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Carmona y Carmona Improvement of the English Learning Process through On Line Radio

Stations in Costa Rican’s Rural School

IV CONGRESO INTERNACIONAL DE EDUCACIÒN SUPERIOR, SIESUP 2016

WESCHESTER UNIVERSITY (PENSYLVANNIA, USA)

Improvement of the EFL Learning Process through On Line Radio Stations in

Rural Schools of Costa Rica

Carmona, Adrián1

Máster TEFL

Universidad Nacional Campus Sarapiquí, Costa Rica

Carmona, Ronny2

Máster en Docencia

Universidad Nacional Campus Sarapiquí, Costa Rica

Abstract

The aim of this research is to determine how using authentic materials,

specifically English on line radio stations, improve the EFL learning process in two

rural primary schools of Costa Rica: IDA-Otoya and San Pedro Schools, with

students of sixth grade of both schools and the two English teachers of those

schools. In regards to this topic Swaffar (1985) states, an authentic text, oral or

written, is one whose primary intent is to communicate meaning (17). For this study

purposes the material that Swaffar states will be the English on line radio stations.

It proceeded to research a qualitative study, in which five closed questionnaires are

applied to students of sixth grade, meanwhile each English teacher of each school

carried out an anecdotal record of the research process.

The analysis of data allowed to indeed determine that authentic materials

such as English on line radio stations improved the EFL learning in rural schools in

Costa Rica.

1 Correo electrónico: [email protected]

2 Correo electrónico: [email protected]

Carmona & Carmona Improvement of the English Learning Process through On Line Radio

Stations in Costa Rican’s Rural Schools

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Keywords: Authentic Materials, English as a Foreign Language in Costa Rica

(EFL), Online Radio Stations, Acquisition and Learning of Foreign Languages,

Planning of EFL classes.

Resumen

Esta investigación tiene como objetivo principal determinar si el uso de

materiales auténticos, específicamente las estaciones de radio inglesas en línea,

mejora el aprendizaje del inglés como lengua extranjera en dos escuelas primarias

rurales de Costa Rica: Escuela IDA-Otoya y San Pedro, con estudiantes de sexto

grado de ambas escuelas y los dos maestros de inglés de ambos grupos. Al

respecto Swaffar (1985) manifiesta: “un texto auténtico, oral o escrito, es aquel

cuya intensión primaria es comunicar el significado” (17). Para efectos de este

estudio ese material autentico del que habla Swaffar, serán las estaciones de radio

en línea. Se procede a llevar a cabo una investigación cualitativa, en la cual se

aplican cuestionarios cerrados a los estudiantes, mientras los profesores de grupo

llevan registros anecdóticos de la investigación en proceso.

Los análisis de los resultados permitió determinar que efectivamente el uso de un

recurso autentico como las estaciones de radio en línea mejoró el aprendizaje de

lengua extrajera en dicha población.

Palabras claves: Materiales auténticos, inglés como lengua extranjera, estaciones

de radio en línea, adquisición y aprendizaje de lenguas extranjeras, planeamiento

de las lecciones EFL.



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Introduction

Learning a foreign Language in primary and secondary schools of the

country charges an urgent and meaningful necessity. In this work in concrete, the

improvement of the English learning process through on line radio stations in rural

schools of Costa Rica. English as foreign language teachers in Costa Rica,

especially in the rural area of the country have to look for meaningful-authentic

material, which supports and provide the cultural awareness and linguistic

competence needed to be communicatively efficient as an English foreign

language speaker.

