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

Abstract

This research analyzed the influence of large classes in the English language teaching –learning process in Ecuadorian high schools. During the field research, five classes were observed to identify the instructional, social, and psychological implications that large classes have on the teaching – learning process. This study was carried out in five public and private high schools located in the city of Jipijapa, in the province of Manabí, Ecuador in 2013. The sample consisted of students from 8th to 10th year of basic education, where each class has more than 35 students.

The methods used in this research were quantitative and qualitative in order to obtain accurate information about the main implications that influence the English language teaching-learning process in large classes. The results of this research show that the factors that influence the English language teaching-learning process are lack of skills in managing learning, class size, among others. The obtained results will benefit teachers and students who are involved in the teaching learning process because they will have better opportunities in their academic and professional lives.

Key words: class size, classroom space, seating arrangements, large class.

Resumen

La presente investigación analiza la influencia de las clases numerosas en el proceso de enseñanza aprendizaje del idioma Inglés en los colegios del Ecuador. Durante la investigación de campo, se observaron cinco clases para identificar las consecuencias educativas, sociales y psicológicas en el proceso de enseñanza-aprendizaje. El estudio se llevó a cabo en cinco colegios públicos y privados ubicados en la ciudad de Jipijapa provincia de Manabí, Ecuador en el año 2013. La muestra estuvo conformada por estudiantes del 8vo al 10mo año de educación básica, donde cada aula tiene más de 35 estudiantes. Los métodos utilizados en este estudio fueron el cuantitativo y cualitativo para obtener información de las principales implicaciones que influyen en el proceso de enseñanza-aprendizaje del idioma Inglés en clases numerosas. Los resultados de esta investigación muestran que las principales implicaciones en el proceso de enseñanza-aprendizaje son la falta de manejo de las destrezas, el tamaño de las clases, entre otros. Los resultados obtenidos beneficiarán a los profesores y alumnos que están involucrados en el proceso de enseñanza-aprendizaje porque tendrán mejores oportunidades en su vida académica y profesional.Palabras clave: tamaño de las clases, el espacio del aula, arreglos de asientos, clases numerosas.

Introduction

Improving the quality of education is one of the aspects that the current Ecuadorian government has considered in the organic law of intercultural education. From that point of view, the Ministry of Education (2013) established a set of quality standards in order to improve the teaching-learning process in high schools. However, there are important issues that still hinder the interaction and English language acquisition in the classroom; one of those factors is class size. Nowadays, there is a high demand of student registration at the beginning of each school year in Ecuadorian high schools. For that reason, the purpose of this research is to determine the effects of learning English in large classes.

Determining whether large classes affect the English teaching-learning process involves the following research questions: What instructional implications do large classes have on the teaching-learning process? What social implications do large classes have on the teaching-learning process? What psychological implications do large classes have on the teaching-learning process? The responses to those questions will make possible to provide teachers and educational authorities with a set of important actions in order to improve the quality of teaching and learning English in large classes.

Class size has awoken an important debate all over the world, and other researchers have investigated its influence on teachers and learners. Therefore, this investigation revises five previous studies from which three are briefly presented in this section.

Thaher (2005) conducted a study to determine if the instructional, psychological, and social factors affect large classes on EFL students at An-Najah National University. The researcher found that these factors have a great impact on students" English learning and that classroom interactions in large classes are negatively associated with class size.

Furthermore, Yetunde (1999) conducted a study to explore the effects of over-crowded classrooms on teacher – student interactions. The researcher found that seating arrangement in overpopulated classes limits the quality and quantity of interactions between teachers and students as well as on the quality of teaching and learning.

Likewise, Adeyemi (2008) conducted a study to find out the influence of class-size on the quality of output in Secondary schools in Ekiti State, Nigeria. The researcher concluded that class-size is a critical factor in determining the quality of output from secondary schools; he found that in small classes the students had better quality than in schools with large classes.

