACTERISTICS

1 Growth 0 - 14 years - Curiosity is an

indispensable element.

- Development of self-

concept with attitudes,

needs and general

interpretations of the world.

- Begins the knowledge of

their abilities and aptitudes.

2 Exploration 15 - 25 years This stage is characterized

by a deep introspection

where the attitudes

developed in the previous

stage (Growth) are faced.

This is divided into:

a. Tentative (15 - 17): In

this period skills, attitudes,

values and interests

discovered until this age are

integrated in which there is

a new behavior focused on

what a professional interest

is. Self-concept of self is

fundamental in this phase.

b. Transition: (18 - 21):

Since there is a change in

schooling, the person

begins to discover new

roles in both the personal

and the vocational area.

c. Trial: (22 - 24): At this

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stage the person begins to

think about his/her work

and tries or has the first

attempts at employment

related to his/her

professional choice.

3 Establishment 25 - 45 years The adult finds a place to

develop his profession and

ensures his work:

a. Stabilization (25 - 35

years): it is established in a

specific labor field

developing their gifts and

talents.

b. Consolidation (35 - 45

years): it is aware of the

consolidation and

professional advancement

to receive the benefits

acquired over the years.

4 Maintenance 45 - 64 years It means staying in a

profession and being

updated in the work field.

5 Decline 65 + Recognize and accept the

phase of retirement to make

use of the professional

experience that left his/her

work performed.

Table 4. Stages of the vocational development process. Source: Taken from Super (as cited in Andersen and

Vandehey, 2011).

By means of the previous table, the author establishes the relationship that exists between

the age and the characteristics of the person oriented to focus his or her interest in the vocational

field. As can be seen, the tentative phase (15 - 17 years) seeks students to question themselves

about their abilities and talents. This means that it is important to take into account this phase for

the development of this research project, since the participants are within this age range, and as

the author points out, it is a strengthening of personal interests at a vocational level. Therefore, it

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is important that the teacher's guide is directed to highlight those particular skills and talents in

each student, so that the teacher's guidance is optimal for the student.

● Non-psychological approach

In this approach, vocational decision making is related to external factors to the

individual, which in most cases cannot be controlled, since they are factors that reach the

individual without prior notice. Motivating circumstances, interests, likes and even aptitudes are

not taken into account in the personal choice versus the vocational choice. This approach is

divided mainly under three factors: at random choice, supply and demand, and sociological.

At random choice: As Alvarez (1995) points out considering some of the postulates

proposed by Miller and Form (1951), this factor indicates that the individual makes the random

choice of vocations. This election does not have a substantiated foundation, prior statement or

conscientious choice. The person opts for any profession or occupation due to unforeseeable

circumstances that the person cannot control, since they are external situations, foreign to him

directly. It is for this reason that some individuals choose certain occupations in which they do

not feel qualified, identified, interested, satisfied, etc. Such is the case in which some individuals

do not start from their personal preferences, but by not having control over external agents they

fall into a bad vocational choice.

Supply and demand: In this factor, although individuals apparently are free in

vocational and labor choice, such choice is linked to the economic benefits that people can obtain

from their profession. People opt for a profession that provides economic benefits, for this reason

the role of the vocational counselor is to give information about the conditions on the

professional career (costs-benefits), information on the labor market (working conditions).

Considering that the election is made with the economic factor in mind, it is not totally

true that the decision is made under full freedom, since personal interests are not considered

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during the election, but it is determined by the supply and demand in the market within a specific

time. Castaño (as cited in Rivas, 1998) points out, in the lower levels of professional hierarchy,

economic motivation is more important, while in higher levels motivation is less materialistic

and vocational choice depends on likes, personal visualizations, activities of interest, etc.

Sociological: Considering the contributions of some authors, it is possible to establish

that in this factor, the interests to take the vocational choice are linked to the influence of culture,

society, family, the individual and general environment, school, etc. Each of these environments

are decisive in the vocational choice depending on the closeness and affinity that the subject has

with the environment.

Rivas (1976) raises 4 contributions in the sociological approach:

- Social conditions are factors that influence the choice of occupational options.

-The social class limits the level of aspiration and the possibilities of vocational choices.

- The family, the professional roles, the media are means of pressure on the individual.

- The economic factor facilitates or limits the vocational decision.

That is why, the role of the vocational counselor is to guide the individual by showing

how each factor of their environment intervenes in their choice, and to collaborate so that the

person is aware that despite the direct incidence of those factors in the final decision making, this

should be based on personal interests and not under pressure exerted by third parties (family,

school, friends).

● Global approach

This type of approach integrates psychological, economic and sociological trends in

vocational behavior. It considers vocational behavior as a multidimensional and holistic

evolutionary process. Blau (as cited in Cepero 2009) is one of the authors who integrates the

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three approaches in his Socio-Psychological Model. This model integrates personal aspects and

socioeconomic conditions emphasizing the contextual determinants.

Within the global approach we can mention the contributions of Holland (as cited in Pope

and Flores, 2014), in which we find the following basic assumptions:

- As mentioned above, most personalities of the individual may be categorized into six main

personality types (RIASEC). These personality types result from the integration between the

genetic factor and the environment in which the subject develops.

- The individual seeks to find vocational environments in which he or she develops skills, values,

abilities, attitudes, etc.

-The human behavior is generated from the interaction with the personality and the

characteristics of the environment where it operates.

Since this approach brings together different contributions between psychological and

non-psychological, some contributions from Super (as cited in Alao and Kobiowu, 2010) will be

mentioned, which introduces three determining concepts at the moment of vocational choice:

self-concept, trait and factor and stages of development. These elements are part of the

vocational choice that is an evolutionary process and depends on the stage in which the

individual is in order to generate decision making. This vocational choice is a cyclical

phenomenon that may vary with time, interests, values, external determinants, etc. To describe

the above, Super (as cited in Andersen and Vandehey, 2011) established the process of

vocational development from stages; it can be seen in (Table 4, p. 47) of this theoretical

framework.

Considering other contributions to the global approach, Roe (as cited in Duarte and

Vasconcelos, 2012), established the approach based on the satisfaction of needs. In this

approach, the author considers familial, intellectual, personal factors; and how they influence

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vocational choice. The author highlights some aspects that influence vocational guidance, which

are:

- The family interaction, parents - children, which is held since childhood and family

environment that these lived experiences evoke consciously and unconsciously in the individual

predict a future vocational choice.

-The desires that stimulate a person in order to prefer one occupation or another depend on the

needs created in childhood, which if are not taken into consideration and supplied in time,

remain unconsciously in the individual; therefore, the vocational choice will tend to satisfy these

needs.

- People were born with different genetic inheritance that, when it is developed in childhood

strengthen the person's abilities.

According to Roe (as cited in Duarte, S. R., Vasconcelos, P. V., Asencio, E. N., &

Martínez, A. M. M., 2012), the type of relationship that the person experienced in childhood with

family built the personality, for instance a person who had no affection, and tends to be alone,

could be identified in the technological area due to the type of personality. On the contrary, if the

child has a family atmosphere of affection, the behavior is not defensive, hence, it is easier to

establish relationships with people, and an example of a profession in this case are social

communicators.

Finally, Lopez’s (2003) contributions are taken into consideration, since she explains

how the choice of a vocational career must be in an evolutionary way in which the individual

through the years builds the identity and with this the student makes a projection in front of how

he wants to see himself in a possible profession. Lopez (2003), defines the term “identidad

vocacional” which has to do with how people perceive themselves over time in terms of

occupational life taking into consideration what the person expects to do, how, and the style of

who. “Identidad vocacional” also refers to why and what for, a person chooses a specific

vocational role.

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Taking into account the above, we see how the vocational choice becomes a process,

which requires time, in this process has to be considered that there are: alterations, extensions or

changes. Despite the changes and alterations in the selection process, it is at the secondary level

that the students finally make a vocational decision, which ceases to be an unconscious selection

to do it consciously, since it is at this moment that the student must face a real work and

professional life.

However, in order to reach a final decision student must go through a series of stages, in

which they develop strengthens and improve attitudes and aptitudes which will give concepts

about themselves to recognize their talents. In this process, it is essential the teacher’s

accompaniment as a guide and not only the family support, in order to ease the knowledge of the

talents that each student possesses. Identifying the skills correctly helps the learner to develop

and improve them in different aspects of their life setting as a preparation towards an optimal

professional life.

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Chapter II

Proposal

In the current chapter, the process that was carried out in order to develop the

implementation phase is described. Initially, a pre reading test was applied to the students, it

contained two different texts in which the level of comprehension of reading, vocabulary and

grammar were assessed by means of 15 multiple choice questions. Taking into account that the

results of the pre-test were not as expected, the teacher researcher decided to design eight reading

workshops that were organized to be applied into eight different sessions which included three

phases, pre, while, and post reading. Those workshops were adapted to some informative

readings taken from a book called, “Job Profiles” from Alberta Government, which is available

for online use. The readings contained the story of a person in the job, and some information

about his or her duties, working conditions, personal characteristics, salary, among others.

The workshops were related to an occupation and the objective was to read the text and

learn about the use of a specific reading comprehension strategy, which was put into practice

during the aforementioned reading phases. After the implementation of the eight intervention

sessions, students took a closing test, or post-test, to evaluate their reading level again after

having learned about the use of diverse reading comprehension strategies during each class.

2.1 Objectives

2.1.1 General Objective

● To design, implement and evaluate eight reading workshops with information about

occupations in order to guide 10th graders about the importance of making better

decisions about their future professional or occupational life.

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2.1.2 Specific Objectives

● To design reading workshops based on informative texts about specific occupations

including a reading comprehension strategy to be enhanced.

● To design the lesson plan for each session.

● To guide students about different occupational options that they have in order for them to

make future decisions.

● To evaluate students’ reading comprehension level through the implementation of a

reading test.

2.2 Research Method and Type of Study

In this section the research method and the type of study are introduced. Moreover, the

context of the school, participants and teacher´s role in which the research study took place are

also explained. Finally, the instruments to collect data in the sampling phase and the

implementation are included. Thus, the current research study is qualitative, furthermore, it

follows the steps of an action research, because of the observation of the participants’ interaction

during the sessions and relevance of their opinions or beliefs regarding the activities developed

through the intervention of this research study.

2.2.1 Research Method

According to Johnson (2008) qualitative research has become relevant in the study of

social sciences since it considers the reality as pluralist. In different words, for qualitative

research it is not possible to produce general answers just for one problem, since the ways of

living, the subcultures and the behaviors are constantly changing in the world we live in, reason

why the researcher must face each day new contexts and social perspectives. In accordance with

Johnson (2008): “Qualitative researchers view human behavior as dynamic and changing, and

they advocate studying phenomena in depth and over an extended period time”, (p. 418).

According to this author, there are four main reasons that are characteristic of qualitative

research: the first one is the convenience of the methods and the theories. The second one, is that

55

the perspectives of the participants and the diversity must be considered, reason why the

subjectivity of the studied people is considered true and valid. The third one is the possibility of

the research and the researcher to reflex, and finally there is the diversity in the approaches and

methods of research.

2.2.2 Type of Study

The action research was applied in this project in order to achieve the steps and goals that

were proposed. Taking into consideration Greenwood and Levin (as cited in Burns, 2007), action

research is a cycle that includes the following steps, observing, reflecting, planning, and acting.