Using authentic materials (On Line Radio Stations, for example) in the EFL

classrooms in rural elementary schools of Costa Rica can benefit teachers’

teaching and students’ learning of a foreign language. By reviewing krashen’s

input hypothesis and Elli’s output principle it is possible to explain why locally

relevant authentic materials are an ideal source of comprehensible input for

stimulating output from EFL learners in Costa Rican’s countryside schools. Swaffar

(1985) says, an authentic text, oral or written, is one whose primary intent is to

communicate meaning (17). According to Swaffar it is possible to infer that English

On Line Radio Stations are part of that huge set of authentic material available

worldwide; cannot deny that on line radio stations will provide with their djs,

advertisements, news and, tales they would broadcast, an English native speaking

atmosphere, ideal for learning purposes, Besides that, Tomlinson (2012)

mentions, that authentic materials can provide meaningful exposure to language as

it is actually used, motivate learners and help them develop a range of



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communicative competencies and enhance positive attitudes towards the learning

of a language (161).

This is why this research has been held. It came with these questions, can

the English teaching-learning process of a foreign language be improved through

English on line radio stations? Besides that, can this resource provide teachers

and students with needed immersion and interaction with English native speakers

and its cultural and linguistic enrichment?

Recently, education has encountered the new challenge of restructuring

under the rapid development of information technology (Ehrmann, 1995; Guskin,

1994; Handy, 1998). Implementing the use of technology in teaching-learning and,

planning for students’ learning engagement requires fundamental changes in many

areas of school. Even though there are lots of barriers to be stumbled, creative

teachers can solve and give positive answers to those problems or limitations by

themselves, like using their personal smart phones, lap tops, tablets and speakers

to tune in English on line radio stations through the web.

In this same perspective, Canale, Michael and Swain, Merril, authors of the

book English go useful Skill for the students’ future, express the following:

“The student of a second language should enjoy opportunities to interact with speakers of fully competent mother tongue (English) in significant exchanges, that is to say, of respond to authentic communicative needs in real situations. This principle supposes a notable challenge for the designers of programs and for the professors, but finds a strong support in the theoretical distinction between communicative competence and communicative action. Otherwise, this has consequences, not only in relation to the activities of class, but also with the evaluation”.



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According to the previous quotation, it is of vital importance to recognize, to

emphasize and to incorporate, inside the process of teaching- learning English, the

necessary activities and means of customization for the acquisition of the foreign

language (English) such as the English on line radio stations via web. This action

should be carried in a meaningful form, in terms of functionality and practicing in

real situations that can face the boy and girl of grade school in the real life and

taking advantage of their preference for technology as means of spare activities.

But it is a fact that it is very complicated and in some cases impossible to provide

that English native contact between the students and native English speakers. This

is why the internet, and specifically English Online Radio Stations can provide that

necessary contact that students need in order to improve their language acquisition

and learning, taking into account that – mostly-- what we are going to have through

this means is only input activities for the listening skill.

Literature Review

E.F.L. In Costa Rican Classrooms

The learning of English as a Foreign Language is formed by two

components: the acquisition of oral skills and the acquisition of written skills. It is

referred to learning of oral skills as the way in which children learn how to interact

in the Foreign Language in a familiar context.

For those who are just starting in the learning process, the spoken language

is the means through which the new language will be known, understood, practiced

and acquired. It is necessary to enhance, that the communicative oral skill, more



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than a simple aspect of learning, is the content itself of the foreign language, as a

primary source.

According to the English Syllabus for I and II Cycles (2005), the current

approach of the teaching of a foreign language in I and II cycles of the Primary

Education in Costa Rica, as it is expressed in the study syllabus, the teaching-

learning process has to be promoted focused in the communication, with an

emphasis in the oral interaction (p.10).

It is evident, not only in a micro perspective, but in a macro one, that the

emphasis has to be centered in preparing students of a foreign language to

enrich, initially, through aspects of sociolinguistic competence and strategy,

already acquired by the use of the communicative mother tongue or dominant, the

grammatical characteristics of the foreign language that had been chosen for its

complexity in grammar and cognition, its transparence in relation to its

communicative function, the probability in use for native speakers, its level of

application in different contexts and in distinct communicative functions, and at last,

its pertinence in regards to the necessity of language usage by students.

