Sandy T. Soto

Universidad Tecnica de Machala · Facultad de Ciencias Empresariales

The purpose of this work is to document the investigations on motivation and EFL teaching and learning in elementary school, secondary school, and university settings in Ecuador that have been published since 2010 until November 2023. The literature review technique was used to answer the three research questions formulated for this study. The ques...

The purpose of this work is to document the investigations on motivation and EFL teaching and learning in elementary school, secondary school, and university settings in Ecuador that have been published since 2010 until November 2023. The literature review technique was used to answer the three research questions formulated for this study. The ques...

The purpose of this work is to provide language educators with a framework of reference of some factors that should be taken into account when initiating the development of ESP (English for Specific Purposes) textbooks. The literature review technique was used to address the seven factors discussed in this work. The results indicate that a thorough...

Our chapter studies the impact of motivation in English language learners at the university level, the elements that influence students’ willingness to learn and the role of brain´s executive functions on it. In that way, this chapter studies motivation from a Cognitive Science approach. How to cite: Villagomez-Pacheco, D., & Minga, C. (2024). At...

This chapter emphasizes the importance of motivation in foreign language learning, highlighting how motivated learners are more likely to achieve their goals and enjoy their educational journey. It discusses the role of teachers in creating a motivational environment and presents communicative strategies and techniques designed to enhance students'...

A lo largo de los últimos años, la enseñanza del inglés se ha ido fortaleciendo cada vez más en el Ecuador, especialmente a nivel universitario dada la importancia que tiene el idioma en la transmisión e internacionalización de los conocimientos. Sin embargo, todavía queda mucho trabajo por hacer, sobre todo en el ámbito de la motivación de los est...

This study aims to explore the effects of implementing the literature circles strategy for teaching English as a Foreign Language (EFL) in levels 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 of a public university in the Amazon Region of Ecuador. For this purpose, three English language teachers conducted some action research. Two hundred fourteen students of English Arts ma...

La enseñanza del idioma inglés (English as a Foreign Language, EFL) es relevante en el sistema educativo ecuatoriano, ya que es una lengua extranjera que se enseña actualmente desde educación básica hasta la universidad y cuenta con un plan de estudios definidos para cada sistema educativo. Según la Constitución del Ecuador los sistemas educativos...

Este capítulo tiene como objetivo contribuir con una iniciativa para el fortalecimiento de la competencia investigativa en el perfil profesional de los docentes de inglés como lengua extranjera de educación primaria y secundaria de Ecuador. Se realiza una revisión cronológica de la política educativa del país (2012-2020) con relación al fomento del...

This study analyzes three textbooks that have been used to teach English to eighth graders in Ecuadorian public secondary schools from 1993 to midyear of 2019. The textbooks in question included Our World Through English (OWTE) 1, Postcards 1A, and Viewpoints English A1.1. This work provides a descriptive review of how such textbooks supported stud...

The advent of technology has influenced education, even in the most remote parts of the world. Nowadays, it is totally normal for a person to have some technological devices such as laptops, iPads, tablets, and especially cell phones. Ecuador is not far from this reality. Moreover, in the English Language Learning Standards, the Ministry of Educati...

This chapter reports on a study conducted at the university level where students majoring in Hospitality and Tourism participated as principal users of videos to develop vocabulary of their field. The study aimed to find out the opinions of students about the use of English subtitled videos or movies to develop tourism vocabulary and to explore the...

What should foreign language teachers do to help their students improve their linguistic skills? Many are the ways how teachers can support their students´ learning process. There are a variety of methods, strategies, techniques, as well as materials and resources we can rely on in order for our students to succeed in the development of their skill...

One of most important sources of frustration for teachers is not being able to manage their classes successfully, especially since class management is closely related to student learning (Soria Duarte & Quezada Campoverde, 2018). This article presents several guidelines that can help teachers to manage their classes effectively, especially when wor...

Roleplaying is a technique that allows teachers to assess students’ speaking skills development. This is accomplished when the causes that prevent learners from taking part in Role-Plays (RP) are reduced through actions that will lead them to learn more vocabulary, have more grammar control, and become more fluent, less shy, more encouraged, and mo...

This contribution reports on a study of the motivational strategies used in the English as a foreign language classroom in Ecuador. The sample consisted of secondary school teachers (N=80) and students (N=350) who were recruited randomly. Using a mixed-methods approach-a questionnaire and a semi-structured interview-the results revealed an interest...

Pre-instructional assessment is essential to teach EFL/ESL students effectively. Several studies have shown the importance of pre-instructional assessment; however, most of them focus on the pre-assessment of the cognitive and academic areas only. In doing so, two aspects that have an important impact on students' performance have been left out: th...

