Phase 2: Action Plan
Action Plan.
After I completed the first phase of my action research project, I evaluated the data I collected and came to three overarching conclusions. The first finding was that the information I gathered showed that the EIL framework presented to the students was new, providing them with necessary and informative facts about EIL. This was imported because it provided me with a contextual understanding of what information I could present to the students that would continue to be new and innovative. The second finding was that the implementation of an explicit EIL framework resulted in limited goal change. I theorized that perhaps it was the theoretical approach that I took with my first phase that prevented the students from making significant personal connections to the information. Even though the third finding was that the first phase was successful at raising confidence levels and increasing feelings of membership, I predicted that if the students were able to experience EIL in a practical and relatable way, their pronunciation goals would change. My reflections on the findings of the first phase influenced the action plan of my second phase considerably as I decided I would alter my approach from explicit instruction to implicit instruction, teacher centered to student centered, and theoretically application to practical application.
After I completed the first phase of my action research project, I evaluated the data I collected and came to three overarching conclusions. The first finding was that the information I gathered showed that the EIL framework presented to the students was new, providing them with necessary and informative facts about EIL. This was imported because it provided me with a contextual understanding of what information I could present to the students that would continue to be new and innovative. The second finding was that the implementation of an explicit EIL framework resulted in limited goal change. I theorized that perhaps it was the theoretical approach that I took with my first phase that prevented the students from making significant personal connections to the information. Even though the third finding was that the first phase was successful at raising confidence levels and increasing feelings of membership, I predicted that if the students were able to experience EIL in a practical and relatable way, their pronunciation goals would change. My reflections on the findings of the first phase influenced the action plan of my second phase considerably as I decided I would alter my approach from explicit instruction to implicit instruction, teacher centered to student centered, and theoretically application to practical application.
Section 1.
The first section sought to continue to establish an explicit foundation of information onto which the students could continue to build the new information through a review of the previous phase. In pairs, the students were asked to write down five facts about EIL that they remembered from phase one. By working together, and discussing the previous information, the students were able to collaborate and create comprehensive lists that stated five facts from the information allotted to them previously. After the pairs had created their lists, each pair was partnered with another pair. Within this group of four, the students were asked to compare their lists and look for similarities and differences within the facts that they had written down. This was meant to broaden the information the students were able to recall by giving them the opportunity to discuss with another group. Once the students were able to go through both lists, the class reconvened to have a whole-class discussion. Each pair read their five facts aloud and I made a list of all the facts on the board for the entire class to see. We discussed the facts that came up more than once, why they were the most memorable or important, and what facts the students had failed to mention. An example of a fact that appeared on numerous lists was, "If you are exposed to English before the age of six it is highly likely that you are able to develop a native-like accent". The purpose of this activity was to refresh the students' understanding of EIL, see what information the students remembered the most, and identify which information was the absent from the lists. The worksheet can be found below in Figure 57.
The first section sought to continue to establish an explicit foundation of information onto which the students could continue to build the new information through a review of the previous phase. In pairs, the students were asked to write down five facts about EIL that they remembered from phase one. By working together, and discussing the previous information, the students were able to collaborate and create comprehensive lists that stated five facts from the information allotted to them previously. After the pairs had created their lists, each pair was partnered with another pair. Within this group of four, the students were asked to compare their lists and look for similarities and differences within the facts that they had written down. This was meant to broaden the information the students were able to recall by giving them the opportunity to discuss with another group. Once the students were able to go through both lists, the class reconvened to have a whole-class discussion. Each pair read their five facts aloud and I made a list of all the facts on the board for the entire class to see. We discussed the facts that came up more than once, why they were the most memorable or important, and what facts the students had failed to mention. An example of a fact that appeared on numerous lists was, "If you are exposed to English before the age of six it is highly likely that you are able to develop a native-like accent". The purpose of this activity was to refresh the students' understanding of EIL, see what information the students remembered the most, and identify which information was the absent from the lists. The worksheet can be found below in Figure 57.
