Second Language Research

Methodology and Design

Alison Mackey, Susan M. Gass

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2021
• ISBN:
  9781000410730
• Edition: 3
• Topic: Languages & Linguistics
• Subtopic: Linguistics
• Index: Languages & Linguistics

Second Language Research: Methodology and Design is a clear, comprehensive overview of core issues in L2 research. Authored by well-known scholars in SLA and supported by a wealth of examples from actual studies and extensive pedagogical resources, this book first introduces students to the key topics and debates in L2 research. It then guides readers step by step through the research process—from basic principles and collection methods through study design and reporting—to the point of being able to conduct their own research from beginning to end. This book is an essential text for students and novice researchers of SLA, applied linguistics, and second and foreign language teaching.

Key Features

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• A wealth of graphics, visuals, and exercises in each chapter.

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• "Time to Think" and "Time to Do" boxes within chapters

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• Helpful glossary and subject index

New to This Edition

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• Substantially reorganized chapters

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• Significantly expanded chapters on qualitative and mixed methods

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• Substantive revised material on computer/technology-based research

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  • Spotlights a variety of new software packages and databases, including video-mediated technology and games

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  • Discusses the Open Science Movement

  
  
  

• Expanded coverage of corpora, processing, and psycholinguistics-based research

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• Updated references throughout

CHAPTER ONE

Introduction to Research

DOI: 10.4324/9781003188414-1

What do we mean by research? How do we identify good research questions? How do we answer them? These sorts of questions are not always easy to answer, but we anticipate that by the end of this book, you will be in a better position to think about them. The book is practical in nature, aimed at those who are involved in second language studies, second/foreign language instruction, and researcher training, and in it, we aim to demystify the research process.

A useful definition of research can be found in online dictionaries. For example, dictionary.com defines research as “diligent and systematic inquiry into a subject in order to discover or revise facts, theories, applications, etc.” (Dictionary.com, n.d.). Thus, in its most basic and simplest form, research is a way of finding out answers to questions. This definition is useful because it also hints at ethical issues (to be discussed below) in its use of the word “diligent.”

We are all involved in research every day. Let’s think about a situation that probably occurs as part of many of our lives: being stuck in a traffic jam. As we find ourselves not moving on a freeway, we ask why this has happened and come up with a hypothesis (because there is an accident ahead, for example, or because it is 5:00 p.m. on a Friday afternoon). We then seek verification of our hypothesis by waiting patiently (or impatiently) until the traffic starts moving again. If we see an accident, hear a radio report, look at live traffic on our GPS, or if we see the flashing lights of an emergency vehicle, we might be able to confirm or reject our hypothesis. In the absence of an accident, we might conclude that it must be typical rush hour traffic. In other words, every day we ask questions, come up with hypotheses, and seek confirmation of those hypotheses. Research is not something to be wary of; it is not something that is done only in laboratories or controlled conditions. It is something that we do on a small or large scale every day. We can pose and (hopefully) answer questions of theoretical significance and we can also pose questions that assist us in our daily lives. As teachers, research helps us think through problems that intrigue us with regard to our students and, as a consequence, helps us be more effective.

TIME TO THINK …

Come up with two to three questions about language learning and/or language teaching that you have been puzzled about. Keep these in mind (or develop new ideas) as you continue to use this book.

In this chapter, we discuss the process of generating research questions and formulating hypotheses, and we outline what readers can expect from a typical research report. We conclude by discussing issues of feasibility (which include the selection of appropriate participants) and the importance of confirming findings, a process known as replication, in second language research. This leads us to a discussion of ethics in research and requirements that researchers in educational settings need to be aware of.

1.1 Research Methods

Research is not monolithic. That is, there is no single way to go about doing research. The way we approach our understanding of language learning will guide us in how we collect information (which is often referred to as data) to answer our questions. For example, there are numerous ways to think about second language learning (one can see a variety of approaches covered in introductory SLA textbooks, such as Gass et al., 2020). Some researchers conceptualize language as consisting of a set of linguistic abstractions (mental representations). Learning a second language, then, involves learning a new set of mental representations with the focus being on language forms. These are often called formal approaches. Others view language as a sociocultural phenomenon with language learning based not only on internal linguistic factors, as in formal approaches, but on how language forms interact with external factors (contexts for learning). Still others are concerned with how second languages are processed. Are the mechanisms used when processing a first language the same as those used when processing a second? Others focus on individual differences that contribute to language learning (e.g., attitudes, aptitude, grit, motivation). Each of these approaches (and others) will require different data sets to answer the questions posed. For example, in approaches where the social setting is important, context must be provided. In approaches where only grammatical forms are of concern, context is not a major (or even a minor) consideration.

These general orientations influence the methodologies that are used. In the following section, we outline the main approaches to research that have received attention in the second language literature: quantitative (see Chapter 6), qualitative/interpretive (see Chapter 7), and mixed-methods studies (see Chapter 9), which make use of multiple perspectives. We believe that there is no perfect approach; there are strengths and weaknesses to each approach and there are pros and cons to any elicitation technique one might adopt. What is important to recognize is that choices (and typically trade-offs) have to be made when conducting research. What is equally important to recognize is that whatever research method we choose, we need to justify using that particular methodology in light of our research question(s). In other words, the process of conducting research involves theoretical conceptualizations as well as practical considerations. These interrelated notions guide decision-making at all stages of the research process, as will become apparent throughout this book.

