II.

Graph of Survey Results:

Gender
Male Female

Age
15 years old 14 years old 4%

44% 56% 96%

Figure 1. Gender As illustrated in Figure 1. Gender, this group has 11 young men and 14 young women, which means this is very heterogeneous group. So the lesson should be prepared with topics of both sexes interest.

Figure 2. Age The Figure 2. Age, shows that most of the students have 14 years old, about 96%, which means most of them born the same year, to specify in the 1998. With this information we can get a notion of their sense of history and the role models of their generation.

Month of Birth
March October April November July Other Month August

Year of Birth
1998 4% 1997

16% 12% 8% 16%

16% 20% 12%

96%

Figure 3. Month of Birth As illustrated in Figure 3. Month of Birth, most of the students born in the month of April, so for this month, we can do some activity about Birthdays.

Figure 4. Year of Birth As illustrated in Figure 4. Year of Birth, most of the students were born in 1998 and they have 14 years old. There is only one student that born on the 1997 and has 15 years old.

City
Naguabo Humacao Las Piedras Gurabo Yabucoa Other

House
Rural Area Residental Area

20% 8%

12%

12%
32%

56% 16% 44%

Figure 5. City As illustrated in Figure 5. City, the students come from the cities of Naguabo, Humacao, Yabucoa, Las Piedras, and Gurabo. A 44% of the students come from Humacao, a total 11 students; Followed by the city Yabucoa, with the 20% of the students. Having students coming from different environments, a total of five cities, makes the group very socially diverse. So, when we are giving a lesson and we make reference of a place, we can infer that everybody knows the place we are talking about. Also I can impact on the similarity that they are all from the Eastern area of Puerto Rico.

Figure 6. House As illustrated in Figure 6. House, the majority of the students lives in the residential area. This could imply that their manners and habits are influenced by the city lifestyle. Its our duty as teachers to treat everybody as equals, regardless the place they lived and where they come from.

Place of Birth
Puerto Rico Unknown
San Juan

City of Birth
Caguas Humacao Unknown

4%

4%

16% 8%

96%

72%

Figure 7. Place of Birth As illustrated in Figure 7. Place of Birth, almost all the students were born in Puerto Rico. Only one student was born in an unknown place. So, this means that using selections and exercises related to the Puerto Rican culture will appeal to their affective filter. Also, the meaningful learning approach will be implied by making reference to Puerto Rican customs and traditions in lesson activities.

Figure 8. City of Birth The Figure 8. City of Birth, shows that most of the students were born in Humacao. Humacao is one of the largest cities in the east of Puerto Rico and the site of the school. We can infer that there are a lot of students that born in Humacao, because it has one of the main hospitals of the area.

Has lived out of Country

Yes No

Lives with:
Father & Mother Father Mother Other

8%

4%

36%
52%

92%

8%

Figure 9. Has lived out of the country As illustrated in Figure 9. Has lived out of the country, only two students lived out of the country. This could mean that possibly every student native language is Spanish, on this group. So, we are teaching English as a second language. This makes a perfect environment to use contrastive analysis as an approach.

Figure 10. Lives with As Figure 10. Lives with shows, basically half of the students of the group lives with both parents and the others mainly live with their mother. I expect that my students then will receive academic support from their parents. The students at their age are supposed to be more independent about their work. But a responsible parent should demonstrate a compromise with their teenagers academic performance.

Number of family members:

2 3 4 5 6 Unknown 30-39

Fathers' Age
40-49 50-59 Unknown

4%

12%

8% 12% 24%

8% 32%

28%

24%

48%

Figure 9. Number of family members The Figure 9. Number of family members, illustrates that the average of the students of my group live in a family nucleus of 3 to 5 members. We can infer that some of them may have siblings younger or older than them. I think that living in a family group is very positive for my students. Also, as I mentioned earlier, family members could play an important role in the students academic life. So, we can consider giving some assessment that involves the family.

Figure 10. Fathers Age As illustrated in Figure 10. Fathers Age, the average age of the fathers of my students group is between 40 to 49 years old. I think that this is great because at this stage of life, from 40 to 49, it is expected from an adult to be reaching his peak or maximum level of skills on his profession. At these ages, the father also is thinking about the chores or responsibilities his teenager its capable of doing and take charge on it. That for, we can infer that a father of this age range in expecting more academic independence from his ninth grade teenager.

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Fathers' Employment
Unemployed Employed

Fathers' Education

4%

8%

Unknown
42% Middle School Secundary

29%

13% 96%

4%

Certification Bachelors Degree Masters Degree

4%

Figure 11. Fathers Emloyment The Figure 11. Fathers Emloyment, shows that most of the fathers are employed. That is something very positive, because it shows the commitment these fathers have with their families and also they are an example for them. Only one father is unemployed and I hope that sooner or later he can find a job for the better of him and the family.

Figure 12. Fathers Education As illustrated in Figure 12. Fathers Education, I found out that although most of the fathers are professionals or have a job; But happens that most of the students dont know their fathers academic background. The fathers of these students are professionals, and thats good, but if the students dont know their fathers education, they dont know what is required to become a professional. Also at this stage of my students life, they should know this information because they are beginning to explore ways to reach their future goals and aspirations. Therefore can plan or suggest to the school counselor to offer a workshop about professions and what is require to become a professional in relation to specific occupations.

