Research

1
Research

• Xiaofei Lu
• APLNG 588
• November 1, 2007

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Overview

• Final project format
• Defining CALL research
• Criteria for effective CALL research
• Call research approaches

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Defining CALL research

• Variables in the CALL process
• Learners, language, context
• Tools, tasks/activities, peers and teachers
• CALL research
• Variables and system containing these variables
• Interactions between the variables
• Effects of the variables on each other

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Why CALL research

• To understand
• Changes brought about by technology on tasks,
  environments and outcomes
• New opportunities provided by technology
• Relationship to CALL theory and practice
• A strong, common foundation lacking
• Practice and theory should inform each other
• Research helps us describe more generalizable
  information
• Who are CALL researchers?

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What should we ask

• How new tools and contexts affect students
  attitudes
• Are students learning? At what rate? How much? Of
  what? Based on what? Caused by what?
• What students learning looks like
• Roles of peers and teachers in this learning
• Differences made by different tools in this
  learning
• What else students learn while learning language
• How students develop culturally, personally, and
  socially during and as a result of LL with
  technology

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How to conduct CALL research

• Explaining language gains
• Difficult to measure
• Strong foundation in SLA research theory helps
• Methods
• Use of true experimental designs problematic
• Qualitative and quantitative methods
• Research questions determine methods
• Rigor is important

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Perspective in CALL

• A perspective in research may relate to
• A topic (culture, flow, visuality, etc.)
• A theory (sociocultural, constructivist, etc.)
• A research approach (design based, etc.)
• Study questions and methods vary depending on
  perspective (Fig 1.2, p. 8)
• Multiple perspectives necessary

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Criteria for effective CALL research

• Weaknesses in previous CALL research
• Guidelines for improvement

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Weaknesses in previous research

• Lack of theoretical and/or data support
• Handle Corl (1998)
• Lynch, Fawcett Nicolson (2000)
• Blake (2000) and Li (2000)
• Biased positive assumption about CALL
• Beauvois (1997) LAN-based interaction
• Lewin (2000) basic e-books
• Mltiwalla Tello (2000) online instruction
• Cifuentes Shin (2001) NS/NNS email exchanges
• Sengupta (2001) benefits and limitations of CALL

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Technocentrism in CALL research

• Media comparison design
• Ignoring human and other factors
• Biesenbach-Lucas Weasenforth (2001) e-mail vs.
  word processor
• Instructional comparison design
• Comparing CALL and traditional instruction
• Al-Seghayer (2001) video vs. print for voca
  acquisition
• Tool analysis

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Avoiding Technocentrism

• What really matters for language instruction?
• Technology?
• Teacher, learning environment, students?
• Good examples
• Underwood (2000) computer-supported reading
• Meskill et al. (1999) electronic texts
• Surry Ensminger (2001)
• Instructional method and learner characteristics
• Designs and methods

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Guidelines for improvement

• Link SLA theory to questions and analysis
• Adopt a well-suited research design
• Avoid technocentric views and assumptions
• Provide strong evidence to support claims
• Discuss negative results and limitations

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CALL research approaches

• Introduction
• Overview of research approaches
• Discussion

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Introduction

• Focus on language teaching and learning
• Learner attitudes and perceptions
• Theory-driven studies
• LL tasks involved in enabling LL
• Informs and refine pedagogical approaches
• Focus on material design
• Development process
• Testing design elements
• Effective ways to improve design

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Overview of research approaches

• Survey research
• Assessing student attitudes and perceptions
  towards
• A collection of activities, e.g., web-enhanced LL
• A particular CALL product or artifact (Table 6.1,
  p146)
• A network of methods
• Hoshi (2003) interaction and content analysis
• Winkler (2001) think-aloud protocol, interview
• Taylor and Gitsaki (2003) WELL course
• Longitudinal research design
• LL broadly conceived (language, technology, etc.)

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Comparative studies

• Proof of effectiveness of new technology in LL
• Experimental vs. control group
• Criticisms
• CALL not a single, discrete method of
  instruction

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Researching LL through chat

• Use of synchronous CMC for LL
• Tudini (2003)
• NNS-NS interactions in distance learning
• LL operationalized in terms of IA
• Opportunities for negotiation of meaning
• Chat work integrated into course for assessment
• Identified negotiation sequences from chat corpus

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Researching intercultural LL through email

• ODowd (2003)
• Qualitative, longitudinal study over a year
• Ethnographic
• Byrams (1997) model of intercultural
  communicative competence
• Identified characteristics of email exchange
  leading to IL

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Researching L2 reading on the web

• Chun (2001)
• How 23 2nd-year German learners accessed
  information using a web-based program
• Multimedia components of special interest
• Tracking program

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Researching student use of feedback and help

• Tracking learner behavior
• Tracking student response to feedback
• Pujola (2001, 2002)
• Identifies LL strategies used in accessing help
  facilities in a web-based multimedia program
• Identifies and groups patterns of behavior

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Experimental research

• Choosing most effective annotation design
• Jones (2003)
• Best multimedia annotations supporting listening
  comprehension and voca acquisition
• A control group and 3 treatment groups
• Inferential statistics and interviews
• Students recall more propositions with visual and
  verbal annotations than with one annotation
• Best condition for acquiring vocabulary

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Discussion

• Characteristics of good CALL research
• Theory, research and pedagogy
• A broader view of LL
• Seeking the optimal design
• Suggestions for planning future studies