Parsing Articles on Learning English

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The article “What simulations can do for you” by Sallies (2002) begins by explaining why simulation was considered a good way to teach English as a second language. The author explains that language is usually a tool we use to accomplish things in life instead of something that we concentrate our full attention on.

Simulation approach gives students the context to learn language at the same time that it gives them real tools to use outside of the classroom. It is a more relaxed way to learn the new language that also lets students learn more natural ways of using language. The author suggests that using current events and issues is a way to get students immediately involved in the simulation.

This practice also opens up the possibilities for students to learn on their own outside of the classroom. “Because it is a learning-centered approach, it nurtures creativity by forcing learners to research the profile of their roles, the situation of the simulation, and ways to perform and succeed in the simulated environment.

The more they research, the more they practice their language, and the more they learn independently.” The author admits simulation learning has a weakness in teaching written language, but it is very effective teaching students how to speak a new language quickly.

This article didn’t provide a lot of statistical support for its claims. It uses a small segment of the population, the students who have passed through the author’s classroom, as proof of its claims. It does not provide any measurable proof that this means of language instruction is stronger than another way of teaching language.

As a result, it is weak in content and face validity. It is written from a strongly biased point of view in which the author is also the developer of the program as well as the interpreter of the results. The author provides many reasons why simulation learning is effective, and these reasons are very convincing from a personal viewpoint. It seems correct that people who are actively engaged in learning would learn faster. This is because they can apply their lessons immediately, because their lessons can be applied to daily life and because they can learn on their own something that is interesting to them.

In the article “Using Simulation in English Classrooms” by Jonnie Hill & Olga Fleonova (2008), the subject of using simulation in English classrooms is studied more specifically. The article begins with a quote from a teacher who had tried a simulation activity and had a lot of success which is suggested to be a common reaction.

The authors say “nine out of eleven instructors involved in teaching and designing the simulation course have been interviewed on the subject of the benefits and concerns of teaching English through simulations.” This statement provides measurable evidence of the authors’ validity. Benefits listed included highly interactive environment, more authentic learning for real use and greater student motivation.

Student motivation was proven with several quotes from students that indicated what they liked, that they felt they learned more and that they were more interested in learning. Although the other article said a weakness of simulation learning was that writing wasn’t improved, the students interviewed for this article indicated their writing had gotten better.

This article had a much greater level of validity in its argument. It provided a good face validity as it began to use numbers to indicate the results and personal interview to support its points. But the article lost content validity when it failed to fully indicate the scale of its study. Was it conducted with just the responses of a single class at a single high school or are the quotes used representative of what the students had to say? This is not known.

However, the authors seem to be less biased in their interpretation of the results of their study. They present themselves as trying to get a basic idea from teachers and students of the effectiveness of using simulation learning to teach English instead of as researchers attempting to find support for a program they like.

This approach, if it is represented correctly, gives the article construct validity. This article seems believable because it uses real students’ comments to support the idea that simulation learning is more effective than traditional language teaching methods. It also uses teachers’ impressions that their students were more involved in the learning process, which also indicates they would have learned more.

References

Hill, J. & Fleonova, O. (2008). “Using Simulations in English Classrooms.” [workshop paper]. Beirut: ATEL.

Salies, T. (2002). “Promoting Strategic Competence: What Simulations can do for you.” Simulation and Gaming. Vol. 33, N. 3: 280-283.

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Parsing Articles on Learning English

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