How to improve Reading skills in children with English as a second language: Guided Reading

FACULTAD DE EDUCACIÓN DE PALENCIA UNIVERSIDAD DE VALLADOLID How to improve Reading skills in children with English as a second language: Guided Reading TRABAJO FIN DE GRADO GRADO EN EDUCACIÓN PRIMARIA MENCIÓN LENGUA EXTRANJERA INGLÉS AUTORA: Silvia París Martín TUTORA: María del Rosario Sanz Urbón Palencia, junio 2019 - 1 - ABSTRACT Is Guided Reading a good method to improve the learning of the English language? With Guided reading being a typically British method, will it be effective in a classroom where English is taught as a foreign language? And, can language skills really be improved with this method? The answer to all these questions is in this Final Degree Assignment, as is the argument that defends the main objective of this work, which is to improve the reading skills of primary school students studying English as a second language, and in turn, encourage reading. To do so, it will be set out a proposal about how Guided Reading was put into practice in a bilingual Spanish primary school and will be shown how the method was adapted and developed. It will include the results obtained, therefore answering the questions stated above. KEYWORDS Guided Reading, independent reading, reading stations, phonics, reading levels, reading habit, comprehension, fluency, reading skills, improve communicative English skills, personal motivation, personalized attention. RESUMEN ¿Es la lectura guiada un buen método para mejorar el aprendizaje de la lengua inglesa? Al ser un método originalmente inglés, ¿será efectivo en aulas en las que se estudia el inglés como lengua extranjera? ¿Realmente se mejoran las habilidades lectoras con este método? La respuesta a todos estos interrogantes puede verse en este Trabajo de Fin de Grado, así como la argumentación que defiende el principal objetivo de este trabajo, que es mejorar las habilidades lectoras de los estudiantes de inglés en Educación Primaria y a su vez, fomentar la lectura. Para ello, se expondrá una propuesta del método realizada en un colegio de Educación Primaria de sección bilingüe en España, donde se verá cómo hemos adaptado el método, el desarrollo de éste y los resultados obtenidos. Dando así respuesta a las anteriores preguntas. PALABRAS CLAVE Lectura Guiada, lectura independiente, centros de lectura, método phonics, niveles de lectura, hábito lector, fluidez, habilidades lectoras, mejora de las habilidades comunicativas en inglés, motivación, atención personalizada. - 2 - INDEX ➢ INTRODUCTION ………………………………………………….….PAG. 3 ➢ OBJETIVES…………………………………………………………….PAG. 4 ➢ JUSTIFICATION……………………………………………………….PAG. 6 ➢ THEORETICAL BASES…………………………………………………..PAG. 10 4.1 GUIDED READING METHOD AND THEORETICAL BASES.........PAG. 10 4.2 EDUCATION THEORIES CONNECTED WITH THE METHOD......PAG. 15 ➢ PROPOSAL DESIGN……………………………………...........................PAG. 18 5.1 INITIAL EVALUATION…....................................................………....PAG. 19 5.2 READING STATIONS...........................................................................PAG. 20 5.3 IMPLEMENTION...................................................................................PAG. 22 5.3.1 GUIDED READING STATION..........................................................PAG. 24 5.3.2 AUDIOBOOK STATION....................................................................PAG. 26 5.3.3 LIBRARY STATION...........................................................................PAG. 29 5.4 ASSESMENT..........................................................................................PAG.31 ➢ PROPOSAL RESULTS…………………………………………………….PAG. 32 ➢ PROPOSAL ANALYSIS, POSSIBILITIES AND LIMITATIONS…...…..PAG. 34 ➢ CONCLUSIONS…………………………………………………………...PAG. 36 ➢ BIBLIOGRAPHY AND REFERENCES…………………………….........PAG. 38 ➢ APPENDIX……...………………………………………………………….PAG. 40 - 3 - 1. INTRODUCTION The present work is about the Guided Reading methodological approach, and how it can be implemented in English foreign language classes, in order to improve the students’ reading skills and help them gain a better understanding of the language. Guided Reading is based upon the idea of reading in small groups and is designed to provide a differentiated lesson plan, depending on the students reading level and ultimately will improve their reading skills. Working in small-groups allows the teacher to focus more on those students’ needs, therefore, accelerating the learning process. The students are grouped by the reading levels, early, medium and fluid. This method has been chosen because it offers a wide range of possibilities. It consists of many stations in which the students will do a different activity related with reading. This provides many ways to improve their skills and learn new strategies, and as a result will create a bigger improvement in their English level than of that compared to students who do not use this method. Throughout this work you are going to read the proposal implemented in the internship’s school, where the guided reading method was put into practice in a Year 2 class. The method was used in this year group because the process of developing reading habits starts in Early Years, so, the best moment to start with the method and get a higher level of progression would be with this set of students. Doing this will make it easier for them to learn and understand a second language. The first step was documenting the method and adapting it to the class context. Doing an initial evaluation was important to check the students’ level and create the groups. Finally, the next stage was to plan the lessons and the different activities for each station. All of this was done to create an interest for reading in a second language, a desire to learn, and ultimately give them the confidence to read in English and understand what they are reading. - 4 - 2. OBJECTIVES