Definition of Authentic Materials

Clarke (1989) defined it as material not created specifically for language

learning or teaching. Others recognize the need and convenience of semi-

authentic materials---developed specifically for non-native speakers of English,

where “practice is configured primarily in terms of pedagogy priorities” (Waters

2009, 140).



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According to Clarke, authentic materials can be considered as texts—both

oral and written---which form part of a natural communicative situation. For

instance, having the opportunity of listening an English native speaker Dj

broadcasting directly from London---through an online radio station---can be

considered an authentic material, since it has not been created for a specific

teaching purpose but, can be adapted for the Costa Rican teachers of primary rural

schools for learning purposes in their EFL classes or just to add a more cultural

and linguistic English background to their classes.

Definition of Online Radio Stations

According to the on line English dictionary wordreference.com, this

compound term can be define as follows, “an audio broadcasting service that is

transmitted through the Internet. Internet radio is similar in nature to Internet

broadcasting, also called webcasting. However, those listening to the continuous

stream audio broadcast have no control over the stream, similar to traditional radio

broadcasting. Many radio stations worldwide offer their broadcast via Internet radio

to a worldwide audience. Today dedicated hardware devices, commonly called

Web radio or Internet radio appliances, can be purchased that connect to a home

network and then to the Internet to play live audio streams. Internet radio is also

called e-radio” (http://dictionary.wordreference.com).

Friendly Lesson Plan for the EFL CLASS with On Line Radio Stations

While lesson planning taking into account all the materials, devices, and

activities when teaching, it is very important. Since the very first moment when the

teacher has chosen to implement technology during class, the educator has to



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think how she /he is going to put into black and white her/his ideas and activities in

the lesson plan. As any other activity in the class, it must be presented and

integrated in the lesson plan because it is a serious and important part of the class,

activities which are carried out with technological devices are as important as

“regular activities”, they are not “extra” or “bonus” tasks; such as they must be

treated seriously. Therefore, these drills have to be carefully planned and added in

the lesson plan.

A “friendly lesson plan” is the one that takes into account all the

modifications needed in order to have a successful activity with technology—the

online radio station. According to Molina (2006), it is clear that “planning is a

calculus which precede and preside the action to “create future”, not to predict it,

because otherwise we would be improvising, something that should be avoided

when teaching (p.60)”. Besides, when teachers are planning their lesson with a

technological device they have to try to predict any situation that could play against

them in order to create a “back up” plan. For instance, children’s attention spam,

affective filter and school’s environment should be taken into consideration

because any of them could affect negatively the activity and the outcome as well.

Sixth graders because of their age it is a difficult population to plan for. With

11 or 12 years old, children are going through a stage in their lives that sometimes

makes their daily routines a little bit harder, same at the school; their physical and

emotional changes often make classroom time and its environment a little bit tough

to the teacher to handle it. All these population’s characteristics have to be taken

into consideration when planning activities.



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To summarize, a friendly plan that incorporates technology--- in this case the use of internet to access English on line radio stations--- should have at least the three following characteristics:

CHARACTERISTIC REASON

To have a backup plan It gives opportunity to know what to do in unexpected situation.

To preside and precede the “future” It shows organization, besides knowing what to do step by step is relaxing to educators

To use devices wisely during activities. Exceeding the use of these devices can fed students up and it that way they would be almost useless.

Summary of the Research

The research started being questioned about the use of a valid and reliable

authentic material, such as the English online radio station in the EFL classes in

two rural schools of Costa Rica. It came with these questions: Can the English

teaching-learning process of a foreign language be improved through English

online radio stations? Besides that, can this resource provide teachers and

students with needed immersion and interaction with English native speakers and

its cultural and linguistic enrichment?

