Didactic Strategy with Mobile Devices: An Approach for the correct use of English Verb Tenses

Abstract

In the teaching-learning process, didactic strategies have become a valuable methodological tool, which allows learning a difficult subject in a structured way. In English, the correct conjugation of verb tenses: simple and progressive in the elementary level, requires a structured and innovative methodology to motivate their learning. The main problem of this research consists of the increasing difficulty of the fifth-grade students from an institution located in the district 04 of Costa Rica, in correctly assimilating the conjugation of the simple and progressive verb tenses of the English language. For its solution, the design, implementation and validation of a didactic strategy was proposed as a way to support the teaching-learning process of the correct conjugation of the simple and progressive verb tenses, through the use of mobile devices. The methodology followed presented a mixed study (qualitative-quantitative) through the application of surveys, expert judgment and a case of execution, as sources to collect and validate the proposed didactic strategy, within the context of philosophy and methodology of action research. The results obtained from both, teachers and students, have been representative. The teachers have identified a great interest of the students in learning the subject, making use of the proposed strategy, causing this, motivation and openness. In fact, the students who used the strategy as a supportive tool for their evaluations, obtained better academic performance on average: 5C (74.28%) compared to those who did not use it as a supportive tool: 5A (44.76%) and 5B (64%).