Throughout the planning and implementing process of the guided reading method, it was necessary to establish the corresponding objectives. During this time taken to search, plan, put into practice and write this work, we can settle on suitable objectives for this work. These objectives are in relation to what the teacher would like to achieve with the students, the method’s objectives, design and personal objectives. Below, you can see these objectives which have been grouped into the relevant categories: • Objectives to achieve with the children: ❖ To improve the children’s reading skills. ❖ To raise children’s interest in reading. ❖ To understand important information and locate specific information in different types of text. ❖ To understand the importance of short, well-structured stories and identify the main characters. ❖ To understand de global message and identify the main ideas reading texts out loud. ❖ To improve oral fluency and comprehension. ❖ To read, spell and understand frequently used words and easy sentences. ❖ To understand English language, phonics and pronunciation. • Method’s objectives: ❖ To develop positive attitudes to reading. ❖ To develop close reading skills to enable them to respond to the language and ideas in the text. ❖ To apply phonic knowledge to decode words. ❖ To read accurately by blending the taught sounds. ❖ To identify different characters and sequence actions occurred in a text. ❖ To read simple sentences and texts with the teacher's help. ❖ To write simple sentences with a guide. ❖ To read, spell and understand frequently used words and easy sentences. - 5 - • Design objectives: ❖ To create a comfortable area where the students can learn easily. ❖ To encourage a calm environment where the students feel at ease. ❖ To create attractive resources and materials for each reading station. ❖ To select materials and resources that are suitable for use within a classroom. ❖ To offer a wide variety of books, of which there are books for all levels, personalized to each child’s interests. ❖ To prepare the guided reading lessons according to the levels of the students, in order to improve their level and skills. ❖ To meticulously prepare each session, teaching them new things and strategies. ❖ To use an active and motivational methodology, where the kids will enjoy the lesson. ❖ To use different types of text and in different supports, to increase their knowledge. • Personal objectives. With this work I can include some personal goals as a teacher. These objectives are the following: ❖ To improve my English skills. ❖ To recognize, plan, carry out and value the good process of teaching and learning. ❖ To foster and promote reading and writing skills, especially in the lower levels. Encourage writing and speaking skills, considering TIC’s as another communicative and learning element. ❖ To analyze and argue about a decision in an educational context. Holding activities that allow them to achieve the necessary knowledge about a foreign language, in this case, English. ❖ To have a basic knowledge of TIC’s and apply them in the classroom and during the learning process. ❖ To incorporate all the subject learning to develop a teacher’s profession. ❖ ‘‘To assist students in becoming independent readers by supporting their use of sources.’’ (Swartz et. al., 2003, p.1) - 6 - 3. JUSTIFICATION Reading in English is a complex activity for beginner students due to the different sounds, pronunciation and spelling of words. Reading is especially difficult during the early years because children are still learning to read and write in their mother tongue, so the introduction of reading in a second language is even more complicated. During the internship, it was clear that there was a need to put into practice a method that would improve the reading skills of the students. This method needed to be active and dynamic and encourage the enjoyment and interest for the English language. It was necessary to start looking for an effective method that could help to improve reading skills of the children, enjoyment and interest in reading in another language. The Guided Reading method provided all of this to the children, as Schulman and Payne (2000) stated: ‘‘Guided reading provides the supportive framework for the systematic, yet flexible instruction readers need to develop their skills.’’ (p. 6-7). After reading and watching videos about this method and having developed the method with Year 2 students in a Spanish school, it could be said that unless the method and the sessions are focused more in the reading skills, the children may be unaware to the improvement in their other skills. This is because reading and listening to books improves their listening, reading and writing skills too. As you can see, this method is very detailed and offers a large amount of possibilities. It allows the teacher to expand his/her resources and implement as many stations as he/she wants, and this method can be adapted to any class or school. At the same time, it will allow the teacher to progress within their role as a teacher and achieve their own personal teaching goals. Guided reading is a very interesting method, because it is a good way to help the students understand the English language. This method explains why there are differences between how to write and pronounce words in English, and introduces the importance of phonetics, all whilst keeping the lessons fun and educational. - 7 - Furthermore, developing this method during the whole stage provides specific support to students as they advance in their reading acquisition and develop into proficient readers. When students read out loud, it provides the teacher with a window on their reading behaviors. Understanding what students try to do to solve problems while reading text gives the teacher an opportunity to provide specific feedback through the use of strategic prompts. (Swartz