Students language vs standard language

Universidad de Tarapacá
Depto. Idiomas Extranjeros
Licenciatura en Inglés

RESEARCH PROJECT:
Students’ language v/s Standard language

Name: Ivette Chateau Hernandez
Jetzabeth Almarza
Date: November 29th
Class: Fundamentos deSociolingüistica
Teacher: Mauricio Cabrera

INDEX

Identification of the problem………………………………………. 3

Methodology or Procedures………………………………………. 5

Significance of the Proposal………………………………………. 7

Findings…………………………………………………………...… 8

Discussion…………………………………………………………... 10

Conclusion………………………………………………………….. 11Questionnaire………………………………………………………. 12

1- Identification of the problem

• Introduction:

In this proposal we are going to explain the reasons why our proposal is important, its purpose, the research design that we will apply, the steps to follow, and other important aspects. This research is based on the standard language used in SIMCE test and how it can affect students`performance. So, we will focus our research on students of 4th grade elementary school, from three schools with different social context in Arica.

• Purpose:

Through this ethnographic study we expect to show that students from a higher social context understand better the standard language used in national tests like the SIMCE. So, with the results of this investigation we pretend to makeaware the teachers of this difference in the language used in classes.

• General Objective:

Our objective is to provide clear information about the understanding of standard language of students from 4th grade in the different social contexts.

• Specific Objectives:

- Design the questionnaires for 4th grade elementary school students.
- Design questionnaires for theteachers.
- Check whether the tests and questionnaires are valid or not, with other professionals related to the area.
- Choose 3 schools from different social context (municipalizado, particular subvencionado and particular).
- Explain to the principal, UTP teacher or any other person involved with the permission to take these questionnaires in the school the investigation, howwill be conducted and its benefits.
- After every doubt has cleared out, ask for their approval.
- Decide the dates and time of the application of the questionnaires.
- Analyze the results and see if our hypothesis is valid or not.

• Statement of the problem:

The characteristics of the language that students use nowadays is a problem when taking National tests like theSIMCE, because these tests use standard language which is very different from the every day life language that student manage according to their social background and/or the school they assist.

• What is the SIMCE:

SIMCE is the acronym for Quality Measurement System of the Education (Sistema de Medición de la Calidad de la Educación in Spanish).
Its main purpose is to contribute tothe improvement of the quality and equity of the education, reporting on the performance of the students in different subsectors of the national curriculum, and relating to the social and school context in which they learn.
SIMCE evaluates the achievement of the Minimum Contents and Fundamental Objectives of the Curriculum Framework in Language, Math and Sciences, through a measurement thatapplies nation wide, once a year, to the students that study a determined educational level. By 2005, the application of the tests alternated among 4th, 8th and 10th grade. From year 2006, 4th grade is evaluated every year, and 8th and 10th grade alternate.
Besides the associated tests to the curriculum, the SIMCE also collects information on students and parents educational background through...