UNIVERSITY OF GUAYAQUIL FACULTY OF PHILOSOPHY,...

UNIVERSITY OF GUAYAQUIL

FACULTY OF PHILOSOPHY, LETTERS AND SCIENCE OF

EDUCATION

ESPECIALIZATION IN LENGUAGE AND LINGUISTIC

EDUCATIONAL PROJECT

IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUERIMENTS FOR THE

DEGREE OF:

LICENCIADO EN LENGUA INGLESA Y LINGÜÍSTICA

TITTLE

IMPORTANCE OF READING COMPREHENSION ACTIVITIES IN THE

UNDERSTANDING OF A TEXT FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE

READING SKILL.

PROPOSAL

DESIGN OF A BOOKLET WITH SHORT STORIES AND READING

COMPREHENSION ACTIVITIES

ACTIVITIES.

AUTHORS

AMARILIS ZAMBRANO AVILES

JONATHAN GARCÍA VERA

TUTOR

MSc. CARLOS VALLE

GUAYAQUIL – ECUADOR

2016 – 2017

ii

UNIVERSIDAD DE GUAYAQUIL

FACULTAD DE FILOSOFÍA, LETRAS Y CIENCIAS DE LA EDUCACIÓN

ESCUELA DE LENGUAS Y LINGUISTICAS

MSc. Silvia Moy-Sang Castro MSc. José Zambrano García DECANA SUBDECANO

DIRECTOR DE CARRERA Ab. Sebastián Cadena Alvarado

SECRETARIO GENERAL

iii

Guayaquil, 24 de agosto del 2017

MSc. SILVIA MOY-SANG CASTRO, Arq. DECANA DE LA FACULTAD DE FILOSOFÍA, LETRAS Y CIENCIAS DE LA EDUCACIÓN CIUDAD.- De mis consideraciones:

En virtud que las autoridades de la Facultad de Filosofía, Letras y

Ciencias de la Educación me designaron Consultor Académico de

Proyectos Educativos de: Licenciatura en Ciencias de la Educación,

Mención: Inglés, el día 26 de octubre del 2016.

Tengo a bien informar lo siguiente:

Que los integrantes: GARCÍA VERA JONATHAN IVÁN con C:C:

0927337196 y ZAMBRANO AVILÉS AMARILIS BETZABETH con C:C:

0919331116, diseñaron el proyecto educativo.

TOPIC: IMPORTANCE OF READING COMPREHENSION ACTIVITIES IN

THE UNDERSTANDING OF A TEXT FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF

READING SKILL. PROPUESTA: DESIGN OF A BOOKLET WITH

SHORT STORIES AND READING COMPREHENSION ACTIVITIES.

El mismo que han cumplido con las directrices y recomendaciones dadas

por el suscrito.

Los participantes satisfactoriamente han ejecutado las diferentes etapas

constitutivas del proyecto, por lo expuesto se procede a la APROBACIÓN

del proyecto, y pone a vuestra consideración el informe de rigor para los

efectos legales correspondiente.

Atentamente

…………………………………………….

MSc Carlos Valle

CONSULTOR ACADÉMICO

iv

Guayaquil, 4 de septiembre del 2017

MSc

SILVIA MOY-SANG CASTRO, Arq.

DECANO DE LA FACULTAD DE FILOSOFÍA,

LETRAS Y CIENCIAS DE LA EDUCACIÓN

Ciudad.-

Para los fines legales pertinentes comunico a usted que los derechos

intelectuales del proyecto educativo con el tema:

IMPORTANCE OF READING COMPREHENSION ACTIVITIES IN THE

UNDERSTANDING OF A TEXT FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE

READING SKILL.

PROPUESTA: DESIGN OF A BOOKLET WITH SHORT STORIES AND

READING COMPREHENSION ACTIVITIES

Pertenecen a la Facultad de Filosofía, Letras y Ciencias de la Educación.

Atentamente,

AMARILIS ZAMBRANO JONATHAN GARCÍA C.I.: 0919331116 C.I.: 0927337196

v



ESCUELA DE LENGUAS Y LINGUISTICAS

PROYECTO

TOPIC: importance of reading comprehension activities in the

understanding of a text for the development of the reading skill.

PROPOSAL: Design of a booklet with short stories and reading

comprehension activities

APROBADO

…………………………………….. Tribunal No 1

…………………………….... ……….……………………… Tribunal No 2 Tribunal No 3

AMRILIS ZAMBRANO JONATHAN GARCÍA C.I.: 0919331116 C.I.: 0927337196

vi

EL TRIBUNAL EXAMINADOR OTORGA AL PRESENTE TRABAJO

LA CALIFICACIÓN DE:______________

EQUIVALENTE A: ______________

TRIBUNAL

______________ ______________

______________

vii

DEDICATION

This work is dedicated to my mother, for me, the best mom ever,

the person who sacrificed every of her nights for my well-being.

There were many difficulties on the way that were not stronger than the

desire to complete this goal, the daily motivation received from my mom

and the trust in God was the principal reason to keep on this dream that

now comes to be real.

Jonathan García Vera

viii

DEDICATION

Every challenging work needs self-efforts as well as guidance of elders

especially those who were very close to my heart. I dedicate my humble

effort to my sweet and loving parents whose example, affection, love,

encouragement and diary prayers make me able to get such success and

be grateful with God all the time, they will forever inspire me.

All my academic achievements are also dedicated to my daughters,

husband and my best friend, because they always gave me the strength to

keep in the way to finish my career, be a better person every day and

encourage me to go on in every adventure, especially this one.

Amarilis Zambrano Avilés

ix

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

We thank God because he has strengthened us in moments when

we wanted to surrender, because he has raised us when we were fallen

and because without his help this achievement would not have been

possible.

Thanks to all the members of educational community teachers,

partners and friends, those who have helped us a lot with their support

during this final step to do it as well as possible.

Thanks to all of you.

Jonathan García Vera & Amarilis Zambrano Avilés

x

NATIONAL REPOSITORY IN SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

THESIS REGISTRATION FORM

TITLE AND SUBTITLE: Importance of Reading Comprehension activities in the understanding of a text for the development of the reading skill. Design of a booklet with short stories and reading comprehension activities.

AUTHORS: Amarilis Betzabeth Zambrano Avilés and Jonathan Iván Garcia Vera

ADVISOR: MSc. Carlos Valle REVIEWERS:

INSTITUTION: Universidad de Guayaquil

FACULTY: Faculty of Philosophy, Letters, and

Sciences of Education

CARRERA: Languages and Linguistics

DATE OF PUBLISHING: NUMBER OF PAGES:

DEGREE OBTAINED: Licenciatura en Ciencias de la Educación, mención en Lengua Inglesa y Lingüística THEMED AREAS: English Language

KEY WORDS: Reading Skill, Reading Comprehension

ABSTRACT: The aim of the thesis is to analyze the importance of the activities to develop the reading comprehension ability in the English language held in Colegio Fiscal Luis Enrique Góngora. In this work the current situation of the group of eighth grade students of basic education is explained, who were the object of this study that is specifically focused on reading skill.

The thesis is composed of four chapters, each one dealing with different aspects about the reading skill that have served to sustain this work using the means of scientific research. This research is the result of many hours of work, observation and analysis through surveys aimed at students and information that was collected from the interview to the teacher of English subject.

All this process was done to improve reading comprehension skills in the institution's students, since the level of public schools is low. In addition, through this project the implementation of a teaching material specifically aimed at reinforcing and enhancing reading ability in the English language, or which will help students to enrich their lexicon on this language while practicing and improving their pronunciation, which would result in a better level of knowledge in the English language. REGISTRATION NUMBER (in data base):

CLASSIFICATION NUMBER:

URL ADDRESS (thesis on the web):

ATTACHED PDF: x SI

NO

AUTHOR(S) NAMES AND CONTACT Zambrano Avilés Amarilis García Vera Jonathan

Telephone: 0993606090 0982061068

E-mail: [email protected] [email protected]

CONTACT IN THA INSTITUTION: NAME: Secretarial of the School of Languages and Linguistics

TELEPHONE: (04)2294888 Ext. 123

E-mail: [email protected]

X

xi

REPOSITORIO NACIONAL EN CIENCIA Y TECNOLOGÍA

xii

FICHA DE REGISTRO DE TESIS TÍTULO Y SUBTÍTULO: Importancia de las actividades de Comprensión de Lectura en la

comprensión de un texto para el desarrollo de la habilidad de lectura. Diseño de un folleto con historias cortas y actividades de comprensión de lectura ocupaciones.

AUTOR/ES: Amarilis Betzabeth Zambrano Avilés y Jonathan Iván Garcia Vera

TUTOR: MSc. Carlos Valle

REVISORES:

INSTITUCIÓN: Universidad de Guayaquil

FACULTAD: Facultad de Filosofía, Letras y Ciencias de la Educación

CARRERA: Lenguas y Lingüística

FECHA DE PUBLICACIÓN: No. DE PÁGS:

TÍTULO OBTENIDO: Licenciatura en Ciencias de la Educación, mención en Lengua Inglesa y Lingüística

ÁREAS TEMÁTICAS: Lengua Inglesa

PALABRAS CLAVE: Habilidad de Lectura, Comprensión de Lectura

RESUMEN: El objetivo de la tesis es analizar la importancia de las actividades para

desarrollar la capacidad de comprensión lectora en inglés del Colegio Fiscal Luis Enrique Góngora. En este trabajo se explica la situación actual del grupo de estudiantes de octavo grado de educación básica, quienes fueron el objeto de este estudio que se enfoca específicamente en la habilidad de lectura. La tesis se compone de cuatro capítulos, cada uno de los cuales aborda diferentes aspectos sobre la habilidad lectora que han servido para sustentar este trabajo utilizando los medios de la investigación científica. Esta investigación es el resultado de muchas horas de trabajo, observación y análisis a través de encuestas dirigidas a los estudiantes e información que se recabó de la entrevista al docente de asignatura de inglés. Todo este proceso se realizó para mejorar las habilidades de comprensión lectora en los estudiantes de la institución, ya que el nivel de las escuelas públicas es bajo. Además, a través de este proyecto la implementación de un material didáctico específicamente dirigido a reforzar y mejorar la capacidad de lectura en inglés, o que ayudará a los estudiantes a enriquecer su léxico en este idioma mientras practican y mejoran su pronunciación, lo que resultaría en una mejor nivel de conocimiento en inglés.

No. DE REGISTRO (en base de datos):

No. DE CLASIFICACIÓN:

DIRECCIÓN URL (tesis en la web):

ADJUNTO PDF: x SI

NO

CONTACTO CON AUTOR/ES Zambrano Avilés Amarilis García Vera Jonathan

Teléfono: 0993606090 0982061068

E-mail: [email protected] [email protected]

CONTACTO EN LA INSTITUCIÓN: Nombre: Secretaría de la Escuela de Lenguas y Lingüística

Teléfono: (04)2294888 Ext. 123

E-mail: [email protected]