The purpose of these steps or “follows” as Burns calls them is to support that action research is

focused on learning through reflection in this way:

“Planning is a process of thinking through and developing our intention to act. Acting means intervening

in complex social process. Observing means, seeing or finding out what happened as a result of our

actions. Reflecting means cognitive, sensual and emotional sense making, Burns (2007, p.12).

Furthermore, action research is helpful in order to change or modify some aspects that are

affecting the learning process and it has the typical characteristics of a research such as

observation, questions, collecting data, analysis, interpretation and report. According to Nunan

and Bailey (2009), action research is not only to collect evidence about a problem, but also the

need to reflect about it, it is to understand, improve and change the world by solving a problem

and posing it. Also, it is not only research people at random, but specific people on their

activities or work.

Finally, Nunan and Bailey (2009) establish that action research is not only a scientific

method, but also a social science which work with humans, and is concerned about the subject.

This conception about action research is essential for the implementation of this proposal, since

it is expected to make students’ aware of the importance of the English language through reading

comprehension strategies that will help them in the process of making decisions about their

future occupational life, and also about the importance of studying or working in the future.

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In this study, the teacher researcher implemented action research as follows: first, the

researcher observed that 10th graders’ group 2 from the English emphasis had lacks on reading

comprehension and also, they were not sure about what to do after finishing their school lives.

This was found through the results of a pre-questionnaire and a reading pre-test. In addition, the

researcher observed the lack on reading comprehension during the classes by means of the

application of some workshops related to reading articles and different activities in class.

Second, the researcher reflected through the findings about the situation and he constructed the

theoretical framework. Third, the researcher designed a proposal whose objective was to provide

a likely solution to the problem. Fourth, he implemented the proposal and analyzed the data

gathered from questionnaires, reading tests, workshops and self-assessment grids through the use

of Grounded Theory.

2.3 Context

This research project was developed and implemented in a public school in Bogota. It is

located in the locality of Fontibón. There, students took English regular classes in the morning

and the teachers were assigned directly by Secretaria de Educación whose main purpose was that

school students continued their university studies through a choice of certification or

accreditation granted by San Buenaventura University. English classes at EMF were organized in

10 hours per week, being part of the school curricula as a subject and those classes were

independent from the English classes in the morning shift. The relation that existed among

English teachers in the morning and those of EMF ones was because of humanities and

languages area meetings which meant that all teachers were informed about the activities that

were done in both morning and afternoon shifts.

By decision of the Ministry of Education, EMF was a project directed only for students

coursing Media, it means 10th and 11th graders, since the project sought to encourage greater

access to higher education by college students close to graduate. In the school, in which this

study was carried out, Maths and English were the emphasis offered, so that students in 10th and

11th grades selected one of the options. Universidad San Buenaventura was in charge of English

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and Universidad Sergio Arboleda of Maths. Students took their English classes in the morning

shift, and they stayed at school after 1 pm in order to deepen based on the emphasis selected for

each learner. Students who were part of the English emphasis took classes with three teachers.

Those teachers were in charge of developing the following aspects in different classes:

first, comprehension skills which was about grammar, listening, reading and vocabulary, the

teacher researcher of this study was in charge of that class. Second, language and culture with a

component of writing and speaking, and third, project and information and communication

technology (ICT), which was a subject for the development of a final virtual project by means of

the use of technology inside the classroom in order to make evident the results of the

implementation of the English emphasis in the school.

After choosing their emphasis, each student had to attend four semesters distributed

during the two years of Media Education: two semesters to study in 10th grade and the other two

in 11th grade. At the end of each semester, students in the English emphasis had to present a level

closure exam assigned by Universidad San Buenaventura in order to know at what English level

they were at that time. Thus, the participants were classified into new groups, and they started

the following semester in a different group based on their English level achieved according to the

exam scores.

2.4 Participants

The teacher researcher from this project chose one group of 10th grade for the piloting

phase in the first academic term 2016 (first semester), and to continue during the implementation

phase in the second academic term 2016 (second semester). The group selected in the

implementation phase (second semester 2016) was comprised by students in basic level (A1)

based on their frequent attendance to class, and their interest shown during the sessions in order

to implement the current study. A consent form was sent to their parents, so that they had the

permission to participate in the implementation of this study (See appendix D). The group was

comprised of a total number of 30 students. However, the teacher researcher chose ten students

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as the sample for the implementation phase of this study, of which five participants were women

and five men whose ages were between 15 and 17 years, and all of them lived near the school.

Their results in the pre and post questionnaire, pre and post-tests, reading workshops and

self-assessment per class during the implementation phase were analyzed and essential for the

conclusions of this study. The sample’s selection was carried out at random in the following

way: the teacher inserted some pieces of paper with numbers inside a bag, there were ten

numbers “one”, ten numbers “two” and ten numbers “three”, the students had to pick a sheet of

paper from the bag with a number. Finally, the students with the number “one” in their hands

were selected as the group observed for the study. Since that moment, the activities developed,

and the results obtained by them were analyzed.

2.5 Teacher’s role

The researcher of this study was in charge of planning, structuring, developing and

implementing the proposal. However, the role of the researcher was not limited to the execution

of the project, but also acted as a facilitator in the apprehension of new content and the

development of different skills, empowering reading in the participants. The teacher researcher

implemented this project as an observer, as Bautista (2011) points out, the way in which this

work was carried out was maintaining a close relationship with the object of study. The contact

collaborated in the relationship between teaching and learning. In addition, being immersed as an

active observer of different situations helped to understand diverse perspectives, in the case of

this study on occupational choice.

When analyzing the importance of occupational decision making and considering that it

is an individual process, it is clarified that the teacher researcher acted as a facilitator of

information who provided new knowledge of some occupations. However, the vocational

decision is a process which must be started from home.

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2.6 Instruments for Data Collection

The following are the instruments that were implemented to collect data during the

implementation phase:

Implementation phase

At the beginning of the implementation phase a questionnaire was carried out in order to

state the reasons for reading texts in English, how important reading in English was for students,

the style of texts of their interests, the most used techniques for them to learn English by their

own, and their reading comprehension level. In addition, there were some questions regarding

students’ opinion about their future occupational life, and they also wrote some careers or jobs

that expected to study after graduating from school.

Afterwards, a pre-test was applied in order to state students’ English reading

comprehension level before the implementation. Finally, the sessions with the diagnostic

workshops were applied taking into consideration students’ opinions and interests in the pre-

questionnaire. At the end of the implementation, it was sought to do a final post-questionnaire

and post-test in order to know if students’ conception about reading had changed through the use

of reading strategies and the information about occupation had encouraged students to make

better decisions regarding their future occupational life.

● Pre-post questionnaire

The questionnaire is a technique that gathers information in an organized way, Cohen and

Manion (2007), claim that in the design of the questionnaire the researcher must take into

account what the purpose of applying this is, as well as the population, the type of questions and

the content to be included in the questionnaire. This instrument to collect data was used to know

students’ opinions and conceptions before and after the implementation of the project about

English language, own strategies for learning English, reading in English, reading

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comprehension, texts of their interests, occupational orientation in the English class, expectations

about their future life.

The pre and post questionnaires were organized in 14 questions, the first seven options

were for choosing yes/no and the results were analyzed quantitatively; and the final seven were

opened questions in order for students to express their ideas regarding the topics and the

researcher might analyze qualitative data. The format of the questionnaires was the same for both

moments and the questions did not change in order to know students’ opinions before and after

the interventions developed in class. Likewise, it was expected to know how the implementation

of this study came to change learners’ opinions in some way. (See appendices E and F)

● Pre-post tests

It is an instrument that allows a reliable interpretation of the problem to be developed.

According to Cohen and Manion (2007), the type of test that is applied depends on several

factors, for example: the purpose of the analysis, type of data, and number of groups in the

sample, among others. The type of test that the researcher applied took into account whether the

workshop is parametric (standardized test) and non-parametric (test designed specifically for a

particular population). This instrument sought to evaluate the reading comprehension level of the

participants of this study before and after the implementation.

The teacher researcher utilized two tests taken from Cambridge Key English test book,

one test for being applied at the initial part of this study and the other at the final stage of the

implementation (see appendices G and H). At the pre-test stage, the researcher expected that

students read two articles for basic level regarding students’ English level A1. The first one was

about occupations and the routines or activities developed; and the second one was a text with

respect to a different topic of occupations or professions in order to assess the level of

understanding of students with readings of any type of content. Likewise, the post-test sought to

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revise to what extend the reading strategies practiced during the interventions through the

workshops, managed to improve the level of reading and comprehension of the students.

● Reading workshops

As mentioned above, Maya (2007) describes workshop as the interrelation of knowledge

put to the test in practice, the participants have the possibility to act and participate actively,

putting in clear knowledge. This instrument to collect data and evaluate the students’ progress

during the interventions was divided in three phases. The first part was to make students know

the objective of the reading workshops, and the reading comprehension strategy to use in some

of the activities. In addition, students were prepared for the article in the pre reading stage, in

which students were introduced into the topic of the reading with some previous opened

questions regarding the text, images, specific words, or their own experience about the described

occupation, among others, (see appendix I).

The second part was while reading stage, in which the participants put into practice the

reading comprehension strategy, selected for the session, with the text. Students read and did

different activities in order to apply the specific strategy they were expected to develop during

the class. The activities in this stage were of multiple selection considering that pre and post-tests

had that type of questions. Finally, the third part was post reading, in which, the comprehension,

participation, reading and occupation interest in the topic read, usefulness of the reading

comprehension strategy among others, were evaluated. In order to do this, learners responded

opened questions at this stage with the purpose of knowing their ideas or opinions. (See appendix

J).

● Students’ self-assessment

According to Konzelmann and Lehrer (2011), the evaluation technique is part of the

students' learning process, which helps to know the academic training process. The self-

assessment for these authors should not be taken as a qualifying aspect, but as an individual

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understanding of the training process that is why it is important that students take a reflective

attitude about themselves.

This instrument sought to evaluate to what extend students progressed during the session

by means of reading and learning about a specific occupation, using the reading comprehension

strategy selected for each session. The self-assessment grid had five questions for students to

mark them considering their interest, participation, understanding and learning during the session

with “yes” or “no”. (See appendix K).

2.7 Pedagogical intervention

The implementation phase was conducted in the second academic term 2016 with a group

of 10th grade comprised by basic level students. The sessions were divided in ten classes. During

the first intervention class a test was carried out to evaluate students’ reading comprehension

level. The implementation phase started from the second session. There were eight sessions of

reading workshops with information related to occupations in order to vocationally guide

students. During the last intervention, the participants responded a final reading test in order to

evaluate the progress reached during the implementations, and also answered a post-

questionnaire to know students’ conceptions and opinions after the implementation sessions.

Considering the previous information, 30 students of 10th grade, of which only a sample of 10 of

them were observed, and the teacher researcher of this study were part of the group work.

Eight lesson plans were designed considering an informative article about any occupation

in English, a reading strategy to be developed through the different reading stages, and the

workshop that students were expected to perform during the session. The topics to be worked

through the readings were chosen taking into account the students’ interest to learn information

related to occupational and professional life after graduating from school. This could be

evidenced by means of the results of the survey that the participants answered during the piloting

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stage and in the pre-questionnaire at the beginning of the implementation stage. The following

are the lesson plans organized for each implementation session.

Class 1. October 6th, 2016.

Level: A1 beginner.

Objective: Read and learn about an occupation in English.

Topic: Professions and occupations. Baker.