et. al., 2003, p.6) This will also help to develop a connection between the teacher and the students. In addition to the previous reasons, after carrying out this work and the implementation of the method and all that this entails, there are many competences that a teacher must have related with the method and this work. The law nº 312, 2007 competences connected with this work are the following: General competences: ✓ To know and understand psychological, sociological and pedagogical characteristics, of fundamental character, of the students in the different stages and teachings of the educational system. ✓ To know the objectives, curricular contents and evaluation criteria, and in a particular way those that make up the Primary Education curriculum. ✓ To know and implement teaching-learning techniques. ✓ Be able to recognize, plan, carry out and value good teaching-learning practices. ✓ Be able to analyze critically and argue the decisions that justify decision-making in educational contexts. ✓ Be able to integrate the information and knowledge necessary to solve educational problems. ✓ Be able to interpret data derived from observations in educational contexts to judge their relevance in an adequate educational practice. ✓ Be able to use effective information search procedures, both in primary and secondary information sources, including the use of computer resources for online searches. ✓ To have communication skills through the Internet and, in general, use of multimedia tools for remote communication. - 8 - ✓ To acquire strategies and techniques of autonomous learning, as well as training in the provision for continuous learning. ✓ To develop the ability to initiate continuous research activities. ✓ To develop a spirit of initiative and an attitude of innovation and creativity in their profession. Specific competences: ✓ To know and understand the learning processes related to the 6-12 stage in the family, social and school context. ✓ To know the characteristics of primary school students, as well as the characteristics of their motivational and social contexts. ✓ To identify and plan the resolution of educational situations that affect students with different abilities and different learning rhythms. ✓ To show an attitude of appreciation and respect towards the diversity of students. ✓ To know the technological aids that contribute to improve learning conditions. ✓ Be able to collaborate in the evaluation of the individualized work plans, introducing progressive adjustments in the objectives of the intervention, in the adequacy of the methods. ✓ To design, plan and evaluate the teaching activity and learning in the classroom. ✓ To know and apply innovative experiences in primary education. ✓ To know the current proposals and developments based on the learning of basic competences. ✓ To master strategies that promote active and participatory methodologies with special emphasis on teamwork, diversity of resources, collaborative learning and appropriate use of spaces, times and groupings. ✓ Be able to design innovation projects by identifying evaluation indicators. ✓ To know the normative and legislative elements applicable to primary education centers. ✓ To promote a good environment in the classroom and outside of it. - 15 - method so to fulfill the students’ needs. Simultaneously, ‘‘the teacher’s goal is to provide the most effective instruction possible and to match the difficulty of the activity with the student’s current abilities. ‘‘The resources should provide a challenge that is “just right” for the students” (Iaquinta, 2006). Guided Reading is a complex approach and teachers are essential in the development and execution of a Balanced Literacy program. There is a lack of research on Guided Reading, but some studies confirm that the method is beneficial for students. In South Africa, The Literacy Leadership Project were able to let four Foundation Phase teachers implement Guided Reading for students of the Aregorogeng Primary School. Over the course of 8 months, results were able to demonstrate an improvement in student’s engagement and motivation on literacy (Makumbila and Rowland, 2016). Another study from Canada indicated that about 80% of 25 middle school students who received Guided Reading had an increase in reading proficiency (Lyons and Thompson, 2012). A critical component of the Guided Reading method is the text selection. It must be thoroughly selected according to the students’ needs. Because, according to Fountas and Pinnell (1996), as a teacher reads "a text for their teaching process, they decide which text fits on the processing systems of the readers." Texts should not be chosen to simply teach a specific strategy. Rather, the texts should be of such high quality that students can apply a wide range of reading comprehension strategies throughout the reading. "One text offers many opportunities to learn; you must decide how to mediate the text to guide your students' learning experiences." (Fountas and Pinnell, 1996). 4.2 Education theories connected with the method As you can see in the previous part, there are many references that prove that the method is a success most of the cases, but the method has relation with some important educational theories too, which makes Guided Reading a complete and meaningful approach In this second part you are going to read, is about the theories that have a connection with the method, explaining the elements that have a connection with it and how. - 16 - In the process of this method it is important to create an emotional connection between the students and the reading habits, because with interest, motivation and positivism their learning process will be better, and they could learn more during the sessions. This is why the method has a connection with the Daniel Goleman’s emotional intelligence. Goleman (1998) says that there is a huge link between the emotional