X

xiii

GENERAL INDEX

Authorities’ ii

Approbations’ letter iii

Legal objectives iv

Signature page v

Grade sheet vi

Dedication vii

Dedication viii

Acknowledgment ix

Repository x

Repository xi

General Index xii

Chart Index xvii

Graphic Index xviii

Abstract xix

Abstract xx

Introduction 1

Introduction 3

Chapter I. The problem 5

Context of the investigation 7

Problem of the investigation 7

Conflict situation 7

Scientific fact 8

xiv

Causes 8

Formulation of the problem 8

Objectives of investigation 8

General objective 8

Specific objectives 9

Questions of the research 9

Justification 10

Chapter II. Theorical frame 12

The epistemological foundation 12

Reading comprehension activities 12

Reading comprehension 12

Importance 13

Assessment 14

Assessment strategies and techniques 16

Scaffolding 16

Formative assessment 17

Prior learning 17

Effective feedback 18

Jigsaw technique 19

Text cohesion 19

What is text cohesion? 19

Types of reading texts 20

Novels 20

xv

Newspapers 20

Comic books 21

Short stories 21

Reading skill 21

Definition 21

Cognitive functions 22

Abilities 23

Executive control 23

Summarizing 23

Paraphrasing 24

Retrieve relevant background knowledge 25

Reading techniques 25

Skimming 25

Scanning 26

Motivation 27

Types of reading 27

Oral reading 27

Silent reading 28

Critical reading 28

Intensive reading 29

Extensive reading 29

Common mistakes 30

Translation 30

xvi

Misreading words 31

Regression 32

Conclusion 32

Theorical foundation 33

Philosophical foundation 33

Pedagogical foundation 33

Sociological foundation 35

Legal foundation 36

Chapter III. Methodology design 38

Types of investigation 38

Qualitative 38

Descriptive research 39

Correlational research 39

Quantitative research 39

Population and sample 40

Operationalization of variables 41

Research methods 42

Quantitative data collection 42

Qualitative data analysis 42

Techniques and instruments of investigation 43

Direct observation 43

Surveys 43

Interviews 43

xvii

Classroom observation sheet 44

Interview to the English teacher 45

Survey to the students 46

Analysis and interpretation of results 47

Classroom observation sheet analysis 47

Analysis and conclusion of the Interview 48

Analysis and interpretation of survey results 51

Variance and chi-square test 62

Conclusions 74

Recommendations 74

Chapter IV. The proposal 75

The title 75

Justification 75

Objectives 76

General objective 76

Specific objectives 77

Theoretical aspects 77

Feasibility of its application 78

Financial 78

Legal 78

Technical 79

Human resources 79

Political 79

xviii

Description 80

Conclusions 81

Bibliography 82

References 83

CHART INDEX

Chart Nº 1.- Distribution of the population 40

Chart Nº 2.- Distribution of the sample 40

Chart Nº 3.- Operalization of variables 41

Chart Nº 4.- I like to read in English 51

Chart Nº 5.- I participate in reading activities 52

Chart Nº 6.- I like the book that I use in classes 53

Chart Nº 7.- I develop my interest on reading 54

Chart Nº 8.- I comprehend the readings from my English book 55

Chart Nº 9.- I would like to work with other texts 56

Chart Nº 10.- I know the benefits of reading 57

Chart Nº 11.- My English teacher encourages me to practice… 58

Chart Nº 12.- I develop my imagination when I read 59

Chart Nº 13.- I develop my reading comprehension 60

Chart Nº 14.- I would like to experiment new reading activities 61

Chart Nº 15.- Variance test and chi-square test 62

Chart Nº 16.- Chi-square test. Item N° 1 63








xix




GRAPHIC INDEX

Graphic Nº 1.- I like to read in English 51

Graphic Nº 2.- I participate in reading activities 52

Graphic Nº 3.- I like the book that I use in classes 53

Graphic Nº 4.- I develop my interest on reading 54

Graphic Nº 5.- I comprehend the readings from my English book 55

Graphic Nº 6.- I would like to work with other texts 56

Graphic Nº 7.- I know the benefits of reading 57

Graphic Nº 8.- My English teacher encourages me to practice… 58

Graphic Nº 9.- I develop my imagination when I read 59

Graphic Nº 10.- I develop my reading comprehension 60

Graphic Nº 11.- I would like to experiment new reading activities 61

Graphic Nº 12.- Frequency histogram. Item N° 1 63











xx



SISTEMA DE EDUCACIÓN PRESENCIAL

ESPECIALIZACIÓN INGLÉS

ABSTRACT

The aim of the thesis is to analyze the importance of the activities to

develop the reading comprehension ability in the English language held in

Colegio Fiscal Luis Enrique Góngora. In this work the current situation of

the group of eighth grade students of basic education is explained, who

were the object of this study that is specifically focused on reading skill.

The thesis is composed of four chapters, each one dealing with

different aspects about the reading skill that have served to sustain this

work using the means of scientific research. This research is the result of

many hours of work, observation and analysis through surveys aimed at

students and information that was collected from the interview to the

teacher of English subject.

All this process was done to improve reading comprehension skills

in the institution's students, since the level of public schools is low. In

addition, through this project the implementation of a teaching material

specifically aimed at reinforcing and enhancing reading ability in the

English language, or which will help students to enrich their lexicon on this

language while practicing and improving their pronunciation, which would

result in a better level of knowledge in the English language.

KEYWORDS: READING, COMPREHENSION, READING SKILL, STRATEGIES, READING ACTIVITIES.

xxi



SISTEMA DE EDUCACIÓN PRESENCIAL

ESPECIALIZACIÓN INGLÉS

RESUMEN

El objetivo de la tesis es analizar la importancia de las actividades

para desarrollar la capacidad de comprensión lectora en lengua inglesa

en la Escuela Fiscal Luis Enrique Góngora. En este trabajo se explica la

situación actual del grupo de estudiantes de octavo año de educación

básica, quienes fueron el objeto de este estudio que se enfoca

específicamente en la habilidad lectora.

La tesis se compone de cuatro capítulos, los cuales abordan

diferentes aspectos de la habilidad lectora que han servido para sustentar

este trabajo utilizando los medios de la investigación científica. Este

proyecto es el resultado de muchas horas de trabajo, observación y

análisis a través de encuestas dirigidas a los estudiantes e información

que se recabó de la entrevista al docente de asignatura de inglés.

Todo este proceso se realizó para mejorar las habilidades de

comprensión lectora en los estudiantes de la institución, ya que el nivel de

las escuelas públicas es bajo. Además, a través de este proyecto, se ha

dado la implementación de un material didáctico específicamente dirigido

a reforzar y mejorar la capacidad de lectura en inglés, que ayudará a los

estudiantes a enriquecer su léxico en este idioma mientras practican y

mejoran su pronunciación, lo que daría como resultado un mejor nivel de

conocimiento en el idioma Inglés.

PALABRAS CLAVE: LECTURA, COMPRENSIÓN, E HABILIDAD LECTORA, STRATEGIAS, ACTIVIDADES DE LECTURA.

1

INTRODUCTION

The understanding of what is read is not easy many times,

especially when it comes to a language that is not well known, for this

reason the development of reading skill is necessary. For students who

are learning or a new language it is necessary to strengthen every skill,

since the demand of society offers many benefits and opportunities for

those who know the English language.

This project tries to focus the student to develop a correct reading in

the English language through the use of varied activities designed

exclusively for this skill. The objective is to increase the student's

vocabulary, to understand the main ideas of an abstract and to follow it in

an orderly way so that it can be expressed with a coherent thought.

Chapter I. The problem.- The problem is located in a context and

the conflict situation is presented, the causes and consequences are

established, the problem is defined, posed and evaluated; Here we also

find the objectives and the justification and importance of the problem and

other aspects that are presented in its problem.

Chapter II. Theoretical Framework.- It presents the antecedents of

study in which it is explained and the relation that exists with other

investigations, then the theoretical foundation is presented where a

bibliographical investigation is held amplifying the subject significantly.

This chapter also presents the research hypotheses, the dependent and

independent variables and the respective conceptual definitions. The

chapter concludes with the legal basis of investigation.

2

Chapter III. Methodology. - Presents the design of the research

through the modality and type of research; In addition the population and

the sample of the investigation are presented, the operationalization of

variables and the research instruments. It is also present the analysis and

interpretation of the results of the research through the presentation of the

information with their respective statistical tables and their graphic

representation.

Chapter IV. Presentation of the Proposal.- This chapter presents

the proposal developed in this thesis as an option of intervention in the

problem investigated. That is to say a module of motivation to develop the

reading ability by means of comprehension activities.

3

INTRODUCCIÓN

La comprensión de lo que se lee no es fácil muchas veces,

especialmente cuando se trata de un lenguaje que no se conoce bien, por

esta razón es necesario desarrollar la habilidad de lectura. Para los

estudiantes que están aprendiendo o un nuevo idioma, es necesario

fortalecer todas las habilidades, ya que la demanda de la sociedad ofrece

muchos beneficios y oportunidades para aquellos que conocen el idioma

inglés.

Este proyecto intenta enfocar al estudiante para desarrollar una

lectura correcta en el idioma inglés a través del uso de actividades

variadas diseñadas exclusivamente para esta habilidad. El objetivo es

aumentar el vocabulario del alumno, comprender las ideas principales de

un resumen y seguirlo de manera ordenada para que se pueda expresar

con un pensamiento coherente.

Capítulo I. El problema.- El problema se ubica en un contexto y se

presenta la situación de conflicto, se establecen las causas y las

consecuencias, se define, plantea y evalúa el problema; Aquí también

encontramos los objetivos y la justificación e importancia del problema y

otros aspectos que se presentan en su problema.

Capitulo dos. Marco teórico.- Presenta los antecedentes de estudio

en que se explica y la relación que existe con otras investigaciones, luego

se presenta la base teórica donde se realiza una investigación

bibliográfica ampliando el tema de manera significativa. Este capítulo

también presenta las hipótesis de investigación, las variables

dependientes e independientes y las definiciones conceptuales

respectivas. El capítulo concluye con la base legal de la investigación.

Capítulo III. Metodología. - Presenta el diseño de la investigación a

través de la modalidad y tipo de investigación; Además se presentan la

4

población y la muestra de la investigación, la operacionalización de

variables y los instrumentos de investigación. También está presente el

análisis e interpretación de los resultados de la investigación a través de

la presentación de la información con sus tablas estadísticas respectivas y

su representación gráfica.

Capítulo IV. Presentación de la propuesta.- Este capítulo presenta

la propuesta desarrollada en esta tesis como una opción de intervención

en el problema investigado. Es decir, un módulo de motivación para

desarrollar la capacidad lectora mediante actividades de comprensión.

5

CHAPTER I

THE PROBLEM

CONTEXT OF THE INVESTIGATION

Learning a new language is a difficult work for the ones who have

not had proper preparation since kindergarten. In Ecuador, there are some

institutions, where the process of obtaining a second spoken language is

difficult. This has happened in the public institution Elias Rivero Góngora

where, for many years, English has not been developed in an accurate

manner because of the degree of difficulty in the acquiring process of the

language taught. When there is not a good foundation in the teaching of

this language since childhood, is notorious, even more if the teacher does

not have or does not use teaching methodology techniques properly that

allow students to develop each skill that involve the English language so

that students can communicate efficiency in this new language acquisition.

When the necessary language learning components are

considered, the ability of reading takes a significant role as it contains

graphemes that when read aloud are transformed into phonemes.

Therefore, reading is an extraordinary achievement when considering the

levels and components that come into play during this process as the

acquisition of an extensive vocabulary, knowledge of various subjects

about different cultures and the ability to understand different types of

texts, which will help to improve pronunciation of words.

The activities carried out in classes, play an important role for the

students to feel motivated and confident in the process of learning English

language, this process is critical and becomes the essential activity for the

acquisition of new knowledge, and even for the development of the four

language skills: Reading, speaking, listening and writing.

6

A previous observation confirmed that the students of 8th year of

basic education from Colegio Fiscal Luis Enrique Góngora need activities

for reading comprehension that get the student’s interest in the English

language through easy, understandable and fun exercises, for this reason,

a booklet with short stories and activities for the reading comprehension is

a great idea to solve the problematic situation detected.

PROBLEM OF THE INVESTIGATION

CONFLICT SITUATION

The shortage of activities that encourage reading in the classroom

has become a major factor in Luis Enrique Gongora Fiscal College,

located in District 8 in the city of Guayaquil, according to the empirical

observation that took place by the researchers in this institution, reflecting

as a result, students with low interest the habit of reading because they

say not to have, perhaps, an extensive vocabulary that allows them to

understand the whole context of a paragraph. English teachers have some

problems at the time of teaching English as second language, due to the

insufficiency of a proper material that engages Luis Enrique Góngora

students in the establishment of learning the reading skill. Therefore,

teachers must take part of their free time to create or acquire extra

material for teaching. This helps to reduce part of the problem, but does

not solve it at all. This situation, is linked with an inadequate infrastructure

and scarce materials, creates an unfavorable environment in order to

develop the ability of reading adequately.

7

SCIENTIFIC FACT

Low skill development of the reading ability in the students of 8th

basic year of EGB Colegio Fiscal Luis Enrique Góngora, Zone 8, district

09D05, located Guayaquil city, province of Guayas, school year 2016-

2017. According to the questions done to the teachers that work in this

institution, students lose continuously interest to read in the English

language and one of the main reason of this is because students do not

have a specific material created to focus on this skill.

CAUSES

Shortage of Reading comprehension activities

Poor domain of Reading Techniques

Insuffiency of didactic material

Disconnection with technology

FORMULATION OF THE PROBLEM

What is the importance of the reading comprehension activities in

the understanding of a text to develop the Reading skill in the students of

8th year of basic education at Escuela de Educación Básica Completa

Fiscal Elías Rivero Góngora in Guayas Province, school year 2016 –

2017?

OBJECTIVES OF INVESTIGATION

GENERAL OBJECTIVE

To diagnose the level of reading comprehension through statistical

study for the design of a booklet with short stories and activities to improve

the reading skill.

8

SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES

To demonstrate the level of reading comprehension in the class

through a statistical analysis, and an interview to the English

teacher.

To identify the endogenous and exogenous factors that influence in

the reading learning process thought a questionnaire applied to the

students.

To characterize the types of reading to be used through

bibliographical study and a survey to be applied to the students

To design of a booklet with reading comprehension activities based

on the data gathered.

QUESTIONS OF THE RESEARCH

1. What didactic techniques will be used to improve the development

of the reading skill inside the classroom?

2. What opportunities could receive the students with the performance

of this project?

3. How will the materials be applied for the reading skill?

4. What kind of stories the booklet will include to motivate the students

with the reading skill?

5. How much time is this project going to focus on the reading ability?

9

JUSTIFICATION

Over the last few decades, a research in Texas about reading

comprehension has demonstrated important information that help teachers

to know about how readers get the real meaning from what they read and

about the most successful types of activities, procedures, and instructions

to help students become good readers. In the course of the years, the

research has concluded that reading comprehension has passed through

different levels. In the beginning, it was based on a concept of reading as

the application of a set of isolated skills as: identifying words, finding main

ideas, identifying cause and effect relationships, comparing, contrasting

and organizing ideas or sequences. For a long time reading

comprehension was seen as the mastery of these skills.

Another important study conducted in a language class in a state of

the United States of North America, found that the typical comprehension

instruction determined what the study called: the process of mentioning,

practicing, and evaluating. In this system of teaching, teachers indicated a

specific skill that students should apply. This method makes students

practice the skill by completing activities, then evaluated them to see if

students could use the skill correctly.

While cognitive science research was producing helpful information

about comprehension processes, reading education researchers reported

important findings about what comprehension instruction appears to be in

the most effective reading classrooms. This has provided a wealth of

information on what good readers do when they read and what type of

instruction is needed to help students develop this important skill.

