Report on the results of the questionnaire applied to teachers regarding the use of www.languagesbysongs.eu for teaching Spanish/French

In its testing phase, the materials for Spanish (and French) language have been tested by 13 teachers that used the material in classes of learners. The number of students in a class and their level of language knowledge varies from case to case. In this way, the suitability and usability of the material was tested in several contexts, determining to what extent and under which circumstances the material can be used for the above mentioned groups.

The questionnaire enclosed closed and open questions, setting some quantifiable indicators, but at the same time leaving enough space for own opinions and suggestions for improvement. Since the product was in its testing phase, the opinions of the testers and their view on what can be changed, highlighting the weak and the strong points of the material have played a crucial role. Therefore, special attention was given to this.

The questionnaire was applied to 13 teachers of Spanish and/or French language. However, most answers refer to the use of the material for teaching Spanish, as all teachers were teaching this language, while only one was also teaching French parallel to Spanish.

A. Quantitative results

1. General information on language taught and students

As mentioned before, at the moment the questionnaire was filled in, all 13 teachers were teaching Spanish and one teacher was also teaching French.

1.1. Type of language appraisal

All involved teachers (13/13) were teaching these as foreign languages.

1.2. Age of the people targeted

Regarding the age of the people targeted, i.e. of the persons who have experienced the materials proposed by the project, 4 teachers were teaching to groups of children (age 6-14), 6 teachers were teaching to groups of youngsters (age 15-18), 2 teachers to university students (age 18-25) and 1 teacher was teaching to groups of adults that were not university students (age higher than 25).

Therefore, it can be stated that the testing of the material has been applied by teachers to a variety of age groups, covering a wide area of prospective learners, and ensuring testing on how the produced materials can be applied to the different groups and to what extent they are suitable for all these groups.

1.3. Level of language's level of the learners

The language knowledge of the groups of learners on which the learning material was tested was situated between A2 and B2, depending on the group.

In other words, 5 groups had the level A2, 3 groups were situated around A2/B1, 5 groups were at level B1, and 3 groups were more advanced, being positioned at B2. Therefore, it can be stated that the testing was applied to students having various language knowledge levels, enabling to determine if the product is suitable for all these, and to define if any improvements or changes need to be taken in order for the learning materials to be used by as many learners as possible.

Moreover, the distribution of the groups according to their level is fairly even, and allows therefore a good comparable basis for testing the suitability of the product.

 

1.4. Total number of learners in the classes

The total number of learners in one class varied from 2 to 34, the average number of the students in one class being situated around 16.

The considerable variation in the size of the groups holds in the advantage that the learning material can be tested also with regard to the suitability of use in small and in large groups, making it possible to identify if the learning effect is the same, and therefore to reveal if the method delivers equally effective results regardless of the group size.

2. Feedback on the language learning material

The language material was provided to the teachers, but freedom was given to them to choose which and how many units they will use in class, allowing this way to choose those materials that they regarded to suit best the interests and the knowledge level of the students.

2.1. Number of used units

Taking into account the above mentioned aspects, we asked our testers to provide us information regarding on the number of units they have used and to specify which units exactly were drawn up for their lessons.

Following data has been provided. The number of units used varies between 2 and 7, most of the testers having used three units: two users have used 2 units, 8 users have used 3 units, two users have used 5 users, and one user has used 7 units.

 

With regard to the units that have been used in the implementation of the testing phase, it can be stated that almost all units have been drawn up, with the exception of units 14 and 15. However, the most used unit has been Unit 3. The table below shows how many times each unit has been used by the testers.

2.2. Improvement of the learner's knowledge through the material

In a further step testers were asked to assess whether the level of language knowledge was improved after the use of these materials. They were asked to analyse the improvement from following points of view: listening, speaking, writing and reading skills.

In general, testers observed an improvement in all those 4 aspects, confirming the usability and the effectives of the training material.

The following table shows in which area the testers regarded the material to be useful. While all teachers remarked improvements in listening and speaking skills, not all considered that this method contributed to improving writing and reading skills of their students.

Despite this, the majority (76,9%) of the testers regarded the material as useful in developing all 4 above-mentioned language skills.

 

2.3. Suitability of the teaching material to fulfill its aim

In the next part of the questionnaire the testers were asked to express their opinion on the content of the used material, through closed questions.

Below you will find the main data:

 

Suitability of the content of the material in relation to the knowledge level of the students

Testers were asked whether they considered the level of the content of the units adapted to the allocated level of learners. From those who answered the question

5 regarded the level as adapted,

1 regarded the level as not adapted, and

3 regarded the level as partially adapted.

