Catálogo de Investigaciones | 2014-2015

136 EDUCACIÓN An Ethnography on English language learners from Puerto Rico High Schools Learning is acquistion,retention of information or skill (Brown, 2007). According to Brown (2007) retention implies storage systems,memory and cognitive organization. For learning to occur,according to Brown (2007) there must be a change in behavior. Under Cummins’ Common Underlying Proficiency Theory (1981) he makes the distinction between two different kinds of language proficiency. The Basic interpersonal Communication skills and the Cognitive Academic language Proficiency. TESOL standards for Pre-K-12 establishes three broad goals without excluding the personal, social, and academic uses of English. Vigotsky’s (1978) Social Interaction theory describes learning as a social process and the origination of human intelligenge in society or culture. This research pretends to describe how Puerto Rican high School students from public schools learn the English language. The instrument used on the research was a questionnaire that consisted of four parts: Socio demographical data, Learning the English language, Feelings and attitudes towards the language, and Motives and cultural characteristics. The investigator conducted a pilot study with three students and the research was completed with a total of 43 students. The instrument used for the research was a questionnaire contructed by the investigator in order to gather the perceptions of Puerto Rican High School students learning English on public schools. According to their perceptions, students agreed that learning English help them when they travel, use of media is effective in the classroom, and teachers respect cultural backgrounds in the classroom and made them feel comfortable while learning the language. sharon m. acosta martínez maestría en educación con especialidad en enseñanza del inglés como segundo idioma mentor: dra. irma n. rodríguez vega english language learners ethnography