The process of English language learning in Ecuador has several

flaws, one of the main that can be cited is the development of reading

10

comprehension. Nowadays the shortage of the appropriate didactic

materials is evident in some public institutions, being this a necessary

resource to motivate students to read.

Some students were not used to read frequently. A research done

in Cuenca emphasized that the students did not have adequate reading

comprehension skill and they thought that read in another language is

about literal translation and do mechanical activities leading to frustration

and demotivation rather than enjoying the richness of the text itself, giving

as the purpose of this problem to create short stories for enhancing

reading comprehension skills.

This project aims to implement innovative learning material that

focuses on the development of reading comprehension through a booklet

with entertaining stories and fun activities that capture the interest of

students so that significant results will be obtained in reading ability as it is

established in the Article 343 of the Constitution of the Republic of

Ecuador, which highlights that the education system will aim to develop

individual and collective capacities that facilitate learning and use of

knowledge and skills.

This work will directly benefit students of the eighth year of basic

education at Luis Enrique Gongora School, located in the province of

Guayas, which will receive a free pedagogical designed material for

enhancing reading skill in the English language. Teachers that work with

students at this level can use this material and adapt it to their curricular

plan, and in this way to have in their hands more teaching resources that

can be used in the classroom as well as noted in the national plan of Good

Living, page 169, where it emphasizes to promote reading spaces out of

the school hours, focusing on children and teenagers with a mechanism of

cultural transmission and generation of knowledge. Through this system

the beneficiaries will learn in a dynamic, efficient and effective way,

rescuing the cultural and linguistic value of the English language.

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CHAPTER II

THEORICAL FRAME

THE EPISTEMOLOGICAL FOUNDATION

READING COMPREHENSION ACTIVITIES

READING COMPREHENSION

Hock & Mellard (2005) emphasizes that “reading comprehension is

the ultimate goal of any reading activity.” In other words, reading

comprehension is a cooperative term that describes the action of grasping

ideas and understanding a text with the intellect of a person, it can be

referred as a task that involves the development of many skills. During the

process of reading comprehension, the reader uses skills such as

identifying the main idea of a passage, summarizing the content of a text,

generating questions about the information in the text and looking for clues

that answer those questions.

Reading is a vital achievement in the learning process of a foreign

language and comprehension, indeed, is the understanding of what is

been reading. McNamra (2007) defines comprehension as “the ability to

go beyond the words, to understand the ideas and the relationships

between ideas conveyed in a text” (p.1). The reading skill involves many

aspects as the activities that the teacher performances in class with the

students, they are an important function in order to have students that

understand what they read at that ability could be evaluated with different

kind of activities where the students need to use their senses and open

their minds for understanding.

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IMPORTANCE

According to Nacer (2015), “reading activity is one of the most

important ways of learning, as it is connected with literacy and civilizational

development as well.” This demonstrates that the ignorance of this vital

activity, such as reading, can generate many learning problems. First,

reading activity is a complex process of cognitive development. It works by

decoding symbols to construct meanings, this is known as reading

comprehension. It is a means of acquiring language, communication,

exchange of information and ideas. Reading is an activity with a general

purpose: to develop critical thinking. A person can read in order to obtain

information or verify existing knowledge, or in order to criticize a writer's

ideas or writing style. A person can also read to feel comfort and

enjoyment, or to improve the knowledge of a language.

According to Essays (2015) “if we do not understand what we are

reading, we cannot learn or remember it.” Many people can read a text,

but not all can understand everything the whole text means. This is

because the reading is not providing any information to the reader. This

happened when the reader simply read the text in a superficial way,

without understanding the content. Therefore, it loses the purpose of

reading as a means to obtain information.

The ability to read and understand at the same time is critical to

success in the class when the teacher gives students a kind of reading

and they try hardly to interiorize all the ideas that the text given express

but the difficulties appear letting show the necessities in the reading

process “Readers may encounter any number of roadblocks in the path to

comprehension. Regardless of the locus of the reading problems, teaching

strategies is one of the most effective means of helping students to

overcome them”. (McNamara, 2009, p. 34)

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Santi & Reed (2015) asserts that “the ability to process, track and

remember temporal relations shows developmental change in the person,

which is believed to be related to capacity-based difficulties in revising

situation models to accommodate events that are presented out of

sequence” (Santi & Reed, 2015) For this reason it is important to be clear

that the same can be said when we speak of the reading comprehension

that corresponds to the development and integration of knowledge

structures used in the learning process

ASSESSMENT

The assessment of reading ability presents many difficulties in

practice because it is not easy to evaluate this area when there are

different levels of language in the same class, so it is essential to

emphasize the importance of the evaluation models as it is mention by

McKenna (2015). “Without a model, a reading specialist have no way of

making sense of the observation derived from the reading assessment

battery.” (p.9)

All reading assessment is based on a model. This model can be set

by making observations in the classroom or group to be treated. The

reading specialist recognizes the patterns in the information that the

students receive, in this manner they determine the course that the

instructions should take in the evaluation models for the students involved.

According tho the International Reading Association, Inc. and the

National council of Teachers of English (2010), researchers have found

that teachers which had inquired into the assessment role of reading skill

have gathered some interesting data about how to evaluate students by

making them the center of the reading experience, this means to evaluate

the student in relation with their environment.

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Assessment is the exploration of how the educational environment

and the participants in the educational community support the

process of students as they learn to become independent and

collaborative thinkers and problem solvers. This exploration

includes an examination of the environment for teaching and

learning, the process and products of learning and the degree to

which all participants, students, teachers, administrators, parents

and board members, meet their obligation to support inquiry.

(International Reading Association, Inc., & the National council of

Teachers of English, 2010, p.9)

Oxford University Press (2004), affirms that when there are many

resources that help students to understand a text, it makes possible to

grasp ideas in a better way. With this, the teacher tries to transmit and

extend the student’s imagination to assimilate the knowledge and give

them the opportunity to develop a good reading comprehension.

Visual organizers are visual frameworks such as figures, diagrams,

charts, etc. used to present structural knowledge spatially in a given

area with the intention of enhancing comprehension and learning.

Visual organizers are effective in terms of helping to elicit, explain,

and communicate information because they can clarify complex

concepts into simple, meaningful, display. They allow users to

visualize the structural concepts of knowledge so that they can

develop a holistic understanding of the content to be learnt. (Oxford

University Press, 2004)

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ASSESSMENT STRATEGIES AND TECHNIQUES

It is possible for a student to understand different content in

different areas regardless of their level of English proficiency. The

following assessment strategies may help in adapting assessments to

reduce English language difficulties while assessing knowledge of content.

These techniques can be used separately or simultaneously as needed by

the teacher. One of the techniques used in this learning process is the

scaffolding technique.

SCAFFOLDING

Shepard (2005) asserts that “Scaffolding refers to supports that

teachers provide to the learner during problem solving, in the form of

reminders, hints, and encouragement, to ensure successful completion of

a task”. One of the principal features of scaffolding is that the teacher has

the task of maintaining control of the elements that are beyond the

student's ability. For example, when a chemistry student is learning an

experiment, the teacher in charge gives him pre-written instructions on

how to do the experiment so that he or she can put it into practice.

According to Sawyer (2006) “Scaffolding is the support given during

the learning process which is tailored to the needs of the student with the

intention of helping the student achieve his/her learning goals” This

concept is brought to education through teacher-student interaction, the

scaffolding theory was used for the first time by Bruner, and American

psychologist, and his colleagues, to explain what happens in the

educational field, where teachers gives their support to the students so

they can use a cognitive strategy that allows them to develop their

potential.

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This type of technique, occurs between parents and students, when

it is required to learn something, and the learner need a guide that allows

him to learn. This is the reason why the scaffolding allows students, who

are starting to learn something new, to accomplish a task or achieve a

goal that would not achieve without receiving help.

FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT

Shepard (2005) mentions that “formative assessment uses insights

about a learner's current understanding to alter the course of instruction

and thus support the development of greater competence”. When a

student has detected with a low academic performance in the subject, it is

because there has been a problem with the content that has been taught.

This type of evaluation will help to diagnose where he or she needs to

reinforce in order to improve the learning in the content.

The formative evaluation is not an isolated method but a great

variety of methods used by the teachers to make evaluations about the

process of understanding the student, the learning needs and the

academic progress that is carried out during a period. The formative

evaluation also helps the teachers to identify what students are struggling

to understand, the skills that are becoming hard to acquire or the learning

that they have not achieved yet. Abbott (2014) affirms that “the general

goal of formative assessment is to collect detailed information that can be

used to improve instruction and student learning while it’s happening”

PRIOR LEARNING

According to Andersson and Harrys (2006), “the recognition of prior

learning is an educational response to the need to widen participation in

education and training for economic advancement and social inclusion”.

Prior learning aims to get knowledge at a basic way, without deepening a

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fact, so the student has a solid foundation where future knowledge will be

built.

There is a strong connection between prior learning and recognition

from a constructivist perspective. A recent study of this educational theory

has shown the connection. The result of the research shows how prior

learning has a central role in the learning process taking into account the

constructivist theory which allows students to build their own knowledge

from what has already been learned.

The students’ prior learning is taken as the starting point,

particularly in learning conversations where prior learning is made

visible and used, and where participants learn from each other.

Further, new learning is taking place as a consequence of the

recognition process, and the study particularly highlights how prior

experiences could be the basis of new learning in a process of

reflection and discussion. (Fejes, A. & Andersson, P, 2009)

EFFECTIVE FEEDBACK

Feedback is necessary and essential in the learning process. In the

classroom, the kind of feedback that teachers should use should be based

not on re-teaching what has already been learned, but on taking the

student beyond what was taught in the previous class, by asking questions

and analyzing the content, in order to get the learning goal as it is said by

Archer (2010), who declares that “feedback should focus on the task,

rather than the individual and should be specific. It should be directly

linked to personal goals”. (p.102)

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JIGSAW TECHNIQUE

According to Leyva-Moral and Riu (2016), “the Jigsaw Technique is

based on collaborative learning and everyone in the group must play their

part because each student's mark depends on the other students”. The

groups can be formed in two ways: either a homogeneous group is formed

or a mixed group is formed. It is the teacher who assigns the task to the

group and designates who will compose the task; In the same way, it is

also responsible for assigning each part of the group the part of the work

that must be done.

TEXT COHESION

WHAT IS TEXT COHESION?

Halliday and Hasan (2013) state that “cohesion is the set of

meaning relations that is general to all classes of text that distinguishes

text from non-text and interrelates the substantive meaning of the text with

each other”. (p. 26). The main objective of cohesion is not to focus on

what the text means, but on how the text is built so that it has a

grammatical structure and a logical progression between the paragraphs

by semantic or lexical evaluation.

Cohesion can be defined as the characteristic that distinguishes a

sequence of sentences that form a text from a random sequence of

structured sentences. It is a series of lexical, grammatical and other

relationships that provide links between the various parts of a text. When

people speak about cohesion, a distinction should be made between

linguistic cohesion and pragmatic cohesion, also known as coherence.

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TYPES OF READING TEXTS

NOVELS

In the way the literature understands the term, a novel differs from

texts of other genres mainly because it has a rank higher than 60,000

words. In this way, it can be distinguished from the stories for being

longer, presenting several interlaced stories and not having a linear

character. Hoggan and Cranton (2014) perform a study about reading

fiction novel to promote transformative learning.

To determine the type of learning promoted by reading fiction, we

performed qualitative analyses on participants’ written reflections

following a learning activity that included the reading of a fictional

short story. Our major findings consisted of the following three

categories: promoting change, new perspectives, and fosters critical

reflections. (Hoggan & Cranton, 2014).

NEWSPAPERS

The newspapers can be a material accessible to the consumer's

pocket. It is also full of vocabulary that can help the language learner to

develop the language through the use of a varied lexicon. For this reason

it is advisable to use it in every institution borehole of teaching the English

language.

According to Pan (2014), “students can increase their awareness of

current events and develop into knowledgeable citizens of the world

by reading the news. Authentic English news items, however, often

contain difficult linguistic elements that may prevent low-proficiency

students from developing a genuine comprehension of the

material”.

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COMIC BOOKS

The comic is a basic tool to promote reading due mainly to its

characteristic visual language. Its main feature is the sequential

organization in vignettes that give the image a story that motivates

reading. The comic, over the years, has begun to be valued as a

sequential art, whose purpose is the transmission of information by

reading this. Bongco (2013) says that “reading comic books entails more

activity than watching television” (p.27).

SHORT STORIES

Teenagers prefer doing any other work instead of reading; Reading

is boring for the young people, much more when the reading is too

extensive and is completely unconnected to their interests. For this reason

short stories can motivate those readers who do not like extensive

readings. Gorjiana and Payman (2014), state that “short stories could be

used as sources of learners' interests and help them to enhance their

vocabulary domain, critical thinking, and a basis for writing models”.

(p.151).

READING SKILL

DEFINITION

“Reading is the ability to draw meaning from the printed page and

interpret this information appropriately” (Grabe & Stoller, 2013, p.13).

Reading is an individual act. When reading people faces a written text.

Although the students are in the classroom with many subjects, reading

the same story, each one performs the act of reading in a personal way.

That is why some people take longer than others to read a text of equal

size, and that is why also when reading a text, not everyone understands

in the same degree what is written there.