Some of the benefits of the current investigation are that it shows the influence of large classes in the English language teaching-learning process in Ecuadorian high schools, so that the authorities will have the possibility to improve the level of English of the students. In addition, this research will provide to the future EFL researchers with useful information that they can use as a bibliographical source for increasing the study about of this theme.

In spite of the significance of the results found in this research, there were two limitations, first the fact that some students exaggerated their behavior, while others were shy as a result of the presence of the researcher in the classroom, and the second limitation was related to the questionnaire, because some students mentioned that the questions were difficult to understand.

Discussion

Literature Review

The purpose of this section is to present a revision of important literature related to the English teaching-learning process as well as to class size. The main topics included in this section are: teaching approaches and methods, learning managing, and seating arrangement. In addition, five studies done by different researchers on large classes are described in order to provide the necessary support for analyzing the results.

Teaching Approaches and Methods

There are different approaches and methods that teachers may use during the development of their classes, and these are applied according to the objectives of each lesson. One of these methods is the Total Physical Response which is a language teaching method built around the coordination of speech and action. According to Richards and Rodgers (2011), the purpose of this method is to use body movements for helping students to comprehend the meaning of the target language. The method was developed by Asher who observed that children learn a language from interpreting the physical gestures associated with the words they listen from adults. In the same way, he believes that this process can be applied in adults in order to facilitate their learning and it can also reduce learner´s stress that people feel when studying a foreign language.

Another approach used by teachers to teach English in the classroom is the Communicative Language Teaching. According to Hymes (1972), when a person gets communicative competence he or she acquires both knowledge and ability for language use. Thus, teachers are facilitators who use a lot of real world material to encourage learners to communicate each other using the target language.

Moreover, language forms are selected according to learner´s needs. In that way, learners are able to identify the most commonly used structures that will allow them to communicate in a natural environment. In addition, Littlewood (1981) distinguished the activities in Communicative Language Teaching between functional communication activities and social interactive activities; the first one incorporates tasks such as comparing sets of pictures, following directions and solving problems; the second one contains activities such as discussion session dialogues, debates and role plays. In this way, the teacher encourages students to practice and develop communicative skills.

Another important approach which serves as an instrument for teachers is the Whole Language Approach which emphasizes the learning process in reading and writing skills. Richards and Rodgers (2011) mention that the learning theory is based on the humanistic and constructivist schools, as a result, constructivist learners "create meaning," "learn by doing" and work collaboratively "in mixed groups on common projects." At the same time, the teacher is a facilitator, who creates a climate that will carry collaborative learning process; another characteristic of this approach is that teachers prefer to use real- world material than commercial texts as newspapers, storybooks etc, encourage to work in cooperative learning process in small groups of reading and writing activities, where the students are also evaluators, evaluating themselves and others" learning, with the help of their teacher.

Similarly, another approach which involves cooperative activities in pairs and small groups of learners is Cooperative Language Learning, because learning English depends on the socially structured information exchange between learners groups and in which each learner cheers up herself/himself and can encourage to their partners in order to increase their learning. Olsen and Kagan (1992) consider that with this approach the teacher builds a positive relationship among students, focuses his attention into language structures, and communicative functions through the interactive tasks that he/she uses. In this way, learners can increase their motivation and reduce their stress.

Regarding the Content – Based Instruction (CBI), Brown (2002, p.234) claims that "content- based language teaching integrates the learning of some specific subject- matter content with the learning of a second language". According to the author, learners acquire knowledge not only about the language but also about the contents being taught such as geography, culture, history, or math; in integrated skills. In the same way, Larsen (2000) describes that during the language class, the language teacher focuses on helping students process the language in order to understand the academic content presented by the subject teacher; in fact, teachers help students to complete academic tasks such as writing term papers, improving their note-taking abilities, and reading academic textbooks assigned by the teacher.

