Supplementary reading for FL/ECI 505

Approaches to Research in Second Language Learning
Donna M. Johnson
Longman 1992

Part I Contexts fro L2 Research

Chapter 1
Introduction to L2 Research

Research and the ability to use it and evaluate it is critical if you are a second language educator. This book has four major goals:
1) to understand research
2) to critically evaluate research questions, methods, findings and conclusions
3) to benefit from research studies
4) to contribute in some way to the research endeavor

Applying L2 Research: Reflection and Action

Some relevant questions to ask are:
Of what good is research to teachers?
For what purposes should a teacher know about research methods and findings?

Sometimes teachers say that they don’t base their teaching on any particular theory or research, but rather they operate on intuition. But teaching is much more than intuition however accurate it may be—new insights gained from research are also very important and can help us to gain a richer understanding of the many interrelated factors involved in learning. Many experienced teachers feel that they already know a great deal about the art and craft of teaching and that research is either inaccessible, incomprehensible, or irrelevant for them. What teachers sometimes don’t realize is that research very often proves to corroborate their own teaching practices, in addition to adding new knowledge to their professional development.

Applying Research as Re-seeing Learning

Research findings can many times be applied to classroom practice in direct ways. Each reader of the research gains a different insight from the same study and will use those insights in unique ways. As the author states: “…research provides an impetus that encourages us to reflect continually on language use and learning processes, to rethink practice, and to take action to improve practice.” Research, therefore, provides a model of re-seeing learning and teaching in a continuum, such as: Read research > Re-see learning > Re-think practice > Improve practice.

Contextual Influences on Topics of L2 Research

A wide variety of topics are addressed in L2 research. Where do these topics come from? What determines the important issues for research? Why are some pedagogical questions addressed and others not? Much of this is based on the following three factors:

1) SLA Theory in L2 Research
Theories of second language acquisition are the most important theoretical influence on topics that are selected for research. SLA theories range from comprehensive theories that make claims about the relationships among a broad array of factors, such as Gardner’s “socio-educational model” with an emphasis on motivation.
More specific aspects of learning are addressed by Krashen and his widely debated input theory. Sociolinguistically oriented researchers are interested in language variation and its relation to L2 use and interlanguage development.

2) Disciplinary Links
Academic disciplines such as linguistics, anthropology, sociology, psychology, and education provide rich research areas that relate to L2 use, learning and teaching.
Linguistics is the major contributing discipline to L2 scholarship.
Studies with an anthropological orientation focus on the relationships between language use and culture. Psychological studies have focused on topics such as cognitive processing, test construction and validation, learning strategies, use of cognitive structures, such as scripts and schemata. Some researchers draw upon a particular theory of cognitive development, such as Vygotskian theory, to describe and analyze the kinds of environments that can promote second language and literacy development.
The field of educational research has also exerted a role on L2 research.

3) The Sociopolitical Contexts for L2 Research

Sociopolitical conditions within a nation or across national boundaries also affect topics of L2 research.

Chapter 2 Some Developments in L2 Research

This chapter seeks to examine developments that have occurred in research in recent years. Research is cumulative and the attempt is to build on and improve previous work.

Part II Approaches to Research

Here are some questions to ask in conducting a correlational research study:

1. What is the research question?
2. In what context was the research conducted?
3. What are the theoretical orientations of the researcher?
4. Who were the subjects/participants in the study? How many were there and how were they selected? What are their relevant characteristics?
5. What variables were assessed? How were they defined and measured? How adequate (valid and reliable ) were the measures?
6. What correlational analyses were performed and with what results?
7. What conclusions are drawn? Are generalizations about the results appropriate?
8. What is the contribution of the study to our knowledge of social or contextual factors in L2 learning?
9. What are the stated implications for L2 learning in formal contexts?

Chapter 4
Case Study Approaches

A case study approach can attempt to answer the following kinds of questions:
How does scaffolded interaction promote second language and literacy development? What strategies do high school students use in reading L2 texts?
How do individual learners differ in their approach to learning a new language and culture?