Individuals´ learning of a second or foreign language has been traditionally measured with paper-and-pencil tests. Unfortunately, such assessment practice prevents learners from demonstrating the skills gained throughout the teachinglearning processes and thus, their actual ability to use the target language effectively. It also limits learners fro...

aims at portraying the gradual change in the status of the English as a Foreign Language (EFL) subject within the Ecuadorian National Curriculum for public primary schools since it was introduced in the curriculum in 2000. For the achievement of this purpose, we performed a review of public documents including Ministry of Education agreements, stud...

This action-research aims at improving future English language teachers’ proficiency in English through the use of Corrective Feedback (CF) supported on Information and Communication Technology (ICT). Twenty two English teacher education undergraduates in Ecuador participated of a four-month educational intervention that involved literature circles...

This study aims at analyzing international baccalaureate students´ perspectives towards how taking part in oral presentations influences their English speaking skills. Forty-one students participated in the study; 27 students were enrolled in the second year of the international baccalaureate program at a public high school in Ecuador and 14 in the...

Between 2016 and 2017, English as a Foreign Language (EFL) was officially introduced as a compulsory subject in primary schools. Prior to this, EFL teaching in primary schools held the status of an elective subject or complementary activity, to the point that its inclusion in the school curriculum depended, among other aspects, on the school princi...

This work presents the perspectives of students regarding the use of synonyms for learning of English as a foreign language. This work was developed by using a case study as a methodological design. The participants of the study were 23 students enrolled in the Technical English I course from the Business Administration career and the International...

Performance-based tasks enable students’ to demonstrate their learning progress in authentic ways. They also provide foreign language teachers with opportunities to challenge their students to use the language and therefore, assess the development of their skills. Acknowledging the advantages that these activities provide, this work aims at sugges...

Writing is probably the most complex skill to develop during the foreign language acquisition process because of its specific features. This work aims to improve learners` English language writing production through working collaboratively and using technological means. One hundred ten students (38 males and 72 females) from two Ecuadorian universi...

This study aims at portraying the gradual change in the status of the English as a Foreign Language (EFL) subject within the Ecuadorian National Curriculum for public primary schools since it was introduced in the curriculum in 2000. For the achievement of this purpose, we performed a review of public documents including Ministry of Education agree...

This study aims at portraying the gradual change in the status of the English as a Foreign Language (EFL) subject within the Ecuadorian National Curriculum for public primary schools since it was introduced in the curriculum in 2000. For the achievement of this purpose, we performed a review of public documents including Ministry of Education agree...

This work aims at identifying the strategies that generate major differentiation in use among students enrolled in Technical English I and Technical English II, before, during, and after the development of video-based oral presentations. Sixty-nine students took part in the study. They recorded one video per week for over ten weeks. Those students...

This work compares four of the most widely used teaching approaches in foreign language contexts; Grammar-Translation, Audiolingual, Communicative, and Natural Approaches. For the comparison, seven features were considered; supporting theories, creation purpose, materials and techniques used, and the roles of teachers, students, and students´ mothe...

This work aims at analyzing English for Specific Purposes students´ perspectives towards the recording of videos as a mean to explain class content. Seventy-five students took part in the study. They recorded one video per week for over ten weeks. Those students who had recorded at least six videos were considered for the study. The participants co...

This work aims at identifying the strategies that generate major differentiation in use among students enrolled in Technical English I and Technical English II, before, during, and after the development of video-based oral presentations. Sixty-nine students took part in the study. They recorded one video per week for over ten weeks. Those students...

This work is part of a collection of books in which, from different perspectives, several Ecuadorian EFL educators have discussed topics related to curriculum, culture, instruction, assessment, and technology. The six sections of this book will serve as a guide for EFL teachers so that they can be informed about different teaching approaches and ho...

La investigación cualitativa, rutas para la puesta en práctica tiene como objetivo, ofrecer a los investigadores noveles nuevas rutas para superar las dudas de siempre, y lograr desatar aquellos nudos que aparecen sobre la marcha de los procesos de investigación. La presente versión ha sido elaborada pensando en dar respuesta de manera especial, al...

This work aims at exploring what differentiated instruction is by providing an overview about how different authors conceive this new approach used in classroom instruction. It also provides an overview about how Vygotsky' Sociocultural Theory has influenced differentiated instruction, what can be differentiated in the teaching/learning process as...

This work aims at exploring the social and educational forces that impact any curriculum. It also provides an overview about how culture, ethnicity, linguistics, politics, economy, and history have impacted the curriculum in Ecuador in the past and today. The educational forces that intervene in the development of the curriculum in Ecuador are also...