The influence of large classes in the English language teaching-learning in Ecuadorian high schools

Abstract

Working with large classes could be one of the biggest challenges that teachers face every day. According to the Decennial Education Plan (2006-2015) proposed by The Minister of Education, the permanent economic restriction for investment has caused a high deficit in the number of classrooms. As a result, teachers need to enhance their innovative awareness and capabilities for developing effective ways for dealing with large classes based on the characteristics of large classes. In Ecuador there is not specified number of students per class either. UNESCO does not set a recommended number of students in a classroom because it recognizes the cultural and economic differences of each global region. Based on what it is mentioned above, it is necessary to investigate the theme of this study the influence of large classes in the English language teaching-learning process in Ecuadorian high schools, whose purpose is recognize: What instructional implications do large classes have on the teaching-learning process? What social implications do large classes have on the teaching-learning process? And what psychological implications do large classes have on the teaching-learning process? Similar studies have been carried in other countries. One of them was carried out by Ijaiya (1999) who formulated the following questions: Is there any correlation between the ranking of teachers and students with regard to the effects of over-crowded classrooms on classrooms interactions? Is there any correlation between the ranking of teachers and students concerning the coping strategies adopted by teachers in over-crowded classroom? The results of this study indicated that seating arrangement in over-populated class limits the quality and quantity of teacher-student and student-student interaction and teaching-learning process.