 

Suitability of the songs in relation to the learning motivation of the students

The testers were asked to evaluate to what extent the songs were motivating the students to learn the language.

12 stated that songs motivated the learners,

1 said that the songs partially motivated the learners, and

no tester regarded that the material did not improve the learning motivation.

 

Relevance of the cultural content of the units in relation to the songs

Testers were asked if they considered the cultural context relevant to the chosen songs, and if it motivated the learner to study the language.

11 testers answered this question with yes, and

2 testers agreed partially that this was the case.

 

Suitability of the vocabulary section

Being asked if they considered the vocabulary section was enough to understand the meaning of the song,

10 persons considered this section as being enough,

1 person stated that this section was not enough for the learners to understand the songs, and

2 persons said that this section covered partially the need for a good understanding.

 

Usefulness of the grammar section

Teachers were asked if the grammar section was useful enough to understand the contents of the songs.

11 answered with yes, and

2 answered with partially.

 

Suitability of the exercises

When asked if they regarded the exercises as suitable for achieving the grammatical aims of the unit

10 persons answered positive, and

1 person regarded the exercises as partially suitable.

 

 

As a conclusion, the material was regarded as useful for learning a foreign language and suitable for the level of the learners. In general, testers have been highly satisfied with the quality of the content from various points of view: cultural information, vocabulary and grammar.

3. Impact of the material on the learners and the learning process

3.1. Overall satisfaction regarding the learning and teaching process

In a next step, testers were asked if they agreed with a set of affirmations regarding the learning process and the attitude of the learners. These affirmations were meant to measure to what extent the testers were satisfied with the learning material. The table below shows how many testers (of the total of 13 persons that have been part of the testing) agreed with the affirmations.

As a conclusion, it can be seen that there is an overall satisfaction with the use of the learning material. Moreover, the method is considered as being useful and as encouraging learners to assimilate new information in a non-formal manner. Learners have good results using this method and at the same time, teachers feel that it contributes to their own improvement and development.

3.2. Groups for whom the learning material is considered to be most appropriate

Teachers were asked to decide for whom the learning material is most appropriate. The table below shows the groups that were presented to the teachers, and how many agree with these.

Number of teachers that regard the material suitable for following groups

The main trend observed is the fact that teachers regarded the material as appropriate for all kinds of learners. This means that the proposed method and materials can be applied to all learners, regardless of age, background or learning capacity.

4.    Satisfaction of the teachers with the training material

 

Para medir la satisfacción de los profesores se plantearon dos preguntas. La primera de ellas fue si los profesores utilizarían este material en el futuro, siendo afirmativa la respuesta por parte de los 13 docentes participantes.

A set of questions was designed to measure the satisfaction of the teachers with the material. For this, two questions were asked.

In a first step, teachers were asked if they would use the material in the future. All 13 answered that they would.

In a second step, they were asked if they would recommend the approach and the use of the teaching materials to their colleagues. Again, all 13 persons answered with yes. When asked about the reasons for recommending the material, following answers were given: 

 

 

B.  Qualitative results

 

In order for the results of the testing to be more precise and to allow the material developers to assess the strengths and weaknesses of the learning material, a set of open questions were addressed. These offered the teachers the opportunity to express their thoughts on several aspects of the product.

Below you will find the addressed questions and the answers of the teachers

 

Understanding of tasks and aims

 

In order to measure to what extent the indications of the material were clear enough for the teachers to use the material without any problem, following question was addressed:

 

Were the aims of the test implementation of the musical approach with the use of Internet and Karaoke clear enough before you started your work? What could have been better clarified? Where did you need more support?

 

The answers are listed below:

·         "The objectives of the material were clear, no clarifications needed."

·         "Putting the material into practice was good and the objectives seemed clear. I haven't found any difficulties, but the video from the unit 10 didn't work well."

·         "No."

·         "Everything was very clear and no additional clarification is needed."

·         "Yes."

·         "I have seen no coherence between the songs, the communication objectives, the linguistic explanations and the practice."

·         "All the objectives seemed very clear."

·         "Yes. No."

·         "Everything was clear. No clarification needed."

·         "No explanation was necessary."

·         "Yes, everything is very clear."

 

In conclusion, the indications and the objectives have been regarded as very clear by the testers, and no further clarifications were needed. Therefore, regarding this aspect, the material shows a high quality.

 

 

Follow-up and impact

 

Teachers were asked to describe the follow-up measures and the impact that the use of the material has had within classroom context. The exact question and the given answer are listed below:

 

What kind of follow up can be put into evidence? Do you have any measures of the impact produced in your class?

 

·         "only reminding learners about the previous day"

·         "The students have participated with a lot of fun, especially at karaoke."

