This study had the purpose of testing two methods for teaching grammar in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) class: the deductive and inductive approaches in terms of effectiveness and rapport. This research was conducted in a public high school in Ecuador. Seventy students enrolled in the second year of senior high school participated. One in-service teacher taught the EFL classes during the process of intervention (10 weeks), and two EFL teachers observed all of these classes and recorded the information by filling in observation sheets. The students were administered grammar pre-tests and post-tests in order to assess their grammar knowledge. The results of the tests showed a significant difference in the scores in favor of the inductive approach. After the statistical analysis of the data obtained from the tests and observation sheets, we concluded that the inductive approach is more effective for teaching grammar in the EFL classroom in terms of instruction and rapport.

The present study aims to test the effectiveness of the Nota Bene (NB) software as an on line annotation tool to enhance students' academic performance and to know their perceptions about the use of this tool. In this research, a quasi-experimental design was used in a private university in Ecuador. The participants were ninety-eight pre-service EFL teachers, who were trained during a five-month period and divided into two groups: control and experimental. They took a pre and a post-test at the beginning and at the end of the training period. The students from the experimental group answered a questionnaire about the perceptions on the use of NB. The statistically significant differences found in the results of the post-test indicate that NB is an effective software to enhance participants' academic performance. In addition, the students who used this tool had positive perceptions about the use of NB while doing their academic activities.

The present study is aimed at analyzing the impact of digital sto-rytelling on English as a Foreign Language (EFL) pre-service teachers’ writing skills. The participants were 101 students, who were enrolled in four distance courses of the English Major at a private university in Ecuador. Their ages ranged between 19 and 22 years old. They were divided into one control (49) and one experimental (52) group since this study used a quasi-experimental approach combined with a mixed-method design. The instruments included a pre-question-naire, a pre-test, a post-questionnaire, and a post-test. The main findings show that there was a significant improvement in students’ writing skills, particularly in aspects related to grammar and vocabulary. In addition, digital storytelling us-ing Storybird was perceived as a useful strategy to develop the participants’ EFL writing skills since they were more engaged in activities that allowed them to demonstrate their knowledge when designing narrative projects.

The present study was aimed at analyzing the factors that contribute to engage students in active learning through Formative on mobile devices. It also focused on English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students’ perceptions of using this tool for enhancing active learning. The participants were 82 adult on-site learners en-rolled in five different courses of an English program at a university level. In ad-dition, 5 English instructors were in charge of teaching the aforementioned stu-dents. An action-research design along with a mixed-method approach were used to analyze the data in this study. The information was gathered through diagnostic questionnaires, observations, and perceptions questionnaires. The results evi-denced that engagement, motivation, participation, and reduction in students’ anx-iety constitute the most relevant factors that contributed to involve students in ac-tive learning through the use of Formative on mobile devices. The tool was per-ceived as motivating and engaging because it allowed students to enhance active learning and get directly involved in the class activities to demonstrate their knowledge.

The study examined the use of Pixton to support the teaching of English as a foreign language (EFL) writing to students at a private university in southern Ecuador. For this purpose, 52 EFL students (male and female, aged 19–24 years old) who were enrolled in a writing course participated in the study for a period of five months. At the start, most of these students had an A1+ proficiency level, according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). The study employed an action research design. A diagnostic test was applied at the beginning of the instruction period, and, at the end, a final exam and a perceptions questionnaire were administered. The findings indicate positive perceptions about Pixton, and students’ online writing skills improved due to the pedagogical use of this technological tool. Furthermore, Pixton increased students’ engagement, motivation and dynamic work to a remarkable extent. Finally, an improvement was observed in aspects of students’ writing, such as grammar, vocabulary, coherence and cohesion.