Studying Second Language Acquisition from a Qualitative Perspective

219 Pages·2014·2.09 MB·English

by  Danuta Gabryś-Barker

Second Language Learning and Teaching
Danuta Gabryś-Barker
Adam Wojtaszek Editors
Studying Second
Language
Acquisition from
a Qualitative
Perspective
Second Language Learning and Teaching
Series editor
Mirosław Pawlak, Kalisz, Poland
For furthervolumes:
http://www.springer.com/series/10129
About the Series
The series brings together volumes dealing with different aspects of learning
andteaching second and foreign languages. The titles included are both mono-
graphsand edited collections focusing on a variety of topics ranging from the
processesunderlying second language acquisition, through various aspects of
languagelearningin instructed and non-instructedsettings, todifferent facetsofthe
teachingprocess, including syllabus choice, materials design, classroom practices
andevaluation.Thepublicationsreflectstate-of-the-artdevelopmentsinthoseareas,
theyadoptawiderangeoftheoreticalperspectivesandfollowdiverseresearchpar-
adigms. The intended audience are all those who are interested in naturalisticand
classroom second language acquisition, including researchers, methodologists,
curriculumandmaterialsdesigners,teachersandundergraduateandgraduatestudents
undertakingempiricalinvestigationsofhowsecondlanguagesarelearntandtaught.
Danuta Gabrys´-Barker (cid:129) Adam Wojtaszek
Editors
Studying Second Language
Acquisition from a
Qualitative Perspective
Editors
DanutaGabrys´-Barker
AdamWojtaszek
InstituteofEnglish
UniversityofSilesia
Sosnowiec,Poland
ISSN2193-7648 ISSN2193-7656(electronic)
ISBN978-3-319-08352-0 ISBN978-3-319-08353-7(eBook)
DOI10.1007/978-3-319-08353-7
SpringerChamHeidelbergNewYorkDordrechtLondon
LibraryofCongressControlNumber:2014947465
©SpringerInternationalPublishingSwitzerland2014
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Preface
Thisvolumefocusesonqualitativeresearch projects. The growing interestinqual-
itative studies brought about the development of qualitative research methodology
andfairlynewtoolsatresearchers’disposalthatmakethisresearchmorereliableand
academically rigorous. At its core are introspective methods such as simultaneous
introspection orretrospection inthe formofdiary writing, surveys, interviews, and
biographical narratives. This interest also resulted in constructing more rigorous
models ofqualitative analysis and promotion ofmore interdisciplinary approachto
research. The present volume contains theoretical, empirical, and methodological
papersinvolving theuse ofqualitative methods and instrumentssuchasnarratives,
introspectionandretrospection,autobiographicalmemorydata,andlearnerdiariesin
studyingsecondandmultilinguallanguageacquisition.
Thevolumeconsistsofthreeparts.PartIIntroducingqualitativeresearchtraces
back the origins and contextualizes qualitative research by going back to the
beginnings of this type of research in sociology and education as well as by
discussing its appropriacy in researching language teaching and learning. Part II
Qualitativemethodsinstudyingsecondlanguageacquisitioncontainsaselectionof
research projects using exclusively qualitative methods and ranging from those
investigating cognitively oriented issues of language learning and skills develop-
mentintheforeignlanguageclassroomtotheonesthataremainlyconcernedwith
teacher reflection and the affective dimension of language learning process. The
articlesinPartIIIComplementaryquantitativeandqualitativemethodsinstudying
second language acquisition demonstrate that the use of either qualitative or
quantitative methods is not mutually exclusive and in fact, these two research
approachescanwellcomplementeachother.Thearticlesinthispartofferagreat
variety of educational contexts, various themes ranging from pronunciation and
speaking to cultural issues in language learning studied, and also focusing on the
evaluationofqualitativemethodsinactualbi-andmultilingualprojectspresented
byindividualauthors.
v
vi Preface
We hope that the present volume will contribute to this fast growing interest in
qualitativemethodsofresearchtochallengethedominanceofquantitativeresearch
paradigmanddemonstratehowqualitativemethodscaninformresearchinlanguage
learning,atrendwhichisbecomingmoreandmorevisibleinworldwideacademic
research.