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Mothers' Age
30-39 40-49 50-59 Unknown

Mothers' Employment
Housewife Employed Teacher

16%

4% 44%

16%

32%

36%

52%

Figure 13. Mothers Age The Figure 13. Mothers Age, shows that the average age of the mothers of my students group is from 30 to 39 years old. So, overall the mothers of the students are relatively young, compared to average of the fathers age.

Figure 14. Mothers Employment As illustrated in Figure 14. Mothers Employment, approximately half of the group of the students mothers are professionals. Also the 32% of the mother are housewives, which also represent a big number on this chart. So although there is big group of mothers dedicated to their families and homes, I know my female students are pursuing goals in education and want to become professionals. A %16 of the mothers are teachers, which is something that I found good and interesting. So, Im expecting a compromise from these mothers with their teenagers academic performance and/or education.

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Mothers' Education

TV's Favorite Programs

Local Networks
Webshow 4%

20%

24%

Unknown Secondary 12% 10%

25%

8% 19%

Cartoons News Science Fiction

Associate Degree
Bachelors Degree

Reality Shows
10%

40% 4%

14%
2%

Science None Sports Movies Series

Masters Degree

2%

4%

2%

Figure 15. Mothers Education As illustrated in Figure 15. Mothers Education, Different from the experience with the fathers, most of the students know their mothers academic background. Now we can infer that the students spend more time with their mothers and thats why they better this information from them. It is very important for the students to know the steps and challenges their mothers had to take to become the professionals of today. That way, the students can develop their own expectations of the things they want to do in the future.

Figure 16. TVs Favorite Programs As illustrated in Figure 16. TVs Favorite Programs, my students love to watch cartoons and TV Series. They do have an arrange of topics of interest in TV programs, but they seem to agree on reality shows and science fiction. Shows about crime, zombies and teen situations, are the topics more popular in their selections. It will be interesting the integration of these topics to lessons in the classroom. Also, bringing a cartoon or documentary video will be a great activity as part of a lesson.

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Sports
None Volleyball Gymnastics Baseball Softball Swimming 4% 3% 11% 7% 11% 36% 14% 3% 11% Basketball Soccer American Football 24% Yes

Library
No Unknown

4%

72%

Figure 17. Sports The Figure 17. Sports, shows that my group of students enjoys a lot of different sports, but most of them seem to agree on Basketball and then Volleyball. Although they dont seem the very athletic type of students, they still have their preferences regarding to this topic. Also a few students are into gymnastics, which I think is something interesting an unusual. An integration of sports in class could be considered.

Figure 18. Library The Figure 18. Library, illustrates that most of the students in the group are using the library space and services. Although its a very small space, something we detailed in the Nucleus Study, the students still make use of it. A 72% is good number of users of the library, but I think it could be higher.

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Computer at Home
No Yes Spanish

Favorite Subject
English Mathematics Social Studies Science

4%

20%

20%

15%

27%
96% 18%

Figure 19. Computer at Home As illustrated in Figure 19. Computer at Home, most of the students have computer in their homes, with the exception of one, is excellent because thats an important tool for education. I will not be afraid to assign my students to do research on topics, because I know they have the access to a computer to do assignments.

Figure 20. Favorite Subject The Figure 20. Favorite Subject, illustrates that the English class is my students favorite subject. I think that this are awesome news and also tells that we need to continue the good standards in the English education so they dont lose that interest in English. This means that I need to challenge myself in order to prepare effective and attractive lessons; Lessons that not lose on content but also are meaningful and fun to the students. Regardless that the English class is my students favorite subject, I should always keep the high standards in the English, doesnt matter the group or place Im teaching.

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Least Favorite Subject

Spanish English Mathematics Social Studies Science None

Future Students Education:

Unknown Engineering Science Arts and Other

4% 21%

11%

7%

20%

16% 12%

14% 43% 52%

Figure 21. Least Favorite Subject As illustrated in Figure 21. Least Favorite Subject, the least favorite subject of my students is Mathematics. So, I may not consider the integration of this class to mine, because I know they dont like this class too much. Although, since the school Juan Ponce de Len is a Bilingual School, the language of instruction in the Math class is English. If the English class is their favorite subject, we can infer that using English as the language of instruction could make the Math class more fun. I have to find out if the English language is what its making the class more difficult and for that reason they dont like it.

Figure 22. Future Students Education As illustrated in Figure 22. Future Students Education, half of the students is interested in careers related to Science. I think this is very positive because there is lot of science related careers that are always on demand. But the fact is that, many of the science careers are related to Math, and that is a subject they dont like too much. So, I hope that in the future they are able to work on that. Also, English is the language of instruction of the Science class. This means that is expected from them to be proficient in English in order to understand the course material. English is one of the most common languages used in the Science field. Then, it should be important for them to continue improving their English language skills to pursue their goals.