Reading strategy: Guess meaning from context.

Time: 1 hour and 30 minutes.

The class was divided in four parts. First, the teacher explained the class objective and

the reading strategy with examples on the board. The rest of class was used to fulfill pre, while,

and post reading stages. The teacher introduced the pre-reading stage with some questions

regarding the occupation, and after that students started to answer the pre-reading section in the

workshops. After that, students read the text in groups, but each of them using their own

workshop. Then, the activities in the while-reading stage were completed taking into

consideration the information from the text. Finally, the students ought to read and write their

responses in the post-reading activities, which were related to students’ conception about the

occupation, their opinions about whether or not to choose that profession in the future, and the

importance of the strategy use during the workshop.

Class 2. October 7th, 2016.

Level: A1 beginner.

Objective: Read and learn about an occupation in English.

Topic: Professions and occupations. Health Care Aide.

Reading strategy: Scanning.

Time: 1 hour and 30 minutes.

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The class was divided into four parts. First, the teacher researcher explained the objective

and the reading strategy with examples orally or written on the board. The rest of class was used

to fulfill pre, while, and post reading stages. The teacher introduced the pre-reading stage with

some questions regarding the occupation in order to know whether or not the students had heard

about it. Once the teacher and some students participated from teacher’s question, they started to

answer the pre-reading section in the workshop. When they had already answered the pre-

reading questions, the teacher made a discussion about some of the students' responses in that

phase to share with others. The next stage was while-reading, participants started to read the text

in order to learn aspects related to the occupation and also to develop activities in the workshop.

Finally, the students ought to write their opinions in the post-reading about the information of the

occupation in the text, they had to claim whether or not to choose that profession in the future,

and the importance that the use of the reading strategy had to understand the text and learn from

it.

Class 3. October 18th, 2016.

Level: A1 beginner.

Objective: Read and learn about an occupation in English.

Topic: Professions and occupations. Counter person.

Reading strategy: Skimming.

Time: 1 hour and 30 minutes.

The class was divided into four parts. At first, the teacher clarified the objective of the

class and also introduced the reading strategy, so that students learn and apply during the reading

session, for that reason the teacher researcher explained the definition and use of the strategy

with examples orally or written on the board. As soon as the participants were clear on the idea

of the strategy, they used the rest of time to fulfill pre, while, and post reading stages. The

teacher introduced the pre-reading stage with some questions regarding the occupation in order

to know whether or not the students had heard about it. Once the teacher and some students

65

participated from teacher’s question, they started to answer the pre-reading section in the

workshop.

When they had already answered the pre-reading questions, the teacher made a

discussion about some of the students' responses in that phase to share with others. The next

stage was while-reading, in which participants utilized the reading strategy of that class in order

to answer the activities in that stage, so that they read the while-reading questions and sought to

find the answers to those questions by means of applying the strategy. Once they had marked the

responses in that stage using the strategy, the teacher asked them to read the text once more in

order to check their choices.

In addition, it was necessary to read the text completely for students to learn important

details about the profession and could understand other facts of their interest. Finally, the

students ought to write their opinions in the post-reading about the information of the occupation

in the text, they had to write whether or not to choose that profession in the future, and the

importance that the use of the reading strategy had to understand the text and learn from it.

Class 4. October 20th, 2016.

Level: A1 beginner.

Objective: Read and learn about an occupation in English.

Topic: Professions and occupations. Salesperson.

Reading strategy: Read out loud.

Time: 1 hour and 30 minutes.

The class was divided into four parts. First of all, the teacher explained the objective and

the reading strategy for students to apply and put into practice during while-reading stage, for

that reason the teacher researcher provided the definition and use of the strategy. As soon as the

participants were clear on the idea of the strategy, the teacher introduced the pre-reading stage

66

with some questions regarding the occupation in order to know whether or not the students had

heard about it. Once the teacher and some students participated from teacher’s question, they

started to answer the pre-reading section in the workshop.

When they had already answered the pre-reading questions, the teacher made a

discussion about some of the students' responses in that phase to share with others. The next

stage was while-reading, in which participants utilized the reading strategy of that class in order

to read loud and focus their attention to specific information that was asked in the while-reading

stage. During this stage, all students were encouraged to read aloud, no matter the mistakes they

made in pronunciation, and the teacher assigned the moment for the person who was reading the

text to stop.

Once they had read the text completely, some doubts about vocabulary emerged and were

clarified, so that participants started to work in the activities at the while-reading stage. Finally,

the students were asked to write their opinions in the post-reading about the occupation, the

possibility to choose that profession to perform in the future, and the importance that the use of

the reading strategy had during the session in order to understand the text and learn new content

from it.

Class 5. October 25th, 2016.

Level: A1 beginner.

Objective: Read and learn about an occupation in English.

Topic: Professions and occupations. Pet Groomer.

Reading strategy: Generating questions.

Time: 1 hour and 30 minutes.

The class was divided into four parts explanation, pre-reading, while reading, post-

reading. First of all, the teacher explained the objective of the session and the reading strategy to

67

be developed through the activities in the workshop, for that reason the teacher researcher

provided the definition and use of the strategy with written examples. Once the students were

clear on the idea of the strategy, the teacher introduced the pre-reading questions regarding the

occupation so that students become familiar with the subject or if anyone knew some information

about it could share with the others. After that, students started to answer the pre-reading section

in the workshop.

The teacher asked students to participate by reading some of their responses in that phase

to share with others. At while-reading, participants put into practice the reading strategy after

they read the text and paid attention to the content. During this stage, all students were

encouraged to read individually, and the teacher assigned turns to ask them what they had

understood about the reading, and also clarify doubts.

Once students had read the text completely, they started to work in the activities at the

while-reading stage, taking into consideration that in order to generate the correct question to a

statement not only grammar was expected to be understood, but also reading comprehension was

essential. However, when the idea was unclear they ought to go back to the text to find the

appropriate answer. Finally, the students were asked to write their opinions in the post-reading

about the occupation, the possibility to choose that profession to perform in the future, and the

importance they found by using the reading strategy during the session in order to understand the

text and learn new content from it.

Class 6. October 28th, 2016.

Level: A1 beginner.

Objective: Read and learn about an occupation in English.

Topic: Professions and occupations. Food Server.

Reading strategy: Understanding reference.

Time: 1 hour and 30 minutes.

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The teacher explained the class objective and the reading strategy for that session with

examples on the board. Also, the teacher researcher read some paragraphs, so that students

identify the strategy. The teacher introduced the pre-reading stage with some questions regarding

the occupation, since it is common to see people working on that, and students could share a lot

of information making use of their previous knowledge. After that students read the questions of

the pre-reading stage and started to answer their workshops. During the while reading stage, the

participants read the text individually, and as soon as they finished to read, and the teacher

helped to clarify vocabulary, the activities in the while-reading stage were completed taking into

consideration the information from the text. Finally, the students ought to read and write their

responses in the post-reading questions, which were related to students’ conception about the

occupation, their opinions about the possibility to work in that occupation in the future, and the

importance of the reading strategy during the workshop.

Class 7. November 1st, 2016.

Level: A1 beginner.

Objective: Read and learn about an occupation in English.

Topic: Professions and occupations. Day Care Worker.

Reading strategy: Paraphrasing ideas.

Time: 1 hour and 30 minutes.

At the beginning of the class, the teacher explained the workshop’s objective and the

reading strategy for that session with examples taken from the internet. Also, the teacher

researcher read some paragraphs, so that students sought to paraphrase in groups by orally. The

teacher introduced the pre-reading stage with some questions regarding the occupation and asked

them if they knew a person working in that labor, since it is common to see people working on

that, but it was not easy to identify it because of the occupation’s name in English. However,

there were some students who inferred the occupation by the image in the sheet. After that,

students read the questions of the pre-reading stage and started to answer their workshop.

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During the while reading stage, the participants read the text individually, and as soon as

they finished to read, and the teacher helped to clarify vocabulary, the activities in the while-

reading stage were completed taking into consideration the information from the text and the

strategy, since participants ought to decide the sentence that best paraphrased another. Finally,

students read and wrote their responses in the post-reading questions, which were related to

students’ conception about the occupation, their opinions about the possibility to work in that

occupation in the future, and the importance of the reading strategy during the workshop.

Class 8. November 3rd, 2016.

Level: A1 beginner.

Objective: Read and learn about an occupation in English.

Topic: Professions and occupations. Cook.

Reading strategy: Summarizing.

Time: 1 hour and 30 minutes.

At the beginning of the class, the teacher explained the workshop’s objective and the

reading strategy for that session with some examples. Also, the teacher researcher read some

paragraphs, so that students sought to summarize them in groups by writing. The teacher

introduced the pre-reading stage with some questions regarding the occupation and asked them if

they knew a person working in that labor, and also if any of them worked on that job. After that,

students read the questions of the pre-reading stage and started to answer their workshop.

During the while reading stage, the participants read carefully the text and individually,

and once they had read it and the teacher helped to clarify some vocabulary, the activities in the

while-reading stage were completed taking into consideration the information from the text and

the strategy, since participants ought to decide the sentence that best summarized a piece of the

text. Finally, students read and wrote their responses in the post-reading questions, which were

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related to students’ conception about the occupation, their opinions about the possibility to work

in that occupation in the future, and the importance of the reading strategy during the workshop.

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Chapter III

Data Analysis

As we could see in chapter II about the different instruments for data collection: pre-

questionnaire, post-questionnaire, pre-test, post-test, reading workshops, and self-assessment; in

the current chapter, the analysis of the obtained data is performed, which allow us to build theory

from the obtained results. Strauss and Corbin (2002), mention data, procedure and reporting as

part of qualitative research. Although, qualitative research requires the interpretation by the

researcher, this does not mean that there is subjectivity, since the qualitative work is

demonstrated with evidence found in the data.

3.1 Grounded Theory

In order to carry out the data analysis in this paper, grounded theory was selected as the

methodology to analyze the qualitative data. Strauss and Corbin (2002) define it such as:

“Una teoría derivada de datos recopilados de manera sistemática y analizados por medio de un proceso

de investigación. En este método, la recolección de datos, el análisis y la teoría que surgirá de ellos

guardan estrecha relación entre sí”, (p.21).

This is why the theory is not a preconceived idea, it is a theoretical construction that the

researcher step by step builds with the results. Strauss and Corbin (2002), state that there are

three steps for coding in grounded theory, they are the open coding, axial coding and selective

coding.

3.1.1 Open Code

According to Strauss and Corbin (2002), in open coding the information found is decoded

and the data must be examined and compared in order to find similarities or differences. It means

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that at open code stage, diverse categories must be identified by the researcher in the data

collected, so that those similarities or differences between them permitted the creation of a core

category. In order to apply grounded theory to analyze qualitative data in the questionnaires, the

researcher examined the seven questions of the second section of each questionnaire.

The questionnaires were divided in two sections: in the first part, there were seven

questions, so that students marked them with yes or no according to their opinions; and the

second section contained seven opened questions in order that students wrote their opinions or

interests for each question. Similarly, the reading workshops were divided into three parts: pre,

while and post reading. In order to find the codes for this section, grounded theory was applied in

some of the questions of the pre and post reading. The following are the codes found during the

analysis of the pre and post questionnaire, and the reading workshops implemented with the

participants of this study.

1. PPFO: Personality patterns for an

occupation.

2. VUSO: Vocabulary use about a

specific occupation.