intelligence and the education world, because it is important to learn and behave correctly in the education range. Some experts support the idea that this intelligence is the basis of the success because this intelligence is observable and evaluable in the pupils. This theory is important in the educational area because it allows the teacher to understand each detail of the students, and this also will get that the process of teaching - learning will be better. On the other hand, Brunner says that the intelligent mind creates from experience "generic coding systems that permit one to go beyond the data to new and possibly fruitful predictions" (Bruner, 1957, p. 234). Thus, children, as they grow, must get a way of representing the "recurrent regularities" in their environment. So, for him education’s goal should be to create autonomous learners developing the learning to learn competence. And this is developed in the Guided Reading method, when the students are in the independent stations, they have to put into practice their resources to learn by themselves and apply alone what they have learned during the lessons to increase their reading skills. Bruner (1961) said that the purpose of education is not to impart knowledge, but to facilitate the students’ thinking and problem-solving skills that can be transferred to a wide range of situations. Specifically, education should also develop symbolic thinking in children. - 17 - Otherwise, Krashen and Terrell (1983) see communication as the primary function of language, and since their approach focuses on teaching communicative abilities, they refer to the Natural Approach as an example of a communicative approach. The Natural Approach is similar to other communicative approaches being developed today. (p.17). For them, the nature of language is the importance of meaning in particular the vocabulary. This is what the Guided Reading does, through the reading of book the students increase their vocabulary, being able to express themselves better and therefore their communicative approach is higher. That ‘‘acquisition can take place only when people understand messages in the target language.’’ (Krashen and Terrell, 1983, p.19) Gardner (1999) defines intelligence as a "bio-psychological potential to process information that can be activated in a cultural setting to solve problems or create products that are of value in a culture." (p. 33-34). And he summarizes his approach with three recommendations for educators: individualize the teaching style (to suit the most effective method for each student), pluralize the teaching (teach important materials in multiple ways), and avoid the term "styles" as being confusing. So, with the Guided Reading, we can also put into practice Gardner’s theory about multiple intelligences, because we can use the story’s images to decode the argument of it, and we can ask them to draw a picture instead of a plot, to see if they understood the book. But with it they also develop the linguistic intelligence, because reading they will improve all of their communications skills, learning new vocabulary and how to express themselves in other language or improve their mother tongue language communication. Otherwise, Vygotsky discovered the zone of proximal development, which is an area of learning that occurs when a person is assisted by a teacher or a person with a higher skill set. The teacher helps the student till the student develop his/her skills as much as possible, and they do not need the teacher to do the activity. Known this theory later as the Bruner scaffolding too, that consists of a support given to a student by a teacher throughout the learning process. This support is customized to each student; so, with this instructional approach the students experience a studentcentered learning, which ease more efficient learning than teacher-centered learning. - 18 - This learning process promotes a deeper level of learning than other common teaching strategies. With all of this explanations, is easy to see that the Guided Reading method flows this parameters because the teacher is the person who assist the students in small groups in order to develop their skills, following Vygotsky and Bruner theories. 5. PROPOSAL DESIGN This proposal was designed and implemented in a public school in a rural area, located in Guardo, Palencia. This method was aimed to students in Year 2, there were eleven children, between the ages of 7-8 years old and was developed during literacy lessons, using English as a vehicular language and it was designed for six weeks. To develop this methodological approach, the students will be divided into small groups of 2-4 children. They will be grouped according to their reading level and their literacy needs. There are the same number of reading stations as groups of children. One of these groups will be guided reading with the teacher, in which the children will be working alongside the teacher on a text adapted to their reading level. These sessions will be uninterrupted allowing the students to gain the necessary support from the teacher. All other groups will continue in their own reading stations. Establishing this method will require following some curriculum methodologies related with the skill of reading. Whilst it is imperative to maintain the rules regarding educative law, it is also important that the texts selected are significative and attractive to the students, thus, helping them with their expression and comprehension. Using digital resources to improve the reading skill and making connections between written and oral texts are also necessary as it will help students use and share information that they have learnt. The teacher will have a guiding role. The teacher should help develop their competence and motivate the students with attractive activities all whilst making them - 19 - conscious of their own learning. The teacher will consider and value their work in class, their overall interest, attention and participation. This proposal was implemented, as mentioned previously, during the Literacy lessons, which had the following schedule: TIMING TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY 10:30 – 11:00 Literacy year 2 13:00 – 14:00 Literacy year 2 Literacy year 2 Table 2 Literacy year 2 timetable The guided reading lessons will be carried out on the Tuesday or Wednesday literacy lessons. As these sessions are one hour long, we have enough time for all learning outcomes to be achieved effectively. The hour is divided in fifteen minutes sessions to allow time for the teacher to attend each guided reading lesson. 