Improving 10th Grade Students’ Writing of Scientific Reports through Self-Assessment Techniques

Abstract

Starting with the invention and revolutionizing the way languages were taught, many schools across the world started immersion and bilingual programs with the purpose of offering better educational services. These, simultaneously, provided new opportunities for young learners to start mastering a foreign language: English, especially. Across time and boundaries, many non-English speaking countries researched and developed better methodologies for both kids and teens to engage in a new language. Ecuador is not the exception. In 2014, the National Curriculum proposed by the Ministry of Education invited all institutions to reconsider and adapt to the idea of providing the same range of skills through the years of education in primary and secondary, for the successful outcome of having a B1 English level. Having thought of these issues, there are many limitations that may be presented for teachers to have at the moment of making students catch up in the learning process. One of these challenges, as an example, is the way learners write through content subjects, like Science, Social Studies, and Business, among others. This is the case of students from 10th Grade from a private high school in Daule, Ecuador. Science (since it is not seen in Spanish) is one of the most challenging curricular topics they struggle with, up to the point of low scores and problems when writing ideas and failing in plagiarism as a consequence. Learners are unaware of the academic dishonesty this latter involves, and how to put their words in the scientific context of the class topic. Through the present Action Research, the implementation of self-assessment techniques for making learners improve their scientific writing skills might transform positively the way these students enhance the content and their autonomous abilities for life as well.