3. RFI: Reading from images.

4. VL: Vocabulary learning.

5. IW.: Individual work.

6. TH: Teacher’s help.

7. OC: Occupation choice.

8. ELS: English learning strategies.

9. EL: English learning.

10. PI: Pronunciation improvement.

11. CC: Complex content.

12. LK: Lack of knowledge.

13. GRC: Good reading comprehension.

14. OK: Occupation knowledge.

15. SNOS: Student negative opinion

about the strategy.

16. OAOc: Opinion about an occupation.

17. IDWO: In disagreement with the

occupation.

18. IAWO: In agreement with the

occupation.

19. OP: Occupation preference.

20. CRS: Comprehension reading

strategies.

21. RI: Reading interest.

22. RLI: Reading lack of internet.

23. GW: Group work.

24. RIm: Reading improvement.

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25. IRT: Interesting reading topics.

26. RP: Reading practice.

27. LV: Lack of vocabulary.

28. LC: Lack of comprehension.

29. LP: Life’s projection.

30. SITL: Self-interest to learn.

31. NCTR: New content through

reading.

32. LDM: Lack of decision making.

33. SU: Strategy understanding.

3.1.2 Axial code

As Strauss and Corbin (2002) state, the axial coding is in charge of organizing the codes

taken from the open coding in order to arrange them into sub-categories or groups looking for

similarities or patterns that permit to establish connections in their properties and dimensions. In

other words, “the purpose of axial coding is to relate the categories and subcategories so that

more concrete explanations about the phenomena are created”, (p. 135).

It is also important to establish the difference between what a category and a subcategory

is, in order to carry out the organization of codes through the axial coding. According to Strauss

and Corbin (2002), a category represents a phenomenon while a subcategory, besides being a

category, also responds to the questions about the phenomenon, such as when, why, who, how

and with which consequences.

The following sub-categories have been created based on the constructs of this study, and

the categories are going to be placed to each sub-category regarding the similarities among them.

● Subcategory # 1: Reading for my life.

1. VUSO: Vocabulary use about a

specific occupation.

2. RFI: Reading from images.

3. VL: Vocabulary learning.

4. ELS: English learning strategies.

5. EL: English

6. PI: Pronunciation improvement.

7. CC: Complex content.

8. GRC: Good reading comprehension.

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9. SNOS: Students’ negative opinion

about the strategy.

10. CRS:

11. RI: Reading interest.

12. RLI: Reading lack of interest.

13. Rim: Reading improvement.

14. IRT: Interesting reading topic.

15. RP: Reading practice.

16. LV: Lack of vocabulary.

17. LC: Lack of comprehension.

18. NCTR: New content through

reading.

19. SU: Strategy understanding.

● Subcategory # 2: Choosing my occupation.

1. PPFO: Personality patterns for an

occupation.

2. OC: Occupational choice.

3. OK: Occupational knowledge.

4. LK: Lack of Knowledge.

5. IDWO: In disagreement with the

occupation.

6. IAWO: In agreement with the

occupation.

7. LP: Life’s projection.

● Subcategory # 3: Making the best decision.

1. PPFO: Personality patterns for an occupation.

2. OAOc: Opinion about an occupation.

3. OP: Occupation preference.

4. LDM: Lack of decision making.

3.1.3 Selective code

Strauss and Corbin (2002) define it as the process to refine and integrate the theory. That

theory is created from the data collected and analyzed minusciously by means of sentences or

codes. In this type of coding, all the categories are joined to emerge a core category, which

responds to the research question. In other words, the result of the selective coding are some

words well-structured that seek to explain what the research is about, a phenomenon. When the

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categories and subcategories are well constructed and systematically related to the axial code,

they cease to be findings and become theory.

3.1.4 Core Category

According to Strauss and Corbin (2002), the core category emerges from the union of all

the results of the analysis and is characterized, since in few words it provides an explanation

about the central topic of the research. In the core category, the other categories are condensed to

give an explanatory by means of a phrase or more abstract term which evolves from the list of

categories. Taking into consideration the previous information, in this study the core category is

defined as:

Core Category: Applying reading comprehension workshops with information

related to occupations and their benefits for choosing the best occupation.

Figure 3. Relation between the two sub categories and the core category.

The use of reading comprehension strategies is helpful, so that students can understand

English texts which contain information about occupations. These texts allow students to

strengthen not only their level of reading comprehension, but also to learn content. This factor

favors students’ decision-making process in the future about which career or occupation to

Subcategory # 1:

Reading for my

life

Subcategory # 2:

Choosing my

occupation and

making the best

decision.

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choose for their lives according to their interests and the information obtained through the

reading workshops developed in class.

● Subcategory # 1: Reading for my life.

This subcategory emerged from the importance of reading English texts, since it is a way

not to understand each word throughout a text, but to give meaning to the content, have a general

impression of the article, and find specific information that the reader is sure that is included in

the text, Wallace (2004). Likewise, the author suggests that reading ought to be a process that

should be done in a focused way considering the reasons why a person reads any type of text;

however, many students do not do it with that sense.

This category was observed in the data results of the questionnaire (first and second

application), and each reading workshop (pre and post reading). The first instrument that had

some quantitative and qualitative data that evidenced the importance of reading during the

research process for the students was the questionnaire, in which, the participants selected

between yes/no in some of the questions, and also wrote answers giving their opinions regarding

their interest in reading, type of texts of their liking, and the use of some strategies that they did

on their own to learn English and strengthen their language level.

Although the questions were in the present tense in both formats, pre and post

questionnaire, the students were conscious that the questions had to do with the results of the

process with them and the implementation of the reading workshops. Therefore, the answers to

the questionnaires changed, and one reason was the fact that the reading workshops had been

developed with reading strategies and information about professions or occupations which could

have changed the way of thinking of the students among the first and the second application.

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In the pre and post questionnaires there were some options to choose with (X), but two of

them specifically aimed to know students’ opinion about reading; the following were those

questions and their answers:

PRE-QUESTIONNAIRE

NUMBER QUESTIONS YES NO

2 You would like to enhance your reading English level 10

3 You could practice more readings in English if they were

done in group work and not individually.

5 5

Table 5. Pre-questionnaire. Results questions regarding reading.

Thus, we can see that sample students answered positively in the second question,

however the way of practicing the readings is something in which the students were not very sure

about how it would be better and for that reason there was equality in question three.

POST QUESTIONNAIRE

NUMBER QUESTIONS YES NO

2 You would like to enhance your reading English level. 10

3 You could practice more readings in English if they were

done in group work and not individually.

7 3

Table 6. Post- questionnaire. Results questions regarding reading

Likewise, after the implementation these questions were applied once more, and we can

observe that students agreed they would have liked to keep on enhancing their reading level.

Moreover, most of them (70%) considered that working in groups is more useful to understand

readings than individually. The following figure allow us to better appreciate the difference

between the answers of these two questions in the pre and post questionnaire:

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Figure 4. Comparison between pre and post questionnaire results.

Specifically, questions eighth, ninth, tenth, and thirteenth of the questionnaire referred to

students’ opinion about interest in reading, texts of their interest, opinion about reading and

reading comprehension, and own strategies for English learning. Students answered those

questions with their opinions and some of the qualitative findings in the pre and post

questionnaire are the following:

Talking about interest in reading, some students wrote the following answers in question

eight:

Question: Do you like to read texts in English? Why?

S1 "Yes, because I would develop my learning more towards English”.

S2 "Yes, because it helps me improve my vocabulary and pronunciation”.

S3 "Yes, because that's how I learn to pronounce, and I learn new words”.

S4 "Yes, because it would increase my ability to learn and understand many subjects”.

S5 "Yes because that way I could learn more vocabulary”.

(Information taken from the pre-questionnaire)

Question: Do you like to read texts in English? Why?

S1 "Yes because I would learn more vocabulary and learn to pronounce more”.

S2 "Yes, because I find it interesting and it's a new way of learning”.

S3 "Yes, because that's how I learn new things and I have a better pronunciation”.

S4 "Yes, because I think English is very useful and I like to study it”.

S5 "Yes, because I can learn the meanings of words”.

(Information taken from the post questionnaire)

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These answers were taken as an example of the pre and post questionnaire of the same 5

students. From these answers, we can observe that there are some similarities and differences in

terms of students’ opinions and beliefs from the first to the second application of the

questionnaire. From the data we can deduce that these five students were more motivated in

reading since they not only enhanced vocabulary or pronunciation, but also realized that were

learning information from the texts. Thus, we can see how students were changing their

conception about reading, since for S1 at the beginning of the process was more important to

learn English in general terms, but after the implementation that person was more focused on

vocabulary and pronunciation, due to the way the reading workshops were developed. S2 and S3

considered before the implementation of the workshops that was better to learn vocabulary and

improve in pronunciation, but after the implementation the opinion was that reading helped to

learn new things even pronunciation.

Some students wrote the following answers in the question ninth about texts of their

interest:

Question: If your previous answer was yes, what types of texts are of your liking?

S6 This person considered that "reading is boring", so she/he did not answer this question.

S7 "Stories and information about other places”.

S8 "Drama, suspense, terror and a little terror”.

S9 "Drama and action”.

S10 "Action, drama, anime or paranormal activity”.

(Information taken from the pre-questionnaire)

Figure 5. Question ninth. Sample students’ opinions about texts of their interest.

Question: If your previous answer was yes, what types of texts are of your liking?

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S6 This person did not answer the question.

S7 “Works, legends and things related to life”.

S8 “Informative texts”.

S9 “All, any topic helps me in vocabulary”.

S10 This person did not answer the question.

(Information taken from the post questionnaire)

Figure 6. Question ninth. Sample students’ opinions about texts of their interest.

After analyzing these data, it is observed that some students changed their opinions about

the type of texts of their interest from the pre to the post questionnaire, and there were others that

were not motivated enough about any type of texts, since they did not answer the question. It is

interesting to notice that, in the pre-questionnaire, some of these students focused their answer

specifically on the type of text, but in the post questionnaire they changed the texts of their liking

and also thought in terms of learning vocabulary. In addition, some of those readings had to do

with informative texts, topics related to life, and occupations, which is novel considering that

these topics were not of students’ interest before the implementation.

Some students wrote the following answers in the question tenth about opinion about

reading and reading comprehension:

Question: Do you think that reading and understanding texts in English is something easy? Why?

S3 "It is easy, just that many times we get lazy and do not make the effort to learn”.

S5 "Sometimes because I find it difficult because of lack of vocabulary”.

S6 “No, I really do not understand well, even in Spanish”.

S9 "Yes, but that depends on the vocabulary that each person has”.

S10 “No, because if there are no good bases in vocabulary, it will be difficult to understand texts”.

(Information taken from the pre-questionnaire)

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Figure 7. Question tenth. Sample students’ opinion about reading and reading comprehension.

From the answers above, it can be observed that some students agreed that reading is not

easy, and to understand any text well, it is necessary to recognize vocabulary. They also

considered that reading is a process which requires interest and effort, and some of the students

are lazy or are not interested in doing it. These results obtained by some students in the pre-

questionnaire contrast perfectly with the following statement, Wallace (2004) states that reading

must be done focusedly, however there are many students who do not do that, they do not think

about the reason to read before doing it; for that reason, there are poor results at reading

competence.

Question: Do you think that reading and understanding texts in English is easy? Why?

S4 “It depends if the person wants to learn or not, in my case it is easy.”.

S7 "No, well if you have good strategies yes”.