Concerning the Task- Based Language Teaching (TBLT), it uses communicative tasks in which learners have to demonstrate their level of knowledge of the language; meaning, communication, task completion and assessment, which are important aspects that teachers have to take into consideration. Moreover Pica, Kanagy, and Falondun (1993) consider that tasks can be classified according to the type of interaction that occurs in task accomplishment, for instance, Jigsaw tasks, Information-gap tasks, problem-solving tasks, decision-making tasks, and opinion exchange tasks, which will be done in pairs, or small groups.

In contrast with the previous methods which include interactive activities and develop the four skills, there is a method that increases only reading and writing skills; this method is called "Grammar- Translation". Richards and Rodgers (2001) mention that Grammar translation is a way of studying a language through the analysis of its grammar rules, memorization and lists of vocabulary with the purpose of applying this knowledge of translating sentences and text into and out of the target language.

In brief, there are different methods and approaches that are useful for teachers and they can be applied according to the teaching objective of a lesson.

Class size

The amount of students in a classroom is a factor that teachers need to consider in order to plan a lesson. In this respect, Mayer (2000, p. 31) claims "that the way teachers implement the course content, instructional pedagogy, and technology used in the classroom may all be influenced by the number of students in the class." A long debate in class size support small classes especially with students that come from lower social and economic backgrounds. The author considers that students learn better in small classes because teachers are able to use techniques and pedagogy effectively. An interesting point mentioned refers to the limited number of research done about the effects of class size in the teaching process. Studies have focused frequently on the relationship between class size and teachers´ ability to deal with disciplinary problems.

Similarly, Blatchford (2003) also refers to different points of view that

support small classes and others that support large classes. Basically, this author

states that enthusiast who claim in favor of small classes argue that teachers can

apply teaching strategies appropriately. On the other hand, a high cost of class size

reduction is the main argument of those who hold teaching in large classes. In sum,

this author expresses that there is little research done about the effect of class size in

students´ learning success.

With regard to large classes, Brown (2002) does not give evidence of the

effect in the learning process but he explains that some problems evidenced in

classrooms with more than thirty students are: variety of abilities and proficiency,

individual attention is reduced; students have fewer opportunities to practices

speaking and it is hard to provide feedback to students" written works.

Managing learning (instructions, feedback, discipline, and timing)

The instructions are an important tool that teachers give to the students. In fact, Gower, Phillips and Walters (2005) mention that teachers should first make sure everyone is listening and watching the instructions in order to get the student´s attention. Another tool is the use of a simple language and short expressions that are entirely appropriate to a situation where the students accept the teachers´ authority in order to make language practice efficient and to avoid confusion and uncertainty. Additionally, it is convenient to support instructions with visual clues such us real object, pictures, gestures and mime or giving written instructions on cards or pieces of paper. After the teacher gives a demonstration or an example to explain the instructions, and finally he checks that students have understood what they are required to do.

Likewise, Scrivener (2005) suggests that one important reason why learners may not successfully follow activity instructions is that they do not actually hear them, perhaps because they do not fully pay attention when they are given. In this sense, teachers often invest energy finding appropriate ways to work their instructions instead of focusing on getting students" attention before telling them how to develop the activities.

Feedback is another important aspect that teachers should apply in their classes. According to Gower, Phillips and Walters (2005) feedback is one of the most important responsibilities of a teacher, whereby teachers can help their students evaluate their success and progress. In addition, feedback can take a number of forms: giving praise and encouragement; correcting; setting regular tests; having discussions about how the group as a whole is doing; giving individual tutorial, etc. The type and extent of feedback and its timing depends on a variety of factors such as culture, the stage of the lesson, and the type of activities.

According to Scrivener (2005), feedback can be provided at the beginning and at the end of a lesson, at the end of a week, at the beginning or at the end of a new course book unit, or before and after class activities. Thus, doing feedback of any sort may be difficult for teachers the first time, but at the end it results in increased honesty, openness and mutual respect; certainly, it has a great long-term benefit.

