Submission Type

Event

Expected Graduation Date

2015

Location

State Farm Hall, Illinois Wesleyan University

Start Date

4-18-2015 9:00 AM

End Date

4-18-2015 10:00 AM

Disciplines

Education

Abstract

Within the field of foreign language education, authentic materials and writing proficiency are two areas of extreme interest. Despite this, there has been little research performed within live classroom environments. In this self-study of teaching, I examine how my daily incorporation of authentic sources affected a class of thirty Spanish IV students with regards to their writing proficiency in Spanish. Throughout, I also demonstrate how students may depend upon authentic materials as a support for moving into the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) (Vygotsky, 1978). Although some researchers claim that authentic materials are too complex and inappropriate for second language (L2) learners, the results of this study indicate that teacher-supported use of authentic materials can aid students in making gains in grammatical accuracy, written voice, and structure choice. These improvements are evidenced by qualitative analysis of student writing samples elicited before and after the study implementation. The current classroom study validates the classroom study of authentic materials and discusses future research concerns.

Included in

Education Commons

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Apr 18th, 9:00 AM Apr 18th, 10:00 AM

#SemanasSociales: Using Authentic Materials to Improve Students’ Spanish Writing

State Farm Hall, Illinois Wesleyan University

Within the field of foreign language education, authentic materials and writing proficiency are two areas of extreme interest. Despite this, there has been little research performed within live classroom environments. In this self-study of teaching, I examine how my daily incorporation of authentic sources affected a class of thirty Spanish IV students with regards to their writing proficiency in Spanish. Throughout, I also demonstrate how students may depend upon authentic materials as a support for moving into the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) (Vygotsky, 1978). Although some researchers claim that authentic materials are too complex and inappropriate for second language (L2) learners, the results of this study indicate that teacher-supported use of authentic materials can aid students in making gains in grammatical accuracy, written voice, and structure choice. These improvements are evidenced by qualitative analysis of student writing samples elicited before and after the study implementation. The current classroom study validates the classroom study of authentic materials and discusses future research concerns.

 

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