Increasing Vocabulary Acquisition in the English Language Class: Using Origami in Community Service Projects.

Abstract

This research aims to explore the use of origami as didactic material to improve the vocabulary acquisition process in children in community service centers in Ecuador. It is subscripted to the postmodern paradigm and the mixed research approach. The participants were 20 students aged from 8 to 1 O from two community centers located in Manta and San Mateo, ofManabi province. The instruments used were contextual observation, pre- and post-tests, anda motivation questionnaire. The results showed an increase in participants' vocabulary acquisition in ali topics taught. The highest increase in vocabulary was 73.70% in the topic fruits and the least advanced wasl0.50%, in the topic of shapes in English language. The contextual observation revealed an improvement in the children motivation for leaming, increment in the participation, and interest of the students. The motivation questionnaire also showed a favorable position towards the use of origami to learn English. lt concluded that origami is an art that contributed positively to the improvement of learners' vocabulary acquisition in English language in community service projects.