Section 2.
The second section of my second phase was focused on putting the information the students had previously learned into perspective by giving them the opportunity to look at our world through a "World Englishes" lens. This activity was influenced by McKay's (2002) suggestion to "Think globally, act locally" (p. 118). This activity sought to connect the students with global information on a basic, personal level. I distributed world maps to the students and asked them, in pairs, to circle the countries where they thought English is prominently used. The purpose of this activity was to provide a student centered activity where the students were encouraged to look at World Englishes on a truly global level and make assumptions about where English is used based on their own experiences and the information given to them in phase one. After the students were done identifying the countries on their maps, they were placed in small groups (3-4 students) and asked to compare their maps. The purpose of the comparison was for students to explain their reasons for circling some countries and leaving others out, be exposed to other students' thinking, and broaden their understanding of global English. Students were able to negotiate answers and give validity to the activity. Within these small groups the students were given a handout and asked to make a list of all the World Englishes they know of. The handout starts by listing "American English ' and "British English" as examples and includes eighteen blank spaces for the students to fill in. The amount of black spaces was purposeful so that the students would broaden their definition of English and discuss answers that they may have not previously considered. After each group was finished with their list, we discussed the collective lists as a class. A few examples of the World Englishes that the students came up with were "Irish English, "Australian English", and "German English". The world map can be found in Figure 58 and the World Englishes Worksheet can be found in Figure 59.
The second section of my second phase was focused on putting the information the students had previously learned into perspective by giving them the opportunity to look at our world through a "World Englishes" lens. This activity was influenced by McKay's (2002) suggestion to "Think globally, act locally" (p. 118). This activity sought to connect the students with global information on a basic, personal level. I distributed world maps to the students and asked them, in pairs, to circle the countries where they thought English is prominently used. The purpose of this activity was to provide a student centered activity where the students were encouraged to look at World Englishes on a truly global level and make assumptions about where English is used based on their own experiences and the information given to them in phase one. After the students were done identifying the countries on their maps, they were placed in small groups (3-4 students) and asked to compare their maps. The purpose of the comparison was for students to explain their reasons for circling some countries and leaving others out, be exposed to other students' thinking, and broaden their understanding of global English. Students were able to negotiate answers and give validity to the activity. Within these small groups the students were given a handout and asked to make a list of all the World Englishes they know of. The handout starts by listing "American English ' and "British English" as examples and includes eighteen blank spaces for the students to fill in. The amount of black spaces was purposeful so that the students would broaden their definition of English and discuss answers that they may have not previously considered. After each group was finished with their list, we discussed the collective lists as a class. A few examples of the World Englishes that the students came up with were "Irish English, "Australian English", and "German English". The world map can be found in Figure 58 and the World Englishes Worksheet can be found in Figure 59.
Section 3.
The third section in my second phase was created to give the students a new perspective on the different types of accented English they encountered on a daily basis and a local level. I asked ten individuals from ten different countries to record themselves reading a paragraph that I had created. None of these individuals were current students at the school, although they were from the countries of students currently at the school. An example of part of the paragraph is, "When we got to the beach it was windy, empty, and cold. The clouds were rolling in and the water looked a pale grey instead of its usual vibrant blue." All ten speakers had (at minimum) a college degree or the equivalent. The purpose of this listening activity was to see if the students could correctly identify the countries of the speakers, additionally I wanted to see if the students could separate the native speakers from the non-native. I theorized that although the students may have native-speaker goals, perhaps they would be unable to identify the native speakers if mixed with nonnative-speaker accents. The students were each given a Listening Comprehension Handout to fill out throughout the activity where they were asked to write their guesses of the country of where each speaker was from, a reason for why they guessed that country, and to rate on a scale from one to five whether or not they could understand the speaker. The statement was "I can understand the speaker" and number one stated "Strongly agree" and number five stated "Strongly disagree". An example response to one of the recordings was, "Country: Switzerland. Why: It sounds like the people from my country. I can understand this speaker: 4 - Disagree". Each speaker spoke for approximately one minute and the students were given a few extra minutes after each speaker finished to fill in the handout if they were unable to do so while the recording was playing. There were not any videos of the speakers, the students had to rely solely on the speakers' voices to determine where they were from. After all ten recordings had been played, the students were asked to compare their handouts with a partner. Then, the students were given the correct answers. The transcript of the paragraph can be found in Figure 60 and an example portion of the worksheet can be found in Figure 61.