To answer this research questions and issues, a qualitative investigation

has been held. It proceeded to research in two rural elementary schools, IDA-

Otoya from Sarapiquí region and, San Pedro, Zona de los Santos, from San Jose

Region, in 2015. The sample of the research was taken from sixth graders of

these schools, together they sum up 20 students and two English teachers. The

research applied a closed questionnaire to the sample in which the students will

express their opinion and close answers to the research questions, such as: Can



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you recognize words, phrases and/or ideas while listening on line radio station?

Therefore, teachers of these classes kept a record of students questions,

comments or use of linguistic utterances about what they heard and learned from

the on line radio station.

Methodology

This section reveals the methods and research instruments that were used

to collect and interpret the data for assuring the quality of the research. Then, the

instruments used to present the information gathered during the research process.

In education, qualitative research seems to provide tools that contribute to

the development of knowledge not only of the teachers, but also of the students in

their daily life situations. This research was essentially based on the emergent

grounded theory study. Hernández, Fernández and Baptista (2006) state, that this

type of research poses “interpretative wealth, provides new visions of a

phenomenon, and also explains the levels of action of the participant in the field”

(p.687).

In order to get the corresponding data which supported the conclusions five

different surveys where applied to the sample. The sample consisted of 9 students

of sixth grade from IDA-Otoya School, located in Sarapiquí, Heredia, and 11

students of sixth grade from San Pedro School, located in San Marcos de Tarrazú,

San José.

The Setting

Finca Otoya Primary School, Sarapiquí



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Finca Otoya is a rural community settled in the 3rd district of Sarapiqui,

which is the 10th canton of Heredia, third province of the country. It is bordered by

La Rambla east, north and west Ticari, and south La Victoria. It has a population of

around 56 families, and a total population of 235 people. Among their economic

activities are cattle raising for milk purposes and agriculture.

Finca Otoya School has a total area of 10.000 square meters from which

only a 20% of this area is almost built. Further, each classroom is 39.5 square

meters size. This is a public institution that was established in 1987. Finca Otoya

School belongs to the educational region of Sarapiquí and has been categorized

as a D13 school. Moreover, the school staff has two teachers for I and II cycles4—

teaching sciences, social studies, match and, Spanish--- one of these teachers is

in charge of the administration of the school (Principal of the school) and two

grades, the other teacher is in charge of the other four grades--- one teacher for

kinder garden, two teachers of special needs , one English teacher, one Physical

Education teacher, one Art teacher, one part time janitor and, one cook.

San Pedro Primary School, Los Santos, San José

The community of San Pedro is a small neighborhood that belongs to San

Marcos of Tarrazú. In San Marcos there are other communities such as Bajo

Canet, El Rodeo, Guadalupe and La Pastora. They all live in an extension of

297,50 km2.

3 This is a category given to the school by the Ministry of Public Education, which means that the enrollment of students goes from 25 to 60 students. 4 First cycle means 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grades and second cycle means 4th, 5th, and 6th grades.



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San Pedro is located in Dota’s Mountain Range foothills which start from Mount

Dota to Pelón Mountain, the highest peak is Alto Franco, this range’s land is

difficult because of its geography but in the middle there is a small valley.

San Pedro School has a total area of 3.000 square meters from which only

a 50% of this area is almost built. Further, each classroom is 39.5 square meters

size. This is a public institution that was established in 1948. San Pedro School

belongs to the educational region of The Santos and has been categorized as a

D15 school. Moreover, the school staff has two teachers for I and II cycles6—

teaching sciences, social studies, match and, Spanish--- one of these teachers is

in charge of the administration of the school (Principal of the school) and two

grades, the other teacher is in charge of the other four grades--- one teacher for

kinder garden, two teachers of special needs, one English teacher, one Physical

Education teacher, one Art teacher, one part time janitor and, one cook.