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Each person learns and understands a text in different ways, these

can be varied as the images or only with some words that stand out to

make sense to the reader. Another group of people focuses on

understanding the meaning of a sentence. In the art of reading, Cullingford

(2013) explains the following:

The art of reading exhibits how complex is the process of learning;

the translation of idea into action, the use of actions to create ideas,

the recognition of clues, the awareness of context and the

realization that clues can be interpreted I a variety of ways.

(Cullingford, 2013, p.3).

According to McNamara, Jacovina, and Allen (2015), “Reading is a

pervasive activity in the classroom, as well as in everyday activities:

comprehending text and discourse is crucial to success and survival in the

modern world”. When people start to read they associate what they read

with some things they know or have lived and using their imagination, their

minds open up after they can understand what they read with ease.

Reading is a process where the person and the text are the main

protagonists, the person can assimilate the text creating images of the

mind, recreating the scenes that are described in the text and adjusting it

to his own imagination, leaving the freedom to appreciate text from many

points of view.

COGNITIVE FUNCTIONS

Cognitive functions are always involved in reading, they refers to

those processes that happen inside the brain and develop what is known

as Reading skill. Ogino et al. (2017) affirm that “cognitive functions

including phonological awareness, digit naming, and verbal working

memory were involved in the development of reading skills”.

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This cognitive process of understanding involves an interactive

process, whereby the reader is responsible of constructing a personal

interpretation of the meaning of the text from collecting clues from it. From

this perspective Cullingford (2013) declares that “reading can be taught

simple, but its learning is complex. Fortunately people have the capacity to

pick up clues from different sources”.

ABILITIES

EXECUTIVE CONTROL

Britton and Glynn (2013) say that “executive control processes are

broadly define here as processes tell other processes what to do”.

Executive functions can be also defined as those skills needed to get a

purpose. This types of functions are related to the human nature. They are

generally considered the mediator between the frontal and prefrontal

cortices of the brain.

These cognitive functions are very complex and they define the

human being as social beings and allow them to plan and make decisions

according to the situation. The executive functions can also be improved

with some help founded in the personal development of the learner and

academic process, so that the student’s knowledge constitutes a genuine

educational need. “Executive control functions exhibit sensitivity during

reading comprehension and they also have certain responsibilities”

(Britton, & Glynn, 2013)

SUMMARIZING

A written summary is a medium that allows people to transmit

information from a text in abbreviated form. This is a fundamental study

technique: it requires a careful and a comprehensive reading to identify

the most important information to be studied. Summaries allow the subject

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to go directly and quickly to the fundamental ideas and concepts that can

be evaluated.

According to Khoshsima and Nia (2014), “summarize information is

an important skill required for directing learning successfully at college and

university level. Summarizing is a process demanding higher thinking for

synthesizing the content and identifying important information and main

idea of a text”. In short words, summarizing also serves to transmit, in a

brief and global, the contents of a text to someone who have the necessity

to know it in a short time or give a specific information.

Some researchers agree that making summaries helps students

understand the knowledge gathered by transferring it to long-term

memory. The summary, which is one of the most well-known cognitive

strategies that leads to the effective use of mental abilities, increases

memory and the understanding.

PARAPHRASING

Paraphrasing is writing about what has been read, without getting

away from the main concepts, through the use of possible synonyms.

Paraphrase focuses on the details while summarizing tries to reach the

generality. By the use of paraphrasing, the person approaches the word in

such a way that he wonders why the author chose that phrase and not

another. Bhagat and Hovy (2013) say: “Paraphrases are sentences or

phrases that convey the same meaning using different wording”. (p. 463).

Usually the reader chooses what he wants to paraphrase, a

sentence or a paragraph. Paraphrase could be oral or written. Oral

paraphrasing is simpler than writing. Paraphrase tries to rewrite something

wothout copying the same words, but trying to say something similar with

its own words. Kissner (2006) states that “paraphrasing is, quite simply,

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restating ideas in different words. A reader (or listener) can choose to

paraphrase one statement, a group of statements, or an entire passage”.

RETRIEVE RELEVANT BACKGROUND KNOWLEDGE

The knowledge and procedures that a teacher has about his subject

is not transferred to his students by explaining them in class, the student

will learn if he assimilates the knowledge, when he integrates it to his life.

To achieve this goal it is necessary to make a feedback of the knowledge

that has not been clear during the class. Barth, Vaughn, and McCulley,

(2015) state:

If a student’s oral summary was incomplete or in some way

incorrect, the tutor directed the student back to the text in order to

identify correct information, helped the student to retrieve relevant

background knowledge, and assisted the student in reprocessing

relevant information in order to derive a concise and correct

summary of the text. (Barth, Vaughn, & McCulley, 2015, p.2).

READING TECHNIQUES

SKIMMING

Skimming applied to reading techniques is a technique that allows the

reader to reduce the number of words read without affecting the

comprehension of the text. It is a matter of grasping the totality of the

ideas of the text, without reducing to the main ideas or the secondary

ideas. Beale (2013) declares the following:

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Skimming is one of the tools you can use to read more in less time.

Skimming refers to looking only for the general or main ideas, and

works best with non-fiction (or factual) material. With skimming,

your overall understanding is reduced because you don’t read

everything. You read only what is important to your purpose.

Skimming takes place while reading and allows you to look for

details in addition to the main ideas.

SCANNING

Scanning is used for analyzing a text or and extensive paragraph to

extract valuable information from them. Either for curiosity or for an scholar

research or academic purposes. No matter the way people use to absorb

information because always they have to use a text for this purpose. It's

the same if the researchers try to find this information on internet of a

thesis, the will have the necessity of use this reading technique. Beale

(2013) affirms:

Scanning is another useful tool for speeding up your reading. Unlike

skimming, when scanning, you look only for a specific fact or piece

of information without reading everything. You scan when you look

for your favorite show listed in the cable guide, for your friend’s

phone number in a telephone book, and for the sports scores in the

newspaper. For scanning to be successful, you need to understand

how your material is structured as well as comprehend what you

read so you can locate the specific information you need. Scanning

also allows you to find details and other information in a hurry.

(Beale, 2013)

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MOTIVATION

To motivate is to predispose the student toward what is going to be

taught. With the motivation, the teacher tries to take the student to the

active participation in the academic work. Motivation in reading is very

important so that the students feel comfortable with this activity even if

they do not like to do it. According to Wigfield and Guthrie (2013),

“Motivation influence both, the acquisition of reading skills and the amount

of time they devote to reading”.

A study has revealed that all people have needs for achievement

and fear of failure. Students with high motivation for success obtain the

best grades in the subjects when they believed that they were important

for the career, instead of those students who do not believe that they will

need these subjects for their career. The motivation stimulates the desire

to learn and direct the effort towards defined goals.

TYPES OF READING

ORAL READING

Oral reading happens when the reading in a loud way helps ideas

appear into the brain, but they can also do so at a time when it is difficult

for them to concentrate because of the ambient noise, and when the

people hear their own voice they can hear this sound in their heads so

they can, by this way, dissipate the distraction somewhat.

Stefanko (2011) says that “oral reading performance is used as an

indicator of students’ overall reading ability. It is used to measure three

components of reading, accuracy, rate, and fluency, which have been

shown to relate strongly to comprehension”. The author agrees that oral

reading has a social function like no other, because people can share this

type of experience with others by reading for someone else. It is also a

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good way to improve some the skills needed for learning such as diction

and vocalization.

SILENT READING

“Silent reading is the primary mode of reading for proficient readers,

and proficient readers typically read faster in silent reading than oral

reading” (Kim et al, 2011).This is because in the silent reading the person

receives directly into the brain what their eyes see. In this type of reading,

concentration is very important for the reader. Students who practice this

type of reading are experienced readers because the concentration for the

study is even greater than in the oral reading.

CRITICAL READING

The main characteristic of critical reading is the reflection of what is

read. In critical reading the reader will analyze the text before him and will

not accept it as the absolute truth. Wallace (2003) states that "Critical

reading, far from being emancipatory, may involve the analysts replacing

the tyranny of the text with their own imposed interpretations". (p. 26)

According to Wallace (2003) "Critical is much overused text and so

some account is needed of how I wish to use it". A critical reader

evaluates the relevance of what he is reading, contrasts the information

with other information or with his own experience and can even come to

confront the text by having different arguments on a topic. This reading

requires that it be done slowly so that the information can be evaluated

from a critical approach.

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INTENSIVE READING

During intensive reading, the reader performs a thorough and

detailed study of the text. Its practice includes strategies to identify specific

information, discriminate relevant information from the complementary,

make inferences from the explicit data, among other skills. This type of

reading is done with the purpose of developing the skills related to reading

comprehension. "Intensive reading is essential reading in depth and is

usually done in class“(Morris, 1972)

The intensive reading aims to capture a large number of data and

relate them in large units of meaning, which allows the learning or the

assimilation of a knowledge. This is the type of that people do when they

study. It is focused on students. This type of reading works on what the

student had not understood by making pauses to get a clear idea about

the subject.

Macalister (2011) defends this fact when he declares that “Most

learners experience the teaching of reading in the classroom in the

form of intensive reading activities, where learners are provided

with support, typically by the teacher, to make sense of texts that

are too difficult for the learners to read successfully by themselves”.

EXTENSIVE READING

Laurier & Morel (2016) state that “extensive Reading, in its purest

form, is reading large amounts of text in order to improve second language

reading fluency”. This type of reading is characterized for containing a lot

of vocabulary because of the amount of text that can be read. Unusual

words that help enrich students' lexicon may emerge.

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Extensive writing is used in different working areas, especially in the

teaching area, since teachers make reading their most important work

tool. Students apply it for researching or recreation. “In everyday life, to

read extensively means to read widely and in quantity. In the early part of

this century, extensive reading took on a special meaning in the context of

teaching modern languages”. (Bamford & Day, 1997)

For the development of this type of reading it is necessary to

accomplish certain requirements such as: reading material should be

easy, there must be a variety of reading material on different subjects,

students should choose what they want to read and reading speed usually

be faster than slow.

A research has clearly demonstrated that learners who read

extensively in the target language become fluent readers, improve

their reading comprehension, and thus increase their listening,

speaking, and writing skills. (Nunan & Richards, 2015, p.3)

COMMON MISTAKES

TRANSLATION

The mental translation of a reading is a common problem in

students learning other languages like English. In an intermediate level it

is necessary to think completely in English because translating while

reading makes the reading very slows. Zhao (2015) thinks that “translation

should be limitedly used in the process of language acquisition because

translation used as a teaching method reverses the language learning

process”.

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Translation as a process that convert the information given, either

thoughts or arguments into a different language. It is not recommendable

to use translation in intermediate learners. Students are forced to think

and say their ideas in the mother tongue instead of saying them in the

language to be learnt. This makes harder the task of learning languages.

Zhao (2015) says that “language learners who are taught with this method

often fail to express themselves effectively in target languages as well as

to get proficiency in its actual application”.

MISREADING WORDS

The reading comprehension have an important role for the

development of the reading ability, since it allows to stimulate the linguistic

development. However, when misreading appear during a silent or oral

reading in the student, there is the necessity to solve, otherwise learning

the language is not complete. Hoenen (2015) states that “misreading is an

unnoticed substitution in silent reading. Especially for legally important

documents or instruction manuals, this can lead to serious

consequences”.

There are students who misread a word so often that it becomes a

worrying problem. Some students sometimes skip words that do not alter

the understanding of what is read, the problem comes when there are

students who skip or misread words very often, this problem makes the

student loses the correct understanding of reading. “When this misreading

takes place, the real word is mistaken by another, usually more common

word that is spelled in a similar manner”. (Savoska, 2015, p.7).

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REGRESSION

The regression is to go through a text that has already been read

two or more times in order to confirm if the message of the reading have

been understood. Regression is one of the habits that makes to slow down

the reading speed, but it is a habit that can be corrected with practice. Sujit

(2010) says that “regression is a colossal waste of time. This happens

because of vocabulary constrains, unfamiliar subject matter and loss of

concentration”.

CONCLUSION

In addition, the reading comprehension activities are necessary and

very important for the development of a good reading ability. This is a

problem that has been taking place for a long time, it is a priority that must

be resolved for the students’ English level grows up. The teacher may use

the material that the researchers have created, and together with the

students they can use it in the class with the aim of improving the

student’s level of reading comprehension of the language, out of the

traditional form.

Teachers specialized in the teaching of the English language agree

that most students in schools have a low reading level and do not

understand the main ideas when they read, so, it is necessary to increase

motivation, putting in practice the tools that has been shown in this

chapter, so, in this manner, they can capture the interest of the students

giving as a result the improvement of the learner’s reading level.

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Teachers have to let the learners know that with the good

development of the activities and their collaboration in the teaching-

learning process, they can achieve to communicate and to understand a

foreign language. Teachers have the obligation of including different

methods to their way of teaching to get the principal objective: To confirm

students learn.

PHILOSOPHICAL FOUNDATION

This research has a close connection with constructivism by the

demands of society and the constant modifications in the educational

environment. This is a standard pattern of pedagogy that requires from

teachers to innovate techniques, strategies and methods according to the

physical and technological progress.

According to Sharples et al. (2016), “the next decade of innovating

pedagogy may focus less on the individual elements of instruction and

more on how to merge the new pedagogies into an effective process of

lifelong learning.” The sole purpose with the change of methods is that

students achieve positive goals in their learning process in order to grow

physical and intellectually.