S8 "Yes, because of the strategies and vocabulary learned”.

S9 "Yes, well, if you know vocabulary, otherwise it is not that easy”.

(Information taken from the post questionnaire)

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Figure 8. Question tenth. Sample students’ opinion about reading and reading comprehension.

In figure 8, it can be observed that some of the students’ answers pointed that the lack of

vocabulary still does not allow to understand texts well, as can be observed in one of the answers

of the post questionnaire, and this is due to the fact that reading comprehension also implies that

the reader must recognize a large number of words, and has to exist interest in reading, Grabe

(2009). Nevertheless, some others agreed that they understood texts better from the first to the

final questionnaire, and they claimed that it was because of the reading strategies practiced in

class. Regarding this point, Wallace (2004) suggests that good readers often use reading

strategies to understand any text searching for specific information that the reader is sure he or

she is able to find within it, in order not to read it completely. About this aspect, McLaughlin

(2012), also refers to the explicit teaching of reading comprehension strategies in class, which

allow better comprehension of texts and how it helps students to monitor and better build their

understanding of the text.

Some students wrote the following answers in the question thirteenth about own

strategies for English learning:

Question: what kind of activities do you do to learn English by yourself?

S1 "Doing exercises, listening to music, trying to write and to speak”.

S2 "Audios and games”.

S4 “I see movies or videos about things that I like”.

S7 "I download applications about English and I listen to music”.

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S9 “Games, web pages, television programs, music, books or news”.

(Information taken from the pre-questionnaire)

According to these answers, before the implementation of this study, students used to

practice and learn English through some fun activities mostly of their interest, but some of them

preferred to carry out grammar exercises, writing or speaking. Nevertheless, after the

implementation of the reading strategies and the texts about occupations, students were more

aware about the importance of learning vocabulary in order to understand and learn new content,

for that reason some of their answers in the final questionnaire pointed to that fact. One of the

students claimed to have applied the strategies learned in class in his/her free time to read and

understand readings better. And it is also important to highlight that unlike the pre-questionnaire,

the final questionnaire showed that some of their answers pointed to the use of readings as a

proper strategy to learn English. The following are examples taken from the post questionnaire in

question thirteenth:

Question: what kind of activities do you do to learn English by yourself?

S1 "Grammar exercises and translating songs to learn vocabulary”.

S5 "Readings and internet”.

S7 “I put into practice the strategies studied in class”.

S8 "Listening to music and searching web pages in English”.

S9 “Readings, television programs, games in English”.

S10 “I look for some unknown words”.

(Information taken from the post questionnaire)

As conclusion for this section, the pre and post questionnaires left positive results

considering that after the implementation, students began to take into account the reading

strategies within their responses in the post questionnaire. For this reason, there was a significant

change in the way in which, students perceived reading from the first questionnaire to the last

one. In addition, they noticed the importance of knowing vocabulary to understand different texts

without having to resort to the dictionary so frequently. Therefore, these situations clearly show

that with the implementation of the reading workshops a change was achieved in the way in

which the young people conceived reading, the types of text of their interest, and the strategies to

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read and understand texts, which were of help for the development of the activities in a faster and

more concrete way.

In this section, the results of the pre and post tests are explained in terms of quantitative

data. Before the implementation, the teacher researcher applied a reading test taken from

Cambridge Key English test book in order to evaluate and recognize the reading level of the

students. They were two articles for basic level considering that students were part of English

level A1. The first text was about occupations and the routines or activities developed in each

one; and the second one was about Schnauzer dogs. Students had to mark with an (X) in the

option they considered more appropriate. The readings sought to revise students’ level of reading

comprehension, grammar and vocabulary. The following table shows the scores obtained for

each sample student in the pre and post-tests, it must be taken into account that the minimum

passing score is 3.0 and the maximum is 5.0:

PRE-TEST POST-TEST RESULTS

Student Pre-test

score

Post-test

score

1 3,4 3,7

2 2,3 3,3

3 1,3 3,0

4 3,0 3,3

5 3,0 3,3

6 2,7 2,3

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7 3,0 3,7

8 2,0 2,0

9 3,0 3,3

10 2,7 2,3

AVERAGE 26,4 30,2

Table 7. Pre and post-test results.

Figure 9. Results pre and post-test Figure 10. Pre and pos-test average

The results claimed that 5 students passed the test, but the other 5 of them got very low

marks. Also, it can be observed that the final average of the entire group during the test was 26,4,

which is low considering school’s evaluation scale whose minimum passing score is 3,0. It can

be seen that students had some problems during the pre-test due to the fact that the questions had

to do with reading comprehension for checking knowledge of vocabulary and grammatical

structures. Otherwise, students who passed the test did not get high results enough, since they

had scores below 3,4.

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After ten intervention sessions, students presented the post-test in order to verify the

results of the implementation of the reading strategies during the English classes. The test

evidenced that there was improvement in the scores obtained by some students, since unlike the

pre-test, there were more students who passed and obtained better results in the final diagnosis.

In addition, some students who had low scores in the first test demonstrated that they took

advantage of the activities carried out during the implementation phase by using reading

strategies and they obtained better marks. From ten sample students, seven of them (70%)

enhanced their scores after the implementation of this study, one of them had the same low

result, and other two learners went from having low marks to lower ones.

This means that the implementation of reading strategies did work, since more students

passed the test, and although some of them had scores over 3,0, others reached 3,7, almost

double as opposed to the first diagnosis. In addition, they did not make as many mistakes as in

the first test and improved not only the result of the test, but also in reading comprehension,

vocabulary and grammar, which also allowed the overall average of the observed group to

increase.

Otherwise, the results of the reading workshops were analyzed in terms of qualitative and

quantitative information. The most relevant examples were taken into consideration in order to

explain this section. Reading workshops were divided into three parts which were pre, while and

post reading. Pre and post reading sections contained opened questions in order for students to

write their opinions or knowledge about a specific occupation or reading strategy. While reading

section was composed of five multiple choice questions about the article, in which, students

ought to use the reading strategy studied at the beginning of the session in order to be able to

answer the activity. The following were the students’ results during each intervention and the

final average obtained after the application of the reading workshops, it must be taken into

account that the minimum passing score is 3.0 and the maximum is 5.0, besides, the final average

shows what the performance of each student was at the end of the eight interventions:

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INTERVENTIONS

Student First Second Third Fourth Fifth Sixth Seventh Eighth Final

Average

S1 2,3 3,5 4,0 3,0 5,0 5,0 4,0 4,0 3,9

S2 2,7 5,0 5,0 4,0 5,0 2,0 3,0 3,0 3,7

S3 3,7 2,5 5,0 5,0 5,0 2,0 4,0 2,0 3,7

S4 2,7 5,0 4,0 5,0 5,0 5,0 4,0 4,0 4,3

S5 2,7 1,0 3,0 4,0 5,0 4,0 5,0 4,0 3,6

S6 4,0 3,5 5,0 3,0 5,0 5,0 4,0 4,0 4,2

S7 3,7 4,0 5,0 4,0 5,0 4,0 2,0 3,0 3,8

S8 4,0 1,0 5,0 5,0 5,0 3,0 3,0 5,0 3,9

S9 2,3 3,5 5,0 4,0 5,0 4,0 4,0 4,0 4,0

S10 4,0 1,0 5,0 3,0 5,0 5,0 4,0 5,0 4,0

Table 8. Workshops. Students’ scores by session.

In the previous table the results obtained by the participants during the eight interventions

were presented. While reading section was rated quantitatively with scores from 1.0 to 5.0,

taking into account the scale of assessment of the school. It can be observed that there was an

increase and improvement by the students in the workshops progressively, since during the first

interventions there were more people with low results, and then with practice and explanation of

the reading strategies learners were motivated, due to the fact that they began to understand the

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texts more easily and also learned vocabulary and grammar, in addition to learn content through

the readings as well.

Besides while reading stage, there were other data in the reading workshops that support

students’ results obtained during the implementation of the texts, since students were asked at the

final stage of the workshops, post-reading, the importance or usefulness of the reading strategy

applied during the activities developed during while reading stage. Students’ opinions about the

use of the strategy in each reading workshop are shown and explained in this section.

In the first text, which was about bakers, it was applied the reading strategy guess

meaning from context. Students were expected to read the article and they ought to deduce the

meaning of the new vocabulary from the reading by the context of the word in the sentence.

When students did not understand the meaning of those words by the context of the text, they

were allowed to ask questions or they could help each other. The purpose of the strategy was to

reduce as much the dictionary use and get a general idea of the text as well. From 10 students

who were the sample for that study, it was found that all of them (100%) considered the reading

strategy useful because they claimed to have reached the goal of the activity and they could

understand the text and also learn new content though the reading. In students’ words they

exposed that: “it is interesting, and we can learn new unknown words, it is easy to find new jobs

and words, and it is a good strategy for learning”.

In the second text, which talked about health care aides, students put into practice the

strategy scanning. Participants were asked to scan the article since the beginning of the class at

the pre-reading stage in order to seek for some specific information about the text. After that,

they were asked to find the answers to the questions at the while-reading stage by means of using

the reading strategy, and without reading the text slowly. Once students had answered the

questions about the text, they read it again in order to get a clear idea of the reading, and they

compared their responses found with the strategy. The results showed that the participants

(100%) found the strategy interesting, due to the fact that they could understand the reading and

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learn information from it. In the post- reading stage, students wrote some of the following

opinions about the use of the strategy: “scanning helps to understand the reading in an easy way,

we learnt new words about the topic and the interesting that can become this profession, we can

identify the text easy, it is a good strategy to learn and know new vocabulary”.

The third text was about counter people, students put into practice the reading strategy

skimming. Participants were asked to skim the article since the beginning of the class at the pre-

reading stage in order to skip the text quickly to get some general information about it. After

that, they repeated it the same process for some questions at the while-reading stage. In order to

check the usefulness of this strategy during the reading workshop, students answered the

following question: did you find useful the reading strategy “skimming”? Why? 10 sample

students participated in the reading workshop and there were 9 of them (90%) who wrote

positive answers at this point, they claimed that:” I learn more vocabulary, it is a few hard, it is

interesting and help me to read very easy, the strategy helped me to have best memory and

concentration, it is useful and interesting but I do not remember information sometimes, it help

us to read faster the information, I can concentrate in the questions more”. Otherwise, there was

one student (10%) who did not find the strategy useful, since according to his/her answer in the

post-reading question: “I do not learn from that text by using the strategy”.

The fourth text referred about salespeople. That session students learnt and put into

practice the strategy read out loud, that is why, the teacher researcher asked all students to

participate from the text by reading loudly by turns. The participants could read and answer the

questions at the while reading, or they could pay attention to the whole text and after that they

wrote their responses. There were seven students (70%) who wrote positive answers in the

question at the post-reading stage about the importance of the reading strategy in that workshop.

Some of their responses were as follows: “I listened best and learnt vocabulary, I can

understand reading aloud, it is a good strategy and I can understand more the reading, it is a

way to learn from the text more, I remember more the things, I learnt more listening and

reading”. Otherwise, there were two participants (20%) whose answers were negative, since

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they did not read aloud, on the contrary, they preferred to read in their mind. And there was one

person (10%) who did not respond to the question.