An additional aspect that teachers need to control in the class is discipline, which depends on a number of factors such as the age of the students because children need to be more disciplined than adults. Other aspects are the reasons for learning and the motivation of the students because in some cases they are obliged to be in class. It is more difficult to keep a good atmosphere in a large class than in a small class because the atmosphere and methods of the educational institutions impact in the behavior of the students too.

Moreover, timing is a significant factor in the teaching-learning process because teachers can use time management in the classroom to optimize learning opportunities for students. In other words, moving quickly through the planned learning activities.

About timing, Cowley (2009) mentions different reasons by which managing time is important in English teaching; for example, to give students enough time to work adequately, to control behavior, and also to clear up doubts. In addition, the author comments that each activity on a lesson plan must have an adequate amount of time but sometimes it is not easy for teachers to develop their lessons as they planned.

In summary, managing learning in the classroom is necessary in order to develop the teaching-learning process efficiently.

Managing large classes

In many countries, the main constraint for teachers on creative teaching is the size of the class. Common difficulties include problems to move in the classroom, teachers are not able to provide equal attention to all students, and the discipline in this kind of class can be a big problem. In order to overcome these difficulties, Scrivener (2005) suggests some ideas to be applied with large classes such as rearranging the classroom furniture, pushing the seats up against the wall, or negotiate a discipline contract with students in order to have them working quietly.

From a similar point of view, Woodward (2001) considers important to control interaction in the classroom through investing plenty of time in learning students" names. Another strategy mentioned by this author is to break up the group and have fleeting one-to-one with lots of different students. Also, it is important to maintain clear eye contact with individuals, and do not bank on achieving group control by simply speaking loudly. Instead, the author remarks that it is recommended to use other systems for attracting students' attention such as hands up, tapping on the board, ringing a little bell to attract their attention.

In addition, Woodward (2001) suggests a plan to establish a certain amount of routine in the large classroom. Nevertheless, it is important not to make routines too fixed, or the class will go into automatic pilot and it will be very difficult to turn them once they have started. Besides, the author recommends keeping students involved from the beginning of the lesson in order to achieve a working atmosphere. The author also proposes the use of plenary phases and large display surfaces, such as the board, as a way of returning the whole class to cohesion after group work.

In order to maintain the cohesion of the group, UNESCO (2006) considers that establishing reasonable rules for student behavior helps the class to work effectively. Students need to know their limits, as well as how to behave with others and respect their rights. Another suggestion given by this author concerns with involving students in managing the classroom"s physical space since it helps them to develop a sense of responsibility. Students can hang up their pieces of work, create bulletin boards, and place their instructional materials in a safe place in order to clear space between rows. Students can also be helpful in solving space problems. When a problem occurs, such as students bumping into each other or inadequate seating space, ask them to suggest solutions.

Activities for working with large classes

According to Harmer (2007), despite the problems of big classes, there are things that teachers can do such as using worksheets to hand out worksheets for many of the tasks which they would normally do with the whole class. Pair work and group work play an important part since they maximize students´ participation. There are ways of doing this: first rows turn to face second rows, third rows to face fourth rows, etc. It is important to make instructions especially clear, and agree on how to stop the activity.

An additional activity is chorus reaction where the class can be divided into two groups, the front five rows and the back five rows. Then, each row/half can speak a part in a dialogue, ask or answer a question, and repeat sentences or words.

Similarly, Hubbard, Jones, Thornton and Wheeler (1985) discuss several approaches and suggest some accompanying activities such as dramatization and role-play. They also recommend class sections because it is often very helpful to have two established sections in the classroom so that the teacher can direct his attention to just one of them from time to time. They consider that games are often wrongly regarded as an end-of-term activity or something to fill in the last five minutes of a lesson.