·         "the involvement of the students in the activity"

·         "The learners have been very excited because in their manuals there are not so many songs, and they were enthusiastic."

·         "The songs are well-known, so they like the material."

·         "re-use of the lexical units during the years"

·         "The learners found the classes fun, and they learned new things without even realizing."

·         "The learners have been more active, more interested. They have learned to use past tense more rapidly. With another group of the same level with whom I haven't used the material, the learning process proved to be slower and more difficult."

·         - "follow-up unit 9;                                                                                                              

- I have followed the proposed model and have added as an extra activity following: prepare dialogues or role-plays on a situation or topic mentioned in the song;

- as a means for measuring the impact I have introduced: brainstorming (before listening to the song, brainstorming on the possible topic based on its title) and composing verses (after all has been explained the learners needed to compose their own verses based on some given elements)."

·         "No."

 

It can be observed that there is a tendency for students to be more active and enthusiast about learning languages when using this method, and that teachers find it much easier to explain complex structures by exemplifying these through songs.

 

 

Recommendations

 

Teachers were given the opportunity to express their own opinion on the product and to add any recommendations regarding the content, the use and any other aspects of the product.

 

What are your recommendations for improvement of the teaching units?

 

·         "I recommend using more up-to-date songs, because learners are more attracted by modern songs."

·         "You have to take into account the meaning of the songs in order to have a real coherence between the objectives (communication, functional objectives, grammar, lexical, phonological and cultural) and the didactical exploitation. The attention was drawn up to me by song no. 3 "A quien le importa" because the anticipation exercises are for someone who lives or has lived in Spain. It doesn't have any sense; its anecdotes do not contribute to the progress of the learner. It is interesting for the teacher, but not for the learner. Moreover, there are a lot of orthographic mistakes, they have to be corrected."

·         "Happier songs and songs which are more known in other countries, exercises for all levels. I think that in higher levels you cannot really use this method."

·         "I propose more lexical and grammar exercises."

·         "- UNIT 10 - add an activity to exploit the texts;                                                                        

- UNIT 11: the information of the texts is too technical and supposes a certain level of knowledge of Spanish literature which is not possessed by all students;

 - there are texts with too much information but too few didactical exploitation means;

- there are some punctuation and orthographic errors;                                            

- UNIT 13: the activity 5 has to be followed and not preceded; in the activity 6 I think there is too much theory and too few examples for this in the text - the task is therefore too complicated and not very productive;                                                                                                                              

- in general, I regard that there are too many grammar explanations;                                       

- the extra interdisciplinary activity seems too open and unclear, the learners feel lost;"

·         "The materials are very interesting for both teacher and students. However, it takes a lot of time for some songs and there is very much grammar material. We have 2 or 3 hours per week and a lot of material to learn, and in some cases we couldn't use all the material, but we have got a lot of interesting ideas."

·         "I don't have any recommendation."

·         "Improve the font in the units and add more exercises of listening (auditive understanding) and understanding of the song."

·         "Improve the activity by choosing more singable songs, not very difficult for oral understanding."

·         "Revise the small errors (U1 - exercise 2, the synonyms, U3 - exercise 1b, re-formulate the first question, exercise 1c correct the orthography errors, U9 - exercise 3, restructure the letters)"

·         "Actualize the songs, they are a bit old."

 

Other comments

 

In the last section of the questionnaire participants were given the opportunity to form any other comments related to the material, its use, the testing procedure and all other related topics. Below you will find all comments listed:

 

 

C.  Conclusions 

  1. In general, the testers found the material very enriching and useful. It was also found suitable for all age groups, and for students coming from different backgrounds. However, some doubted whether this method can be successfully applied to students of more advanced levels, since these lose interest in songs.

  2. Generally, the contents (lexical, vocabulary, grammar) of the material were regarded as being suitable and helpful for fulfilling the aims of the learning process.

  3. Teachers and learners found the use of the material enriching. It stimulated the activity of the students and enabled them to learn more complicated structures without even realizing. Learners registered visible progresses after the use of the material.

  4. The learning process through songs has been enriching also for the teachers, who would recommend the method to their colleagues and would also use it again in the future.

  5. All aims and objectives have been clearly identified and specified and the use of the material did not pose any problem for the teachers.

  6. Recommendations for improvement were made, especially regarding the input of more modern songs and of correcting the small orthographic mistakes.

     

    The material and its use have generally had a positive impact, despite the fact that some teachers felt the need to make some minor adjustments (grammar explanations too long, some exercises too few etc.). All teachers recommend the material, especially because it proved to be a way of making the students more active and helping them make quicker progresses.

    Therefore, it can be stated that the testing implementation has been successful and that the material presents a high potential of success.