Browsing by Subject "käänteinen opetus"

This thesis focuses on the usage of prestudy materials in EFL teaching in Finnish basic education and the relation between this usage and the learners’ attitudes towards learning English. The research questions are the following: 1) what kinds of attitudes Finnish pupils have towards learning English, 2) what do the pupils and the teacher think about the usage of prestudy materials, and 3) does the usage of prestudy materials relate to the pupils’ attitudes towards learning English and if so, how? The study was conducted as an intervention study. The participants were in the fifth and eighth grade of Finnish basic education. There were 14 participants from each grade. The pupils’ attitudes towards learning English were measured with a questionnaire both before and after the intervention. During the intervention, both grades used prestudy materials as follows: before taking up a new unit in their textbooks in class, the teacher gave the pupils prestudy materials prepared by the researcher to be done as homework. The prestudy materials familiarised the pupils with the theme and vocabulary of the upcoming unit. In addition to measuring the pupils’ attitudes, the post-intervention questionnaire also included a section inquiring about the pupils’ experiences of the prestudy. The teacher was interviewed both before and after the intervention. The results of the study show that the pupils mainly have positive attitudes towards learning English. No clear relation between the usage of prestudy materials and the pupils’ attitudes towards learning English was found. However, the results show that the fifth graders think that the prestudy materials were beneficial. They reported being more active in class and stated that it was easier for them to understand the texts after having done the prestudy exercises. Based on the results it seems that the usage of prestudy materials is more beneficial if the subject is difficult for the learners. In contrast to the fifth graders, the eighth graders’ textbooks already included prestudy exercises, which they did in class. Based on the results, the eighth graders think that these exercises are sufficient and they do not think they need prestudy materials that are done as homework.