Teachers and students perceptions of teaching English in small clases in Ecuador

Abstract

The study “Teachers and students’ perceptions of teaching English in small classes in Ecuador” is aimed to establish educators and learners’ insights, regarding the benefits of teaching in small classrooms; strategies and resources teachers use in these classrooms; how students feel in this environment; and, the constraints that may involve work in classes with a few number of pupils. The quantitative and qualitative methods were used to develop this study. The gathered data was presented in tables and graphs. The sample was taken from 5 English classes in 2 public high schools, and 1 private institution in the city of Cuenca. Sixty four students and 5 educators belonging to 8th grade of basic education to 3rd year of high school were surveyed and 5 class observations were done. The main conclusion points out that teaching English in small classes promotes a good learning environment where teachers can apply adequate teaching strategies. A small class facilitates seating arrangements that aid the teacher-student and student-student interaction, which entails communicative activities that are meaningful experiences to reach better English learning outcomes.