|
Results of the RO materials piloting |
on the results
of the piloting of the Romanian language didactic materials as L2
The
overall duration of the piloting phase covered the period of 5 months.
It started on 15 of November 2009 and was officially finished on 25
April 2010.
In
the piloting activities teachers from the following institutions
participated:
"Dimitrie A. Sturdza" School,
“Vasile Pavelcu” High School,
Sorbona, Paris, Fr
“Gh. Vrânceanu”
Paricular Institutions, RO – 3 teachers
I.C.Don.L.Milani
Valcanneto,
Roma, It
“Ferdinand I” College,
“Calistrat Hogaş”
"Emil Racovita"
National College, Iasi, RO
In
what follows we will present the results of the processing of the
teachers’ feedback
Taught Language
Most
of the teachers (93.33%) piloted the didactic materials with learners
studying Romanian as a foreign language, but also we had one teacher
(6.66%) who piloted the didactic materials with learners studying
Romanian as national language
outside the country.
Age groups
targeted
47% - Youth (15 –
18); 20% - Higher education students (18-25); 20% - Pupils (6 – 14); 13%
- Adults (>25)
The total number
of pupils in the class
38%
- up to 20 students; 31% - less than 10 students; 31 % - 10 to 20
students
The lowest number of students in a
class where the pilot was made of was 5 students, and the highest number
was of 32 students.
Youth (15 – 18)
classes: 144 students; Higher education students (18-25) classes: 71
students
Pupils (6 – 14)
classes: 29 students; Adults (>25) classes: 11 students
Level of
language’s knowledge of the pupils
50%
- A2; 40% - B1; 7% - A1
Youth (15 – 18)
classes: 72% - B1; 14% - A2; 14% - A1
Higher education
students (18-25) classes: 67% - A2; 33% - B1
Pupils (6 – 14)
classes: 100% A2
Adults (>25) classes:
100% A2
Clarity of the
piloting aims, need of an additional help
Most
of the respondents (74%) confirmed the clarity of the aims; they did not
need an additional help. A number of 2 respondents (13%) said that they
would need a theoretical support for grammar. Also 2 respondents (13%)
suggested that
could be included an online workspace
for students to enable them to work from home and not just during class
hours.
Number of songs
used
74%
of respondents claimed to have used all the songs; 14% of respondents
have used more than 5 songs; 14% of respondents have used up to 5 songs.
As
mentioned by the respondents none used less than 3 songs during the
pilot activity.
Learners’
reaction to the musical approach
Most
of the teachers (67%) reported a very positive reaction of their
students. Some examples:
“Students were delighted by the
approach of the Romanian language.”
“Appreciated
the novelty of the method and its accessibility. And their reaction is
continuous, because I still hear them singing something.”
“Students
were very excited and asked me to let them to hear the song several
times until they learn the lyrics.
Active participation
rate was 100%, the atmosphere was very relaxed and they expressed their
desire to experience again.”
“Students were attracted to this
karaoke format and are still very willing to work on the platform.”
27% of the respondents reported that
in the activities developed they have encountered some several minor
problems.
Some
examples:
“Although at first the students have
a slight retentions and they didn’t want to sing, gradually students
beat the inhibitions and finally they were excited.”
“The students were excited about
these songs and were actively involved but it was hard with the grammar
and vocabulary part because there are not given many exercises in this
direction.”
A single person did not respond to
this question.
Adaptability of
the method to the language teaching practice
94% of respondents have a positive
attitude towards using this method in their own teaching activity.
Their views are divided into three
categories:
a)
The method meets the teachers’ needs
to develop attractive and motivating classes for students. Some
examples:
“I use this method when the lesson is
too monotonous.”
“The method
requires more flexibility of content, interculturally more open, more
interdisciplinarity.”
“This
method is intended to remove the monotony of exercise and grammar rules,
to familiarize students with music, Romanian culture and civilization
and help them know better country in which they came and people around
them.”
b)
The
method should be very well processed by the teachers to be adapted to
the students needs. Some examples:
“The method is good but it takes more
effort for the teachers to prepare the lessons. The teacher should
develop other exercises to tap the full text of songs and all aspects of
vocabulary and language.”
“Surely every teacher has to add
various other elements of materials already developed on this platform
to respond directly to specific learning needs of students working
group.”
c)
The
method is only a supplement for teaching. Some examples:
“This method is a supplement of
teaching and learning methodology. I am very pleased by the reaction of
the students.”
“This method is very necessary for
teaching and learning.”
A single person did not respond to
this question.
Improvement of
particular language skills with the help of the musical approach
100%
of respondents consider that the approach helps to improve listening
skills.
94% observed improvement of
reading skills, 87% on
speaking
skills and 67% noted progress in
writing
skills.
Appropriateness of the method to
certain groups of learners
86%
of respondents think that the LIS method is appropriate for everybody;
7%
primarily
noted
that
it has a positive influence on
students
motivated / unmotivated to learn the language but who have curiosity for
knowledge and are open to learn outside the mandatory curriculum;
Also 7%
consider that the method can be used for
younger learners and pupils who lag behind.
Professional
development through the piloting methods and the school management
support
All
respondents were very pleased to have had the opportunity to use this
method, saying they had a lot to learn and that they have influenced
their professional activity in a very positive and efficient way. Some
examples:
“What
I found really interesting was the multidimensionality of exercises:
language, history, art, literature, music.”