Subjects of the Study

There is a total population of fifty six students, at Otoya School from which

thirty are boys and twenty six are boys whose ages range go from 4. On the other

hand San Pedro School has a population of 61 students, from which thirty are boys

and 31 are girls, whose ages range 4 to 13 years old. In this research, the

population of this study includes two sixth grade groups. The only one sixth group

from each school, and which for this research purpose was called with the name of

the school. The sixth grade from Otoya has a total of nine students from which 5

5 This is a category given to the school by the Ministry of Public Education, which means that the enrollment of students goes from 25 to 60 students. 6 First cycle means 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grades and second cycle means 4th, 5th, and 6th grades.



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are females and 4 are males and their ages range are from 11 to 13 years old. The

other group from San Pedro School has eleven students from which 4 are females

and seven are males and their ages are from 11 to 13 years old and, their English

proficiency level is beginners. These students have been taking English since they

were in first grade.

Participants

In the chart below there is a list with the number of students, gender,

and ages ranging for both school. It was not necessary to call students by their

names. It was necessary to protect students identity along the study.

Exhibit Nº 1 IDA-Otoya and San Pedro Schools

Sixth Grade Groups

School Amount of Students

Female Male Ages Average

San Pedro 11 4 7 11-13

IDA-Otoya 9 5 4 11-13

Source: Attendance List provided by the Teacher of English

Data Collection Instruments

Closed Questionnaires

Questionnaires guided this research to get specific information about the

use of English on line radio stations in the EFL classes at IDA-Otoya and San

Pedro Schools.

The questions were usually set out in a very systematic way and were more

highly structured than interviews. The questionnaires could be answered by

reading, writing, or ticking responses. Due to the type of instruments and

questions, the researcher was open minded to pay attention to aspects of any type

of information (details of information that can help a lot to support the research)



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that comes from the questionnaires the main element that provide true data. In this

respect Batenson states that, “In anthropology you usually cannot identify in

advance what it will be important to pay attention to […] one must be opened to the

data, to the possibility that very small clues will prove to be critical and that

accident will provide pivotal insights…” (qtd in LeCompte and Preissle: 2003, 158).

As it was mentioned before, any aspect provided by the informants of the

study might be important because these aspects may provide reliability and validity

to the different findings of the research.

Teachers’ Anecdotal Record/ Field Notes

Writing is a stage that occurs in some cases when the researcher has

finished each process of observation; however, it also occurs before, while and

after the observation stage and is a straightforward process of telling what was

done and what conclusions can be drawn. However, the process of research

involved many forms of writing; for example, letters, academic papers, and formal

research reports, as well as anecdotal records. Field notes and anecdotal records

provided a form through which the interaction of subjective and objective aspects

of doing research can be openly acknowledged and brought into a productive

relationship. The research field notes explain Newbury and Stanley “facilitates the

research process through recording, observations, thoughts and questions as they

happen, for later use by the researcher, and stimulate reflective thinking about the

research” (2001: 2). In other words, field notes and anecdotal records can be

identified as a vehicle of reliability and validity in the research process to support

every single aspect that the researcher needs to explain. In this case, the



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researcher wrote down information from the different activities that the students did

in the school.

Presentation and Analysis of Results

Although we are living in a technological world that boost learners to be up

today with new sets of innovative tools such as computer laboratories, smart

boards, digital portfolios, and videoconferences there is always a need to use

innovative approaches to reach new goals. Considering these important

technological advances, English on line radio stations became a source material

for rural primary schools in Costa Rica.

This section presents the results and the analysis of the data collected from

two sixth grade groups of students at IDA-Otoya and San Pedro School in terms of

listening English on line radio stations for different teaching-learning purposes,

such as: enjoy English background music while doing other activities, listening for

specific information, for example: teacher and students take 15 minutes to listen to

“Fun Kids” ---an on line radio stations from London, UK--- teacher and students

enjoy music, and take advantage of Djs speech or ads to identify through listening,

words, phrases and/or ideas from the on line radio station, students write down

what they caught on their notebooks and, at the end of the activity share and check

with the class and teacher what have got from the on line radio broadcast.