PEDAGOGICAL FOUNDATION

Currently in the educational institutions has been generated a lack

of interest in reading, especially in students. Lauristin (2014) emphasizes

that “this is not the first time that we have faced a crisis in reading.” Many

newspaper articles have highlighted this. In the course of the years,

teachers has been developing different techniques and methods to

strengthen a traditional love for reading.

34

According to the demands of society nowadays, it is important to

know the need to learn how to read correctly in such a way that this

activity will be involved in the student’s daily routine, improving the ability

of reading comprehension. The teachers that make this work are

responsible to get that the learning of reading will be treated with the

importance it deserves.

There are many pedagogical methods to develop the reading skill,

but at the moment of teaching reading it is necessary to consider factors

like; place, strategies before and after to teach, must be chosen carefully

because a person who is learning, to develop the skill, has to memorize

techniques and methods to do it right.

The pedagogical instruments used in education have a backspin in

students because it implicates different personalities and cultures that

function in all areas of learning. The learning needs in reading has relation

with psychology and sociology that are fundamental disciplines, working

on together with the behaviorism, cognitivism, and constructivism.

Siemens (2014) says that “learning principles and processes, should be

reflective of underlying social environments.”

Social constructivist theory emphasizes that there ir a necessity to

encourage students to create their own meaning according to what they

read, rather than to impose a teacher’s interpretation of the meaning upon

them. Certainly teachers may help as a resource, in order to bridge the

linguistic and cultural gap that students experience in reading a text.

Teachers should not impose what they want to achieve in

classroom, but get the students analyze so they can conceive different

ideas from what they read. It is an obligations for students to build their

own knowledge or principal basis, but teacher´s work is encourage

students to be interpretive in specific goals and to give the necessary

materials for develop the knowledge.

35

SOCIOLOGICAL FOUNDATION

Reading is a social experience where students socialize with the

entire world. When students read in unison, discussing a novel, or working

together to decode and define a new word they are socializing with others.

Fuller, and Sedo (2014) state: “Many readers enjoy exchanging their

books recommendation, talking about the books they read, and, given the

opportunity, joining in conversation with successful writers.”

When people give themselves time to talk about the knowledge

that they acquire from books is a way to share the experiences that they

have lived according to this this aspect is necessary for the teachers to

teach their students to read, so they will be able to manage a conversation

with positive ideas, because they will know what other people are talking

about.

Many philosophers have regarded the motivating force of normative

judgments as the key feature that marks them as normative,

thereby distinguishing them from the many other judgments we

make. In contrast to our normative judgments, our mathematical

and empirical judgments, for example, seem to have no intrinsic

connection to motivation and action. (Connie, 2014)

In addition, the most importer factor that develop the skills is that in

the sociological aspects reading helps students to recognize, interiorize

and generate different opinions to contribute to the conversation. It also

gives the student ideas so they can performance in a debate and the most

important factor develops the skill and knowledge.

36

LEGAL FOUNDATION

In the fifth section of the constitution of Ecuador Says:

Art. 26. - Education is a right of people throughout their lives and an

inescapable and inexcusable duty of the State. It is a priority area of public

policy and state investment, It is the guarantee of equality and social

inclusion and an indispensable condition for good living. Individuals,

families and society have the right and responsibility to participate in the

educational process.

Art. 27. - Education will focus on the human being and guarantee its

holistic development, within the framework of respect for human rights, the

sustainable environment and democracy; it will be participative, obligatory,

intercultural, democratic, inclusive and diverse, of quality and warmth; it

promotes gender equity, justice, solidarity and peace; it stimulates critical

thinking, art and physical culture, individual and community initiative, and

the development of skills and abilities to create and work. Education is

indispensable for knowledge, the exercise of rights and the construction of

a sovereign country, and constitutes a strategic axis for national

development.

In chapter two of the Higher Education Law states:

Art. 3. - Purposes of Higher Education.- Humanistic, cultural and

scientific higher education constitutes a right for the people and a public

good which, in accordance with the Constitution of the republic, will

respond to the public interest and will not be service of individual and

corporate interests.

37

According to the National plan of good living, strategic policies and

guidelines section, states: To promote the habits and spaces of literacy

outside of school activities, with an emphasis on children and adolescents,

as a cultural mechanism of transmission and generation of knowledge in

homes, public spaces and networks of family and community reading.

38

CHAPTER III

METHODOLOGY DESIGN

The researchers have used, in this project, the scientific method

research. Through which observation has been used as an empirical

research tool to collect primary information through the direct perception of

the reality that students in the English class. This technique was used as a

first step for the development of this research. The results obtained from

the observation were analyzed by the researchers, who established some

hypostasis to the problem found.

These hypothesis have been subjected, through a quantitative

study, to verification by using evaluation instruments such as: survey and

interview. The results obtained were analyzed by the investigators to

clarify, modify and substantiate the found ideas. All this systematic

process was necessary to be able to express the results in a quantitative

form.

TYPES OF INVESTIGATION

QUALITATIVE

This project has a quantitative relationship because, a problem has

been posed to investigate. The researchers have analyzed the

environment where the problem is developed, giving place to questions

such as: why the level of compression of the students from eight is so low.

This process has been done in an inductive manner reflecting the facts

found. The parameters used to design this instruments were designed

according to the group to investigate in relation to the exposed problem.

During the Interview and surveys, the participants has given their point of

view. It has been analyzed, leading researchers to understand the

problem that occurs in the institution.

39

DESCRIPTIVE RESEARCH

In this work the researchers have established some questions that

have served as basis for the collection of information in order to be able to

describe the problem in more details. For this, some factors have been

taking into account such as: the profile of the institution and points of view

of the students surveyed. Through a descriptive study the researchers

have collected information of the established variables to be analyzed.

CORRELATIONAL RESEARCH

According to the information gathered through research

instruments, the variables presented in this project have been shown to be

positively correlated, since, if there is a deficiency in comprehensive

reading, then, the reading ability will be low. For this reason the

researchers set some questions to measure what factors are avoiding

them in the development of reading skill in the students of 8th year of

basic education at Escuela de Educación Básica Completa Fiscal Elías

Rivero Góngora,

QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH

This project has a quantitative relationship because, a problem has

been posed to investigate, taking into account two variables: the reading

comprehension activities in the understanding of a text and the reading

skill itself. Some hypotheses have arisen that were questioned and tested

by the construction of a theoretical framework that corroborates the

hypotheses previously formulated and have been substantiated with

physical evidence through the use of some data collection instruments.

40

POPULATION AND SAMPLE

In the institution where this research takes places are found 41

students from 8th year of basic education. These students have become

the main focus of the research. This quantity of student form sample

selected. These students have been surveyed in order to get valuable

information from their answers.

Chart N° 1: Distribution of the population

Source: Escuela de Educación Básica Completa Fiscal Elías

Rivero Góngora

Researchers: Jonathan Garcia and Amarilis Zambrano

Chart N° 2: Distribution of the sample


Rivero Góngora


N° Detail People

1 Headmaster 1

2 English teacher(s) 1

3 Students 41

Total 43

N° Detail People

1 Headmaster 1

2 English teacher(s) 1

3 Students 41

Total 43

41

OPERATIONALIZATION OF VARIABLES

Chart N° 3:

OPERALIZATION OF VARIABLES

IV READING COMPREHENSION ACTIVITIES

DIMENSIONS INDICATORS

READING COMPREHENSION

LANGUAGE ACQUISITION

IMPORTANCE UNDERSTAND A FOREIGN LANGUAGE

ASSESSMENT STRATEGIES AND TECHNIQUES

SCAFFOLDING STRATEGY

FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT STRATEGY

PRIOR LEARNING STRATEGY

EFFECTIVE FEEDBACK TECHNIQUE

JIGSAW TECHNIQUE

TEXT COHESION WHAT IS TEXT COHESION?

TYPES OF READING TEXTS

NOVELS

NEWSPAPAER

ARTICLES

SHORT STORIES

DV. READING SKILL

DIMENSIONS INDICATORS

DEFINITION COGNITIVE FUNTIONS

ABILITIES

EXECUTIVE CONTROL

SUMMARIZING

PARAPHASING

RETRIEVE RELEVANT BACKGROUND KNOWLEDGE

READING TECHNIQUES

SKIMMING

SCANNING

MOTIVATION

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Language_acquisition

42

TYPES OF READING

ORAL READING

SILENT READING

CRITICAL READING

INTENSIVE

EXTENSIVE

COMMON MISTAKES

TRANSLATION

MISREADING

REGRESION

RESEARCH METHODS

QUANTITATIVE DATA COLLECTION

The researchers have analyzed the environment where the problem

is developed, giving place to questions such as: why the level of

compression of the students from eight is so low. This process of data

collection has been done in an inductive manner, through the use of

evaluation tools such as: survey and interview, as they are reliable and

valid. The parameters used to design these instruments were designed

according to the group to investigate the relationship to the exposed

problem. The data collected has been coded by assigning numerical

values that represent each item expressed in the survey. This coding was

necessary to apply the statistical analysis of the problem.

QUALITATIVE DATA ANALYSIS

In this project, a qualitative research has been done. The

researchers have become familiar with the subject in order to raise a

problem of study. Some objectives have been proposed which were the

starting point of the research. These objectives were developed according

to the theme. The formulated questions have helped to generate

hypotheses, in order to be confirmed by a theoretical framework. The

43

thoughts and comments quoted contain the corresponding justification for

carrying out this project.

TECHNIQUES AND INSTRUMENTS OF INVESTIGATION

DIRECT OBSERVATION

The researchers have made a direct observation in one of the

English classes that the students from 8th year receive. They have used as

an instrument a structured observation sheet. The information collected in

the observation sheet has been analyzed for the investigators in order to

use it as the fundamental basis for the problem posed.

SURVEYS

The survey conducted on the students from the 8th the year was

done in order to obtain the indispensable information that could not be

gather with the observation of the class. The aspects evaluated in the

survey were focused on the students in order to know how they perceive

the English class and determinate which factor were the most influents.

The students answered a series of questions using the Likert scale with

five response options:

(1) Strongly disagree

(2) Disagree

(3) Neutral

(4) Agree

(5) Strongly agree

INTERVIEWS

In this research the investigators have used the interview in order to

obtain information from the teacher's point of view. An oral communication

has been established with the teacher to get to know his perspective on

44

the subject of English. The results obtained in the interview reflected the

environment in which the English teacher works and how this influences in

the students that are developing the reading skill.

45


FACULTY OF PHILOSOPHY, LETTERS AND SCIENCIES OF EDUCATION

SCHOOL OF LANGUAGES AND LINGUISTIC

CLASSROOM OBSERVATION SHEET

1. A safe classroom environment has been established Yes No Needs Improvement

2. The student are engaged in metacognitive discussions involving reading

Yes

No

Needs improvement

3. The teacher models appropriate reading strategies for the students Yes

No

Needs improvement

4. Students employ various cognitive strategies to assist and restore comprehension

Yes

No

Needs improvement 5. Students are engaged and/or exhibit increase motivation to read

Yes

No

Needs improvement

6. The following reading comprehension teaching strategies were observed:

Predicting Questioning Visualization Connection Summarizing Recognizing when comprehension breaks down

7. The teacher use the following Reading Apprenticeship instructional

strategies: Talking about the text Think aloud Reading log/journal Evidence and interpretation chart Concept map/graphic organizer other

46



SCHOOL OF LANGUAGES AND LINGUISTIC

INTERVIEW TO THE ENGLISH TEACHER OBJECTIVE: To get information by asking question in order to know what the teacher thinks about develop of the reading skill in the school.

1. How do you think that the reading skill is developed in class?

2. How many students can understand when they read?

3. What kind of material do you have in class to develop the reading skill?

4. What kind of methodologies do you use for motiving students to read?

5. How much time do you separate in class to focus in the development of the reading skill?

6. Do you consider the English learning process in your class effective?

7. Do you think that it is easy to find useful didactical material to improve the reading skill?

8. Do you find in the English book appropriate exercises to develop the reading skill?

9. How important do you consider that build a large list of vocabulary for the students is, in order to make them understand a paragraph from a text?

47



SCHOOL OF LANGUAGES AND LINGUISTIC SURVEY TO THE STUDENTS

OBJCTIVE: SPECIFIC INFORMATION: Write an X on the answer.

(1) Strongly disagree (2) Disagree (3) Neutral (4) Agree (5) Strongly agree

No. Questions 1 2 3 4 5

1 I like to read in English.

2 I participate in reading activities.

3 I like the book that I use in classes.

4 I develop my interest on reading.

5 I comprehend the reading from my

English book

6 I would like to work with other texts.

7 I know the benefits of reading.

8 My English teacher encourages me

to practice reading.

9 I develop my imagination when I

read.

10 I develop my reading

comprehension.

11 I would like to experiment new

reading activities.

48

ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF RESULTS

CLASSROOM OBSERVATION SHEET

1. A safe classroom environment has been established

The teacher starts the class with an appropriate warming in order to

prepare the classroom environment

2. The student are engaged in metacognitive discussions

involving reading.

During the class the students present a little or no interest in the

activity.

3. The teacher models appropriated reading strategies for the

students

No, the teacher did not use reading strategies in class.