Sosnowiec,Poland DanutaGabrys´-Barker
Sosnowiec,Poland AdamWojtaszek
Contents
PartI IntroducingQualitativeResearch
SociologicalandEducationalRootsofQualitativeResearch
inAppliedLinguistics. . .. . . .. . . .. . . . .. . . .. . . .. . . . .. . . .. . . .. . 3
HannaKomorowska
AretheOnlyThingsThatCounttheThingsThatCanBeCounted?
OnModelingasaCognitiveToolintheFieldofForeignLanguage
LearningandTeaching. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
MariaDakowska
PartII QualitativeMethodsinStudyingSecondLanguageAcquisition
PronunciationLearningStrategyChains:AQualitativeApproach. . . . 35
MagdalenaSzyszka
FosteringStrategyUseinaReading-Based
CourseinEFLAcademicContext:Students’Perspectives. . . . . . . . . . . 49
HalinaChodkiewicz
ReflectiveTeachinginanEnglishPrimaryClassroom. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
MariaStec
JuniorHighSchoolLearners’AbilitytoReflectintheProcess
ofKeepingaDiaryinaForeignLanguage. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
AgnieszkaTurzan´ska
QualitativeEvaluationofEmotionalIntelligenceDuringConversation
Classes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
NinaBarłoz˙ek
vii
viii Contents
PartIII ComplementaryQuantitativeandQualitativeMethodsin
StudyingSecondLanguageAcquisition
SomeAdvantagesofQualitativeMethodsinMultilingualism
Research. . . .. . . .. . . .. . . . .. . . .. . . . .. . . .. . . .. . . . .. . . .. . . .. . 111
TeresaMariaWłosowicz
ResearchApproachesandStudentSurveys:ACross-cultural
Perspective. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
BeataMalczewska-Webb,MartaNowacka,andSabrinaOng
WillingnesstoCommunicateinaForeignLanguage:Evidencefrom
ThoseWhoApproachandThoseWhoAvoidL2Communication. . . . . 145
EwaPiechurska-Kuciel
ResearchingPhoneticsLearningAnxiety:AQualitativeApproach. . . . 161
MałgorzataBaran-Łucarz
AQualitativeandQuantitativeInvestigationintotheRelevanceof
PronunciationInstruction:PilotingDataCollectionTools. . . . . . . . . . . 175
EwaCzajka
“ToutesLesLanguesEnsemble,C’estTout?”Separated
MultilingualisminMinorityLanguageEducation
inBrittany(France). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
PatrickKarlOsterkornandEvaVetter
WellINever!:FormulaicLanguageasaPragmaticResourcein
ChildEntertainmentMedia. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
RichardNightingale
Author Bios
Małgorzata Baran-Łucarz received her Ph.D. in Applied Linguistics in 2004,
with a thesis entitled Field independence as a predictor of success in foreign
language pronunciation acquisition and learning. She is Assistant Professor at
the University of Wrocław and since 1998 has been working as a teacher at the
TeacherTrainingCollegeinWrocław.Hermainareasofinterestare:methodology
ofFLteaching,SLA(particularlyindividuallearner differencesandFLpronunci-
ationacquisition),psycholinguistics,phonetics,andpronunciationpedagogy.
Nina Barłoz˙ek is a Ph.D. student at the Opole University, Poland. She’s been an
activeteacherfor10yearsteachingEnglishallagegroups.Hermainareaofinterest
isemotionalintelligenceanditsinfluenceonEFLlearnerdevelopment.Shedevotes
her research energy to expanding knowledge about human brain and its (unused)
potentialinrelationtoteachingandlearningEnglishasaforeignlanguage.
Halina Chodkiewicz is Professor of Applied Linguistics at the Department of
English, Maria Curie-Skłodowska University, Lublin, Poland. She teaches psycho-
linguistics,secondlanguageacquisition,andELTcoursesandsupervisesM.A.and
Ph.D.dissertations.Herresearchinterestsfocusonsecond/foreignlanguagereading
development,vocabularylearningandteaching,andCBI-CLILapproach.Herrecent
papers published nationally and internationally concern content-based reading and
reader’s strategy use. She is the author of three books on reading and vocabulary
acquisition, and co-editor of three volumes including Language Skills: Traditions,
TransitionsandWaysForward(withMagdalenaTrepczyn´ska,CSP,2014).
EwaCzajkaisaPh.D.candidateattheUniversityofWrocław,Poland.Sheisan
Englishteacherandteachertrainer.Herresearchinterestsincludeforeignlanguage
pedagogy,withspecialattentionpaidtoforeignlanguagepronunciationinstruction.
Currently,sheisworkingonherdoctoraldissertationonpronunciationperception
andproductiontrainingatuppersecondaryschoollevelofeducation.
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