TIME TO THINK …

Have you taken a course on second language acquisition (SLA)? If so, have you identified a theoretical approach you align with the most?

Have you taught a language(s)? If so, have you found a pedagogic approach that helps you to understand how your students are learning?

1.2 Different Types of Research

As mentioned above, there are many approaches to dealing with research. Two of the most common are known as quantitative and qualitative, although this distinction is somewhat simplistic as the relationship is best thought of as a continuum of research types, and mixed-methods research, as noted above, involves elements of both. Quantitative research generally starts with an experimental design in which a specific hypothesis precedes the quantification of data with follow-up numerical analyses (e.g., a study comparing student test results before and after an instructional treatment). Qualitative studies, on the other hand, generally are not set up as experiments; the data cannot be easily quantified (e.g., a diary study in which a student keeps track of their attitudes during a year-long Japanese language course), and the analysis is interpretive rather than statistical. As mentioned above, this is rather a simplistic view because one can imagine a number of variations on this theme.

In a discussion of article types, we find the following characterizations in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (7th edition). “Quantitative research refers to a set of approaches commonly used in the behavioral and social sciences and related fields in which the observed outcomes are numerically represented” (American Psychological Association, 2019b, p. 4). Typical of quantitative reports are:

• Methods rely on numerical properties
• Range of experimental designs
• Range of analytic techniques
• May present novel hypotheses not considered previously

Qualitative research “refers to scientific practices that are used to generate knowledge about human experience and/or action including social processes” (p. 5). They go on to discuss four characteristics that are common to qualitative research:

• Data consists of natural language, researcher observations, and/or participants’ expressions. Numbers may be adjunctive.
• An iterative process if often used. Data are analyzed and reanalyzed as continued data analysis takes place. Initial findings may be refined: “the process of analysis is self-correcting and can produce original knowledge”.
• Inquiry is recursively combined with “methods that require reflexivity” about how a researcher perspective might influence the research process.
• The object of inquiry may be “experiences and actions whose meaning may shift and evolve”. Thus, findings are viewed “as being situated within place and time” as opposed to being “stable regardless of context” (p. 5).

In this book, we attempt to be as inclusive as possible and cover a variety of research orientations. In particular, we show in Chapter 9 how the two types of research can be combined; in other words, the depiction of quantitative/qualitative research can be thought of as “pure” forms when in actuality, elements of both often appear in a research report.

TIME TO THINK ...

Within the field of SLA, there are numerous ways of collecting data. Below are just a few of these many ways. Consider two or three of them and think about what kind of research question each data collection method could help answer. For example, a classroom observation might be useful if you want to know how much corrective feedback a teacher provides. Be as specific as you can. If possible, consider also what each is not good for. For example, questionnaires might not be useful if you want to know how much corrective feedback a teacher provides.

• Diary studies
• Interviews
• Questionnaires
• Classroom observations
• A test designed by the researcher to measure learning of a specific skill
• Grammaticality judgment test (i.e., asking learners if a particular sentence is grammatically acceptable or not)

TIME TO DO …

Part 1

Read the following abstract from Lee and Révész (2020, p. 625):

This study assessed the extent to which captions, textually unenhanced and enhanced, can draw learners’ attention to and promote the acquisition of a second language (L2) grammatical construction. A pretest–posttest–delayed posttest experimental design was employed. Seventy-two Korean learners of English were randomly assigned to an enhanced captions group, an unenhanced captions group, and a no captions group. Each group completed a series of treatment tasks, during which they watched news clips under their respective captioning condition. The target L2 construction was the use of the present perfect versus the past simple in reporting news. For the enhanced captions group, the present perfect and past simple forms were typographically enhanced using a different color. Eye-movement indices were obtained to examine attentional allocation during the treatment, and oral and written productive tests and a fill-in-the-blank test were used to assess participants’ gains. A series of mixed-effects models found both captioning and textual enhancement effective in drawing learners’ attention to and facilitating development in the use of the target construction. In addition, positive links were identified between attention to captions and learners’ gains.Does this abstract seem more part of a quantitative or a qualitative study? In thinking about this, consider the following:

• Does the study have quantitative data?
• How are data analyzed?
• Were data collected experimentally?

Part 2

Read the following abstract from Friedman (2016, p. 165):

Drawing upon video recordings from two fifth-grade Ukrainian classrooms and interviews with children four years later, this paper examines these classrooms as sites for socializing learners into an imagined community of Ukrainian speakers, the extent to which children took up identities as members of this community, and the potential effect of this identification on willingness to learn and use Ukrainian. Microanalysis of classroom interaction illustrates how teachers drew upon prevailing discourses of language and ...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• Preface
• 1. Introduction to Research
• 2. Research Reporting, Research Questions, and Replication
• 3. Common Data Collection Measures
• 4. Coding
• 5. Research Variables, Validity, and Reliability
• 6. Designing a Quantitative Study
• 7. Qualitative and Interpretive Research
• 8. Classroom Research
• 9. Mixed Methods
• 10. Concluding and Reporting Research
• Glossary
• References
• Index