4. Students employ various cognitive strategies to assist and

restore comprehension

No, the students try to do the activity by themselves according the

instruction, but there was not much help from the teacher

5. Students are engaged and/or exhibit increase motivation to

read.

The Student did not feel motivated or engage to read in English

6. The following reading comprehension teaching strategies were

observed:

During the activity the teacher use the following strategies:

Predicting and questioning.

7. The teacher use the following Reading Apprenticeship

instructional strategies:

In the part of reading, the teacher only speaks about the text, and

then, he demands the student to make the exercises written in the

book.

49


INTERVIEW TO THE ENGLISH TEACHER

1. How you think that the reading skill is developed in class?

Response: I think that the English class cannot develop properly in

the classroom because of the deficiency in the English language, this

happens because the children have not received English in school.

Another cause is that, usually, people with low resources have

rejected English because they see it very difficult.

2. How many students can understand when they read?

Response: The students who understand when they read are about

five, the rest usually feel lost and some of them only understand

certain words.

3. What kind of material do you have in class to develop the reading

skill?

Response: I always use the English book for reading and sometimes I

use also worksheets.

4. What kind of methodologies do you use for motiving students to

read?

Response: I usually bring extra information to engage them to the

reading we are going to do.

50

5. How much time do you separate in class to focus in the

development of the reading skill?

Response: It depends on the topic for the day, but it is never enough

time.

6. Do you consider the English learning process in your class

effective?

Response: No, but I try to make it effective with the resources I have.

7. Do you think that it is easy to find useful didactical material to

improve the reading skill?

Response: Yes, I think there are lots of useful material you can find

on internet, the problem is to adapt that material to my students.

8. Do you find in the English book appropriate exercises to develop

the reading skill?

Response: Definitely no, because the level of the English book is

higher than the student´s level.

9. How important do you consider that build a large list of

vocabulary for the students is, in order to make them understand

a paragraph from a text?

Response: The fact that students have a vocabulary list helps them a

lot, but for them, it is necessary that this vocabulary has definition and

translation to understand and remember the words.

51

CONCLUSION

In the interview conducted by the investigators, the opinion of the teacher

of the English area of the institution, has been very important to get a clear

idea of the conditions found in the classroom to carry out the English

language learning. The conclusion that the researchers have reached is:

both, the time and the material used in classes are not indicated to be able

to teach the students a foreign language. According to the observation of

the teacher, the level of students is not appropriate for the type of material

with which he has to work, that is the reason why there are failures in

English.

52


SURVEY TO THE STUDENTS Chart N° 4 ITEM 1: I like to read in English.


Rivero Góngora


COMMENT

According to the results 24% of the students answered that they strongly

agree, 37% of the students agree, 34% of them are neutral, 2% disagree

and 2% strongly disagree. This analysis has shown that most students like

reading

No 1

CHART OF FREQUENCY

ALTERNATIVES FREQUENCY PERCENTAGE

Srongly disagree 1 2%

Disagree 1 2%

Neutral 14 34%

Agree 15 37%

Strongly agree 10 24%

TOTAL 41 100%

3% 2% 34%

37%

24%

GRAPHIC N° 1

Srongly disagree Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly agree

53

ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF RESULTS SURVEY TO THE STUDENTS Chart N° 5 ITEM 2: I participate in reading activities.


Rivero Góngora


COMMENT



and 7% strongly disagree. This analysis has shown that few students

actively participate in reading activities.

No 2

CHART OF FREQUENCY



Disagree 6 15%

Neutral 25 61%

Agree 7 17%

Strongly agree 0 0%

TOTAL 41 100%

7% 15%

61%

17% 0%

GRAPHIC N° 2


54

ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF RESULTS SURVEY TO THE STUDENTS Chart N° 6 ITEM 3: I like the book that I use in classes.


Rivero Góngora


COMMENT



and 2% strongly disagree. This analysis has shown that most of the

students like the English book they use.

No 3

CHART OF FREQUENCY



Disagree 6 15%

Neutral 17 41%

Agree 15 37%

Strongly agree 2 5%

TOTAL 41 100,00%

2% 15%

41%

37%

5%

GRAPHIC N° 3


55

ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF RESULTS SURVEY TO THE STUDENTS Chart N° 7 ITEM 4: I

develop my interest on reading.


Rivero Góngora


No 4

CHART OF FREQUENCY



Disagree 12 29%

Neutral 17 42%

Agree 7 17%


TOTAL 41 100%

0% 29%

42%

17% 12%

GRAPHIC N° 4


56

COMMENT




students do not fell interesting in developing the reading skill.

57

ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF RESULTS SURVEY TO THE STUDENTS Chart N° 8 ITEM 5: I comprehend the readings from my English book.


Rivero Góngora


COMMENT




students do not understand what is read in class.

No 5

CHART OF FREQUENCY



Disagree 13 32%

Neutral 13 32%

Agree 6 15%

Strongly agree 2 5%

TOTAL 41 100%

17%

32% 32%

14% 5%

GRAPHIC N° 5


58

ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF RESULTS SURVEY TO THE STUDENTS Chart N° 9 ITEM 6: I would like to work with other texts.


Rivero Góngora


COMMENT



and 0% strongly disagree. This analysis has shown that the students are

open to work with other types of reading materials.

No 6

CHART OF FREQUENCY



Disagree 5 12%

Neutral 17 41%

Agree 11 27%


TOTAL 41 100%

0% 12%

41% 27%

20%

GRAPHIC N° 6


59

ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF RESULTS SURVEY TO THE STUDENTS Chart N° 10 ITEM 7: I know the benefits of reading.


Rivero Góngora


COMMENT




students know the benefit that reading provide to the learner.

No 7

CHART OF FREQUENCY



Disagree 9 22%

Neutral 9 22%

Agree 10 24%


TOTAL 41 100%

20%

22%

22%

24%

12%

GRAPHIC N° 7


60

ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF RESULTS SURVEY TO THE STUDENTS Chart N° 11 ITEM 8: My English teacher encourages me to practice reading.


Rivero Góngora


COMMENT



and 0% strongly disagree. This analysis has shown that the students

receive motivation from the English teacher for learning the language.

No 8

CHART OF FREQUENCY



Disagree 0 0%

Neutral 10 24%

Agree 14 34%


TOTAL 41 100%

0% 0% 24%

34%

42%

GRAPHIC N° 8


61

ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF RESULTS SURVEY TO THE STUDENTS Chart N° 12 ITEM 9: I develop my imagination when I read.


Rivero Góngora


COMMENT




students recognize that reading develop imagination

No 9

CHART OF FREQUENCY



Disagree 1 2%

Neutral 6 15%

Agree 14 34%


TOTAL 41 100%

0% 2% 15%

34%

49%

GRAPHIC N° 9


62

ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF RESULTS SURVEY TO THE STUDENTS Chart N° 13 ITEM 10: I develop my reading comprehension.


Rivero Góngora


COMMENT




students do not develop the reading comprehension.

No 10

CHART OF FREQUENCY



Disagree 18 44%

Neutral 15 37%

Agree 1 2%

Strongly agree 0 0%

TOTAL 41 100%

17%

44%

37%

2% 0%

GRAPHIC N° 10


63

ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF RESULTS SURVEY TO THE STUDENTS Chart N° 14 ITEM 11: I would like to experiment new reading activities.


Rivero Góngora


COMMENT




students agree in the implementation of new reading activities.

No 11

CHART OF FREQUENCY



Disagree 1 2%

Neutral 14 34%

Agree 16 39%


TOTAL 41 100%

3% 2%

34%

39%

22%

GRAPHIC N° 11


64

VARIANCE AND CHI-SQUARE TEST

VARIANCE TEST

Chart N° 15

Estadísticos descriptivos

N Mínimo Máximo Media

Desviación

estándar Varianza

I like to read in English. 41 1 5 3.78 .936 .876

I like the book that I use in

classes. 41 1 5 3.27 .867 .751

I participate in reading

activities. 41 1 4 2.88 .781 .610

I comprehend the reading

from my English book 41 1 5 2.59 1.095 1.199

I develop my interest on

reading. 41 2 5 3.12 .980 .960

I would like to work with

other texts. 41 2 5 3.49 .925 .856

My English teacher

encourages me to practice

reading.

41 3 5 4.17 .803 .645

I know the benefits of

reading. 41 1 5 2.88 1.327 1.760

I develop my imagination

when I read. 41 2 5 4.29 .814 .662

I develop my reading

comprehension 41 1 4 2.24 .767 .589

I would like to experiment

new reading activities. 41 1 5 3.76 .916 .839

N válido (por lista) 41

65

CHI-SQUARE TEST

Chart N° 16

FREQUENCY HISTOGRAM

GRAPHIC N° 12

I like to read in English.

N observado N esperada Residuo

Strongly disagree 1 8.2 -7.2

Disagree 1 8.2 -7.2

Neutral 14 8.2 5.8

Agree 15 8.2 6.8

Strongly agree 10 8.2 1.8

Total 41

66

CHI-SQUARE TEST

Chart N° 17

I participate in reading activities.



Disagree 6 10.3 -4.3

Neutral 25 10.3 14.8

Agree 7 10.3 -3.3

Total 41

FREQUENCY HISTOGRAM

GRAPHIC N° 13

67

CHI-SQUARE TEST

Chart N° 18

I like the book that I use in classes.



Disagree 6 8.2 -2.2

Neutral 17 8.2 8.8

Agree 15 8.2 6.8

Strongly agree 2 8.2 -6.2

Total 41

FREQUENCY HISTOGRAM

GRAPHIC N° 14

68

CHI-SQUARE TEST

Chart N° 19

I develop my interest on reading.


Disagree 12 10.3 1.8

Neutral 17 10.3 6.8

Agree 7 10.3 -3.3


Total 41

FREQUENCY HISTOGRAM

GRAPHIC N° 15

69

CHI-SQUARE TEST

Chart N° 20

I comprehend the reading from my English book



Disagree 13 8.2 4.8

Neutral 13 8.2 4.8

Agree 6 8.2 -2.2


Total 41

FREQUENCY HISTOGRAM

GRAPHIC N° 16

70

CHI-SQUARE TEST

Chart N° 21

I would like to work with other texts.



Neutral 18 10.3 7.8

Agree 11 10.3 .8


Total 41

FREQUENCY HISTOGRAM

GRAPHIC N° 17

71

CHI-SQUARE TEST

Chart N° 22

I know the benefits of reading.


Strongly disagree 8 8.2 -.2

Disagree 9 8.2 .8

Neutral 9 8.2 .8

Agree 10 8.2 1.8


Total 41

FREQUENCY HISTOGRAM

GRAPHIC N° 18

72

CHI-SQUARE TEST

Chart N° 23

My English teacher encourages me to practice reading.


Neutral 10 13.7 -3.7

Agree 14 13.7 .3


Total 41

FREQUENCY HISTOGRAM

GRAPHIC N° 19

73

CHI-SQUARE TEST

Chart N° 24

I develop my imagination when I read.



Neutral 6 10.3 -4.3

Agree 14 10.3 3.8


Total 41

FREQUENCY HISTOGRAM

GRAPHIC N° 20

74

CHI-SQUARE TEST

Chart N° 25

I develop my reading comprehension



Disagree 18 10.3 7.8

Neutral 15 10.3 4.8

Agree 1 10.3 -9.3

Total 41

FREQUENCY HISTOGRAM

GRAPHIC N° 21

75

CHI-SQUARE TEST

Chart N° 26

I would like to experiment new reading activities.



Disagree 1 8.2 -7.2

Neutral 14 8.2 5.8

Agree 16 8.2 7.8

Strongly agree 9 8.2 .8

Total 41

FREQUENCY HISTOGRAM

GRAPHIC N° 22

76

CONCLUSIONS

The results show the current situation in the students of the

educational institution, so it can be concluded that the reading activity has

a relevant impact on the teaching and learning process, but it also shows

that students do not have the habit of reading and it is not one of their

favorite activities in English classes, there are some difficulties in

developing the main skill in them, being important to address these needs

that require solutions. The causes of the problem of the low level of

development of the reading comprehension can be around the national,

regional and local educational system, the educational institution, the

classroom, the teachers, students and the family context, it is a general

problem in the education system; the curriculum should be changed in

order to achieve the goals of learning a foreign language.

RECOMMENDATIONS

According to the information acquired in this research, the institution

should implement the support of didactic material focused on reading that

contains texts in order to attract the attention of the students. This type of

resources will guide students to find the motivation to read and open their

minds to new cultures that will give them options to improve their

vocabulary when they read, write and speak. The different exercises of

reading comprehension will also encourage students as much as possible

to practice the reading ability.

77

CHAPTER IV

THE PROPOSAL

THE TITLE

Design of a booklet with reading comprehension activities.

JUSTIFICATION

In the analysis of the methods to teach reading comprehension, it is

observed that, in some of them, reading is essential in one way or another,

it has been used as an instrument or learning process, for example in the

grammar- translation is almost impossible to translate written texts. The

possibility of reading in a foreign language, mainly in English, which is

considered as a universal language, opens up much more possibilities.

Hence, the need for students to develop reading skills and strategies in

English classes so that they are able to apply them independently outside

the classroom in everyday life.

The causes of the low level of reading comprehension that have

been possible to diagnose with this research may be the predominance of

the traditional method, which considers the student as a passive,

submissive receiver; while the teacher is the owner of knowledge, is the

center of the teaching-learning process, who imposes authority in the

classroom, then the students will not be critical, reflective, capable of

acting independently, creatively and responsibly in their daily lives.