The third section in my second phase was created to give the students a new perspective on the different types of accented English they encountered on a daily basis and a local level. I asked ten individuals from ten different countries to record themselves reading a paragraph that I had created. None of these individuals were current students at the school, although they were from the countries of students currently at the school. An example of part of the paragraph is, "When we got to the beach it was windy, empty, and cold. The clouds were rolling in and the water looked a pale grey instead of its usual vibrant blue." All ten speakers had (at minimum) a college degree or the equivalent. The purpose of this listening activity was to see if the students could correctly identify the countries of the speakers, additionally I wanted to see if the students could separate the native speakers from the non-native. I theorized that although the students may have native-speaker goals, perhaps they would be unable to identify the native speakers if mixed with nonnative-speaker accents. The students were each given a Listening Comprehension Handout to fill out throughout the activity where they were asked to write their guesses of the country of where each speaker was from, a reason for why they guessed that country, and to rate on a scale from one to five whether or not they could understand the speaker. The statement was "I can understand the speaker" and number one stated "Strongly agree" and number five stated "Strongly disagree". An example response to one of the recordings was, "Country: Switzerland. Why: It sounds like the people from my country. I can understand this speaker: 4 - Disagree". Each speaker spoke for approximately one minute and the students were given a few extra minutes after each speaker finished to fill in the handout if they were unable to do so while the recording was playing. There were not any videos of the speakers, the students had to rely solely on the speakers' voices to determine where they were from. After all ten recordings had been played, the students were asked to compare their handouts with a partner. Then, the students were given the correct answers. The transcript of the paragraph can be found in Figure 60 and an example portion of the worksheet can be found in Figure 61.
Section 4.
The forth section was created with the purpose of continuing the student centered activities and was focused around reflecting on the listening activity from section three in a deep and personal way. The students were each given a Listening Comprehension Reflection Worksheet to encourage such reflection. This worksheet was made up of ten questions to promote critical thinking and create connections between the activity and the students' personal experiences. An example question from the handout is, "In your opinion what was the easiest accent to guess? Why do you think this was the easiest?" After the students had completed filling in the handout, they were placed into small groups to discuss their answers. The purpose of the small group discussion was to compare answers, find similarities and differences, and to try to give a voice to the reasons why the students guessed the way they did. After the groups had time to discuss, we did a whole-class recap and went through the answers together focusing on finding similarities and differences as a class. The Listening Comprehension Reflection Worksheet can be found in Figure 62.
The forth section was created with the purpose of continuing the student centered activities and was focused around reflecting on the listening activity from section three in a deep and personal way. The students were each given a Listening Comprehension Reflection Worksheet to encourage such reflection. This worksheet was made up of ten questions to promote critical thinking and create connections between the activity and the students' personal experiences. An example question from the handout is, "In your opinion what was the easiest accent to guess? Why do you think this was the easiest?" After the students had completed filling in the handout, they were placed into small groups to discuss their answers. The purpose of the small group discussion was to compare answers, find similarities and differences, and to try to give a voice to the reasons why the students guessed the way they did. After the groups had time to discuss, we did a whole-class recap and went through the answers together focusing on finding similarities and differences as a class. The Listening Comprehension Reflection Worksheet can be found in Figure 62.