The information gathered from the instruments was described, analyzed, and

interpreted. This information was also compared, and contrasted to establish

connections and relationships between the information provided from the



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instruments to process results and draw the conclusions. No gender distinction in

this analysis.

The following exhibit summarizes the answers given by students from both

schools about the following question: Do you like to listen to Online Radio

Stations?


Sixth Grade Groups Do you like to listen to Online Radio Stations?

IDA – Otoya School San Pedro School

Like Dislike Like Dislike

8 1 10 1

Chart 1 illlustrates the results gathered in exhibit 2 as follows:

Chart 1: Do you like to listen to On line Radio Stations?

According to the information provided by exhibit 2 and chart 1, 8 students

from IDA-Otoya school out of 9, said that they like to listen to Online Radio

Stations. On the other hand, 10 students of San Pedro School said that they like to

listen to Online Radio Stations. This data reveals that almost all students of both

groups from different schools from different rural regions of Costa Rica like to listen

English on line radio stations. In addition to exhibit 2 and chart 1 data, the notes of

both English teachers reveal that at the very beginning of the study students

0 10

IDA-Otoya School San Pedro School

Students l ike or dislike to l isten to Online Radio

Stations.

Like Dislike



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disappointed about the use of English on line radio stations, but in the third week

both teachers came out with an experiment, summarized with the following

question: what is going to happen if the English on line radio station will be not

played at all ? Teachers recorded in their anecdotal record that an average of 90%

of students asked them about the English on line radio stations by using utterances

like this: “ --teacher! What happened to the music? Is your computer broken? Why

don’t you use your cellphone? “, ---“teacher! Please play the on line radio station it

was so much better when you played that. Teacher we want to listen that (among

others more)”. The other 10% of students simply don’t care about the use of it. In

other words exhibit 2 shows that 90% of students in both schools like to listen

English on line radio stations. The percentages in both schools are the same which

is really interesting since this schools belong to different rural regions of the

country separate for more than 200 kilometers of distance and shows that

children’s interests in this age range is similar no matter where they live or study.


schools about the following question: Do you keep listening to Online Radio

Stations at home?


Sixth Grade Groups Do you keep listening to Online Radio Stations at home?


Yes No Yes No

2 7 4 7


Chart 2: Do you keep listening to Online Radio Stations at home?



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from IDA-Otoya school out of 9, said they don’t keep listening to Online Radio

Stations at home. On the other hand, 7 students out of 11, from San Pedro School

said that they don’t keep listening to Online Radio Stations at home as well. This

meant that the 70% of students of both schools do not access English on Iine radio

stations out of school. The English teachers’ anecdotal records revealed that

students justified that with the reason that it is because they don’t have internet

access, computer, or any other device capable to play on line music. At the same

time by reading the anecdotal records it was possible to infer that even though they

do not access that authentic material out of school, they would like to have the

possibility to do so at home in the future. The other 30% of students expressed

they do that out of school and they even look for more on line radio stations in

English. They also expressed that this really helped them with English and that

their parents are very positive and happy about this new learning technique. It is

necessary to say that this 30% of students from both Otoya and San Pedro

Schools represent the families with the highest economical incomes in those

communities. This is easily inferred from students’ reasons why they do not keep

using the English on line radio station out school. With no doubt whatsoever,

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

IDA-Otoya School

San Pedro School

Students keep listening to this source at home.

No Yes



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economy played a very preponderant role in this variable, and the possibility of

accessing technology out of school.

The following chart summarizes the answers given by students from both

schools about the following question: Can you identify vocabulary from the Online

Radio Station?


Sixth Grade Groups Can you identify vocabulary from the Online Radio Station?