Teachers in particular should improve pedagogical work, contribute

to improve the institutional climate, take more interest and their role should

be to facilitate the students´ progress within the hierarchy of stages where

they only must discover, assimilate and accommodate the main

conceptualizations through their interactions as the academic

environment.

78

When students do not have mastery over particular antecedent or

contextual events that are related to the culture of the language country

that they learn, the information is misinterpreted, it is necessary for

teachers to devote extra time to the discussion of information related to

these cultural aspects. To the extent that students are able to combine

certain content with cognitive structures, or previously known schemes,

they will be able to achieve success in the process of understanding.

A great help to improve the problem of reading comprehension is to

offer students readings that call their interest with exercises of complexity

at their level where they can immerse themselves in what they read is

where a suitable booklet will help and this should contain pre- during and

post-reading in which to anticipate, predict, infer from the title of the text,

the cover, the images or the reading of one of the final paragraphs is

possible, to discover difficulties of comprehension while the process of

teaching, to work the variety of topics, to give sense and context to the act

of reading, to propose situations with determined purposes, to allow the

oral exchange of interpretations and thus to be able to develop other skills

at the same time.

The implementation of the activities proposed for the development

of reading comprehension in English for specific purposes will help to

considerably improve the development of communicative competence in

students and can thus start a love of reading in many students.

OBJECTIVES

GENERAL OBJECTIVE

To demonstrate the interest of students in reading through the use

of proposed reading activities in order to improve the reading

comprehension level of the class.

79

SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES:

To generate interest on the part of teacher so that the reading

resource could be used constantly.

To integrate the pedagogical and didactic techniques for a good

teaching of the reading skill.

To catch the attention of the students with interesting reading

comprehension activities.

THEORETICAL ASPECTS

The purpose of this research will help in many aspects to students

for that reason the design of a booklet is a good idea because it is a small

book that contain different kind of activities in order to improve or develop

the reading area in the students.

A booklet focuses in the reading skill is a useful manual for students

and teachers, it will contain different short readings because it is for

students that start learning English as a foreign language, after read they

are going to find some activities that show how much they can understand

about what they read. Normally people think that it is boring to read in a

foreign language because they are sure that they will not understand and

many books do not have interesting activities.

Here is where take an important place the proposal giving many

opportunities for students to be able to understand what they read letting

them to feel motivated. Techniques as Skimming, scanning, summarizing,

paraphrasing and retelling will be used in the design of the booklet

because these techniques bring many activities in the reading area.

Every technique carries different activities like Skimming that is a

fast reading for identifying the principal ideas of the text, one exercise is to

elaborate previous questions before the text just letting students have

80

some minutes before for reading the text in order to obtain a general idea

of it or letting students to guess the title of the text giving them some

options. Scanning help to find specific information in a reading, a good

exercise is to give questions with options as answer and in a specific time

the students have to resolve them.

Rewrite a text using own words is an example of Paraphrasing

exercise but it is important to keep the original meaning of the text. Other

technique similar to this is Retelling is a way to tell the story again after

read and describe it, an exercise could be write or tell orally the text again

after read and this is a possibility to practice other skills. There are many

different activities to evaluate the reading comprehension of the students

that this proposal wants to offer.

FEASIBILITY OF ITS APPLICATION

FINANCIAL

The proposal given for this research is very feasible and does not

need to invest much money to do it, so that the researchers have the

resources to produce the material to be shared with students. The design

of the booklet is something that only needs time to create because it is

necessary to use diverse readings of interest and creative exercises or

activities using the techniques mentioned previously in the research to

improve the reading comprehension and motivate the students to read.

LEGAL

The legal feasibilities have been redacted in the justification of the

problem in chapter one, page 7

81

TECHNICAL

The good way to introduce this proposal, is letting students to

understand that they can practice activities of reading, and open their

minds to a new world of imagination, creation and development of their

skills for communication with new words that they will acquired when they

read and the knowledge they gathers from different topics.

HUMAN RESOURCES

Many people was involved in this project, from the authorities of the

institution, the teachers, students and their parents, all the educational

community. Without the help of all of them this project with its proposal

could not be possible because everything is a process that need help to

be develop and more when the benefits are for the students and the

institution that try to offer a good education in every area and more in the

study of a foreign language that can open many chances to students in

their future and in the society.

POLITICAL

In the political aspect, the institution, where the project is held, is a

public organization that is obligated to establish an interaction between the

educational community and the society. This generates a necessity that

offers the opportunity to educate with clear goals focused on the main

difficulties in the educational system.

82

DESCRIPTION

This proposal is applied after having identified the problems in the

reading area in students of 8th year of basic education from Colegio Fiscal

Luis Enrique Góngora, a public institution located in the North of

Guayaquil city, that count with material for the English class but not

enough resources used for improving the reading skill.

This proposal will be designed with some readings and interesting

activities for students that learn English as a foreign language, they will be

able to read topics about community, legends, nature, movies, music and

different kind of texts that wake their interest.

Giving the teacher the big idea not only to send that booklet as a

homework sometimes in the week, this proposal is focused in to open in a

space during the English class where the student can take the booklet that

work with the teacher but giving them the necessary time to read and

understand. Step by step the students can start creating the habit of

reading a little bit, every time and after some months to read for them will

be an interesting activity and not an obligation as a part of their studies in

the English class.

People that are part of the educational community are considered

important elements for the development of this proposal, they are the

reason of this research, and the objective is to show them that read is fun

depending in the way that they learn.

The booklet is composed with around 7 readings and each of them

has different comprehension exercises such as: pre-reading question,

essential questions about the reading, matching words to the pictures, and

exercises after the text as answer question, match the correct question

with the answer, draw scenes of the story and write short sentences to

explain, etc.

83

CONCLUSIONS

Trying to improve the reading skill this research and the proposal

bring to the educational society a booklet that will be different to others

reading materials. It is not only focus in one or two activities for evaluating

how much students can understand about what they read.

After a serious observation in a public institution was relevant the

problem for students to read and understand in this situation a good

answer was designed this booklet that wants to help students and

teachers in order to make easy the learning process.

After all this process that began with a simple observation, an

interview and surveys to the students the result was students with no

interest in reading, to take a book or only read simple text for them was so

boring, the first idea for them was that they will not be able to understand.

that, and they did not find useful that part of their books with simple text,

they were tired of the typical reading exercises.

With the surveys was clear that they are open mind about to read

but they can see more funny readings and activities that do not let them to

feel as an obligation or a homework, they wanted to feel as a time to

relaxing. The booklet has the kind of things students need to be engaged,

the activities use different techniques where their creativity and

imagination can fly and let them the possibility to read, learn, understand

and experiment spending time in a good activity as to read.

84

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PHOTOGRAPHS WITH THE TUTOR, MSc. CARLOS VALLE.

Receiving tutorial from MSc. Carlos Valle school of language,

Philosophy faculty .

Checking the investigation project in the University of Guayaquil.

PHOTOGRAPHS OF ESCUELA DE EDUCACIÓN BÁSICA COMPLETA

ELIAS RIVERO GÓNGORA

Outside ground of the school

Comprehension

Booklet of

Activities

Authors:

Jonathan García Vera

Amarilis Zambrano Avilés

New to America from Asia

Nancy was new to America. She came to America speaking only her native

language. She brought her 8‐year‐old son with her. He was all she had in the world.

They found an apartment in Arcadia.

They were there for only two months when a neighbor's dog jumped over the

fence. The dog ran toward Nancy's son. Nancy put her body in between the dog and

her son. The dog stopped when it saw Nancy screaming at it. She was going to punch it

in the nose. The dog turned around shaking,

Nancy took her son upstairs. They stayed in the apartment all weekend. Then

Nancy found another apartment, close to the school that her son was going to attend.

She and her son walked everywhere. One day her son started coughing badly. He had

an asthma attack. All the walking was making his asthma worse.

Nancy knew that she had to buy a car. So she called up the Honda dealer. She

talked to a salesman who spoke her language. She told him that she wanted to buy a

new car if he could come over to pick her up. The salesman said he would be right

over.

Reading Comprehension

Answer the next questions about the reading

a. Was Nancy new to America? _______________________________________________________

b. Did Nancy speak English? _______________________________________________________

c. Was Nancy's son 8 years old? _______________________________________________________

d. Did Nancy have any other children? _______________________________________________________

e. Did a neighbor's dog jump over the fence? _______________________________________________________

What was Nancy going to do when the dog jumped over her son?

a. To scream at it b. To ran away c. To punch it

What was the symptom that Nancy’s son had before the asthma attack?

a. Fever b. Diarrhea c. Cough

What auto brand did Nancy want to buy?

a. Honda b. Fence c. Dealer

What other title can you give to the story?

_______________________________________________________

Match the next words with their synonyms.

a. _____________: (v.) a hit with a fist. b. _____________: (n.) structure that divides two areas of land. c. _____________: (n.) a man whose job is selling things. d. _____________: (adj.) the first language that you learn.

Read and choose the correct words

a. Most wild animals won't (punch / attack) unless they are provoked. b. He stood up and walked (towards / fence) him. c. His (asthma / time) tormented him day and night. d. The house was surrounded by a tall, wooden (table / fence).

Fill the gaps with the words you remember from the reading.

Nancy knew that she had to ________ a car. So she called up the ________ dealer. She talked to a salesman who _________ her language. She told him that she _______ to buy a new car if he ______ come over to pick her up. The ______ said he would be right over.

Write a summary of the text in a short paragraph. (Summary is a comprehensive and

usually brief abstract, recapitulation, or compendium of previously stated facts or statements.)

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

SALESMAN PUNCH NATIVE FENCE

Love note to his girlfriend

Bill wrote this letter to Mary:

We've talked on the phone and in my apartment, and now I'm writing this letter.

Maybe if I put my thoughts and feelings in writing, you'll understand them better.

I love you. I want to marry you. I want to be with you for the rest of my life. You

are the most wonderful woman I have ever met. You are not a "load." You are not a

"troublemaker."

Yes, you have problems. So do I. And together, we can solve these problems

more easily than if we were apart. Problems are a part of life. But so is happiness.

Let's share our problems and happiness instead of experiencing them alone.

We are not a bad "fit." We are a perfect match. I do not look down on you. I

look up to you. I admire you. I think you are smart, brave, and independent. Don't

tell me to go find another woman. I don't want another woman. I have found the

perfect woman.

Every day, I think about your beautiful smile, your happy laugh. I think about the

long walks we used to take, holding hands all the way. Remember how we used to sit

on the grass in the park and watch the parrots?

We were going to get married, and now you want to be "just friends." Whatever

I did or said that was wrong, please tell me so we can work this out. I don't want to

lose you.



a. Who send a letter to Mary? _______________________________________________________

b. How have they talked each other? _______________________________________________________

c. Does he want to break up with her? _______________________________________________________

d. Does he know why she want to break up? _______________________________________________________

e. How is Mary? _______________________________________________________

What does the man imply when he says: We are not a bad fit?

a. They have always problems b. They can manage problems c. They never have problems

Mary wanted to…

a. marry Bill b. break up with Bill c. be independent

What animal did they use to see in the park?

a. dogs b. squirrels c. parrots


_______________________________________________________


a. _____________: (n.) the act of thinking about or considering something. b. _____________: (n.) someone who intentionally causes problems. c. _____________: (n.) the amount of weight carried. d. _____________: (v.) to divide things and give part of them to someone else.


a. He (thought / fit) how terrible it would be to live there without one friend. b. I (share / admire) you, too, Jenn. c. You were very (brave / independent), and it is lucky that the wolf was not there. d. Jhon was inches (different / apart) from the love of his life.


Every day, I think about your beautiful smile, _________ happy laugh. I think about the long walks __________ used to take, holding hands all the way. _______how we used to sit on the grass __________ the park and watch the parrots?

Order the events in the text

We can solve these problems ______ We are not a bad “fit” ______ We were going to get married ______ Bill wrote this letter to Mary ______ I love you ______

THOUGHT LOAD TROUBLEMAKER SHARE

English is so hard

Johnny asked Dotty how her first day in her Duarte ESL class was. It was terrible,

she told him. She understood little of what the Level 4 teacher said. He spoke too

fast for her. She had struggled through a Level 3 class at a Monrovia school.

When the teacher asked if there were any questions, she told him that she

didn't understand most of what he had said. He told her not to worry; she could take

the class again if she failed it the first time. She didn't want to fail it the first time,

however, or any time.

He gave them homework the first day, of course. They were supposed to write a

300‐word essay supporting gun control. Of course, Dotty said, she could write that

essay in her native language. But there was no way she could write it in English.

