assessing the Efficacy of the GrapeSEED

oral-language acquisition program

School #47, Ulan-ude, Buryatia, russia

November 2018

Researchers: Larisa Vydrina

Elena Fedotova
Chimita Abidueva
Timur Ochirov
Ekaterina Kruglikova
Table of Contents

introduction....................................................................1

assessments

1 Reading Comprehension • Grade 3..........................2

2 Listening Comprehension
Grades 5–7...................................................................2

3 Writing • Grades 5–7...................................................3

4 Speaking • Grade 5..................................................... 4

Conclusion.......................................................................5

about GrapeSEED............................................................6

Assessing the Efficacy of the GrapeSEED Oral-Language Acquisition Program:

School #47, Ulan-Ude, Buryatia, Russia
Researchers: Larissa Vydrina, Elena Fedotova, Tchimita Abidueva, Timur Ochirov,
and Ekaterina Kruglikova
Editing/layout by: Speckler Creative
Cover photograph: Sergey Makhrov
©2018 GrapeSEED • grapeseed.com/ru
Introduction

Ulan-Ude is the capital of the Republic of Buryatia, Short-terms objectives

Russia. Located 5,640 kilometers (3,500 miles) east of
• Evaluate the use of the GrapeSEED English-learning
Moscow, it is the third-largest populated city in Eastern
program on Russian elementary- and junior-level
Siberia.1 Due to its location on trade routes between
students, who were learning English as a second
Russia, China, and Mongolia, it is also the region’s
language.
commercial and industrial center.2
• Compare the results of students who were taught
Both the government of Ulan-Ude and its parents are
English with GrapeSEED to those who were not.
invested in the region’s students learning English. As
the language of international trade, a command of the
Long-term goals
English language can draw greater financial opportunity
to the primarily blue collar, economically depressed area. • Assess the alignment of GrapeSEED’s content
For those seeking to leave the region, mastering English with that of the Common European Framework
is the first step toward attending university or embarking of Reference for Languages, a guideline used
on a career in Moscow and other large Russian cities. to describe the achievements of learners of foreign
languages.
Starting in 2020, high school graduation requirements
will include passing a standardized English test. In • Establish data that demonstrate the value of the
preparation, School No. 47 implemented an English- program to prospective parents.
language curriculum in September 2013. In order to offer
students a more comprehensive and effective learning Teachers were trained to deliver the program according
experience than the present curriculum provides, to the established GrapeSEED procedures.
the school’s English Teachers’ Council adopted the A total of 80 students—48 junior students (Grades 5–7)
GrapeSEED program shortly thereafter. and 32 elementary students (Grade 3)—participated in
Larisa Vydrina, vice principal of the school, is thrilled the study.
with the program and its effect on student success. From November 2014 to May 2015 teachers delivered
“Since supplementing our curriculum with GrapeSEED, a total of 84 60-minute lessons. Each student attended
our students learn and speak English better and more approximately 80 lessons; each lesson took 60 minutes.
fluently than before,” she says.
In February, March, April, and May, students were tested
About the study on the following four speech activities using the Russian
This report details a study comparing GrapeSEED’s Learning Standards Assessment:
efficacy to that of the school’s English curriculum alone. 1. Reading Comprehension (Grade 3)
Conducted between November 2014 and May 2015,
the study had both short-term objectives and long- 2. Listening Comprehension (Grades 5–7)
term goals.
3. Writing (Grades 5–7)

1
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulan-Ude. 4. Speaking (Grade 5)
2
https://www.travelallrussia.com/sights/ulan-ude.

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Assessments

1
Teacher observations
Reading Comprehension
GrapeSEED students:
Grade 3
1. Gave full answers using GrapeSEED vocabulary.
• GrapeSEED students scored an average
2. Understood the task.
of 13% higher than their curriculum-
only peers. 3. Completed the task in two or fewer attempts.

4. Enjoyed taking the test.

TASK
Students read a text (“White Bengal Tigers”) and then Curriculum-only students:
answered 10 questions.
1. Gave yes/no answers for open questions.
results 2. Had difficulty understanding the task.
GrapeSEED students earned an average score of 8.1,
3. Needed more than the allotted time to complete
with a high score of 10.0 and a low score of 6.0. Students
the task.
who did not receive GrapeSEED earned an average score
of 7.1, with a high score of 9.0 and a low score of 5.0
(figure 1).