5.1 Initial evaluation Firstly, a pre-evaluation is carried out to group the children according to their reading level, so evaluation worksheet is designed according to their English level and includes topics that they have learned during the year. The worksheet has three different types of reading exercises, each with varying levels of difficulty. The children accomplish the worksheet in a previous lesson. (Annex 1-2 pag40,41) Depending on the results obtained, the students are divided into groups according to their reading level. Three groups are yellow for the upper level, blue for the medium level and red for the lower level. Each group consisting of four students with except for the red one, which had three students. As the number of students for the lower level, is fewer than the other groups, it meant that the teacher will focus more on these students who require more help. The Centers Rotation Chart allows for a better organization and changes the order of groups and days of sessions, which meant no two days were the same. - 20 - Illustration 1. Centers rotation chart 5.2 Readings stations Reading stations and resources are designed. As previously mentioned, the sessions are planned to be carried out in groups so there are three reading station, one for each group. The reading stations are set up in the three corners of the classroom. • The guided reading station, where the student is able to work with the teacher on phonics. • The audio book station, where the children read and listen to a story with the iPads and the headphones focusing on the pronunciation of the different words. • The library station with English books, which are aimed for the level of the students. Where the students read the book they choose. - 21 - Illustration 2. Reading corner station. Here the kids read books independently Illustration 3. Library with English books. - 22 - 5.3 Implemention The first session is dedicated to explain to the students how each lesson would work. The reading stations, the rotations and timings were all explained to the children. In order to make sure the children moved stations correctly it was explained to them that a sound would play when they needed to move on to the next area. The guided reading session with the teacher was also explained in detail. As the students in stations two and three will be unsupervised, the rules and goals of the tasks set will be clearly explained beforehand by the teacher. Half a session was required to explain the points mentioned above. The lessons’ time is divided in periods of fifteen minutes, in order to have time to go to all the reading stations. The remaining fifteen minutes are used to say hello, settle the resources and a refreshment. Graphic 1 Time session graphic Throughout the different sessions in which we will work on guided reading, we will also work on the following competences: • Linguistic Communication Competence (LC): − Oral speech − Writing − Reading − Phonological awareness • Mathematical Reasoning (MR): 60 15 30 45 5’ welcome, resources and refreshment 15’ first station 15’ second station 15’ third station 10’ tidy up and goodbye - 23 - − Problem solving skills − Mathematics reasoning − Read, organize and present information with a logical approach − Making calculations and estimations − Use of scientific ethical values − Scientific method • Digital Competence (DC): − Basic use of ICT − Information research, organization and treatment • Social and Civic Competence (SCC): − Code of conduct for shared accommodation and interpersonal relationships − Community involvement − Understanding of the society − Cooperative learning and negotiations • Cultural Awareness and Expression Competence (CAEC): − Ability to know and interact with the physical world − Cultural and artistic appreciation − Artistic expression − Culture and society • Initiative and Entrepreneurship Competence (IEC): − Self-knowledge and emotional management − Body care and cleanliness − Principle practice − Creativity and project development • Learning to Learn: − Learning strategies − Learning incentives − Knowledge of individual abilities − Responsibility, commitment and habits − Assessment and self-assessment strategies - 24 - 5.3.1 Guided reading station The objectives of this reading station are: • To understand the English language, phonics and pronunciation. • To develop reading skills to enable them to respond to the language and ideas in the text. • To apply phonic knowledge to decode words • To read accurately by blending the taught sounds. • To improve oral fluency and comprehension. • To ask and answer questions to improve their understanding of a text. • To read simple sentences with the teacher's help. • To read simple texts with the teacher's help, and progress through the levels (Red, Blue and Yellow). • To read aloud different types of texts with speed, fluency and correct intonation. • To understand instructions, indications, and basic information. • To understand the message of a text and identify the main ideas based on their reading aloud. The guided reading station is led by with the teacher. During this part, the teacher will work with the children on phonics using a fairytale, through