Yes No Yes No

8 1 9 2


Chart 3: Can you identify vocabulary from the Online Radio Station?


from IDA-Otoya school out of 9, said they can identify vocabulary from the Online

Radio Station. On the other hand, 9 students out of 11, from San Pedro School

said they can identify vocabulary form the Online Radio Station as well. It is

necessary to say that one of the aims of this study was to look for alternative

Yes

No

0

10

IDA-Otoya School

San Pedro School

8 9

1 2

Students can identify vocabulary from the Online

Radio Station

Yes No



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options for English teachers of rural schools in Costa Rica to provide students---

and even themselves---with the needed input suggested and supported by the

Hypothesis of Krashen about second language learning acquisition, which—in this

case—provided both teachers and students with some necessary input from native

speakers by using authentic material or resource such as the on line radio stations.

Being known that it is necessary to add that teachers used this authentic material

most of the time as background sound while students were working in their practice

or production part and where silent was not needed. According to teachers’

anecdotal record students not only were able to recognize words but phrases and

ideas, and, they also wrote down that while time passed by students ability to

recognize words from the songs, ads, djs speeches, and other oral texts from the

English on line radio station, was so much more better and accurate in terms of

pronunciation and even spelling. These are some examples taken from the

teachers’ records and classified according to Djs, music, advertisement texts:


Sixth Grade Groups Students’ English Linguistic Utterances identified while Listening Fun Kids

7 from London

School Student 1 Student 2 Student 3

IDA-Otoya Hey! * Hi!*

Hello!*

Everybody** Happy**

Don’t forget*

“they were taking about computers,

right?”***

San Pedro Hey!* Hi!*

Hello!*

Everybody** Happy to see you*

Call *

“about a concert”***

7 Fun Kids is an English on line radio station from London, UK. (http://tunein.com/radio/Fun-Kids-s67862/). * listened from the Dj of the on line radio station ** listened from music played on the on line radio station *** listened from ads broadcasted on the on line radio station

http://tunein.com/radio/Fun-Kids-s67862/

http://tunein.com/radio/Fun-Kids-s67862/



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schools about the following question: Do you like to study while listening to English

background music?


Sixth Grade Groups Do you like to study while listening to English background music?


Like Dislike Like Dislike

6 3 7 4


Chart 4: Can you identify vocabulary from the Online Radio Station?


from IDA-Otoya school out of 9, said they like to study while listening to English

background music. On the other hand, 7 students out of 11, from San Pedro

School said they like to study while listening to English background music. This

means that 65% of students of both schools like to listen English on line radio

stations as background sound while they are in class, doing different activities,

such as: reading, doing a given written practice, production exercises, even when

oral practices. It is necessary to explain again that listening the on line radio station

as background sound provided the classroom with a natural environment, full of

0

20

IDA-Otoya School San Pedro School

Students like to study while l istening to English

background Music

Yes No



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cultural and linguistic utterances and expressions, that enriched the learning

atmosphere. Teachers’ notes suggested that students while working in class, were

listening to on line radio stations and, the background noise produced by the radio

on line did not affected the productivity of the class. Quite the opposite this

encouraged students and made them feel active and motivated. The other 35% of

students, according to the anecdotal record were not affected negatively by the

noise caused by the radio on line as background music or sound. In such a way

that they expressed to their teacher that they like to listen to the on line radio but

for specific activities of listening and not as background music or sound.


schools about the following question: Have you learnt new pronunciation of words

that you already know by the use of Online Radio Stations?


Sixth Grade Groups Have you learnt new pronunciation of words that you already know by the use of Online Radio

Stations?


YES NO YES NO

6 3 6 5

Chart 5 illustrates the results gathered in exhibit 7 as follows:

Chart 5: Have you learnt new pronunciation of words that you already know by the use of Online Radio Stations?