According to Roger, Diane, and Steve (2005), a role play is when students take part of a particular person, and can be used to give the students an opportunity to try out language recently introduced in order to improve their fluency. Likewise, Harmer (2007) claims that role plays simulate the real world in the same kind of way, but the students are given particular roles, they are told who they are and often what they think about a certain subject.

Other complements in the classes are games. Roger, Diane, and Steve (2005) mention that many conventional games can be adapted to foreign language teaching. As with any communication activity, the areas of language produced may be predictable, and therefore useful as a guided activity, or less predictable and suitable for a freer stage. On the other hand, they remark that in multinational classes some games can be a problem if some students know the game and others have never heard of it. The latter are at a disadvantage at first.

UNESCO (2006) mentions that there are three main objectives in using small groups in large classes, first, to provide energy and interaction, to enable students to think during class, to participate actively, and to generate more ideas about a text or topic; second, to give the teacher an opportunity to interact with more students while he moves around the room, to provide a short break and shift in energy, which will make students more likely to listen to the teacher"s next 20 minutes of lecturing.

This author mentions other active learning activities for large classes, which require individual answers. In large classes, there might not be enough time. However, all of the students should be given the chance to participate in many of them. The challenge lies in selecting the type of activity to match the purpose or objective of the lesson, as round. Each student has a 2 or 3 minutes opportunity to express his or her point of view on a given topic, or passes, while others listen. The teacher could also make a brainstorm where the students individually think about an issue or a problem , after listing the possible causes and finally ask them to share their ideas and compile a list of solutions possible, another is concept model in which the teacher: gives students handouts, or lists on the chalkboard, a series of leading questions. Students work in small groups then figure out how something works or builds a conceptual model.

Seating arrangement and classroom space (physical space- big/small rooms)

The teacher´s position and the way that the teacher organizes the position of the students in the class are of great importance. According to Gower, Phillips, and Walters (2005), the location where the students sit in a classroom determines their attitude towards their classmates and the teacher. The authors state that seating arrangement influences the type of interaction and activities in the classroom. In this sense, the arrangement of the classroom furniture always affects the learning atmosphere to some extent because the choice sometimes is out of the teachers" control. The authors add that seating arrangement is defined by the type of teaching-learning activities. Horseshoe allows easy, face –to-face contact between the students and between their teachers. One variation is the double horseshoe that consists on facing seats in rows; it helps if the two halves are slightly at an angle.

Another seating style described by Gower, Phillips, and Walters (2005) require that students sit around their tables to discuss a topic; it is known as cafe style. This type of arrangement allows all students to see what is going on the front of class clearly and comfortably. On the other hand, the authors mention that individual activities can be developed by moving furniture to the edges of the classroom for creating a space in the center of the room allowing the students to move around. According to the authors, all those styles show that seating arrangement depends on the size of the class, the size of the groups, the types of activities and the style of the furniture.

In the same way, Scrivener (2005) considers that change in seating arrangement helps students to interact in order to establish a leaner-centered class. The author states that even seats are fixed, semi-fixed or large, it is possible to have students working in relation to the activities designed. Some alternatives might include asking students to turn around their seats to work with a classmate behind. Also, students in a row can work with others in the next row. In case the classroom is not big enough to move seats, the author recommends asking students to stand up and exchange their seats with other classmates.

In addition, Scrivener (2005) highlights that teachers may add interaction and fun to seating arrangement by relating it to the teaching context such as simulating a train carriage, a plane, a town center, etc. Moreover, the same author mentions that students may push seats against the class walls for creating a forum environment in order to discuss topics.

However, other arrangements are possible like a circle or horseshoe; learners can make eye contact with everyone else in the group and thus interact much more naturally. The author also suggests pushing all seats up against the wall and make a large, open forum space in the middle of the room; another strategy is to divide the classroom into separate groups at far corners of the room. The author says that in a standard classroom there can be pairs, enemy corners, opposing teams, face to face, panel, public meeting, buzz groups, and wheels.