the phonics tales’ collection by Scholastic. The teacher will introduce the book, read the title, and ask the children about the images. It allows the teacher to check the prior knowledge they have. Then the teacher will explain the sound they are going to work on during that lesson and they will practise it with some easy words. After that the children will start to read and point out at any new or difficult words of the book while the teacher introduces these words by practising the pronunciation out loud. Using known words gave the students the confidence to attempt the more difficult unknown words. The last part of the guided reading session is when the students read out loud, using the phonics, the fairytale introduced to them in the session. Each student will read one page. As the teacher supervises them, the teacher will make observational notes about their reading strategies. After reading, the teacher will ask them some questions about - 31 - Illustration 9. Some blue group members writing the book rate. Illustration 10. Red group students reading a book in the library station. 5.4 Assessment Finally, to asses the students in all the Guided Reading lessons the teacher will use an evaluation rubric too, in order to evidence the achievement of the objectives. This grid is an adaptation from a grid retrieved from https://www.tes.com/teachingresource/new-curriculum-english-ks1-and-ks2-reading-objectives-grid-coverage-map11075160 (Annex 6, page 45,46 and 47) As previously stated, the rating template will allow the teacher to check, understand and also see which books the students would choose for themselves. - 32 - To monitor their progress and obtain clear results, there was an observation sheet (Annex 3 pag42), where the teacher took notes about each child’s reading strengths and weaknesses, their fluency, participation and comprehension. With this, the teacher could see week by week the progression and improvement of the students. With the monitoring sheet and the evaluation grid, the teacher can check if the students achieved their goals, and also see which grade they obtained, from levels 1 to 3. To assess the student’s progression, the reading journal is also very useful, because the teacher can see how the other stations work. The reading journal is composed by the reading rates they have to complete after reading the books. The observational assessment is the best option for this method, cause as Bone (2013) states: the method also provides the teacher quality time with children who have a similar academic ability, reading level, or strategic/skill-based needs. The teacher is able to model, explain, observe and ask questions, as well as making links to real-life experiences, working in other curriculum areas and previous learning in reading and writing. Focusing on specific targets enables the children to make real progress. (p.8) 6. PROPOSAL RESULTS After six weeks of putting into practice the guided reading method and analyzing the lessons every week, in general, successful results were obtained. There has been a great improvement in the students reading skills, fluency, and identification of unfamiliar words and phrases. Furthermore, the students were able to explain what had happened in the story and understood it fully. The pictures were an important resource during this methodological approach, because it helped the children make educated guesses of some words which they were not familiar with. Some sessions weren’t as successful as others, as some children were not very enthusiastic. They didn’t focus attention during the guided reading session, which is one the most important aspects of this methodology. The guided reading session allows - 33 - students to learn how to read and learn new reading comprehension strategies which they can then put into practice during the audiobook and individual reading sessions. Due to this, a small number of students didn’t improve their English skills very much and still struggled to read correctly, identify sounds learned in previous lessons, and to understand easy sentences or words. These students were the ones who showed little interest in the subject and described the lessons as very hard. It was clear that these children needed a bigger motivation. To help them, different texts were provided in order to motivate them and catch their attention, depending on their interest. They were encouraged to be inquisitive, and in turn learn more about the English language. Following this strategy, they improved session by session. Taking all of this into account, it was clear that the method not only improved their reading skills, but also improved the listening, writing and speaking skills of each child. This not only helped with English classes, but also helped develop their learning process in all the lessons taught in English. Successful results were possible because the method uses an active and dynamic methodology and allows the children work in different ways. Moving around the class, doing different activities, changing the activity every fifteen minutes means the children do not lose interest and remain focused during the whole activity. As per the results, there are many documents and authors that demonstrate that at the end of the method the students will have improved their skills, not only the skills for reading, but also the listening, writing and speaking skills. Swartz et.al., (2003) states that: ‘‘Literacy centers are developed to provide independent practice in reading, writing, listening, and speaking skills for students in the classroom when they are not part of the guided reading group.’’ (p.12). That’s why this method is a good option for any school, providing different ways to learn and enjoy the lessons - 34 - 7. PROPOSAL ANALYSIS, POSSIBILITIES AND LIMITATIONS This method can be adapted to every school to suit each student’s personality and characters. It offers a wide variety of possibilities to improve their skills and promotes a better learning process, where they can enjoy learning English. Moreover, it can encourage regular reading and make students discover how fun reading English can be. But, to put the method in practice, we must take into consideration that classes are full of a wonderful diversity of children, of whom have different needs and characteristics, so, differentiated instructions are needed to teach all of them and create a bond with them. It will allow them to enjoy the learning process and motivate them with an active and participative lessons. To work with the guided reading methodological approach, is important to become familiar with the method and analyze the class situation. The teacher is the person who must plan adequately to improve the skills of their students. As the method hasn’t got regular stations, it gives the teacher a huge number of possibilities. Establishing as many stations as groups organised in the class and adapting them to the students’ level. Working in small groups the teacher can offer individual attention, because with groups of three or four children the teacher can dedicate more time for the individual attention, spending more time to each student and focusing on the growth of their learning to achieve the goals. Small groups are a good option too, because the teacher can observe down to the last detail the students’ work and evaluate all the process and results correctly. In addition, whilst one group is with the teacher, the other groups are working on their reading skills too through the other stations, working independently on different dynamic activities where they can enjoy the lesson, learning and putting into practice new reading strategies. The groups can change according to their abilities, and if a student is not working well in his/her group, because of the level, it can be changed, - 35 - which means that it is flexible and adaptable to their needs throughout the process, offering a continuous improvement of their abilities, to get the best result for each child. Something important to consider is that to develop this method, the lessons have to be well planned, establishing times and rules. Everyone must have a clear understanding of what to do and where to be and at what time. They must follow the teacher instructions and the rules, and that’s why it is important to spend a lesson explaining the processes, the rules, the goals and give the students the correct instructions in order to have a success guided lesson with them. The lessons must start from the previous knowledge of the students, teaching them the sounds and strategies that are not familiar to them and giving them some new reading tips. It’s important to give them the opportunity of change, so that they can do things individually and without help from the teacher. Showing students that you trust them is important and this is where the independent stations are needed. Nevertheless, unexpected things can happen, so the teacher must be ready to fix the problems and handle any type of situation. During the guided reading session, the time is limited, and all the students must spend the same amount of time in the reading stations. This is why during one-hour lessons, on the planning there are fifteen minutes to organize the class, allow time for possible problems and tidying up. However, depending on the class’ characteristics and the frequency of unexpected issues, it would be recommended to have a support teacher in the class, someone who can help the lead teacher to solve problems while he/she is teaching on the guided reading station. The proposal was put into practice in a class with eleven children, so it was easier to organize the class and prepare the materials and resources. It is necessary to take this into account because in a class with twenty-five children, for example, the teacher should organise the class to have enough space and to adapt stations to the number of groups. - 36 - Another important point to consider when putting into practice this method, is that there must be an agreement within the teachers, in order to establish the method in all the years. They must decide collectively when the best moment to start the guided reading sessions is, and work through the method in order to have better results in the future. They must also establish a progression between the objectives, and levels. 8. CONCLUSIONS This work has proved that the Guided Reading method works in English as a foreign language classes, when it was adapted to a Primary school in Spain, establishing the objectives to each member of the process, which are the teacher, the students and the reading stations, planning all the lessons following those objectives and the method’s characteristics. Considering the method’s expectations and the characteristics of the students, in order to achieve the objectives and competences. The documenting is a very important part during this process. Thanks to it, the teacher can have a clear vision of the method and learn tips about how to improve and develop students’ English skills. This work is finally proving that the method can be implemented in every school, regardless of its location or characteristics because it offers a wide variety of possibilities and can be adapted by the teacher in accordance to the level, needs and abilities of the students. Nevertheless, this method requires a great amount of preparation and design for each lesson, because of the wide variety of combinations and changes mentioned above, making it an adaptable method to each situation. Thus, the teacher can adapt activities or stations along the year, change groups when necessary, attending the students’ needs always in order to improve their learning process and keep their interest. However, to start working with this method patience and determination are very