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from IDA-Otoya school out of 9, said that they have learnt new pronunciation of

words they already knew by the use of Online Radio Stations. On the other hand, 6

students of San Pedro School said they have learnt new pronunciation of words

they already knew by the use of Online Radio Stations. The data from exhibit 7

revealed that 60% of students from both schools were able to firstly identify words,

phrases and even ideas from the authentic texts broadcasted on the on line radio

stations, secondly, they were able to learnt a new pronunciation for those words

they learnt before with their English teacher in class. In addition, teachers’

anecdotal record reveals that students recognize some differences in pronunciation

of words they learnt from their English teachers, for example:


Sixth Grade Groups Differences in pronunciation detected by students while listening “Fun Kids” from London

American English British English (London)

Little /ˈlɪtəl/ Little /ˈlɪtl/

According to teachers’ records students from both schools learnt more

pronunciation from the on line radio station named fun kids, which is from London,

United Kingdom. Students compared American and British pronunciation of words.

0 2 4 6 8 10 12

IDA-Otoya School

San Pedro School

Students have learnt new pronunciation of words they

already knew

Yes No



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Teachers’ noted that specially words ending “r” or “er”, as well as any vowel ending

sound plus “r”, and the stress in sound “t”, were the ones that students recognize

easily. Some examples are given in the following chart:

American English Pronunciation

British English Pronunciation (London)

Corner /ˈkɔrnər / Corner /ˈkɔːnə /

Paper /ˈpeɪpər/ Paper /ˈpeɪpə /

Mother /ˈmʌðər / Mother /ˈmʌðə /

Beauty /ˈbjuti / Beauty /ˈbjuːti /

Conclusions

This study has contributed to the acquisition of new knowledge in the field,

by examining the interacting factors at two rural public schools IDA-Otoya and San

Pedro Schools and refining the criteria for successful integrated technological

devices in English as a foreign language classroom in this specific case through

the use of Online Radio Stations in order to exercise the listening skill,

pronunciation, culture, fluency, and promote a better and more interesting English

environment for students. If policy makers begin with an understanding that many

school language teachers are primarily traditional in their educational value system

and usage of technology in teaching involves a steep learning curve, they may be

more “realistic” in terms of understanding how long it takes to create a functional

culture of technology in schools. With globalization and technology being firmly

established in business and English being the lingua franca on the world stage,

initiatives that facilitate EFL learning will likely be of considerable value to

subsequent generations of students. If learning using technological devices is one

such tool, working within the context of a social constructivism, policy makers,

administrators, teachers and students could-and need to-collaborate so as to



25

shape a new paradigm for the future of education, especially for EFL learning in

Costa Rica’s public primary schools.

Besides that, it was possible to recognize the English on line radio stations

as a source of authentic texts which provide students, teachers, and classes with a

more interesting and natural atmosphere. There was possible to access different

radio stations on line from several countries all over the world, such as: USA,

United Kingdom, Jamaica, Bahamas, Australia, New Zealand and Belize among

others. This gave opportunity to students to know about English speaking

countries’ culture, pronunciation, and even they came with questions about

geography and time differences between Costa Rica and other countries.

This study explored the improvement of the English leaning process through

on line radio stations as authentic material in two rural schools of Costa Rica, IDA-

Otoya and San Pedro Schools, to provide that needed native input that rural

teachers and students did not have.

Finally, it is possible to conclude that the use of English on line radio

stations in rural schools of Costa Rica can be used for several purposes in the

English classroom. That this authentic material can be adopted and adapted in the

lesson plan of teachers, in order to develop specific listening activities for students.

Besides this, it revealed that students liked to use technology in class, they liked to

listen on line radio stations to learn English and, they thought this authentic

material really promotes a more interesting and motivational classroom

atmosphere.



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Somehow, this research allowed teachers and researchers to notice that

while using on line radio stations, you are taking advantage of other intrinsic areas

of students personality, such as: their interests and feelings.

It was rewarding for teachers and researchers to notice that students learnt

a lot with this new material and that they were able to think about English as a

living thing that changes, evolves, and is largely used not only in USA but in many

countries around the world.

References

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improvement of the efl learning process through on … of the efl learning ... where “practice is...

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