Another important aspect is the influence of physical classroom in the students" learning. According to Feinstein (2006, p. 368) "When students´ attention is drawn to a perceived threat, the brain´s ability to learn and remember new information may be minimized." By threats this author refers to a combination of different factors such as social interactions, academic challenges, or physical elements like lighting quality, noise, air quality and temperature that not allow learners to concentrate well in classes.

Regarding physical classroom, Dimmock (2000, p. 109) "addresses that students learning involves creating favorable conditions for learning. These conditions include the physical and emotional state of the student, and the physical classroom environment". An important aspect about the physical context is the use of space, changing furniture and designing adequate space increases the probability of good learning.

Different levels of proficiency

One of the biggest problems teachers confront are classes where the students are at different levels, where some with quite competent English competed, some whose English isn't very good, and some whose English is only just getting started. According to Harmer (2007, p.176), teachers "regularly face mixed-ability groups where different individuals are at different levels and have different abilities. What are the possible ways of dealing with this situation?". According to the author, the differentiation, in other words, treating some students differently from others is possible by using different material and technology, encouraging students to do different tasks depending on their abilities, for example, while one group is working on a piece of language study, the other group might be reading a story or doing Internet-based research. Later, while better groups are discussing a topic, the weaker group or groups might be doing a parallel writing exercise, or sitting round a CD player listening to an audio track.

Some teachers adopt a strategy of peer help and teaching so that better students can help the weaker ones. However, this has to be done with great sensitivity so that students do not feel alienated by their over-knowledgeable peers or oppressed by their teaching role.

Similarly, Scrivener (2005) mentions the most common reasons why there are many learner"s level, as when students are grouping by age, and this seems very likely to lead to problems if some learners are significantly stronger or weaker than others; another typical problem in many schools is caused by the fact that it is often less troublesome for school administration to keep learners together as a class, because learners will progress at different speeds. This means that, even if a group was similar in level at the beginning of a course, there may be very different exit levels" at the end. The author also states the placement procedures as another cause of 'mixed-level' problems, because the placement testers sometimes give priority to friendship or personal requirements rather than place students according to real level obtained in the placement test.

Besides, in many cases learners may be together in the same class because the school does not have sufficient levels to fine-tune the classes more. Scrivener (2005, p. 68) says that "If we check the overall abilities of each person, we find some are 'weak Pre-Intermediate', some 'mid-Pre-Intermediate' and some 'strong Pre-Intermediate', maybe there are even some people who seem to belong to another level classification, say 'Elementary' or 'Intermediate'." In some cases, learners have good knowledge in grammar, and their vocabulary is a little weaker, but their speaking and listening are very much poorer.

To conclude with the literature review, it is necessary to examine a series of studies regarding the influence of large classes in the English language teaching –learning that were developed in different parts of the world.

Firstly, Yetunde (1999) did a research to identify the major problems caused by overpopulated classes in Nigeria with a view to making suggestions that could help to alleviate the problems. He applied a simple random sampling technique where eight schools were selected out of thirty secondary schools in the township. However, two types of instruments were used. One involved the use of class registers to obtain pupil enrolment by classroom and the second instrument was a questionnaire made by the researcher to determine the most serious effect of over-crowded classroom on teacher – student interactions.

In this study, the author concluded that seating arrangement in overpopulated classes limits the quality and quantity of interactions between teachers and students. Other issues that include punishment as a negative reinforcement is not an educationally expedient, these are direct results of poor quality training of teachers.

The second study was done by Adeyemi (2008) in order to examine the influence class-size had on the quality of output from secondary schools in Ekiti State, Nigeria. The instrument used for collecting data for the study was an inventory. Based on this finding, it is concluded that class-size is a critical factor in determining the quality of output from secondary schools in Ekiti State, Nigeria. Students in schools having small class-sizes had better quality of output than students in schools having large class-sizes.