10
2 Listening Comprehension
Grades 5–7
8.1 • GrapeSEED students scored an average
8 7.1
Average Test Score

of 20% higher than their curriculum-

6
only peers.
4
task
2
Students listened to a brief story (“A Story about a
0 Parrot”) that used vocabulary and phrases from topics
GrapeSEED
Students (n=13)
Curriculum-Only
Students (n=13)
they had previously studied. They then answered five
true/false questions (testing their understanding of the
main idea of the story) and matched the halves of five
Figure 1. Average Reading Comprehension Scores with and without
sentences (testing their understanding of specific words
GrapeSEED, Grade 3 (N=26)
and phrases in the story). Students listened to the story
two times.

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Introduction

3
10 9.4

7.8 Writing • Grades 5–7

8
Average Test Score

6
• GrapeSEED students scored an average
4 of 32% higher than their curriculum-
only peers.
2

• Students who did not receive GrapeSEED

0
GrapeSEED
Students (n=13)
Curriculum-Only
Students (n=13)
exhibited a significant lack of mastery.

Figure 2. Average Listening Comprehension Scores with and without TASK

GrapeSEED, Grades 5–7 (N=26)
Teachers dictated a letter (“Two Sportsmen”) to
students.
Results
Results
Out of a total of 10 questions, GrapeSEED students
earned an average score of 9.4, with a high score of 10.0 Out of a possible score of 10, based on correct spelling
and a low score of 8.0. The students who did not receive and use of punctuation, GrapeSEED students earned an
GrapeSEED earned an average score of 7.8, with a high average score of 7.0, with a high score of 10.0 and a low
score of 10.0 and a low score of 6.0 (figure 2). score of 6.0. Students who did not receive GrapeSEED
earned an average score of 5.3, with a high score of 8.0
Teacher observations and a low score of 4.0 (figure 3).
GrapeSEED students:

1. Understood the task.

10
2. Completed 90% of the test after the hearing
the text twice. 8 7.0
Average Test Score

3. Performed the test with great interest. 6 5.3

Curriculum-only students: 4

1. Had difficulty understanding the task. 2

2. After listening to the text three times, still could 0

GrapeSEED Curriculum-Only
not complete the test. Students (n=13) Students (n=13)

3. Were unable to make decisions.

Figure 3. Average Writing Scores with and without GrapeSEED,
Grades 5–7 (N=26)

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Introduction
Teacher observations
GrapeSEED students: 9.6
10

1. Correctly spelled the majority of words.

8

Average Test Score

2. Demonstrated knowledge of punctuation. 6.3
6

Curriculum-only students:
4

1. Struggled to write words.

2

2. Used almost no punctuation.

0
GrapeSEED Curriculum-Only
Students (n=6) Students (n=6)

Figure 4. Average Speaking Scores with and without GrapeSEED,

4
Grade 5 (N=12)

Speaking • Grade 5
Teacher observations
• Students who received GrapeSEED scored GrapeSEED students:
an average of 52% higher than students 1. Understood the questions.
who did not receive GrapeSEED.
2. Responded in complete, spoken sentences.
• The speaking results revealed the greatest
3. Were not afraid to make mistakes.
score difference between the GrapeSEED
students and the curriculum-only students. 4. Were able to support and expand the conversation
by offering more information.

task Curriculum-only students:

In this timed, oral test, teachers promoted short
1. Had difficulty understanding the question.
dialogues with students by asking simple questions about
weather and clothes. 2. Provided “yes” or “no” to open-ended questions.

results 3. Were afraid of making mistakes and became

confused.
Out of a possible 10 points, GrapeSEED students earned
an average score of 9.6, with a high score of 10.0
and a low score of 9.0. Students who did not receive
GrapeSEED earned an average score of 6.3, with a high
score of 8.0 and a low score of 5.0 (figure 4).