She showed Johnny the textbook. The print was so tiny that trying to read just a

few pages gave her a headache. On top of that was all the new vocabulary on each

page. "I'm going to drop the class," she said. She wanted to cry. When was she ever

going to learn this language?



a. Did Johnny ask Dotty about her first day in ESL class? _______________________________________________________

b. Did she understand everything the teacher said? _______________________________________________________

c. Did the teacher speak too fast? _______________________________________________________

d. What happened if Dotty fail the class? _______________________________________________________

e. Do you think English was easy for Dotty? _______________________________________________________

How was Dotty ESL class?

a. Good b. Terrible c. Special

The students were supposed to write a _________ essay.

a. 3000 words b. 300 words c. 30000 words

How did She feel about learning English?

a. It was really hard b. it was easy c. It was impossible


_______________________________________________________


a. _____________: (n.) a pain you feel inside your head. b. _____________: (adj.) extremely small. c. _____________: (v.) to fall or to allow something to fall. d. _____________: (n.) a short piece of writing on a particular subject.


a. You're a (terrible / fail) patient, you know that? b. Tom (failed / dropped) to persuade Mary. c. "Take us, too!" cried the nine (headache /tiny) piglets, all in one breath. d. Her (headache / essay) pulsed and she felt hot from alcohol


Johnny asked Dotty how her first day in ________ Duarte ESL class was. It was terrible, she __________ him. She understood little of what the Level __________ teacher said. He spoke too fast for her. _________ had struggled through a Level 3 class at _______ Monrovia school.



________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

ESSAY DROP HEADACHE TINY

A bird attacks

Heather loved the freedom of soaring high above the land and sea. She learned

how to hang-glide from her boyfriend.

Initially, she was scared to death. The first time he took her up, she hung on for

dear life. But by the end of that flight, she was hooked. Half a year later, she bought

her own hang-glider.

Almost every weekend, she drove to Torrey Pines and leaped off the cliff. She

could soar to La Jolla in less than five minutes. She liked to fly over the town. She

would wave at kids pointing and looking up at her, and they would shout and wave

back excitedly.

One day she was returning to the launch site when she noticed a red hawk

rapidly approaching her. It briefly disappeared. Then she heard its claws ripping the

wing's fabric. It flew off. But the next thing she knew, it was flying straight at her. She

turned out of its way, but it dove at her again. She was scared.

She had to evade its attacks four times before she was able to land safely. Even

after she landed, it circled overhead, as if daring her to fly again. What did I do to you,

she wondered.

As she drove home, she found out that she had been lucky. The radio news

reported that in Australia, a hang-glider had been attacked by not one, but two, eagles.

Maybe it was something in the air, Heather thought.



a. What is the name of the protagonist of the story? _______________________________________________________

b. Who initiated her in a hand-glider? _______________________________________________________

c. What did she do a year later her first flight? _______________________________________________________

d. Did she drive to Torrey Pines every weekend? _______________________________________________________

e. Could she soar to La Jolla in less than five seconds?? _______________________________________________________

The word SOAR in the third paragraph is close to the meaning

a. Fall b. Roar c. Rise

What kind of bird attacked the girl?

a. Hawk b. Eagle c. Condor

How did she feel during the attack?

a. Calm b. Scared c. Brave


_______________________________________________________


a. _____________: (v.) to avoid or escape from someone or something. b. _____________: (n.) a high area of rock with a very steep side. c. _____________: (n.) a journey in an aircraft. d. _____________: (n.) one of the sharp curved nails of some animals.


a. The bird spreads its wings and (soared / evaded) into the air. b. The (hang-glider / cliff) and surrounding mountains were now behind them. c. He glanced up (shout / briefly) as Connie walked in. d. His (scape / flight) from Boston could arrive a few hours after Julie's.


Initially, she was scared to death. ___________ first time he took her up, she hung _________ for dear life. But by the end of __________ flight, she was hooked. Half a year later, ____________ bought her own hang-glider.

Label the pictures with the correct words.

CLIFF CLAWS FLIGHT EVADE

HAWK CLAWS HANG-GLIDER SHOUT

Destruction of Iraq

It's a big country, but still, how can anything be left of Iraq? When you look at

the news on TV, all you see is one explosion after another. Helicopters falling from the

sky, and vehicles flying into the sky. Suicide bombers committing homicide, and two

deeply religious sects going at each other's throats.

Iraqis are leaving the country as fast as they can, while terrorists are entering as

fast as they can. About 30,000 Iraqi civilians are getting killed each year, while 2 million

Iraqis have left their country since 2003. The US government, which has caused most

of this suffering, has not welcomed these Iraqi refugees into the USA.

Less than 800 Iraqis have been allowed to enter this country since the war began

four years ago. What is the reason for this small number? The Iraqi people are our

friends.

The US government tried to rescue Iraqis from Saddam Hussein and bring them

democracy. Now there is no Saddam, but also there is no democracy. In the future,

there might even be no Iraq. Many people worldwide, and many Iraqis, think that Iraq

was better off before Bush and Cheney decided to "help."



a. What does the news on TV transmit? _______________________________________________________

b. Are helicopters crashing into flying vehicles? _______________________________________________________

b. How many Iraqis have left their country since 2003? _______________________________________________________

c. Has the U.S. government welcomed these Iraqi refugees into the U.S.A.? _______________________________________________________

d. What is the name of the man who causes horror in the Iraqis? _______________________________________________________

What is imply when is said: “religious sects going at each other's throats”?

a. They want to hug each other b. They want don´t like each other

c. They want to kill each other

How many Iraqis civilians are kill each year?

a. 10000 b. 20000 c. 30000

The word WORLDWIDE in the last paragraph is close to the meaning

a. catholic b. global c. local


_______________________________________________________


a. _____________: (n.) an act of murder. b. _____________: (v.) to help someone out of a dangerous problems. c. _____________: (n.) a person who has escaped from their own country. d. _____________: (n.) a religious group that has separated others.


a. The number of (democracy / homicides) in the city has risen sharply. b. A (terrorist / news) group has claimed responsibility for this morning attack. c. A strong opposition is vital to a healthy (democracy / refugees). d. The lifeboat (sect / rescued) the sailors from the sinking boat.


__________ US government tried to rescue Iraqis from Saddam ___________ and bring them democracy. Now there is no ___________, but also there is no democracy. In the ____________, there might even be no Iraq. Many people _________, and many Iraqis, think that Iraq was better ____________ before Bush and Cheney decided to "help."

Order the events in the text

The US government tried to rescue Iraqis from Saddam Hussein ______ Iraq is a big country ______ The US government has not welcomed these Iraqi refugees ______ Iraqis are leaving the country as fast as they can ______ Suicide bombers committing homicide ______

HOMICIDE SECT REFUGEE RESCUE

It's a small world

Nicolas was sitting in the waiting room Monday morning. He had brought four

magazines with him, in case the mechanics had to spend all day fixing his car. His

portable Sony radio was on, and one earbud was stuck in his right ear.

A customer came into the waiting room. Nicolas overheard the customer talking

to Harold, the service representative. The customer was from Milford, the same little

town that Nicolas was from. After the customer and Harold had finished talking,

Harold went back outside.

Nicolas thought he would introduce himself. He said, "I heard that you are from

Milford." The young man nodded. "Are you going to the parade on Wednesday?"

Nicolas asked.

"What parade?" the man asked. Wednesday was the fourth of July. Nicolas

wondered if he was talking to someone who just happened to be visiting Earth on his

way to Pluto.

"Didn't you say you live in Milford?" Nicolas asked. The man nodded. "How long

have you lived there?" Nicolas asked. Five years, the man replied.

"And you've never been to the Fourth of July parade?" Nicolas asked. The man

shook his head. He seemed totally uninterested in continuing the conversation,

although all he was doing was watching cars drive by on the nearby street.

Oh well, I tried to be neighborly, Nicolas thought, as he put the earbud back in

his ear and opened one of his magazines.



a. Where was Nicolas waiting? _______________________________________________________

b. What day was it? _______________________________________________________

c. In what ear does Nicolas have the earbud? _______________________________________________________

d. Who was the customer talking to? _______________________________________________________

e. When is the parade going to be? _______________________________________________________

How many magazines had Nicolas bought?

a. 4 b. 3 c. 4

Where was the customer from?

a. Street b. Montana c. Milford

How many years did the man live there?

a. Three years b. five years c. six years


_______________________________________________________


a. _____________: (adv.) not inside a building. b. _____________: (n.) a public celebration of something with a lot people. c. _____________: (n.) a road in a city or town that has buildings. d. _____________: (n.) a type of thin book that contains articles and

photographs.


a. Betsy showed us a (mechanic / magazine) cover story on the subject. b. Your phone number is (portable / street) if you decide to move. c. Mary lost mon’s (earbuds / outside). d. The (mechanic / building) pointed out the repair on the front of my car.


"________ you've never been to the Fourth of July _______?" Nicolas asked. The man shook his head. He _________ totally uninterested in continuing the conversation, although all __________ was doing was watching cars drive by on ________ nearby street.



_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

MAGAZINE STREET OUTSIDE PARADE

Love in the hospital

Jenny was hot for Roger. They were both nurses, and they were both married to

someone else. Jenny knew that the feeling was mutual; Roger had that sparkle in his

eye whenever he saw her.

He often grabbed Jenny's hand and pulled her aside to talk to her privately

about something that was quite unimportant. They frequently gave each other

shoulder massages. It was only a matter of time, Jenny figured.

"You'd better be careful," Carol said. "You don't think anyone has noticed the

two of you? It's not like you're being very secretive." Carol was Jenny's coworker and

best friend.

"Well, we don't have anything to be secretive about," Jenny replied. "We're not

doing anything, so we don't have to be careful about anything."

"Who are you kidding? You've told me plenty of times how hot you think Roger

is. What are you going to do when he gets tired of just flirting? You won't be able to

resist. And then, the fun will be over sooner than you think. You could both end up

getting divorced. And then, even if you married each other, how could you trust each

other, since both of you would be cheaters?"

Jenny told Carol that her imagination was out of control. Nothing was going to

happen. Just then, Carol saw Roger walking toward them. He quietly came up behind

Jenny and gave her a big, tight hug. Jenny grinned broadly. Carol rolled her eyes and

walked away.



a. How was Jenny for Roger? _______________________________________________________

b. What do they frequently give each other? _______________________________________________________

c. Who was Carol? _______________________________________________________

d. Were Jenny and Roger nurses? _______________________________________________________

e. Did Jenny know that the feeling was mutual? _______________________________________________________

What does Jenny mean when she say: “That sparkle in his eye”?

a. He is something natural b. He is very attractive c. He is strange

What was the advice Carol give her?

a. To be hot b. To be careful c. To be cheater

Carol think that Roger is ______.

a. Calm b. Hot c. divorced


_______________________________________________________


a. _____________: (n.) pleasure, enjoyment, or entertainment. b. _____________: (adv.) on or to one side. c. _____________: (n.) a person who behaves in a dishonest way. d. _____________: (n.) a person who you work with.


Jenny told Carol that her imagination was out ___________ control. Nothing was going to happen. Just then, ___________ saw Roger walking toward them. He quietly came _________behind Jenny and gave her a big, tight ________. Jenny grinned broadly. Carol rolled her eyes and ________ away.

Label the pictures with the correct words.

COWORKER CHEATER ASIDE FUN

SPARKLE SHOULDER HUG DIVORCED

GLOSARY

native (n.): someone who was born in a particular country or place

fence (n.): a structure that divides two areas of land

towards (prep..): in the direction of someone or something

punch (v.): to hit someone or something with your fist

attack (n.): a violent act intended to hurt or damage someone or something

asthma (n.): an illness that makes it difficult to breathe

salesman (n.): a man whose job is selling things

thought (n.): an idea or opinion

load (n.): a lot of something

troublemaker (n.): someone who intentionally causes problems for other people

apart (n.): separated by a space or period of time

share (v.): to have or use something at the same time as someone else

fit (v.): to be the right size or shape for someone or something

admire (v.): to find someone or something attractive and pleasant to look at

brave (adj.): showing no fear of dangerous or difficult things

independent (adj.): not influenced or controlled in any way by other people

terrible (adj.): very unpleasant or serious or of low quality

fail (v.): to not succeed in what you are trying to achieve

essay (n.): a short piece of writing on a particular subject

tiny (adj.): extremely small

headache (n.): a pain you feel inside your head

drop (v.): to fall or to allow something to fall

hand-glider (n.): a very small aircraft without an engine

flight (n.): a journey in an aircraft

cliff (n.): a high area of rock with a very steep side

soar (v.): to rise very quickly to a high level

shout (v.): to speak with a very loud voice, often as loud as possible

hawk (n.): a type of large bird that catches small birds and animals for food

briefly (adv.): for a short time

claw (n.): one of the sharp curved nails at the end of each of the toes of some animals and birds.

scared (adj.): frightened or worried

evade (v.): to avoid or escape from someone or something

suicide (n.): the act of killing yourself intentionally

homicide (n.): (an act of) murder

sect (n.): a religious group that has separated from a larger religion

terrorist (n.): someone who uses violent action, or threats of violent action

refugee (n.): a person who has escaped from their own country for any reason

rescue (v.): to help someone or something out of a dangerous situation

democracy (n.): the belief in freedom and equality between people

worldwide (adj. / adv.): existing or happening in all parts of the world

mechanic (n.): someone whose job is repairing the engines of vehicles and other machines

portable (n.): light and small enough to be easily carried or moved

earbuds (n.): very small headphones that you wear in your ears

outside (prep.): not inside a building

parade (n.): a large number of people walking or in vehicles, part of a public celebration

street (n.): a road in a city or town that has buildings

magazine (n.): a type of thin book with large pages and a paper cover that contains articles

sparkle (v.): to shine brightly with a lot of small points of light

aside (adv.): on or to one side

shoulder (n.): one of the two parts of the body at each side of the neck

coworker (n.): a person who you work with

fun (n.): pleasure, enjoyment, or entertainment

divorced (adj.): married in the past but not now married

cheater (n.): a person who behaves in a dishonest way

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