The fifth text talked about pet groomers. That class students learnt the strategy by means

of generating questions to the text during the activities of while-reading stage. Participants ought

to read the text in order to find the correct question to a given statement from the activity. Once

they found the statement in the text, they had to choose one of the question options at the while-

reading stage. From 10 sample students, 9 of them (90%) claimed that have learnt to use a new

strategy which was useful for them, they explained that: “I learn more to do answers, it is a new

form to learn to read, it is a new form to understand best readings, it is good to find questions, I

learnt a new reading strategy”. There was only one student (10%) who did not write his or her

answer in the workshop, this probably due to the time for the session.

The sixth text was about food servers. That class participants learnt the strategy

understanding reference whose purpose was for students to know how to use the strategy and

also recognize similar ways to say words and practice new vocabulary to use. Sample students

agreed that the reading strategy provided them new ways of understanding texts and learning

different ways to learn vocabulary. As they mentioned in the post-reading: “I find new words in

this occupation, it is a new form to learn, it helps me with new vocabulary that I can use in the

future, I liked the strategy I understand nice, it is a good and useful strategy I learn new

information and words, it helps me to identify new words that are similar to others, I can analyze

and organize better the ideas, I find very quickly the words, it is a good strategy to learn and

read”.

The seventh workshop. It dealt with day care workers. The strategy that was developed in

that session was paraphrasing ideas through which the students had to learn other ways of saying

an idea using different words. In the while-reading stage, they had to choose from three options,

the best way to say a specific statement with other words. Nine students (90%) learnt from the

strategy and the following are some students’ impressions: “I learn new words and a new

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strategy, it is a new form to learn, I learn to have ideas and other words, it is a good strategy to

understand best the texts, I use this strategy every day I like it, the strategy is very important”.

There was one person (10%) whose opinion was not the expected, she or he claimed that: “I do

not learn new information”.

The eighth session worked with the reading strategies was about cook. That class was

worked on the reading strategy summarizing, which taught the students to how to summarize

fragments or phrases from the text and thus understand their content better and learn from it.

That strategy was practiced at the while-reading stage. Sample students found useful the strategy

and they not only use it in order to complete the workshop, but also understand the reading and

learnt new content. Some of the written students’ answers were such as: “it is a faster way to

seek in the text, it is a good strategy for understanding, thinking, and learning from the text, I

learnt to understand the text, it is very useful I can understand more, I learnt new information

and understand best.

So far, three data collection instruments were analyzed for the reading subcategory. To

finish this section the results of the self-assessment grid, that students completed at the end of

each class after having finished the reading workshop proposed for the session, were analyzed.

Although the assessment questions had the same format for all the sessions, the only difference

was in the fourth option which was related to the reading strategy applied in the workshops,

since students ought to write the name of it in the grid. The following were the options in which

students were evaluated about their progress every class:

● I read the objective and worked to reach it.

● I knew some information about the job.

● I learnt new information about this occupation.

● I used the reading strategy of this class whose name is ________________.

● I could understand the reading.

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In the first self-assessment, students were in agreement with all the options in the grid

after the reading session, since (100%) of the participants marked the option “yes”. It meant that

the objective of the class which was to read and learn about a job in English was successfully

achieved. Moreover, students were able to use the reading strategy guessing meaning from

context to respond the questions about reading comprehension in the while reading stage.

S1 S2 S3 S4 S5 S6 S7 S8 S9 S10

YES X X X X X X X X X X

NO

YES X X X X X X X X X X

NO

YES X X X X X X X X X X

NO

YES X X X X X X X X X X

NO

YES X X X X X X X X X X

NO

QUESTION

1

2

3

4

5

FIRST SELF-ASSESSMENT. Strategy: Guess meaning from context

Table 9. First self-assessment. Students’ responses.

During the second self-assessment, in spite of the fact that there were three sample

students absent, the session was developed with the rest of them. The results claimed that

students were in agreement with all the options from the grid, except the first S1 who marked the

second question as negative, since he or she did not know previous information about that job,

but it was not a negative response for the purpose of the reading workshop, since in question 8

this student claimed to have understood the text, which means that although she or he did not

have previous knowledge about this occupation, through reading comprehension she or he

managed to learn new information.

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Table 10. Second self-assessment. Students’ responses.

In the third self-assessment, most students’ answers were affirmative. Nonetheless, there

were two students who marked negative answers in questions two, three and five. For instance,

S1 answered as negative questions three and five, since according to his or her, the text was not

easy to understand, however this person did not learn new information from the text and could be

due to the lack of understanding of the text or, since he or ser already knew about the activities

developed in that occupation.

Otherwise, S8 answered question two as a negative because of his or her lack of prior

knowledge of that occupation, and in spite of that, question three was marked as positive, so that,

although she or he did not know information of that occupation, she or he claimed to have

learned new things through the content.

S1 S2 S3 S4 S5 S6 S7 S8 S9 S10

YES X X X X X X X X X X

NO

YES X X X X X X X X X

NO X

YES X X X X X X X X X

NO X

YES X X X X X X X X X X

NO

YES X X X X X X X X X

NO X

1

2

3

4

5

THIRD SELF-ASSESSMENT. Strategy: Skimming

QUESTION

Table 11. Third self-assessment. Students’ responses.

S1 S2 S3 S4 S5 S6 S7 S8 S9 S10

YES X X X X X X X

NO

YES X X X X X X

NO X

YES X X X X X X X

NO

YES X X X X X X X

NO

YES X X X X X X X

NO

2

3

4

5

SECOND SELF-ASSESSMENT. Strategy: Scanning

QUESTION

1

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In the fourth self -assessment, all students claimed to have been in agreement with the

options given in the grid. A positive aspect from that session was the reading strategy used, since

read out loud permitted students to focus their attention better in specific details of the text and

hearing their voices while reading aloud help them to enhance pronunciation, learn new words

according to the context, and concentrate more in the content.

S1 S2 S3 S4 S5 S6 S7 S8 S9 S10

YES X X X X X X X X X X

NO

YES X X X X X X X X X X

NO

YES X X X X X X X X X X

NO

YES X X X X X X X X X X

NO

YES X X X X X X X X X X

NO

QUESTION

1

2

3

4

5

FOURTH SELF-ASSESSMENT. Strategy: Read out loud

Table 12. Fourth self-assessment. Students’ responses.

In the fifth self-assessment, despite that almost all students pointed out the grid’s options

as positive, S1 claimed to have problems understanding the text, for that reason question 8 was

marked as negative. Besides, this participant pointed out that she or he did not know some

previous aspects about that occupation, for that reason she or he decided to mark question 2 as

negative. This means that the problem of lack of understanding of the text, in this case, affected

the participant in a certain sense, since she or he did not manage to learn enough content from

the text. However, in question 3 she or he claimed to have learned about the text what is

contradictory to his answer in question 8.

S1 S2 S3 S4 S5 S6 S7 S8 S9 S10

YES X X X X X X X X X X

NO

YES X X X X X X X X X

NO X

YES X X X X X X X X X X

NO

YES X X X X X X X X X X

NO

YES X X X X X X X X X

NO X5

FIFTH SELF-ASSESSMENT. Strategy: Generating questions

QUESTION

1

2

3

4

Table 13. Fifth self-assessment. Students’ responses.

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In the sixth self-assessment, we can observe that none of the participants had problems

with the reading workshop, because there were not negative answers. It can be inferred that the

reading strategy understanding reference worked well and students were able to recognize not

only words, but also their similar concepts in the text which seek to express the same idea or

meaning by using a different term.

S1 S2 S3 S4 S5 S6 S7 S8 S9 S10

YES X X X X X X X X X X

NO

YES X X X X X X X X X X

NO

YES X X X X X X X X X X

NO

YES X X X X X X X X X X

NO

YES X X X X X X X X X X

NO

4

5

SIXTH SELF-ASSESSMENT. Strategy: Understanding reference

QUESTION

1

2

3

Table 14. Sixth self-assessment. Students’ responses.

In the seventh self-assessment, there was only one person who did not learn new content

from the text since she or he claimed to know previous information about the occupation. In

addition, the information contained in the article was not enough for learning new aspects about

that job or it was not clear at all, because this participant considered not to have understood the

reading well. Otherwise, the other students marked the questions of the grid as positive.

S1 S2 S3 S4 S5 S6 S7 S8 S9 S10

YES X X X X X X X X X X

NO

YES X X X X X X X X X X

NO

YES X X X X X X X X X

NO X

YES X X X X X X X X X X

NO

YES X X X X X X X X X

NO X

3

4

5

SEVENTH SELF-ASSESSMENT. Strategy: Paraphrasing ideas

QUESTION

1

2

Table 15. Seventh self-assessment. Students’ responses.

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In the eight self-assessment, students claimed that the objective of the workshop was

reached, since none of them marked negative answers. It can be stated that after having worked

during several sessions with diverse reading strategies and texts based on occupations,

participants progressively improved their own level of reading comprehension. Finally, few

students or none had the need to evaluate their participation or understanding of some of the

reading workshops with negative points, which shows that the implementation had good results

through the interventions.

S1 S2 S3 S4 S5 S6 S7 S8 S9 S10

YES X X X X X X X X X X

NO

YES X X X X X X X X X X

NO

YES X X X X X X X X X X

NO

YES X X X X X X X X X X

NO

YES X X X X X X X X X X

NO

2

3

4

5

EIGHTH SELF-ASSESSMENT. Strategy: Summarizing

QUESTION

1

Table 16. Eighth self-assessment. Students’ responses.

Subcategory # 2: Choosing my occupation and making the best decision.

This subcategory emerged from the importance that students learnt new content related to

future occupational life and enhanced their decision making through reading texts about different

occupations. The observed data results were taken from the questionnaire (first and second

application), the reading workshops (post reading), and the self-assessment grid during the

implementation phase. The first instrument to collect data applied in this study during the

implementation phase was the pre-questionnaire, which objective was to know students’

opinions about specific topics among which were: to know the way of thinking of the

participants about taking advantage of the English class to guide them vocationally, their interest

to learn information about professions and jobs in English. In addition, understand their way of

thinking in front of studying a university, technical or technological career, and their opinion on

the level of importance between studying or working in the future

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The pre and post questionnaires were divided as follows: seven closed questions for

students to mark yes or no, and other seven opened questions in order for them to write their

opinions, interests, or beliefs regarding the questions. In closed questions, there were four

options about occupational or vocational life, of which two were about the importance of

receiving information about professions or occupations during the English class in the school,

and the other two questions were more related to their beliefs or conceptions about their future

professional or occupational lives. In addition, in one opened question it was sought to know the

university program or occupation that participants expected to develop in their future life. In this

section, the results of the pre and post questionnaires are explained taking into consideration that

the questions were the same in both formats, but the difference was the stage, in which, students

responded them. In addition, the answers obtained to the questions that have to do with

occupational or professional choice will be analyzed

First question was: Do you think that the English class should be used to vocationally

guide students? While the pre-questionnaire results showed that the 10 sample participants

(100%) agreed with that idea, the post-questionnaire results evidenced that 7 students (70%)

continued thinking in the same way. On the contrary, only 3 people marked the negative option

for that question. One factor for this change could have been due to the lack of interest of some

students during the implementation process at the end of the interventions since the period in

which the last reading workshops were held coincided with some dates where students had to

submit several jobs for other subjects and in the same way they had to present final exams. This

means that there was the possibility that the lack of interest would have been generated by

excessive work or accumulated exhaustion.