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Most Difficult Subject

Spanish English Mathematics Social Studies Science None Spanish

Least Difficult Subject

English Mathematics Social Studies Science None

8% 12% 4%

4%

12% 17%

9%

20%

23% 23% 60% 8%

Figure 23. Most Difficult Subject The Figure 23. Most Difficult Subject, shows that the Math class is their most difficult subject and this also corresponds to the Figure 21. Least Favorite Subject, as Math being the least favorite subject for them. So I hope they learn to manage with that class in order to be completely successful in their academic goals. As I mentioned earlier, I have to find out if the English language is what its making the class more difficult. According to Figure 20. Favorite Subject, their favorite subject is the English course, but maybe there is some English terminology in the Math class that they dont understand. If this is the reason that is making the Math class more difficult, we need to work with English terms and vocabulary.

Figure 24. Least Difficult Subject As illustrated in Figure 24. Least Difficult Subject, the English and Social Studies subjects are equals in terms of least difficult subject. So I could consider the integration of some historical facts to the English class because they may enjoy that. The integration of other courses to the English class is a way to enhance meaningful learning. As they have the English language as the language of instruction for other courses, I dont have a problem integrating other courses to mine. I believe that in order to make a class more fun and interesting, the integration of other courses is required.

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Hobby
Read Music Paint Studing Music

Favorite Hobby
Videogames Sports Arts and other hobbies

15% 15%

24%

36%

28%

16% 46% 20%

Figure 25. Hobby As illustrated in Figure 25. Hobby, in terms of the Hobbies, this group is very into music. This is not a surprise for me, because next to the school is the Music School Juan Pea Reyes, and some of the students in the group go to the music school as part of their extracurricular activities. So the integration of music to my lessons will be a most.

Figure 26. Favorite Hobby The Figure 26. Favorite Hobby, illustrates that the students in my group are very into music, videogames and sports. Also in other hobbies, some students like to dance, draw and do horseback riding. Another hobby my students have is reading, which I think is awesome. Some of these hobbies can be incorporated as part of lesson activities. This way, they will have fun doing what they love to do while the same time they are learning.

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Transportation
Private

Eyeglasses:
Yes No

20%

80% 100%

Figure 27. Transportation As illustrated in Figure 27. Transportation, all the students in my classroom use private transportation. They either arrive or leave the school with some parent or relative.

Figure 28. Eyeglasses The Figure 28. Eyeglasses, illustrates that the 20% of my students use eyeglasses. These students usually sit at the front of the classroom.

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Kindergarten
Yes Asthma Scoliosis Bronchitis

Illness
Allergies Diabetes Chiken Pox 3% 3% 3% 3% 6% 6% 6% 28% None Dengue Fever Sinusitis Back pain

100%

24% 18%

Figure 29. Kindergarten As illustrated in Figure 29. Kindergarten, all of my students went to Kindergarten. I still remember back those days. I hope that they remember that experience as something very special in their lives.

Figure 30. Illness The Figure 30. Illness, illustrates all the medical conditions my students suffer. Most of them suffer from Respiratory diseases, like Asthma and Sinusitis. I hope that this semester they dont get to sick to be able to do well in their academic courses and in the English class. So it is important, if its possible, to maintain a clean the classroom that is free of dust. For our favor, the classroom gets clean every day. The school only counts with two janitors, but since the school is very small, they are able to maintain the spaces really neat.

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Parents School Meetings

Yes No Unknown

Parents help with Assignments

Yes No

8% 28% 40%

64%

60%

Figure 31. Parents School Meetings As illustrated in Figure 31. Parents School Meetings, most of the parents attend to the School meetings. I think that is excellent, because we need the presence of parents in the school. The parents have the responsibility to follow the performance of their children in the school and also care for their students rights.

Figure 32. Parents help with Assignments The Figure 32. Parents help with Assignments, shows that a little more than the half of the students still has help from their parents to do their homework. I think this is not bad at all, because that way, the parent is aware about the topic their sons are working on class. Also when I give assignments, some of them are going to have that extra help. I still hope every student does their own work, but as I mention earlier, a parent that helps his teenager with assignments, is an example of the commitment they have with their teenagers education.

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Special Education
No

School Clubs or Sport team

Yes No

16%

100%

84%

Figure 33. Special Education As illustrated in Figure 33. Special Education, I dont have any Special Education students, so I dont have to offer any special accommodations.

Figure 34. School Clubs or Sport team As Figure 34. School Clubs or Sport team shows, I have only four students that are part of school clubs and teams. Most of them are part of the Chess Club, which I think is something fun and positive to be part off.

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Expectations for the English course

Grammar Language Proficiency None Read a Book Integration Entertaining 7% Good Grades Learning

20%
10% 13% 13%

14% 20%

3%

Figure 35. Expectations for the English course The Figure 35. Expectations for the English course, is a graphic for the question I decided to add to the survey and the results were amazing. I enjoyed reading the results of the entire survey, but getting to know their expectations for the English course, was one of the results I enjoyed the most. The fact that some of my students have the expectations of reading a book and improve in their language skills brings a challenge for me. This means that I have the duty to meet with the required expectations for my grade but also from my students. Just like most of them, I hope to have fun and be able to work together for the good grades.

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