Catálogo de Investigaciones | 2014-2015

CATÁLOGO DE INVESTIGACIONES | AÑO ACADÉMICO 2014-2015 135 The Use of the Native Language in the Second Language Reading Comprehension at a Public High School in the South of Puerto Rico The purpose of the present study was to examine the effect of using the native language Spanish, in the reading comprehension in English of high school level English learners from Puerto Rico. The research design is quasi- experimental. The sample was 37 students of tenth grade of a high school in the south of Puerto Rico. They were divided in two groups, the Experimental (16) and the Control group (17). A Reading Comprehension Pre and Post Test were designed by the researcher to evaluate the students’ reading comprehension. The skills that were tested are part of the Curriculum Framework, these are the elements of poetry: metaphor, alliteration, simile, rhythm, repetition, rhyme, personification, and imagery. The test included fifteen items. These items were divided in seven multiple choice questions on the elements of poetry and vocabulary words from the elements. The findings reveal that there was no effect in the use of the native language, Spanish, in the reading comprehension of English language learners from high school level. The results of the pre-test and post-test demonstrated no significant difference in the reading comprehension scores of Puerto Rican English language learners who used the native language in learning vocabulary in the second language reading compared to Puerto Rican English language learners who did not use the native language in learning vocabulary in the second language reading. evelyn b. rivera polanco maestría en educación con especialidad en enseñanza del inglés como segundo idioma mentor: dra. irma n. rodríguez vega holistic process native language