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Figure 11. Question 1. Pre-questionnaire Figure 12. Question 1. Post-questionnaire

Fifth question was: Would you like to learn information about professions or occupations

in English? The 10 sample students agreed in the pre and post questionnaires that they would

like to. At this point, it must be clarified that although the question was the same in both

questionnaires, students were warned that they had to take into account, for the response of the

post questionnaire, the interventions that the teacher had done in advance during the classes,

taking into account that for each session, information related to an occupation was provided

through the reading comprehension workshops.

Therefore, from the results it can be deduced that the participants took advantage of the

content of the readings about the different occupations that a person can develop, and the type of

requirements that are asked to be able to perform any of them. In addition, Sample students

would like to continue learning about various occupations through English, this is due to the fact

that they enjoyed and learned from the interventions made through the readings.

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Figure 13. Question 5. Pre-questionnaire. Figure 14. Question 5. Post-questionnaire.

Sixth question was: Do you consider important to study any university, technical or

technological career? The 10 sample students (100%) marked as positive this question in both

questionnaires. This occurred because, through the reading workshops, the participants

reaffirmed that it is important to study in order to achieve their goals or objectives, and they did

not change their initial decision of the pre-questionnaire. This was, since they realized that in

most of the occupations studied, during the i4mplementation stage, it is required as a minimum

requirement to have certain knowledge or levels of study to be able to perform any workshop,

therefore studying within any academic modality becomes important.

Figure 15. Question 6. Pre-questionnaire. Figure 16. Question 6. Post-questionnaire

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Seventh question was: Do you think that it is more important to work in an occupation

than to study in the future? In this question the students agreed on their answers, since none of

the 10 sample participants considered that dedicating themselves to an occupation was more

important than studying first. For some of the occupations, in which they could perform in the

future, academic preparation is not necessary, this means that some of them reject the idea of

working before studying. However, it should be noted that in some occupations you must have

certain knowledge on the subject to be able to perform these workshops.

Figure 17. Question 7. Pre-questionnaire. Figure 18. Question 7. Post-questionnaire

Fourteenth question was: What would you like to study when you finish your high school?

In this question, students were allowed to write their preferences in order to study in the future.

There were several different options written by the participants in the first and second

questionnaire, but here are presented the most common or important for them. It must be

clarified that some of the participants wrote more than one option, for that reason there are more

professions or occupations than students:

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Figure 19. Question 14. Pre-questionnaire. Figure 20. Question 19. Post-questionnaire.

The second instrument to collect and analyze data regarding occupational choice and

orientation were the reading workshops. The first reading workshop was a piloting session and

several modifications would be made in the following sessions from what was observed during

this class. For instance, Students worked in groups of two or three as they preferred, but there

was only one reading for each group. Besides, the questions in the while reading stage were not

multiple choice, but opened questions, in which, students by means of using the strategy

answered the five reading comprehension questions by writing their responses in the blanks. In

addition, it was not included a question in the post-reading stage that sought to know students’

opinion regarding the occupation read in class and their interest in developing it in the future.

However, from the second intervention, observing the need to include this question in order to

know participants’ opinion regarding this aspect, it was decided to include it in all the other

readings.

Taking into consideration the aspects mentioned above about the first session, the teacher

researcher decided to do several modifications from the second reading workshop. The reading

topic for that class was about health care aides, students continued working in groups, but each

person had a workshop to do. Specifically, it was asked to students their opinions about the

occupation read, that question was included in the post-reading stage, and the following were the

findings: students were asked if they liked the occupation read and why, from 10 sample

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students, there were only seven of them that day, which represented (100%), only four

participants (57%) were in agreement with it, and their reasons were explained such as, since it

was interesting, and they could help many sick people or do good things for them.

However, three students (43%) claimed that they did not like the occupation, because it is

very hard, and the payment is not good, they are not patient, and they cannot stand old people.

From the previous answers, it can be seen that the information about this occupation did not

generate the expected impact on the sample students, since only 4 of them (57%) expressed

interest in carrying out this work in the future. Otherwise, 3 participants (43%) disagreed after

having read about this occupation, since they already knew about this profession or met people

who performed it and also with the information learned from the text, those were enough aspects

that influenced for students to make that decision.

The third session was developed with information about counter people. After having

read the text, the students were asked in the phase of post-reading what they thought about the

following question: Do you consider this occupation useful for your future life? Why? From 10

sample students (100%), 6 of them (60%) said they found this occupation useful for their future,

for the following reasons: it is important and can be helpful to save money, also because it has

many things that can be helpful in the future, it can serve for job stability, and because it does

not need a college diploma to be able to perform that job and can learn at work. Otherwise, only

4 of them (40%) claimed to disagree. The following are some of the answers found: they do not

like to cook or help to cook, they also do not like to be cashiers, and they are interested in

learning another kind of profession or doing other things for their lives. In this case, it can be

seen that more students agreed that those who were not with this occupation. It can be observed

that the information of this reading helped and motivated the participants more about its

importance and usefulness, and for that reason more students would choose this profession to

carry out in their future.

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The occupation for the fourth class was about salesperson. The question asked in the

post-reading stage was: Do you consider this occupation useful for your future life? Why? From

10 sample students (100%), there were 4 students (40%) who were in agreement with the

information contained in the text. They exposed those ideas in the following way: it is important

to know how to handle money and be patient with the customers, it is helpful for the future, and

also is nice and interesting. On the contrary, 6 participants (60%) claimed that they did not find

the occupation useful for their future and these are some reasons: they want to study other

careers such as veterinary or health, the salary received is not good, people doing that

occupation have to be patient with others, or they do not like it.

From these results it can be concluded that the objective of providing information about

the occupation was fulfilled, however the results showed that more students were not interested

in it than those who did. Some of these students were already clear about what they wanted to

study in the future, and that is why they also rejected the idea of performing this occupation at

some point, but there were others who thought they could do this occupation for a short time

while they could begin to study the career they wanted to learn.

The fifth class was developed with information about pet groomers. Students were asked

at the post-reading stage this question: could you be a pet groomer in your future life? Why? 10

sample students participated from the class, of which, 4 of them (40%) were in agreement with

the occupation and the other 6 participants (60%) were not. People in favor claimed their

opinions as follows: it is very interesting, they like the pets much, and they like the job and are

patient related to health. On the contrary, the other students’ reasons were written as follows:

they do not like to take care jobs, they do not like it, or they expect to have another occupation.

The previous results demonstrated that although the purpose of informing students about this

occupation and its benefits was reached, more students considered the option of studying or

dedicating themselves to something different in the future. The reading also served to the other

participants to consider as an option the fact of carrying out this activity, since they found

aspects related to their interests and likes.

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The sixth session was related to food servers. Considering that occupation, it was asked

to students the following: would you be a server in your future life? Why? Students were divided

in their opinions, since 5 of them (50%) considered as possible to develop that occupation in any

moment of their life, although the other 5 learners (50%) thought differently. Students expressed

their answers in the following terms: the job is helpful because it would help them in having

money, some participants already work doing that, it helps to have a support and get money.

Otherwise, the other part of the learners expressed the following opinions: they do not like the

job, or they prefer other type of profession, servers are always busy, it is an easy job to lose and

they have many things to do, that occupation is too difficult, and they are not patient, and that

job is not useful.

From these results it can be seen that although food server is a very common job, there

were several participants in this study who did not perceive it as a form of employment or short-

term progress in their lives. The other learners took into account the information from the text to

make a possible decision in short time, even there were some of them who were already working

in that labor, since they noticed that they could support themselves.

The seventh reading workshop sought to provide information about day care workers. In

order to know the interest of the students for that job, they were asked the following question at

the post-reading stage: would you be a day care worker in your future life? Why? All 10 sample

students (100%) participated in that session, and the following were their results: on the one hand

3 students (30%), took into consideration the information from the article and based on their

interests and likes they established that they could work in that profession considering these

reasons: some of them like kids, because they are tender and funny, however they can work in

that job as a hobby or meanwhile they get another job or start a career of their interest. On the

other hand, 7 participants (70%) do not conceive the idea of working in that job, since: they want

to work in other professions, they do not like children and care of them, they are not patient and

need much attention.

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For the eighth intervention the researcher took into account a common occupation in our

context in order to provide more information for students to make a decision for their future. The

text used for the final session was about cook. From 10 sample students, there were 8 learners

(80%) who answered positive opinions about the job considering the reading information that

they read during the session. Some of their answers are described as follows: the job is very

interesting, although it is difficult and strict, the occupation is nice, so they want to be cook

people, they like the job, due to the salary, some of them like to cook, and they see it as a

temporary job. Less students considered different opinions about the occupation, only 2 learners

(20%) were in disagreement for doing it, since according to them, they are afraid to get burned

and the job is not interesting for them that is why they do not like it. In this class, the teacher

researcher achieved the objective of the class through the reading, since the necessary

information about this occupation was provided, and being this job part of the environment close

to the participants, it was possible that more students came to think of this work as a possibility

in the future.

To sum up, during the data analysis some codes emerged from the application of the

questionnaires and reading workshops, which allowed the creation of the categories and

subcategories. Reading comprehension, occupational orientation together with decision making,

appeared as subcategories for this study with different names assigned by the researcher of this

project, in that sense reading for my life, choosing my occupation and making the best decision

were the subcategories of this study. These categories and subcategories allowed the creation of

the core category which is focused on the three central aspects of this research, and likewise,

answered to the research question.

Considering the previous information, it is important to emphasize that: first, students’

interest and cooperation during the workshops were essential in order to collect the data

necessary for analyzing in this chapter. Second, some participants enhanced their reading

strategies during the implementation of the workshops, and this was evident through the

application of the pre and post-tests, in which students’ results improved. Third, learners

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considered that the readings were a good contribution to be oriented with respect to some

occupations, nevertheless some of them affirmed to be interested in studying or performing

another profession, which could be evidenced in the results of the reading workshops in the

section of post-reading, questionnaires and self-assessment formats, since participants claimed

having learned information about occupations. Finally, the result that this work left for the

students was satisfactory, since through the readings, not only they enhanced their level of

English, but they also learned about the content of the readings of each class. The teacher

researcher sought and succeeded to an extent in encouraging decision-making, through the

questions of the workshops or questionnaires and also provided the necessary information to

guide the participants occupationally on some professions and their duties.

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Chapter IV

Conclusions

In this chapter, the researcher presents the conclusions found after the implementation of

the proposal. Considering the research question: how may reading comprehension strategies help

students make better decisions about their future occupational life, it was observed that through

the readings presented to students, it was possible to enhance the comprehension of texts, and

likewise, they learned content and also were informed about some occupations which they could

perform in their future life based on their interests and decision-making capacity.

Besides, students learnt new details about some jobs which provided them useful

information in order to choose one of them. However, as participants established in the survey

and questionnaires, some of them expected to work or study some careers of their interest. After

the implementation of the proposal, there were students who changed their opinion regarding to a

job or career of their preference based on the information learnt from the readings, since they

realized that had some affinity for other occupations. It was due to the fact that some of the

information in the readings had to do with other similar professions or occupations which

allowed students to think in other possibilities about their future. Other participants continued

thinking about performing some professions of their interest.

Regarding the general objective, through workshops with information about occupations,

it was sought to apply some reading strategies which were helpful for the participants of this

study in order to enhance their reading comprehension. However, it was evidenced the strategies

that worked the best to improve the reading comprehension of the participants of this project

were: guessing meaning from context, scanning, read out loud; since students’ comments at post-

reading phase were positive with respect to these strategies.

