Integrating language literacy in physical sciences in Riba Cross District, South Africa

The language of teaching and learning challenges Physical Sciences teachers and impacts learners’ achievements. The study aimed to investigate how language literacy is integrated into the teaching of Physical Sciences. A descriptive survey design was adopted. The participants were five Grade 10 Physical Sciences teachers and 211 learners (108 boys; 103 girls) from nine schools exhibiting low academic achievements. Data were gleaned through the Literacy Skills Usage Survey Questionnaire (LSUSQ). The results show that 77.78% of the teachers did not engage learners in report writing and arguments which are fundamental to language literacy, suggesting that integrating literacy in science teaching was inadequate. Learners had difficulties in contributing to word walls, writing reports, and arguing from evidence. The lack of integration suggests that teachers lacked training in integrating language literacy into science teaching. These findings underscore the need for workshops to enable teachers to incorporate language literacy in teaching Physical Sciences. Keywords: arguing from evidence, integrate, language literacy, reading and report writing

DEVELOPING WORD WALLS AS MEDIA IN TEACHING WRITING SKILLS ON DESCRIPTIVE TEXT FOR SEVENTH GRADE STUDENTS AT MTS S NURUL HAKIM TEMBUNG

The aim of this study is to develop Word Walls as media for teaching writing descriptive text at the seventh grade students of MTs S Nurul Hakim Tembung. The researcher used Research and Development (R & D) method through six steps: gathering data and information, need analysis, media design, validating to experts, revising, and final product. The subjects of this research were 26 students from VII A at MTs S Nurul Hakim Tembung. The instrument of collecting data was using questionnaires and interviewing the teacher. The data were analyzed by descriptive text technique. The product was assessed from two experts. The average scores of the product assessment were 90 from English teacher, and 92 from English lecturer. The total average scores from two experts were 91 which was in very good quality. It means that the developed product/Word Walls is eligible to be used for teaching writing descriptive text for the seventh grades students at MTs S Nurul Hakim Tembung. Keywords: Research and Development (R & D), writing descriptive text, word walls.

IMPROVING STUDENTS� VOCABULARY MASTERY BY USING WORD WALLS STRATEGY AND ALPHABOXES STRATEGY TO UNDERSTAND DESCRIPTIVE TEXT

The purpose of this research was to measure how far the Words Walls Strategy and Alphaboxes Strategy can improve students� vocabulary mastery in understanding descriptive text. This was the kind of action research where the writer tried to collaborate his idea with the English teacher of the seventh grade of SMP Naskat Maria Mediatrix Ambon to gain the data of his research. the writer conducted his research at the first grade of SMP Naskat Maria Mediatrix in 2014/2015 Academic year. There are 22 students at that grade as the subjects of this research. In applying those strategies, There were two cycles: the first cycle consisted of six meetings where three meetings for use of Word Walls Strategy and Alphaboxes Strategy was sucessful in improving students� vocabulary mastery in implementing Words Walls Strategy and another three meetings for the Alphaboxes strategy. For the second cycle, the writer used four meetings for applying both strategies. The writer used the students� test result to measure the improvement of their vocabulary achievement. The writer found out that there were a significant differences scores after implementing both strategies. It proved that the students� understanding of descriptive text well toward those strategies.Keywords: vocabulary mastery, word walls strategy, alphaboxes strategy, descriptive text .

THE EFFECT OF STUDENTS’ PERSONALITY LEARNING STYLE AND TEACHING METHODS ON THEIR VOCABULARY ACHIEVEMENT

The objectives of the study are to investigate whether the students’ personality learning styles affect the students’ vocabulary achievement, to find out whether word walls significantly affects the students’ vocabulary achievement and to find out whether there is any significant interaction between students’ personality learning style and word walls on students’ vocabulary achievement. An experimental research with factorial design 2x2 was used in this research. There were 120 students from the fifth and sixth grade students of SDIT Bunayya Padangsidimpuan taken as sample of this research. Students’ vocabulary achievement was measured by using test of multiple choice. The data were analyzed by applying Two-way Anova. The result of testing of the first hypothesis shows that students’ vocabulary achievement that was taught by word walls is significantly higher than that was taught without word walls. The second hypothesis testing shows that students’ vocabulary achievement with extrovert personality learning style higher than that have introvert personality learning style. The third hypothesis testing shows that there is an interaction between word walls and personality learning style. Students’ vocabulary achievement is influenced by teaching method of word walls and personality learning style.

English Acquisition of Reading and Writing Skills on Learners at Fourth Grade at Jesus School

Teaching English in II Cycle at public primary schools in Costa Rica relies on integrating and interrelating the four basic skills in the communication process. The English Acquisition of Reading and Writing Skills on Learners at fourth grade at Jesus School article is a consolidation of the research study developed in 2013. The purpose of this study was to research on learning strategies that stimulate the acquisition of reading and writing skills in fourth level at Jesus de Atenas public school located in Atenas. The study implemented reading and writing strategies. The collection of data was performed by using a qualitative approach using four different instruments: three classroom observations, two artifacts as evidence of the students’ performance, a focus group and, an interview to the English advisor at Regional de Alajuela. The data collection process demonstrated that students improved both reading and writing competence after performing strategies such as Word Walls, Group Writing and Print- Rich Environment. The analyzed results in this study confirmed that the applied strategies stimulate the acquisition of reading and writing skills in fourth graders at a public school.