The researcher recommended that the State Government should build more classrooms in all schools. In doing this, much emphasis should be given to the provision of more classrooms in the annual capital budget. Likewise, the approved teacher quota of one and one – half teacher per class should be allowed to remain but should be properly used in the distribution of teachers to school.

The third study was carried out by Aduwa-Ogiegbaen and Lyamu (2006) who investigated whether teaching methods, teaching resources, and classroom physical space had some influence in the English teaching- learning process. This study was performed with senior secondary students from five public schools in Nigeria; they answered a questionnaire with questions related to the aims of the research. In addition, the researchers observed classes in each high school to analyze the type of methods and resources used to teach English; students´ attitude towards the language, and behavior in the classroom was also observed.

The analysis of the questionnaires showed that students did not feel comfortable in the classrooms, and they complained about the lack of space and amount of students. As a result of the observations, researchers found that classes were teacher-centered and traditional materials (textbooks, chalkboard) were used to teach English classes. At the end of the study, the researchers concluded that the English teaching process did not have a good quality and this caused that students did not perform well in university language tests because of their poor skills.

The fourth study was performed by Blatchford, Bassett, Goldstein and Martin (2003) who studied whether class size differences affect pupils" academic achievement; and the connections between class size and classroom processes, which might explain any differences found. The information was collected from classes in terms of class size (as on the school register, and also in terms of the number of children in the class at a given point in the term, too the information on teachers in the study was collected from self-completed questionnaires called "experienced" class size). The method comprised whole class and selected child observations in terms of event sampling of significant events; semi-structured interviews with teachers and headteacher.

The results showed that there was a clear effect of class size differences

on children"s academic attainment over the (first) reception year. In the case of literacy, the lowest attainders on entry to school benefited most from small classes, particularly below 25. Connections between class size and classroom processes were examined and a summary model of relationships presented. Effects were multiple, not singular. In large classes there are more large groups and this presented teachers with more difficulties. On the other hand, in smaller classes there was more individual teacher contact with pupils and more support for learning, and in larger classes there was more pupil inattentiveness and off-task behaviour.

At the end of this study researchers concluded that much will depend on how teachers adapt their teaching to different class sizes and that could be done in teacher training and professional development to address contextual features such as class size.

The fifth study was done by Thaher (2005) who determined what effects (instructional, psychological or social) large classes have on students by investigating and analyzing EFL students´ attitudes toward large classes at An-Najah National University in Palestine. A questionnaire was applied according to a random distribution in English. The sample of the study consisted of 230 non-English major EFL students.

The findings of the study reveled that instructional effects have the highest mean over the social and the psychological effect. It appeared that despite the negative aspect of learning English in large classes, there can be some positive aspects that teachers could make use of.

Method

Setting and Participants

This research was conducted in five public and private high schools in which students from 8th to 10th basic year were selected as a sample. The participants were adolescents whose ages ranged between 12 and 14 years old, and who belonged to a low and middle social-economic condition. The students attended classes in the mornings.

Procedures

The investigation began with a review of bibliographical resources such as printed and digital books, websites, journals, among others. The topics considered for this research were related to the influence of large classes in the English language teaching – learning process; teaching methods and approaches, class size, managing learning, managing large classes, activities for working with large classes, different levels of proficiency, seating arrangement and classroom space. Furthermore, five studies were included in the revision of the literature in order to support the current investigation.

This study followed a quantitative and qualitative approach. Quantitative because data was tabulated and frequencies were calculated for its analysis, and quantitative because data was carefully described and analyzed. According to the research design, the techniques were surveys and note taking, while the instruments were questionnaires and statistical charts.

The questionnaires were used to gather students" perceptions on the instructional, social, and psychological effects of large classes in the teaching-learning process. For that purpose, twenty one Likert scale questions were included in the questionnaires. Each item asked students whether they totally agree, agree, partially agree, and disagree with the statements provided.

After gathering the results, it was necessary to calculate the frequencies and percentages for each question. The statistical information was presented in three statistical charts, and it was used to analyze and discuss students" perceptions about the instructional, social, and psychological implications of large classes in the teaching-learning process.

