Stimulated recall methodology in second language research

158 Pages·2000·2.223 MB·English

by  Susan M Gass, Alison Mackey

Stimulated Recall Methodology in
Second LanguageResearch
Second Language Acquisition Research
Theoretical and Methodological Issues
Susan Gass and Jacquelyn Schachter, Editors
Tarone/Gass/Cohen • Research Methodololgy in Second-Language Acquisition
Schachter/Gass • Second Language Classroom Research: Issues and Opportunities
Birdsong • Second Language Acquisition and the Critical Period Hypothesis
Monographs on Research Methodology
Gass/Mackey • Stimulated Recall Methodology in Second Language Research
Yule • Referential Communication Tasks
Markee • Conversation Analysis
Stimulated Recall Methodology in
Second Language Research
Susan M.Gass
Michigan State University
Alison Mackey
Georgetown University

LAWRENCE ERLBAUM ASSOCIATES, PUBLISHERS
Mahwah, New Jersey London
This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2009.
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Copyright © 2000 by Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.
All rights reserved. No part of the book may be reproduced in
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means, without prior written permission of the publisher.
Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc., Publishers
10 Industrial Avenue
Mahwah, NJ 07430
Cover design by Kathryn Houghtaling Lacey
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Gass, Susan M.
Stimulated recall methodology in second language research/Susan
M.Gass, Alison Mackey.
p. cm.—(second language acquisition reserch)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-8058-3223-8 (c: alk. paper).—ISBN 0-8058-3224-6 (pbk.: alk.
paper).
1. Second language acquisition-Research. 2. Recollection (Psychology)
I. Mackey, Alison. II. Title. III. Series.
PG118.2.G376 2000
401’.93–dc21
99–36248
CIP

ISBN 1-4106-0600-7 Master e-book ISBN
CONTENTS

Foreword ix
Preface xi
Acknowledgments xiii

1 Introduction to Introspective Methods 1
Background 1
Introspective Methods 2
The Usefulness of Reflections on Mental Processes 2
Introspection and Behaviorism 5
Behaviorism and the Study of Language 7
Verbal Reporting 8
Stimulated Recall 13
What Topics Can Be Explored Using Stimulated Recall Methodology? 15
Knowledge Types 16
Knowledge Structures 16
Cognitive Processes and Learner Strategies 17
Conclusion 18
2 Introspection and Second Language Research 19
Classification Scheme for Introspective Research 20
Range of Second Language Studies 21
Conclusion 25
3 Characterization o f Stimulated Recall 27
Review of Stimulated Recall Procedure 27
Oral Interaction Research 27
Perceptions of Comprehension 27
Experimental Research 28
Qualitative Research 28
Communication Problems 29
Acceptability Judgments 30
Reading/Vocabulary 31
vi Contents
Writing Research 31
Tutorial Sessions 31
Writer’s Block 32
Composing Process 33
Pragmatics 33
Classification of Recall Support 34
Færch and Kasper (1987) 34
Relationship to Specific Action 34
Temporal Relationship to Action 36
Participant Training 36
Procedural Structure 38
Stimulus for Recall 38
Initiation of Questions/Recall Interaction 38
4 Using Stimulated Recall Methodology 42
Data Collection: Instructions for Participants and Researchers 42
Data Analysis 47
Interrater Reliability 47
An Extended Example of Rater Training 51
Data Layout and Coding 59
Procedural Pitfalls 63
Timing 63
The Approximate Length of the Recall Support 63
Allocating Time for the Recall Procedure 65
Allocating Time for Set Up and Equipment 66
Verbalization 66

Recall Questions 67
Language of the Recall Session 73
Analysis of Stimulated Recall Data 75
Sampling the Recall Data 77
Preparing the Data for Coding 77
Developing a Coding Scheme 78
Analyzing and Describing the Data 78
Conclusion 79
Contents vii
5 Limitations and Additional Uses 80
Issues of Validity and Reliability 80
Summary 85
Possible Uses For Stimulated Recall 85
Interlanguage Phonology 86
Comprehension of Learner Speech 86
Change Over Time 87
Classroom Interaction 88
Oral Production 89
Interlanguage Pragmatics 90
Comprehension 91
Input and Input Processing 92
Reading 92
Amount and Type of Exposure 93
L2 Reading Comprehension 93
Oral Interaction 94
Dialogue 94
Negotiation 95
Syntactic Processing 96
Vocabulary 96
Incidental Vocabulary-Learning 96
Acquisition of Words in an Unknown Language 97
Conclusion 98

References 102

Additional References 115
Appendix A 119
Appendix B 123
Appendix C 125
Author Index 128
Subject Index 134

Foreword
This series is born of our belief that to adequately understand conclusions drawn from
second language acquisition research, one must understand the methodology that is used
to elicit data for that research. The concern with research methodology is common in all
fields, but it takes on particular significance in second language research given the
interdisciplinary nature of the field and the varying perspectives of second language
researchers. Within a single common field, we have psychologists talking to linguists; we
have sociolinguists concerned with variation talking to sociolinguists concerned with
pragmatics; we have ethnographers talking to generative grammarians. Although all this
is healthy for the long-term outcome of the field, it is problematic in that researchers
bring with them research traditions from their own disciplines. Again, this is ultimately
healthy but can lead to serious misunderstandings, in the short term, of the value of a
particular elicitation instrument. As a result, research traditions are attacked through their
methodologies without a full understanding of what linguistic or psycholinguistic or
sociolinguistic knowledge or abilities a particular instrument is intended to tap. This
series of monographs is an attempt to bring these issues to light.
The series consists of monographs devoted to particular data-collection methods or
instruments. Each monograph probes a specific research method or tool, discussing the
history of the instrument as well as its current uses. A major feature of each monograph is
an exploration of what the research instrument does and does not purport to tell us about
second language acquisition or use. Each monograph addresses the kinds of research
questions for which the method or instrument is best suited, its underlying assumptions, a
characterization of the method or instrument, and an extended description of its use,
including problems associated with its use. It is hoped that the series as a whole will
reflect the state of the research in second language acquisition. It is only through a deeper
understanding of the strengths and weaknesses, and the advantages and disadvantages of
particular research tools, that the field of second language acquisition can progress
beyond issues of methodology and begin to work together as a collective whole.
—Susan Gass
—Jacquelyn Schachter
Series Editors