Open AccessDoes Methodology Affect the Students’ Perceived Level of English Proficiency? A case Study
Author(s) -
Virginia Vinuesa Benítez,
Ana Isabel Cid Cid
Publication year - 1970
Publication title -
porta linguarum
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.554
H-Index - 13
eISSN - 2695-8244
pISSN - 1697-7467
DOI - 10.30827/pl.v0i32.13705
Subject(s) - likert scale , psychology , competence (human resources) , perception , mathematics education , affect (linguistics) , foreign language , language proficiency , english language , social psychology , developmental psychology , communication , neuroscience
The present study delves into the perceptions and opinions of first year university students regarding their experiences in the teaching-learning process of a second language dur-ing secondary education. Accordingly, the paper details a cross-sectional study carried out with a sample of 1,729 students of the Faculty of Social Sciences and Law of Rey Juan Carlos University in Madrid. The variables related to the methodology used by the teachers, exposure to the target language, classroom activities and learning resources come under consideration as the factors that influence the students’ linguistic competence in English. We used a questionnaire to collect the data from the participants and a Likert scale to measure the variables concerning the methodology used in the teaching of a foreign language. In order to study the possible correlations and their intensity of independence, Kendall Tau-b, Kendall Tau-c and Gamma contrasts were conducted, using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) 25.0. The findings suggest a signi-ficant positive correlation between the students’ perceived level of English proficiency, classroom activities and the methodology used. The study revealed that the students’ perceived level of pro-ficiency in spoken English was average, although they indicated that their level should have been higher in light of the number of years spent studying it.