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The implementation of this project was important because students learnt to read better

by means of applying some reading comprehension strategies. They came in mind that reading

and understanding texts was achieved easily by using reading strategies. Also, students realized

the importance of reading and being able to learn useful information from texts. Through reading

and comprehension of texts, students realized that it provides tools, so that they make life

decisions by means of information related to occupational life. Students have dreams and goals

to fulfill, but sometimes they are not well oriented vocationally to make their own decisions that

will favor them in the future, and sometimes this is due to the lack of information or interest.

Furthermore, it was observed that students perceived vocational orientation as an

important element for making future occupational decisions through reading in English. Taking

into consideration that students evidenced the importance of this project for their occupational

life, it is necessary to clarify that occupational orientation is a process that requires time, since it

starts from childhood and remains throughout life. Personal factors and parenting assume an

important role, since they influence the choice of vocational life, and that is why the process of

vocational orientation cannot be delegated solely to the fact of providing information about it,

but to potentialize the skills that each person has.

Despite the short time it took for the implementation of this project, it can be said that

reading strategies are an effective method to enhance reading skills in students. When the

strategies are correctly used in texts oriented to the interests of the students, it is evident that the

participants extend their knowledge based on different readings, in the particular case of this

study, readings related to occupations. In spite of this, the guidance of the counselor was not

sufficiently effective, since as we saw in the course of this study, the vocational counselor has

the mission of knowing, enhancing and potentiating the skills and knowledge that each student

has. This is only possible when the teacher has enough time to perform the process of inquiry

and application of talents in each individual.

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For this reason, teacher researcher’s proposal is that students reflect on personal life

aspects, such as needs, priorities, and personal goals. It is essential to guide high schoolers

because it is a reflective process that takes time due to the academic, social, and personal issues

that surround possible decisions. Family, educators, society, and the learner are involved in

helping students make better decisions about their future life.

4.1 Suggestions for Further Research

In this section, we talk about the importance of implementing vocational orientation in

schools and how it can be integrated into different academic spaces, such as the development of

reading and comprehension of texts.

As we could see throughout this research, the decision of occupational future is not

delegated solely to the school or the family, on the contrary it must be a process that is developed

with the society. In order to obtain better results, it is important that schools take into account

vocational guidance as a task that can be strengthened and improved from the classes. In terms of

reading comprehension, it is essential to work readings that are of students’ interest, making use

of reading strategies, in such a way that students may learn not only about attractive topics for

their lives, but also improve reading comprehension expanding their vocabulary.

Time is a factor that directly affects the results of the project, since the characteristics of

this study require long-term implementations, because the aim is not only to instruct the student

in a particular academic subject, such as the use of reading strategies, but also seeks to influence

the decisions of occupational and professional taking of students. therefore, it is necessary for the

teacher to have ample conference spaces so that the guide and implementation of the project are

effective.

To conclude this section, it is essential to point out the relevance that vocational

orientation processes should have in educational institutions, since it is not only an occupational

110

decision-making process, but it is our responsibility to contribute to a society with people who

feel comfortable with their occupations performed.

111

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APPENDICES

Appendix A – Survey (piloting phase)

IED PABLO NERUDA

“Formación y proyección para la vida”

FECHA_____________________

Estimado estudiante de décimo grado, le agradezco mucho contestar las siguientes

preguntas.

La siguiente encuesta busca identificar algunos aspectos dentro de su proceso de

aprendizaje en el área de inglés de la Educación Media Fortalecida.

Conteste la siguiente encuesta según su opinión. Marque una X en la opción que

considere más de su interés:

1) En su opinión aprender inglés es

Muy importante

Importante

Poco importante

No es importante

¿Por qué?________________________________________________________

2) Aprender inglés es importante para

Actividades académicas

Más y mejores oportunidades laborales

Acceder a becas u otros estímulos académicos

Todas las anteriores

3) Usted considera que aprender inglés es

Fácil

No muy fácil

Difícil

Muy difícil

¿Por qué?_______________________________________________________

4) En su opinión, al frente de las siguientes habilidades comunicativas enumérelas de 1 a 4

teniendo en cuenta que 1 es igual a fácil y 4 es igual a difícil:

Lectura

Escritura

116

Escucha

Habla

¿Por qué?

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

5) ¿Para qué le ayuda leer textos en inglés?(escriba tres razones)

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

6) Usted considera que puede fortalecer su aprendizaje de la lengua inglesa por medio de lecturas

acerca de temas específicos.

Totalmente de acuerdo

De acuerdo

No está de acuerdo ni en desacuerdo

En desacuerdo

Totalmente en desacuerdo

7) ¿Cómo considera su nivel de comprensión de lectura en inglés?

Excelente

Bueno

Regular

Bajo

¿Por qué?_________________________________________________________________

8) ¿Con qué frecuencia lee textos en inglés?

Con mucha frecuencia

Algunas veces

Pocas veces

Nunca

¿Por qué?

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

9) ¿Qué tipo de textos son de su preferencia y qué puede aprender de ellos?

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

10) ¿Cuáles de los temas que se relacionan a continuación le gustaría trabajar más en la clase de

inglés?

Temas acerca de la vida profesional

Temas culturales

Otros, ¿Cuáles?__________________________________________________________

11) Al estar terminando su vida escolar, ¿ha considerado qué hacer al terminar la secundaria?

Estudiar

117

Trabajar

Las dos anteriores

Ninguna de las anteriores

12) Si su opción más cercana es estudiar, ¿qué carrera técnica o profesional escogería?

_____________________________________________________________________________

13) Si su opción más cercana es trabajar, ¿en qué le gustaría desempeñarse?

_____________________________________________________________________________

14) ¿Qué tanta influencia tiene el inglés en la carrera o trabajo en el que desea desempeñarse a

futuro?

Demasiada

Regular

Poco

Ninguna

15) ¿Considera que su nivel de inglés actual es el apropiado para los requerimientos laborales o

profesionales exigidos en la sociedad actual a nivel de manejo de una segunda lengua?

Si

No

¿Por qué?

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

GRACIAS POR SU COLABORACIÓN.

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Appendix B – Survey results

Question 1. In your opinion, learning English is.

NUMBER OF

STUDENTS

Very important

24

Important

8

Few important

0

Not important

0

TOTAL

32

119

Appendix B1 – Survey results

Question 2. Learning English is important for.

NUMBER OF

STUDENTS

Academic activities

0

More and better job

opportunities

6

Access scholarships or other

academic stimuli

3

All of the above

23

TOTAL 32

120

Appendix B2 – Survey results

Question 3. Do you consider that learning English is?

NUMBER OF

STUDENTS

Easy

6

Not very easy

21

Difficult

5

Very difficult

0

TOTAL 32

121

Appendix B3 – Survey results

Question 4. In your opinion, list the following skills from 1 to 4, taking into account

that 1 is easy and 4 is difficult.

SKILL / OPTION

NUMBER 1 2 3 4 TOTAL STUDENTS

Reading

10

8

11

3

32

Writing

7

15

5

5

32

Listening

6

3

8

15

32

Speaking

9

7

10

6

32

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Appendix B4 – Survey results

Question 5. What is the use of reading texts in English? Write 3 reasons

NUMBER OF

STUDENTS

Learning

vocabulary

19

Enhance writing

5

Learning new

topics

2

Enhance

pronunciation

6

TOTAL

32

123

Appendix B5 – Survey results

Question 6. Do you consider that you can strengthen your English language learning

through readings about specific topics?

NUMBER OF

STUDENTS

Totally in agreement

8

In agreement

14

Neither in agreement nor

disagreement

8

In disagreement

1

Totally in disagreement

1

TOTAL

32

124

Appendix B6 – Survey results

Question 7. How do you consider your English reading comprehension level?

NUMBER OF

STUDENTS

Excellent

0

Good

9

Regular

22

Low

1

TOTAL

32

125

Appendix B7 – Survey results

Question 8. How often do you read English texts?

NUMBER OF

STUDENTS

A lot of frequency

0

Sometimes

8

Few times

21

Never

3

TOTAL

32

126

Appendix B8 – Survey results

Question 9. What types of texts do you prefer and what can you learn from them?

NUMBER OF

STUDENTS

Sports

3

Cultural

6

Showbiz

5

Suspense

8

Adventures and novels

5

Do not answer

5

TOTAL

32

127

Appendix B9 – Survey results

Question 10. Which of the following topics would you like to learn in the English class?

NUMBER OF

STUDENTS

Topics about profesional

life

15

Cultural Topics

13

Other

4

TOTAL

32

128

Appendix B10 – Survey results

Question 11. You are finishing your school life, have you considered what to do after

finishing high school?

NUMBER OF

STUDENTS

Study

12

Work

1

Study and work

0

None of them

19

TOTAL

32

129

Appendix B11 – Survey results

Question 12. If your nearest option is to study, what technical or professional career

would you choose?

NUMBER OF

STUDENTS

Sports 4

Medicine 4

Psychology 1

Languages 4

Forensic Science 4

Mechanics 3

Police 2

Aviation 1

Physics 1

Marine Biology 1

Gastronomy 1

Journalism 2

Hotel management 1

Interior Design 1

Do not answer 2

TOTAL 32

130

Appendix B12 – Survey results

Question 13. If your nearest option is to work, what would you like to do?

NUMBER OF

STUDENTS

Call center 3

Children Work 4

Electronic

Maintenance

3

Soccer player 2

Police 4

Translator 1

Singer or announcer 2

Employee 3

Do not know 10

TOTAL

32

131

Appendix B13 – Survey results

Question 14. How much influence does English language have in the career or work in

which you want to perform in the future?

NUMBER OF

STUDENTS

A lot

22

Regular

6

Few

3

None

1

TOTAL

32

132

Appendix B14 – Survey results

Question 15. Do you consider that your current English level is appropriate for the labor

or professional requirements demanded in today's society at the level of handling a second

language?

NUMBER OF

STUDENTS

Yes

3

No

29

TOTAL

32

133

Appendix C – Reading workshop (piloting phase)

IED PABLO NERUDA “Formación y proyección para la vida” English emphasis. Comprehension Skills Teacher: Julian Liévano

NAME:______________________________ COURSE:___________ FECHA_________________

READING ACTIVITY IN CLASS

B. According to the article, who can do these activities?

Play in a theater at night___________________

Work with low payment__________________

Get a salary for testing games for a company_____________

Take care of many pets_______________

Tolerate a lot of hours at work__________

Do many activities a day__________

Receive money for activities that many teens like________

Interpret many characters at different shows________

C. According to the text, answer these questions:

What does a teacher do?_________________________

How many dogs does a dog walker walk_________________

What is interesting of working as video game tester________________

Where does an actress audition?__________________

D. Match the vocabulary in column A with the meaning in column B

A B

1. Waitress____ a. A timetable 2. Schedule____ b. Organization 3. Teenager____ c. attendant 4. Company____ d. Occupied 5. Shine___ e. young 6. Busy___ f. lightly

134

Source: Taken from “interchange intro, third edition” (p. 55).

135

Appendix D – Consent Form

136

Appendix E – Pre-questionnaire

137

Appendix F – Post-questionnaire

138

Appendix G – Pre-test

139

Appendix G1 – Pre-test student’s answers

140

Appendix H – Post-test

141

Appendix H1 – Post-test student’s answers

142

Appendix I – Reading workshop

143

Appendix F1 – Reading workshop

144

Appendix J – Reading workshop answers

145

Appendix K – Student’s self-assessment