important, especially during the initial lessons as the method is something new for the children. They will need time to adapt to working independently, which will be essential when they begin working in the independent reading stations. That’s why it would be a good idea if an assistant teacher could support the leading teacher during the lessons, to solve doubts and problems without interruptions. - 37 - Other important point, to consider is the objectives. As previous mentioned above, it is very important to have clear objectives in mind and to work to achieve them. This is why the teacher has to spend a long time preparing and designing the lessons, taking into consideration the personal needs of the students and what motivates them to learn. With the correct planning, dedication and assessment, the students will improve day by day. With the implementation of this method, the teacher will see that, while the students are focused on reading stations, they will also improve their other skill sets. Especially in the early stages of Primary Education, reading allows them to see how words are written, reading out loud helps them learn how to speak correctly and listening to audiobooks will improve their listening skills and learn the correct pronunciation. Also, improving the four basic English skills will help pupils improve in other English subjects too. Additionally, it’s important to say, that there are a lot of variations and ways to teach through this method, such as; adding stations related to other subjects, linking the sessions with the topics taught during the Literacy classes, doing different activities than the ones mentioned in the proposal. All of these have a common activity which is the Guided Reading, and the goal is the same, regardless of the variations. Finally, as any method, there are areas that can be improved. The addition of some tasks, like a review of their favourite book, shared reading, and brain storming new vocabulary could be beneficial. Providing there is enough time, the stations can be changed, or new ones can be added, all with different activities in order to keep the students motivated. If we start to implement this method in our schools, we could get a huge improvement in the students acquisition of a second language, creating a sense of selfconfidence in the students when they read out loud or speak in public. This will allow them to be better communicators during the English classes and ultimately making the English language a ‘‘friend’’ for them and not an enemy. Because, remember, ‘‘knowledge of languages is the doorway to wisdom.’’-Roger Bacon- - 38 - 9. BIBLIOGRAPHY AND REFERENCES • Agudo, M. T. et al. (2015). Spanish/English primary integrated curriculum. Language and literacy. DOI: 10.4438/030-15-160-4 • Brooks, J. (s.f). Reading journal. [Web log post]. Retrieved https://www.teachinginthetongass.com/ • Bruner, J. S. (1957). Going beyond the information given. New York: Norton. • Bruner, J. S. (1961). The act of discovery. Harvard Educational Review, 31, 2132. • Diller, D. (2003). Literacy work stations: Making centers work. Portland, ME: Stenhouse. • Ford, M. P. & Opitz, M. F. (2002). Using Centers to Engage Children during Guided Reading Time: Intensifying Learning Experiences Away from the Teacher. The reading teacher, 55(8) 710-717. • Fountas I.C., & Pinnell, G.S. (2001). Guided Readers and Writers Grades 3-6: Teaching Comprehension, Genre, and Content Literacy. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann Publishing. • Fountas, I. C. & Pinnell, G. S. (1996). Guided reading: Good first teaching for all children. Portsmouth: Heinemann Publishing. • Gardner, Howard (1999), Intelligence Reframed: Multiple Intelligences for the 21st Century. New York: Basic Books. • Goleman, D. (1998). Working with Emotional Intelligence. New York: Bantam Books. • Howard Gardner: 'Multiple intelligences' are not 'learning styles'". The Washington Post. Retrieved https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answersheet/wp/2013/10/16/howard-gardner-multiple-intelligences-are-not-learning-styles/ • Iaquinta, A. (2006). Guided Reading: A Research-Based Response to the Challenges of Early Reading Instruction. Early Childhood Education Journal, 33(6), 413-418 • Krashen, S. & Terrell, T. (1983). The natural approach. San Francisco: Alemany Press. • Ley Orgánica 8/2013, de 9 de diciembre, para la mejora de la calidad educativa - 39 - • Lyons, W. & Thompson, S. A. (2012). Guided Reading in Inclusive Middle Years Classrooms. Intervention in School and Clinic, 47(3), 158-166. • Makumbila, M., & Rowland, C. (2016). Improving South African third graders’ reading skills: Lessons learnt from the use of Guided Reading approach. South African Journal of Childhood Education (SAJCE), 6(1), South African Journal of Childhood Education (SAJCE), Vol.6(1). • Nayer, J. (2006). Phonics Tales. New York: Scholastic • Oxford Owl (s.f). Retrieved https://www.oxfordowl.co.uk/ • Schulman, M. B. & Payne, C. D. (2000). Guided Reading making it work. New York: Scholastic Professional Books. • Strickland, D., Ganske, K., & Monroe, J. (2002). Supporting struggling readers and writers: Strategies for classroom intervention 3-6. Portland, ME: Stenhouse Publisher. • Tes (s.f). Retrieved https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/new-curriculumenglish-ks1-and-ks2-reading-objectives-grid-coverage-map-11075160 • Yuen, R. (Ed.). (2003). Guided Reading & literacy centers. Carlsbad: Dominie Press Publishing. - 40 - 10. APPENDIX Annex 1. Pre-evaluation sheet 1. - 47 - Themes Conventio ns Reading books organised in different ways Guess what could happen in the story, reading only the tile and watching the cover picture Others Participating in discussions about books that are read to them and those they can read, taking turns and listening to what others say. Gender Check: Traditional Stories Fairy Tales Non-fiction