“I
noticed many significantly improvements of their pronunciation from
repeated listening.”
“Students become
more engaged when they see a purpose appropriate to learning.”
“How
important is motivation in learning!
That these resources
are delivered and used in an interactive manner leads to a
widespread increase to motivate students.”
“I
learned that a teacher must be open to new ideas and innovative
things in teaching.”
“It
is best to combine utility with pleasure - karaoke system be filled
with activities centered on more concrete and practical aspects of
grammar and vocabulary.”
Regarding
the school management support the teachers
responses
were divided:
“Our
school board has always supported fairness, excellence and value
education act.” (50%)
“Our
management institution had
nothing to say in the use / piloting of this method.”
(20%)
30% of respondents didn’t mention
anything about the school management support.
A single person did not respond to
this question.
Evidences &
measurements of the impact (of the changes produced by this approach at
professional level)
All respondents agreed that LIS
method used in teaching has a very important impact on students. Some
examples:
“On
a scale of 1-10, the impact of the method on students was maximum.”
“I do not know how I could
quantify, as students joined the idea of first time and did it
enthusiastically from the start. I can’t give an example of impact.
Namely the fact that a student from another college who came to me
ask me the permission to take part in our courses. Regarding the
professional impact: easier than my work, I found that to be very
complex and resources at hand I could say "fully equipped".
“Impact
on students was higher than 10. I was particularly pleased that I
was able to accelerate and spice the contents of the curriculum.”
“Students
found this method highly instructive and non-conformist. The impact
was greatest, because there were many students who have proposed
also other songs. As for me, I was very pleased with this strategy.”
“I believe that the impact was
positive and it is difficult to quantify. In terms of professional
opinion that I had gained through exposure to new ways of language
teaching.”
“I
want to use the materials developed in the future with this project.
I will guide students to access the site in a different context than
the class to improve their English.”
Will you use this
method further in your work?
100%
answered that they will further use the method.
Would you recommend the approach and
the use of the teaching materials to your colleagues?
Most
of the teachers said that they will recommend the approach and the use
of the teaching materials to their colleagues, claiming that (some
examples):
“Just because it's funny.”
“Because it is very instructive.”
“Because I believe it can arouse
students' interest and motivation to be actively involved in the
study of less widely used languages such as Romanian language.”
“Simplify the work, awaken
interest, obtain quick and visible results.”
“Because I think it worked very
good on my students and can be easily applied to other groups.”
One teacher responded that she checked also yes
and no because the question has two aspects: the method and materials.
“Yes, because it is a method that
can be used very widely in the field of language teaching and thus I
will recommend it to my colleagues in all subjects. No, in terms of
materials that can not be used by colleagues who teach English, French
and German.”
Recommendations
for improvement of LIS method
60% of respondents wanted to offer recommendations
for improving the LIS method. Some examples:
“Diversity of songs and
attractive activities”
“Widening the language spectrum”
“Could be added a page to present
an overview of all aspects of grammar, vocabulary, etc. included in
materials presented.”
“Platform
could publish documents with general information about the languages
taught and grammar and could develop a space reserved for teachers
who use these materials to upload more choice of activities and
exercises to existing songs on the platform.”
“Curriculum and age appropriate
songs.”
“It would be very beneficial if these learning
resources would be structured in the form of units of learning,
teaching materials from the site becoming more articulated and more
easily used in a systematic manner by both teachers and the
students.”
“Other
materials could be added, other songs to have a larger variety.”
“The site could provide more information about Romanian grammar.”
40% of
respondents believed that the method is perfect and doesn’t need other
improvements.
J
Any other
comments
46% of the respondents wanted to do some comments.
“Personal Note: not all the time
you feel like singing!”
“Piloting these materials was for
me an opportunity to develop my self in elaboration of this kind of
project. On the other hand we understand better how beneficial is
piloting to develop didactic materials, important experience for my
intention to publish such documents. It was therefore a complex
activity and useful in several ways.”
“New sets of exercises could be
added to provide new opportunities to practice the same material.”
“Could have added links to
dictionaries and other useful sites.”
“It is only a supplement to the
teaching learning processes. It should not turn into Saint Graal”
“Perhaps more images could be
added in the exercises to make them more attractive to students.”
“Other elements of culture and
civilization might be added.”
Conclusions:
The centralisation of the data colected during the piloting lead to
a primary conclusion that the final rpoducts elaborated within the
project were obviously noticed and appreciated by the users. In
addition, it was perceived as interesting by the teachers involved,
it generated discussions regarding school school curricula, it
convinced teachers to apply this methodology in their teaching
activity and thus diversify their teaching strategies, including
here other languages such as Rromani, Hungarian or German.
On a slightly different line of tought, one of the greatest epystemologists of the 20th century, Paul K. Feyerabend, proposed a new scientific „methodology” (as a matter of fact – the lack of one) deriving from the motto on the Rabelais’ Thelme Abbey: anything goes. „The only principle that does not inhibit progress is anything goes.” Feyerabend). As far as the LIS project is concerned, Feyerabend’s principle becomes: if foreign language teaching and learning methodology is improved by using karaoke and by means of carefully selected songs and lyrics, then the methodology and the final products of the LIS project represent a valuable asset for both teachers and learners.