In order to provide a solid foundation for the analysis, the theories presented in the literature review were used to discuss the results of the investigation. Finally, the most important findings were considered for writing the conclusions and recommendations of this research.

Description, Analysis, and Interpretation of Results

The following analysis determines the influence of large classes in the English language teaching-learning process in Ecuadorian high schools, according to instructional, social and psychological implications that have been obtained from the data collected from students" questionnaires applied in public and private high schools.

Quantitative Analysis

Instructional implications

What instructional implications do large classes have in the teaching-learning process?

Academic issues

• 1. The activities done in class help to apply what students learn in class.

Author: Tania Macías Parrales

Source: Student´s Questionnaire

According to the results observed in graph No 1, 42% of the students agreed with the activities done in the class which help them to apply what is learned even though when being in a large class. Students who are provided well-planned activities, are able to apply what they learn despite being part of large classes; in the same manner, 37% of the students totally agreed with the activities provided in large classes because they can foster learning and be used without inconvenience.

Nevertheless, not all students feel the same way. Sixteen percent of the students partially agreed with this regard. On the other hand, 5% of them disagreed. These results indicate that not all the strategies or activities work in every classroom especially with every student.

According to the students" answers from both public and private high schools showed in graph No1, 42 % of the students tend to be positive. It might mean that the activities done in class help them to apply their knowledge. In addition, 37% of them considered that the activities in class allow them to apply everything learned.

Many students resist group work even though the ability to work well in a group is an essential skill for most students. In addition, students who learn in collaborative settings both learn and retain as not much as students who learn individually. Nonetheless, the 16% and 5% showed that learners consider that in large classes it is very difficult to put knowledge into practice, because of the amount of students and the inadequate size of the classroom. Additionally, teachers do not use the appropriated activities for the large classes.

Harmer (2007) states that despite of the problems of large classes; teachers can hand out worksheets to work with the whole class while students complete the exercises. Other solutions presented by this author are pair work and group work since these types of activities maximize student"s participation.

Students who learn in collaborative settings both learn and retain more easily than students who learn individually; however, Harmer (2007) explains that some students struggle to work with others. The results showed that some students consider that it is very difficult to put knowledge into practice. Therefore, they might have difficulties to work in groups and it leads them to give a negative opinion about the suitability of learning activities.

Another aspect that influences when putting knowledge into practice is the physical classroom. Dimmock (2000, p. 109) claims that, "Addressing how students best learn involves creating favorable conditions for learning. These conditions include the physical and emotional state of the student, and the physical classroom environment". An important aspect about the physical context is the use of space; changing furniture and designing adequate space which increases the probability of good learning.

Based on this information and in concordance with the authors, it is clear that students who were part of in this study could see that there are different conditions such as the physical classroom environment, the size of the class, the emotional state of the student, among other aspects that do not allow them to apply what they learn.

• 2. The activities done allow students to practice listening, speaking, reading and writing skills.

Author: Tania Macías Parrales

Source: Student´s Questionnaire

It can be observed in graph No 2 that 52% of the students totally agreed with the question; they considered that the activities done in the classroom allow them to practice listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills, while 32% of students agreed with this aspect. Perhaps it is important to consider that most of the students recognize that the activities during the class allow them to practice the four skills.

Gower, Phillips and Walters (2005) mention that "traditionally we have four language skills: two receptive (listening and reading), and two productive (speaking and writing)". These authors consider that integrated skills allow the practice of language which aims to replicate the real word communication. It helps to develop language skills among students. Moreover, language forms are selected according to the learner´s needs. In that way, learners are able to identify the most used structures that will allow them to communicate in a natural environment.

On the other hand, the 16% of the participants partially agreed, they believe that the activities in class do not allow them to practice listening, speaking, reading and writing skills; they mention that it is more difficult to communicate among them.