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4. THE STUDY
4.1 Why qualitative research? The author considered the qualitative research method as the best choicefor this case. Quantitative research does not go into individual issues indepth, it prefers quantitative data. This study is mainly focused onqualitative aspects of TEFL practices and LLS. Obtaining opinions, ideas,impressions and feelings from respondents may be useful to obtain moreunderstanding about the uses of LLS and teaching practices in theclassroom.4.2 Data analysisSubjectsThe nine subjects live in different cities or districts located in the centralregion of our country: Rancagua, San Bernardo, Maipu and Nuñoa. Their ages range from 22 to 45 years old. Four subjects out of nine are women,which reveals a strong female presence in the educational field.4.2.1 Brief description of the subjects:To identify the subjects we will use the abbreviation S followed by anumber.S1Subject one is in his thirties and lives in Santiago. He is married. He isgood humored and shows passion for his work. He is a former high schoolteacher. Currently, he is working at Tronwell, a school of foreignlanguages, located in Las Condes. He is an experienced teacher. He knowsand understands the importance of LLS in TEFL.S2Subject 2 is in his thirties and is single. He is less experienced than subjectone. He is currently working at a private university, but had worked withteenagers previously. He studied at UMCE, but finished the teacher trainingcourse in another university. He looks serious but at the same time he possesses a great sense of humor.S3
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Subject 3 is currently working at Universidad de las Americas. He is in histwenties and is married. He taught high school students when he did hisfinal practice to get a degree as a bachelor and as a teacher of English. Heis a serious and dedicated teacher. He studied at UMCE.S4She taught high school students doing her teacher training final practice.She is in her twenties and is single. She is working at Tronwell as well. Sheis energetic and cheerful.S5She teaches high school students in Rancagua. She is in her twenties and issingle. She is not very experienced in teaching. The author met this subjectthrough the Internet.S6This subject is in her twenties and is single. She was teaching high schoolstudents when she was contacted. She was living in the United States butnow she is back. She commented she did not like teaching according to her own words in informal conversations with the author of this dissertation.S7This interviewee is single and is in his twenties. He is currently teachinghigh school students in Buin. He works at a private school and teachesclasses of about 25 students. He studied teacher training at UMCE.S8This subject taught elementary and high school students. He is married andis in his twenties. He worked at San Jose school in Maipu. He was verystrict with his students but at the same time let them approach him. He hasa good sense of humor and loves his students. Now he is working at PDI.S9She is currently teaching high school students. She is in her twenties and issingle. She studied teacher training at UMCE as well. She has a great
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relationship with her students -according to her own words- in informalconversations with the author.4.2 Materials and instrumentsBy means of a survey, four teachers of English and three senior studentsanswered some questions about the teaching methods and the learningstrategies a group of students use at some Chilean schools. Besides this, 2EFL teachers who work -or worked- at 2 different high schools in Santiagoagreed to the request of being interviewed. Therefore, 2 different researchtools were used to collect information for further analysis. All of thesurveys were sent and submitted through the Internet. One of theinterviews is carried out in person while the other is done online through achatting service. Technology has made it possible to reach people’sopinions ‘in a click’ which has allowed the author to save time and money.Interviews are a common and fundamental tool for qualitative research.They are more personal and the researcher is able to observe the subject’sreactions reflected in gestures, facial expressions, hesitations, movements,false starts, among others which are also meaningful.4.2.1 Categorization of the subjects and other elements is one of theimportant processes in qualitative research.The subjects will be classified according to: a) experience, b)qualifications, c) gender, d) kind of job, e) degree, f) kind of training. First,a general categorization will be provided, followed by an individual one toobtain a complete view of the group under study.1) Teachers with 5 years of experience or more: threeS1, S2, S32) Teachers with less than 5 years of experience: sixS4, S5, S6, S7, S9, S103) Qualified teachers: fiveS1, S3, S2, S10, S84) Trainees/teachers without a degree: threeS5, S6, S4
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kevindement

Really good one. The are lot of possibilities to the students in the internet to get information on various topics. Many of the online services helping the students to reduce their stress. http://essayacademia.com

reply07 / 07 / 2010
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