Wilma Villacis - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Wilma Villacis

European journal of educational research, Jul 15, 2023

After months of 100% online teaching due to the pandemic produced by COVID-19, the return to face... more After months of 100% online teaching due to the pandemic produced by COVID-19, the return to face-to-face classes is being experienced. This study focused on finding the English as a foreign language (EFL) University professors' perspectives of online education during that time. The information was collected from three Ecuadorian universities:

Advances in intelligent systems and computing, 2020

Emotional intelligence (EI) and leadership are key factors for the transformation of society. A g... more Emotional intelligence (EI) and leadership are key factors for the transformation of society. A good leader has the ability to influence others to make a change and achieve common goals. The purpose of this work was to develop leadership skills in students of Psychology Career, through the application of EI improvement techniques considering aspects such as: perception, facilitation, understanding and emotional regulation. During seven weeks various activities were developed to improve each of these aspects.

Proceedings of ‏The 3rd International Academic Conference on Education, Teaching and Learning, 2021

This paper aims to analyze the impact communicative language teaching techniques have on the deve... more This paper aims to analyze the impact communicative language teaching techniques have on the development of speaking skills in high school students. This research was carried out with the participation of 12 English teachers and 234 students. The data collection was done through the application of a survey. This instrument included 10 questions and it was validated by three experts. The purpose of the survey was to gather information that enable to have a close panorama of the two variables in the English classrooms. The results were thoughtfully analyzed and methodically tabulated. The Student ́s T-test was used to verify the established hypothesis, and the results indicated that communicative language teaching techniques have a positive impact on the development of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) speaking skills. Furthermore, the findings led to conclude that most students agree that they learn English best through interactive activities because they provide students with oppo...

Reading can definitely be affected by some personal factors such as formal educational background... more Reading can definitely be affected by some personal factors such as formal educational background, frequency of reading, types of texts used, attitude of the reader, among others. However, it still has to be integrated to daily classes, especially when learning a new language. This research work aimed to enhance reading comprehension in intermediate level students of English as a foreign language in the 18-40 age group, at the Languages Center - Universidad Tecnica De Ambato. Teaching reading strategies with a focus on andragogy to university students is valuable because while being appreciated as adults, they can participate and co-exist in work groups where their learning will evolve through sharing experiences with their peers and their teacher. Two groups were observed: one experimental and one controlled. The instruments used in this research allowed us to measure the effect and importance of using class-time with the use of tools and reading strategies with the above mentioned...

Higher education is experiencing important changes with the aim of moving from the traditional me... more Higher education is experiencing important changes with the aim of moving from the traditional methodologies and attaining better learning outcomes. This study is intended to analyze the effect of learner-centered instruction on the development of the speaking skill in the English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classroom. In order to do this research, google scholar, Harzing´s publish or perish, scopus, ScienceDirect, books and other academic journals were explored. As a result of this search, more than 900 papers were found. This information served to interrelate learner-centered principles to the development of the speaking skill so that learners can communicate in English in various contexts worldwide. From the analysis, it was concluded that learner-centered instruction was an approach that developed the speaking skill through the realization of meaningful and authentic tasks.

Investigación y Desarrollo, 2019

Encouraging critical thinking (CT) in the EFL classroom is something that every professional in t... more Encouraging critical thinking (CT) in the EFL classroom is something that every professional in the educational field should be responsible for. The aim of this paper was to make an analysis of different studies on the topic. The methodology used was based on a descriptive study through the analysis of several primary sources such as research papers on the topic that have been published in scientific journals, books, records of or- ganizations, among others. These sources lead to the identification of important elements in a lesson plan for critical thinking: elements of thought, intellectual standards and intellectual traits. Writing good learning objectives is just as important as selecting effective activities and determining ideal assessments to facilitate that teachers and students perceive what is to be achieved in the class and how. Aligning the tenets of critical thin- king when planning a lesson promotes real learning in our students through the achievement of effective lea...

European Journal of Educational Research, 2021

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) Pandemic changed education conditions worldwide forcing all the pa... more Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) Pandemic changed education conditions worldwide forcing all the parties involved to adapt to a new system. This study aimed to collect information related to the effects of teaching English online on English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students’ achievement. Data were collected from EFL teachers and students enrolled in three different Ecuadorian Universities (Technical University of Ambato, Higher Polytechnic School of Chimborazo, and University of Cuenca) from five different levels: A1, A2, B1, B1+, and B2. This preliminary paper reports the results of 480 students regarding four major sections: pedagogical practice and assessment, learning outcomes, affective factors and perceptions of students about the advantages and disadvantages of online learning during the pandemic COVID-19; considering the Hierarchy of online learning needs of Justin Shewell. An online survey questionnaire with 17 questions and a 5-point Likert scale was applied. The Cronbach...

Due to the importance given to motivation in foreign language learning processes, this study aime... more Due to the importance given to motivation in foreign language learning processes, this study aimed to analyze and compare the perceptions that students and teachers have regarding the impact of motivational strategies on the learners’ desire to study a target language, as well as the effect that those strategies have on their academic performance at university level. The necessity to offer students motivational strategies in order to foster a more effective learning was visible.

Communications in Computer and Information Science, 2020

Student dropout is a phenomenon that affects the majority of higher education institutions in Ecu... more Student dropout is a phenomenon that affects the majority of higher education institutions in Ecuador. The objective of the research was to design a predictive model to detect possible dropouts before they decide to abandon their studies. This model is based on logistic regression, and the methodology used in this research is based on the Knowledge Discovery in Databases (KDD) Model; which has five stages: selection, processing, transformation, data mining and evaluation. The application of the Logit function of the R tool for the logistic regression helps the construction of the predictive model. This model evaluates possible dropout students and leads to the conclusion that grades have a greater influence on student dropout.