Traditional Colombian Games in Virtual and in-Person Education
Abstract
The main object of this research study was to enhance the Communicative Competence of fifth graders through the use of traditional Colombian games in virtual and in-person settings in an EFL classroom. The participants of this research study were thirty-three (33) students from a public school in Tunja, Boyacá, Colombia. This study is framed as qualitative Action Research. The methodological procedure implemented to collect data was based on the application of seven (7) workshops based on traditional Colombian games where the students were able to strengthen their Communicative Competence and use language in authentic school contexts, virtually and in-person classes. Three different instruments were taken into account in order to collect data: Video recordings, semi-structured interviews and a field journal. The findings of this research study revealed that the use of traditional Colombian games developed the Communicative Competence of the students, giving them tools to communicate in an authentic school context and not only during the development of the workshops but from now on as well. Regarding the motivation, it was evident that being able to interact with their classmates and teachers during the implementation of the games, made the students feel more comfortable and willing to participate in the activities proposed. Finally, the versatility of the workshops is a useful tool that allows us to cover much more topics, levels of language and settings (virtual and in-person) than usual
Keywords
Communicative Competence , traditional Colombian games, authentic school context and versality, virtuality, in-person classes
Author Biography
ALBERTO RAMÍREZ AVENDAÑO
Works as a full-time teacher of English at the School of Languages at the UPTC (2010-2022). He obtained his B.A. in English – Spanish teaching in 2000 from this same university. He participated in the Exchange Teacher Program of Amity for 7 years in Cincinnati (Ohio – United States, 2003-2010). In 2013 he received his MA diploma in Language Teaching from the UPTC
JOHANNA MILENA AVELLA GUTIÉRREZ
She holds a B.A in Foreign Languages English-French in 2022 from Universidad Pedagógica y Tecnológica de Colombia. She participated in the Intercultural Exchange Program of Au Pair for 2 years. (Oakland, California and Ithaca, New York (2019-2021).
MARÍA PAULA RINCÓN SILVA
She received her B.A. in Foreign Languages English-French in 2022 from Universidad Pedagógica y Tecnológica de Colombia. She was part of the Intercultural Exchange Program Au Pair for two years in Boston, Massachusetts (2018-2020)
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