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Conclusion

Research shows that children in Russia typically take “In both 2014 and 2015, our students
seven to nine years to reach grade-level proficiency in competed in English-language competitions
English.3 The results experienced at Ulan-Ude’s School
in nearby Mongolia—those students who
No. 47, however, indicate that greater achievement—
faster, more comprehensive achievement—is possible. received GrapeSEED won.”
While progress was made by both groups of students, Larisa Vydrina
GrapeSEED students demonstrated a higher level of Vice Principal, School No. 47
understanding than did their curriculum-only peers in
every speech domain (figure 5). Most important, they
reached demonstrated English-language proficiency
• Students experienced gains in all six areas
in less than three years.
of language development ranging from phonemic
Detailed analyses of the GrapeSEED students’ scores awareness to comprehension.
indicated the following:
• The percent of students who tested at or above
• The students’ proficiency in a five-point grading their age norm increased significantly, meaning
scale reflected the natural progression of children it couldn’t happen by chance.
learning language: first listening, then speaking,
• Students, who previously earned average grades,
then reading.
improved to higher grades.

• Students, who already earned high grades, also

improved, thereby increasing the school average.
10
The results of this study confirm what GrapeSEED
8 teachers around the world already know: use of
Average Test Score

GrapeSEED results in measurable, repeatable, and

6
accelerated English-language proficiency. For students
4 in Ulan-Ude, this kind of language achievement equals
success beyond elementary, junior, or even high school—
2
it is the key to higher education, expanded job prospects,
and attainment of their life dreams.
0
Reading Listening Writing Speaking
Comprehension Comprehension

GrapeSEED Curriculum-only
students students

Figure 5. Summary of Average Scores with and without GrapeSEED

(N=80)

3
Baikal Educational Forum.

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About GrapeSEED

GrapeSEED is an English oral-acquisition program for Natural Approach. Developed by Stephen Krashen and
children. Backed by more than 40 years of pedagogical Tracy Terrell, this approach promotes second-language
and curricular research, the program today serves learning the way children learned their first languages.
66,000 students in 860 schools and across 17 countries. GrapeSEED’s curriculum emphasizes communication
and includes strategically selected vocabulary and ideas,
GROUNDED IN LANGUAGE-ACQUISITION THEORY effective visuals, pertinent gestures, and repetition.
AND RESEARCH
Vertical Phonics. GrapeSEED students get introduced to
Hallmarks of the GrapeSEED program include acceler-
the most-frequent sounds of a phonogram at one time.
ated language development, interactive teacher–student
Sound–phonogram relationships are memorized easily.
relationships, and enhanced student interest, engagement,
And there are few special decoding rules.
and joy. And that’s no accident. GrapeSEED’s curriculum
designers created the program’s framework based on Total Physical Response. Developed by James Asher,
respected language-acquisition theory and research. this teaching method coordinates language and physical
movement so as to create brain links between speech
Affective Filter Theory. Educational researcher Stephen
and action. The language–body conversations are parts
Krashen identified the negative emotional and motiva-
of every GrapeSEED lesson in order to boost language
tional factors that slow second-language acquisition.
learning and vocabulary learning.
GrapeSEED classrooms are safe places where students
take risks and willingly practice English. TEACHER TRAINING AND SUPPORT
Functional-Notional Approach. This approach is part GrapeSEED Foundation Training teaches the most-
of a learner-centered movement away from grammar- effective ways to achieve oral-language development.
focused practices and toward the use of more-authentic After implementation, GrapeSEED professional learning
language. GrapeSEED instruction is constructed around specialists provide personalized insight and coaching.
meaningful words practiced in relevant settings. In addition, GrapeSEED offers learning opportunities so
educators can continue learning new ways to integrate
Progression-of-Learning Model. In this model, teachers
best practices into their curricula.
gradually adjust instruction to help students progress
from receptivity to expression. GrapeSEED students OUR GOAL
are exposed to vocabulary multiple times and in various
GrapeSEED is committed to empowering students
contexts in order to embed the language into their
to overcome language barriers and gain command
memories and move them closer to fluency.
of the English language. Contact your GrapeSEED
representative today to learn more.

ENGLISH EXCELLENCE FOR CHILDREN EVERYWHERE

+7 495 803 36 50 | [email protected] | grapeseed.com/ru

CS_Ulan-Ude_11-13-2018