A close study of one case allows researchers to find answers to different types of questions regarding individuals as learners. For example, a case study was done with fourth grade ESL students to see how they cope with academic content and language demands. The following areas were investigated: Drawing on notions of scaffolding and on Vygotsky’s concept of the zone of proximal development, seven children were studied to search for: 1) evidence of scaffolding in the interaction of the teachers and students and 2) concrete signs of language learning or independent problem solving that resulted from the scaffolded interaction, and 3) what type of classroom activity motivated the scaffolded interaction.

The findings were that the investigator did find evidence of scaffolding and some concrete signs of language learning resulting from the scaffolded interaction. And she did find that scaffolding was likely to be present in situations and activities that were interactively and cognitively demanding. The results of the study clearly indicates how scaffolded interaction can promote second language and literacy development.

Case studies can also be used in studying second language writing, reading strategies, and many other areas (see pp. 80-82).

Chapter 5
Survey Research

Examples of survey research might include such questions as:
What are the attitudes of Chinese students toward learning English?
What foreign languages are taught in U.S. elementary and secondary schools?
How do advanced students of ESL accomplish socially important speech acts?

“The purpose of survey research is to learn about characteristics of an entire group of interest (a population) by examining a subset of that group (a sample). A small sample of the full population is selected that is designed to be similar in important ways – to be representative of the population as a whole. The results from that sample are then generalized to the population. A survey is usually defined, then, as a study of a large group through direct study of a subset of that group.” (pp. 104-5)
Surveys help us to obtain information about programs, teachers and students and they can be used in many ways.

Issues in survey design

Defining a population
Sampling
Methods of collecting survey data
Questionnaires
Interview guides and interviewing
Observing and collecting language data
Discourse completion tests
Data analyses

The authors conclude that “ Well-conducted surveys have a number of advantages. They can involve a large number of samples and be representative of a broad range of issues.”

Chapter 9 Researchers, Teachers, and Inquiry (VERY IMPORTANT CHAPTER!!!)

A growing number of researchers and scholars are advocating teacher involvement in research, and an evolving teacher-research movement (sometimes called “action research” in the field of second language acquisition and teaching ) is underway.
Teacher involvement in research is an effective way to bridge the gaps between theory and practice and contribute to knowledge.

Cochran-Smith and Lytle, for example, state:
What is missing from the knowledge base for teaching…are the voices of the teachers themselves the questions teachers ask, the ways teachers use writing and intentional talk in their work lives, and the interpretive frames teachers use to understand and improve their own classroom practices.

Because teachers are so close to students on a daily basis, their own inquiry from their unique perspectives can make an important contribution to knowledge about teaching and learning. Teachers who conduct their own research gain a deeper understanding of their work lives and gain the confidence and support needed to make important changes.

Roles of Teachers in Relation to Research

Teachers reading and applying research

Many propose that the teacher-as-researcher movement holds the greatest promise for linking theory and practice in ways that are meaningful to teachers. Van Lier (1990), following Stenhouse (1075) claims that “if significant and lasting improvements in classroom second language learning are to be achieved, this can best be done by teachers and learners doing their own research in their own classrooms.”

What is Teacher-Research?

The teacher research movement is based on conceptions of teachers as reflective practitioners, intellectuals and theory makers. It’s goals, which are political as well as intellectual, are linked to notions of emanaicipation, empowerment, liberation and democracy (Giroux, 1988). Bissex (1986) defines a teacher-researcher as one who observes, questions and learns in the context of his or her own classroom and who, as a result, becomes a better teacher. As she suggests: “Everything that happens in a classroom can be seen as data to be understood rather than causes for blaming or congratulating ourselves or our students.” Problems become questions to investigate and occasions for learning. The classroom, then, is a learning laboratory for the teachers.

In summary, the view of teacher-research is that it is conducted by teachers. It involves gathering and recording information from their own classrooms and school life and the reflecting on what was learned. L2 teachers have unique contributions to make to research. They know their students well and they are in the classroom all the time and they can make very important contributions.